#doesn't even get into the fact that i had to save up spoons not just to hang out but also to watch a Favorite Thing

[dredshirtroberts]

i am allowed to both be delighted and content with the way my evening went and how lovely it was to be around friends, and also be really upset over the fact that i cannot do much without intense and great pain.

[cherryxblossxms]

Hehe yes let's cuck Mephisto with Luci too ~

I think he's planning a prank (or maybe sabotage?) with the anti Lucifer league and he doesn't quite get out of Lucifer's office fast enough when he hears the two of you coming. He scrambles into a closet right when you and Lucifer come in, too busy making out to notice the closet door slightly ajar.

Mephisto is disgusted at first. He can't look away, it's so horrible. He watches as you strip each other, Lucifer puts you on his desk. Your incessant moaning and his groaning...

Mephisto didn't really notice how intently he was watching, nor did he notice how hard he was until his cock throbbed at the erotic display... He palms himself, feeling dirty at enjoying such a thing but he's mesmerized and stuck in this closet anyway.

I'm so sorry I'm getting to this so late 😭 I ran to the notification when I first got it but I just could not find the spoons to respond

Godddd this whole thing is so 🥵🥵 I could not stop myself from making this into. Idk whatever this is, but anyway I need that man badly (and maybe need to make him suffer a little lmaoo)

[Nsfw obv, mdni. GN reader, voyeurism, implied cucking/getting caught at the end ehehe~]

At first, Mephisto is so disgusted by what's he's seeing. The two people he detests most— the angel traitor saved by his gracious Lord Diavolo, and the weak unworthy human representative of the exchange program— and you're locking lips like its your job, knocking into Lucifer's desk in your excitement. And of course you two would be drawn together, it's only expected that two unsavory types would be getting up to such indecent activities together. The wet noises of your mouths meeting and the way you're groping each other, it's perverse, Mephisto thinks.

He has half a mind to report you two to Lord Diavolo, what you're doing has to be a problem, right? Just thinking about it is titillating, as he remains hidden in the closet, not wanting to get caught and maybe get some good dirt on either of you. Maybe he'll get some kind of reward for alerting the Young Lord about these transgressions. In fact, maybe he'll even—

His thoughts are interrupted when you unleash a soft whimper, the sound sending shivers through his body and his heart pumping. He didn't even realize, you two had gotten partially undressed already while he was lost in thought, shirts pulled open and halfway off and Lucifer's hand disappearing beneath your waistband, the demon sucking on the side of your neck as his hand clearly worked you into a frenzy.

Suddenly it's like he can't tear his eyes away from his peeping spot in the closet, almost holding his breath just waiting for what happens next. Watching as Lucifer marks you up to satisfaction, his hand working a steady rhythm between your legs as you writhe against him, still making that delicious needy noise, before its clearly not enough for either of you. Before Mephisto can react, Lucifer has you set on his desk, tugging your bottoms down and off and working his own open just long enough to free his leaking cock, losing no time as he quickly enters you.

If Mephisto thought your prior noises were indecent, the moan you let out now is downright sinful. The noise of a rattling desk fills the air as Lucifer pumps into you, and whether it's by a miracle or a curse, Mephisto can see it all clearly. See the way you manage to fit Lucifer's cock, see the way you grasp onto the desk or onto Lucifer, whatever you can reach, as your face is twisted with pleasure. He couldn't quite make out Lucifer's face from his angle, but that was perhaps for the better.

Mephisto suddenly becomes all too aware of how tight his pants have become, a distinct need in his groin calling to him. Just the thought of stroking himself to you two is offensive, he tries to convince himself. But it's like his body can't control itself, his hand reaching down to relieve the ache anyway, not long before he's fisting his own leaking cock in time with Lucifer's thrusts into you. He can't even manage to tear his eyes away, eating up every little change in your expression and the things you respond best to.

He bites his knuckles trying to stay quiet, still trying to stay hidden until he can safely escape. But he's quickly lost to his own desires, imagining it's you he's fucking into. He'd show you how much more superior he is to Lucifer, show you what a true born-and-bred demon can do in bed. Lucifer could never compare, and he'd finally have you on your knees, begging for more, if he so wanted.

Just the thought of being the one to bring you to completion is enough to push him over the edge, hard, the climax catching him off guard. It's a miracle he manages to catch his spend in the palm of his glove before it can get on anything else. But what he fails to do is suppress the groan he makes as he cums, and his lusty haze clears quick in the following panic, looking to see if he'd been found out.

Thankfully, you'd all seemed to finish at the same time— he can't help but regret he hadn't seen your face as it happened— and you were clearly still recovering atop Lucifer's desk, the demon himself still buried deep inside you and his hips finally still. Mephisto instantly relaxes, thankful he wouldn't have to explain himself. He wasn't sure what he'd do if Lucifer of all people found out that, not only had Mephisto broken into his room, but was watching and masturbating to you two having sex like some kind of freak.

However, in his eagerness to relax, Mephisto missed the way Lucifer's lips quirked up, crimson eyes sparing the briefest glance in the direction of his closet.

[luimagines]

Oohhh! The recent anon asks about both music and swimming have given me so many ideas!

For swimming the idea that hylians are denser and weigh more for their body size is super interesting! (If I'm interpreting that correctly) It would be interesting if the others who aren't as familiar with humans are just kinda baffled by how little the reader weighs in comparison to their size. I could totally imagine reader just getting picked up randomly by members of the chain. (Mostly Wild and Twilight mostly I'd imagine but I also see Sky joining in from time to time. That man is a gremlin when he wants to be.) Just full on circle of life Lion King style. Reader is just very done with these antics.

Also wouldn't it be so sad that the boys never got to experience the joy that are musicals. :c Twi would probably be the most chill about music growing up around humans and all. I could imagine someone in the chain coming across reader playing an instrument one day (we're going with violin for now since that's what I personally play) and it's just this beautifully haunting piece. And the Link is just frozen there like, "There must some sort of powerful magic at play with this piece!" But as he stands there not making a sound, holding his breath nothing continues to happen. And with a final flourish reader finishes and finally notices the Link there. I think there would probably need to be quite a bit of explaining on both sides.

Also what if there was a human hero!reader? They we're the one to save Hyrule but were never technically the hero. The proper Link of that era just up and left. Reader doesn't have the hero's spirit and can't even wield the master sword. I think it would be super interesting if they were from a time that was a lot more judgemental of humans so even after saving the country (which most people won't even acknowledge) reader can't have any peace. I also think that would raise an interesting counterpoint to some of the chain's preconceived notions that they have zero say in their quests. They would probably bond with Wind at least a bit though on account of them both not having the hero's spirit!

Hope you don't mind my excessively long ramble. I would have split it into smaller chunks but then I would have forgotten some part of it.

Have a lovely rest of your week and drink some water! <3 \(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)/

I'm perfectly fine with long rambles! I'm glad to see you're interesting in this dumb au idea XD

Thank you for your patience in regards to me answering this. <3

Now I can't get over the mental image of Link holding up Reader like a child. He'd probably find it hilarious while Reader is two seconds from stabbing him.

In fact, I think Twilight would be the one to embrace music in a casual sense since he wouldn't have had the Hylian cultural ties. He grew up with humans. Music isn't necessarily sacred. Have fun with it! Twilight probably knows how to play the spoons and will drag Reader into jamming with him for the hell of it.

And Reader being the hero on top of the that?! Oh that would mess with their heads a bit.

Wind would probably latch onto that as well. Like, "neither of us were chosen, but that didn't stop us. You're more like me than they are!" And the betrayal a line like that would cause!

Some Link's would take a while to stop being petty.

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette was just tired, staring down at the ice cream on the ground as Andre scrambled to get her another. A fun time with her friends to run around Paris and maybe get a chance with Adrien had turned into a spotlight of embarrassment for her. The "couple time" her friends had been planning on having was now ruined to focus entirely on her, when all she wanted now was curl up into a corner and cry.

She felt bitter, watching as the mess on the bridge started to melt. It was like some sort of metaphor for how her attempts and opportunities all failed or slipped through her grasp, slowly but surely.

Andre grabbed her wrist and practically forced a replacement ice cream cone into her hand, saying stuff about how the magic doesn't lie and he must've just gotten the colors wrong, but she honestly wasn't listening anymore. She was in her own head, wondering, What would've been the point anyway? It's not like Adrien was coming to see me.

She couldn't see any reality in which that was false. He would've come for his friends, or for the thrill of the search, or maybe even just to have some ice cream. Even if she'd managed to make it all work out and share with him, what were the odds of everything afterward working out? She'd try to say something romantic and would mess it up, or he'd misunderstand and brush it off as nothing, or she'd be bumped into again and send the ice cream right onto his expensive clothes.

She winced at the thought. Maybe him not showing up was just a blessing in disguise, saving her from the humiliation of doing anything and having it all go wrong.

Marinette didn't want to make a big deal out of it, refusing to risk ruining her friends' time further. She diverted her attention to the ice cream cone in her hand, noting the blue and pink colors that she suspected were her own. Maybe Andre had just truly given up on her and this was the sign that it was a lost cause?

Or maybe he just realized that there was no way Adrien was coming and tried to save himself.

She stepped aside from everyone and sat down at a bench, keeping her distance from the happy couples while she poked at the ice cream with her tiny spoon. Andre wasn't exactly wrong if her thoughts on his mindset were true. Adrien always seemed to be unavailable when it mattered, and if she wanted to let herself spiral a little more, it almost seemed intentional.

After all, wasn't it a little too convenient that Adrien had missed out on the preparation for the music festival - when it would've been easiest for her to talk to him - just to show up afterward? Or for Adrien to have gotten the okay to go for ice cream only to be suddenly unavailable? Perhaps it would've been easy to pass those off if it weren't for the fact that Nino so rarely complained about their time together, and Adrien's schedule had been magically free when it came to him setting Nino up with her.

If her suspicions were accurate, then either Adrien knew how she felt and was doing everything possible to avoid her, or he just generally found her uncomfortable to be around; maybe even thought she was weird. Part of her wanted to defend that, suggesting that saying nothing was the "nice" thing to do, but her history of crushing on him when she apparently had no chance would disagree with that. She would've saved herself a lot of time then.

