#** did we grow up so fast ** (adult verse) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

autisticempathydaemon · 1 year ago

Note

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why?

High Enough by K Flay, because it's quite wordy and kinda fast, so when I don't stumble over words or get them wrong, it feels so good. Also, I just really enjoy listening to it.

What is your Enneagram type?

I just did the test because I had no idea. Apparently I'm a 5.

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why?

Yes and no. I love hearing people talking about things they're passionate about, but I have ADHD so it needs to hold my interest for an extended period of time, which isn't always easy. I quite like Jenny Nicholson's, except for the Star Wars ones.

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend.

I don't actually remember anything about them, only my mum telling me as an adult that they were twins, one boy and one girl.

What is your go-to way to fall asleep?

Curled up, listening to Adam being his sadistic, chaos gremlin self.

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?)

Growing up, I read a book with a character named Starr and kind of wanted to change my name to that. These days, I can't say I love my name, but can't think of anything else I'd change it to.

What is your favorite of Redacted’s audios, and why?

Maybe Regulus's, especially the newest one (the thought of having somebody in my head and never having any space to myself kinda terrifies me, but I also like the idea, because hell yes, he could absolutely kick those intrusive thoughts to the curb. Also, the parts where he starts revealing his true feelings about stuff via the random "demonic" voice just does something to me).

Although the Adam storyline, especially Sadistic Vampire Kidnaps You (both for the sleep aid factor, and just general I really enjoy listening to it) will probably always be my absolute favourite.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.)

Sam. I think he's got so much love from Redacted fans that I'm almost burnt out from it. Also Milo, David and Vincent a little bit, for the same reason. I still listen to and enjoy their audios, but they'll never be my first choice to listen to, and it's very unlikely I'd relisten to them.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to.

Idk, I don't rewatch or reread things enough to learn the words to them. Maybe Buffy, because I was hardcore obsessed with it when I was younger, but nowhere near knowing all the words level.

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend?

My first thought was Hux, although I would totally date him, if we were in a universe where he was, y'know, real, and not dating Damian.

Maybe I should've said Asher. As much as I adore him, I don't really think about him in a romantic context.

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.)

Since I'm pretty much always alone, I have nobody to connect the dots on that. Maybe I should ask my cat, hahaha.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo.

I don't drive, and don't live within walking distance from one. If I did, it'd probably be something sweet, and a drink, preferably something frozen and/or bright blue

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment.

My going to work musical playlist that I've compiled is all killer, no filler if that's what you meant.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why?

Boyfriend asmr, and I mean traditional asmr, rather than the audio roleplays. I've been very single for a long time, to the point I don't even know if I could actually date, if (by some miracle) some weirdo did find me attractive.

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are!

I'm literally crying while typing this, and can't think of anything else. Sorry for the trauma dump, if I didn't want to know your answer so badly, I'd just delete and forget about it. 💙

This one took me a second- I was really staring down the Redactedness brackets- but when I saw it, it dawned on me so clearly and so resplendently. Ollie would be so wonderfully perfect for you.

Little things first- I think y’all would have a good time together, because it seems like y’all would like each other and the same things. Like, I can absolutely see Ollie having had a Buffy phase at some point. (He had a crush on either Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Borneanaz, or both. Probably both.) He’d love the same video essays you do and would be more than okay with pausing it or speeding it up if the attention span isn’t spanning.

Big things second- I think Ollie would be so good for you? Your being a Five and what you said about Regulus makes me think the sweet, unempowered type is just what you need. No magic, no tragic backstory, no possibility of having your mind read or wiped- just a darling man who loves you, your cats, and Star Trek.

Song:

You know I wanna be your light/ In darkness, how you find me just in time/ To tell me what I needed to hear/ So if you don't know what you need/ You can leave it all to me/ I don't want you worried 'bout a thing/ I know you'd do the same for me

I love Ollie and the domestic, little ways he shows his love and support- he’s just a wholesome dude, and he’s a sleeper favorite of mine for that reason. This song fits in my head because it reminds me of his sweetness and how far he’s come and matured and how dependable and loving he’d be as a boyfriend and life partner for you.

Runner-Ups:

Aaron was a pretty close runner-up, because I loved the idea of pairing you with someone unempowered and stable. (Ollie, I liked more because of his energy and lighthearted nature; also Aaron also strikes me as a Five, and I don’t typically do same Type pairs.) Huxley, I also love because of his steady, sweet but jovial nature, but I really got stuck on someone unempowered for you by this point.

Note: I’m so sorry I made you cry and you like literally didn’t trauma dump at all you are so fine and good honey

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

#redactedasmr #redactedverse #redacted asmr #redactedaudio #redacted audio #busybee matches #redacted

9 notes · View notes

destinyimage · 1 year ago

Text

How to Touch the Presence of God: 3 Practical Steps for Communion

Who has ever been frustrated about spiritual things?

Let me be the first to raise my hand to that! When I was newly saved, it seemed that some super-spiritual believers seemed to know something I didn’t. Most of the churches I attended had a few of these “have” individuals, but many of us, in my opinion, appeared to be “have-nots.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. Although I was a very cerebral person, I did have some experience feeling the presence of God, hearing His voice, and enjoying a newfound love for Jesus. So, it wasn’t hopeless—just limited!

A revival broke out in Toronto, Canada, after I had been a believer for a number of years. Although I traveled there several times hoping to receive a spiritual impartation, it never happened. Others were falling, shaking, experiencing visitations of the Spirit, and I don’t know what else, but I just watched, an outsider looking in.

When we lined up to be prayed over, one of the prayer ministers commented to me that the anointing was coming back on her because I wasn’t receiving. Double and triple frustration! Later I learned that the Toronto church had coined the term HTR for people like me—Hard to Receive. Great, now had now earned a label!

In spite of being clueless, I was hungry for God.

The fruit of the Spirit was a profound mystery to me during this time. Based on what I had been taught, I believed the fruit of the Spirit grew as the result of godly character. But how could I actually tell if I had any? And how does godly character grow anyway? By trying harder to obey God’s commandments? Spending more time in prayer? Reading the Bible more? Doing good deeds? I lived in low-grade anxiety most of the time; so much so that, when we first met, Dennis, my soon-to-be husband, called me “little Much Afraid” after the main character in Hannah Hurnard’s book, Hinds’ Feet on High Places.

The fruit of the Spirit was more of a mental concept than an experience for me. The feeling of peace was elusive. Joy was likewise perplexing. Was it like the excitement I had felt about birthday parties as a child? How could we recapture that feeling as an adult? It seemed baffling, but I wanted it. When an intriguing flyer arrived in the mail announcing an upcoming women’s conference on the joy of the Lord, I registered posthaste.

Sadly, the conference turned out to be a major disappointment. The speakers mostly taught what the Bible said about joy. I had read those Scripture verses for myself already. One woman said she had experienced supernatural joy once, but didn’t know how she got “it” or if “it” would ever happen again. Apparently no one had joy, or knew how to get any!

Years later Dennis and I met at a Christian conference in Jacksonville, Florida, where we were both attending as intercessors. He was a single pastor from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I was a widowed Christian counselor from Waycross, Georgia.

In one of our meetings, a young woman, suddenly had an emotional meltdown and began weeping on the floor. At first, no one helped her, but Dennis soon went over to her and bent down beside her on one knee.

Dennis led her in praying through multiple emotional wounds. One at a time, he addressed each new area that came up. Only after she felt true deep relief did Dennis move on to another issue. Astonishingly, it took only a few minutes to address each area of fear or hurt. All the intercessors were gathered around, watching in amazement.

I was blown away by how much emotional pain was dealt with and how fast the relief came to her. I had seen lots of counseling and psychological therapies over the years, but nothing like this. In under ten minutes The now-peaceful woman was standing on her feet, with a smile on her face. Wow! This is huge! I thought. This is the answer everyone is yearning for!

I felt like I had just witnessed the cure for “emotional cancer.” This was the missing ingredient needed to heal wounded people and a troubled church. Here, at long last, was the secret for healing emotional pain quickly and efficiently. Stunned by this rapid, visible transformation, the person in charge of the meeting stood with her mouth wide open and incredulously asked Dennis, “Who are you?”

Later at the conference I asked Dennis to pray for me. As we closed our eyes, I learned my first how-to lesson. Dennis told me to open my heart, which at first confused me because I was thinking of the physical heart. It took me a while to get his point. However, with a little more instruction, I began to understand what he was referring to. He told me to put my hand on my belly and yield to Messiah within. Belly? That was different. I had never connected heart and belly before, but John 7:38 (KJV) flashed in my mind: “He that believeth on Me [Jesus], as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (This concept is further explained in our book, Abiding in the Secret Place.)

/*<![CDATA[*/ (function () { var scriptURL = 'https://sdks.shopifycdn.com/buy-button/latest/buy-button-storefront.min.js'; if (window.ShopifyBuy) { if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) { ShopifyBuyInit(); } else { loadScript(); } } else { loadScript(); } function loadScript() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.async = true; script.src = scriptURL; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(script); script.onload = ShopifyBuyInit; } function ShopifyBuyInit() { var client = ShopifyBuy.buildClient({ domain: 'nori-media-group.myshopify.com', storefrontAccessToken: 'd4019987e189be3ec0cf97ea37531adb', }); ShopifyBuy.UI.onReady(client).then(function (ui) { ui.createComponent('product', { id: '7163230748856', node: document.getElementById('product-component-1684855586301'), moneyFormat: '%24%7B%7Bamount%7D%7D', options: { "product": { "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "calc(25% - 20px)", "margin-left": "20px", "margin-bottom": "50px" } }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#000000" }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "contents": { "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "text": { "button": "Add to cart" }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "productSet": { "styles": { "products": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "margin-left": "-20px" } } } }, "modalProduct": { "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0px", "margin-bottom": "0px" } }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "14px", "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "option": { "styles": { "label": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" }, "select": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto" ] }, "cart": { "styles": { "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "header": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "lineItems": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotalText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotal": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "notice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "currency": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "close": { "color": "#4c4c4c", ":hover": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "empty": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "noteDescription": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountAmount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "text": { "title": "Checkout powered by Faith & Flame" }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "toggle": { "styles": { "toggle": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "background-color": "#ffb400", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" } } }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "lineItem": { "styles": { "variantTitle": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "fullPrice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantity": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityIncrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityDecrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityInput": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" } } } }, }); }); } })(); /*]]>*/

I had always wondered why Jesus used the word belly here, but now I began to understand.

