#i really like how they point out that waiting for an auto to go out before using an Art and make it a Thing with a benefit!

[kadoodles-on-ao3]

I've officially started playing Xenoblade 3! :) Quite liking it so far!

[arc-misadventures]

An Offer You Won’t Refuse

Jaune: Why can’t you guys believe me when I say I got laid?

SN: Because it’s you.

Jaune: Haaaa… Assholes.

The person complaining that his roommates couldn’t believe he had sex was one, Jaune Luna Arc. A first year college student majoring in business. While his collage roommate’s doubting the fact that he had sex were a blonde hair monkey faunas named, Sun Wukong, and their friend the blue haired self proclaimed ‘ladies man’ named, Neptune Vasilias.

The duo had dragged, Jaune to a bar with the intent of, ‘picking up some ladies.’ And, where he had actually managed to score a night with a beautiful lady, they had failed to get anything. And, because of this they doubted that he got anything. Actually, now that he’s thinking about it…

Jaune: You guys are just jealous I spent a night with a lady, while the only thing you guys got was a pair of matching black eyes.

Jaune’s remark was a very accurate statement of fact that after he come from an enjoyable one-night stand he came back to see the pair with ice packs over their eyes.

Sun: Not true!

Neptune: I would have totally banged that chick! If her boyfriend didn’t arrive…

Jaune: Yeah, that’s why you didn’t get any.

Neptune: Hey man, you just don’t understand the art, of seduction~!

Jaune: The what?

Sun: The art of seducing a woman~!

Jaune: And, that is?

Neptune: We’re falcons pal…

Sun: Falcons~!

Neptune: You can’t just send us out when a pretty girls is there, and expect us to capture her now can you?

Sun: That’s not how we falcons fly.

Neptune: We gotta fly high, and scope out the prey, and when we find our mark we’ll swoop in for the kill. We just can’t go in, and steal the girl on command now can we?

Sun: It’s an art, Jaune. You wouldn’t understand it.

Jaune just looked at the duo as he was forced to comprehend the dumbest thing he had yet heard, and considering the people who he hung around that was something.

Jaune: What the hell are you two talking about?! Yes you can send a falcon out on command to hunt its prey! There’s an entire sport based around it: Falconry!

Sun: Eh?

Neptune: Beg pardon?

Jaune: It’s like one of the oldests sports out there! People are still doing it to this day! Hell, people have been using falcons, and hawks to take down drones!

Neptune: That’s not true… right?

Sun: Oh shit, they actually use hawks to take down drones.

Neptune: Wait really?!

Jaune: Haa… if hitting on girls was like hitting the broadside of a barn, you lot couldn’t hit it with a, Javelin missile.

Sun: I couldn’t do that!

Neptune: Guns scare me!

Jaune dropped his head as he sighed at the duo’s stupidity, or more accurately their ignorance.

Although stupidity is a more adept description the pair. The duo would offer a drowning man a drink thinking he’s not drowning, just really thirsty.

Jaune: A Javelin missile is an rpg with an auto-lock feature. Not a gun.

Neptune: There’s a difference?

Jaune: Haa… you see this is why I don’t invite you to play, Arma with my clan.

Neptune: Well we may not know the difference between… weapons…? but, that still doesn’t mean you had sex with a girl.

Jaune: Guys, it’s been two weeks since we went to the bar, can we just drop it, and move…

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Jaune: On…?

Jaune stopped talking in his tracks as he heard a knocking upon the door. He looked at the pair while pointing his finger at the door.

Jaune: We’re you…?

The pair shook their heads, and shrug their shoulders. They weren’t expecting anyone to come visit them. Like anyone would anyway.

Jaune just shrugged his shoulders as he walked over, and opened the door, he was met with several individuals dressed in black suits with tinted shades hiding their face. The quartet seemed to be watching around them to see if anyone was coming.

Jaune was worried they were a hit squad coming to make get their mark. He could only cower as he wondered whose girl, Neptune pissed off that they would put a mark on him. But, that thought swiftly died as he started at the woman between what actually were four bodyguards. For it was not someone he expected to meet again. He never thought she would grace his presence with her beauty ever again.

With flowing ashen white hair cascading down her elegant shoulders. Draped in a tapestry of fine jewelry silver, sapphires, and ruby’s. A red shirt that displayed a fair amount of her sizeable cleavage, as a dark coat hung lazily off her shoulders. But, what drew, Jaune in the most were those red tinted glasses, that hid a pair of striking vibrant red eyes that he lost himself in.

It was the lady from his one night stand. A woman, Jaune would never forget until death took him.

Jaune: S-Salem?!

Salem: Hello, Ar… no. Hello, Jaune. You’re looking well.

Jaune: Thank you! Y-You’re looking fantastic. But, uhh… why are you here? You said after our… night together that it would be just a one time thing, and we would never see each other again. And, yet here you are.

Salem: And, yet here I am…

Jaune could barely see, Salems eyes because they blended beautifully with her glasses, but he could tell by the way her body was seemingly twitching that she was nervous. He was about to ask her whats wrong, but then his roommates happened.

Sun: Holy hell?! You actually had sex?!

Neptune: Damnmmm! She is smoking hot! How much did she cost you? Eh, eh?!

Salem could tell by his teasing manner upon which the blue boy spoke he was joking with, Jaune. But, to insinuate that she was a call girl?! Maybe she should let her associates teach this child some manners.

But before, Salem could give the command, Jaune held a single finger up, silently asking for a moment before shutting the door. She was wondering what was going on, but then she heard a loud thud as if something had fallen over. As the door soon reopened to reveal the smiling face of, Jaune Arc. She could see behind him the form of the blue haired boy, groaning in pain as he clutched his groin.

Salem shot, Jaune a small smile from the corner of her lips, and he just waved it off as if it was nothing.

Jaune: So… What bring you to our humble abode?

Salem: I need to discuss something with you of the utmost importance.

Jaune: Okay, what is it?

Salem’s eyes darted around as if she was trying to find the words to speak before she returned his gaze.

Salem: This would be a discussion best help in private.

Jaune nodded his head as he told his friends to scram. The blond monkey nodded his head as he pulled his friend, who was in the fetal position whilst still clutching his privates on the floor out the room. As soon as they were out of the room, Jaune stood aside allowing, Salem to enter his dorm room.

Salem: Thank you for allowing me… in…?

Salem’s thought process stopped in its tracks rather abruptly. She was going to tell him something important, but as she took in the absolute state of, Jaune’s apartment her mind did a reset, and was the midst of a reboot as she processed this, ‘mess.’

Jaune was about to ask her if something was wrong, then he saw where her eyes were going, and he sighed in understanding.

Jaune: Yeah its a…

Salem: A pig sty?

Jaune: That’s an… apt description.

Jaune’s apartment was an absolute mess: Wrappers, and empty bottles strewn across the place. Half finished take out boxes laying across every table in sight. Clothes from teeshirts to underwear draped all over the furniture. But, there was one thing that was most damning of all that was the crown jewel of this pig sty.

Salem: I-Is that a banana peel on the lamp shade?

Jaune: Haa… Gods dammit, Sun…

Jaune looked over, and groaned in disgust as he grabbed a bucket, seemingly filled to the brim with banana peels, and tossed the latest addition into the bucket.

Jaune: Sun, uhh… the blond monkey faunas you saw earlier. His family are all monkey faunas’s so the have a habit of eating a banana, and tossing the peal away when they’re finished.

Salem: Not into the trash I assume?

Jaune: Unfortunately not. I’ve told him to stop doing that, but he won’t listen to me. So, I’ve been collecting his banana peels for the past two weeks, and I plan to stuff them in his pillow case as form of petty vengeance.

Salem: Do you think that will work?

Jaune: Well, they stink so they should send a message of sorts. If not I’ll tie his tail to the bed frame, or something.

Salem: You would do that to a faunas; That seems rather cruel don’t you think?

Jaune: I have slipped on several banana peels, and landed hard on my back, I will make sure he learns through pain that I am very vindictive bastard.

Salem: And, is the rest of this mess from that blue haired boy?

Jaune: Neptune? Ehh no. It’s from both of them, they’re total slobs. I was about to threaten them with bodily harm if they didn’t clean up the place. But, they started going on again that I totally didn’t have sex with a woman who had the body of an angel carved from the finest of marble slabs, craved painstakingly by a superb master craftsman.

Salem: Why thank you~! You would make a handsome marble statue yourself, Jaune.

Jaune: …

Jaune: Ahck?! I-I-I’m sorry?! I didn’t want to tell them anything about you, but they wouldn’t believe me, so I had to say something?! N-Not a lie, you are gorgeous! Divine even… But… Uhh… It’s a little hot in here…? Perhaps I s-should open a window…

Jaune made way for a window, but was stopped in his tracks as he heard, Salem’s melody of laughter. During the time they spent at the bar talking, he spent every moment trying to get a laugh out of her. Her laughter was angelic, and her smile divine. One he spent the whole night trying to make appear before his very eyes.

Salem had told him the sad story of her life, and her past love. It was a story of sorrow, regret, and betrayal. A love that was, a life that could have been, and the truth to a lie that ruined it all.

She didn’t tell him every detail, it was her right to have her secrets. Jaune didn’t want to know everything either, they were just two strangers sitting alone at a bar. One musing over her drink, the other musing over time. He was just there to be the ear who heard her complaining, the voice to ask the question she wanted asked, and the shoulder to cry over.

Afterwards, Salem asked if, Jaune could give her a ride home. She hadn’t drunk a lot, but even a little alcohol mixed with driving a car could be fatal. And, being the gentleman he tried to be, he accepted her request for aid.

He took her home, and he would have left things at that. But, she insisted that he come in, he remembered her giving him a vague excuse of why he should stay, but he never remembered it. What made him stay was the pleading look in her eyes that beg that she didn’t want to be alone. So he stayed, and one thing lead to another, and he awoke in her bed with her resting softly against him.

It was a moment of weakness, and desire of the flesh. One that they both knew that shouldn’t have happened. But, it was one neither would deny they regretted. After that they agreed to part ways, they would never regret this moment of fleeting love shared between them. But, it was a one time deal, and they would never see each other again.

And yet, Salem was here, right now, right before, Jaune’s very eyes.

Jaune: Why don’t we go to my room? I can assure you it doesn’t look like a bomb went off at a dump.

Jaune opened the door to his room, and ushered, Salem inside his room. Salem was hesitant to enter his room, because it was his, but he assured her it wasn’t like the pigsty she was currently standing in, so she walked in. And, what surprised her ahead l was that, Jaune, once again, was true to his word.

While the description of, ‘a bomb that went off at a dump,’ was an adept description of their living room, Jaune’s room was a complete contrast to that.

His bed was made, his clothes hanged on their hooks, his floor was vacuumed, and his books neatly arrange along the book case. Even the little figurines he had were neatly in their display cases. The only mess there was upon his desk where an assortment of art supplied, and school books lay strewn about. And, if anything, it would be considered an organized mess at best.

Jaune: Would you like a seat?

Jaune pushed, his charge towards her, and graciously offered her a seat. Salem looked towards the chair, and simply shook her head at his kind offer.

Salem: No, no thank you. But, perhaps you should take a seat.

Jaune: Why, is something wrong, Salem?

Salem: Over a week after our night together, I went in for a medical check up. Standard routine check up for me, I usually have one every three months, or so.

Jaune: That’s a good routine to have. I probably should get a check up myself, it’s been a while since I last saw a doctor.

Salem: Yes… while I was having my check up… They discovered something rather… unexpected…

Jaune: You’re dying?!

Jaune didn’t understand why someone he had a fling with was coming here to tell him that. Unless, was it his fault she was dying?

Jaune was about to start having a panic attack, when, Salem rushed forward, and spoke softly as she tried to calm his nerves.

Salem: Nononono… It’s nothing like that. Quite the opposite really.

Jaune: What’s the opposite of dying? Reincarnation?

Salem laughed as she shook her head, taking off her glasses, and gently placing them on his desk.

Salem: I forgot how much of an adorable goofball you are.

Jaune: Thank you?

Salem: Jaune… let me put this to you bluntly.

Jaune: Okay?

Salem straightened her back, and started, Jaune dead in the eye. Crimson, and cerulean locked in a bitter struggle, neither wanting to look away from the beauty before their eyes.

What felt like an eternity, but merely lasted a few seconds, Salem took a deep breath, and told, Jaune the reasons she was here. A reason that filled her with equal parts dread, and hope. So, with those blood red eyes, she stared at the young man, and spoke words with a voice of steel that completely enthralled him to ever word that dropped from her luscious red lips.

Salem: Jaune… You better take responsibility, or else…

Jaune: …

Jaune: Eh…?

[pharawee]

Welcome to the second part of my Pit Babe novel commentary aka "hey this isn't so ba---wait where's Babe's sudden daddy kink even coming from??"

And I try (oh my god do I try). 🤡

I'm now at chapter 10, trying to pace myself because the (auto-translated) translation I'm reading is apparently a WIP. I'm on the edge of my seat. The plot is beginning to thicken.

Previously, Charlie was being sus and Babe was catching feelings, but most importantly there was a lot of pwp and very little racing.

Now there's more racing. Babe even brings Charlie (he still has to wear a mask and a hat) but gets too distracted by his presence (he's apparently addicting enough to kiss through the mask) and promptly forgets to check his car before the race (even though Charlie warns him against it but such is the power of scent - or lack of scent in this case. I don't even know anymore - neither does Babe but at some point Charlie states that's he's now in an alpha rut which I suppose means exactly what it says on the tin).

But, oh no! Babe runs into trouble during the race. He loses the lead and his car gets increasingly difficult to control until it crashes and bursts into flames. But it's okay, Babe jumps out of the driving car just in the nick of time (have you ever seen a supercar outfitted for racing? It's difficult enough to climb into one - funny how I'm apparently okay with omegaverse shenanigans but I draw the line at wonky motorsports physics 🤣).

Anyway, the track marshals are doing a really shit job because somehow they 1. let Charlie on the track to singlehandedly try and rescue Babe and 2. they also completely miss that Babe has literally jumped ship car and is lying on the track. He ends up with a broken wrist and a sprained knee (or was it the other way around? anyway, he's wearing several casts) which means he won't be able to finish the season and lose the title of King (all because he was too horny to check his car... but yeah also apparently it was sabotage  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So much for the racing part.

Babe needs weeks to heal so naturally he needs Charlie to pamper and feed him and dick him down several times a day but what else is new. No offence to the the dicking down part but ugh I hate this trope. Maybe it's just because I dislike the dynamics but I don't like the way Babe is taking on more and more cliché omega traits. If I have to read one more time about how much smaller he is (or about his "rounded" hips... are you ok google translate?)...

Oh, and btw. There are omegas in this! Charlie gets flirted at by one (which Babe absolutely hates) and he does have a scent and all. Later, when Charlie is busy being extremely sus again he meets up with a childhood friend, Jeff (Pon's character in the series is called Jeff - oh. oh no...), and if I'm not mistaken he's an omega as well. Jeff cautions Charlie against being with Babe and displeasing his father (which also seems to be Jeff's father? Dude sure has a lots of adoptive kids...) but Charlie argues that he knows what he's doing and he doesn't want to stop anyway.

Later on he tells the exact same thing to his (adoptive?) father, and why do I get the feeling that this might be the same father Babe mentioned earlier when he was telling a feverish Charlie a story to get him to sleep:

In his story, Babe mentions how when he was very small he used to go hungry every day because his mum was out of the picture and his father didn't even make enough money bring food to the table. One day the hunger was so bad that he passed out and woke up in the hospital where a stranger told him he'd be his new family. With little choice in the matter, Babe accepted and went on to spend the rest of his childhood well-cared for and in elite schools etc. That is, until he turned (presumably...) 18 and discovered that his father didn't adopt him out of the kindness of his heart but for ulterior motives that Babe doesn't explain any further because at that point Charlie has fallen asleep.

So yeah, what are the odds that Babe's "father" and Charlie's father are the same person (no spoilers, please)? Because if so then... that's disturbing, especially since Charlie's father seems to want Charlie to lure Babe back home. I mean, Charlie seems to have his own plans but it's not like his father throws him out after their secret meeting. Sus, very sus.

Meanwhile, Babe is slowly losing his heightened senses (the novel doesn't mention it yet but I'm pretty sure this is Charlie's doing) but he doesn't seem to mind because he's too busy falling in love. There's a lovely scene where Charlie and he spend the night stargazing, and this is when Babe realises that something's different because usually his heart only beats this fast when he thinks about racing (lmao).

Cue to them not having sex for a week because Babe feels like he's going crazy.

Meanwhile, it's been decided that Charlie will finish Babe's racing season for him because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and I'm sure he'll win the title too because he's Charlie, alphaest of alphas. Or something.

So one night Babe officially introduces him to the rest of team X-Hunter (and curiously Sonic and North seem to be racers in the novel as well) but things go awry when Babe is too busy fooling around with Way (no you cannot be affectionate with a male friend in a BL novel it is forbidden!!). Charlie and Babe argue and proceed to ignore each other for the rest of the night until they make up (and out) during the official X-Hunter sleepover (with Way and another poor dude sleeping in the same room).

They're polite enough to seek out the indoor pool (this isn't even their house - have you no shame?) and talk it out. And by talk it out I mean there's an inappropriate amount of daddy-calling and Little Mermaid jokes. This is where Charlie claims Babe. Yes, there's knotting (I think? like I said, I'm not axactly an expert and auto-translate is a bit vague, bless its little AI heart). Charlie threatens (I'm sure it's all meant very lovingly 🤡) to impregnate Babe if there's no other way to show others that he's his. To which Babe replies that that's impossible anway.

It's impossible, right? Right??

[sturniolo-rat]

A Very Matt Morning 2

Matthew Sturniolo X Reader

Part 1

A/N: listen, part one has exactly 15 notes rn and that’s more than I expected so I will treat you to part 2. This is the sexy part get ready, bby. Also don’t @ me because you don’t think all this can go down in 36 minutes. This piece is auto biographical if you’re a pro lots can happen in 36 minutes. This 100% isn’t proofread.

Contains: big time smut, silly goofy!matt, oral, fingering, p in v sex, lots of dialogue

TW: mentions of working an office job🤢

In which Matt wakes up y/n the right way to prep her for her big day of working at her big girl job.

Five minutes later the order confirmed and set to arrive in 36 minutes. “Just enough time to wake you up the right way” Matt whispers in y/n’s ear.

Y/n releases a frustrated groan “But I should really dressed and I have to respond to this email real quick”. She knows that even waiting for the coffee she’s cutting it close to being late.

“Hush, baby” he touches his finger to her lips. She’s being entirely too reasonable right now but Matt knows what she needs. She has the whole rest of her work day to be responsible and boring. He runs his hand up her thigh and under the extra large t-shirt she uses as pajamas. It’s not his though because he’s actually quite small with a slutty little waist. She stole from an ex boyfriend of hers. Matt doesn’t mind though because one day he’s going to marry her and everyone else will fall away. “I’m just going down here. Don’t worry about what I’m doin. Just take out your phone and answer that little email, okay?”

“Okay” she exhales softly and takes her phone from the bedside table. Rachel from accounting should really learn how to do her fucking job. She’s distracted as he shoves his hand between her legs, covering her heated center with his palm, squeezing gently. He always does this before sex It’s almost like gentle greeting or a quiet hello. Arching her back, she plasters myself into his hand, searching for more contact. "Mmm. I like that."

He strokes her slit through her panties, drawing an oval around it with his finger without actually touching it. Maybe it was because his touch was unhurried, fleeting, and designed to drive her wild, but her panties dampened. Y/n was going through the sweetest of tortures.

“No no, Sweetie. Just write your little email.”

She hits him in the head “How can you expect me to write a clear concise professional email under these conditions.”

He lets out a chuckle “Hey don’t sway me on the head. I’m trying to give you head down here.” He trails kisses up her inner thigh all the way up until he’s nearly where he needs to be. “I can’t give you head if my head hurts. Did you know that?” He does the same to her other thigh “You’re the reason I have to carry around ibuprofen for when I’m ready to be a munch.”

She laughs and her legs shut closed. They weren’t fully open to begin with. She’s still holding onto the idea that she’ll get up and get ready when she finishes her email. “Oh shut up. You love me.”

“Come on, spread your legs.” He coos in a sing song voice. “What… is she shy this morning.” He peppers y/n’s stomach with kisses. “Did you wake up with stage fright… is your pussy anxious?” He teases and she hits him again. “Hey hey cut that out”

He leans in close to her pussy and whispers “Hey, Darlin, I know right she’s sitting there trying to close you off from me. You and I have such a special bond and…”

Y/n raises her voice “Are you talking to my coochie!?”

He looks up at her “Yes, yes I am talking to your coochie. What do you want… this is an A B conversation… C your way out of it and finish your email.” She does as she’s told but he lowers his head and picks up where he left off. “She’s so fucking rude. Like I’m trying to have a conversation… women am I right.” At this point y/n has let her guard down completely and opens her legs for him to have his silly little conversation.

Finally after all his hard work Matt is able to kiss her pussy. He starts off light and gradually gets rougher until his tongue is swirling around her clit. She likes to watch his mouth move. His jawline looks so sharp against the softness of her thighs. He reaches a hand up to massage her breast while the other snakes around her thigh to rest on her tummy. He loves the taste of her and the tenderness of her skin. Y/n’s hands find their way to his head and her fingers tangle into his hair. She’s grinding her pussy onto his lips. To him if feels more like she’s grinding his face into her pussy but that’s neither here nor there.

She’s moaning uncharacteristically loud and he knows it’s time to start licking and teasing her entrance. Y/n knows he’s about to finger her and as if on cue she opens her mouth right as he moves his hand from her breast and puts his middle and index finger in her mouth. He lists his head to say “You’re gonna get these fingers nice and wet for me, Okay.” She nods her head still sucking on his fingers. He lets her suck longer than usual thinking about how her lips would feel around his hard cock. When Matt can focus again he pulls his fingers back and slowly pushes his middle finger into her hole. He groans out of sheer horniness “Oh, come on, you’re sooo tight right now… is she still shy. Fine, hold on, I’ll to talk to her again.” He works his finger in and out of never pushing it in past the knuckle. “ Hey, Lovie, I know it’s really early and obviously you’re having a bit of performance anxiety but you and I know each other. We get along, right? Don’t close me out. Don’t be shy with me.” His finger pushes in just a little bit farther with every thrust until she can take his whole finger. “There we go, baby.” He looks up to y/n “You see, Honey, her and I have reached an understanding.”

Fingering her like this without touching her clit is torturous. She can’t orgasm without clitoral stimulation but it feels good it’s basically like perpetual edging. And he’s making it worse by moaning along with her as if he’s getting off on her pleasure. “Oh yes, oh you are so fucking tight. I am going to lose my mind the moment my tip goes in. Don’t get mad at me if I come right away, okay? I’ll just keep going. You know how much I like to fuck the cum into you.”

“Oh my god!” Y/n says in complete and utter shock as she wacks his head. “That’s too horny for this early in the morning!” She hits him again “Also suck my clit you dickhead!”

“Ouch! Im sorry. Im just havin a little fun! And I’ll get to your clit in a minute” Matt says then goes to do what he was told. He sucks entirely too softly but very passionately. “ Can you take two fingers for me, baby?” She shakes her head. She’s never been one to talk during sex but fuck. Matt does it so well. Matt’s second finger slips in so easily “Oh good girl. That’s more like it one of that being shy bullshit.” His fingers moved faster within her and she moaned as they curled at just the right angle to make her writhe on the bed, panting and moaning. Then he finally does it. He absolutely devours y/n’s clit with his sucking, licking, and moaning. She could feel herself approaching the edge and so could he. “You’re already there, Baby. Come on, cum for me.”

She shoves his face back into her pussy “Shut up and keep sucking!” All this talk is so hot but it sure as shit does feel better than cuming. Her thighs quaked, bracketing his ears. Her fingers in his hair, tugging viciously. Matt went harder, rougher, latching on to one of her tits through her top and pinching her nipple. Her eyes popped open and looked at him behind a curtain of innocent lust. The climax seized every muscle in her body head to toe. An odd sensation-of floating in warm water-conquered her. She rocked back and forth against his face, unraveling inch by delicious inch.