She huffed to herself, scooping up a bit of her ice cream and resolving to eat her sorrows away instead. Faintly recalling Andre's comment about how the magic only works if you eat it, she shook her head in disbelief and thought with a bittersweet expression, If I need magic to make him come see me, then what's the point?

She had opened her mouth, ready to finally taste the sweet treat, when a voice called out, "Marinette?"

Marinette paused, looking towards the source. Luka was standing just at the end of the bridge, presumably having been walking by as he spotted her. She smiled, wordlessly inviting him over, and he returned it as he made his way towards her.

"What are you up to?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I was just taking a walk to the Trocadéro," he replied, his casual tone assuring her that she wasn't delaying anything serious, "but then I heard your song and wanted to check."

She ducked her head shyly, using her ice cream as an excuse to look away from him. She finally ate a bit, letting the taste of blueberry melt into her mouth. Already, she was feeling a little better.

When she looked back up, Luka hadn't looked away from her. Their friends (if they were Luka's friends anyway; they might've only been Juleka's) were only a small distance away, as well as the ice cream stand, but he didn't seem inclined to leave even to go say "hi."

Smiling, Marinette used her spare hand to pat the spot on the bench next to her, not unlike when he invited her to sit on his bed. Luka didn't waste any time, happily taking a seat beside her.

Whether or not he knew the legend, she was certain that he must've seen both the couples as well as the ice cream they were sharing that was made exactly like hers. She felt grateful at the idea that he was intentionally not prodding, even if he might've been curious.

"Someone didn't show," she explained anyway, fidgeting with her cone, "but I also might've gotten ditched."

He frowned, a hand going to her shoulder in sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, appreciating but not needing the comment. "It's okay. It was never going to work out anyway."

She wondered for a second if she was just fooling herself, but Luka's smile assured her otherwise. If he believed her, she must've meant it.

"Still," Luka began as he leaned back, crossing his ankles before continuing, "in our band, Rose writes the lyrics and I'm in charge of the music. Jule and Ivan feel bad about it sometimes, but we're all putting in effort to make it come together, so we don't mind."

Marinette hummed, nodding as she took that in. She could understand that, of course, given that she'd put effort into just about everything she did, from gaming to fashion to romance.

She never got any effort returned for the latter, either because it all went bad before reaching its intended recipient or it didn't change anything. She still had to ask for Adrien's whereabouts and information when she wanted to know, she'd thought they'd bonded over a shared love of games yet he never mentioned it to her again, and in retrospect, despite her image of him as the kind prince locked away in a tower, he hadn't given her a hand or showed any concern when Chloe shoved her.

The one thing she could think of was the charm he'd given her on her birthday based on the charm that she'd given him - which was so often a defense she came up with in her head - only now she’d finally remembered that she had loaned it to him and he'd just held onto it, thus making the situation seem substantially less romantic. It also didn't escape her that her luck had somehow gotten worse since then, even it was just the universe personally spiting her. "Hey, I'm glad you like having my luck and everything, but can I have it back?" she asked the imaginary Adrien in her head.

Luka had the luxury for her of being an "outsider" to all of it. They'd only met recently, so his knowledge of her relationships was extremely limited. Had it been one of the girls instead, they probably would've asked before she'd even gotten the chance to bring it up.

This was nice. Luka was nice. She still felt bubbly thinking about his apology at the first sign she was upset by him, how his first instinct was to protect her from the akuma, and the way he asked about her first to Ladybug even after having safely hidden her away. It was entirely possible that it had nothing to do with her and that it was just how Luka cared for people, but she actually liked that thought more.

"...Oh," she uttered in realization, noting that she was sitting there with ice cream while Luka wasn't. She turned to him, ensuring that he could see the second spoon still stuck in the ice cream. "Do you want any?"

His gaze flickered from the ice cream to her, confirming that she meant her ice cream. She nodded and he happily took the second spoon, adding a soft, "Thanks. I don't know what you got, but I love the colors."

She beamed, admiring the way his black nails stuck out against the color of the spoon as he scooped some of the ice cream she'd yet to try. Even in his mannerisms, he was such a sweetheart—

Wait.

"Ah—Luka, stop!" Marinette hurried to say, reaching out but not quite touching his wrist. "That's Sweetheart's Ice Cream! Maybe we should get you a different one."

He stopped, blinking at her confusedly. She'd honestly thought he'd know what she was talking about without her having to explain, but he seemed truly clueless.

"Um..." She gestured at it with her free hand. "People go all over Paris looking for Andre so they can taste his Sweetheart's Ice Cream." She raised a finger as she made her point. "They say that if two people eat it together, they'll be together forever!"

Huh. It actually sounded a little ridiculous when she said it to someone who didn't know.

She forged on anyway, figuring that she might as well finish what she started, "I-I don't want to magically attach us together? Especially because you didn't know that and..." She pouted, unsure if it was okay to touch on the topic but adding, "I thought you might have a girlfriend already? Or a boyfriend?"

Luka's eyes left hers to look at the tiny bit of ice cream on his spoon. He turned it left and right like he was trying to spot what exactly made it so magic, but it looked blatantly like normal, plain ice cream.

Eventually, he shrugged, catching her free hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks for looking out for me, Marinette, but I've never had anyone like that."

"Wh—really?" The shock of him knowing nothing of Sweetheart's Ice Cream paled in comparison to him never having had a partner. "So you're single?"

She'd asked out of sheer curiosity, but blushed when it became apparent how they sounded.

Luka, her savior from embarrassment, didn't even flinch and took it in stride. "Yeah." He looked back down at the ice cream, wondering aloud, "Do you believe in it?"

"Believe in...?" It took Marinette a second to remember what they'd been talking about. She followed his gaze to the ice cream, thinking the question over seriously. Could there actually be a magical solution to tie her to someone, or even just to help? Her parents had gotten together and thought fondly of their time with Sweetheart's Ice Cream, but did they actually believe in it? As Luka had asked, did she believe in it?

"...No. I don't think so," she sighed.

Funnily (or maybe tragically) enough, being Ladybug and getting exposed to the world's "magic" had made her more critical of the idea. "Magic" never actually solved any of her problems and often made them worse instead.

"I like what you said," she added with a self-conscious chuckle, "about effort. Sharing ice cream is nice, but there's no magic to it."

He nodded in agreement. "We don't have to worry then."

"Are you sure?" she continued to prod, though at this point it might not have been about the "magic" element anymore.

Instead of answering, he finally ate the ice cream that had been on his spoon, a pleased hum following at the taste. "Even if it was true, I wouldn't mind."

"You... wouldn't mind being tied to me?" she asked, her blush deepening. His directness was good - really, really good - because it left no room for her to misinterpret it, but she certainly wasn't used to it.

"Mhm." He confirmed it like it wasn't a big deal, but there was a warmth to his face that could've melted the ice cream on contact. "You're talented, amazing, and brave. Why wouldn't I?"

Marinette had experienced flirting before, but only under a mask. Even beyond Chat, there were a few people she'd saved who couldn't help but get a word in about how pretty she was or how awesome it was that she'd thrown the akuma into a web she'd fashioned out of her yoyo.

This was different though. He wasn't saying it to charm her, or gush about strength and dexterity she could only achieve after being powered up. He was just saying how he honestly felt without an ounce of exaggeration.

Shy, she attempted to take a bit more ice cream to give herself time to respond, but a bit turned to a lot when she mistakenly scooped too much. Trying not to laugh, she bit her bottom lip, almost in awe by how things had turned around after just a bit of introspection. She hadn't even realized how much was weighing her down until she let it all go.

"...Luka," she dared to call, throwing caution to the wind. When their gazes met, she held the spoon out to him encouragingly.

His lips parted for a moment - the first sign of throwing him off she'd gotten today - but like a puppy being offered a treat, he obediently leaned over and opened his mouth further to clamp down on the ice cream.

It did actually feel a little magic, but she was certain that it wasn't the legend's doing.

——

——

Marinette walked into her kitchen, letting her long hair down as she prepared to relax for the day. It was still strange getting used to having her own house, but not unwelcome, and one of the biggest pluses was that she didn't have to dig through her parents' weird dessert tastes in the freezer to get to what she wanted.

Pulling out two containers of ice cream at random - welcoming a little chaos in mixing the flavors - she set them on the counter and took out two bowls as well. Scooping an appropriate amount of the two flavors into them ("appropriate" for a lazy day anyway), she added one spoon in each before putting the containers back and taking the bowls out to the living room.

Luka, her boyfriend of almost five years, was skimming through a selection of movies on the couch to decide what they should watch. At the first sight of her though, he stopped, setting them down and welcoming her close.

She set her bowl down on the table, holding the other out to him and taking the time to give him a kiss on the forehead. He responded by pulling her down to kiss her chin, never one to leave a smooch unreturned.

Pulling back, she took in the sight of him holding ice cream and giggled. Unapologetically, she stated, "I guess that ice cream legend was right after all. You've already been stuck with me for years."

Luka raised a brow at her and smirked, catching the joke instantly. He held his arm out, allowing her to plop down next to him and snuggle against his side. "Mm, maybe I should've listened to you back then." Their lips met in a kiss as he blindly reached for the spoon in his bowl, scooping up some ice cream with it. "But you know what I said."

Marinette nodded, tucking her hair behind her earring-less ears before accepting the bite he fed her. "Mhm~" She took her time to savor the taste before swallowing, smiling contentedly as she responded, "I didn't mind being tied to you either."

[lildrabbles]

Chapter 4: Make Yourself At Home

2007! Raphael x Female! Reader

Summary: The next day, you both learn some new things about eachother.

Warnings: Swearing, a bit of blood, raph is a snoopy brat

You woke up quite early the next morning to get ready for work. Your boss had changed your shift to a more earlier time. At first, you almost forgot about the humanoid turtle sleeping on your couch until you walked out into the living room to find him on his back with his forearm thrown across his eyes.

You tilted your head as you now realised he had another bandage on his arm that you didn't wrap on him.

Weird.

To be completely honest, you were surprised he was still here. But I mean, he did get shot, so it would make sense if he was tired.