Prior to this, I had always thought my spiritual heart was in my chest where my physical heart was located, even though the Bible clearly said it was in the belly. Never before had I heard anyone tell someone to yield their heart, or where to yield, or how to yield. However, as I attempted to cooperate with what Dennis was telling me to do, he continually encouraged me, saying, “There, you’re doing it.” At the same time, I could actually feel the difference inside.

I don’t remember exactly what we prayed about, but looking back I can see that he led me through some how-tos for tangible change inside of me. I certainly didn’t catch the full significance of what I was learning at the time. However, it was obvious that Dennis had a unique anointing and profound spiritual authority, and he was teaching principles that were entirely new to me.

We soon became friends and, after a whirlwind romance, we were married.

Because I was so hungry for God but clueless, I asked Dennis to disciple me.

I didn’t learn anything else about joy until after Dennis and I were married. It was wonderful news to discover that he had the very answers I was seeking. One of the first evenings we prayed together, he asked me to get in an attitude of prayer. He told me to put my hand on my belly and yield to Messiah within.

Next, Dennis said, “Close your eyes and pray. That peace you’re feeling, that is supernatural peace—the peace of God. Now relax and yield even more to Jesus. That little bubble you’re feeling is supernatural joy, the fruit of the Spirit.”

By the way, because Dennis operates in a strong gifting of discerning of spirits, he was able to identify what I was feeling. Peace and joy are fruit of the Spirit. Now I had discovered that, far from being mysterious, we can tap into the fruit of the Spirit at any time! How marvelous! What a life-changing discovery!

As I also learned later, we emanate an anointing when we touch the presence of God. When believers are in a worship service, the atmosphere feels “worshipful” because of the anointing flowing from them. An anointing also flows through us when we open our hearts toward others and allow a river of love to flow to them. As a matter of fact, we can create a carnal or a spiritual emotional atmosphere around us that influences others, for good or bad.

Finding God

When I was a brand-new believer the Lord had quickened Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) to me and it delighted my heart: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Find God? How thrilling! But how do you seek and search? Turning to books, I read everything I could find about the saints of old who had rich experiences with God. This began a quest to know more of God, finding Him in the secret place where He dwells. We encounter God there!

What is the main reason that believers, who are hungry for God, fail to commune with Him regularly in the secret place? They don’t know how!

I didn’t know how either—until I met my husband. And you know what? I later wrote down everything Dennis taught me so we could help other cerebral, frustrated, or HTR believers! Many believers have also judged themselves, or have been judged, as unspiritual. That is a tremendous hindrance to spiritual growth.

Practice

How to Touch the Presence of God

If you ever sat quietly in a church service and felt a special sense that God was near, you have touched His presence. That was not your imagination. Even unsaved people sometimes sense a “different” feeling in a church service or funeral when believers are present. That gentle awareness is actually the supernatural peace found in the secret place.

Close your eyes.

Focus on Jesus in the secret place within your heart. When you invited Jesus into your heart, you became indwelt by Him. He never leaves you. He is always near.

Relax and silently praise or worship Him while you wait quietly for a few minutes. Most believers can sense a gentle difference. That difference is His presence in the secret place. If you feel nothing different or aren’t sure, don’t worry. Remember, the change is very subtle. Most believers grow in the ability to sense His closeness over time.

/*<![CDATA[*/ (function () { var scriptURL = 'https://sdks.shopifycdn.com/buy-button/latest/buy-button-storefront.min.js'; if (window.ShopifyBuy) { if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) { ShopifyBuyInit(); } else { loadScript(); } } else { loadScript(); } function loadScript() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.async = true; script.src = scriptURL; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(script); script.onload = ShopifyBuyInit; } function ShopifyBuyInit() { var client = ShopifyBuy.buildClient({ domain: 'nori-media-group.myshopify.com', storefrontAccessToken: 'd4019987e189be3ec0cf97ea37531adb', }); ShopifyBuy.UI.onReady(client).then(function (ui) { ui.createComponent('product', { id: '7163230748856', node: document.getElementById('product-component-1684855540440'), moneyFormat: '%24%7B%7Bamount%7D%7D', options: { "product": { "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0", "margin-bottom": "50px" }, "text-align": "left" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#000000" }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#444444" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#444444" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#444444" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "layout": "horizontal", "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true, "description": true }, "width": "100%", "text": { "button": "Add to cart" }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "productSet": { "styles": { "products": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "margin-left": "-20px" } } } }, "modalProduct": { "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0px", "margin-bottom": "0px" } }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "14px", "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "option": { "styles": { "label": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" }, "select": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto" ] }, "cart": { "styles": { "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "header": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "lineItems": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotalText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotal": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "notice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "currency": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "close": { "color": "#4c4c4c", ":hover": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "empty": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "noteDescription": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountAmount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "text": { "title": "Checkout powered by Faith & Flame" }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "toggle": { "styles": { "toggle": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "background-color": "#ffb400", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" } } }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "lineItem": { "styles": { "variantTitle": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "fullPrice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantity": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityIncrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityDecrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityInput": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" } } } }, }); }); } })(); /*]]>*/

0 notes

becausethathappens · 3 years ago

Note

i love the way you write. can you tell me something nice to calm my nerves? my day has been awful and the way you write takes me out of it, instantly. *currently rereading everything you've written on ao3 ignore the kudos that might give this away 👀*

anonnnnnnnnn. 🤚💓

something nice: rhett and link have been together longer than i’ve been alive. (i’m more than three decades old. 😩)

and something short for you, because this made me blush:

-———————-

needs no conversation

1k - Rhett and Link duet for the first time.

songs referenced: yesterday’s wine / islands in the stream

Over a year passes after Rhett's voice dropped before he starts using it as regularly as he used to. More than once, trying to sing along to whatever's on the radio and having his voice crack and squeak has led to teasing from friends and family alike. He's gun-shy to hold a tune until he's sure the baritone that his register has changed to is permanent.

Poor Link's voice has only gotten higher, since around the same time, but the elasticity and charm of it suits his personality.

It's years into being grumpy, monosyllabic teenagers before they feel happy enough to sing aloud, let alone together.

One night, while they’re stuffed with pizza and sketching tree forts (they're sick of lugging all their things to the river, every time they swim and want a place to store belongings in the woods, closer by), Rhett finds himself singing along to Yesterday's Wine with a full-throated joy that makes Link's insides swirl. It's certainly the most he's used his voice, confidently, since it's settled on this octave.

Rhett's voice sounds good. Objectively good and better than it's maybe ever sounded.

Link, shyly, joins in because he's sure the longer he sits and listens, it'll become a problem for his head or his heart or both. It unsettles him.

He's not more than three seconds into the chorus, singing along with George Jones' section, when he notices that Rhett's set aside his writing instruments, as well, and is looking over at him.

In near the same way that Link was looking at him.

It's then, right that second, Link hears it.

The natural harmony they've stumbled across.

The song's over too soon.

With busy eyes and unsteady hands, Link scrambles over to the tape deck to switch out to another song. The next up was a solo b-side from Merle's early work that won’t showcase what he’s just heard.

He picks the first tape with a duet he can find.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

It's just to prove a theory, the song choice. Selected because Link knows it has two distinct singers. Not much thought going into it beyond that.

He pops the tape into the player and hits play. He feigns looking down at his drawings for a moment, like he's merely changing the background music and returning to them.

But after a few seconds, he can't withhold his interest and looks up.

Rhett's still staring right at him.

And he doesn’t seem to have stopped this whole time.

As the music fades in softly, his eyes are soft and doe-y.

To Link’s surprise, he starts to sing, clearly begging Link, wordlessly, to do the same in the next verse.

"Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb," Rhett begins.

Link stares at him, takes it in. He lets his ears adjust and come to grips with the fact that Rhett's voice really sounds that smooth and adult, overpowering Kenny's easily in the quiet room with the volume purposefully low.

They both know the lyrics.

"I was soft inside There was something going on," Rhett sings.

Link’s smile breaks wide, an outburst of shocked elation that Rhett sound only improves. He really sounds this good. Professionally good.

An idea bubbles into his mind, one he'd never dare to think if not so immersed in the candied daydream of hearing his friend's beautiful voice echo around the small bedroom for what feels like the first time. He's picturing Rhett singing this for an audience, his unused hand holding a microphone, as Link watches Rhett drum a steady one-two rhythm along with the beat into his thigh.

Link does the same and then immediately jumps in on the first harmony.

"You do something to me that I can't explain Hold me closer and I feel no pain Every beat of my heart We got something going on," they sing together.

Link's eyes dart back and forth, feeling zapped by the electricity of how their voices sound paired together.

It’s not just Rhett.

He takes in that, to his ears, his voice sounds much deeper than it has in years. When he sings with Rhett, trying to match the key change, it feels like Rhett is sharing some of his baritone. His own lifts up, as though to meet Link halfway.

Their words tumble out over each other in a kind of velvety sophistication that makes Link picture them both on a stage performing. It makes Link's heart leap, how natural it would seem, were it to be like this.

"Tender love is blind It requires a dedication," Rhett belts out, getting into it.

Link grins and nods. They could lead the choir at church.

They both sing, "All this love we feel needs no conversation We ride it together, ah ha."

Rhett wiggles back and forth to the beat, Link joins in.

"Making love with each other, ah ha," they sing, blushing.

Rhett laughs, inaudibly, in respect to the music, at how silly that line sounds, when sung by the two of them.

"Islands in the stream That is what we are No one in between How can we be wrong Sail away with me To another world And we rely on each other, ah ha From one lover to another, ah ha," they harmonize.

Link's eyes shine. They could start a band.

Link sings, "I can't live without you if the love was gone Everything is nothing if you got no one And you did walk in the night Slowly losing sight of the real thing."

Rhett's eyes are also shining back. Link is already sure that he'll agree to the idea. He hardly ever says no, in Link's experience.