“Do you feel awake now, Darlin?” He says with a grin.

Y/n sighs with a laugh “Yes, Matty baby, I am very much awake.”

“Can you keep going? Or is that too much for you?”

“Oh course I can. After my super awesome morning orgasm I can do almost anything.” She jokes but she also genuinely feels that way. Maybe her day won’t be so bad.

Matt moves so that he’s above her using his hands to hold himself up. She squeaks, hips bucking slightly, and feels his hardness press up against her inner thigh. He reaches his hand down to rub his cock against her sensitive folds, and she releases a gasp at the sensation.

“I knew from how fucking wet you felt.” He groans as he pushes himself in farther. “You would milk my fucking dick but Jesus Christ” She gasps slightly, her cheeks reddening at the feeling of arousal welling up within her at his words. He bottoms out with moan from deep in his chest. She feels so full and whole. Slowly he starts to fuck her. Each thrust eliciting a whiny bordering on pathetic moan from him. He really isn’t going to last long.

Her legs wrap around him and pull him close. “Fuck that’s not fair you can’t pull me into you like that.” It’s so tight and warm inside her cunt it feels like a second home. His thrusts get sloppier and more needy as he approaches his climax. “Look at me. Look me in my fucking eyes while I fill you up.” She looks at him with pleading eyes. She really wants to watch him cum and watch his face twist in pleasure and pain as he continues to fuck her with his overstimulated cock.

He comes with a powerful grunt but he keeps up his pace and doesn’t stop bucking into her until hurts more than it feels good. He collapses on top of y/n and she kisses him on the forehead. “Do YOU feel awake now, Darlin?”

“Could take on the world, my love.”

They sit there cuddling for a while until she gets an email from work. There’s more bullshit to respond to and a world or responsibilities to get back to. Matt however is asleep. It seems he did not in fact feel awake. Y/n leaves him to his sleep and prepares for work. When she finally opens the door to leave there are two Dunkin’ coffee cups sitting on the welcome mat outside.

Masterlist

Taglist

pls give me feedback. Like should I do the thing where they make the dialogue different colors? Or maybe should I write in a different pov? Any other suggestions?

[slocumjoe]

could you do companion react to sole just kissing them? like, we can assume they’re really close and basically a situation ship at this point. you’re writing is so unique and thought out and I would love to see your take!

Companions react to Sole Doing The Damn Thing

*ringing a giant church bell i should not have access to* GAGE STANS COME GET YALL JUICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cait; That's not going to go over well with Cait. Her first instinct—and her strongest—when someone tries to kiss her, is violence. Sole is getting a broken nose out of this. Though, as her knuckles connect, her brain will catch up and realize oh. But luckily, Cait has some time to process what just happened. Because Sole kinda...needs some medical attention...Sole can't tell what Cait's flustered about, the kiss or the punch. Cait says they're seeing shit and to shut the fuck up. But...she, red as her hair, will lean in, and quickly kiss their nose better.

Curie; Probably also not immediately happy...Curie canonically gets and is frustrated with people coming on to her, and her own instincts might not be murder...but Sole will be getting an incrediblely nasty look before she remembers who they are. Most likely to still not appreciate it fully after realizing. She'd rather properly discuss their feelings first before moving into anything physical. Curie is a very proper, by-the-books woman. And she had a courting itinerary! She'll take this as a cue to get started on that bucket list, but the first one was surprising Sole and ask them out...she was going to make dinner and everything!

Danse; Are you trying to kill him. The only companion to make a noise. Freezes up, goes ramrod stiff. Doesn't move, doesn't breath, doesn't do anything for much longer than is considered normal. The best course of action, here, for Sole, is to just keep kissing him and hope his brain auto-starts. It's like trying to jumpstart a dead car battery, y'know? If Sole kisses and backs away, there is a very real chance Danse will misinterpret it or convince himself he imagined it. But if they keep going...well. Nothing to misunderstand there, right? The Thoughts don't come until later. Head is EMPTY.

Deacon; stares at them for a few seconds, blinking. Flashes some finger guns with an "ayyyy" and runs the fuck away. The bitch flees the scene. Why would you do this to Deacon? This is almost as mean as doing it to Danse. Best bet is to let him run, grabbing is just going to postpone the running. He'll spend a few days in isolation like some kind of monk. Think about it, his feelings, Sole's, what he wants. Then he goes back and does the same shit to Sole when they aren't paying attention. No one surprises Freaky Deac and gets away with it. No one.

Gage; As Sole gets closer, he notices and intuits that they're going in for it...but, nah, no way. Why would they? But...but they are, right? What else could that be? No, surely—wait, are they? What are you doing? No? No. But maybe? Yes? YES? OH ITS YES, FUCK, WHY DIDNT YA MOVE YOU DUMB SHIT? Imagine Sole going in, Gage tensing and doing 3d calculations, and the Jaws tune playing. Like Deacon, don't try to keep going. Gage is recoiling and grabbing him as he's backing away triggers Fight instinct. He recoils, takes one hard look at them, and says, in that voice smooth as piss and vinegar, "Now, what the fuck was that?" Is that what he meant to say? Nope! And Gage will forever suffer the memory of basically going 'ew' the first time his partner kissed him.

Hancock; Off to the races. Think about it? About what, how good they are at kissing? And sneaking up on him, evidently? Nope! Hancock knows where to go from here. Hancock spends the next month worrying himself sick about jumping into a relationship with someone he loves dearly, without knowing if he himself is capable of upholding his end of the relationship. Ends up crying in Nick's lap about how he's ruined everything. Sole has to explain to him they've basically been in a relationship for a few months and he's doing fine, please be easier with yourself.

MacCready; I FORGOT DEAR RATBOY MacCready was married, and I have to imagine that two teenagers getting together would have done something similar...So, Mac will 100% be stumbling and flustered, but he's not going to brick like others. You'll get an awkward, blushy Bobby grinning at Sole, asking if they really feel that way? He wasn't just imagining it? Oh, nice. So, you wanna...talk, or...keep doing what you're doing? He's good with both. Real good.

Nick; Oh, we're done dancing around this? Great. If Sole wants to just get jiggy right away, will ask gently if they can discuss the Elephant first. But Nick isn't shocked or anything. This has been going on long enough, it was either happening or it wasn't. Well, now its happening. He'd blow a party favor if he had one. Anyway, he's all too happy to finally get this sorted out and started. Even happier he wasn't the one who had to bring it up. He could have, but God, that never fails to twist the guts up.

Piper; Very similar to Nick. Okay, so, are we a thing, or are you teasing? What's your angle, here, what are we doing? The longer the situationship has been going, the more suspicious she is. If Sole fails to sufficiently explain in the 3 seconds they have to, Piper huffs, leans in, and quickly kisses them back. There. Now we're even. If Sole goes back in for their revenge, great news, they've convinced her. Now how about they actually have a relationship now. Piper has done the half-on, half-off thing, and uh...no.

Preston; has too many issues to just throw himself into a relationship like that...especially if he can't pinpoint where it started. Similar to Curie, it doesn't matter how close he is with Sole, he would rather have talked about it first. I mean, he's happy, and flustered, but beneath the dopey grin, he's a little exasperated. C'mon, he had a whole conversation planned, and Sole pops that cherry with one kiss? Alright, works for him. Not complaining. But maybe give a guy some warning? Like, are they dating? Have they been dating? They really need to define this relationship.

X6-88; Haha, you think Sole is going to catch him off—oh shit they did. And...they survived? Wow, they are powerful. X6-88's reaction is the same as Gage's, calculations and all. Except, when he demands an explanation, it is exactly what he intended to say. Seriously, what is this gesture? You're supposed to do it with your romantic partner, but he's seen people do it with someone who decidedly wasn't. He's also seen family members kiss each other on the cheek, and friends. And he's heard of Curie's people kissing everyone regardless. So, what is this? Sole has to explain to him this one is romantic and I'm trying to pursue you romantically. At that point he panics and its a mess from there. Lots of internal crisis, lots of Nick banging pots and pans, screaming YOU HAVE FEELINGS, PANIC IS A FEELING.

[upon-a-starry-night]

Number Neighbors Pt.3

Natasha Romanoff x Fem! Reader

Natasha masterlist     Series Masterlist

Pt2

Word Count: 1k

Summary: When you catch sight of the newest trend going around you know you’re all but bound to at least try it, it was harmless anyway. What could possibly stem from something so little?

~

You and Nat began texting regularly back and forth every day, despite her initial hesitance to talk to a stranger it seemed like maybe she was beginning to open up to you, and it was safe to say she was on your mind 24/7- which after one too many glasses of wine and rom-coms lead you to pick up your phone and send her a text you were far too drunk to think over

               Nat🔪

Y/n🍦:

Heyyy segg-c ;)

The response wasn’t immediate although you could see she had viewed your message, you pouted at her lack of reply and sloppily typed out another message. You were relying solely on auto-correct to convey your emotions

Y/n🍦:

Don’t ignore m3 :(

Nat🔪:

Sorry-

What’s up?

Y/n🍦:

I’m lonely

How cme no one un New York wants to date me?

Nat🔪: 

Maybe because people in New York suck?

Y/n🍦:

I want to agree but technically I live in New York 

which means your saying that I suck

Nat🔪: 

You're*

And I mean

-If the shoe fits

Y/n🍦: 

Shhh my brain can’t think grammar right now

>:0 

Currently sobbing and not because of the Rom-coms

Nat🔪:

I’m kidding

You only wear Duck socks anyway

Y/n🍦: 

Stalker! 

How did you know I was wearing them?

Nat🔪: 

Well last time you were watching TV you were wearing them

I just guessed

Y/n🍦: 

I don’t believe you

I knew you were an FBI agent!

Nat🔪:

You got me.

Surprise

Y/n🍦:

 wait really?!

Nat🔪: 

Yep, I’m actually right outside your window

You, being in the drunken excited state that you were in, immediately dropped your phone on the couch and ran to the window, searching for signs of anyone but the local crackhead on the streets. Much to your dismay, no one was there

Meanwhile, Nat was silently praising herself for getting you to believe her story, but it was obvious you were probably under the influence of some sort of substance and despite you being a total stranger you were remotely interesting and she could humor herself a bit longer.

                        Nat🔪

Y/n🍦: 

You’re mean

Nat🔪:

Just so you know I’m laughing so hard right now

Y/n🍦: 

I don’t tolerate liars in the sacred house of Y/n

Nat🔪:

I didn’t know you were a religious figure

Y/n🍦: 

well when you look as hot as I do…

People can’t help but worship you

Nat🔪:

Understandable

I’m sure you look great

 Although your cheeks were already red from alcohol consumption, you were sure that if you had any friends they would point out the noticeable blush on your face

Y/n🍦: 

Thanks ;) 

 I’m sure you look great too

Nat🔪:

Yep

People are falling over themselves as I sit in my Pajama pants and Tank top

Nat looked up at the sound of someone entering the living room. Clint, surprised that someone else was in the room, tripped over his own feet and fell straight onto the floor, Nat chuckled to herself while Clint just groaned. Huh, guess she was right. 

“What are you doing awake Nat?” Clint stood and rubbed the back of his neck, stretching his now-aching muscles

“I could ask you the same thing” Nat shot back

“I’m just getting a snack,” He explained, opening the fridge and taking out some leftover pasta that Wanda had made, Nat lifted her brow in a silent question but Clint just shrugged and grabbed a fork

“Whatever, fine, don’t tell me I didn’t even want to know” He mumbled as he walked back to the elevator to go to his room

Nat decided her room would probably be a more appropriate space for privacy and left the living room for the solace of her bed

She knew she could look you up and find out who you were in seconds but it was nice to finally talk to someone new who wasn’t a target for a mission. And you were actually pretty fun to talk to. Maybe she’d just take a peek in the morning. For now, she was reveling in the moment.

                      Y/n🍦:

Y/n🍦: 

What kind of pajama pants?

Was the question Y/n had sent, along with a picture of her own pants, which had rainbows all over them. She laughed to herself, haha gay. 

She needed to drink less next time.

Nat🔪: 

Wow.

Nothing as interesting as those

Nat debated sending a picture of her plain gray pajama pants and after what felt like ten minutes of internal struggle, finally snapped a quick photo and sent it

Y/n🍦:

Booooo! Gray

You know a person's pajama pants say

A lot about their personality

Nat🔪:

I’m offended

Y/n🍦:

Good, you should be.

I’m offended too

Offended that you’d even consider buying pants so boring

Nat🔪:

What’s wrong with gray?

It’s a great neutral color

Y/n🍦: 

Is that what you want your personality to be Nat

Gray?

Nat🔪:

Well what would you suggest I wear then 

Miss Rainbow pants?

Y/n🍦:

Rainclouds

Since you’re so grumpy all the time

Nat🔪:

You’re really pushing your luck

Might just have to delete your number now

Y/n🍦: 

No!

I thought we were friends

Nat🔪:

Strangers

Y/n🍦:

Strange friends.

Nat🔪:

Don’t you have a job or something? 

How come you’re always up so late?

You should sleep

Y/n🍦:

Don’t You have a job??

Maybe you should go to sleep

Nat🔪:

I’m trying but this crazy stranger keeps

Texting me all night and keeping me awake

Y/n🍦: 

They sound like a great person

You two should definitely meet

Nat🔪:

Goodnight Y/n.

Y/n🍦:

:( fine

Good night Nat, good luck sleeping in your Gray bed

Nat scrolled up and checked the picture that she sent, confirming that her bedspread was in fact, not in the photo

Nat🔪:

How’d you know it was gray?

Y/n🍦:

 like I said-

A person’s pajama pants say a lot about them

Nat just shook her head as she shut off her phone, a smile on her face, You really were something. The more she talked to you the harder she found it to stop texting you.

Pt.4

-I had a random number invite me to a birthday party not too long ago. What’s your weirdest random number story?~ Starry

------

Taglist @romanoffsgal

[salty-jade]

Steps: Hand Holding

Pairing: Tom!Peter Parker x Fem! Reader

Theme: Fluff, just fluff.

Summary: Peter wants to hold hand with you, but how are you going to do that without exlpoding every single time he touches you?

Note: Okay, I'm back at it again. I think... Tbh this is sort of based on my own what if of myself once I have that special someone. also, I did this all in one go, so no edits whatsoever :D. If there is something triggering in this pls let me know!

Everyone in you circle of friends knew you had the biggest crush on Peter Parker. Obviously they didn’t know why since he was sort of a nerd and a geek at the same time. Well for you, that wasn’t a deal breaker since you liked him because he was just him. Loving, caring, sweet and if you look closely, actually handsome. Nevertheless, your friends were supportive and tried everything to get you two together.

So it came to no surprise for them that you two ended up together. Though, it was really because you discovered his secret identity by accident when you were taking out the trash at the same alley way where Peter would change into his super suit. Plus point for you since you saw his bare torso, which you swore justified your case on how handsome he was.

Still, because of that incident, you two became closer, and bloomed into something more. So now your friends are gushing over the possible things you and Peter would do as a new couple. Eat lunch together, walk to class together, talk about each other to other people, hold hands.

Wait.

Hold hands?

As in you and Peter’s fingers locking together while swinging your arms as you both cross a field of daisies???

Nope. Nope. and NOPE!

If Peter had a big secret to keep from the whole world, you had one too. Well, it’s not as huge as Peter’s but still something that you don’t want other people to know about. Peter’s your first boyfriend, therefore you’ve never really been physical with a guy before. The only people you could tolerate physical touch was the men in your family.

“Oh, don’t forget protection ok?! tell him to wrap his junior before sticking it in”

“Also, consent is important for both you and him okay girl? also…”

While your friends kept giving you tips on how to essentially ‘turn on’ your boyfriend and please him, all you could think in your head was about how you were going to even hold hands with him when he asks. forget sex, you could die just from holding hands!

So far, Peter hasn’t really touched you in anyway whatsoever. Heck, when you both confessed, Peter couldn’t event try and land a kiss on you because suddenly his senses alerted him of a villain so he had to drop you off somewhere safe before going out to battle.

The moment he wrapped his arms around your waist to hoist him up, your stomach was doing flips, face becoming different shades of red, and your brain turned into mush. You had to dunk your head into the bathtub to cool yourself from the heat of your face. You thought something was wrong with you. You thought it was weird for someone to be overstimulated with just a few touches with your partner. The romcoms you watch in your laptop certainly made it seem so. It made it seem like an amazing experience where you and your partner could share sweet moments together and just enjoy each other’s presence and act like it was only you two in the entire world. Well, both your heart and mind could not handle that much intimacy.

Was it because you’ve never date anyone before? or was it because you just have high expectations so your afraid of underperforming. Regardless of the reason, it was better to come clean to Peter rather than just keeping it to yourself.

Just as you made your self-declaration, you felt and hand on your arm, pulling you closer to another person’s body.

“Hey there Y/N!” your body, as if it was on auto-pilot, jumped at his touch and voice and instinctively backed a bit to hard unto your locker. Causing it to temporarily shake both the locker and somewhat your body due to the shock. Peter, being the lovely boyfriend he was, felt bad since he thought it was his fault for startling you and tried to hold you to help soothe the pain. Before he could do that though, you again backed away from him and kept a safe distance from him so he couldn’t touch you so you wouldn’t turn to mush.

“Hey! Hey Peter! umm how’s it going?” the fact that you tried to deescalate the situation to make it seem less awkward, just made the situation more awkward. Peter could only raise a brow at you and replied to your question.

“Everything’s good. yeah. I just wanted to see if you would want to walk to AP calculus together…” He said. The sound of guilt and confusion lingered in his voice as every time he raised his hand even slightly you would sort of jerk away from his touch.

“sure sure. we can do that, I just need to…” you looked around your surroundings to find a place where you could cool down for a bit before getting to class. Luckily, you found a bathroom.

“go to the bathroom real quick that’s all! So wait for me okay?! great!” before he could even reply, you dashed across the hall and into the bathroom to spare you the embarrassment.

One of your friends just patted Peter in the back to help reassure him that that was just who you were. “don’t worry, she LOVES you to death. she’s just shy that’s all.” and with that, your friend group had dispersed, each going to their own classes for today.

While you were in the bathroom checking the mirror to see if your face was still red from being touched by Peter. It wasn’t that Peter was not allowed to touch you. In fact, you really wanted to hold hands with him, but your body just reacts in the weirdest ways and your brain perceives it as you being overstimulated.

Before going out again, you took out a few books from your bag and carried them instead, just so could occupy them and avoid holding hands with Peter.

Peter saw you coming out of the bathroom, and he gave you his honest smile and walked up to you.

“I can carry those books for you if you wa-”

“NO!” ok that response was too fast, let’s try that again.

“I mean, no need. It’s ok! besides, you wouldn’t want people to know about the ‘thing you have right’?” you let out a dry chuckle, knowing that your excuse was the dumbest thing Peter might have heard in his entire life.

The whole walk towards class was weird in general. Peter kept wanting to try and find an opening to at least hold your shoulder or at least offer to carry your stuff so he could hold your hand, but something tells him that you were intentionally avoiding that opportunity for him. In the end, when you both made it to your seats in class, you both just exchanged notes while you tried to send him cute doodles so that he didn’t feel too bummed out about not being able to hold your hand.

You knew he didn’t deserve this treatment. He should be able to hold his girlfriend, kiss her whenever he wanted to. But, you just couldn’t handle the overload of affection from him. He was like the sun, while you were the midnight sky shying away from everything.

You both went on with your days as if you were just friends. Peter still tried to find an opening to at least graze your hand but, nothing. He sensed there must be something wrong with you. Maybe he was imagining things when you actually confessed that you liked him? was he reading the signals wrong? whatever it was, even Peter couldn’t solve this with only his intuition only. It was best that he asked you directly instead.

As soon as you both stepped out of the school, where a good few inches of empty space were between you and Peter, peter turned to you before you had the chance to escape the awkward situation.

“Can we talk?” he said. Your instincts were telling you that he probably wanted to talk about what happened this morning and your over all behavior today. I mean who could blame him, the whole day you’ve been avoiding his touches and advances the best you could so that you wouldn’t explode from an overload.

“y-yeah sure…”

Peter and you agreed it be better to talk about it back at his place since May wouldn’t be around the apartment. Though, it didn’t help you calm your worries since this is more about how are you going to explain it to Peter rather than having to go through May’s constant teasing of the two of you.

And now here you were, in his apartment.

alone.

together.

on the couch.

.

.

.

NOPE NOPE NOPE! even if there was no contact between you two, for some reason this situation alone was enough to make you overload. Even a blind person could tell you were nervous about this whole situation. You were as stiff as a tree, you wouldn’t even let yourself relax into the couch and sat in an upright position with your legs shut close together, while your hands were a=placed on top of them in the form of fist. Where even your knuckles started to turn white. Ok, now is a good as time as any for Peter to bring it up.

Peter sat back down on the couch after he grabbed you both something cool to drink. For some reason, he knew this conversation was going to make you burn up.

“Okay, umm… did I do something wrong?” your head shot up to look at him the instant he said those words.

“WHAT?! NO! I-I mean…. no… well, I mean there is something wrong but it’s not you per say… rather,” and there you go, falling a part as soon as you opened your mouth. God, you wish you could just crawl into a hole and die rather than explain the weirdest thing about you. But as you looked into his eyes. his warm brown eyes, you knew he deserved to know. So, you took a deep breath and tried to carefully construct the next few sentences in your head so that Peter can understand you.

“just so were on the same page, you noticed I’ve been trying to avoid… touching you right?”

All Peter could do was nod at your statement. He decided it was best if he added some words to it as well.

“Yeah, and I mean I get it if you don’t want us to be physical because if that’s your preference then by all means go-” You waved your hands in the air to tell him to shut up for a bit.

“No, no that’s not what I meant…I guess you could say I’m the weird one” Peter was sure he wasn’t following what you were saying just now. How could you be weird?

“Look, I don’t know why I’m like this, but… I’ve never had a boyfriend before and the thought of being in a relationship is new to me. What’s also new to me is the fact that I get to be physical with someone that I have really like and…” you looked back again at his face to see if he was following you along before continuing.

“The thought of even just holding hands with someone, especially you, just overwhelms me. I feel warm and fuzzy of course when I’m with you, like my heart just wants to jump around the room. But at the same time it feels like it might just burst and I feel like a PC that just short-circuits due to the heat. I guess you could say I get overstimulated? I’m not sure what to call it, but that’s just how I am…”

You didn’t realize that you were curling up into a ball on his couch when you finished your explanation. it did make a nice place to burry your head into so that you could calm yourself down for a bit before hearing Peter’s reply to what you just said.

Peter felt, giddy? like as if he saw the most cutest plush bear in the world and wanted to hug it so tight cause it was so cute. That was how he felt after your whole explanation. Your reason was totally valid, but on the other hand it also make Peter want to hold you close and see your face get red in the cutest way possible. Though, that might just make things worse.

You heard rustling from the other side of the couch and watch Peter hold up one of his fingers to you. Your brows furrowed at his sudden act.

“Let’s try something. I hold up one of my finger, and you just touch mine with your. how bout that?”

You swore this whole situation felt like something a pre-school teacher would do to a kid to get to know them.

“come on just humor me. Besides, think of it as a training exercise for yourself” and so you did.

You held out your index finger and connected the two together. You felt like Peter was E.T and you were the young boy in the movie.

“Are we recreating E.T here?!”

“I don’t know, maybe~” you giggled at his response.

“Ok, how bout we try this now,” Peter held out all his other fingers, signaling you to do the same with your hands. You showed signs of hesitance but you wanted to try even for a bit.

You unraveled your hands and brought both of your fingertips together slowly. First the thumbs, then the middle finger, the ring finger and finally your pinky. Your stomach felt like it was fluttering, along with you heartbeat starting to pick up the pace.

Peter could tell you were starting to “short-circuit” as you described. So he let you know it was ok if you didn’t want to continue. “We can stop if you want.”

you shook your head while keeping your hand steady in the air with his. Both of your fingertips were still touching, not once have you flinched away from his.

“I-it’s okay, I really wanna try holding your hand” the last bit of the sentence you dialed it down a bit so that Peter couldn’t hear it. Though, we all know he could hear it.