You quietly walked over to your kitchen area, grabbing a bowl of cereal and the milk. When you had made up your bowl, you just leaned against the counter eating it.

You heard groaning from behind you, and you turned your head to see the turtle shuffling while he blinked his eyes open.

He tried to sit up then huffed and fell back down onto the couch. He glanced over at you with a dirty look.

"What fckin time is it?" He grumbled.

You looked at your phone. "Currently, it is 7:00." You stayed quiet for a moment, before adding, "in the morning."

He rolled his eyes, huffing as he looked back up at the ceiling.

You put down your finished cereal, before tapping your fingers on the countertop.

"Uh... I should thank you I guess. So... Thank you. For helping me last night, I mean... I never got your name." He said in a gruff voice.

"I'm Y/N.. and you're welcome. I couldn't just NOT help you, especially after you saved me."

He looked up at you questioningly, before his eyes widened a little. "Oh right, you're that girl from the store, arentcha?"

You smiled a little and nodded. "The one and only."

He let out a small laugh, before winching in pain. "And yours?" You asked.

"Hm? Oh, uh, the name's Raphael. But you can just call me Raph I guess."

You nodded, before looking out the window.

He looked up at you with furrowed brows (even though he doesn't have them.) "How can I trust you to not tell anyone about this?"

You tilted your head, before realising what he meant. "Oh, that your a.. a...."

Raph scoffed. "Just say it, a mutant humanoid turtle, an abomination." He said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.

You frowned. "I wouldn't call you an abomination, if anything it's really cool! Well, once you get over the fact that you actually exist… But I won’t tell anyone. I promise." You said with determination.

He rolled his eyes. He sighed, before slowly sitting up. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain, but this time managed to actually sit up.

"Are you hungry?" You asked gently, straightening yourself a bit.

Raph thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, if you don't mind.." He said begrudgingly. It seemed like he was having a hard time being nice and not making rude comments.

"No of course not! What do you want?"

He struggled for a minute, before standing up. Raph was a little wobbly on his legs, but he managed to walk over despite the small limp in his walk. He looked around your counter, before he spotted the cereal box that you just had for breakfast. It was Cornpops.

"It okay if I have those?" He asked, leaning onto the counter for support.

You smiled and nodded, grabbing it and pushing it over to Raph, also giving him milk, a spoon, and a bowl. Once he got everything together, he dug in like he hadn't eaten in days.

You pulled a chair over for him too so he wasn't standing. He muttered out a thanks before digging right back in.

You leaned against the counter and watched him eat. The way his strange, thick, three digits held the spoon and the bowl; the way his amber eyes stayed glued to the bowl; the way he was taking slow, even breaths despite the fast eating; and finally his overall form.

He was a mutated turtle for god's sake!

"Yer staring." Raph said bluntly, not looking up at you.

You blushed out of embarrassment. "S-sorry..." You looked down at your hands.

He shrugged. " 'Ts fine, used to it."

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, it's just something I've never seen..."

He sighed. "I get it. It's just it's hard being different sometimes..." he trailed off before shaking his head. "I don't blame ya for being curious about a weird mutated turtle that lives in the sewers."

"You live in the sewers?" You tilted your head.

"Shit,  uh... You never heard that." He said before quickly changing the subject. "Where do I put this?" Raph asked, pointing to the now empty bowl.

You smiled a little, walking over and taking his bowl. You then turned to him.

"Ok, so I have to go to work today, so you're gonna have to stay by yourself for a couple hours."

"I ain't staying anywhere, I'm going back home." He said before standing up.

"Uh, no, you're still hurt. You need rest." You said frowning.

"Uh, no, I'm fine. My brother's are probably worried as fck. Well, 2 of them at least..." Raph mumbled the last bit. You rolled your eyes before taking his leathery but somewhat soft hand and leading him back to the couch.

His face erupts into a tint of pink, not expecting you to grab his hand. He shook it off though before you turned around to face him. You gently sat him onto the couch.

What was wrong with him? He never usually lets people tell him what to do. What changed with you? You're just some girl that helped out of kindness, and a girl that he so happened to had helped out too.

His thoughts were interrupted by you talking. "So there's more of you? Are your brother's turtles too?"

"Uh..." Raph hesitated to answer.

"Doesn't matter, we can talk about it later. I have to get going otherwise I'll get in a lot of trouble... and don't go anywhere! Make yourself at home. See you later," You smiled warmly before grabbing your things, and heading out the door.

He stared at the door for a couple minutes after you left, before sighing. He contemplated staying or going.

Donnie, Mikey and Splinter must be worried sick, but... it couldn't hurt to stay until you got back.

He slumped against the couch, before catching a glimpse of your remote. He leaned forward, and turned on the tv. He flicked through the channels for a couple minutes until he landed on the News channel. It was a report about the bastard who shot him.

Apparently they still hadn't found him, but had taken in Raph’s bike they found for investigation. Raph scoffed. At least he had nothing tied to him and his family on that old thing.

He eventually got bored and turned the tv off, then stood up. He balanced himself, before walking around the apartment.  Raph walked around the kitchen, looking in cupboards for snacks. He hesitated, but shrugged it off before taking a couple oreos. It's not like you would notice.

He munched on those while walking around, before deciding to walk down the hallway. He didn't want to be nosey, but he couldn't help himself. He opened a couple doors, not bothering to look in since they were just closets.

When he came across what looked like your room, he scanned it. Your (favourite colour) bed shuffled into the corner with posters of all your favourite movies and shows on the wall, a desk littered with some drawings and a bunch of pencil crayons.

He took a step in, but hesitated. This was probably too far. This is her private space, he shouldn't -

His thoughts were interrupted when he caught a glimpse of one particular drawing. Ignoring all of the voices urging him to leave, he walked towards the desk, looking down at the drawing pad.

It was a sketch, briefly coloured, of his Nightwatcher costume. He smirked a little.

"Little brat drew my suit did she?" Raph muttered to no one in particular.

He made note to tease her about it later cuz he's an @$$.

He wandered out of the room, forgetting to close the door behind him. He looked at the end of the hall, there was one more door. When he opened it, he was met with a slightly messy, cream coloured bathroom. It had a cosy aura in there.

Raph scanned around the room. He found small strands of hair here and there but shrugged it off. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and sighed. He looked horrible. He had eyebags, his skin a slightly more pale green than it usually is, and there was blood soaking through on both bandages.

He decided to change the gauze, winching a bit in pain but managing. It wasn't his first rodeo - changing bandages I mean, not getting shot, that was a first. When he finished, he placed the kit on the counter for easy access.

His eyes landed on a welcoming bathtub.

Well, you did say make himself at home, and his aching muscles were killing him. So Raph decided to run a bath. He sat on the edge of the tub and turned the water on, putting the plug in. He just wanted to soak for a bit, that's all.

He smiled when he remembered that up here above the sewers they have hot water, meaning he could have a hot bath. He never really had a hot bath because they didn't have hot water down in the sewers. So, making it a nice, warm temperature, he waited for it to fill up.

While Raph waited, he stood up, taking off his belt and everything else so they wouldn't get wet. Finally he took his bandana off. Not that he intended to put his head in, but just to be safe.

When the tub had gotten full enough, he turned the taps off, before carefully stepping in. Raph let out a groan of relief as the hot water encased his body, welcoming him in. He made sure his bandages didn't get wet but was in a comfy position.

He sighed, looking down at his submerged body. He could get used to this.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not bothering my sibling about money? So bit of background- when my sibling (I'll call them B) and I moved in together we split up who would be paying what bills (and then we would pay each other our half). It ended up being that since I at the time had the better paying job, I would pay rent and when we went grocery shopping together, and B would handle the utility bills like internet/water/gas/ect. Now even though our rent doesn't change, B won't pay me their half unless I write the amount up on the kitchen whiteboard alongside where I write what they owe for groceries. Which, okay, it is the agreed upon system and isn't too much more of a hassle besides the fact that they usually end up paying late but that is a different issue.

The problem comes in when it comes to letting me know how much I owe for my half of the utilities. I have had in the past to pester them frequently about letting me know how much the bills were, and often I can tell from the amount that they didn't include the internet. Which gets billed at a different time in the month and thus requires a bit more work on their part apparently to find the amount and add it in. B's response to this in the past was "Oh, just pay me what you did before for that" which a) umm, previously it was lumped into the general utilities amount so I don't have a specific record of how much and b) our internet bill does actually differ some months soo....

Present day: B has a job that while doesn't pay great is enough to live on, while I currently am unemployed due to health issues so am trying to manage living off savings. Trying to juggle everything going on right now has me generally pretty low on spoons so the thought of trying to find out what I owe B for all the utilities and the couple times we order delivery through their account, only for them to get mad at me for bothering them, is too much at times. Plus admittedly, it really helps me if I have to pay less towards food/utilities so not exactly motivation there.

So, AITA for only paying B specifically what they let me know I owe, even when I know it isn't the whole amount but they can't be bothered to add it up?

What are these acronyms?

[nightswithkookmin]

Hey Goldy

Hope u are doing good cos i am not atall. When JK said Be happy even without us and cried on Live. He Literally cried infront of millions of people. Why did it felt like a Good Bye ? My heart is broken. I am sad. I have never thought about being happy without BTS in my life. I know this day will come when Army will have to learn to live and be happy without BTS but not now not anytime soon. I am not ready but what JK did in that Live has left sadness in my heart. I am happy about Set me free pt 2 teaser and been streaming it. Its going to be Legendry. I am excited for Jimin album but my damn mind keeps thinking of JK and his face with tears rolling down is bothering me. I dont know whats going on with him but i am praying to God that it was just Alcohol and nothing more.

I was bopping my head and sobbing along till I read goodbye

Ma'am step away from the light I will not lose you

Saying goodbye to WHOMST???

Not me cos he and I are not done

We have JJK1 to promote, stream and get to number one.

Goodbye, chileee I will move into his basement and ship him from there. now both he and I are uncomfortable staring at eachother cos my fat ass didn't fit under his bed.