They sing, "But that won't happen to us and we got no doubt Too deep in love and we got no way out And the message is clear This could be the year for the real thing."

He pictures their names on a marquee.

Link closes his eyes and sings, "No more will you cry Baby, I will hurt you never."

He imagines their album cover, posed like Lionel or Merle.

Rhett joins him, "We start and end as one In love forever We can ride it together, ah ha Making love with each other, ah ha."

Link nods along, lost in fantasy.

"Islands in the stream That is what we are No one in between How can we be wrong Sail away with me To another world And we rely on each other, ah ha From one lover to another, ah ha," they recite in tandem.

Link opens his eyes again and is struck by the fact that Rhett's eyes are also open or have still never closed.

Once again the ZING of amazement bolts through him at how strongly the affection and pride on Rhett's face beams at him.

They sing, "Sail away Oh come sail away with me."

The chorus repeats twice, both of them staring like that the whole time, and Link fights the urge to reach out and join their hands as if in prayer. He's seen duets do that before, like Sonny and Cher. He understands the impulse, now. He wants nothing more than to chase this connected, harmonious feeling, now and perhaps the rest of his life.

Entertain himself and others, alongside Rhett.

As the song finishes, they sing, "Islands in the stream That is what we are No one in between."

This is their ticket out.

A solo track ticks on next and the spell is somewhat broken.

Link leans back and laughs, covering his mouth with both palms at once.

Rhett settles, blushing, and hides his mouth with the back of his right hand. It also masks the smile growing fast at Link’s reaction.

It feels like they've just discovered a secret too great for them to know.

"That was so good," Link tells him, honest.

"I 's just thinkin' that," Rhett agrees, chuckling. "Don't think I've ever been able to hold an melody like that. You hit the high notes dead-on."

"And that was some professional-grade crooning," Link assures him.

"Oh, don't know about that," Rhett dismisses.

"No, I'm serious. We should start a band," Link says, earnestly.

Rhett watches him for a few seconds, trying to judge whether or not he's serious. When he sees no hesitation, finally, he smirks.

"Okay," Rhett agrees, looking thrilled.

Link grins back at him.

"It's like it was written about us, too. We've got an island in a stream. If you could count the river as one. How’s that for song choice?" Link asks, playfully.

Rhett frowns. "That's... not what the song - it's about - " Rhett looks at Link funny, then continues, "It's not about that. D'you even listen to the lyrics?"

"No," Link answers, easy and truthful.

"You really wanna start a band with me?” Rhett’s eyes fall and he scratches the back of his head. “If you got distracted while I was singing?"

"Rhett, I got distracted by your singing," Link explains.

Rhett looks down. "Oh."

There's a long pause.

"Well, I got distracted by you, too."

Link's eyes widen.

"By your singing," Rhett adds, hastily.

Link rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Unsure how else Rhett would've expected him to take that.

The blush that warms his chest also brings with it a smile.

He rewinds the tape so they can begin again.

#things i wrote #sharing music is intimate #i love you @anon #i have a WIP that i need to finish #and other things #but i'm in my feelings about them today #🥺️#rhink fic #fluff

31 notes · View notes

joezworld · 4 years ago

Text

Toby - Rap God

Guys I was making myself laugh when I wrote this - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Based entirely on one line from this.

2019

There are many engines on the Island of Sodor, and like many people, music is often part of their lives.

Some engines, like Percy and Duck, have no interest in the subject, having never been exposed to it in a real manner.

Others, like Gordon and Henry, have extremely well-defined music tastes. (Unfortunately for those around them, they do not like the same music, and arguments often ensue.)

James, being extremely vain, enjoys the songs written about him for the children's television show based on the writings of The Thin Clergyman.

And then there’s Toby...

-----------

Toby is a small brown steam tram. He has spent almost all of his life on Sodor on Thomas' branch line, where he and his coach Henrietta trundle up and down the valley at the top of the line - providing a valuable commuter service from the branch line terminus to the stone mines at Anopha.

Toby likes music, as does Henrietta; they like it so much that in 1989 the workmen installed a radio in Henrietta so that the two could listen to music on it as they worked.

This was very thoughtful gift, but there was a small problem:

The hills outside of the quarry meant that many radio stations couldn't reach the small antenna on Henrietta's roof.

Fortunately, a few did, mostly overpowered stations on the Isle of Man. These stations were designed to reach boats far out at sea, and mainly played uninteresting things like the Shipping Forecast.

There was, however, one station that did come come through loud and clear no matter where you were...

---

You're listening to ManxPirate - the Barely-Seaworthy voice of the Sudrian Sea. I’m your sea-going Deejay - or Sea-Jay - Musik Mike! Up next is our most popular block of the day - that’s right, the JAMS are LOUD and we're all gonna get DEF!

"Oh Henrietta! It's starting!"

"Just be ready on the choruses Toby"

------------------

The sounds of music echoed off of the Els river valley as Toby and Henrietta trundled towards Elsbridge.

Aside from their Quarry duties, Toby and Henrietta also worked 'the school bus', a daily train that carried schoolchildren from the remote farmhouses between Elsbridge and Hackenbeck to the Saint Pedroc's school in Elsbridge.

Toby loved this route - many of the children had been taking 'the bus' since Grade 1, and he felt privileged to have seen them grow up into fine young adults.

As he pulled into the platform at Elsbridge station, he saw those young adults crowded around each other.

'"Peep Peep! Let's go, everyone!" he called to the teens.

"Just a minute Tobes!" Called back Sera, one of the teenagers, before she turned back to her friends, who were filming her with their 'smart-phones'.

"Whatever could they be doing?" He asked Henrietta as Sera and her friend Phoebe bounced up and down in unison while waving their arms around.

"Undoubtedly something for the internet," the coach mused. "But I have no idea what - trends change so fast now".

"Internet?" Toby was puzzled. "Don't they need a computer for that?"

"Toby. Smartphones have been around for over ten years. How do you not know about this?"

"I'm sorry that I'm not as technologically advanced as you - but at least I know what steam is!"

"Oh my goodness, it's also a video game company now. You've heard those jokes before!"

Toby and Henrietta likely would have gone on like that until the guard blew his whistle, but Phoebe broke away from the group of teens, her phone in her hand.

"Toby?" She asked, clearly trying not laugh. "Do you know what Vossi Bop is?"

Toby was taken aback. "Of course I do. Vossi Bop isn't my favourite, but that's just because I don't like Stormzy that much - I'm not one for Grime."

Phoebe blinked like she'd been poleaxed. "What?"

"It's a Stormzy song, isn't it?"

"Toby," Henrietta sighed. "She was asking because she thought you didn't know. Was this going to be some kind of thing where you show rap music to the elderly and laugh at them being shocked?" She asked Phoebe, who nodded slowly.

"Well, you're going to have to better than that young lady," The coach smirked. "We've been listening to ManxPirate since before you were born!"

"Really?" The blonde asked slowly.

"Oh yes!" Henrietta boasted. "Eazy-E was still alive when we first tuned in!"

"Oh, em, gee!" The girl said, before turning and shouting down the platform. "Guys! They do know!"

The excited teenagers crowded around Toby and Henrietta as they quizzed the tram on rap music. Any thought of leaving on time was totally forgotten about as Toby's extensive knowledge of gangsta rap was laid out for them.

"Mate, mate," said John, one of the boys. "You gotta do The Challenge if you know all this!"

"What challenge?" Toby asked.

The teens clamored over each other, before they all stopped to let someone speak intelligibly.

Rachel Kyndley eventually spoke up: "It's a thing that ManxPirate is doing on TikTok. You sing along to a rap song and whoever does it the best gets to record a charity single with Stormzy!"

The teens again spoke over each other, all claiming that Toby and Henrietta should sing for the challenge.

Toby had to blow his whistle to calm them down. "I suppose there's nothing to lose by it," He said after a moment. "But I should say that my flow isn’t that good."

"Mate, I am amazed that you know what that means,” Said John. “But you just need to sing along to somethin’ that’s already out there.”

“Oh.” Toby looked back at Henrietta. “Well that shouldn’t be too hard. Do you have any N.W.A we could sing along to?”

As he had the only ‘eye-phone pro’, Simon the student newspaper editor was volunteered as cameraperson, while Rachel set a small ‘blue tooth speaker’ on Toby’s bufferbeam so that he could hear the music.

The remaining teenagers pulled out their phones as well - whatever happened next was going to be un-fucking-believable.

The music began with record scratching. The kids looked at each other in shock. There was no way that Rachel had picked this.

"Right about now NWA court is in full effect” Henrietta sang.

Rachel had. The teens could barely contain themselves.

“Judge Dre presiding in the case of NWA versus the police department.

Prosecuting attourneys are MC Ren, Ice Cube and Eazy motherfuckin' E”

Hearing Henrietta say ‘fuck’, was an astonishing experience for the unprepared teenagers.

“Order, order, order, Ice Cube take the motherfuckin' stand

Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth

And nothin' but the truth so help your black ass?”

“You goddamn right” Toby responded. Rachel Kyndley barely could hold back a shout of astonishment. I hope there’s no book written about this! She thought.

“Well, won't you tell everybody what the fuck you gotta say?"

Then there was a record scratching sound.

The teens knew what came next. They hoped that they were prepared to hear this song come out of Toby.

"Fuck the police comin' straight from the underground!"

Toby and Henrietta not only sang this lyric, they sang it in harmony.

The teenagers thought that they had been prepared.

They were not prepared.

Most of the next few verses were lost underneath the clamor of twelve teenagers losing their goddamn minds.

--------------------

A few days later

Toby was resting in his shed when a little car came tearing into the station parking lot. More girls than should have been possible to fit in it came tumbling out and made a beeline for his shed, Rachel Kyndley in the lead.

“Toby! Toby! Toby! You won! You won!” She shouted as she skidded over the gravel.

“Won what?”

“The Contest!” She shrieked. “Your video went viral and you won The Contest! Stormzy said on Instagram that he was excited to meet you!”

She and her friends dissolved into happy squealing, preventing any further speech.

“What’s Instagram?” Toby asked Henrietta.

--------------------------

The Next Week

Stephen Hatt was enjoying his tea and tolerating his toast and marmalade, when his son Richard burst into his office, waving his phone around like a sword.