As if you were an astronaut taking your first step on a planet, you slowly brought you palm closer to Peter’s. Peter has not moved an inch from his position, so all of this was your own doing. Then slowly, but surely, your hands were clasped together. Now you could feel your face starting to burn, and your heart was pumping faster. This was only just hands touching, imagine if you did some of the things your friends kept telling you about.

Peter felt proud of you, even though he could see your face turn into different shades of red, but proud. Now, he felt like doing something bold, maybe you weren’t ready for it, but he wanted to at least try and see your reaction.

“I’m gonna do something so, be prepared ok”

“what?”

“Trust me” trust me. Never would you think those were the words from Peter that would make you turn into mush.

Peter then did the unthinkable, well at least for you. He shifted his hand a bit and slowly intertwined his hands with yours. Now, your fingers were interlaced with each other. You were both now holding hands. Something Peter wanted to do for the whole day. His hold on you was firm, not to the point where it hurts, but firm in a way that says he would never let go of you.

Your eyes widened, your instincts are telling you to pull away and stick your head into the bathtub filled with cold water. are your hands starting to sweat? you think it does. Are you sweating? maybe? God you are! What’s happening? can you still see Peter? Yes, but right now you really don’t want to turn into a tomato in front of him so you look to the side so that your hair is covering your face and avoid looking at him. But despite all that, your hand was still holding his. Never letting go.

Peter thought enough was enough so he tried to pull a way so that you could at least breath. Surprisingly, you were the one that held on.

“I- I don’t want my efforts to go to waste, or yours. So… is it okay if we stay like this for a bit” you were still looking away from Peter, but you lowered your hands so that it was comfortably resting on the couch.

“My heart is like beating a thousand miles per second right now I think, but I-I’m okay…” You finally looked at Peter. Your cheeks were flushed with shades of red, and your eyes seemed more like a doe to Peter now. God, he really wanted to hold you close now.

He shuffled a bit in the couch, trying to close the distance between you little by little.

“Is this okay?” Peter asked. He was still an arms length far from you, but closer nonetheless. You nodded. He then shifted closer, asking the same thing, and you replied the same. After going back and forth a bit, Peter was now only a few inches away from your body. You both still kept some form of distance, but the proximity between you two was closer than you could ever imagine. Peter asked one last time.

“How about this? Is this too close for you?” He said, almost like a whisper. Your heart had reached it’s breaking point, your brain was already in the process of turning into goop, your body was overheating as if gas was leaking out of your skin. Yeah, this was your limit for now Peter thought.

He backed a few inches away from you so you could compose yourself, while his eyes were still watching your every move. You finally let go of his hand and fanned yourself to cool your face.

You gave him a sheepish smile as you’re still embarrassed about the whole thing you just did with him, at the same time you were happy he tried to help you. Though, you don’t know how much your heart can take it if he keeps doing these things.

“How bout we just stick to hand holding for now?” you said.

Peter gave you his signature smile and grabbed your hand to hold it on his own. Though, he wasn’t done teasing you just yet, as once he grabbed your hand, he brought the back of your hand to his lips and kissed it as if he was a prince in a fairy tale giving the princess a greeting.

yeah, it was then and there you fainted.

[eddieschains]

my experience with grace under the cut

and no i will not tolerate any hate or slander against her because she literally made my weekend. if you don’t like her that’s fine, but keep your comments to yourself please 🫶🏽

i obviously am not a grace blog whatsoever. in fact i used to not really vibe with her that much. but i got the opportunity to see her in dallas when i went to see joe, and she was so sweet to me that this weekend in portland i was planning on seeing her again.

i wasn’t planning on seeing her more than once, but after my first interaction with her, i just had to.

i got done with my autograph with joe and bee lined for grace. as soon as she looked at me, she complimented my eyes and asked if they were real 😭 i told her yes and said that she asked me the same thing when i saw her in dallas. her eyes lit up and she asked if i had blonde hair when i saw her and bitch i was shooketh that she remembered me 🫶🏽

i complimented her hair and she said she had bought some scissors to cut her bangs. i had my irl friend with me and pointed out that she was a hairdresser and she had cut my bangs for me the night before. she called my friend over to ask her how to cut her own bangs and said she needed to just bring her with her to do her hair for her. it was so cute because my friend wasn’t even there for an auto or anything 🥺

the next day, i went to graces table before joe. i needed my bestie time to start the day off right 🤭 she told me it was nice to see me again and gave me the biggest hug and we had a lil argument over who was prettier LMAO. i kept trying to leave because i didn’t want to take up too much of her time, but she kept starting new conversations and it just really felt like she wanted to keep me there and spend more time with me.

i did my auto with joe afterwards, then sat at a little table across from their tables to hang out while i waited for my photo op time. i kept looking over at graces table because hello?? she’s my bestie now. and she was smiling and waving at me and i stg i almost cried right then and there.

a couple hours later i had my photo op, and as soon as i walked in she smiled so big and went “hiii angel” and gave me the biggest hug 🥺 i told her she was probably sick of seeing me by now and she said “no i could never”

i felt so bad because i’m pretty sure she was going in for a hug for the photo but my dumb ass just stood there 😭 i didn’t even realize joe was sitting in the corner of the room watching like a lil creep while the girlies were having their girlie time LMAO

anyways she’s my new bestie and i love her so much. joe was okay too i guess 🤭

[lucy90712]

Gavi watching his s/o perfoming at her concert and him being so happy and proud of her.

WC: 2.2k Tonight is the night my dream finally comes true. I have always liked to sing and I've wondered if I could ever make it as a singer but for a long time that felt impossible. As it turns out it it's not impossible as I just released my first album and now I'm going to perform my first ever concert. 

A few years ago my dream still felt impossible but then I met Pablo. We started off as friends after a mutual friend introduced us but we were both attracted to each other so things quickly progressed into us dating. A few months after we met we made things official and once we did we were pretty much inseparable. One day I was over at his place waiting for him to get home from training as he wanted us to spend as much time together as possible as he had a busy time coming up. While I was waiting I was making the both of us lunch and like I always do I was singing as I work but I was so in my own world that I didn't hear the door open and Pablo come in. As soon as he heard me singing and we talked about it a bit Pablo insisted that I at least try and make it as a singer. 

Pablo did everything he could to support me as I started proper voice lessons and begin to write and record songs. I used some of the money I had saved to pay for all of that but Pablo also helped me out which I tried to tell him not to do but he insisted on helping me out. When things felt impossible and like a waste of time Pablo encouraged me by saying that he used to feel that way when he was younger but now he's achieved his dream because he kept working hard. He really wanted us both to be living our dreams and be that power couple who have both worked so hard to achieve their dreams all while supporting each other every step of the way. It was his positivity and belief in me that kept me going even when things were hard. 

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes I released my first song which a few people listened to but it wasn't a success at all. That didn't deter me though I kept going and trying to find my style which eventually I did and that was rewarded by the song somehow blowing up on tiktok which brought more attention to all of my other music. Once more people started to listen to my music I made sure that I kept them interested by putting out more music as quickly as I could. Eventually things became more stable and I had created a proper fan base which was doing nothing but growing. Once it got to this point Pablo used my song in his Instagram story and a few weeks later we went public with our relationship which helped me a lot too. He offered his help from the beginning but I wanted to make it on my own as that's the only way I'd feel like my success was my own. 

Since then I've been working hard every day and I even quit my job as I was starting to make money from my music and Pablo said he would help support me if I needed it. Last month I released my first full album and now I'm preparing for my first concert right where it all started in Barcelona. After this I have a small tour around Spain but I just had to start here in Barcelona so that Pablo and the rest of my friends could attend. 

I have been at the venue for a few hours already because I had to be here to do sound check as well as many other things but the main reason I got here so early is because I'm so nervous. I barely slept last night because I was so worried that no one would turn up even though I know exactly how many tickets have been sold. Also running through my mind was the thought that everyone might hate my voice as I know I'll sound different in real life even though I don't use auto tune. We had sound check first which took my mind off things for a bit but then I was back to sitting around until rehearsals which allowed me to go back to thinking about everything that could go wrong. After rehearsals I had a few hours until the start of the show which was supposed to be for me to get ready but I started it by sitting and having a panic attack. 

"Are you ok my love?" Pablo asked as he poked his head round the door 

"Yeah I'm fine what are you doing here so early" I said 

"I wanted to come and see you because I knew you'd be nervous and I can tell that you are not having a good time so its a good thing I'm here" he said 

"Now tell me what's going through your mind" he said 

"I just don't want everyone to hate me I mean what if I'm not as good as they thought I was" I said 

"If anyone thinks that then they're crazy because I know nothing about singing but you have always sounded like an angel to me even when you're not trying so everyone will love you don't stress yourself over that" he said 

"I'm definitely not that good but thank you" I laughed 

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" He asked 

"Yeah I am" I replied 

"Then what are you waiting for you I know I love watching you get ready" he smiled 

He wasn't lying so I grabbed all of my makeup stuff and started to get myself ready while Pablo sat behind me watching in the mirror as his arms clung around my waist. While I was concentrating he just kept talking which was actually really helpful as it kept me distracted and made me laugh every now and then. Once my makeup was done it was time for hair and Pablo being the good boyfriend he is helped me section my hair and hold strands out the way while I did the style I had planned. He then helped me into my outfit while I put my earpieces in as there was only a few minutes until I was supposed to go on. 

Once I was ready Pablo grabbed my hand and we walked backstage together. That's when I started to hear the crowd and things suddenly felt so much more real than they did earlier. All of those people are here for me which is such a crazy concept and slightly overwhelming to think about. Pablo must've been able to tell that I was getting nervous again as he spun me round to face him and placed his hands on my waist. He held me close to him and had me look directly into his eyes which made it feel like we were the only two people there which really calmed my anxiety. 

"You've got this cariño just go out there and give it your all I will be right there the whole time so just look at me if you feel anxious" he said 

"Thank you amor" I whispered back 

With that he let go of me and gave me one last kiss before running off to make it to his seat. I jumped up and down a bit and to hype myself up before finally walking out onto the stage. The noise was almost deafening as people in the crowd screamed and cheered for me. I couldn't help but smile knowing that there was this much excitement just to hear me sing I mean I'm not anything special I'm not like Taylor Swift but I sure felt like it walking out into that stage. To help settle myself I spoke to the crowd a bit and I looked for Pablo who was sat with some of the boys right in my eye line. 

When I finally started my set I begun to feel a whole lot more confident and I really got into it. I was completely in my own world feeling myself as I sung all of my songs and did all of the dances I had worked on with a choreographer. Every now and then I looked over to Pablo who was singing along every time I looked over without a care in the world which gave me even more confidence to do the same. All of the boys looked like they were having a good time but when I caught Pablo's eyes and saw him give me the biggest smile I could feel his proud he was. For a second I wondered if that's how he felt when I did the same for him whilst he was playing but I couldn't think about it for too long as the show had to go on. 

"I have one last song for you all I'm sure you can guess which one it is but before I start I want to thank a special someone who's actually here watching me today" I said 

"Pablo thank you for believing in me every step of the way if you hadn't of convinced me to give singing a try there is no way I'd be stood here today I owe all of this to you so thank you for helping me achieve my dream" I continued 

As I performed my last song I kept my eyes on Pablo who had tears in his eyes which were obvious even from a distance. This song was one of the first ones I ever wrote and it has always been his favourite of mine so it was only right to dedicate it to him and sing it as if we were the only people mind the room. The whole night had been magical but this moment made me feel like I was dreaming I could faintly hear the crowd in the background as I rounded up this amazing experience by sending a kiss to Pablo who sent one right back. Before leaving the stage I thanked everyone for coming and thanked the small team I had helping me as they deserve some of the recognition too. 

Once I got off stage and back to my dressing room all of the adrenaline left my body and suddenly I was exhausted but also all of the emotions caught up with me and nothing could wipe the smile off my face. The fact that I'd just done my first concert finally sunk in and I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in myself this is such a big occasion and could mark the start of a whole new life for me especially as I leave tomorrow for my next show in Madrid. After a few minutes of alone time there was a knock on my dressing room door so I went to open it thinking it might be my manager coming to check on me but instead I was greeted by Pablo and everyone else who came holding bouquets of flowers. There was so many flowers that once they were handed to me I couldn't see anything so I had to put them all down in the small sofa in the room. I thanked all the guys for coming and for the flowers and they all congratulated me on my performance before they all left so that I could be with Pablo. It only took a matter of seconds before Pablo smashed his lips onto mine. 

"You were so amazing out there" he said giving me a kiss in between each word 

"Thank you it felt amazing I've never felt such a rush in my life" I said 

"I knew you'd have the best time" he smiled 

"Also you didn't have to say all that about me this is your success all I did was steer you in the right direction" he said 

"I know but you've supported me whenever I wanted to give up and you posting with my songs has helped me a lot I really do owe you a lot because I wouldn't be here without you" I said 

"Thats sweet of you to say but I think you were destined for this life I'm glad I get to be a part of it and see you live your dream" he said 

"You're going to make me cry" I laughed 

"Don't cry my love just be happy you achieved a big thing today you should be smiling and so proud of yourself" he said 

We stayed at the venue for a bit longer before Pablo drove me back to his place so we could spend the night together. Along the way he got me to order whatever food I wanted for dinner was I hadn't eaten since lunch and was starving. We spent the night watching movies together on the sofa eating a lot of food all of which Pablo shouldn't have but he told me it was fine as it was a special day which only made the smile on my face bigger if that was even possible. 

[fireflysummers]

Final Thoughts on GO S2

I'm probably gonna pull back on discussing S2, at least publicly, after this. I did actually like a lot of the season, but it's triggering some of my religious trauma and also the fandom is already stressing me out. So here, let's have some final thoughts.

First and foremost: I am not a Gaiman simp. I've read a decent amount of his work: comics, short stories, essays, and novels. Aside from Good Omens, I've liked Coraline and The Graveyard Book the best by far, whereas American Gods just. Did Not Connect with me, even though it's should have, given the stuff I tend to enjoy.

However. Regardless of whether I like a given work (or even like how he adapted it, a la parts of The Sandman TV series), he is a veteran writer who has proven that he does, actually, know how to write a story with consistent characters.

Beyond that, I do actually believe that he's trying to do right by Pratchett, and loves and respects the story and characters they created together. He's generally shown up as an ally to a variety of social causes, and directly and respectfully responds to fans on Tumblr. While no saint, I feel that there is cause to give the benefit of the doubt that things will resolve satisfyingly in S3, and that there is Intention about some of the things in S2.

This, of course, does not absolve it of being "bad," but even here I think we need to articulate better the different types of "bad" that people are reacting to. There seems to roughly be three camps here: 1) People who thought it was "bad" because of how it ended, with the breakup and a lot of unresolved plot threads; 2) People who thought it was "bad" because it struggled on a technical level with its set, lighting, directorial choices, editing, etc; 3) People who thought it was "bad" because they felt the characterization was significantly off and that the internal logic of the series had been violated.

With regards to Point One, the only solution is to Wait and See. Judgement should be reserved until the story is properly finished--easier said than done, especially considering the current media landscape, and the number of series or franchises that fail to live up to their promises.

Point Two isn't something I understand well enough to contribute meaningfully, except that I suspect the pandemic affected this aspect the most and am willing to give it a bit more mercy. That aside, I for the most part I don't find it bad so much as not as good as S1. Except for the parts with epilepsy warnings, surely there could've been a better way to do that.

Point Three... that's the stumbling block for me, and I find it interesting that most of the folks who struggle with this point in particular are long time fans of the book.

I trust that instinct.

There are two different directions to go from here. The first is the assumption that these problems are a result of ego, carelessness, or lack of skill from the showrunners/writers/director. It's cynical but not unjustified. The second is the belief that the breaks in lore or characterization were intentional, building towards a much grander conspiracy. Of course, even in this case I don't think it forgives the lack of signposting that would indicate that this is a choice rather than an accident. It just makes it feel clumsy and poorly constructed, a major risk on a show that hasn't had its third season confirmed.*

However, regardless, it still feels salvageable. I've enjoyed reading a lot of meta on all this, and I've pulled some things from others (particularly That Theory by @ariaste), but I don't really want to put forth a single, defined theory myself. Instead, here's some questions I've got, why those questions are important (to me, at least). Actual theorizing comes after, and anybody who snidely mentions Sherlock in the comments or tags is going to get auto-blocked. Like seriously, I'm aware that some stuff is a stretch, but it's fun??? To theorize????? And I'm here for me and my peace of mind rather than trying to argue a point.

*I have some suspicions here, particularly with Gaiman stating that the decision from Amazon would come much faster than The Sandman's second season (which was four months). I don't know enough though to say if that's actually significant.

Questions

Who the fuck is telling this story?

This is the most important piece, in my opinion. There's this assumption when reading books (or research papers, newspapers, etc...) that the narrator who is writing the words is a non-presence, Neutral and objective. That's not the case, and an important part of literature critique is figuring out who the narrator is, and what their goals are. Oftentimes, the narrator and the author are the same person, but with Pratchett's work, particularly on Good Omens and Discworld, the Narrator was its own unique character.

This is why people struggle adapting Discworld to live action--that medium requires a Reason for having a Narrator, and especially in the age of method acting that's often considered immersion-breaking. Good Omens worked so well because they not only kept the Narrator, but they made Her God.

This added some really interesting new dimensions, such as the scene where Crowley speaks to God about his fall and the destruction of humanity. He doesn't receive an answer, but we're watching from God's perspective, so we as the audience know that She's listening.

Another advantage of making God the Narrator is that it justifies all the goofy little asides we get into the lives of minor characters (i.e. Leslie the Mailman), without losing focus. It helps the world feel like it’s full of people, rather than characters and plot contrivances, and the theme that individual people and their choices are important. The Narrator is such a central character of Good Omens that without it, the story struggles to stay focused.

It also highlights a key difference in the writing styles of the two authors. Pratchett’s work tends to introduce four or five totally unique plot threads that feel completely disjointed until the last act (if not even later), when it turns into a Chekhov’s Firing Squad. Plot twists around secret identities and backstabbing and schemes are relatively rare, as the omniscient Narrator doesn’t lie about the intentions of people or their actions.

Gaiman’s writing is typically not like that, to my knowledge. He buries characters in misdirection and hints, and you never know the true identity or motives until all the chips are down. It’s a perfectly valid way to approach storytelling, but it makes it jarring to see it in S2. The lack of a Narrator is a huge reason why S2 doesn’t feel like Good Omens to some folks.

My gut feeling is that the decision to shift from the original Narrator was highly intentional. It helps to obscure the thoughts and intentions of people, and it also muddles the insights that we’re supposed to take away. (I would have loved hearing God monologue about what’s going on in Jim’s head. I think it’d do a lot to make him seem less.... obnoxiously stupid.)

More than that, it brings up a reasonable potential plot point of: Where did God go? Why isn’t She present in the story? Even in her early appearance in the Job flashback, she doesn’t sound like the narrator for last season. After the first part of her speech (which Gabriel later quotes), her tone turns casual and condescending, which might line up with her being a bit of an asshole, it doesn’t line up with the whole “dealer of a mysterious card game who is always smiling”).

Also, I don’t think it’s safe to assume that nobody is telling the story either. Just because they’re not making their presence known doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and in a story like Good Omens, that’s concerning.

Wait, where's Satan?

Another person I saw while scrolling the tags pointed out that Satan is nowhere to be seen this season. He's really only mentioned in reference to a bet God made in Job, but then Crowley is the one on the ground causing mischief. There's no Hail Satan among demons (like Hastur and Ligur did at the start of S1).

That's might be because the writers didn't want us to think it was important (a la Hastur), but that feels off. Given that Satan speaks directly through the radio to Crowley in S1, complimenting him on his work, it's safe to say that he was at least aware of and involved in the goings-on in Hell. The fact that he wasn't even an worry for Beelzebub in abandoning their post? Feels weird.

(Also if you know where that post is, I'll happy credit + link)

What is Maggie?

Look, I love cute lesbians in love as much as the next queer, but I don't like Maggie. I don’t think she’s a person. Contextually, she’s a plot device, but I agree with That Essay that she might be an actual Plot Device.

Her characterization is simple and relatively shallow—a bit of an airhead, ray of sunshine that’s supposed to remind you of Aziraphale. When she describes her past to Nina, it’s almost robotic (also, her story implies it was Mr. Fell who first rented to her ancestor, not Mr. Fell’s great-grandfather like Nina implied). Her emotions are over-dramatic and seem to be turned on and off at random (scenes with her crying to Aziraphale about her woes had my “manipulator” senses going off for some reason).

When asked about a song, she not only IDs the song, its singer, and its year, but how and on what it was distributed. (Honestly thought this would’ve been something interesting, because she’s been pretty ditzy so far, it’d be interesting if she had like... an insane memory for music history.) And then she’s the one that sets Aziraphale on his little investigation by giving him the transformed records, while also planting the seed about her love troubles with Nina. Later, her advice to Crowley is... not awful, but feels insincere and a bit too forward, given her own self-proclaimed lack of relationship experience.

I don’t know what she is (a demon, hastur with amnesia in disguise, a literal plot device inserted by the current storyteller, etc...), but there’s something not right with her.

(Also the joke of “who listens to records anymore, it’s so old fashioned” just doesn’t land, lots of people buy records, and I’m saying this as somebody who has worked at a record store before.)

What's going on with Aziraphale?

There’s something Off about Aziraphale, and it’s not his choices at the end of the season. That makes total sense if you read him as somebody with severe religious trauma getting dragged back into the abusive system because other people need him and he’s been promised the ability to change things.

But I do think something is happening to his memory. Nearly all the flashbacks are from Aziraphale’s point of view and retelling, which means that they’re less reliable than God’s version of events in the previous season. Many of them don’t make logistical sense (post-church scene in 1941), depict Crowley as meaner or more sinister than we know he is, or frame events... weirdly. The scene with him trying food for the first time feels Really Bad, especially when the series has previously established that he’s a) prim and proper and b) his interest in food is one of the beautiful things that connect him to humanity, not some kind of gluttonous sin. Also he turns down alcohol.

Their meet-cute at the  start of the universe also doesn’t line up with their reactions to each other in Eden, or the fact that knowing each other Before has never come up or been hinted at anywhere ever. I don’t know what’s causing this to happen, only that Aziraphale repeatedly looks pensive when coming out of flashbacks, and Crowley is never there afterwards to corroborate said memories.

His actions also seem pretty inconsistent with what we know of him—i.e. I refuse to believe he would ever mistreat his books, even if they’re just old encyclopedias. Also, he feels a bit too...forceful in trying to get Nina and Maggie to fall in love? I mean, he didn’t exert that much direct influence on even Warlock, when he was actively hoping that the boy would turn out angelic rather than neutral.

I don’t think this removes his agency in that last decision, so much as explains how he was in such a vulnerable place at all. He still needs to apologize and fix things, because he messed up, and even if he hadn’t he still seriously hurt Crowley.

What's going on with Crowley?

There’s something Off about Crowley. The most obvious thing, of course, is his memories. At multiple points in the present day, characters state that they remember him or have met him before, only to be met with confusion. This is especially concerning given that he has a nigh photographic memory for faces (something mentioned in the book when he immediately IDs Mary Loquacious, 11 years after a 30 second conversation).

Overall, he seems to be better known by other supernatural entities this season, in ways that often tie him back to his angelic identity (i.e. saying they fought together in the war, Aziraphale stating he knew the angel he used to be, etc...). This doesn’t feel right, because S1 we see that Hell is largely apathetic towards his schemes, and definitely does not defer to him at any point in any capacity.

Then there’s the issue of his power level. It’s always been speculated that Crowley was a powerful angel prior to falling, when he mentions in S1 his involvement with star making, his seemingly unique ability to freeze time, and creating a pocket universe for Adam before the confrontation with Satan. He also has a tendency of breathing life into inanimate objects, like his plants or car. He also has the regular demonic skillset: miracles that can adjust physical appearance; the ability to change inanimate objects (like paintball guns into real guns); the ability to manifest clothing and similar items; and summon hellfire to his fingertips. This, plus the way he monologues to God with a degree of familiarity rather than reverence seems to indicate that he was Somebody Powerful and Important Before.