Jungkook is not going anywhere hajima😫

Like you said, he switched on live television to cry in front of millions of people. If he had somewhere else to go with his angsty ass he wouldn't be here doing al that 🥴

Imagine being his 'girlfriend' and seeing him shed tears and cry himself to sleep drunk in front of million strangers when he could have come to you and cried and be vulnerable with you so you console him

When I think about all the times Jimin said I was talking with Jungkook, caressing our phones, crying, talking about how I want to be with the members for a very long time- these people have girlfriends my ass

Tae can't relate

I was expecting this around covid and around the time they announced their Solo careers. Seems he didn't give himself time to take it all in and deal and now it's hitting him hard🥴

I think it's good he is processing pent up emotions and externalizing certain thoughts. There are so many things I want to address from that video but will save it for another blog.

He is at the height of his career and he knows it. He's gonna process that somehow, the doubt the uncertainty, the fear, I just hope it doesn't paralyze him. Suga went through a similar phase as did Namjoon. Every artist goes through this.

People think it's easy to step out of the shadows of a big band as BTS and just catapult into the lime light- they should as Zayne Malik💀

As RM said, it's just too many voices telling you you are no good without your bandmates, too many people tearing your self Esteem apart, telling you you will fail, suddenly you are doubting if that song you made is good, wondering if you will become successful etc

For Jungkook I heard him saying all these, raising all these questions and curiosity about a solo career even before they announced it. I don't think it's easy for him. There's a lot of expectations and pressure to excel. Poor thing.

I really wish Jimin was free and had time to cuddle him. He just needs to be spooned. He will be fine 🙂

I think sometimes they don't realize the effect their tears have on us. Especially when they're crying and being sentimental and ominous about your career😫

I don't think it's just the alcohol. There's something going on with him. But i think he will be fine. the fact Namjoon told him to be quick and release his album means he has something in the works which is good. I don't want to analyze him too much cos it will take me away from Jimin.

We love him and I'm sure he feels the love.

The best we can do is support him and assure him we will be here for him whenever he needs us.

I feel Jimin is competing with a lot of people for army's attention. I love the competition but it's becoming ridiculous.

Let's stay focused. Let's learn to prioritize.

When we are done with Face, we have all the time in the world to discuss Jungkook's moody phase.

I want to hug you and tell you everything will be fine

Here's something to cheer you up

If that don't do it try this🥵

In a few days he's gonna be dropping an MV that's gonna keep all the girlies active 🥺

That still doesn't cheer you up? Crazy😩

Fine. I'll post a full analysis soon😓

[grimalkinmessor]

afofa for ask game???

But of course! :D

when I started shipping it if I did: My first go around with BNHA, actually! Before season five was even out. I read ahead in the manga and came to the scene of Yoichi and AFO in the vault with Midoriya watching on, and my brain immediately lit up like "OH SO IT'S LIKE THAT" lmao. I looked for content then, but of course, there was none, so it wasn't until I got back into BNHA a few years ago that I looked for AFOFA content and actually found it! Was more than a little surprised to find more gen content for them than shipping content, but that just gave me a new dessert for them :3 Have my cake and some pie too ✨

my thoughts: It's all just feral incoherence up here babe. Just a loud whirlwind of AJSVSKXBDJFL REDGREEN OBSESSEDVAULT NEVERAPART POWERLESSPOWER LOVEHATE INEVITABLETRAGEDY ITWASALWAYSGOINGTOENDLIKETHIS ILOVEYOUBUTITISNTENOUGH BRUTUSCAESAR ABLECAIN REMUSROMULUS ILLKILLYOUIMYOURS HEARTBORNAPARTFROMTHEBODY in my brain 24/7 365 :D

What makes me happy about them: The sheer amount of dark soulmate vibes we get from them in canon. AFO is literally Cronus coded, Yoichi is his Rhea. Yoichi is his everything—and hasn't all All For One's ever wanted and fought for been everything? 💖

What makes me sad about them: What they could've been 🥹 The fact that they both loved each other so deeply but their respective hearts and ideals are so at odds that it would never work in any universe where they're unequally yolked; and they almost always are. The fact that had they grown up in kinder circumstances the likely wouldn't have fought at all. It would've been just them, together, as they should've been from the start. Without all the blood between them. "It could've been the kindest power in the world."

things done in fanfic that annoys me: When they infantilize Yoichi 😮‍💨 Like he's definitely Babygirl™ but he's also a grown man. Being sickly and weaker than he's brother doesn't make him inherently stupider or less capable than AFO, and it definitely doesn't make him childish. I don't even like it when All For One is the one doing it—he absolutely sees his brother as naive and in need of protection but I don't think he'd ACTUALLY see him as a child, or even WANT him to be one. Idk it just skeeves me out, it's not how I see their relationship dynamic ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

things I look for in fanfic: Yoichi characterization!! :D AFO has always been pretty straightforward, so I do look for unhinged loving obsession and all-encompassing need and desire from him, but fics that dive into Yoichi's psyche are some of the most interesting to me :) I like him to be capable and cunning—it just doesn't matter how smart or strong he is against the overwhelming power of his brother 💕 Shoot his ass and watch him laugh ✨

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: As you all know, I'm an avid shipper of any form of Ichiniisan, so I like Yoichi with Kudo and Bruce THIRD in any sort of way I can get them. As for All For One....well, he always takes whatever he wants, and I can see him with several people solely in a sexual sense. For romance however, I only see him loving Yoichi—with special Fondness™ priveleges for Yagi and Inko depending on the universe and circumstances.

my happily ever after for them: In my fic Like This You Keep Them Alive, I have them as lingering ghosts of their respective Quirks, and they can freely go back and forth between their holders (Izuku and Tomura) as much as they please. In the afterlife, everything is swept aside. There is no more power imbalance. There is no world to take over or save. They're able to just,,,,exist together, without anything between them anymore. They play games together and talk about things they haven't in ages and are basically all over each other all the time. I think that's gonna be my favorite ending for them :3

who is the big spoon/little spoon: All For One is big spoon. That man is over seven feet tall, Yoichi barely hits six-foot exactly. All For One big spoon 👁️👁️ He likes to cling.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Cuddling. Cuddling and talking, actually. Because I've got AFO's love language down as physical touch followed quickly by words and Yoichi's love language as words of affirmation followed quickly by physical touch, so sitting curled around each other in front of a warm fire like snakes while they whisper things back and forth would be their biggest nonsexual passtime together. Though sometimes Yoichi does like to badger his brother into dancing with him—mostly so Yoichi can stand on his feet and AFO can float them both into the air. It always make him super giddy 🥰 ....At least until they get to the point where AFO's arms begin to feel more like chains than shields.

[hearts4robs]

Ahh thank you! I love match-ups! Can I ask for a Marauders Era male match pls

General info: Female. 24. Asexual. Irish. Brunette.Blue eyes.152cm. No piercings. No tattoos (although I'm half reluctantly saving for a big one to cover my thigh because I'd rather see some cool artwork than the stupid scars that I made 🙃)

Fav tropes: Angst. Bffs to lovers. Idiots in love. Secretly pining. Hurt/comfort. Misunderstandings.

Ideal type: A fictional man lol

Personality: INFJ. Reserved. Reclusive to an extent and I'm not sure if that's just my nature or if it's cuz of the former years of mental illness just socially stunted me 🙃 or smth. Optimist by choice (negativity comes natural to me so I always make myself look to the bright side of situations and people). Turn the other cheek is my motto in fact I am rather a pushover and find it very hard to say no to people. Will take the path of least resistance and do my best to keep the peace. Often become the mediator of family/friend disagreements. I love fall/winter, November is my fav month and I'm legit sad that it won't be back again for a whole year :( Hobbies include listening to music (love all music but the blues hit the best), embroidery, attempting to make my own clothes but its difficult, evening walks alone, reading (mostly Agatha Christie, Donna Tartt and H.G Wells, I love gothic fiction), watching TV, reading fics on Tumblr, shopping. I'm a tea drinker because caffeine doesn't mix well with me it amps up the heebie jeebies, plus spearmint tea is quite soothing

Ideal date: a casual comfortable tea date. Or getting take out drinks from a cafe and visiting the flea market or vintage stores and just wandering about. If its not a first date then movie or boardgame night. Or a like a book club date where just the two of you swap copies of your fav books all highlighted and annotated and talk about it. The best date ever would be a day trip on the British Pullman, authentic 1920s train carriage, everyone formally dressed in vintage attire, multiple course meal while journeying through the English countryside in a private carriage, then visiting the Canterbury Christmas Carols or old castle ruins or Oxford, bonus points if the trip is in November

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧: 𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬

“Babe,” you say, unwrapping the crackling paper around the cinnamon roll in your hand. “Did you know that the Americans heat up their tea water in their microwave?”

Remus’ eyes flicker to your face, then back to the mugs in front of him while he stirred the tea spoon around.

“You’re kidding?” Remus mutters, eyebrows knitted together as he taps the spoon on the edge of the mug, making sure it doesn’t drip on the carpet as he put it down on a napkin.

“I’m not kidding, I saw it once.” You insist before taking a bite of the cinnamon roll. “I swear!” You continue, mouth now full of tasty, spongy cinnamon roll.

“Fucking American’s.” Remus mutters in disapproval, fighting a smile as he sips his tea, leaning back against the foot of his bed.

You snort out a chuckle as you grab the mug Remus had prepared for you, washing down the tasty dessert with tea. “Ye don’t say.”

Headcanons:

Remus has a small embroidery kit in his bag, just in case you get bored or need a distraction from anything.

On the first date, Remus took you with him to a book shop in mid November. You shared a scarf, a thermal mug filled with tea and browsed books for hours. Now it’s a monthly thing. (Happens at least twice in November, just because he knows about you and November).

Remus asked James for relationship advice at first and it set back the relationship by a fucking month because Remus didn’t know how to execute whatever James wanted him to do.

Remus gets really dry lips in the winter, and when you insisted on buying him vaseline, he felt so offended he got all sassy about it.