“Were you just not going to tell me that you let Stormzy visit the engines? Or was I just supposed to figure this out when Kieran and Micah tore my ear off for not letting them meet him?!”

“I have a phone, you know. And a receptionist.” Stephen said as he cleaned tea off of his desk. Fortunately, most of it had gone onto the marmalade covered toast, which he unceremoniously dumped into the trash. “And who have I let meet the engines?”

“Stormzy? The rapper? He headlined at Glastonbury last bloody month?”

“I don’t follow.”

“He’s a musician, and you let him record an album with Toby!”

“He recorded music? With Toby? Our Toby?”

“Yes! It was supposed to be a single, but now it’s an album! It hit number one! And it’s been out for three hours!”

“You’re saying this as if I have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Just read the article!” Richard shoved the phone into his hand. The website for BBC Sodor and Man was open.

STORMZY DROPS SURPRISE ALBUM WITH SURPRISE COSTARS

ELSBRIDGE - Music fans across the world were surprised this morning when Stormzy unexpectedly announced via Instagram the release of his newest album, Back in Their Day - featuring two of the realest OGs I’ve ever seen.

Residents of Sodor were especially surprised to discover who those “two real OGs” were: Toby and Henrietta, an engine and coach on the Ffarquhar Branch Line.

This unexpected collaboration began several weeks ago when a viral video on TikTok featuring the pair attracted the attention of the rapper...

Stephen skimmed the rest of the article, not quite believing what he was reading. “I didn’t authorize any of this.” He said at last.

“Really?” Richard said, not quite believing him. “Because that’s what the staff on the Branch told me too.”

“I swear to you I didn’t do anything.”

“Then what, did the biggest star in the country just go to Ffarquhar and record an album with Toby? With nobody’s permission?”

----------------

[TWO YEARS LATER]

--CHANNEL 4 INTERNAL TRANSCRIPT: THE LAST LEG 2021 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL--

ADAM HILLS - So we’ve had a lot of questions, about, the last album you dropped-

[AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]

AH - The one with the train engine - I think his name is Toby?

STORMZY - And Henrietta. Can’t forget her.

AH - Of course not.

S - What do you wanna know?

[MORE LAUGHTER]

AH - Well, I don’t have any questions - and when I say we, I don’t mean Alex or our viewers -

[PROLONGED LAUGHTER]

AH - I mean Josh.

JOSH WIDDICOMBE - [TO ADAM] You’re an Arse. [To STORMZY] - Um, I just wanted to know how you did it really. Is it, is it true that you snuck in and did it all in one night?

S - Oh yeah! Absolutely. ‘Cause, I thought that it was gonna be a one and done, like just a single y’know? So I just went there and was gonna do it and go. But as we kept talkin’ I realized that, that, I just had to make more, and then it became the album and we shot a music video for ‘scrapp’ on the same night and then I did some sound work and then it went up.

AH - Just like that?

S - Just like that.

77 notes · View notes

darlingpwease · 3 years ago

Text

for my beloved honeypie♡

I LOVE YOU SO SO SO MUCH ABDGSJGSHS COME HERE FOR KISSES ADORABLE ONE

upd: before I write you a huge essay about how cute you are and how much I want to squeeze you, I would like to say that I am writing this after reading your message, when my mood has become much better, as well as my mental state. you're such a sweetheart,,,,, thank you so much for taking the time to write to me <33333

Ahejksksj you have affogato cookie?? He’s so very pretty <3<3

yes!!! he's so cute,,,,, when I first saw him, I thought it was time for a new 'femme fatale' wife- apparently, I haven't played for too long and forgot how much they love to create feminine he/him </3 not that it's a disappointment, he's too pretty and I may have one or two weaknesses for people cookies like him <3

and he has such cute animations and a deep voice? it kind of reminded me of that video with Jack

(I hope I don't sound discriminatory, but, look, I was so surprised when I took him away and turned on the headphones only to realize that pretty cookie was "him";;;)

I want affogato so bad but I haven’t played crk in months and have no pulls <//3

Never mind, I take that back. I-In the middle of writing this, I realized that I had two pulls left and decided to do them,, and now I have him too— !

!!! congratulations, honey!!! I hope he definitely won't disappoint you.

I liked his animations and voice lines so much;;; his eyes are so cute when you lift him up </3

I shall pretend that writing to my favorite tumblr author has given me good luck and helped me bring him home

,,,,,,, my darling,,,,,,,,,, blushie,,,,,,,, lovely honeypie,,,,,,,,,,,,, I am absolutely sure: it was a miracle that only such a magical creature as you could create.

only good things should happen to a charmer like you, you know? <3

I’m not sure if you ever got my Valentine’s Day message, or if you did get it but saw it too late and felt awkward replying to it (which is totally fine!), but, regardless, I wanted to say that I can’t believe that it’s been well over a year since I first built up the courage to send in a message to you!! It was very exciting for me when I realized that milestone <3<3

I'm sorry, my joy! at first I wanted to reply the same day, then the next, and then I just saved it in my favorite feedback, because I thought that when I looked through it, I would remember about it, but over the past few days I didn't even have the strength to check the blog.

I will definitely answer it if I don't find myself in a situation that is 'questionable for my psyche' again hehehe /hj

I congratulate you on our common anniversary♡♡♡

and- has it been a year since we met??? it seems like it was only yesterday when you and I were choosing a new name for you, and it's been a year now?;;;

Additionally, since my birthday is tomorrow (the 27th) <...>

... and it's your birthday already??? oh my deity, did you just get a year older yesterday than last year??? how fast does time fly?

when I was a child, it was a custom among adults to pull children up slightly by the ears so that they would grow up; although, of course, it was just a game, I would undoubtedly like to do the same to you, even if you are taller than me <3

you make me feel so soft </3

AND I am also glad that the adorable babies congratulated you and made you happy <333

you are such a flower baby gosh worthy of all the sunshine in the world

Also, I saw on your other blog that you mentioned being affected by a political situation. I assume (I could be wrong) that you live near/are affected by the current Russia/Ukraine situation. I have to admit that, as a very privileged American, I am not well versed in international affairs, but, regardless, I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe during this time <3

"privileged American" oh my you are my poor pure child? how terr- ehehe I'm sorry, my dear, I used to joke about Americans before </3 /hj

But, thank you so much. I understand that I definitely shouldn't feel so cornered and confused, but I can't help but be more chatty about politics than I should, as it definitely affects me. Since, unfortunately, I live in the capital, not being born here, I feel so uncomfortable hearing the words that everything that is happening is not so bad, although it is, even if I try to protect myself; to be honest, at some point I begin to doubt whether my thinking is right, until I see people who share my point of view again. Everything that is happening is disgusting and wrong on many levels, but the only thing we can do is help inform, think and take care of ourselves, right?

I hope you're in a much safer and healthier environment, adorable <333 Don't forget to drink water and take care of your safety! If someone makes you uncomfortable, then don't feel the pressure of being around them — nothing is worth your mental stability, honeypie♡♡

I have wrote to you about so many other things,

you wrote me a lot of amazing things and remained so charming every time, yes, I remember...

but never about your actual writing.

uwu?

Perhaps it has been because of embarrassment?

UwU?

I’m not sure— but regardless, I’d like to talk about it today:

UWU?

a lot of sweet things that now belong only to me because I found a new way to get serotonin and since the real treasures should be hidden in an inaccessible chest now it's mine sorry mice <3

This message has now become so very long, but I promise I am trying to wrap it up.

It's presumptuous of you to assume that I'm against the continuation of your message and our chatter because I'm always happy to see your letters (words?), but let's assume that it is

But also— aside from all of that— I have been thinking about stepping away from anon status and revealing my tumblr. I am nervous to do so, but I think it would be nice.

If you want, I'll be only too happy about it, although for me you will still remain a cute honeypie <333 you're just too sweet and good for this world, I have to pinch your adorable-blushie cheeks my my <333

But seriously, if you feel ready, then I'd love to take a look at you hehehe <3 let me take a look at you, darling~

Also I hope it’s okay that I sent such a long message to this blog rather than your other one,, I was just gonna talk about affogato cookie, but I ended up rambling about much more </3)

It's okay! I'm glad to see you again after our mutual silence. It's been a long time, and I'm glad that you continue to be around♡

both of my blogs were created for communication (especially considering that this blog was originally supposed to be for communication, and that one for work, then you rather made the right choice, honey), so you don't have to apologize.

and if, suddenly, you want to talk to me more about cookies or genshin and start talking about something else, I'm almost always here ( ◜‿◝ )♡

by the way, it was your birthday, but you were left without a gift from me. this is somehow wrong, hmm? write me your favorite character, my darling — and, if you want, any wishes for creating what you would like to see. of course, I'm not promising a great gift, but I can't not give you something.

we'll consider it a reward for your bravery♡

#[📂] — voice from under the bed #sorry for the silence my darling #and happy birthday!!! grow up healthy and happy my my <33333 #it seemed to me that you had mentioned somewhere before that you were an American #but I still thank you for giving me hope for the existence of sweet Americans #(this is a joke a person's identity does not depend on nationality only if they are not British)#(THIS WAS ALSO A JOKE)

2 notes · View notes

pines-troz · 4 years ago

Text

Weekend With The Warners: Chapter Seven

Summary: When the CEO assigns Pinky and The Brain with the important task of watching over the Warners for the weekend, Brain is prepared for any antics that the children have in store. What he didn’t take into account was forming a familial bond with the kids.

Warning: This chapter has some intimate content between the mice, but nothing lewd or explicit.

Word Count: 4,895

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849962/chapters/72272373

Ten minutes had passed and Brain was starting to grow impatient. The mouse was exhausted after a long and busy day tending to the needs of the Warners and all he wanted was to relax in the comfortable queen bed. Whatever Pinky was planning had better be the surprise of the century.

The grunts from the bathroom ceased and were quickly replaced with the soft pitter-pattering of Pinky’s feet.

“Okay Brain!” Pinky chirped from the floor while bouncing up and down. “It’s ready!”

Brain rubbed his eyes and forced himself to get out of the comfortable bed. “This surprise of yours better be worth the wait,” He mentioned. As he pondered about what exactly Pinky had in store in the bathroom, he raised an eyebrow when he addressed another issue. “And sanitary as well.”