But in S2, his skills are significantly expanded upon. The miracle he and Aziraphale summon sets off alarms in heaven and hell, and it’s powerful enough to mask Gabriel from the Archangels. He summons a miniature sun to rain fire on Job, which is way bigger and flashier than anything we’ve seen him summon in S1. (If he needs fire, he alters the course of a dropping bomb, without creating one himself.)

Yet he’s able to cloak his presence so well he goes wholly unnoticed in heaven, or in front of heavenly agents on earth (i.e. the Job flashback). Muriel can’t clock him as a demon, or even as another supernatural being, despite their auras usually being pretty significant, such Aziraphale immediately sensing the archangels when they arrive.  He’s able to interfere with files that Muriel claimed required clearance (although I feel like that might just be a snark about Obeying Without Thinking? I would really need a Narrator to know.)

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I don’t have any real issues with his characterization in the present day parts of S2, but there’s something weird happening with Crowley.

Where's all the people?

I really like a lot of the new characters, but how were there only like, 2.5 new humans named in the present day? Flashbacks don’t count bc the humans are all dead and can’t affect the story.

As much as I like Nina, she and Maggie don’t drive the story beyond being an occasional and awkwardly inserted plot contrivance? Both are actively robbed of their agency at several points, forced into situations that they could not have avoided or escaped. I’m not really sure what growth they’re expected to experience other than deciding not to date each other after everything. I literally can’t tell you anything about Nina other than that she remembers her regular’s orders, runs a coffee shop, and has a textbook abusive partner we never see. The only meaningful interactions they have are between those two, or in conversation with Aziraphale and Crowley.

Compare that to S1, where Anathema gets hit by Aziraphale and Crowley, but her primary relationships are with Newt, Adam, and Agnes Nutter (I think that counts as a relationship). We know that she’s got a wealthy family back in Puerto Rico, and that she was literally raised to save the world, and that she isn’t happy under all that pressure. Newt on the other hand is connected to not just Anathema, but Shadwell and Madame Tracy. He never even directly interacts with Aziraphale and Crowley. We know about his hobbies, his struggle to hold down a job, and his almost supernatural ability to destroy any electronics he touches. I don’t necessarily like how their relationship came together, but they were both very, very well fleshed out characters with unique backstories and goals. They weren’t just... waiting around to give Aziraphale and Crowley a new questline.

And while there’s no requirement to include a large cast of human characters that are exerting influence over the story, the lack of it is another aspect that makes this season feel not like Good Omens.

Also, it's just. Really weird to me that the events of S1 aren't really referenced at all? Like, Adam isn't mentioned, nor is Warlock. I don't expect them to keep track of the humans they met on the airfield for 20 minutes, but none of it is ever specifically referenced as far as I can tell, beyond Crowley threatening Gabriel. Like, I get that it's been a few years, but the pair caused a big enough disturbance that you'd expect some kind of ripples in their supernatural communities.

Promised by the Narrative (Obvious Chekhov's guns that I will be legitimately upset over if they do not go off)

A sincere apology from Aziraphale to Crowley that doesn't come with the expectation that Crowley will come back to him, but because he deserves an apology, even if the choices Aziraphale made were done with good intentions. Aziraphale does not expect forgiveness, and is shocked when Crowley grants it without hesitation.

A clear declaration of love from Aziraphale, which can't be rationalized away by either of them.

An "I'm Sorry" dance between Aziraphale and Crowley, but with greater sincerity and gravity. The most important piece is that they end up dancing together, which signifies a mutual apology and dedication to come together.

Since kissing is on the table, I expect an actual joyful, mutual kiss between these two assholes.

A shared cottage in South Downs.

Predictions/Theories (just some fun thoughts I've had)

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he didn't make himself not the antichrist, but accidentally crowned his human dad the King of Hell. Nobody knows this, because Adam doesn't have a good measure for "normal" supernatural situations, and Mr. Young because he's so "normal" that he explains away all the magical bullshit that's started going down.

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he erased Satan altogether. However, this left a vacuum in both power and reality. The defection of both Gabriel and Beelzebub only widens that crack. In an attempt to Fix things, reality is warping the story. Crowley has become leagues more powerful between S1 and S2, as the narrative is trying to force him into the role of his previous boss. Aziraphale is unknowingly being pulled into a similar version on the Other Side, perhaps to replace Gabriel or perhaps to replace God herself, who has been fairly absent in all this. The alterations to their memories or past have come about to keep the narrative running smoothly.

When the Metatron asks Nina whether anybody has ever asked for death, he was actually referring to Death, the sole remaining rider of the apocalypse.

If Maggie is indeed a Plot Device, it would be a fascinating exploration of Free Will to see her become aware of this (cue existential crisis), and then fall in love with Nina on her own terms, rather than because she was written that way.

Hastur will be back. Somehow.

The reason why S2 focuses so much on the supernatural characters is because S3 will be about how the events in S1 have changed the political landscape of heaven and hell. Angels are questioning their roles, demons are yearning for something more. It's scaring upper administration, and then the two most reliable folks in employment run away to alpha centauri. Recruiting Aziraphale and getting him back in line prevents him from becoming a martyr, control the range of his influence. The series reasserts its theme of choice and agency by highlighting that Aziraphale and Crowley aren't that special, they've just had the chance to live and grow, and that the others have free will too, if they want it.

The reason why they wanted to separate Aziraphale and Crowley, is not to get Aziraphale on his own, but to get Crowley on his own. He literally stopped time and made a pocket universe in front of Satan last season. He's powerful and dangerous and somebody wants to see that reigned in.

Wishlist (stuff I desperately want to see)

Crowley getting an audience with God and an opportunity to ask his questions, only to refuse to do so because he's found his own Answers and he no longer needs hers

Aziraphale and Crowley growing more into their book incarnations. Aziraphale becomes confident in his sense of morality, which he developed the hard way through millennia on earth besides humanity. He slowly learns what it means to be loved, unconditionally, but also is better at asserting and maintaining his boundaries. Crowley, still anxious and unwinding, works through his fear of abandonment, providing him opportunities to be kind and gentle and nurturing--all traits that he's aggressively hid since being a demon.

Hand holding. I know that Gaiman was referring to Ineffable Bureaucracy, but I still feel like we'd benefit from meaningful hand holding, especially since that got cut from the adaptation of the book.

Shifted focus away from the supernatural shenanigans, and back onto the humans that actually drive the story.

Cameos from S1 characters (if not a more substantial appearance).

The Four Other Riders of the Apocalypse.

Cursed Thoughts (why I shouldn't be allowed a social platform)

Ineffable Bureaucracy turns up in season 3 because Beelzebub got Gabriel pregnant somehow.

[iprefertheterminsane]

Take me Home (Where I Belong)

I'm almost finished with my domestic perryshmirtz 5+1, which I'm gonna upload to ao3 soon so here's a tease in the form of the first chapter!

Rating: G

Relationship: Perry the Platypus/Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Tags: Human Perry the Platypus, pre-slash, domesticity, Perry's moved in before they even stopped calling themselves enemies, it's normal to want to kiss the homies sometimes, right?, long suffering Charlene, Perry's got 4 kids actually and that fourth one is Vanessa, haha Perry the Platypus you are dating my father.

Even after having his plans foiled for the day, Heinz doesn’t let him drive home.

“Look at yourself, Perry the Platypus, you’re barely standing on your own two feet.” The scientist points out. He’s right, of course, not that Perry will let him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. It seems to mean less than little; Heinz had already buckled him back into the passenger seat of his truck with the tenacity of a father, and Perry is just barely conscious enough to comply- a bit dumbly, but the taller man does not seem to mind-without much of a fuss. He’s still talking, naturally. Perry has gotten so used to the chatter the droning had begun to take on an ambient sort of feeling, like brown noise. “-practically an accident waiting to happen. Honestly, you’d think Francis would want to try keeping his best agent alive-that agency is gonna do you in better than I would, one day.”

Perry considers giving up a token protest-he had gotten here with the hoverjet on auto-pilot; the routes between the lair and Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. has long been keyed in as his defaults-but decides otherwise. He really was quite exhausted, surely it would be no bother to let Heinz drive him back to Evil Inc. where he’s parked. Why waste fuel when a cheaper of transport was on offer? The Major has particularly been going on and on lately about turning the office more green and saving energy, no doubt one of their latest efforts to cut costs-so he was doing the agency a favor, really. He trusted that Heinz was a reliable enough driver when they’re neither forced to undergo the serial killing obstacle course that was the Drusselsteinian Driving Test Route.

He would sleep in just until Heinz gets them back home. Decision made, he lets himself rest his eyes.

00..00

“Up, up, up, Perry the Platypus you don’t really expect me to carry you up the stairs do you-,”

“-Ok, here we go, sit here-no, no, don’t lay down just yet you need to take your shoes off Perry the Heathenpuss-,”

“-I am not letting you sleep in the corset of a waistcoat Perry the Platypus, wow is this Kevlar? No wonder you can stand my Titanium punches-Ok uppies, I should probably help you take this tie off too, huh? They could strangle you in your sleep, y’know, nuff said, if nuff was-y’know, me-it’s so weird to see you so biddable, Perry the Platypus-,”

“-ok, last thing Perry the Platypus, yes I promise, just need to help you get under the covers, alright? Now, isn’t that better? Aw, look at how cute you look, Perry the Platypus, like a little angel-,”

“Good night, Perry the Platypus.”

00..00

Perry snorts awake in the penthouse guest room with the covers pulled up to his chin, blinking against the light of the setting sun from behind the half-shaded curtains facing east of Danville.

He isn’t sure what’s woken him, but finds himself unable to go back to sleep. This was probably a good thing-he’s never stayed behind in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. for so long without making his excuses before, and the clock shows that he’s nearly late for dinner back at the Flynn-Fletcher’s household. He’ll have no trouble flying home now, he feels perfectly well-rested.

Rising to his feet, he finds himself underdressed. His hat rests on the right-hand nightstand, right next to his sleeping head, and the rest of his clothes-vest, tie and shoes-draped carefully over the chair that looks like it’s been dragged over from the kitchen, positioned right next to the room’s entryway, deliberately left ajar. He shoves the hat back over his head and toes his shoes back on, but blinks deliberately at the rest of his attire. They are, of course, crucial parts of his armour, but what was to fear for stepping out without them? Heinz’s scheme was thwarted for the day, and lest the man was suddenly overcome with another plan while Perry was out, which he sincerely doubts, Heinz would not have reason to attack him out of the blue, and certainly not out of armour. He was obsessed with playing fair, and acting by the book. As far as they are both concerned, they were now both off the clock.

Perry decides to take the clothes and fold them over his arm, but he steps out without putting them on- the vest tends to cinch, which he tolerates, but not without reason-and goes to search for his host to make his goodbyes.

It’s easy enough to find him; Heinz is in the kitchen, naturally, making dinner for himself, with Norm at the dining table carefully slicing vegetables and making prep; something doughy, it seems. Perry wonders if it’s pie-Heinz makes wonderful doonkleberry pie. He rests his hips against the doorjamb, and chatters his teeth to make his presence known, a noise Heinz is well familiar with. It cuts off the man’s mindless chatter, and he beams. Perry can’t help his own answering smile.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus!” He crows. “Just in time for dinner! I don’t suppose you mind setting the table, just need to give me another couple of minutes-,” he cuts himself off as he sees Perry shaking his head, and Perry signs, regretfully, that he has to make himself scarce.

“YOU AREN’T STAYING FOR DINNER?” Norm asks, as despairingly as his cheerful-sounding robotic voice could make it sound. His mouth is down turned.

“Yes, it’s already so late, Perry the Platypus, surely your report could wait a couple of more hours.” Heinz adds, cajoling. “I worry you know, a man has to eat homemade meals every couple of days, else you tend to get sick to the stomach. I don’t know if you cook. I’ve made lemon pie for dessert.” Heinz sing-songs enticingly at the end, and Perry has to admit it’s persuasive. The man really does have a knack for baking.

But he’s already missed out on family dinner yesterday, due to making up for Agent G’s maternity leave, and the Flynn-Fletchers would worry if he missed out on another. He knows for a fact Linda’s made her award-winning meatloaf tonight, and hedgehog cake for supper. He’d hate on missing out on the treat for the world.

He’s halfway through realizing he’s said it out loud, ‘I have homemade meals at home,’ before he freezes, taking in Norm’s and Heinz’s curious blinks, and his hands pause abruptly, letting the sentence trail off awkwardly. He could see from the look on Heinz’s face that he was curious, mouth opening as if to pose a question, but seems to ultimately decide against it. They’ve both scrambled enough of the expected norms of their Villain-to-Spy nemesis-ship today, and crossing the line to figuring out Perry’s home life seems a midge too far, even for them.

Heinz hums, and changes the subject. “Are you really driving home fully dressed like that?”

Perry looks down at himself. ‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’

“Nothing, which is my point. You could just leave them here, you know, they’re all dirty, Norm can run them through with the rest of the day’s laundry, and you can pick them up tomorrow. It’s weird to see you all dressed down, you know, but not bad weird, a good weird, makes me feel like a good host. That’s how you know you’re an adult sometimes, ugh, just listen to me talk about good hosting etiquette, Vanessa never has to worry about that sort of thing you know, even though she should. I hope Charlene’s teaching her.”

Perry’s wandered over to the coffee machine at this point, using context clues to figure out how it works and avoiding the large red button in a transparent case on the right-hand side of it’s case. He taps it, and churrs again.

“Oh, coffee! That’s a good idea, Perry the Platypus, some strong caffeine to help drive you through that traffic, I bought this travel mug for you!” Heinz hands him a short and stout chrome and teal travel mug with a silicone top and an anti-slip base. “I saw that color while scrolling through Etsy while I was looking at bento-boxes for this scheme I’m cooking up next week-oop, forget I said that Perry the Platypus, no spoilers! It reminded me of you! But the travel mugs aren’t related, it was just in the same shop, I love travel mugs, especially these newer novelty ones, you know there were never any novelty items back in Drusselstein, on account of the state largely frowning on any sort of color or patterns-,”

Perry churrs again, twisting the top of his cup back on and pointing out the door. Heinz visibly deflates.

“Oh, right, yes, leaving, of course, Perry the Platypus, let me just let this simmer and walk you to the door-and leave the clothes with Norm, Perry the Platypus, I’ve told you, you can come to fetch them tomorrow.”

Heinz helps hold the mug for him while he gets himself settled back in the hoverjet, and the clock on his dash informs him he should reach the house just in time to reach the Flynn Fletchers begin dinner if he rushed. Heinz leans forward to hand him the travel mug, leaving them close, just close enough that Perry feels the ridiculous urge to-maybe-leave a soft kiss on the other man’s cheek, the way Lawrence does when Linda was about to leave the house for the errand of the day.

Heinz doesn’t seem to notice, mumbling about setting the mug just right into the cupholder behind the handlebar, because it was hot, Perry the Platypus, we wouldn’t want a repeat of the driving test incident, do we? When Perry switches the jet on, Heinz waves. Perry, inexplicably, tips his hat back in return.

It isn’t until he’s 15 minutes away from the house that he realizes he really had left his vest and tie behind at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. He hopes Heinz doesn’t plan to do anything inadvisable with them.

For some reason, Perry doesn’t believe that he will.

[bengiyo]

Dangerous Romance Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Last time, Perth continued to play an extremely unlikeable character, but at least a lot of my faves are here as well! Unfortunately, Perth’s character Kanghan is a sexually-repressed bullying asshole with daddy issues, and Chimon’s character Sailom is a clever, world-weary scholarship student who is not planning to lose to Kanghan at all. I’m still not over Chimon’s delivery of “Oops” and am curious where we go after leaving on Sailom kissing Kanghan as a reversal play.

My man Auto reminiscing in class about his bullies getting embarrassed. I feel that.

That’s right Ms. Algebra Teacher, don’t come for my man Sailom.

How often has Kanghan gotten away with lies and manipulation on his family and others that he immediately went that route with his grandmother? He really said to cancel that man’s scholarship.

As others pointed out, I like that we can see more age and wear on Sailom’s clothes, especially when he’s next to Kanghan.

I think Marc’s character’s name is Guy, and I just want him to punch someone properly once. Shit-kicking once is not enough.

I really hate this teacher. I’m with the grandma not letting her authority be misused. This is not how I expected this situation to play out.

THE DEVIL WORKS HARD, BUT GRANDMAS WORK HARDER. She said, “Waste not, want not. I need you to tutor my dumbass grandson.”

Look at Pepper getting to play an antagonist, and he’s armed, too!

Thank you, Name, for providing a motivation for Sailom to contract with Kanghan’s grandmother.

I will take the kneeing to the stomach, but I suppose they can’t just beat each other to death.

Pawin is so fun to watch. He’s only gotten better over the years.

Sailom stay embarrassing this man. Kanghan, how man Ls can one man take?

I know that the actors are riding on a trailer that the crew is driving, but this is still harrowing.

I love that, despite how badly Sailom needs money, he can still sassily hand it back to Kanghan after dunking on him for the umpteenth time.

Calling Sailom a pedophile in a parents group is a new low.

Oh lord. Back to the Cardboard Kingdom.

It’s my understanding that you’re absolutely not supposed to throw Thai currency on the ground, so this feels especially egregious?

It’s about time one of Perth’s asshole characters got punched out.

“All I ask is that you kneel.” “Bend the knee.” Kanghan watches too much TV.

Wait. Now we’re involving firearms? What the fuck.

He’s doing too much, but at least Kanghan looks good.

These dudes out here really stomping a goddamn teenager and now they’re gonna burn him.

This is now the third show this year we’ve seen Perth point a gun at people.

Chimon’s ability to make himself tremble here sells the Kang flashbacks well. Good comparison between the petty beef Kanghan is trying to have with Sailom versus the very real and present dangers of his home life.

Alright, we can shift the dynamic next week I guess.

Chimon is GOOD. Perth is BEAUTIFUL. Pawin is FUN. Euro is FUNNY. I like this cast. I hope this show holds up.

[jelliezellie]

Hi! How are u? Would like to request a levi x fem!reader blind date fic. Like they always bickering w/ each other then there friends set them up. But on that particular date, reader is a bit emotional (frustrated about her feelings towards him) so she took levi's nasty comments by heart & levi is so guilty about it & started to be more soft & eventually admiting that he loves her nevertheless because u know, he can't express his emotions well so he ends up being mean to her.

Thankssss and pls take care...

I know this is late but here you go!!

Blind Date - Levi x Reader

Connie and Sasha giggled as they took you to the restaurant. “You’ll have a lot of fun,” Connie teased. “The guy we picked for you to go out with is perfect for you.”

Sasha nodded quickly, giggling. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s super excited!” 

You smiled at them, a little skeptical of their excitement. Jean was tagging along behind, rolling his eyes at their teasing. “Alright, guys. Cut it out. You don’t want to be Captain Obvious and spoil who it is, right?”

Connie and Sasha snickered, then pointed to the restaurant. “Okay,” Connie said, adjusting your hair. “You’ve got this. Go get him!”

“Bring me some leftovers!” Sasha exclaimed. 

Jean patted your back. “If anything goes wrong, just call Sasha and say there’s free food. She’ll make a distraction so you can escape.”

You laughed and entered the restaurant, looking around. Everyone seemed to have a date or a group of friends around them except for one person. You stared uneasily at the familiar black hair and undercut. You approached him. “Levi?”

He glared at you. “Oh, God. You’re the date?”

You nodded, sitting across from him. He rolled his eyes and half of his face behind a menu. “I guess so,” you laughed nervously. Damn it. I’m gonna kill those idiots. 

Levi frowned, his brows furrowed behind the menu. “Alright. Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, his voice devoid of any interest.

You shifted nervously in your seat. Am I really that much of a pain to be with? You wondered. He seemed completely exhilarated just by being in your presence. You needed a conversation starter; something to get him out of his bad mood. “So, Levi, what’s your favorite song?”

“So ist es immer,” he responded.

“Oh, really? What do you like about it?”

“I like that it doesn’t have small talk in it.”

“Ouch. Would you rather have deep conversations, then?” 

“I’d prefer no conversation at this point.” You frowned and looked away. Of course, you didn’t want to push him to talk if he didn’t want to. Still, why would he come in the first place if he didn’t want to talk? You looked back at him and he was staring at you with a different look. He didn’t just seem tired, he seemed defeated. He huffed and leaned forward. “I suppose I would rather have meaningful conversations.”

Although you didn’t want to let useless hope get into your system, you couldn’t stop the flame of happiness that burned its way onto your face in the form of a smile. “Alright. Why do you seem so tired?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I’d rather have meaningful answers. Why not?”

His brows quirked up at your reply. “Insomnia, I guess.” Your eyes narrowed as you waited for another explanation. Everyone knew he had trouble sleeping but he never looked this tired. “And I was nervous.”

“About what?”

“Usually, when Hange proposes the idea of a date, I automatically say no. It’s like I’m on auto-pilot.”

Your brows rose as he satiated your curiosity. “What changed?”

“They said I’d have a date with someone they knew I had a soft spot for.”

You chuckled. “You have a soft spot for me?”

“Well, at first, I wanted to see who Hange thought I had a soft spot for.” He leaned a little closer. “Do you think I have a soft spot for you?”

You sighed and shook your head. “No.” He tilted his head and waited for clarification. “You’re always rude and angry. You stare at me with nothing but hatred and I know you can’t wait to get out of this place because you’re—”

He placed a hand over yours. He stared into your wide eyes and, with as much meaning as he could get his voice to produce, he murmured, “I’ll make it more obvious on our next date if you’ll let me.” 

Your brows furrowed as you saw the guilt in his eyes. You sighed and nodded. “Alright, but you have to make it obvious.”

Relief escaped his mouth in a sigh and he nodded. “Okay. But next time, don’t ask your friends for a place. This restaurant is awful.”

[lu-is-not-ok]

Hope no one hasn't asked for Faust's hex nail before 🙏

But it's really intriguing to me as it has very weird sin resource requirements (literally only six envy) and it's also a weirder, yet somewhat telling sinner choice in my opinion

I really want to see what you (and possibly other people) think about it

Hoo boy, it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry for keeping everyone who sent asks waiting, but at least we're back!

It might take me a moment to get back into the groove, so if this analysis is a little bit weird structurally, uhhh... Sorry!

Now then, under the cut we go!

Alright, before we can get into Hex Nail, we first need to look at the Abnormality it comes from, Hurting Teddy Bear, as well as the Abno it's an Abberation of, Happy Teddy Bear.

Let's start with that last one. Happy Teddy Bear's main theme is abandonment, child-like innocence, and the loss of that innocence due to the passage of time. It's a plush toy that was left to tear and rot after its previous owner grew out of playing with it, and now it fears being abandoned again, hugging the people it grows attached to until they die out of its fear.

Interestingly enough, Happy Teddy Bear itself has not lost its innocence, unlike its owner. It doesn't seem to actually Want to kill people, it simply doesn't want them to leave, not being able to understand the idea that they could come back.

Now onto Hurting Teddy Bear. While Happy Teddy Bear seems to have been treated well by its owner before they left, Hurting Teddy Bear seems to have gone through the opposite. It's noted to have spent a lot of time in pain, and a lot of emphasis is put on its "emptiness".

The holes where its eyes should be are empty. The cavities left after pulling out the nails are called an "empty void". If the nails are dug deeper, the plush looks down but doesn't seem to notice anything is actually happening. Interestingly enough this reaction makes the narrator wonder if the plush is simply unable to feel pain, seemingly contradicting its initial description noting how its bloodstains are a sign of the pain it went through.

An interesting thing about Hurting Teddy Bear is how its hugs are described, and how little emphasis is put on them. When Happy Teddy Bear's hugs are noted, they are explicitly said to be something that the plush Wants to do, how it's something it Loves. They're actually noted quite often, as it's something the Abno is explicitly known for. For Hurting Teddy Bear however, its hugs are described only once, and specifically as a "duty" it has to fulfill.

So, here are the themes I think we're dealing with here.

First of all, loss of innocence, in this case specifically the loss of innocence caused by abuse. Physical abuse, if we take the bear's damage literally, and emotional abuse, if we take the idea of them piercing through the bear's heart more symbolically.