I promise i don’t hate Americans, I just don’t get why you guys don’t just use a kettle?😭🙏

[archangelsunited]

Hi AUfriend <3

Excuse me marching in here unannounced. I sent some asks to Mareena and Para, and well, I thought that perhaps you might also like these questions. (Feel free to do it in your own time or ignore as spoons allow. <3)

I know we love to talk about breaking the rules in writing and obviously, that not every piece of advice is one-size-fits all, but there is a lot to say about being able to speak with each other about what we have learned during our journey. I was wondering if you wouldn't share. (I also plan on poking some of the others to see what more we can shake out. The more the merrier, no?)

What is the most useful/helpful pieces of advice you ever received during your education in relation to writing?

Once you started to write, what was the most important thing that you learned about writing or its process?

Has your real life had any influence on your writing? If so, how?

What advice would you give to aspiring writers (be it fanfiction or original)?

I would, in fact, like these questions. Give me all the questions. I broke my own advice and deleted a paragraph of this and started over. Then I left and came back a few hours later.

1.) The most useful advice?

Your job is to tell a story. (Stop trying to push multiple things in a narrative, stop trying to impress people, stop wondering what the audience wants, you have one goal- anything extra is extra.) Motivation will not support you, but discipline will. (I wrote everyday, two days off a week. I did this for a year. That year has given me more stamina in terms of writing than any amount of inspiration ever has. Its the reason some stories can exist at all.) The job of a first draft is to exist. (It can't be good until its bad, it can't be bad if it doesn't exist.)

2.) Once you started to write, what was the most important thing you learned?

<Trying to remember when I started writing> Start small? I started a lot of big projects before I got comfortable doing small projects, and that hurt me in the long run, I think. It isn't a lack of discipline or ability on your part, don't get offended. Its just, small things are a huge confidence builder. I have so many unfinished works on my laptop, that it made me feel like a failure. Having several small completed works helped me have the confidence and know-how to look at a big project and go "no big deal." Also, contrary to popular belief, people do actually like small bits of fanfiction, gen fanfiction even. Short stories do have a market. Those small prompts are really helpful in boosting confidence and practicing in a non-stressful environment. Also, it helps work maintain an even amount of skill. My skills at the beginning of a story are much better than at my endings.

Technical stuff: Warming up will save me time and stress.. I can spend two hours looking at a blank screen or I can spend five minutes on typing exercises and ten minutes free writing. Sitting at a desk is more productive and better than sitting on my bed. I need to have some sort of caffeine and or water next to me. Walking beforehand eases out the jitters. I do better when I am not posting everytime I hit 1 or 5k.

Brand new information: Having a group of writers talking to you and encouraging you about your project makes writing a LOT easier. They give me a positive word and suddenly things start getting accomplished. Its magical. Being dependent on other people for motivation is not healthy, but it IS normal to need affirmation- my mind thinks of it as a really good dose of speed.

3.) Has your real life had any influence on your writing?

I had two immediate responses to this. One was, "I hope so" the other was "Damn, I hope not." A few things that have probably gotten into my writing: 1.) My relationship with disability 2.) Sometimes people have to live in unhealthy and uncomfortable situations. They live and their lives are still WORTH living, even if things aren't perfect. 3.) Sometimes life changes directions completely and you aren't you you thought you would be by the end. 4.) Some of my favorite fic authors 5.) My family history

There is also a Screwtape Letter's quote that really put my writing into perspective, or really any skilled labor. It eases a lot of insecurity, if this is what I am striving towards. > “The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another. The Enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour's talents--or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall.”

4.) What advice would I give?

You have to let yourself suck. You have to let it be bad. You get good by being bad. Writing is an imperfect craft, and if you spend your time trying be perfect- its just going to add a layer of misery to what should be a joy. My friends and family have to drag me away from writing these days. I get irritable if I don't write, because the last little thing that was keeping me from writing- what was filling me with dread- was that need for perfection.

Stop hiding your work. You have nothing to be ashamed of.

Do your time letting yourself work through it feeling like a chore. That is a normal part of the journey, feeling like each word is coming at a crawl and "I have no idea why I do this" and "This isn't good." I would compare it to doing scales or running laps. Its hard, repetitive, useless work- but after you've built up the skill and endurance, you can focus on the story you are writing- not if you can do it at all.

[some-creep]

Hi I stole this idea and was too lazy to make new pictures teehee

The details of the complex inner workings of my mind below

Callie signs her name with a heart, Marie is too lazy to finish signing her name it just trails off to nothing.

I don't have specific heights in mind just that Marie is taller (Callie is wearing platform shoes in 3 sorry it's a fact). Also in fable the range skills make you tall and the strength skills make you buff so charger/roller get that too. Simple.

They r the same age. Unless it's funny. Aka one of them being like when I was your age then they explain what they did a week/month/whatever ago.

Not girl, hashtag girl. Callie also isn't picky about who she's with.

Marie was very Girl when she was working as an idol but she's free now. Also she only likes Callie because mental illness.

Callie decides who gets to be the big spoon sometimes it's her sometimes she wants to be held, Marie doesn't really have a preference tho.

Callie steals clothes and loses them, she has that vibe. She has So Many and still takes Marie's. Marie doesn't necessarily want to lend them but Callie will just take them anyway.

Marie isn't a pet name kinda squid... She'll use Cal but that's just a nickname. Callie loves pet names because they embarrass Marie.

Yeah yeah introverted extroverted we know this one.

Callie loves to say I love you and all of that. Marie isn't very good at expressing her emotions thru words but she does things to show she cares.

Callie isn't waiting for a confession because she doesn't necessarily know one is coming. Marie however will eventually breakdown and say it and think Callie will hate her and think she's gross but that doesn't happen.

Marie doesn't like bugs but she has to be brave 😔

Callie splantoon cuttlefish canonically cannot drive. At least, she couldn't before. I just assume she hasn't had time to learn since. Marie doesn't like to drive but she will.

Callie can't cook but would be happy eating candy and junk food. Marie can cook, hypothetically, but usually doesn't because. Y'know. The depression

Marie gets nervous about Callie being publicly affectionate because what if someone sees and gets suspicious. Even in a it's ok no one cares world I think she'd still get embarrassed and just not want people talking about it (everyone totally does). Callie loves affection any time any where.

:) Marie will disappear you if you're bad to Callie. She was always protective but after 2 she maybe went a little. Hmm. Callie is afraid of being alone so she ends up being over protective about Marie at times, too, but more. Normally.

Callie loves dates and going out and casual relationships and meeting new people. Marie misses when she had the idol excuse as to why she doesn't date. She feels intensely inferior because Callie HAS been with people with experience, so what if Callie is just humouring her? She isn't as good as the other people. Callie could be with anyone...

Listen. I think Callie has an insanely high sex drive. So much so Marie has given her permission to just "do whatever" even when she's asleep. Callie wants her to return the favor but Marie isn't as into it. Guilt tends to override any arousal, then inferiority, then general depression, then if she ever gets on meds?? Man. :/

Callie is awkward but she doesn't realize it. She says or does weird things and doesn't realize other people think it's awkward. Marie said she could smell that Callie was around. Girl get help <3

Marie is so jealous :( Callie is regular jealous but Marie if left unchecked could be abusive about it. Not letting Callie go out or getting real passive aggressive like "wow why did I even save you if you never want to be home with me? No it's fine go, you don't care about me anyway"

[chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter]

[personal vent with some sprinkles of tr]

Today I feel emotionally exhausted. Completly drained. But not physically, with doesn't help because my body have too much energy for just laying down and be sad.

But I can't stop crying for everything and anything at the same time. And I know the sadness, the pain, the tears, are real. I know it bc I feel it. But at the same time I feel like nothing happened to me to be like this, like I don't have a 'real reason', that I'm not allowed to be this exhausted when from the outside it looks like I did nothing.

(And I know that's not true, I know I was burn out from the managements I had to do for having internet back, I know it scares me having an uknown man in my home, even if the internet technician was really nice and kind with my dog, what relaxed me bc if my traumatized dog doesn't feel danger and it someone treats him so good, that means everything is safe. And I know the day before I had a job interview and I had to go to the center what makes me be activated as fuck and my anxiety goes high being inside such a crowded small space like the metro. I know that all this things are a lot for me, I know it but if I don't write it is too easy to forget)

(And I also know that I'm finally talking about things in theraphy that broke me just too mention, I know there are real and valid reasons for be like this, I know I should be proud of myself. But I hate that the past can still hurt me, I hate how weak it makes me feel. Even if I know the fact that I'm finally open this box means I did a lot of progress with myself for getting here. But suddenly the old fears are screaming again and it seems like all the work I did for accepting my own vulnerability and not be terrified of feeling old pains just disappeared. And it sucks so much and only makes me be harder on myself)

Weirdly, if this was like my usual burnouts were I just don't have more spoons or an emotional flashback were I need time to feel safe it would be easy to manage. I would be more compasionate with myself, I'll know what to say to my intrusive thoughts.

But is not that. I'm emotionally exhausted to pretend to be strong, to be fine, to not be broke, to not be fighting with my mind constantly bc I wanna be better, I wanna get better, I can't slip into the same coping mechanisms again (even if it feels so easy to do it).

And I just feel like a kid, starting to cry again and again without "reasons". I just feel like a kid that doesn't want to be this weak, that wants to smile and to not make everyone worried bc it's fine, I'm fine, I'm strong, I'm resilient, of course I'll stand up again, ofc the past is not going to drown me, I'm strong and strong people...

Strong people cry.

Strong people are able to admit that they are scared and want to run away.

Strong people fail. And fail again.

Strong people have a lot of flaws and do a lot of mistakes.

Strong people allow themselves to feel the pain, the sadness, the fear.

They broke. Again. And again. Because they admit when something hurts them, they don't deny the pain, don't pretend to be unharmed.

And after that, they try again. Because they never give up. But they ask for help, the show weakness, they show their tears, they show they are vulnerable.

Because maybe being able to be vulnerable is what real strenght mean.

(and yes, I chose this image on purpose because the contrast with this empty Mikey and Takemichi is so huge, Mikey isolating himself on the top, never breaking until he can't take it anymore... I see myself so much in Mikey and it hurts, but it's also a good reminder of how much I need to remember the lessons that Michi showed us)

And I don't know if any of what I just said makes sense or if it's just me rambling around and remembering to myself what ment for Mikey being so strong and so unbreakable and how Takemitchy being openly vulnerable and showing his feelings to the whole world, saved him. Saved us.