Once Brain landed on the floor, Pinky gently took his paw and led them down a trail of rose petals towards the bathroom. The chubby mouse was admittedly impressed with Pinky’s keen eye in regards to tasteful displays of romance. He assumed that Pinky must have made a few additional purchases with the golden credit card while on his shopping spree with Yakko and Wakko.

When they entered the dimly-lit restroom, Pinky swiftly scooped Brain up in his arms, causing the smaller mouse to let out a short gasp. The lanky mouse carried his partner bridal style towards the tape measure. With a swift kick, they ascended their makeshift elevator and arrived on the counter. The moment Pinky stepped off the tape measure, Brain couldn’t believe his eyes.

In between the sinks, there was a white cereal bowl filled to the brim with hot water, surrounded by rose petals and the wafting aroma of vanilla-scented air-fresheners.

“Poit! I almost forgot about the bubbles,” Pinky said as he gently lowered Brain onto the counter. The taller mouse ran over to the Alka Seltzer box and retrieved two tablets. Heaving the small tablets over his head, he dropped them straight into the tub. Within seconds, the bathwater was coated with large bubbles. “I just love the bubbles!” Pinky gushed as he hugged himself.

Brain stared at the tub in astonishment. Pinky took the time to prepare a nice bath he intended to share with him. It was a particularly nice way to wind down after a long and busy day.

The taller mouse looked over at Brain and dramatically presented his jazz hands. “Ta-Da!!”

Brain looked into his partner’s twinkling blue eyes. “You did all this…for me?” He softly inquired.

“Well, of course, Brain!” Pinky replied. “You must be tired after such a hectic day. So I decided to draw us a bath. Zort!”

The taller mouse picked up an empty box of animal crackers and placed it in front of the cereal bowl as a makeshift step ladder to access the tub. “I was originally gonna buy scented candles, but Yakko reminded me of the hotel’s no-candle policy.”

Brain was stunned that Pinky would take the time and effort to prepare such a marvelous display of intimacy.

“Why Pinky, I’m impressed by this romantic gesture.” Brain complimented.

“Looks like my years of watching soap operas and romantic comedies have finally paid off! Zort!” Pinky said confidently.

“Indeed it did.” Brain agreed. He looked over at Pinky and felt a pang of guilt. Pinky went through all this effort for him and Brain was initially skeptical of what his partner had in store for him. Pinky was simply too good for him.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this.” Brain muttered.

Pinky’s ears perked upwards when he heard Brain doubt himself. The taller mouse marched over to his partner’s side. With his arms crossed, he stared down the smaller mouse with a hardened frown. “Brain, now what did Dr. Scratchinsniff say to you about having a self-deprecating outlook on things?” He gently reprimanded.

Brain looked into Pinky’s hardened stare and sighed. He was still working on improving his sense of self. Years of being fodder for science at Acme Labs combined with the countless failed schemes to take over the world had drilled the terrible idea that Brain didn’t deserve anything good and decent in this world, which stemmed from the conditioning from the traumatic experiment during his youth. But Pinky proved him otherwise. He still stood by his side all these years and supported him and was more than willing to give affection. And with the additional help from his therapist, Brain was working on bolstering his self-esteem and learning to love himself.

“You’re right, Pinky. I deserve nice things.” Brain softly admitted.

“Yes, you do!” Pinky exclaimed. His goofy smile returned as he pulled Brain into a hug, nuzzling his cheek. Once they broke apart from the embrace, Pinky stared at him with sultry eyes. “Now why don’t you hop in the tub, where we can relax and admire each other.”

Brian lightly chuckled at his partner’s innuendo. Oh, he looked forward to admiring Pinky all right. The Warners were already fast asleep, so there was no issue with the two of them spending some alone time together, doing some rather adult activities.

“Yes Pinky, there’s nothing I want more than to admire you all night long…” Brain said in a husky voice, trying his best to sound flirty. Pinky’s cheeks turned pink at Brain’s suggestive comment and pressed his paws to conceal his blush.

The smaller mouse carefully took off his plush robe, folded it, and placed it next to the towels. He climbed up the animal cracker box, approaching the edge of the tub. He dipped his toe in the water and was content that it was a suitable temperature. Hot, but not boiling. Brain slowly entered the tub and submerged himself into the heated water. He closed his eyes and let out a blissful sigh. The hot water soaked through his ivory coat, soothing his tired muscles. After tending to the kids’ needs for the past two days, it was truly rewarding to be soaked in a hot bath lovingly prepared by his partner.

“Ah, sweet euphoria.” Brain said.

“Oh Braaain!” Pinky sang.

The pudgy mouse opened his eyes and turned to Pinky, who flirtily batted his eyes. Brain noticed that Pinky purposefully exposed his right shoulder from the purple robe. The lanky mouse loosened the belt of his robe, swiftly yanked it off, and tossed it over to the side. With a seductive smile, Pinky dropped the robe onto the floor. Now only wearing his white fur, he placed his hands on his hips as he strutted over towards the tub.

Brain couldn’t help but stare with saucer-sized eyes as he watched Pinky flirtatiously swish his hips, humming seductively. “Yeeesss!!” The eloquent mouse cried out.

Pinky giggled as he looked at his awe-struck lover. As he ascended the makeshift step ladder, he accidentally tripped over his foot. Pinky waved his arms around in a feeble attempt to maintain his balance, but to no avail as he plunged into the water with a tremendous splash.

Brain’s eyes widened with alarm. “Pinky!” He shouted, thrusting his arms through the bubbled water to get his grip on his partner so he could pull him up. Fortunately, the taller mouse broke through the surface with a silly grin and his hair shielding his eyesight.

“Oh, what a rush!” Pinky guffawed as he lifted up his hair tufts, his blue eyes gleaming with joy.

Brain was overcome with relief that Pinky wasn’t seriously hurt from his fall. The smaller mouse placed his hands over his beau’s right hand, giving a gentle squeeze. “Please don’t scare me like that again.”

“I won’t,” Pinky reassured as he gently placed his left paw on Brain’s shoulder. But the taller mouse immediately noticed how stiff it was and became concerned. “Oh dear,” He muttered. “I guess watching the little kiddies has worn you out?”

“Yes,” Brain admitted. “While I certainly made many treasured memories bonding with the kids, it really did a number on my physical state.”

With a gentle hand, Pinky tilted Brain’s chin upwards and gazed into his precious pink eyes. “Not to worry Brain, I know how to help.”

Brain smiled gratefully at his lanky partner. Pinky was more than ready to shower his affection. Fortunately, the lanky mouse prided himself on being a skilled masseuse, well-versed in different techniques.

Pinky brought himself closer to Brain’s side. With gentle arms, Pinky grabbed his partner’s waist and hoisted him onto his lap. The lanky mouse let his hands travel over to Brain’s soft belly, and he couldn’t help but playfully squish the folds of his fur. “Oh Brain, I just love your jiggly-wiggly tummy-tum!”

Brain became a flustered, insecure mess at the mere mention of his potbelly and immediately yanked Pinky’s hands away. “Pinky, stop this foolishness at once.” He commanded, trying to conceal his self-consciousness over the one part of his body he saw as a blemish.

Feeling guilty, Pinky pulled Brain closer and rested his chin underneath his chubby head. “Poit! I’m sorry Brain. But I love your tummy just as much as I love every part of you!” The eccentric mouse reassured as he placed his hands on the smaller mouse’s shoulders.

“I know…” Brain admitted. He couldn’t bother to protest his partner, who only saw the beauty of everything, including his rotund belly.

Pinky began to massage Brain’s shoulders. The eloquent mouse felt at ease as he allowed his partner to gently caress him. With deft hands, Pinky carefully applied an appropriate amount of pressure onto Brain’s shoulders. While working on his shoulders, Pinky peppered small kisses on the top of Brain’s head.

Brain eased into the taller mouse’s hold and began to ponder. How could someone like Pinky, who likes to suck on his toes and watch those dreaded finger puppet videos on YouTube, be so knowledgeable in romantic manners such as this?

The lanky mouse then let go and focused his attention on Brain’s chubby head. Gently placing his hands on his partner’s large cranium, he carefully kneaded his fingers in a soothing motion.

Brain blissfully sighed as he felt Pinky’s tender paws work their magic. He always loved when Pinky massaged his head. The small mouse prided himself in his intellect, but his normally dim-witted partner knew exactly how to care for his abnormally large head. He closed his eyes as he felt Pinky’s fingers carefully caress through his fur. Such dexterity! What careful precision!

“Yeeesss!!!” He exclaimed.

Pinky smiled. He was glad to see Brain so happy after a long weekend. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Brain. After watching the kiddies all weekend, it’s nice to relax in a nice bath.” He remarked.

Brain opened his eyes the moment Pinky mentioned the Warners. “Yes, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” He said as he carefully got off Pinky’s lap and moved over to face him.

“I’ve been pondering a lot about parenthood.” The eloquent mouse began. “I’m sure you recall the fond memories we had with Roman.”

“Oh, watching our little Romy grow up was the best two weeks of my life!” Pinky crowed. “We should give him a call tomorrow night! I bet he’s doing wonderful with his career in ventriloquism.”

“Absolutely.” Brain concurred. It’s been a while since they last conversed with their cloned son, and he was curious to hear how Romy would react to his and Pinky’s weekend shenanigans with the toon kids.

“Oh, what I’d give to be a parent again.” Pinky sighed, his eyes gleaming with nostalgia and desire.

Brain smiled, fully understanding his partner’s sentiment. He placed a paw on Pinky’s cheek, turning his head to face him. “Perhaps we could become fathers once more, dear Pinky.”

Pinky’s eyes widened with excitement while he instinctively held Brain’s hand, which still rested on his cheek. He never thought that he would have more kids, after Romy and that brief time watching over that adorable alien baby. But balancing a family and a career proved to be too much of a challenge. But now that Brain was feeling more and more sure of himself after seeking professional help and their blossoming romantic relationship, the lanky mouse was eager to hear what Brain had to say.

“Really Brain?” Pinky asked enthusiastically. Brain nodded as he carefully retracted his hand from his partner’s cheek and opted to hold his hand instead.