Another theme I think is good to note here is the idea of learned helplessness and/or obedience caused by abuse. The way Hurting Teddy Bear's hugs are described as a "duty" combined with the emphasis put on how empty the bear is gives me a picture of someone who has become a husk of their former self, going through life on auto-pilot and accepting the abuse they're put through without complaint.

With both of these in mind, let's look at the main point of interest here.

Faust. And Hex Nail.

I'm going to focus on the animation and dialogue lines first, since I think it's the kind of stuff anyone could analyze without delving deeper into Sin Analysis territory, and I think that's what I'm gonna try to do in future E.G.O Analyses as well.

The Awakening dialogue line, "Pierce... to the profundities of the heart.", is of particular interest of me due to Faust's delivery here. Noticeably, she seems to uncharacteristically whisper a part of it, implying it's something that emotionally means a lot more to her than the rest of the line. Perhaps it brings back a notably bad memory, or has her feel anxious enough to not want to say it out loud?

I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Through my expert analysis (throwing the original korean version of the line into google translate and seeing what the individual parts of the line translate to), the part that makes Faust emotional here is the act of Piercing.

Remember how we mentioned that the theme of abuse plays a major part in the Abnormality this E.G.O is derived from, and how the nails pierced through it can be interpreted as either physical or emotional abuse, depending on whether they're taken literally or symbolically.

Considering how Faust here specifies the act of Piercing is being done to a heart, specifically to aim for its "profundities" (which means great depths of insight or knowledge), I think its fair to interpret this as more symbolic, thus implying more of an emotional kind of abuse.

If the act of Piercing here is meant to represent this abuse that Faust has potentially gone through, it would make sense why she would whisper it like she does. The phrasing used regarding what is being pierced to is quite interesting. Profundities aren't just any depths, it's specifically intellectual depths, fitting for Faust, yet odd considering we're talking about the heart, something that is more often symbolically connected to emotions than intelligence.

Was Faust's emotional intelligence the target of this Piercing? Was this Piercing trying to harm that part of Faust, or was it trying to expose it? Considering how Faust notably lacks social awareness as well as self awareness, I'd go out on a limb and posit it's the former.

Something else notable about Faust's Awakening here is the animation itself. The way she stabs the nail through her target is notably aggressive and violent, with her face even being covered by a shadow. It feels like a Major departure from her other Awakening animations, which show her attacks be seemingly more calculated and slower-paced. I think this just further proves how deeply this E.G.O touches Faust, and how truly personal it is to her.

Next, the Corrosion. This is the one other time we get to see Hurting Teddy Bear's hugs be referenced at all, and it's in an interesting form. Faust's line here, "Come here... I'll hug you tight...", is again notable from her vocal delivery. Faust sounds Very Emotional here, her voice almost trembling and by the end it edges to sounding like she's about to cry.

Considering how Hurting Teddy Bear's hugs are considered its "duty", it paints a very interesting picture of Faust's own potential duty. Perhaps following her given purpose causes her pain and suffering, but she pushes through it regardless.

Something I find important to note is another contrast between the hugs seen from the two Teddy Bears. For Happy Teddy Bear, the hugs by themselves aren't actually fatal, it's the bear deciding it doesn't want to let go that hurts the one it hugs. For Hurting Teddy Bear however, it's a completely different story. We see in Faust's Corrosion animation how this bear's hugs are inherently painful to the reciever, as it causes the bear's nails to pierce whoever it decides to hug.

I wonder, could this be interpreted as a symbolic representation of the cycle of abuse? The same nails that hurt the bear cause it to harm those it tries to show affection towards, perhaps also partially because that affection is not genuine, as the idea of giving hugs being seen as its duty suggests.

Perhaps Faust doing her job inflicts the same kind of suffering to others as she herself went through? Considering how we know she's the one behind everyone's contracts, yet had to have also been given a contract of her own to become a Sinner herself, it might not be too far off.

Then, there's the last little bit of the Corrosion animation we need to talk about. The box of cereal that falls out of Faust once she stops her attack, which proceeds to bleed on the floor. The imagery here is very easy to interpret as a symbolic representation of a miscarriage, and I don't think it's something that can be ignored in this analysis.

While the easy way to interpret it would be to say Faust is a mother who lost her child and leave it at that, I don't think it's nearly as simple as that. No, I think there's something else going on here that's a bit more abstract.

My personal interpretation here is that the box represents some part of Faust. Some form of child-like innocence and wonder that she loses each time she goes back to her duties. Every time she perpetuates what she herself has been through, she loses another part of herself, becoming further like the empty husk that Hurting Teddy Bear is.

Of course, I could be completely wrong here. We genuinely don't know enough about Faust to be sure.

Now, let's get to the part everyone actually knows me for. Sin Analysis.

Hex Nail is a Fascinating E.G.O, as it's all about a single Sin - Envy. Its Sin Affinity is Envy, and the Resources it needs are an obscene amount of Envy.

I hope that with all the prior analysis we've done, this actually starts making A Lot of sense.

Hex Nail is a representation of the abuse Faust has gone through at the hands of other people. Whether it's Limbus's higher ups, whoever gave her her own contract, or some other person we don't know yet, one thing is clear. Everything about Hex Nail screams the influence of other people.

It represents her learned helplessness, her obedience under others, her causing the same harm those she's obeying cause her... It's all about how her actions have been influenced by people who have authority over her.

It's Envy, the Sin of being influenced and controlled by other people, in its purest form. It truly shows how Faust lacks any control, how she's just a plaything being used by someone else, and how she passively accepts and follows whatever they put her through.

I think the fact that Sloth is not included in the resources despite the clear themes of obedience presented here further drives that point home. There is no resignation in the part of Faust that Hex Nail represents. It's all due to the influences of other people, adding to that image of an empty husk. Faust has no say in the matter. She has no control. Can it really be called resignation when you're so empty that you can't even resign yourself to your fate?

And as some extra icing on the cake, there's something poignantly cruel about Hex Nail Faust being fatal to Lust and Pride. The Sins tied to actions for one's own sake, whether for emotional fulfillment or tangible benefits, are the ones that hurt Faust the most in the state that reminds her of how few of her actions are actually truly her own.

A lot of this post is just blind speculation on my part, as Faust is one of the more mysterious characters within this cast. I could be completely off on some things for all I know, but I get the feeling I might be onto something here, even if it is just. A general direction, I suppose.

Also this post ended up. Much longer than my other ones, since I decided to go a bit more in depth than I usually do. However, I will also blame Flaw Peacock for this, as I recently got through one of his videos and the way he explains and notes things might have done something to my brain.

Either way, hope this one was enjoyable for you guys, as a return to my longass analytical postings.

[elianamarie-blog]

The Things You Give Part 31

This has gone on wayyyy longer than I thought it would lol but here is the next part! Enjoy!

“Man, I am so psyched for this car show,” Hyde said as he, Y/n, Kitty and Red sat at the breakfast table. “I’m telling you, once I trick out the El Camino, it’s going to be—” he bent over, covering Kitty’s ears. ��Bad-freakin’-ass.”

Kitty rolled her eyes at her son-in-law at his poor attempt to prevent her from hearing him.

“You know ‘tricking out’ sounds a lot like accessorizing,” Y/n said, shoving some fruit in her mouth.

“Hey, don’t ever call it that, alright?” Hyde responded and sat down next to his wife. “But, yeah, that’s basically what it is.”

“Oh, Y/n, I’m begging you to stop,” Red said. “There’s gonna be hundreds of auto parts salesman there kissing my ass because of the muffler shop and I don’t need you embarrassing me with that talk.”

“What—are you ashamed of me?” she asked with a mouthful of food, smirking.

“Am I ashamed of my eighteen year old pregnant daughter who still lives at home? No, not at all.”

Her smiled dropped as she gave her father a deadpanned look. “You’re going to miss me when we’re gone.”

“No, no. Don’t say that. You’re never leaving me,” Kitty said.

“Alright, I’m getting in the car.” Red stood from his seat and shrugged on his coat and pointed a finger at everyone. “If you’re not there in five minutes, I’m leaving without you.” Without waiting for a response, he turned sharply and walked out the kitchen.

“Ah, the honeymoon speech again,” Kitty giggled and started to walk out when she stopped in her tracks. “Whoops, almost forgot my book. You know, this new Jackie Collins romance book gives me the tingles.”

“Mrs. Forman, please. I don’t need to hear about your tingles,” Steven said, scrunching his face.

“You live in my house, you hear about my tingles,” Kitty quipped and turned to Y/n who was struggling to put on her shoes.

“Oh, honey, you might want to bring a book. Once we get there, the guys are going to ignore us.”

Y/n grunted as she sat there, trying to put on her tennis shoes. “I…guess…I can bring…the baby…SON OF A BITCH!” She stomped her foot, irritated and frustrated. “Steven, help me!” she whined.

“Alright, don’t get all squeaky on me,” he said and knelt down to slip on her shoes.

“Hey, this is partially your fault,” she said. “And can you grab me my pregnancy book off the counter?”

He chuckled and reached over to hand it to her. “You’re really going to sit there and read this?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You know I don’t care much for cars.”

“You like the El Camino,” Hyde said, frowning.

“Yeah, because it’s your car. Otherwise, I don’t care.”

“Wow,” Hyde said and took a step back. “You know how to hurt a man’s feelings.”

Y/n chuckled. “You’re so dramatic. Now help me up.”

                                             Meanwhile…

“Hey, guys, check out my baby!” Kelso announced as he burst through the door with Brooke following in tow with Betsy in her stroller. “Oh, and you remember Brooke.”

“How could we forget?” Donna chuckled.

“Isn’t she adorable?” he cooed and scooped her up in his arms while she babbled.

“Yeah,” Markus said, eyeing Brooke. “I can see why you knocked her up.”

Jackie eyed her boyfriend. “Excuse me?”

“N-nothing, babe,” Markus said, stuttering. “You’re still the most beautiful girl in this room.”

“Damn straight,” she said and looked at Brooke. “You may be hot, but I’m hotter.”

“Okay…” Brooke replied awkwardly. “Anyway, thank you so much, Michael, for watching her for me. Everyone was busy.” Her gaze travelled down to her daughter as she leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he replied, a look of love and adoration adorned his face. “I’m pretty nervous. I tried on three outfits.”

“No, don’t worry. All little girls love their daddies,” she responded and kissed Betsy’s face again, then checked her watch. “Oh, I’m late. Mommy loves you so much.” She looked back up to Kelso with a smile. “Bye, Michael.” She gave him a smile and walked out the door.

“Okay, Donna, I’ve just spent the last ten minutes powdering myself,” Eric called from the stairs as he bounded down. “Time to spill ‘em and feel ‘em—oh, my God, why are you all here?”

“I’m here to show you my baby,” Kelso said, showing her off like a trophy.

“Great, now get out,” Eric replied. “Me and Donna and have plans and it doesn’t include any of you. So…bye.”

 “Yeah, like what, Eric?” Jackie asked, clicking her tongue while smirking.

“You know…we just…as a couple…shut up, Jackie!” Eric stuttered. “You see, the point is…get out. All of you.”

“Wait, wait, I was hoping we could stay here,” Kelso piped up.

Eric groaned. “Why? Why can’t you do it at your place?”

“Because my brothers are home and like to throw darts.”

Eric crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, so?”

“At each other.”

“Okay,” Eric sighed. “Donna, I’m going to go up stairs and change into something sexy. If you’re not there in sixty seconds, I’m going to start without you. And we both know how awkward that can be if you walk into that.”

Jackie shivered. “I remember that day.”

“Wait, what?!” Markus asked, surprised.

She waved her hand. “It’s not what it sounds like.”

He scoffed. “Oh, really?”

“No, it’s really not what it sounds like,” Donna responded.

“Hey, what’s this?” Fez asked, pulling out a bottle from Betsy’s bag.

“That’s breast milk, don’t touch that,” Kelso responded and ripped the bottle from Fez’s hand.

“From an actual boob?” Fez asked in complete awe. “What don’t they do?”

“Kelso, she’s so adorable,” Jackie cooed.

“Why is she making that face?” Donna asked, but suddenly the smell hit them all at once.

“IT’S POO!” they all screamed, scrambling away from their spots.

Kelso ran into Hyde’s old room screaming before running back out. “The smell’s in there too! It’s everywhere!”

“Kelso, man, I think you need to change her diaper,” Markus said, covering his nose.

“W-what? I don’t want to do that! That’s gross!”

“Michael, she’s your kid!” Jackie yelled, hiding her nose in Markus’s shirt.

“No, no I can’t. I’m going to barf if I do. Donna, here, you do it.”

“What?! Why me?!”

“Because you’re better with this stuff than I am!”

“No, it’s because I’m a woman, isn’t it?”

“…Maybe—I mean no—I mean…please help me!”

Donna grunted and rolled her eyes. “Men are so helpless!”

                                                   Meanwhile…

“Yeah, man, look at this place,” Hyde said, gazing around and looking at the different cars. “Chrome, tires, half dressed women…it’s like staying at Grandma’s house.”

“Awe, you poor broken boy,” Y/n mocked, patting her hand against his cheek.

“Funny,” he deadpanned.

“Alright, Salesmen, pucker up!” Red announced. “Red Forman’s ass is in the building!” With that, he walked away in the opposite direction.

“Well, I lost mine,” Kitty said, nudging Y/n’s arm. “I give yours thirty seconds.”

“Alright, Y/n, let’s start off by looking at tires and then after lunch you can help me pick out an obnoxiously loud stereo,” Hyde said, smirking.

“Wait, you’re going to spend the day with Y/n?” Kitty asked, baffled.

“Yeah, man, she’s my wife,” he answered as if it was obvious and turned back to his wife. “Alright, I’m going to go get us a funnel cake. But listen, this is a rough crowd, all right? So, if any guys come up to you and offer to teach you how to drive a stick, just say no and pull the fire alarm.”

Y/n smirked at him. “Yeah, because they’re going to hit on a heavily pregnant girl.”

“You never know, baby,” he said and kissed her cheek before walking off.

“See, Mom, I knew he wouldn’t ditch me,” she said, beaming.

“Y/n, he’s a man,” Kitty replied, shaking her head. “Accept the fact that he’s never coming back. When I went into labor with you and Eric, I sent your father to get me some ice chips. I didn’t see him for an hour and a half because he had found a pinball machine.”

“No way,” Y/n chuckled.

“But it’s fine,” Kitty said through a tight-lipped smile. “Ha! I laugh about it now…I do…I will…it’s just not that funny.”

                                                           

“Hey, where’s Kelso?” Eric asked as he bounded the steps into the basement.

“He left to go grab her teddy bear,” Donna replied while holding Betsy in her arms.

“And he couldn’t take her with him?”

“No, because he, quote-on-quote, ‘took out the seatbelts so that the car would drive faster.’” She rolled her eyes. “Then she tried to eat from my boobs.”

“Hey, that’s my job!” Eric teased and looked around. “Where’s everyone else?”

“They went home. Apparently, helping me with a baby wasn’t interesting enough for them.”

“Well, that’s not cool.”

“You ditched me too,” Donna pointed out. “You went upstairs so that we could have sex and never came back down.”

“Hey, I’m here, aren’t I?” he asked, making her chuckle. He looked around, taking in the silence. “You know…since everyone is gone. We can go upstairs.”

She looked at him as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? Not with a baby near us! People go to jail because of this crap!”

“Ugh, no!” he shouted. “I meant, put her down to sleep and then you and I can do it.”

“I don’t know, Eric. Seems a little risky,” she said, looking down at Betsy who placed her little hand on Donna’s face.

“Or, it can be a little risqué,” Eric tried, but was met with a stoney glare from his girlfriend. “Well, come on, Donna, we haven’t done it in weeks!”

“We just did it the other night!”

“Yeah, that’s like three weeks in guys’ time.”

“Shut up, Eric.”

                                               

“Okay, one funnel, extra sugar. Just the way you like it,” Hyde announced as he handed the funnel cake to his wife who was sitting on a bench.

“Awe, thank you, sweetheart,” she cooed. “Because you came back, I’m going to feed you a piece.”

“Oh, get a room you two,” Kitty said, bitterly.

“We did and look where that got us,” Y/n responded.

Kitty huffed. “Did you see Red?”

“He’s not back yet?” Steven asked, looking around, confused. “That’s weird, he was in front of me at the funnel cake line.”

Kitty turned around to see a sight that automatically made her blood boil. “What the...?!”

Right behind her was Red holding the funnel cake with two young, beautiful half-naked women on each side, standing in front of a camera.

“Say, funnel cake!” Red beamed.

“Funnel cake!” the girls said in unison.

“Oh, my God!” Kitty exclaimed. “Are you kidding me?!”

“And fun’s over,” Red grumbled.

“Well, I hope you’re happy, Red Forman because we are leaving! You two!” she screeched, pointing at the young, married couple. “Get your a-ss-e-s back to the car!”

They didn’t have to be told twice as they jumped up and made haste towards the car.

“And you two!” Kitty hollered at the women. “Get your b-double o-b’s off my husband!”

                                                Meanwhile…

“Okay, I think she’s asleep,” Donna said, gently placing Betsy into her cradle.

They had moved their conversation into Eric’s bedroom, bringing Betsy’s bed along with them.

“Well, in that case,” Eric said, standing from his bed and started to undress himself.

“Eric, I told you we’re not doing that here,” Donna said sternly.

“What? Come on, Donna!” he whined. “You brought the tiger out of its cage and once it’s out, you can’t put it back.”

She sighed and looked back at the baby before shrugging and getting into bed. As she cuddled up to him, he threw on the covers over them. They soon found themselves melting into each other and into the mattress.

Just when Eric was about to unbutton his pants, Betsy started fussing.

“Oh, crap, the baby’s awake,” Donna said and pulled away.

“Donna—no, no, no, no, no,” Eric begged. “Hey, Betsy, go ahead and close your eyes, sweetie ‘cause Aunt Donna and Uncle Eric are going to do it.”

“Eric, you are seriously disturbed. We have to take care of her.”

“No, no. Come on she’s fine!” he continued. “The tiger really wants to escape his cage.”

She made a face at him. “How is a crying baby not turning you off?” She held Betsy in her arms, rocking her.

“Two words, Donna. Eight…teen,” he deadpanned. “Nothing turns me off.”

“Ew.”

                                           A Little While Later…

The kitchen door swung open as Donna and Eric walked through carrying Betsy. Fez sat at the kitchen table staring at a bottle of breast milk.

“Fez?” Donna asked cautiously.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you staring at that bottle?”

“Because it came from a breast,” he whispered in awe. “Simply remarkable.”

“Okay, you’re clearly a demented pervert, so let me ask you this,” Donna said as she placed Betsy in her stroller. “Would you be able to have sex with a baby in the room?”

“No way,” he replied, knitting his eyebrows together. “I can barley do it with a woman in the room.”

“Congratulations, Eric. You’re more sexually despicable than Fez,” Donna cracked.

“Okay, Donna, here’s the thing,” Eric began, thinking his defense would come to his rescue, when in fact it wasn’t. “I’m a man, so my on/off switch is always on. Now, you can either deal with that or—switch to girls.”

“Pig,” Donna laughed.

The sliding door slid open as Bob walked in. His eyes widened when he saw the baby. “Donna, if that’s your baby I’m going to snap Eric in half.”

Eric spread his hands, palms up, confused and feeling attacked.

“Dad, don’t you think you would’ve noticed if I was pregnant?” Donna asked.

“Not really. I’m not really a hands-on kind of a dad,” Bob responded.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Donna grumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Anyhoo, I brought the hammock inside because it’s too cold outside and need someone to push me,” Bob continued.

“I can do it for you,” Fez volunteered and stood up.

“Great, thanks!”

At that moment, Kelso rushed in from the side door. “Okay! I got her teddy bear! And it wasn’t easy dodging my brothers,” he said excitedly “I got a dart in the calf.” He turned and picked up Betsy from her stroller. He held her in the crook of his arm. “Hey, baby, look.” He danced the bear in front of the baby’s face. “It’s your teddy bear and your handsome daddy.”

Betsy continued to cry and Kelso started to feel his optimism faded. His smile faded and he frowned. “Why won’t she stop crying? Is it me? Maybe it is. What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Kelso, don’t take it personally,” Donna said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “When I first met you, I didn’t like you either.” He looked at her confused on how that was supposed to comfort him. “But, to be fair you were peeing on my swing set.”

His frown turned into a smile once again. “Yeah, that was funny.”

At that moment, the sliding door opened again. Everyone turned to see a relieved looking Leo.

“Man, am I glad to see you guys,” he said. “All these houses look alike. Except for that red one on the corner where the clown lives.”

“Leo, that’s a McDonald’s,” Donna reminded him.

“Well, whatever he is, he’s funny,” Leo chuckled and noticed the little bundle in Kelso’s arms. “Hey, what’s with the baby, man?”

“I don’t know, I can’t get her to quit crying,” Kelso responded on the brink of tears.

“Here, man, let me try.” Leo reached out and cradled the baby gently in his arms. The baby continued to fuss until eventually she calmed down to her own coos.

“How did you do that?” Kelso asked shocked.

“Babies love me, man,” he responded. “It’s ‘cause I’m fuzzy.” He jerked his ahead towards the living room and turned around. “I’ll go give her a bottle.”

After Leo walked out, Kelso turned to Donna with slumped shoulders. “That confirms it. My own baby hates me.”

“That’s not true,” Fez said, putting a comforting hand on his back. “The only reason she stopped crying is because Leo has the shakes.”

“No, it’s me,” Kelso responded, shaking his head. “She barley knows me and a girl needs her father, you know, for guidance. What if she starts dating guys like Fez?!” He pointed to Fez with bewilderment as Fez stood there calmly.

“Well, if she looks anything like you than she’ll be way out of my league,” Fez said coyly.

“Kelso, if you really feel that way then maybe you should start to get to know her now,” Donna said. “You should go hold her.”

“You’re right,” he nodded and turned. “Leo?”

When they entered the living room, they were greeted with an empty room.

“Leo?!” Kelso called out, running to the dining room and den. He ran back out to the middle of the living room. “Oh, my God, they’re gone!”

                                            

Outside of the car show, Red, Y/n and Hyde stood in front of the Vista Cruiser waiting for Kitty to come out.

“Alright, when Kitty gets here, she’s going to be pretty mad,” Red said, almost dancing on his feet. “So…I suggest we leave her here.”

“She can’t get any madder,” Y/n said. “Although, this is definitely makes the top ten of times I’ve seen her incredibly angry.”

“You’re keeping tally?” Hyde asked her.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Footsteps behind them made them all turn around.

“Kitty!” Red called out nervously. “My darling wife.”

“Can it, Red,” she snapped. “I need to talk to you in the car.” She shoved her husband in the direction of the car and he begrudgingly got inside.

“This should be interesting,” Y/n muttered as she listened.

“How could you Red Forman?!” Kitty yelled. “Steven stayed with Y/n, but you went off and gave my funnel cake to those whores!”

“I was just trying to have a little fun,” Red defended.

“Yeah? Well, you can take your fun and shove it up your—!”

A nearby car alarm started going off, catching Y/n’s and Steven’s attention. After a moment, Kitty stepped out the car feeling and looking calmer. “Alright, kids, you ready to go?”

                                                    ∞∞∞

As they pulled into the driveway, Eric and Donna shoved open the sliding door and ran towards them.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s the big rush?” Red asked.

“Uh, nothing. Nothing at all!” Eric squeaked.

“If it’s nothing than why are you sweating?” Y/n asked, closing the door behind her.

“Because we’re playing hide-and-seek with—with Betsy and Kelso and those two little rascals know how to hide!”

“You’re acting weirder than usual, what’s going on?” Y/n asked.

“He always acts weird, what’re you talking about?” Hyde stated.

Eric grabbed her by the elbow and dragged out of earshot of Kitty and Red. “Kelso lost Betsy.”

“He WHAT?!”

“What?” Kitty and Red asked.

“Nothing, nothing!” Eric said and grabbed Y/n by the arm and rushed her inside.

“What do you mean he lost Betsy?!” Y/n whisper shouted.