Because Takemitchy saved me too and he does it again every time I'm about to not allow myself to cry and go to the old-repress-and-denial.

So yeah, thanks our crybaby hero. I needed you so much and even if I don't say talk about you enough, I love you a lot 💜

[owl127]

Roommates (M)

Updating Clexa chapter! Read on Ao3.

Tags: Alpha!Lexa, Omega!Clarke, roommates;

Rated (M)

"I just saved your ass, Griff."

"What do you mean?"

"You can stay in your apartment. I found you a roommate."

"Really? Thank you, O! I owe you big time!"

"Just don’t fuck it up, okay? She’s my personal trainer, and she’s nice."

"Thanks, O!"

00000

"You should have warned me, O."

"She’s my personal trainer and ex-military. Weren’t those warnings enough?"

"Octavia!"

"Can’t you keep your legs closed for a hot alpha, Griff?"

"You know I’m not like that! She’s … she’s polite… stop laughing."

"Don't fuck it up. You need a roommate until next year."

"You should have warned me."

"Just … don’t show your true self right away. Take it in slow doses."

"I’m flipping the bird at you right now."

"Love you too."

00000

Clarke almost falls asleep watching the monotonous stir of her coffee. Her spoon clicks on the floor when she tries to throw it in the sink, and she doesn’t bother to catch it when a jaw breaking yawn hits. 

Why is she up before 8 a.m. again?

"‘Morning, Clarke," Lexa says as she joins Clarke by the kitchen counter. Lexa fixes cereal and orange juice for her breakfast, and Clarke pretends she’s still watching her coffee and not her roommate. Her sexy, beautiful, and morning person roomate. Lexa smiles her goodbyes and adjusts her shirt inside her pants before leaving for work.  

And that’s why Clarke wakes up before 8 a.m. nowadays.

00000

Raindrops hit the windows with loud splashes, singing a staccato rhythm on the glass. Days like this have a tendency to screw up plans and make people stop and think why they had plans in the first place. It’s a break from real life, full of cozy pillows, blankets, and procrastinated responsibilities.

Clarke nudges closer to her friend, her socked feet pulling the blankets up to herself until Raven pulls it back. 

"Get your own blanket," Raven murmurs without real heat, passing the popcorn over to Clarke as a show plays on the living room TV. 

"But I like your body heat," Clarke whines, mouth full of popcorn.

Raven looks at her longtime friend, one sculpted eyebrow up. "You must have it bad, then."

Clarke’s next whine is long and resentful, carrying the weight of weeks of denial. "You have no idea, Reyes. She’s obscenely gorgeous, and I can’t even start to describe her butt." Clarke buries herself under the blanket, muffling a string of profanities in frustration.

"Damn, are you in heat?"

Clarke cries out her denial from under the blanket, a suppressed sob accompanying it. 

"So you have it really bad."

Clarke nods, and Raven watches with a smirk as the blob under the blankets moves in agreement.

The apartment door bursts open right then, a shrill following what sounds almost like a neigh. Soaked sneakers pad the floor, and, with a grunt, a wet shirt falls heavily into a puddle next to the door. 

When Lexa finally looks up, a new gasp echoes in the room along with the rain. Lexa has the decency to clear her throat before another embarrassing sound comes out. "I didn’t know you would be home. I thought…" She isn’t sure she should cover her tank top, but she doesn't care as a shiver runs down her spine. Her long hair falls damp on her back and shoulders; her hairband was lost in the rain long ago. 

"Hi, I’m Raven." Raven smiles at Lexa from her spot on the couch, since Clarke is frozen and incapable of coherency since Lexa took off her shirt. The fact that the omega still has the pink blanket around her head is one of the reasons color rises to Lexa’s cheek. 

"Nice to meet you, Raven," Lexa says as politely as she can muster, freezing and shirtless. "I should…" She points to the hallway bathroom, and Raven nods.

"Yeah, we’ll brew some tea. You might need it!" Raven calls back, and Lexa smiles with blue lips before closing the bathroom door.

"Holy shit," Raven breathes and falls back on the sofa. 

Clarke is still frozen.

"Did you see those abs?"

Clarke nods; that’s the most she can do. Raven laughs quietly. "You’re so fucked, Griffin." Clarke’s throat is dry and raspy, and it vibrates in need as the first words scratch free since Lexa came in.

"I wish."

00000

Tea becomes a ritual. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or if any of them is soaked; Clarke brews a pot right before Lexa comes home, and they share stories about their days, dreams, and mistakes. 

Lexa is much more than toned abs and a godly carved jaw, Clarke learns. She learns of her time in the military, the shadow that covers her face each time she mentions her comrades, and how she used to play hockey in college. She tries to memorize all the freckles that blossom on Lexa’s face in summer and listen eagerly to the legends behind the tribal tattoos on her arms and back. 

Clarke opens herself in ways reserved for a type of friend she doesn’t make anymore, and watches Lexa’s face when she talks about her dream to live off her art. She doesn’t find pity, only curiosity, and it lights a warm flame inside her chest. Lexa’s eyes shine with true wonder when Clarke shows her canvases stocked away in her room, and one of the paintings ends up on Lexa’s bedroom wall. 

On another rainy day, Lexa shows Clarke her old uniform, battered and safe in a box that smells like pain. 

It’s a cold autumn night when Clarke shows Lexa a diploma she never used, dusted and filled with memories of her late father. 

She can’t pinpoint when it happened, but it isn’t a crush anymore. 

And losing her apartment is the least of her worries. 

000000

There are good and bad days. Until then, today was a bad one for Lexa. Her leg had been throbbing since the morning's chilly air welcomed her out of the apartment, and paperwork piled endlessly on her desk throughout her shift. One of the students canceled at the gym, and she found herself earlier at home.

The walk back doesn’t warn her. The way birds shrink away in the evening breeze doesn’t tell her to be careful or prepare herself. Though that is what happens on the days that everything changes: they are untamed, and there is no warning.

Lexa’s keys jingle and scratch their apartment door, and she swears to herself to oil it this weekend. She opened the door with her shoulder, stretching her bad leg as she gives herself a moment on the living room couch.

That’s when she hears it.

At first, it’s not a call, not a plea, but a simple, desperate cry. Lexa’s ears grow hot, and she stumbles to be on her feet, brows furrowing under memories of people calling her name in their last breath. 

But it is her name: clear and needy, breathless and scared. She doesn’t think. She acts on instinct, protection soaring through her as she pounds on Clarke’s door.

"Clarke?" she reasons in the last moment before kicking the door down. "What’s wrong? Do you need any help?"

The gasps of Lexa’s name turn into a loud crash and a sequence of profanities, and Lexa bangs the bedroom door again. "Clarke?" More curses flow from the bedroom, and Lexa knocks on the wood with a heavy hand. "Clarke, what’s going on?" She rattles at the doorknob. "I’ll open the door, okay?"

"No, wait!" It’s all Clarke can muster, and Lexa doesn’t hear it anyway, because as soon as the door’s lock cracks open under the force of Lexa’s kick, she is hit with an onslaught of omega pheromones that call for her to take a step inside. Lexa shakes her head and jumps out of the room as if on fire.

Naked, Clarke lays terrified on her floor, skin flushed and shining with sweat. The omega closes her eyes and covers her nose. It’s not an easy heat to handle with an alpha so close. 

And not any alpha. Lexa.

Lexa tries to close the door in growing desperation, but the broken hinges don’t fall into place, and Clarke starts to sob, and they both want to die of embarrassment. After excruciating ten seconds, Lexa gives up on the door and marches out the apartment, yelling under her breath she will come back in a few hours.

It takes Clarke an entire hour to realize that it wasn’t a heat induced dream. 

000000

"I fucked it up, Raven. Seriously, I suck."

"You suck as in you finally got to suck—"

"I’m serious here!"

"Just so you know, O is on the line, and—"

"What did you do, Griff!"

"I fucked up, O, sorry."

"Lexa’s been in the gym for four hours, and I’ve never seen her fidget so much. She jumped when I asked what was wrong."

"Clarke?"

"Tell her it is okay to come home."

"Clarke? Are you in heat?"

"On suppressants now."

"Shit."

"Double shit."

"Do you want us to come over? I can bring beer."

"She can’t drink on suppressants, moron."

"Hey, I’m the only certified genius here."

"Guys, just… O, tell her to please come home."

00000

The pink note is carefully written, and it doesn’t smell as tantalizing omega as Lexa fears it will. She touches it gently, pulling it off the front of her bedroom door. She eyes the shower curtain as a makeshift door down the hallway, but there are no sounds from inside. 

Steeling herself, Lexa reads the short note, crunching it when done. She jumps in place a few times, preparing her body and mind. Step by calculated step, she ventures closer to the colorful curtain and swipes it aside. 

The same room that made her pants tight instantly now feels like an old locker room, with only the lingering smell of sweat to prove something happened there. Clarke sleeps like a rock, snoring softly under the heat suppressors. 

Lexa knows suppressors can take a toll on an omega, and guilt bubbles in her stomach at the thought that she is the one who forced Clarke to take them.

But when she looks at the sleeping girl on the bed, her golden locks wild and damp, Lexa wonders when was the last time she responded so strongly to an omega. When was the last time she dreamed about a woman the way she dreams of Clarke—the last time her skin crawled with need and tickled with innocent nervousness at simple touches?

Shaky fingers brush blonde curls away from a sleeping face. Lexa leaves a cup of water and ibuprofen pills on the nightstand and goes to take a shower in a curtainless bathroom. 

000000

It’s not the headache that wakes her up. Nor the light invading from the window and lack of door, nor the annoying sounds of someone in the kitchen. Like a dull fire coming to life, the throbbing between her legs escalates to forest-consuming intensity, and that’s what rouses Clarke from a blank dream. She groans, searching blindly for the suppressants on her nightstand. She finds other pills, but, afraid of losing control of her heat, forces them down anyway.

Ibuprofen, she concludes once she’s steady enough to stand.