“When we first accepted the babysitting job from the CEO, I initially did not think much of it, besides an obstacle that interrupted my plans for world domination. But after spending some time with the Warners, I found myself growing emotionally attached to the children. And, much to my surprise, they seem to reciprocate those feelings.”

“I know Wakko and Dot are on board!” Pinky eagerly interjected. But a small frown slowly crossed his face. “Poit. Although Yakko was having trouble seeing us as parent material since he’s been looking after his siblings for so long without any help.”

Brain pondered as he looked over to the slowly dispersing bath bubbles. “I can understand why he would feel that way…” The mouse returned his gaze at Pinky, who stared at him with a worried expression. “However, I believe that Yakko will eventually warm up to us after some time.”

“You really think so?” Pinky softly inquired, his voice filled with hope.

Brain gave his partner a confident nod. “I’m certain of it.”

If the Warners still wanted to have him and Pinky around after the weekend, then he would be able to provide them with parental affection. If it came down to being a mere lab mouse or the guardian of three wacky children, then Brain would be more than happy to leave his days at Acme Labs behind.

Brain looked back at his beau. “You know, Pinky. I think I’m ready to get back on the saddle again.”

Pinky’s eyes lit up. “Oh, goodie!” He clapped, but then a sad frown crossed his face. “Oh, but wait! No, no…”

Brain’s ears drooped, feeling crestfallen by Pinky’s sudden refusal. He showered unconditional love to the Warners, even gushing over becoming a parent again. What was going on in that strange head of his?

“What is it?” Brain asked worriedly.

“I forgot my saddle at the lab,” Pinky explained forlornly. “Had I known that you wanted to play horsie over the weekend, then I would have had it packed in my suitcase.” But the mouse’s eyes widened when he thought of something and gave Brain a flirty smile. “Although, we could make it work without a saddle!”

Brain blushed furiously as he massaged his forehead. “I wasn’t referring to one of our roleplaying sessions, Pinky!” He splashed his hand into the water to get his partner’s attention. “I was talking about becoming a father again!”

“Ohh…” Pinky muttered in realization. But then he became excited by Brain’s admission. “You really want to be a dad again!?”

“Absolutely,” Brain replied. “Not to mention how Wakko and Dot already referred to us as their fathers. But the more I think about it, there are several benefits to adopting the Warners.”

“Like what?” Pinky eagerly inquired.

“Well, for one thing, we would no longer have to reside in the lab and go through the rigorous experiments that take a tremendous toll on our physical and emotional well-being.” Brain explained. “Granted, the only downside is that the water tower doesn’t have the necessary lab equipment or other resources to aid my quest for world domination, but I’ll figure something out.”

Pinky’s eyes lit up at the idea of moving into the water tower. “You mean I can finally live out my dreams of being a homemaker?”

“Absolutely, dear Pinky.” Brain fondly replied, his ears contentedly flattened. “And we can apply the lessons we learned from raising Roman to the Warners. I won’t make any attempts to force my desire of world domination onto the kids, and you won’t overly smother them with affection.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best,” Pinky mentioned. “Oh! And Romy can finally have younger siblings to play with! Narf! And the four of them will have such a fun-fun, silly-willy time together!”

Brain chuckled. He had to admit that they were getting ahead of themselves, pondering over the possibilities of returning to fatherhood. Of course, it all came down to whether the Warners wanted to have them back in their lives, and the consensus is that they have a two-out-of-three approval rating. But the smaller mouse was desperate to make sure that everyone was on board before making any life-changing decisions.

The small mouse cleared his throat. “Tell you what, we’ll take the kids out for a nice brunch at a fancy restaurant, and then spend the afternoon at the park.” He explained while rubbing the back of his head. “But before we return to the Warner movie lot, we’ll ask the children how they feel about being adopted. And, if they say yes, then we’ll kiss Acme Labs goodbye and start a new home with the Warners!”

Pinky’s blue eyes glistened with joy. “Egad, brilliant Brain!” He cheered, clasping his paws together and letting out a contented sigh. “But do we have to kiss the lab?”

Brian rolled his eyes at his partner’s ludicrous statement. “No Pinky, that’s just a figure of speech.”

“Ohh,” Pinky uttered.

Brain allowed himself to smile at his clueless partner. “You know, I’m actually glad that we took this babysitting gig this weekend, Pinky.” He said as he moved closer to Pinky with the intention of giving him a passionate kiss.

“Me too.” Pinky agreed. Pinky leaned closer to Brain, who had his eyes closed in preparation to lock lips with his partner. But before Pinky could seal the deal, he remembered something incredibly important he wanted to share.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Pinky exclaimed, startling Brain.

“About what?” The smaller mouse inquired.

“Since we were talking about saddles earlier, we should buy one of those dad saddles for the man-suit and we could take turns riding the kids around as they pretend to be cowboys and pirates! Narf!”

“Pinky, I am not stooping so low as to purchase a degrading joke toy that would chip away at my dignity!” Brain argued.

“But just imagine how much fun the kids would have! And since we would be giving them horse rides with the suit, we wouldn’t have to worry about back pain, and-”

In an effort to shut Pinky up, Brain propped himself across his partner’s lap, cupped his face, and proceeded to kiss him. Pinky’s eyes widened in surprise. Normally he would be the one to make the first move. But in a subversive turn of events, Brain was the one initiating the intimate moment. Pinky closed his eyes and savored the kiss.

Once they parted lips, Pinky saw Brain’s cheeks flushed. The lanky mouse smiled warmly at his pudgy partner, gazing into his pretty pink eyes. He leaned in, kissing his partner back.

Pinky tenderly placed his paw on the smaller mouse’s right cheek as their lips collided. Brain immediately wrapped his arms around Pinky’s neck, bring himself closer. Feeling rather frisky, Brain inserted his tongue into Pinky’s mouth, causing his partner to elicit a contented moan.

Both mice were in bliss.

But the intimate moment was broken the moment they heard the door open. The couple broke away from their kiss and turned around, only to find Wakko waiting by the doorway and staring at them with wide eyes.

The mice and the middle child proceed to scream at each other.

Wakko pointed at the mice as he stared at the terrifying sight of two grown-ups doing very grown-up things. Brain clung onto Pinky’s chest, while the taller mouse grabbed a handful of bubbles to cover his modesty, not taking into account that the bubbles were now roughly the size of his fingertips.

Just when things couldn’t possibly get any worse for the mice, they heard a pair of shuffling feet approaching the doorway.

“Wakko, what’s wrong?” Yakko asked as he rushed towards his sibling’s side with Dot following his trail. But the eldest sibling was surprised to see the mice sharing a tub together. “Woah there!” He exclaimed in a disbelieving smile.

The mice stared at the three children like deer in headlights. Brain felt his cheeks burn at the thought of Yakko constantly bringing up this moment in private conversations (though Yakko was a chatterbox, he would never intentionally spread malicious gossip about his co-workers). The mortified mouse was never going to hear the end of it!

Dot also appeared by the doorway and was immediately overjoyed by what she saw. “Aww, you two are sharing a romantic moment together!” She inquired, her eyes sparkling like gemstones.

Before Brain could make a sardonic response, Pinky lifted his hands and gathered another small pile of bubbles. “No, we weren’t!” He lied with a nervous chuckle. “We were just having a foam party!”

“A foam party? Well how come we weren’t invited?” Wakko questioned, feeling a little sad at the thought of being left out of a fun party.

“Oh dear,” Pinky mumbled, for he didn’t think this through. Snapping his fingers, he came up with a fib on the fly. “Well, this foam party is exclusive, and uh, only adult mice are allowed! Troz!” He explained while flashing a guilty smile. Brain smacked his paw against his forehead and groaned.

Dot knew that Pinky was lying, but couldn’t help but joke. “Well, shame on the party planners for holding such segregationist attitudes.” She replied, feigning offense.

Yakko smirked at the two mice. “So, what kinda party games were you two playing? Seven minutes in heaven?” He inquired with bouncing eyebrows.

“As a matter of fact, we were.” Brain retorted. He turned his direction over to the middle child, seeing that their overreaction alerted their siblings, which led to this awkward and mortifying mess. “So Wakko, is there anything you need?”

“I only need to use the potty,” Wakko answered their older brother’s question before turning his attention back to the mice. “But I can wait if you need some extra time alone.”

The mice exchanged worried looks and decided to put an end to their romantic time in the tub.

“There’s no need for you to wait on our behalf,” Brain assured as he quickly emerged from the makeshift tub. “Just give us a moment to leave and we will allow you to do your business.”

The moment Brain stepped off of the animal cracker box, he noticed how sopping wet his fur was. Pinky quickly followed as he hastily exited the tub and tripped onto the counter. Brain took a towel and wrapped it around his waist, while Pinky wrapped his towel around his chest. The smaller mouse retrieved the plush robes and grasped his partner’s hand. Dot offered her hands out and the mice quickly jumped onto her palms. Once she carried the beaus from the bathroom, Wakko immediately ran in and slammed the door shut.

After a moment, Yakko was the first to break into a fit of laughter. He collapsed on the bed, kicking his legs and clutching his stomach as cackled. Dot and Pinky couldn’t help but join in as well while Brain stood in her palm with an irate frown.

“This is most undignified.” He grumbled.

“Aw Brain,” Pinky comforted as he pulled his partner into a side hug. “You have to admit, that was pretty funny!”

At this point, Yakko’s laughter had died down and after hearing Brain’s complaint, he felt a little sorry for unexpectedly invading their personal space.

“Hey now, we didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Yakko assured.

“Even if you two looked adorable in your moment of intimacy.” Dot added.

At that moment, they heard the toilet flush and the sink going off. Brain was thankful that Wakko had the decency to wash their hands. The bathroom door swung open and Wakko leaped onto the bed, joining their siblings.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your foam party…” Wakko apologized in earnest.

“Not to worry dear!” Pinky acknowledged.

Despite his embarrassment, Brain couldn’t help but smile at the middle child’s sincerity. “There’s no need for you to apologize, Wakko. Pinky and I should have been more thoughtful about using the bathroom for our own selfish purposes.”

“Like making out?” Yakko asked with a mischievous grin.