“I mean, he let Leo hold her and then he walked out and we can’t find either of them,” he tried to explain calmly.

“How could you let this happen?!”

“Me? Why do I have to be in charge of Kelso’s kid? I didn’t sleep with him!”

Y/n made a face at him as Hyde slid next to her. “What’s going on?”

“Dink 1 and Dink 2 lost Betsy and Leo and now can’t find either of them,” Y/n explained.

Hyde looked at Eric for a beat before he burst into a fit of laughter. “Man, that’s gold.”

“No, no it’s not!” Eric squeaked again.

“You let the world’s stoned man walk off with a human that’s not even six months?!” Y/n screeched out.

“Y/n, please, you need to help us,” he pleaded.

“Why me?”

“Because you and Donna are the only ones who aren’t dumb,” he continued. “Please?”

She looked to Hyde who shrugged and sighed. “Fine. Where was the last time you saw him?”

“Here, in the kitchen and then he walked out to the living room and that’s when we lost him. I mean, we looked everywhere around the house and he’s nowhere. We even looked in the closet and under the beds.”

“Why would he—you know what, never mind,” Y/n cut herself off, waving her hand. “Let’s go. He couldn’t have gone far.” She turned to walk back out the door.

“Where are you going?” Hyde asked.

“The Pinciotti’s,” she responded, exhausted already.

“I’ll go with you,” he responded.

“I’ll go drive down the street and see if I can find him,” Eric said.

“Okay…oh, and Eric,” Y/n stopped him. “Make sure to whistle when you call for him. It’ll get his attention faster.”

“He’s not a dog, Y/n.”

“No, I’ve seen him do that once,” Hyde responded. “It was weird. ”

The twins stared at him as he recalled the memory. Then, in unison and wordlessly walked in opposite directions.

When Y/n and Hyde walked through the Pinciotti's kitchen door, they found it empty.

“Leo?” Y/n called. She was met with silence. “Leo?”

They walked through the kitchen and entered the living room.  In the corner, Leo was laying fast asleep in the hammock Bob had set up earlier in the day. Laying in the crook of his arm was Betsy, cooing to herself.

“Oh, hi, Sweetheart,” Y/n chuckled and picked her up in her arms. “What’re you doing here, huh?”

Hyde watched Y/n closely as she held the baby close to her chest, smiling with such an adoring look on her face. He swore he’d never seen her so gentle. He found his heart beginning to swell in his chest.

“I’m so glad we found you,” she continued. “Daddy is so worried about you. What do you say we go find him, mhm?”

Hyde looked down at her with a smirk. “I like it when you say ‘daddy.’”

She gave him a disgusted look. “Really? Are you still going to like it when our children call you ‘daddy?’”

His smile dropped instantly. “Yeah, that’s weird.”

“Well, now I kinda like it…Daddy,” she said in a low, sultry voice.

He furrowed his brows at her. “Stop it.”

“But why, Daddy?”

“Seriously, stop.”

“Is Daddy going to punish me? Is Daddy going to spank me?”

He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Way to make it weird.”

She chuckled and turned her attention to a snoring Leo. “Should we wake him up?”

Steven nodded and turned to the sleeping man, shaking his shoulder. “Leo, man, wake up.”

Leo snorted awake, blinking away the sleep from his eyes. “Oh, hey, man. What’s up?”

“You walked out with Betsy without telling anyone and now they’re freaking out,” he responded.

Leo stared at him for a minute. “Hey, man! When did you have a baby?”

                                             ∞∞∞

“Oh, hey, Brooke,” Kelso said, answering the phone in the Forman’s living room. “How’s it going?”

“I just wanted to check on you,” she responded. “How’s everything going? How’s Betsy?”

“Oh,” he started and flapped his lips together by pushing air through, he nervously stumbled for words. “She’s—she’s fine. Having a great time.”

“Oh, good! Can I talk to her?”

Kelso looked to Donna, Fez, and Eric in a panic.

“Tell her she’s sleeping,” Donna whispered.

He snapped his fingers at her, motioning she’s a genius. “She’s sleeping! Sorry.”

“That’s weird, she took a nap before I dropped her off.”

“Well, uh, we played hide-n-seek and got really tired.”

“You’re acting weird, what’s going on?”

“I’m not acting weird,” he stuttered. “Can’t a father just enjoy spending time with his daughter. Like, damn Brooke. What’s with the third degree?”

“Michael.”

“Okay, well the thing is—”

At that moment, Y/n and Steven walked through the kitchen door with Y/n cradling Betsy.

“Oh-oh! There she is! You found her!” Kelso asked excitedly.

“What?! What do you mean ‘where was she?’” Brooke asked, freaking out.

“N-nothing! I said I love her.”

“That is not what you said,” she said.

“You know what? I’m hanging up now. You never listen to me!” he faked dramatically and hung up the phone before she could answer. “Oh, my God, Betsy!”

He grabbed her from Y/n’s grasp and brought her close to his chest. “I was so worried about you. I’m so sorry I lost you. Daddy loves you so much.”

As he rocked Betsy back and forth and his adrenaline started to slow down, he looked up to everyone else who was staring at him. “Guys, I’m a terrible father. How could I lose her like that?”

“You’re not a terrible father,” Y/n comforted. “You’d be a terrible father if you didn’t bother to look for her. Seeing how scared you were says otherwise.”

“But I shouldn’t have lost her. Something could’ve happened to her.”

“Hey, it could be worse,” Hyde said. “You could’ve left her at the Piggly-Wiggly for six hours like my mom did to me. She didn’t even realize I was gone.”

“Yeah, see? You’re not bad like Hyde’s mom,” Donna joined in.

“Yeah, I guess,” Kelso said solemnly. “Brooke is never going to trust me to watch her again.”

“Yes, she is,” Donna said, placing a hand on his back. “You’re just still adjusting to fatherhood, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” he responded and looked down to Betsy who was smiling at him. “Hey, look, she’s smiling at me!” A smile broke out on his face. “Hi, I’m your daddy.” He looked back up. “She does like me!”

“See, I told you she did,” Donna responded and glanced up at Hyde who was watching Kelso intently. “Hey, Hyde. Why don’t you hold the baby?”

“Uh—no,” he responded. “I’m good. I don’t want my Zepplin shirt ruined if she barfs.”

“C’mon, it’ll be good practice for when ours are born,” Y/n chimed in. “You’re going to have get used to it anyway.”

“No, really, I’m okay,” he said, taking a step back.

“What are you so afraid of?” she asked. “You told me you used to take care of kids when you lived with your mom.”

“C’mon, man, she’s not going to bite,” Kelso encouraged, rocking Betsy.

“I-I’d rather not.”

“Steven, what is the big deal?” Y/n asked him.

He met everyone’s eyes in the room who were now staring at him. “I just don’t want to, okay?! God!” He stormed off and disappeared into the kitchen.

A flash of hurt crossed Kelso’s face. “Is there something wrong with my baby?”

“No, not at all,” Y/n said, her blood beginning to boil. “Steven is just an ass. I’m going to talk to him.”

She followed in the direction he darted off to and saw him opening a can of soda. “What the hell was that about? You know you just hurt Kelso’s feelings.”

He cracked open the can and took a hearty sip. “He’ll be fine. I’ve done worse things.”

“None of those included his child. What’s wrong with you? Why are you being such an ass?”

“Because I don’t like to be forced to try to hold someone’s kid by everyone around me!” he shouted in frustration.

“What’re you going to do when our kids are born? Are you going to refuse to hold them and leave me to do all the rearing?”

“Of course not! How could you think that?”

“How could I not? Look how you reacted to Betsy!”

“The difference is Betsy isn’t my kid!”

“So? What difference does it make?!”

“Everything!” he continued to shout.

She waited for him to continue but he didn’t. She spread her hands out in front of her as to say, well?

He shrugged and moved his away towards the basement. “That’s it.”

“Steven!”

He stopped in his tracks and turned back sharply. “Fine! You wanna know why? Because kids hate me. There, ya happy?”

She scrunched her face in confusion. “What? What’re you talking about?”

He sighed and set the soda down on the counter. “I told you I had to help take care of kids, but the truth is every single one of them hated me. They’d always cry and scream every time I even went near them. I don’t need a reminder of what’s to come when our kids are born.”

“Is that what this is about?” she asked, somewhat relieved. “You’re afraid that a baby is going to cry because of you holding her?”

“Well, it sounds stupid when you put it like that.”

“Steven, it’s not,” she assured and wrapped her arms around his neck—well as much as she could anyway with her stomach blocking her. “It’s perfectly normal to feel this way.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She smiled at him. “Just because those kids cried every time you held them doesn’t mean ours will.”

“Okay, but what if they cry like Kelso’s kid?”

“Betsy cries because she doesn’t see Kelso as much as she should. That’s not going to be you, okay?”

He sighed while staring at the linoleum. “What if they hate me?”

“They’re not,” she said gently and kissed his cheek. “I think you’re going to be their favorite person.”

He gave her a small smile before pecking her lips. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” she responded and pulled away. “Now, what do you say you give it a try?”

He groaned. “Did you not hear what I just said?”

“I heard you; I didn’t say I cared,” she snarked and smiled. “C’mon, she’s not going to cry.”

She pulled his through the kitchen door by the hand with him trudging behind her.

“You have a change of mind?” Donna asked.

“I was forced to,” he said begrudgingly. “Just give me the kid.”

“Oh yeah, that’ll make her feel safe,” Y/n said. “Here, watch me.”

She opened her arms for Kelso to hand off the baby. Once she placed in Y/n’s arms, Betsy snuggled into her. She turned to Hyde who was standing nervously.

“You’re psyching yourself out,” she told him. “Just relax. Babies can sense what you’re feeling, so just make sure to stay calm, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said and reached for the baby.

As Y/n started to place Betsy in his arms, she said, “Okay, easy…just like that. Support her head…”

Once she was completely in his arms, he stood there awkwardly. He felt unnatural holding a baby and now was even more scared that he was going to drop her. The way he was holding her was like holding a pile of wood.

“Why are you holding her like that?” Y/n asked him, chuckling. She looked down to Betsy who was staring up at him with big, sweet eyes.

“I don’t know, I’ve never really held one before who didn’t try to get away from me,” he responded, looking down at the calm baby.

She giggled when he looked down at her.

“I think she likes you,” Y/n chuckled and tucked the blanket under her chin. “Here let me help you.” Holding Betsy under his arms, she guided his arm that was supporting Betsy’s head and tucked it closer to his chest so he supported her head better while his other supported the rest of her body. “Just like that.”

“See, I told you she wasn’t going to cry.”

“Yeah, I guess you were right,” he said gently and looked down at her once more.

“Hey, Hyde, that’s a good look on you,” Donna said, grinning.

“Yeah, I don’t know how Y/n is going to be able to keep her hands off you,” Fez teased.

“Well, if she could before, she wouldn’t be pregnant.”

“Shut up, Forman,” Hyde snapped.

“Shut up, Eric!” Y/n said in unison with her husband.

                                                    ∞∞∞

“Okay, we’ve got the napkins, the finger sandwiches, the fruit salad, the veggie platter, the water boiling for the tea, the pasta salad,” Kitty said, checking off her list. “Then we have the brownies, the French macaroons—where are the French macaroons?” She whipped around, frantically looking for them, not able to see them.

“French macaroons?” Y/n asked as she walked in the living room, holding the plate of them. “Don’t you think these are a little fancy?” She placed them down on the long dining table. “I mean, a tea party? I’m not five, mom.”

“It’s your baby shower!” Kitty said excitedly. “We need to go fancy. We got to keep our guests well fed while we entertain them.”

“Our ‘guests’ are us, my friends, Bob, and Brooke,” she snickered and turned towards the table to grab a macaroon. “It’s not much of a party.” She made a satisfied noise as she bit into the dessert.

“Well, it may be more than that…” Kitty said sheepishly.

Y/n stopped mid chew and looked to her mom with widened eyes. “What did you do?”

“Nothing! Nothing…but I invited the WOPPS…and the women in my book club…and some people from church, Sasha, and maybe the neighborhood.”

“Mom!”

“What?! Is it a crime that I want my baby to have the best baby shower?”

Y/n squinted her eyes at her mother. ‘That’d be a lot more convincing if you hadn’t invited the WOPPS.”

“The Women of Point Place are a bunch of sophisticated, elegant women who love you and are excited for you.”

“Oh, please. You invited them because they’re rich,” Y/n scoffed.

“There’s that too,” Kitty admitted, throwing her hands up. “They’ll bring stuff that you actually need, though. You’re going to need a lot for the babies.”

“Yeah, that’s your reason,” she laughed.

“It isn’t to show off my eighteen-year-old being pregnant, I can tell you that!”

Y/n’s mouth dropped. “Rude!”

“Hey,” Steven greeted as he walked through the kitchen and slowed down when seeing the decorated living room. “Whoa, what’s going on here?”

“Our baby shower?” Y/n questioned.

“Oh, was that today?”

“No, it’s next week,” she responded sarcastically. “Did you forget?”

“No, no,” he said, shoving his hands in his back pocket. “I just…forgot to plan something for today.”

“No, nu-uh, absolutely not,” Y/n said sternly. “You’re staying here for the shower.”

“C’mon, Y/n, do I really need to be there? This stuff is mainly for you not for me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot I got myself this way,” she quipped.

“You know this party is for you to get gifts.”

She swiftly turned away from him to face the food, grabbing another macaroon. “That too.”

“So, you’re just going to make me sit here and listen to these hens cluck the whole time?”

“Excuse me?” Y/n and Kitty said at the same time, both wearing the same insulted look.

“Whoa,” Hyde said, holding up his hands and backing away. “I meant…you guys just…Oh, I think I hear something.” He turned his ear towards the door to the phantom noise coming from the kitchen. “I think Red is calling me. Coming Red!” And with that, he disappeared into the kitchen faster than either women could blink.

When the door shut swiftly behind him, he let out a breath. Eric, Donna, Jackie, and Fez were helping finishing prepping the food.

“What’s wrong with you?” Donna asked as she finished arranging mixing vanilla pudding.

“Having two whack job hormonal women in one room is like sitting in a minefield,” he responded, grabbing a beer out of the fridge.

“That’s no way to talk about a woman,” Fez pouted in his cute way.

“Yeah, Fez, it’s not their fault that they’ve absolutely lost their minds,” Eric chimed in. “Hormones are a bitch. Ask Red.” He chuckled as he mixed the punch together.

“Well, I mean I would be if I were fat and pregnant or old and menopausal,” Jackie piped up from the table who was putting balloons together.

“While that could’ve been said so much better and not so insulting, Jackie has a point,” Donna said, pouring the pudding into tiny cups. “Be lucky you aren’t a woman.”

“Trust me, I thank my lucky stars every day,” Hyde replied, sitting across from Jackie and took a sip of his beer. “Ever since Y/n got pregnant, she’s a completely different person. She’s moodier, meaner, hungrier…hornier.” He eyed Eric who physically gagged into the punch.

“When you will stop bringing that up?” he whined.

“When it stops being funny,” Hyde smirked before turning the conversation back. “A part of me can’t wait until these babies are born so that I can get the girl I once knew back.”

Donna let out a mix of a scoff and laugh. “Good luck. It can take weeks before they go back to normal, and even then she won’t be.”

He sighed and looked up to everyone. “Okay, I get why Donna and Jackie are here, and Forman lives here…Fez, why are you here?”

“Oh, Miss Kitty asked me to help decorate,” he beamed.

“She didn’t ask me, noooo,” Jackie said bitterly. “Even though I planned the dances and other gatherings, but she asked the foreigner and the lumberjack!”

“I’m the kids’ godmother!” Donna defended. “Besides, after Hyde’s 18th birthday party, she saw that I, too, have taste.”

“Yeah, the taste of a lumberjack.”

Donna chuckled. “Whatever, I’m still the godmother.”

“Hey, where’s the rest of the food?” Kitty asked as she barged through the door. “The guests are starting to show up!”

                                          A Little While Later…

“Wow, thank you!” Y/n said as she opened her fifteenth present. The living room was crammed with presents for the babies. Starting from two high chairs, a diaper genie, many, many clothes, spit up rags, formula, diapers, toys, car seats, and pacifiers.

She held two hand-knitted baby blankets. “These are beautiful.”

“I made my boys’ blankets before they were born and they still have them of over twenty years,” Mrs. Fitz, the neighbor down the street, said. “I would hope you get the same use out of them.”

“We really will,” she responded and handed them to her husband who sat next to her, bored. “Look—feel how soft these are!”

“Yeah…really soft,” he responded monotoned and took the blanket from her. “Can I go now?”

“No, we haven’t finished opening up all the presents,” she whispered as Kitty handed her the next gift.

“C’mon, you’ve opened up, like a hundred presents and—wow, this is soft,” he cut off, running his hand over the blanket.

“No, you’re staying here,” she responded and turned back to the party.

“This is from Sasha,” Kitty said.

“I hope you like it, mija,” Sasha said.

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” Y/n responded and opened the bag. She pulled out what looked like two bicycle horns attached by a tube that was also attached to a big machine. “Oh, how lovely! What…what is it?”

“It’s a breast pump,” Sasha responded, chuckling.

“Oh, fancy,” Kitty said, admiring the device. “This will come in handy!”

“What’s a breast pump?” Y/n asked, looking it over.

“It’s pumps out the milk from your breasts without you having to manually push it out. It helps with the pain, too,” Sasha said.

“Oh, let me see,” Fez said and grabbed the pumps. “This holds real milk from a real boob? Wow.” He pretended to put them against his chest—and then moved forward to press them against Y/n’s engorged chest.

Before he could, Hyde stepped in and ripped the device from his hands. “Would you get out of here?!”

“I just wanted to see if it fit,” Fez whined as he walked out, pouting.

“What the—?” Sasha asked, pointing at him, confused.

“Don’t mind him, he’s foreign,” Jackie said, waving it off. “He’s one freaky, horny little dude to begin with.”

“Yeah…anyway,” Kitty said, clearing her throat and handing her a gift basket. “This is from all the WOPP’s.”

Y/n opened the basket and saw a variety of sorts. “Wow, there’s so much stuff in here. There’s formula, bottles, little baby socks, and—ooh, chocolate!”

“We put some things in there for you too, dear,” Patty, the leader of the WOPPs said. “There’s also some bubbles and candles in there, a face mask, some money to give you a head start for the babies—”

“Wine?” Elena asked as she pulled out a bottle of red.

“Oh, trust me, you’re going to need that once the babies are born,” Patty winked at her.

Kitty laughed, feeling uncomfortable. “I’ll just hold onto that. You can’t drink when you’re breastfeeding anyway.”

“Now, Kitty, that’s for Y/n Don’t you go drinking it now,” Patty said, letting out a snobby laugh.

Kitty laughed again, this time hiding her annoyance. “Thanks, Patty.”

“Yeah, thank you, Patty,” Y/n said.

“My pleasure, dear.”

“Okay, okay enough of that,” Jackie announced and reached behind her. “Open mine next!”

“Awe, Jackie! You shouldn’t have!” Y/n beamed and reached into the bag, pulling out some over-fluffed, pink and frilly dresses. “Wow…you really, really shouldn’t have…”

“Aren’t they adorable?” Jackie gushed, ignoring Y/n’s unamused look. “They’re Gucci, can you believe it?”

“Oh, I can believe it,” Y/n responded, turning the dresses around. “As sweet as this is, what if they’re both boys?”

“I thought you’d might say that, so,” Jackie said and pulled more clothes out of the bag. “I bought some for boys too!”

The outfits were even worse. Two sweater vests and kakis, two preppy outfits for two boys that were definitely not going to be.

“Wow, thank you, Jackie, how sweet,” Kitty said and took the clothes from Y/n. She leaned into her daughter’s ear so Jackie wouldn’t hear. “I’m going to hide these in the attic.”

“Better yet, bury them in the backyard,” Y/n responded before throwing Jackie a fake enthused smile. “Okay, who’s next?”

“I am,” Donna said and handed her a big, wrapped box. “This is from me and Eric.”

“This is so sweet,” Y/n gushed and opened it. She pulled out a book. “A book of baby names?”

“Yeah, I thought you could use some help,” Donna responded with a small smile.

“This is really sweet, thank you,” Y/n responded.

“There’s more,” Eric said, pointing towards the box.

“Oh.” Y/n looked back down and saw two stuffed yellow bears. One said, ‘Thing 1’ and the other ‘Thing 2.’ “Oh, my gosh! This is so cute,” she gushed. “Steven, look!”

“Yeah, I’m looking,” he said, a soft smile gracing his face. He would never admit it, but he thought they were incredibly cute.

“I saw them in the window at the baby store and it reminded me of you and me,” Eric said gently.

“I love it!” Y/n said again and leaned over to hug her brother and best friend. “I love you both.”

“Okay, last one!” Kitty said excitedly and handed her a giant box. “This is from me and your father.”

“Oh, Mom, you’ve done so much for us,” Y/n responded as she ripped through the paper. Steven helped her remove the paper as they both eagerly opened it.

Under the paper was a storebought box that said the word in big, bold letters: FISHER-PRICE LARGE PLAYMAT.

“No way!” Y/n cried out. “This is so neat!”

“It can hold both twins,” Kitty said, smiling big. “There’s another surprise in there.”

The couple opened the box and what was inside, nearly brought Y/n to tears.

“Is this my old baby blanket?” she asked, looking up to her mother. “I thought this was thrown away.”

“No, I just patched it up.” She opened it for her to show her. The blanket was patched with her old baby clothes. “I started making this the day I found out you were pregnant. Well, maybe a few days. I had to let the bourbon wear off the shock.” Y/n chuckled as she admired the well-sewn blanket.

“I kept all your old baby clothes and I thought instead of regifting those to you, I could just patch them into a blanket onto your old one for you.”

“Mom, this is the greatest gift you could’ve ever given me,” Y/n said gently and stood up to hug her mother. “This is so beautiful and touching.”

“I’m glad you love it, sweetheart. Now, I’m going to clean up the gifts and you enjoy the rest of your party.”

Y/n hugged her mom one more time before turning back to her friends. “Thank you guys so much. This was the best thing you could’ve done for us.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what friends are for,” Jackie said.

“Where are we going to fit all this crap?” Eric asked.

“Good question: I have no idea,” Y/n said, causing them both to laugh. “Eh, we’ll find a place for them. I’m not worried about it.”

“That or it’ll all become part of the background and we won’t even notice it,” Hyde responded, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Hey, Y/n,” Sasha said, coming up behind them. “Thank you so much for having me here.”

“Of course! It wouldn’t be a party without you here,” she responded as she let Sasha kiss both cheeks.

“This was lovely. Did your mother put this together?”

“Always. And my friends,” she responded and pointed to them. “You remember Jackie and Donna.”

“Ah, yes, the loud one and tall one.”

Donna gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Good to see you again.”

“Si,” Sasha responded before looking to Y/n once more. “I actually have some news, my dear.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m closing the bridal shop.”

“What?! Why?!”

“I’m moving to New York,” she responded. “I found a space there where I can open my shop there and gain more business, but sadly I can’t afford to have a place here and there.”

“I can’t believe this. Sasha, I’m really going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, mija,” she responded and wrapped Y/n in a hug. “And I’m sorry that I won’t be able to hand over a store to you like I promised.”

A wave of relief had lifted off Y/n’s shoulders. “It’s okay. I understand, though. You got to go where the business is.”

“Exactly. But don’t you think that those kids won’t know about their Tia Sasha. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“When do you leave?”

“In two weeks,” she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep in touch.”

Y/n nodded before giving Sasha another hug. “You better.”

As everyone started filing out the house and saying goodbyes, the crew helped Kitty clean up the living room.

“Well, I think that was a very successful party,” Kitty said. “And we got so many gifts!”

“Yeah, with everything we have, it’s going to look like a daycare,” Eric said.

“Don’t be such a porky mouth,” Kitty said. “And don’t ruin the mood. This was such a good day.”

“It really was,” Y/n said, barley bending down to grab empty plates. “I don’t think anything can ruin it now. Even with Sasha moving.”

The doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. “I got it, Mom.”

When Y/n opened the door, there stood someone she never thought she’d see again.

"Connor?"

Did you like this chapter? I hope you did! Part 32 will be out soon!