Clarke pads to the living room, wrapped up on her blanket, eyes half-closed under the light. 

"I can leave for the week if you want." Her voice breaks the silence in the quiet apartment, and Lexa jumps in surprise.

"Clarke." Lexa stands, unsure, looking at the blonde tresses poking out from the pink blanket wrapped around the omega. "Are you feeling better?"

"After another dose, I will." Clarke squirms in place. If she doesn’t want to force herself on her friend by this point, it’s better to sleep the week away high on drugs. "And I understand if you don't want to share the apartment. I get it; I was out of line. I—"

"Clarke."

"—really understand if it’s too much, I didn’t think this—"

"Clarke," Lexa tries again, one step closer. At her proximity, Clarke’s chin snaps shut. "Are you listening to me?"

Clarke is lost in the forest green staring back at her, and her rational side warns her to flee to the safety of her room before making things worse. 

Lexa clears her throat when she realizes she has Clarke’s full attention. "It’s been awhile since I’ve last been with an omega, and, no, wait." She fumbles for words, and it brings a smile to Clarke’s face. "Being with you wouldn’t just be because you are an omega, it would be because you are you, and I know heats can be hard to handle and—"

"Lexa."

"—if you would accept me, allow me to help you, not only because of your heat, you see, these last months I—"

"Lexa." Clarke reaches for the hands fidgeting on Lexa’s waist, and Lexa smiles down at her shyly. 

"Clarke." She leans down and places a chaste kiss on Clarke’s forehead, then frowns at the high temperature of the skin. "You need to rest."

"I want you."

"I want you, too." Lexa surrenders to her need to wrap her arms around Clarke, sighing in relief at the way the omega fits against her body.

"Will you stay with me until I wake up?"

Lexa smiles at the words mumbled against her chest.

000000

The thin wire wriggles and twists inside the keyhole, jumping and spinning under frustrated huffs.

"I thought you said this was easy," Octavia comments from behind Raven, arms folded.

"Just give me a minute!" the engineer complains, and mercifully the lock clicks open, and she releases a triumphant laugh. "Told you."

"Hurry up, she could be dead." Octavia pushes Raven in half-joking, but both of them are honestly worried. Clarke hadn’t called or answered the phone for 24 hours, and neither had Lexa, which can mean two things. One: Clarke died in an OD of suppressants, and Lexa ran away before it happened; or two: they are locked in a heat-hazed sex marathon. 

"I still think they’re just banging," Raven whispers once they are inside the apartment, quiet and calm.

They see the broken door at the end of the hallway and the colorful curtain doing a poor job as cover. Clarke’s room is empty, and Octavia steps up to Lexa’s door. 

"Can you hear anything?" Raven whispers while Octavia leans over the wood.

"No," she replies, her dark brows knitted. "Should we open it?"

"There's only one way to find out." Raven takes a deep breath and opens the unlocked door with a loud kick, unceremoniously, much to Octavia’s eye roll behind her.

"Holy shit!"

"Raven!" Clarke’s desperate shriek echoes in the entire apartment, and a flushed Octavia pulls Raven back to the hallway and closes the door to Lexa’s room. 

"And that answers our concerns," Octavia says in a furious blush, pushing Raven back to the front door.

"Did you see that ass?" Raven asks in awe.

"Don’t remind me," Octavia growls. 

"Clarke is fucking lucky."

"Just lock the door already."

[sxs-kav]

The School for Good and Evil: Thoughts

SPOILERS AHEAD, you’ve been warned. This is super long, longer than I meant it to be, and I know it sounds like I'm complaining but I actually enjoyed the ride of these books overall.

Alright, so I finally read through all 6 books in the last few weeks and I have been dying to make a post critiquing these books since I cracked open the first one.

First I want to mention what I think is the strongest aspect of these books: the world building. One of the biggest things I liked about the books was how the Endless Woods really did feel endless. During the school years not quite as much, but the Camelot years kept popping up new and unique kingdoms with really fun ideas of ‘magical technology’. It shows the author’s creativity off in spades. Not to mention the way familiar fairytales and kingdoms like Camelot or Oz are reimagined to fit into this extended fairytale universe, and questioning what happens after ‘The End’ is written.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the action, and not just the fights. When the characters were actually DOING something, not just ruminating, those were the best scenes. That's where the pacing and story progress felt the best.

I also think the idea of the plot in the first three (breaking the rules of fairytales, what makes someone Good or Evil) was fun to explore. Soman is clearly very imaginative. He had a vision in his head that he wanted to share, I felt that in every book. I just don’t think his writing conveyed it in a satisfying way.

One of the biggest problems I had with his style is that it’s convoluted and sometimes circular. Especially in the first books, it felt like every time he tried to explain what it meant to be Evil, it was different. I don’t know if this was because he wanted to justify Sophie being Evil while also being a protagonist we shouldn’t be afraid to like? But to me, Sophie is not Evil in the understanding of the word I have from other media with a concept of good and evil, or even Soman’s own explanations. She has her moments, yes, but only in the first book and the tail end of the book 3 does she truly feel Evil. Otherwise, she’s more like ‘chaotic good’. (Btw, it would have been interesting if, instead of automatically being dropped in one school or the other, the students had to be tested first to see where they belonged).

But back to the explanations, I feel like every time a character discovered something or had an inner monologue trying to work out a puzzle that I came out more confused. It was only when we had walls of exposition text (ie, The Tale of Callis and Vanessa, Japeth’s secrets, etc) that you finally got a clear picture of what was going on. It shouldn't take the author spoon-feeding information to you to understand the story. The best stories with a mystery element lead you there with clues that maybe the character doesn't quite put together immediately, but you as the reader can catch onto, so it feels satisfying during the big reveal. The twists in this story were so out of left field sometimes they almost didn't make sense with the 'clues' we were given. Or they didn’t mesh with older ideas from the story. I'm no stranger to wild twists, but they have to also be logical. Perhaps the biggest example of this is Rhian and Japeth's parentage, which leads me to another point.

Why couldn't we just leave Rafal in his grave? Like, yeah, he didn't come back to life in the Camelot books, but why did we need him to be the father of the twins? It would have made more sense for it to be The Green Knight, with his plot to take revenge, his connections to Arthur and Merlin, the fact that he saved Evelyn. Everything could have been the same as far as how they tricked Excalibur and the Lady with Chaddick's blood, having the dress leave a message for the boys, the Mistrals getting involved. Just the fact that they insist how Rafal believes in the Storian goes against him being in favor of the boys doing this One True King plot. Plus he rejected Evelyn anyway, so why would he have had sex with her??? Then all of the sudden, with barely a hint at all for 6 books, Chaddick is the true heir of Arthur. Nothing in the first three books led to that possibility. Which leads me to another problem with the series: poor planning.

Obviously Soman didn't probably plan on writing a second trilogy while in the midst of writing the first, but to retcon stuff from the first book trilogy to satisfy the second is poor writing in my opinion. But there's a general sense of inconsistency with a lot of elements in the books. There were blatant contradictions that had me looking back to make sure I read correctly. Plot holes drive me nuts in my own writing, so when I read them I can only keep think about how I want to fix them. Honestly, these books would do well with an entire revision, and if I had the time and dedication I would love to do it. All the puzzle pieces were there for a fantastic plot, but it's like they were forced together with glue rather than the right parts being slotted together. I will say, there was definitely a more obvious grand plan for Camelot Years, but it still felt like a wild goose chase sometimes.

Another huge issue I had with the books as a whole was the relationships. Not the chosen pairings/friendships, but how they were developed. The relationships that were established before the story started were usually better than those that had to grow in the course of the story. I felt this the most with the love triangle of the first trilogy. Sophie and Agatha didn't seem like they truly did care about each other most of the time. We're just supposed to accept that yes, Sophie treats Agatha like crap and thinks she's weird and gross, but she loves her. Agatha hanging onto her like a lost puppy makes sense because she was lonely, but it felt like most of the time we just had to be told Sophie loved her. I didn't feel Sophie truly loving Agatha until much later in the series, mostly in Camleot. Then Agatha and Tedros went instantly from hate to love with hardly any build up. Yes, Tedros could sense her Goodness and kept picking Agatha without realizing, but that to me was more proof Agatha belonged in Good rather than proof of their love. And Agatha hated his guts until she smiled at him that one time, and all of the sudden she changed her mind? It would have been better if she reluctantly found him attractive and as she was helping Sophie, she started to wish it was her (maybe those elements were there, but I feel like they weren't until far too late in the first book). Then there's Hort and Sophie's relationship which had so much potential, but which also had no development on Sophie's side until the last minute. I would have loved to see her more jealous of Nicola. That's the route I thought we were going down at first, but it just fizzled out. I would like to make a separate post on Hophie and how it could have been, so I won't go into extreme details here. But I think a lot of these relationship problems come from characterization inconsistencies.

It seems like the characters are always second guessing their feelings and that's maddening. Even when it seems like something finally clicks, the next chapter has them going backwards. They're always as confused as I feel reading the books. Maybe that's the point, because they're young and finding themselves, but it's overkill. Agatha is one of the worst with this, because even when she finally is okay with being queen, she's not okay with it. Even when she trusts Tedros, she doesn't. Even when she believes in him, she doesn't. It's so tiring. And every time there's a doubt we get a page or two of text on why. I just want her to come to a realization and have it STICK. But I think this is part of a larger issue that Soman has as a writer. He needs to show, not tell, the most basic rule of writing. He's in the characters' heads too much, rather than letting their actions speak for them. And yes, you have to have inner monologue from your main characters, but it's just too much. It slows the story down.

Also, one very specific grievance is Rhian's character. He was Good all along but it was only obvious in the last chapter (no pun intended) of his life. It would have been nice if his plan to wipe out Evil had been brought up earlier, to add some moral grayness to his character while he still had time to live and we the audience had time to wonder if maybe he is a better king. Instead it was like, 'oh, maybe he's not so Evil after all. Guess he has to die'. It was kind of pointless. Also, how was he even Good when Evelyn and Rafal are his parents...