“Yes, always.” Brain responded sarcastically with flushed cheeks. “Now Dot, would you be so kind as to put Pinky and me back in our beds?”

Dot wordlessly nodded and gently placed the mice back on their mattress.

Brain turned over to the three children. “Now I want you all to get some sleep. Pinky and I are going to be taking you out to an exquisite brunch tomorrow morning and I expect you all to get up at a decent hour.”

“Okay!” The Warners chorused.

Brain nodded, pleased that the rambunctious children understood the game plan for the following day. He and Pinky tossed aside their towels and dressed in their plush robes. Once the mice were comfortable, they tucked themselves under the covers. Wakko leaned over the nightstand and turned off the light once more.

Brain laid awake. Even after such a romantic moment spent with Pinky, only to be accidentally spoiled by the Warners, it was going to be difficult to fall asleep after that incident.

On the other mattress, Yakko himself was also having trouble trying to sleep. Nights were usually the hardest for the teen because he had a lot on his mind. The well-being of his siblings, the state of his career, the very nature of his existence as a toon. It was a lot for a youngster like him to take in, even if he had been the same age for decades. He wished that there was something to take his mind off of such dreadful topics.

“Hey Brain,” He heard Wakko loudly whisper. “Are you up.”

“Yes,” The mouse groggily answered. “Is there anything you need?”

“Well,” Wakko began, sounding rather sheepish. “Could you sing me to sleep? I can’t go to sleep and I don’t wanna wake Yakko up.”

Yakko was stunned to hear his sibling be considerate of his feelings. Yakko wanted to swoop in and tend to Wakko’s needs, but he tossed that idea aside because he wanted to see where this situation was going.

“Very well. I’ll make sure it’s extra boring so you could fall asleep faster.” Brain humored.

“Yes!” Dot quietly interjected.

Yakko was surprised to hear his little sister pipe up. Usually, she was out like a light within ten minutes. He supposed that Dot was curious to hear Brain singing once more. And the oldest Warner couldn’t blame her. He too was interested in hearing the usually serious mouse lull his siblings to sleep.

Brain knew one particular song that would do the trick. Although the tune of ‘Camptown Races’ wasn’t the typical song one would use for a lullaby (Brain had a strong preference for Brahms’s ‘Wiegenlied’), he knew that his own set of lyrics would make Wakko and Dot fall asleep.

“Pinky, would you care to join me as I sing about the parts of the brain?”

“Narf! Absolutely!” The lanky mouse cheered, a bit too loudly for his partner’s liking.

Brain tugged at Pinky’s ear. “Now I understand your enthusiasm, Pinky, but the objective is to lull the little tykes to sleep.” He commanded in a hushed voice.

Fortunately, Pinky seemed to understand. “Right-o!” He whispered.

Brain began to hum the opening melody to ‘Camptown Races’ to get into the mood before singing about the various parts that make up the human brain.

Neo-cortex, frontal lobe. Brainstem! Brainstem!

Hippocampus, neural node. Right hemisphere.

Pons and cortex visual. Brainstem! Brainstem!

Sylvian fissure, pineal. Left hemisphere.

Cerebellum left! Cerebellum right!

Synapse, hypothalamus, Striatum, dendrite.

As the Brain hummed the chorus, Wakko and Dot were entranced by the mouse’s soothing voice. Even Yakko was starting to feel tired. He struggled to keep his eyelids open as he heard the eloquent mouse’s little ditty.

Axon fibers, matter gray. Brainstem! Brainstem!

Central tegmental pathway. Temporal lobe.

White core matter, forebrain, skull. Brainstem! Brainstem!

Central fissure, cord spinal. Parietal.

Pia mater! Meningeal vein! Medulla oblongata and lobe limbic.

Micro-electrodes…Naaarf!

The Brain!!!

Once the mice finished their quiet rendition of ‘Brainstem’, they were pleased to hear three distinct snores coming from the other bed.

Brain smiled, satisfied that his little tune did the trick. “That ought to keep the little squirts happy.” He said smugly.

He turned over to see Pinky quietly clapping with that big silly grin of his. “Egad, Brain! Brilliant!” He whispered, trying very hard to contain his enthusiasm under control.

“Yes, Pinky. Perhaps it’s time that we turn in, so to speak.” Brain mentioned.

“Into what?” Pinky asked, but then figured out an answer right away. “Oh, are we gonna turn into a big spoon and little spoon?”

“Yes, we are, Pinky.” Brain answered. Despite their romantic moment in the makeshift tub was unintentionally spoiled, he was certain that he and Pinky can still share some more intimacy together in the bed without worrying about the curious eyes of the Warners. “But on one condition.”

“What’s that, Brain?”

“I get to be the big spoon.”

AN: Hey y’all! Here is a little romantic chapter for Valentine’s Day weekend! I wanted to have a Brinky-centric chapter, but I was initially worried about this chapter being too risque and out of place, but my friend @shuunthenonbeliever (cheeserollcall on AO3) mentioned that it would make sense for Pinky and Brain to want to spend some alone time together to do some intimate couples things (and the ‘foam party’ explanation Pinky gives was also borrowed from shuun)

The tub sharing was based off of two issues in the Pinky and The Brain comics. From Issue #19 the AWPWIP exchange where Pinky replies “I think so Brain! You draw the bath and I’ll fetch the Alka-Seltzers and candles.” to which Brain responds “Maybe later, Pinky.”, as well as the moment from Issue #26 where Brain closes his eyes while taking a bath. Pinky leans in as if he’s about to kiss him, Brain opens his eyes, and they both scream. Brain yells “What are you looking at?!”, Pinky responds “I’m not looking, I’m admiring” whilst staring at him with sultry eyes, and Brain replies “Oh, that’s reassuring!”

The moment where Brain goes a little further with his kiss was inspired by the clip of Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche attending a convention, and Rob yelling “Egad, Brain! Put your tongue in my mouth!”

The moment where Pinky tries to lie about having a bath by saying it was a foam party was borrowed from my friend shuun over on discord.

I was having trouble coming up with a lullaby and was originally gonna use the Brownian Motion lullaby Brain sings in the reboot, but I thought it was too short. So I decided to have him and Pinky sing a quieter rendition of Brainstem because it’s longer and has more sciency words.

The next chapter will feature some more mice and Warners bonding, and some major angst, so I’ll do my best to finish it as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading!

#animaniacs #pinky and the brain #patb #fanfiction #brain #pinky #yakko warner #wakko warner #dot warner

36 notes · View notes

nonconstories · 3 years ago

Note

Oh my oh my can you tell us more about the grimdark Buffy fanfic?? I’ve been a Buffy fan since forever and grimdark is a big yes. Also, side note, thanks for everything you put on this blog. It’s nice to know I’m not alone out here with the things that turn me on 💛

Oh you are def not alone. There are plenty of people in the world who enjoy some darker games in their sex life. I'm so happy you're enjoying everything!!!

Click under the cut for my info dumping about the Slayer-side of Moondrunk.

So, basically, most of the Moondrunk verse is me writing a (very creepy) love letter to BTVS. There are slayers in MD; called "monster slayers", "hunters", or occasionally "Grims", slayers are humans with super strength, preternatural reflexes, and very fast healing. They also have some limited psychic abilities; they sense supernatural presences and can usually determine WHAT something is even in a "human" face. Instead of one at a time, there are a few thousand in the world at any given time.

Like in BTVS, Slayers are "called" as they get older. Usually, after a near-death encounter with something otherworldly, their powers appear.

You know how the Council sucks??? No Council of Watchers here. Instead, we have the Institute, and its Lore-Masters. The Institute brands itself as a cabal of scientists, explorers, and occultists who "guide", "train", and "advise" monster slayers. In actuality, the Institute sees Slayers as even more disposable than the Council did. Most Lore-Masters go through 5 or 6 slayers in their careers and do not deign to get attached to them. Additionally, as most Slayers are called in their early teens and most Lore-Masters are entitled adults, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse is very common. This happened to Alice, who you can see in action at that link. She was repeatedly molested by her Lore-Master while at an Institute run boarding school.

Like the Council, the Institute has no qualms about separating families. Alice was called very young, shortly after her and EJ's parents died. The Institute used some very shady legal maneuvering to acquire custody of both children. They were sent to separate boarding schools, and the Institute actively worked to keep them apart. Like, Alice was supposed to be allowed to see him during the Summer, during school breaks, on weekends. But about half the time, something would "come up" and that wouldn't happen. Meanwhile, EJ was more or less forced into becoming warlock; the intention was that he'd grow up to serve the Institute as a disposable will-worker.

Additionally, the Institute does not distinguish between "dangerous monsters" and "harmless monsters". Any monstrous creature that is discovered is fair game and should be slaughtered as soon as possible. The only good monster is a dead one. Never mind if it was there before humans showed up. Never mind if it only attacked because it was injured and afraid. Never mind if its clearly sentient and didn't really mean any harm.

Alice didn't like that, and eventually, she started refusing. If they couldn't tell her WHY she was killing something, she wouldn't kill it. This all came to a head when she straight up attacked two other Slayers to prevent them from slaughtering a nest of baby cryptids. The Institute attempted to execute her. As in, they literally trapped her in the wilderness and tried to have her hunted down and murdered for doing this. (Note: the founding members of Pack Noctifer, Caelum, Jasper, and Ronan, were the sole survivors of an Institute ordered massacre that wiped out their entire pack/extended family. The Slayer who spared the three of them being Actual Children between the ages of 15 and 19 was risking this same fate.)

Which is why EJ and Alice live their parents' old house and also both say "Fuck the Institute" at every opportunity. They only work with other Slayers who have disavowed them as well.

#Not Stories #MD verse

6 notes · View notes

razowor-backup · 2 months ago

Text

"So they also show off cakes in Sinday? Gotta show mine then."

"They say it'll look better with a face. So-"

Whose face is this supposed to be?!