Taglist: @not-shy-nanya @taysirene @maddieschampagneproblems @mdittyz123 @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-004 @lieswithoutfairytales @chloem4a1 @srhxpc @zhonglibxitch

[afreakingdork]

Weak Spot - Chapter 21

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader

Warnings: Aged-up Turtles, Romance, Meet Cute, Villain Donatello, Cussing, Crushes, Xenophobia, Fear, Intimidation, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Love, AFAB Reader, Vaginal Sex, Sex Rough, Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Creampie, Teasing, Scent Kink, Sexual Tension, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms, Cunnilingus

Synopsis:  Though it hadn’t come easily, as these things rarely do, you found yourself in a whirlwind romance with a handsome and mysterious mutant. His idiosyncrasies had been easy to ignore as attraction grew into something more. However, will love endure when the unknowns about him end up being far darker than you ever considered?

Also available on Ao3

First 💜 Previous

Week 1

You: Let’s see how this works?

You: Okay… I wasn’t sure if I was going to get an auto message each time one failed. It just notes it with a little red mark on the message itself. Not too bad.

You: You probably don’t care about that or already know.

You: These probably aren’t the first messages you wanted to read when you got back

You: I should have thought of something more poignant like…

You: It’s been one day and I miss you already

You: How was that?

You: I didn’t stand a chance against my roommate. She crashed into the bathroom this morning when I was trying to change my bandages saying she knew something was up. She was furious.

You: Not at you though!

You: The injuries read accident to her, like a car accident or something? Her voice was so loud. Stupid concussion is killing me. Hard to make sense

You: She made her point though. She was pissed I hid it from her which is fair.

You: You know you straight up said you were gonna tell me what happened. It was the classic I tell you, you tell me

You: And yet!   

You: I still don’t know.

You: …

You: I don’t know

You: Work catered today, they want to start up weekly catering. I feel like this is one of those things where they’re going to give us a dumb perk so they can take something really messed up away

You: I saw a video where they were discussing supposed new and revolutionary tech. It doesn’t even come close to the few things I’ve seen of yours. Is it frustrating to know society is so far behind you?

You: So Kaleb has a cat now! He literally came home from work and there was just a cat in his apartment. He got her checked out and she wasn’t chipped. He’s still going to put out notices just in case, but she has already taken to sleeping on his stomach. He’s a goner

You: Her name is Graham Cracker 

You: I found 20 bucks on the sidewalk today!

You: Seems lucky, but I’m sort of afraid of luck these days

You: Oh

You: I guess I never told you about that…

You: I haven’t seen those other stupid turtles

You: It doesn’t feel like I’m being watched

You: I feel like I would know, but I’m also not sure

You: Bored today, how about a play by play

You: Breakfast was these microwave mini quiches. It feels so fancy, but it takes a minute and the party sized box means I got food for more than a week!

You: There’s a lady walking and eating a bowl of chili at 834am. I want to know more about her life

You: One of my cubicle mates is coughing up a storm. I heard one of my co-workers ask why she won’t go home. She says she can rest better at work. No fine, just get the rest of us sick.

You: Lunch break! I tried making onigirazu after we had them from that shop, do you remember? They were so good. Mine taste okay, but look terrible. Eh.

You: I don’t usually succumb to the midafternoon slump, but lately I just don’t feel like I have much to look forward to.

You: Wait that sounds bad…

You: Moving on!

You: Freedom!

You: Ugh the whole apartment smells like beans, why has my roommate done this to me!?

You: She also like made dinner so I guess I can’t complain too much

You: Tastes good

You: I’m supposed to progress like business is usual

You: Go through my normal routine

You: Act like nothing happened

You: But something did happen

You: Sorry, I shouldn’t even write this.

You: Disregard

Week 2

You: Some of these packages are straight up unfair

You: Like it started out with cute little things like that monstera spoon

You: Which I’ve already used to strain veggies by the way!

You: But this sticker pack?

You: Like sure I mentioned this show meant a lot to me as a kid, but how did you know which character was my favorite?

You: There is no way you hacked anything to get that info!

You: Could you tell based on my other interests? Do you know me that well?

You: So… I’m not proud of this and full disclosure I went to your apartment last night

You: I guess it’s not your apartment anymore

You: It’s not like I could get in

You: I was sort of drunk and ended up there

You: I just wanted to see it

You: Everything is happening and it feels real

You: I go to work, I see my co-workers, we eat lunch, we do work, I commute home, I see my friends, I see my roommate, but it all feels so fucking hollow

You: Just

You: Anyway, Sheldon was pissed. He kept buzzing my gauntlet over and over

You: He won’t talk to me.

You: I mean obviously he wouldn’t I knew he wouldn’t he

You: You

You: Said he wouldn’t it jeopardizes the plan. He’s only supposed to be there to keep watch.

You: I never saw him, just that damn vibration

You: I left after that.

You: I have a major fucking headache so I guess I learned my lesson

You: I’m drinking water by the way

You: Like you care

You: Woof that looks bad the next day…

You: I was in a bad mood

You: I’m sorry

You: Will these messages make sense without the time stamps?

Week 3

You: Well?

You: Fuck

You: Stupid ocean of texts and shitty red marks

You: Feels like I failed a test

You: I knew there wasn’t a timeline, but in my mind there was

You: I had to count down to something

You: Three weeks made sense

You: Isn’t that like the meaning of a ‘few’ weeks?

You: I went to the art installation with a friend.

You: It was really cool

You: I took some pictures, but not as many as I said

You: Or I guess that wasn’t really an agreement.

You: We never really discussed how that would go

You: A lot of things left unsaid

You: I wonder what I keep expecting

You: Like are you going to show up when you come back?

You: Will I get a calendar invite?

You: Are you just going to respond?

You: Hi

You: Hey

You: Are you in town and your phone is off?

You: Will I even know when you get back?

You: I know you promised, but I don’t think you ever really got my side

You: Oh shit

You: What are you going to do? Stop me?

You: Fuck you

You: Your self worth sucks shit

You: Ha! You can’t say anything back!

You: Seriously what am I in comparison ?

You: I’m just some stupid human. I’m not special. I’m just living my life.

You: I don’t like think I’m ugly or anything. I’m alright. I’m me at the end of every day

You: But you?

You: Seriously fuck you

You: This sucks because I’m actually pumped I get to say what I’m about to say without your stupid emo interruptions but then

You: It just reminds me that you aren’t here

You: Nope not gonna be sad!

You: Anyway

You: Then there’s you.

You: You’re caring. You’re interesting. You’re mysterious. You put on airs like nothing matters when things matter way too much. Plus you’re gorgeous. You’re strong. You’re cut out of fucking marble. You’re a literal walking sculpture. You’re smart. You’re so smart it's actually stupid AND you’re a great lay which is literally unfair to existence. You shouldn’t be all those things  

You: Like share with the rest of us!

You: Why the fuck would you come back to me?

You: What could I possibly offer in comparison to that?

You: You should be with the prettiest model genius the world has ever seen

You: Why

You: Should you come back

You: It doesn’t make sense.

Week 4

You: I think I was given too much time to think

-

Kicking your door open, you stared into your apartment.

It was empty.

You knew that for a fact.

Your roommate had left that very morning to go see her parents for their anniversary.

You were stuck alone.

What a pathetic Friday night.

What else was new?

Crossing the threshold you simply let your coat fall on the floor along with your bag and other useless requirements that validated your existence. There had also been another package. It rolled uselessly out from your things and over to the two others that you had yet to open from this week. Ignoring them as you had been, you threw a foot back. The door slammed shut from it and, with a flick of the wrist, you locked it.

“Welcome home to the sad life of those left waiting!”

You don’t know why you were being so dramatic today.

Trudging away from the pile, you tread towards the kitchen. You weren’t really hungry, but you’d barely picked at your lunch. Fridays had become a testament to capitalistic arrogance as they were days free of meetings and barely filled with work. Still, refusal to adopt some kind of hippie foreign policy kept the higher ups from making the smarter decision to commit to a four day work week. If they had finally exercised some sense, maybe you could have waited until Monday for your reprimand.

It’s not like you meant to send out the work up to the client with an oxford comma.

By all accounts, it was necessary.

Who has a vendetta against a tiny pen flick anyway?

Wandering away from the counter you had approached for no reason, you changed course for the fridge. Light poured from the empty shelves as your roommate had strategically laid out her groceries so she could stuff the thing with party leftovers when she got back.

You, on the other hand, just hadn’t had the sense to shop.

Why do so when you were out almost every other night?

What was left in the cold storage was sauces and not even the most basic building blocks of a meal. Sighing, you switched to the freezer where there was mostly frost bitten ice cream and a box that was far too large for the amount of pretzels it contained. It would do, but lacked some form of protein you probably needed. Flicking up the edge of some pita that definitely needed to be tossed, you glimpsed a box. Pulling it out, it was some discounted freezer meal you had grabbed in case of emergency. Staring at it, you stepped away enough that the door closed.

You could always order in.

Looking out indifferently, your wallet said otherwise. You were due to get paid Monday and you’d been stretching yourself thin in an incessant need to leave the house.

Avoiding one’s thoughts didn’t need to be so damn expensive.

Giving up, you turned and made the few steps toward the microwave. You only sort of gleaned the instructions before reaching for the device’s handle. Your sleeve lifted and there was a peak of your gauntlet underneath it. You quickly slapped the food in and slammed the microwave closed. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.’s silence had been deafening. He wasn’t supposed to respond, you knew that, but that didn’t keep you from whispering to him in the middle of the night.

You were such a fucking burden.

Turning away from the ticking dial, you headed towards your abandoned things.

Your phone was in there.

The device had been essentially glued to your hand for three straight weeks. It was only in the last few days that you couldn’t bear to look at it. It was the same case with the unopened packages.

Waiting had made you bitter.

Waiting had driven you out in an endless crawl of the city.

Waiting drained your wallet and mind.

You were still waiting.

The microwave beeped in time. Hobbling over to it, you did some stirring and put it right back in for its final rotations. It already paled in comparison to its poster package counterpart, but it only needed to be palatable.

As did everything else.

Walking away again, you headed towards the couch and avoided sitting to hover in front of the TV with the remote. You flipped over to a movie you had heard your gossipy coworker raving about and set it right at its opening studio notes. A completed beep sounded and you went to retrieve your sad looking dinner. It was far too hot and you let it burn the countertop as you got a drink. You then balanced it on scorched fingertips back to the couch before hitting play. You sank down into the cushions before you realized you’d forgotten a utensil. Groaning at the prospect, you left the movie playing as you got a fork. On the way back, you bumped your drink as you sat and barely saved it from a tumble to the floor. In retribution for preventing its freedom, it sloshed onto your pants and you simply stared at the stain before giving up to grab your food. 

Dialog had started as you scooped a bite into your mouth. You immediately scrunched up and chewed as if you were forced to. The texture was wrong and the flavor seemingly took on the mealy quality in a way you couldn’t describe. Thinking only that this was the reason it had been discounted, you ate more out of sheer necessity. With a few calories down, you abandoned the meal to watch the movie. It seemed to be something about a match of two close friends whose quirks led them to really only understanding one another. You were curious what had gotten your coworker riled up when a diagnosis occurred.

Suddenly trapped, you were too far in to do anything and nursed your drink as the movie took a haunting turn. Slowly the routine the pair had going for years was eroded and your chest ached. Still in a rising action, something about the thought of them not being able to watch their favorite movie together again got you. Tears were soon streaming down your face and, as the climax hit, warbled voices speaking of fear activated memories you had tried to keep at bay. The end of the movie sort of happened and by the credits you were hanging your head.

The love was platonic.

No one died.

By all accounts it wasn’t similar at all, so why has this of all things broken you?

Squeezing your face as if it were a sponge to wring out excess tears, you stormed to get a snack. Predictably, or cosmically, the cupboards were bare minus a strange jar of pickled rounds you couldn’t identify and a single popcorn bag that was leaking out of a torn corner. Grimacing at the thought of what that might mean, you cleaned out the cabinet as a whole and ended up accidentally slipping off the counter in the process. You mostly saved yourself, but still hit your funny bone. It exaggerated the stupid tears that kept easily finding their way out of your ducts.  Wilting down to the ground and nursing your arm, you stared out across your apartment.

This was all so dumb.

You were being dramatic.

You hadn’t broken up.

You weren’t even taking a break.

He was just gone on a trip.

So to speak.  

It was as if you were pulling a reverse of what should be. You’d opened so strong with Donatello. You’d put yourself out there with a confidence that welled from an unknown source. As things got more serious, excitement blinded you. Seeing him was an automatic hit of serotonin so who were you to examine the cracks that seemed to always form every single time something interrupted that. It was alarming that small absences sent you down negative paths so quickly. It was as if the improbability of him accepting a courting had bolstered you. Without that seemingly assured futility paired with his rapidly increasing reciprocation, things were simply too real. Greater weight meant greater loss. The thought of which chained your heart.

You pulled your knees up to your chest and set your chin atop them. Your mind swirled with anxieties and the many questions left unanswered. You’d determined to keep from thinking for just this reason. It only lead down dark paths. You were isolated and had no one but yourself to turn to. Sinking further down, more tears snuck free. This time had been especially illuminating on that front. Your woes were confined to your mind. It seemed like the closer you got to Donatello, the less you could tell others what was happening. It hadn’t been expressly forbidden, but his matters felt either private or, at the very least, illegal in some capacity.

Sure, your friends had seen your mutant boyfriend, but who would believe you just so happened to be jumped by three more who were coincidentally created in the same experiment to eradicate mankind?

Raising up enough to bump your head back against the cabinets, you thought about the physical healing you’d done.

At least you’d made some strides in some department.

It meant undoing them would be all the sweeter.  

You needed something greasy.

Standing, you checked the time. It was just late enough that the family places were closed, but early enough that people were just heading out for wild nights. With delivery fees still looming overhead, you looked down at yourself. You’d garnered another stain; this one on your shirt. Caring very little, you marched toward the door. With a swift kick, you toppled the pile you’d left there and rooted out your phone and wallet. Pocketing the device before you could see it, you checked for cash and found that lost bill peeking out. It felt like a sort of fate that you hadn’t thought to use it as a tip elsewhere.

Hitting the street, you stuffed your hands among your possessions. Friday’s poise showed in the passersby and you felt schlubby in comparison. Scrubbing your face only stung where the tears salted your skin and you heard a group of guys laugh. Reminding yourself it wasn’t for you, you turned a corner heading towards the closest fast food chain. Though you’d been out most of the week, the irritations of the day and lonely aspects of the night commingled miserably. You did your best to keep the irrational abandonment at bay, but it seemed incessant.

When had you become so clingy?

You tried to remember before, but it all seemed so futile. In the span of your life you had several decades of time without him and yet they seemed to pale in comparison. It was a red flag of your own making and not one you were keen on taking with you whenever he did return. You needed to temper expectations. You had to act like you hadn’t had trouble sleeping or eating. You needed to stop convincing yourself that your little benders weren’t a necessary evil. You knew better. You needed to miss him less than he clearly missed you.

There it was again.

Wincing so hard a few more stupid tears leaked out, you stopped walking to press your sleeve to your face.

It was obvious.

You didn’t know that for sure.

Why weren’t the rationales working?

Dragging the sleeve across your face so hard it burned, you marched with purpose. Sure, French fries wouldn’t solve your problems and were nothing more than another ridiculous balm, but at least they would taste damn good. You saw the glowing beacon tucked a few blocks down. You burned its lights into your retinas in an attempt to drown out the negative thoughts. They had never reared their head in this way and you were clearly losing the battle.

You had a sea of comments from him that said otherwise and yet given space all you could do was second guess every moment.

In a mental scream, you loudly berated the derogatory voices until you finally reached the restaurant. With doors flung open with a little too much force, you headed straight towards the counter. A man there seemed stunned by your existence for only a moment before his lackadaisical attitude kicked in. You ordered and passed him the 20 to receive change back. Pocketing the money instead of fiddling with your wallet, you wandered over to the sparse seating area.

You hadn’t checked your phone since this morning.

That incessant well of hope sprung up at just the thought.

Mentally building a dam of twigs and mud, you pulled out the device. A few wrong clicks with oily hands meant you bypassed the code to instead bring up the camera. Its last setting had been front facing for whatever reason and you caught sight of what startled the employee. Your hair was a mess, your face was ruddy, your cheeks were clearly tear stained, and there was yet another stain you hadn’t noticed on your shoulder.

Did you eat like an animal?

Cursing the makers of frozen food, you stared listlessly at yourself. You were just bitter enough that you could self-depreciate. Bringing the phone up high to at least attempt a flattering angle, you took a picture with the counter in the background. You shot it off into the sea of other texts with red warnings before thinking to add a comment.  

You: Having the best Friday night ever

In a move that you imagined to be like an old gunslinger, you pocketed your device and leaned into a wall. Your eyes felt watery again so you closed them to keep anything else from falling. You wondered if maybe fighting back was the problem. Maybe you just needed to accept that you had always been the reacher in the relationship and, while you berated Donnie at the prospect of making his life about you, you had done so subconsciously as it was the pit you had fallen into. Acknowledgement would help you untangle the sticky web of complex emotions.  

You must have finally run the gambit of grief.

Acceptance was the final step, or so they said. 

Plotting a better tomorrow and a throw away of this evening, the employee called out to you. Pushing off the wall and feeling the smallest bit better, you went to grab your food. The bag entered your grasp and you lifted it off the tray to keep the worker from having to deal with picking it up later. He took the plastic back and you turned to leave. Parting a glance to the lobby on sheer coincidence, you saw several bills lying on the ground where you had once been. Souring and remembering your old west maneuver had probably dumped them, you sighed as you hobbled over to grab them. In a quick squat, you swiped the tender and heard a resounding clatter of something being dropped in the kitchen.

Slowly pushing off your knees into a rotation, there was a scream and then glass seemed to be flying everywhere. Stumbling backwards and falling into an affixed seat, you opened your eyes from where they were screwed shut to see the lights were now out and the entire front entrance was gone. What remained of it was sharp jagged edges of glass and several people running away outside through the now clear view of the sidewalk. Tinnitus set in signifying there had been some sort of explosion and you deliriously fought against it for clarity’s sake. In what was an embarrassing struggle, you managed to get back on your feet as the first sounds reached your damaged ear drums.

It sounded like the rhythmic motions of heavy machinery. 

Vague memories percolated, which you kicked aside as you scrambled up to a corner to peek at whatever was happening. At the register, barely visible by some emergency lighting coming from within the kitchen, was a huge spider-like shape. Two thick legs dug wide into the ground and held up what you identified as the pilot of what must have been a suit. Another arm was then buried into the ruins of the counter while a fourth was wrapped around the employee who had helped you. The appendage brought the man up to the figure’s face where purple light seemed to burn him as his face was contorted in agony.

“I asked you a simple question.”

You nearly dropped your bag of food.

You’d only heard that voice once before.

It had haunted you for a long while, but it now elicited a very different reaction.

“I-I-I-I d-don’t k-know, m-man! I-I-I s-swear!” The employee stuttered and you could see the mechanics coil around him tighter until he had to give up on his grimace to gasp at the pressure.

You also knew that feeling well.

“Looking for someone?!” You planted your feet and shouted out.

The figure stopped dead.

Your heart made for a similar maneuver as you waited.

Then in a deathly slow turn, the figure’s head pivoted to your direction.

Two huge round purple orbs bathed you in their light.

“R-r-run!” The employee croaked.

That wasn’t happening.

It was nice of him though.

The arm released the man and he crashed into a heap somewhere behind the counter.

Mechanics shifted as metal extracted itself from plywood and the arms rotated the figure to face you. You stared up in awe as they then walked over to you in a methodical fashion. With a bend, the two lower arms brought the figure down until he was almost touching the ground. Memories of fear shot high, but they were intangible compared to what was now in front of you. That night had held a misty figure of torment. Even in the dark, the definition you now had painted him in a totally new light. 

He was clearly disheveled. You had a feeling it wasn’t meant to be that way and this costume had been thrown on in a hurry. The collar of the black jumpsuit he wore hadn’t been zipped up all the way and flopped at a strange angle. His hood teetered back on his head to the point where a slight shift would probably knock it off. It helped accentuate the clear circuitry in there that wasn’t being used. A belt came off his shoulder and dangled uselessly down. It directed your eye further where you found one of his pants legs hadn’t been properly stuffed into his boots. 

It reminded you of how you looked. 

It served to further crop up a sort of kinship that then completely squashed the last embers of alarm left at the sight of him. 

“You’re… not scared.”

His voice was so deep; it was strange. Still around his footwear, you moved to look into those glowing eyes. They had been white from what you last remembered. The recall of which seemed particularly distant. It felt like looking back on a nightmare many days after the fact. You understood why the employee had winced though. His headlamps were incessantly bright.

“I’m not.” Despite the light, you couldn’t help but soften.

Though you couldn’t see his gaze, you could sense he looked you over. Whatever he found appeased him because, when he brought his attention up, he had an assured aura. “Pretend to be.”

You nodded before an arm wrapped reached out to you carefully. You watched it openly as it slithered along your hip before beginning to encircle you. Memories of a coiling snake lapped at your consciousness, but still felt hollow in comparison to the terror from before. Though it looked similar to how the employee had been held, there was a gentleness as you were lifted off the ground. It was hard not to smile as you remembered his order. Trying to play the part, you freely let out a yelp of surprise. .

“H-hey!” You choked out as if you were being strangled even though in reality that was furthest from the truth. 

In a turn and with a stomping of mechanical limbs, you exited out the hole while scared protests leaked off your lips. The wrap hadn’t coiled around your arms and so you made a show of trying to wrench yourself free. Crumbling brick rained down and signaled you were about to head up the building. He let you dangle in a trail behind him so you sent one last desperate plea to the workers who watched on in horror as you disappeared out the threshold. Back in the night air, you watched as three limbs mechanically worked their way up the building. It wasn’t exact, but the way the pack moved more methodically than what you recalled. You hoped the light of the city would help you get a better look at whatever his costume was, but from the back he basically looked like a black blob. 

If he were going for anonymity then he was nailing it. 

You breached the rooftop and he took pause. From your comfortable perch, you craned your head to see him fiddling with something. Waiting, he eventually turned towards you incrementally through use of his pack. 

“We’re going to clear the area. They’ve called the police.”

“Gotcha!” You chirped before remembering yourself. “Oh, am I supposed to keep…?”

“Hold on.”

The pitch was still wrong, but it was teetering more towards recognizable. You were only given a useless moment to wonder if he meant to wait or grab something before he took off. In a rapid crawl that reminded you of a skittering bug, he ate up real estate at an alarming rate. You ended up bunkering down into the arm that shifted its hold as if to shield you. When he finally stopped, you peeked out to find you had to be miles from your original destination. He was fiddling with something again and continued to do so as you were lowered to the roof. The arm lingered until your feet were properly on the ground before he turned to you in a rapid rush.

You realized he’d also gotten his boots down and a gloved hand shot out only to freeze just before grazing you. His head tipped down as he did a blatant sweeping scan that ended in a slow trek to your face. In that time, you finally got the open view of him you craved. His jumpsuit appeared to be purposefully clunky in a way that encompassed his form and gave nothing away of what lay underneath. There was purple stripe detail that lined the zipper that wasn’t pulled up all the way. If it had, the collar would probably obscure his snout all the more. The dangling strap held a similarly colored blocky ‘D’ on it that you found to be an adorable trademark. The only parts of his costume that were suctioned to his skin were where the battle shell stabilized around his waist, his gloves, and his black combat boots that continued the theming with purple laces. His legs were dotted with various pouches and pockets further plumping out his pants with little color coded accents. It all hid him away just like the jet black mask that encased those purple eyes. 

It was no wonder the media couldn’t settle on a name for him.

What would someone even call this?

“You aren’t injured.”

“No.” You spoke the phrase as you continued to examine his outfit.

“The photograph.”

You blinked wide before finally turning your attention straight at him.

Stupid selfie.

“Oh…” You grimaced. “About that…”

He straightened slightly as he waited.

“I…” Your gaze hit the roof below. “… had a bad day… is all.”