Honestly, I think the film is going to fix a lot of these issues. We can see rather than be told about relationships, doubts, etc. Any necessary exposition can be trimmed back instead of having to slog through. I think Soman was meant to be a screenwriter rather than a regular author, because it’s so obvious he has an entire storyboard in his head and the world is so grand, but it would be so much easier to understand the characters by watching them come to life rather than being in their heads.

Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad series. I like the concept, which is why it frustrates when the writing style struggles to capture the story the way it deserves. It's not even to say Soman is a bad author, but he could be better. There was definite improvement over time but he hasn't quite reached his potential yet either. If he writes more to the series or a totally different series, I hope to see him get even better.

[constantzeigarnik]

How do you think the teams react to the other person? Like I mean Volo's team to Ingo, and Ingo's team to Volo. Volo's team I like to think is as affectionate to Ingo as they are to Volo, and vice versa. Maybe so much so that Volo can't but be a bit jealous, at who? Nobody knows, not even Volo. With Ingo's team, they're protective over Volo, like 'this fucking idiot almost walk off a cliff 12 times because they were looking at ruins.' But with Ingo's old team it's 'I will kill you someday some how. Unfortunately you make him happy.' Very clear with one or two, the rest are more subtle. Volo is very sad and a little scared by it. But what are your ideas on it?

Ingo is like a human version of a capybara. You can stick him next to pretty much any fucking pokemon you want and that pokemon will be at least moderately chill with him, even if it wouldn't otherwise vibe with humans. Volo's team are completely chill with Ingo, if not outright affectionate towards him. His Togepi in particular absolutely adores Ingo, and Volo trusts his Togepi as the ultimate judge of character. Whether the Togepi is actually a good judge of character, or was initially just drawn in to Ingo by the scent of berries in his pocket remains to be seen. Normally Volo WOULD be a bit jealous of Togepi spending too much time with anyone else, but there's something about seeing Ingo care for it (and the rest of his pokemon, though to a lesser extent) that makes Volo just feel warm and soft. The only ones on Volo's team that are mostly just neutral towards Ingo are Spiritomb and Garchomp.

Both of Ingo's teams if they met him would, at first, do the pokemon equivalent of raising their hackles. It's not really noticeable to humans, but Volo fucking reeks of Giratina and whatever dangerous energy it radiates. They don't know what it is exactly, but they know it just means danger, and the fact that this man that smells like a threat is near their trainer does not sit ok with them.

With his Hisuian team, Alakazam would come around to Volo first because it's psychic and it can undoubtedly sense that Volo means no harm to their trainer. It might not ever get close and friendly enough to Volo to give him one of it's spoons, but it will keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble if Ingo wanted it to. The only one of Ingo's Hisuian team that ever actually gets real warm and friendly with Volo would be his Gligar, which will land on him and climb all over his shoulders, and dig in his bag for Berries. Ingo will hear Volo muttering about how Gligar is certainly one of his most eager customers, while rubbing it behind it's ears and holding a berry for it to eat so it won't tear up his bag.

Both Volo's and Ingo's teams are fucking exhausted because both of their trainers have almost walked off the side of cliffs before. Ingo less often because he is a man who knows how to travel safely, but there has been a time or two when he's gotten lost in thought trying to recall something and nearly misstepped in a part of the Highlands that he knew better than to get distracted in. Thankfully Tangela had been out of it's pokeball and pulled him back.

Volo's team loves him, they adore him, but they will also just straight up watch him walk off a cliff if it's not too steep of one. He'll never learn to look at where he's going instead of looking at plates if he gets yanked back every time.

Once Ingo's team warms up to him, Alakazam is the one to save his ass most often from his own obliviousness as he is wandering through ruins. Volo makes it up to Alakazam by bringing it special treats from wherever he's been trading recently.

[blubushie]

5, 21, and 39 for any/all (referring to the numbers ship post)

Righto!

5: Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?

Mundy is the king of nicknames—this is on behalf of being Australian. We fucking love nicknames. He calls Jesse everything under the sun with the common denominator being that they're all animal-themed—he'd called her rabbit for the longest time, but this one is never used as it drudges up bad memories. Instead he uses bun, which he deems more affectionate. Nicknames are also situational—he'll use bun and roo and love interchangeably, bilby when she's upset, and princess is strictly reserved for flirting or when he's in the mood. The only thing he doesn't call her that I personally hear a lot is possum, and that's because that was his dad's term for his mother and it hurts too much to use it. Jesse in the past has called Mundy Snipes and Red, but now she solely uses dingo or babe. Sometimes if she wants to tease him she'll affectionately use Mickey just to embarrass him. He loves it and loathes it at the same time. An inside joke between them is Jesse's inability to flip anything when it comes to cooking, be it eggs or pancakes, and Mundy's constant forgetfulness when it comes to where he leaves his cigarettes.

Suki doesn't have a nickname for Bruce—for her, using his actual first name is her version of a nickname, as she only uses the first names of people she's very close to (for example, Jesse has only ever heard Suki call her by her name one time, and that was when she was dying in Italy and Suki was trying to get her to calm down and focus). Bruce is the only person to call Suki her name to her face—everyone else either waits until she's out of the room, calls her doc or Okumura, or they call her Natsuki. Only Bruce has the privilege of walking up and calling her Suki and getting a smile in return. A running joke between them is Bruce saying subcutaneous at random intervals, since the first time he ever flirted with Suki he'd told her, "I like a woman who knows how to cut through subcutaneous tissue," and she'd responded, "I like a man who can say subcutaneous."

I'm adding Charles and Cindy in here because I want to. Cindy calls Charles Chuck, and Charles affectionately refers to Cindy as bluebell. This is because she was wearing a blue flower-print sundress the day he met her. Since Charles is Welsh his first expression of love toward Cindy was carving her a lovespoon, so now they regularly gift spoons to each other as an inside joke. When Charles finally returned to the Bronx with Jesse and saw Cindy after twenty years away, he offered her a silver spoon as an apology gift.

Ted would routinely call Liem cowboy and hoss. Liem called Ted kid and boy despite the fact that Liem was only three years older than him. Liem also affectionately used the name Teddy, and Ted was the only person allowed to call Liem by his first name, Sue. They had a thousand different inside jokes but the main one was gifting each other anything they deemed perfectly or near-perfectly spherical. Liem loves old ball grenades (he collects them!) and Ted loved baseball. The two idiots would routinely play baseball together, which mainly consisted of Liem pitching ball grenades and Ted whacking them into the firing range where they'd explode.

21: Do they share any interests or hobbies?

Jesse and Mundy have more in common than either of them think. They both love to read but in different aspects—Jesse loves comics and can't stand books, Mundy finds comics too visually distracting and prefers books. They both enjoy whittling in their free time, Mundy is a skilled artist when it comes to wildlife and especially birds whereas Jesse couldn't draw a bird to save her life. Half of the stuff they have in common are things Jesse saw Mundy doing, decided to give a try, and ended up enjoying.

Bruce enjoys watching Suki work, even if it's just filling out paperwork or looking over records. Suki loves to watch Bruce work out and sometimes he's able to convince her to sit on his back while he does push-ups. He finds this hilarious, she merely struggles to stay seated. Bruce is 100% keen on Suki experimenting on him (something that she consistently denies) and sometimes Bruce will take Suki fishing and let her gut what he catches because she's very good at it. Queen of deboning fish.

Cindy and Charles both share a penchant for current fashion, with Cindy being a hairdresser and Charles just... being Charles. Charles is suave and enjoys seducing Cindy (not that he really has to try) and Cindy eats it up. He'll take her out to fancy dinners, late-night drives in expensive cars, concerts at Carnegie Hall. Sometimes when they both have some time alone and aren't feeling up for anything exhausting Cindy will just style Charles' hair. She enjoys working with his curls and refuses to dye it no matter how often he asks because she likes the salt and pepper.

Liem and Ted both love baseball! Ted loved Liem's steady hands and would spend a few hours watching him work while he rigged explosives. Liem and Tamotu once built a batting cage for Ted (something that Jesse now uses) and Liem would waste an evening drinking beer and cheering on Ted from the sidelines until a baseball inevitably hit Ted in the face because he was distracted. Liem used to bring Ted to rodeos and show off to him in the ring.

39: Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first?  When did they realize they were in love?

Not answering for Jesse and Mundy because spoilers.

Bruce punched a sentry to pieces during a match, didn't go through RESPAWN before it was shut off, and so Suki spent an hour repairing his knuckles and fixing a tendon he'd cut by accident. Somewhere between making the incision and her pulling on his tendon with her forceps and saying "Look at this" while she made his fingers curl, he decided she looked mighty attractive and he kissed her. They skirted around each other for a few weeks after that (which the team suffered for during matches) but eventually he went to go to see her to apologise and she pulled him into her clinic. One thing led to another and they've been together ever since. They probably realised they loved each other at some point during the Robot Crisis. Suki is rarely sent through RESPAWN as she's generally very self-sufficient and aware on the battlefield with a habit of looking out for herself. Her realisation was Bruce telling her that he needed her to follow him into the fray during a particularly bad robot assault and her agreeing to do it without a second of hesitation toward her own self-preservation. Bruce had likely known it far sooner, from the day Suki put the uber implant into his heart with his full trust in her to succeed.

Charles pursued Cindy heavily and was consistently the one to make the first move. That said, Cindy was the one who kissed Charles first, just a quick peck on the lips before he left one evening. It'd worked, and he kept coming back for more. Cindy was well aware that she loved Charles long before he acknowledged it, likely when she saw how he interacted with her four sons. Charles didn't realise how much he actually loved Cindy until they'd learnt that she was pregnant and he had to make the decision to stay or leave. He stayed, but only for eight months after Jesse was born. Leaving was the hardest decision he ever had to make.

Liem is the kind of bloke to flirt with someone as a show of friendliness, whereas Ted was definitely more reserved with affection. Despite that, Ted was the one who made the first move and kissed Liem during a quiet night they'd spent fishing alone. Love was never explicitly mentioned between either of them—Ted would've said something along the lines of "That's gay, man,"—but Liem didn't realise how much he loved Ted until the day he lost him. The fact he'd never been able to admit how much Ted meant to him still haunts him. The only thing that haunts him more is the fact he'll never know if Ted felt the same way.