“You-” He made a noise of irritation and it was the closest to sounding like him yet. You watched his hands come away from you and reach up to his mask. The lights in his goggles clicked off first and you caught a glimpse of his gaze through the colored glass. In one swoop, the goggles and accompanying fabric were in one yanked off and his hood flicked back. Donnie stood in front of you in a huff.

“You-” You corrected. “-overreacted.”

“I-!?” He rose slightly with indignation. “I returned to the city to find evidence of you, distraught!”

“So you are going to acknowledge it?” You added an icy edge with the turn of your chin.

He dropped back down. “What do you mean?”

Anger shot through you.

That didn’t seem right.

“That you’re back! No hi, hello, or welcome! You just destroy a fucking fast food joint without noticing me at all!” You jammed a finger at him, but kept it from connecting. “One month and you’ve completely reverted! Not only did you freak out, you didn’t try to check in with me, and tracked me, with-” You reeled your arm in and threw the other out to push up your sleeve to show your tech gauntlet. “-this!”

He sank slightly into his suit.

“And even now you’re-!” Your breath hitched.

When had all those tears formed in your eyes?

He was back.

Weren’t you supposed to be happy?

Didn’t you have a plan to quell your excitement?

Why is it all you wanted to do was sob?

“Even now… you don’t…” You choked on the bitterness.

There was a click and release. You looked up to find the arms still standing, but Donnie stepped freely away from the battle shell. He closed the short gap between you, but hesitated again with a lifted finger.

“Guilt keeping you?” You spat quietly.

Wait.

“Guilt?” He dipped his head to catch your eye with a sudden urgency. 

You dodged him.

This wasn’t right.

“A nice little vacation.”  You turned an eye on him only on your own terms.

No, you needed to stop.

He was clearly confused. “It was no vacation, I can assure you.”

“Assure?” Your chest puffed out and leaned your head back. “Calm down, you mean? Quell the piece back home?”

Irrational.

“Piece?” His snout crinkled around the word.    

“Just stop.” You seethed and turned away.

You needed to stop.

None of this was real.

You knew that.

Why couldn’t you stop it from pouring out like blood from a wound?

“Y/N, I don’t understand.” He reached up and pulled the zipper at his suit.

“Ugh!” You almost gagged visibly, but were able to barely keep the theatric in check. “Enough stripping already! The costume isn’t the issue!” 

He stopped and stared at you with a hardening expression.

“I’ll find my own way down.” You headed towards the access door when his hand closed like a vice around your wrist. You whipped around in a fury completely out of your control. “Don’t touch me-!”

He had his phone out and was swiping through it.

Horror blanketed you and you yanked desperately.

He let you thrash, but refused to let go as his eye scanned the device intently.

Bile burned your esophagus as you changed course. You shot towards him and he dodged easily in spin. “Stop!” You screeched and made another swipe that he easily outmaneuvered while still keeping your cuff on tightly. Furious, you twisted around in a new way and caught a glimpse of his screen.

It was your text chain.

Stomach bottoming out to nearly your feet, you dug your nails into the hand on you. Blood seeped from the pressure and you sent a satisfied smirk in his direction. The pained expression you hoped to find there was instead dire solemnity.

It looked eerily close to pity.

Enflamed, but beaten, you shrank away as far as he’d let you until he seemed to catch up with the messages.. He then allowed his phone to clatter to the ground as he turned on you.

“Don’t.” You warned, already curling into yourself.

He didn’t speak and released you.

You stood numbly and rubbed your wrist.

The damage there was your own.

Hadn’t you wanted to run?

He was coming close and you shirked away from him.

“Donnie stop.”

Like an unrelenting force, he continued to step towards you.

“Listen!” Your voice sounded thin.

He reached out.

“Don’t touch me!”

He halted on contact with the phrase.

You wanted to retract.

You wanted to scream.

You wanted to cry.

This wasn’t how the reunion was supposed to go.

It shouldn’t have happened tonight.

Tonight was already deemed a waste. 

“I’d like permission.”

You refused to look at him. “For what?”

Just go.

“To comfort you.”

Why?

“Why?”

“I should have found another way; one that didn’t involve leaving you.”

Stop prolonging the inevitable!

Move on already!

All you’ve done is lead me on!

Go be with the perfect being that is clearly waiting on you!

Stop wasting my time!

Stop wasting yours!

The screams were so loud, your knees buckled.

Instead of falling, you dropped to a squat and buried your face into your hands. Your breath was so loud within the cupping, but it still wasn’t enough to quell those raging irrational thoughts.

You heard a swish of fabric.

He was still there.

He refused to stop hovering.

Why did he keep waiting?

Why wouldn’t he just leave?

Maybe you needed to tell him?

He needed to hear it.

Even if you wanted to, you knew you were too pathetic to ever do it.

No matter how much you wanted better for him.

You were too selfish.

You had been waiting so long for his return.

He was back.

Raising up as if puppeteered by an entirely different entity, you felt the night air hit your wet cheeks.

Of course, you were crying again.

You turned your devastated expression on him and spoke through glass. “I’m sorry.”

He was close; as close as he could possibly be with his big body and yet he still hadn’t touched you. He held out a hand and a handkerchief was deposited there from one of his arms of the battle shell even though it still sat a length away. Taking great care in adjusting the fabric in his hold, he blotted your cheeks. It was there that you felt how he’d maneuvered it so he wasn’t even touching you through the fabric.

His staunch following of your direction caused more tears to flow.

Stupid perfect asshole. 

He caught the drips easily.

“I’m a mess.”

He shook his head.

“I have photo evidence to prove it.”

He raised a brow that said he disagreed.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He stared for a moment longer before his gaze sank along with his hand. He stared at the darkened spots where your tears had absorbed into the handkerchief. “My first response needs to be a perfect encapsulation of my thoughts. Though, I am having difficulty formulating one.”

“Silence isn’t better.”

“I see that.”

Shifting off your rapidly numbing legs, you let yourself fall onto your ass.

“I should have realized.” There was a thump of him presumably doing the same. “I could have done something to quell your concerns.”

“Quell, huh?” You responded dryly.

You felt his gaze snap to you. “I ignored your prior insinuation because it was patently erroneous, but I find it alarming that you would bring it up again.”

“Bring up what?” Your legs were still a tangle in front of you and you hiked them up to bury your chin into your knee.

“That there could be anyone else.”

How many times would you force him to say that?

“It makes sense.”

“It doesn’t.” There was a shift as he somehow scooted even closer to you with nary a graze.

“Keep that up and we’ll need a microscope to prove your following orders.” You flicked him a harsh glance.

“I’ll supply one.”

“Donnie.”

“There is no one else. Not here. Not in the Hidden City. There is-” His hand appeared first as an anchor by your hip and then his face as close to yours as could be. “-only you. There has only been you since we met.”

You were glad your lips were pressed to your knee because it kept the questions from sneaking out.

“I will reassure you as many times as is necessary for you to believe me.”

After a lengthy blink, you finally turned a watery eye towards him.

“It does not ‘make sense’ or, however you chose to put it, otherwise. I have never entertained anyone as I have you. I also can’t imagine doing so. Do not depreciate your worth. You have no idea how valuable you are. I will admit, though, that I am unable to be objective in that regard.”

Your head rose from its perch and shook ever so slightly as you stared.

“You had openly shared your concerns regarding abandonment prior. I should have realized that, no matter the circumstance, this was analogous.”

Your mouth turned down threateningly and levered the well of your tear ducts.

“I cannot make up for the time we’ve lost, but you can be damn sure that I will not allow anything to separate us again.” There was a wicked edge to his eye that spoke of things set into motion that were probably best left unknown.

“Why me?” Your knee dropped down, leaving your torso exposed.

He gave his patented look. “I believe you were the one to attempt pivoting that statement through the other’s lens.”  

Your brows knit.

“I could ask you the same, a stalemate.”

You shifted, opening yourself up all the more. “Why don’t you worry about me finding someone else?”

He squinted as if that were impossible. “Why should I?”

You pursed your lips and turned away a little. “Sorry, ‘Mr. Perfect.’”

“Setting aside your sarcasm, I just acknowledged fault, i.e. the enemy of perfection.”

“No.” You gave a sigh as you changed positions to face him. “I was being rude because you apparently think you’re so good that I couldn’t possibly go after anyone else.”

His gaze flicked away as if he were waiting for some joke to be called. When one didn’t, he returned with honest confusion. “For the sake of this… thought exercise, and I want to remind you that it is such and thus hypothetical on all accounts, that I would know the moment I came into contact with you, if you had been unfaithful, but, again for the sake of the exercise, I will ask, why would you cheat on me to begin with?”

“We’d have to be dating.”

His head bobbed as again he searched for the camera crew before returning to you with an affronted look. “We are.”

“Are we?” You lowered yourself under the weight of nerves.

“We continually go on dates, you’ve slept over nearly as much as you did your own apartment… We are by all accounts romantically entwined.”

“Your…” You could only find earnest intent across from you. “That’s something you have to establish!”

Donnie pinched the bridge of his snout. “I did!”

“Uh, no, you didn’t!”

Donnie shook his head like he couldn’t believe what was being said. “You told me I had to clarify when I asked you out and then I did exactly that. I didn’t mince my words and you accepted verbally.”

You stared openly and searched to find no such memory. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“All this time-” Donnie growled and brought a hand up to push between his eyes like he had an oncoming migraine. “I don’t know what’s more concerning; that you somehow didn’t realize or that there was even a possibility you could go to someone else.”

“Donnie!”

Donnie dropped his arm and stared at you with fiery determination. “Would you like to date exclusively?”

“… Yes.”

“Would you like to be monogamous?” A venom leaked in there that said he would fight otherwise even though he offered the choice.

It brought the bud of a smile to your lips that you fended off. “Yes.”

“Then we are officially confirmed, though I refuse to acknowledge this as an anniversary. Voice your agreement.”

The grin blossomed against your will. “I agree and also, you’re keeping track? You don’t seem like the anniversary type.”

He shot you a biting look which he quickly traded for recognition. “Was that the source of your insecurity?”

You opened your mouth and closed it to turn away. “I want to give a flat yes, but… no. It’s clearly more.”

Donnie nodded slowly. “Is there anything I can do?”

You shook your head. “This has all been terrible timing. I… I literally just decided tonight to start working on this…”

“This being…?” 

“You name it: negative thoughts, doomsaying, self blame, fear of abandonment...” 

Carefully, he placed a hand to the ground near you. His fingers twitched as if he wanted to touch you, but resisted by digging a pad into the roof. “Was there a particular revelation?”

You gave a single dry chuckle. “You could say that.” Your head tilted as you stared at his hand. “A bad day led to worse thoughts. I’ve been fighting it, but I’m weak.”

You could feel offense rolling off your partner.

“I’m clingy, needy, and, apparently, super insecure. Logically, I knew it was all… illogical, but the bad thoughts just kept coming. I feel like a huge hypocrite.” You fought the urge to curl up. “It’s barely been a month and I worked myself up into such a tizzy that I convinced myself there had to be someone else. Not because I had evidence or an inkling, but because I just… thought so little of myself? … I guess?”

One of his fingers curled and stroked the uneven surface below in an attempt to soothe himself.

“Even now, I believe you. I hear you. I want to be happy. I can feel it submerged beneath this stupid ocean of doubt that I am; that we’re finally official.” You shot him a look which he caught with a tired expression. “To me.” You clarified before dropping your gaze. “Which is great, but it’s not an instant fix. The doubt is still there even though I know it isn’t real. Us… being close. It’s like an imposter syndrome that doesn’t set in until we’re apart and I can see it. Like no matter how close we get, you’re destined to leave.”

Donnie stopped and spread his digits out flat.

“I’m sorry. This isn’t the reunion either of us wanted…”

“The kind doesn’t matter.”

You looked up at him to find that he was also examining his own hand. “When you say it like that, it sounds like it doesn’t matter that I’m upset.”

He chuffed before looking at you, deadpan. “I despise when you’re upset, but reuniting, no matter the circumstance, was my top priority. It was always meant to be the first action upon my return. I would have preferred to take you in my arms, but I am also to blame for that failed occurrence.”

“What… happened? What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.”  He responded too quickly before relenting by tossing his head. “I emerged from a portal with my phone at the ready. I sent the retrieval code and allowed the messages to filter in. While they were dispersing, I messaged S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. to see if you were home. He replied that you weren’t so I switched back to our text chain and that’s where I saw… that photo.”

In a shift of your body weight, you pressed a hand near his and leaned onto it.

“I’ll admit the next actions are a blur outside of the single drive to eradicate whoever had the notion of harming you.”

You have a small smile. “Kinda hard when it was a movie and me.”

“A movie?”

You mocked a wince before rolling your eyes. “Even more dumb; it was nothing like us, but it was just some sad flick where one friend dies… Nevermind, the point is the thought of them not being able to hang out anymore hit me wrong.”

He made a noise of comprehension before his silence tugged your eye. You looked to find him thinking, but there was a hostile air to him.

“You’re not going after the writers, directors, or whoever!”

“Hm?” He looked up and you could see the plastic veneer of how synthetic his surprise was.

“Quit! It’s a story! Some movies are sad!” You blew a puff of air at him and he turned away from it.

“I suppose that leaves you.”

“Yeah…” You looked over at his battle shell. “I’m not gonna win that one.”

“I beg to differ.”

You gave him an audacious look, but he simply returned it with a neutral one that spoke of nothing else. “Huh.”

“A glaring weakness.” He said simply before returning his gaze to his hand.

You tried to imagine what that was before another image sank it and left goose bumps in its wake. “Take me in your arms? Were you daydreaming about me Donatello?”

The sudden use of his full name in a casual manner seemed to jar him though he fended off physically doing so. He let it linger before his expression shifted to a tender one. “May I?”

You weren’t sure what he was asking, but your lips moved. “Yes?”

He rose up and you felt grounded by the intense look he shot you. He then leaned in threateningly close and brought an arm up. Instead of catching you, it simply hovered as a cage around your shoulder as his nose leveled out with yours. “You plagued me to the point where it interfered with my work. It was the inability to contact you that was the true torment. You have no idea the amount of times I considered popping back into the city. It only need be long enough to glimpse you in a futile attempt to quell that inane distraction if only for a moment.”

You shrank away and hoped to fall into his arm. 

Still trapped by your order, he adjusted to keep you from doing so while leaning farther forward to make up for the space. 

“You-?” A shudder interrupted you, but you forced your eyes open through it.

“Missed you.” His gaze flicked to your lips then back to your eyes for clarification. “I missed you.”

A tear ran down your cheek and you watched it try to pull Donnie’s eye. He refused it and you launched yourself at him. With your arms encircling his neck, he allowed you to knock him clear to the ground. There you refused to let go and buried your face into his collar. You felt his arms hovering and you had to turn just enough to speak out. “Please. Hold me-no-whatever you want. Just anything, please.”

His arms came around in a crushing force and you happily accepted by desperately rooting as close to him as possible. It took far too much wiggling for what could have been comfortable, but you eventually settled with your legs slotted between his, curled up on his plastron. He rubbed at your back in both a soothing and hungry motion. You butted your head further against his and he dipped down to bury his against your hair. He paused suddenly there and you felt him take a deep breath. He then made a noise of irritation before doing his own desperate jostling. You giggled as he scrubbed manically at you with his head. The faint scales of his cheeks tickled yours and he got a grip on the back of your head to keep you in place while he did his work. It wasn’t until he stopped, gave another testing sniff, and let his muscles relax that you finally chanced questioning it. “Something off about my smell? I haven’t taken a shower yet.”

“There was no trace of mine.”

You blinked wide before propping yourself up with elbows to his plastron to look down at him. “Yours?”

“Mine.” He repeated firmly though his gaze clearly indicated it was meant differently.

You shrank down to join your hands around his chest. You let the heat in your cheeks smolder before a little counter thought buoyed you. “It goes both ways since… you are my boyfriend after all.”

You felt his whole body give a single second tense at the statement before his arms reaffirmed their encircling. It gave you time to reign in your overwhelmed emotions. 

When you came to, you felt sleepy. “How was the Hidden City?”

“I saw little. I tucked myself away into a lab and only left a handful of times.”

You tried to picture him surrounded by proper lab equipment. “You did say it was no vacation.”

“Indeed.” He quieted and you felt one of his thumbs begin to draw lazy circles around the small of your back. “We can go one day, on our own terms. I’m sure you will be stunned by the beauty there.”

“Not you?” You hummed, shifting your chin against his pectoral plate. 

“Never.”

Against your body’s protest, you hoisted yourself up again. “I don’t want to go then.”

His gaze dipped to you genially, but his head continued to lay flat. “Not interested in making memories anew?”

“Giving better context is fine, but hearing you actively dislike it makes me less curious. We’re making memories just fine. Plus, it’s hard for me to care about a place I didn’t even know existed until a month ago.”

He smiled, satisfied, and closed his eyes.

You sank back against his chest and grew still until you could just feel the faintest rise and fall of his breath. With the terrible voices finally tapering off in the face of Donnie’s dedication, you gave a single snort as you remembered something.

His finger tapped you to communicate his question.

“There was one real downside tonight.”

“And what’s that?”

“I didn’t get to eat the food I bought. I honestly have no idea what happened to it.”

Donnie gave an amused snort of his own.

“What?” You pouted even though he couldn’t see it. “Sure, it’s crap and cheap, but I still wanted it.”

“Look up.”

You had a question on your lips, but, as you shifted to obey, you heard the movement of his battle shell. It walked over until one of its mechanical arms outstretched and held a paper bag overhead.

You rose up in time with your arms to take it with both hands. “What the…?” The arm released and you immediately felt the heat. “It’s still hot!?”

“My battle shell has a warming function. It’s obviously not fresh, but-”

You ignored him to scrambled off and sit cross-legged beside him with the bag between your legs.

He grumbled as he forced himself upright.

You pulled out your sandwich and unfurled the paper slowly, savoring the scent that rushed out. You then sank your teeth into it and took a huge bite. Coming away to chew, you threw your head back and gave a happy hum.

Whatever latent ire Donnie had melted away and you could feel him watching you with affection.

Swallowing your bite, you dunked your hand into the bag to retrieve some fries and held them out to him. “Thank you.”

He exchanged a look between them and you several times before leaning forward to bite down. You released as he took them and watched as he cutely chewed them up into his mouth with rabbit-like imagery. He caught your enamored staring and you shirked away from his smirk to take another bite of your sandwich. He leaned back and planted his arms out behind him on either side to lazily gaze skyward. You scootched over until you were slotted against his side and leaned into him. You then continued to eat while routinely feeding him fries. Savoring your meal, you eventually finished and flopped against him to bear nearly all your weight. He accepted it easily and sank down until he could lay his head against yours.

You nudged him affectionately and lamented how greasy your lips were. You doubted he’d want to kiss you like that and internally sulked. In a gentle shift of metal, the battle shell dropped down and created a backrest for both of you. When you leaned into it, it then shifted for added comfort and to create a protective barrier around you. Pacified in nearly every sense, you stared up at the stars as everything else felt insignificant. It meant when a voice did reach you, it felt particularly far away.

“We are to not decide actions for the other solitarily.”

You hummed your affirmation.

“Are you conscious enough for this conversation?” Donnie craned his head and appeared in the top right of your vision.

“I’m up.” You twisted your body some so you could watch him.

“How do you feel about what I did tonight?”

You tilted your head, about to think it over, when he continued.

“Barring the tracking and overreaction.”

Raising your brows in comprehension, you gave a little nod as you thought it over. “I probably should care more about the property damage, but it’s just some dime a dozen chain. Well… wait. Does it hurt the franchise owner?”

Donnie studied you carefully, but his features gave little away. “And the employee?”

Shifting as he ignored your question, you frowned. “Did you hurt him?”

“Nothing lengthy.”

“And franchise?”

“It’s easy enough to look up ownership in addition to their insurance policy. After the Krang, most businesses in New York are required to carry a level of supernatural coverage.”

Krang?

“Why do you ask?” You really didn’t want to sit up, but the conversation was begging you to.

He was quiet for a long moment. You watched carefully as his eye held a heavy quality before he sent it upwards towards the sky. “With your permission, I’d like to slowly bring you into my world. Given lengthy time to evaluate our options, I’ve determined ignorance is no longer your safest course.” Dropping his withdrawal, he looked down at you with a sudden lighthearted air. “You think I, of all people, would have realized knowledge is one’s greatest defense.”

“You’re the dumbest smart guy I know.” You beamed up at him.

He soured into nearly a glare.

“Don’t worry. You’re still mine and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” You leaned up to peck him and paused as you remembered the grease.

He noticed and reached down to something you didn’t care to look at. You were carving his image back into your fresh memory when the crinkling of paper followed. His hand then appeared with a brown napkin. You shot him a smile before taking it to wipe your face. When you came away he was obviously presenting his cheek. You played up a show as if you were forced before leaning in to give him a kiss. Right before you made contact, he turned and caught your lips with his own. Trying to downplay how he’d caught you off guard, you decided to get him back by deepening the maneuver with a sudden ferocity. Air rescinded as he sharply inhaled in surprise. 

Coming away only enough that when he spoke his lips brushed yours, he asked, “Your response?”

“Yes, all around.”

“Good.” He pulled another kiss from you in a slow way that made the way your lips resisted separation all the more apparent. “Do you like Italian?”

“Food?” You had to pull back to laugh. “I mean sure, we’ve had it before.”

A little content rumble came from his chest as the arm around you pulled you back to him. “There is an event I’d like you to attend as my date. It will send a message. I will not be surprised again. Is that agreeable?”

“S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. was right. You are possessive, hm?”

“Then it is a good time to mention that another factor in all of this is selfishly wanting you by my side. Always”

This time you stole a kiss.

He was growing more hesitant to pull away, but he seemed to want to say something else.

You decided to be the one to interject “It’s another ‘it goes both ways.’”

Against his will, his eyes grew owlish.

You dipped your voice down and ghosted over his lips as he had you. “You’re not the only one who wants the world to know who you belong to.”

In a growl, he flipped you and crushed his mouth to yours as the battle shell reconfigured into a sort of supportive seat. You made out until you heard a fist bang against metal. Donnie then rose up with anger painting his features. “Incessant!” He growled and looked down on you. “As much as I’d like to continue. I have one more obligation that must be fulfilled.”

“Yeah?” Your lips throbbed, kiss bruised.

“A stipulation of our agreement was him being able to see you as soon as you were cleared, safe, and content.” Donnie sat back on his knees and brought his arm up. It was then that you realized his gloves had disappeared long ago. Remembering the way they had once grown, it made sense they could retract similarly. With a shove, his sleeve pushed to his elbow and he tapped his tech gauntlet with excessive force.

“Him?” You wondered aloud, though the word hadn’t actually registered in your mind.

As if to answer your question, there was a sudden droning sound coming in fast.

You shot up, nearly crashing into Donnie as you searched the sky.

You located the faint glow of S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.’s rotors soon enough and stood ready as he crashed into you.

“Careful!” Donnie hissed, softening your impact with an arm behind your back.

“I’m sorry, Y/N! I’m so sorry! Having to listen to you every night and not being able to respond broke my metaphorical heart! You have no idea how many times I wanted to say screw it and come see you! No matter how dumb the whole thing was, the safest decision was not to, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree. Just know I heard every word and I’m gonna so make it up to you! I’ve got a whole list! Just like the things you mentioned! It’s gonna be awesome!” S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. outpoured in speech so fast you could barely keep up.

Donnie sparked and looked down at you with wide eyes. “Every night?”

You looked up at him sheepishly. “Uh…”

“More than you were texted. That’s for sure.” S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. remarked proudly.

“S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.!” You barked before turning to Donnie apologetically. “It was different. I knew he was there-”

“It’s alright.” Donnie cut you off and you could see he was already sinking into a self-depreciation you knew all too well.

“No!” Not letting go of S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N., you shot to your toes and then had to do a jump to catch Donnie’s lips. The first kiss only made contact with his chin and he jostled awkwardly at the move. His gaze met yours to find you sitting firm with narrowed brows and fiery determination. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. buzzed out a teasing syllable as Donnie dipped down into reach so you could kiss his worries away.

NEXT

Also huge shout-out to my betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83!