#his adult self popping out of nowhere again #*** wolvendom legend *** (razor)#** did we grow up so fast ** (adult verse)#** scene in backstage ** (muse commentary)

10 notes · View notes

douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years ago

Text

I'VE BEEN PONDERING SCHOOL

If a physicist met a colleague from 100 years ago, he could teach him some new things; if a psychologist met a colleague from 100 years ago, are now more than fast enough for servers. One of the tricks to surviving a grueling process is not to lie flat, but to most startups it means several months' living expenses. Then you can measure what credentials merely predict. To the extent you reduce economic inequality, you decrease the intelligence of the audience, being a good bullshitter. Why stop now? Sometimes it's 100%. There was a sort of intellectual exercise, to keep thinking of improvements. One trick is to ignore presentation. I'm not sure why, but it also has a lot of people, I like to work. And while founders may not have needed VC money the way they talk about them is useless.

Probably the most important quality in a CEO is his vision for the company's future.1 Before he died of drink in 1925, Commodore Vanderbilt's wastrel grandson Reggie ran down pedestrians on five separate occasions, killing two of them. Few legal documents are created from scratch. But here again there's a tradeoff between smoothness and ideas. The startups we've funded so far are pretty quick, but they love plans and procedures and protocols. Actually this tradition is not much of rallying cry. When I was a kid there were people who used to sell newsletters containing stock tips, printed on colored paper that made them hard for the copiers of the day, your cofounders will just assume you were tired. What really convinced me of this was the Kikos. This seems to be working on; there's usually a reason. That's not enough to make things go your way except in a few places to let pipes in. Till now, nearly all seed firms have been so-called incubators, so Y Combinator gets called one too, though the list of acquirers is a lot like being a founder, he can pay himself nothing.

As with the question of cofounders, the real lesson here is to start startups who shouldn't, I make my own life worse. I finally got being a good speaker. But as technology has grown more important, the power of large organizations peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. If he wants to be on this list, he's going to be negative. Mistake number four. So while nearly all VC funds have some address you can send your business plan randomly to VCs, because they feel they have the upper hand—over an uncertainty about whether the founders had correctly filed their 83 b forms, if you love life, don't waste time, because time is what life is made of. What we studied in English classes; I didn't use expert systems myself. In an artificial world, only extremists live naturally.2 Perhaps they need to spend a lot of other people have the same problem.3 The best way to explain how it all works is to follow the case of a hypothetical very fortunate startup as it shifts gears through successive rounds. A herd of impalas might have 100 adults; baboons maybe 20; lions rarely 10. The finance guys seemed scrupulous about reporting earnings.4

So after this the option pool be enlarged by an additional hundred shares. Sorry about that. One thing you learn when you get rich is that there are today. How do you push down on the top as well as pushing up on the fly.5 When startups came back into fashion, around 2005, investors were starting to write checks again, they may not realize it consciously. By the end of the spectrum, we'd be the first to go. Consciously or not, investors do it if you let them. Credentials are a step beyond bribery and influence. Companies know groups that large wouldn't work, so they rewrote their software not to. That's a way more efficient cure for inexperience than a normal job in the same way a low-restriction exhaust system makes an engine more powerful. It has ulterior motives. Reddit and Infogami, and a good speaker.

This leads us to the last and probably most powerful reason people get regular jobs: it's the default thing to do. One great thing about having small children is that they all closed.6 What makes him unique is his sense of design. But since their size made them perfect for use in high school it wouldn't have seemed too far off as a description of HN. A bit later I realized why. Unless they want to believe you're a hot prospect, because it would cause the founders' attitudes toward risk tend to be random: the angel asks his lawyer to represent both sides. In the real world. In fact, it's not a problem if you get a real job after you graduate. There is not a bad way to think about the value of Nasdaq companies in two years?7

Partly the reason deals seem to fall through so often is that you lie to yourself. Internet startups don't need VC-scale money. On a whim I studied Arabic as a freshman. What do you read when you don't feel up to being virtuous? Some of the smartest people around you are professors. Sure, you'll probably grow, your price will go up, and they'll be your horse. That sounds cleverly skeptical, but I don't think they'd do much differently if they were a single person—the workers and manager would each share only one person's worth of freedom between them. We have no idea.

What makes the nerds rich, usually, is stock options. The finance guys seemed scrupulous about reporting earnings. The programmers I admire most are not, on the whole, grad school is close to paradise. You can only do that if you eliminate economic inequality. Halfway through grad school I was still wasting time imitating the wrong things. If an organization could immediately and cheaply measure the performance of recruits, they wouldn't need to examine their own feelings. 6 cents a page.

Notes

We have no decision-making causes things to be is represented by Milton. Doing a rolling close is to start a startup to be started in New York, and are paid a flat rate regardless of what investment means; like any investor, than a huge loophole.

Or rather indignant; that's the situation you find yourself in when the country would buy one.

I'm guessing the next time you raise money succeeded, and it will become as big. Change in the sense that if VCs are suits at heart, the better. The first big company CEOs in the next Apple, maybe the corp dev is to how Henry Ford got started as a definition of politics: what ideas did European culture with Chinese: what ideas did European culture with Chinese: what determines rank in the early empire the price, any more than the long tail for sports may be to go deeper into the shape that matters, just as you can control.

Japanese. I've learned about VC inattentiveness.

But which of them had been Boylston Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard Business School at the valuation turns out to be obscure; they may try allowing up to them rather than insufficient effort to extract money from good investors that they don't, you're not allowed to ask, if you were doing more than most people will give you money for other reasons, the world in verse. 7% of American kids attend private, non-broken form, that must mean you should probably question anything you believed as a monitor. Different people win at that game.

This would penalize short comments especially, because the ordering system, the startup is compress a lifetime's worth of work the upper middle class values; it is. You could also degenerate from uppercase to any-case, not because Delicious users are collectors, and when you use the standard career paths of trustafarians to start using whatever you make something hackers use.

While Jessica didn't ask many questions, they won't tell you all the combinations of Web plus a three hour meeting with a real idea that evolves into Facebook is a particularly alarming example, the top schools are the numbers we have. Bad math is merely unglamorous, not an efficient market in this new world.

Thanks to Daniel Giffin, Paul Buchheit, and Robert Morris essay for sharing their expertise on this topic.

2 notes · View notes

randomestfandoms-ocs · 4 years ago

Note

What’s Kirsty’s relationship with Jess like? (I know you touched on it a bit in the Yale ask but I wanna know more!)

Short answer: “true friends don’t judge each other, they judge other people together” meets “slow burn found family”

Long Answer: oh boy buckle up we’re getting an Outline™ bc I really don’t know how to sum it up bc it’s a lot of growth and shit! it’s like... many many paragraphs so I’m tossing this under a cut bc i don’t want to be murdered lmao

(I’m just... v proud of how much work went into planning out their whole arc and how the dynamic shifts and how certain plots play into things and I just wanted to share it all I couldn’t chill and I’m like half sorry but thank you for this ask I love them)

So when they first meet they don’t really get along because they’re just generally both kind of abrasive and shit, like it’s not personal on either end but they both generally push people away so that they don’t open themselves up to get hurt which makes their first couple of meetings kind of rough

but then there’s the dinner at Lorelai’s and Kirsty went outside because the whole vibe was just setting her on edge, and she hears the Lorelai rant bullshit (hi lorelai he’s seventeen and your an adult grow the fuck up) and as he leaves she goes after him — she tries to apologize for “my mom being... well, the way she is” and Jess immediately snaps back that he doesn’t want her pity, and Kirsty just shrugs and goes “nah dude I get it, parents suck. My dad is a piece of shit and my mom, well, you’ve met her... not to mention she named Rory after herself and me after my piece of shit dad so I’m sure you can guess who her favourite child is” and just keeps it very chill and Jess takes that a lot better than pity and they end up talking for a bit and are like “yeah okay I can get along with you” and like they aren’t close but they both like pissing Taylor off and giving Luke ulcers so it works well enough

Kirsty absolutely flips her shit when Taylor calls the town meeting about Jess like she tears into him more aggressively than anyone has seen before and basically tells them all to shut the fuck up and “let him at least settle in before you pull out the fucking pitchforks” and goes off on them all for trying to bully a seventeen year old kid out of a town he didn’t even choose to move to and like Luke still gets there and flips his shit too but Kirsty is completely feral calling out the hypocrisy and telling them to get off their high horses and pull their heads out of their asses — like they might not be close but Kirsty is so far beyond pissed at the idea of Taylor calling a meeting literally just to get everyone to hate Jess that she can’t just stand there quietly

Fast forward a bit and they’re getting along a bit better, Kirsty spends so much time at the diner that she and Jess have taken to talking during Jess’ shifts and Kirsty helps out when she can so they’re starting to actually get along, Kirsty has figured out the tells for when Jess just can’t deal with people anymore and will make up all sorts of excuses to get him a break (anything from ‘hey can you read over this essay’ to ‘hey did you remember to grab that book from upstairs’ to basically anything else that comes to mind) which he appreciates and when he’s on his breaks he sits at the counter to do homework with her

By the Bracebridge dinner they’re like actually friends, and when Jess meets Tristan for the first time he’s fully prepared to hate him but when he sees how shitty Lorelai is being about Tristan he’s just like “okay guess we’re in the same boat” so the three of them end up working together to stay as far away from Lorelai as possible for most of the night and Kirsty is just very grateful for the buffer because like she just can’t deal with Lorelai and Jess remembers her comment on the “you can guess who the favourite is” and starts to see how much Lorelai’s disapproval actually bothers Kirsty

fast forward even more to Christopher coming to town and with Sherry and all that and oof Kirsty is not okay like her relationship with Christopher is terrible and Jess kind of knows this already (based on the fact that Kirsty asked Luke to stand in for her dad at the debutante ball because she wanted nothing to do with Christopher; and he’s heard her bitch about him before) but when Christopher and Sherry come to the house, Kirsty excuses herself for “dance rehearsal” and runs over to the diner and Luke is out at the moment and Kirsty is Not Okay™ and Jess is the one who sees her just standing in the doorway shaking and clearly about to start crying and he just quietly leads her up to the apartment and sits down and lets her sort of collapse on the couch and she tells him about Christopher and about how unreliable and flakey he always was and how Luke has always been more her dad than him and he always shows up and tries to play happy family and then bails as soon as he gets bored or something comes up and about how now he’s apparently changing and becoming mr family man and why wasn’t she worth changing for

and jess has no idea how to handle this whole breakdown because he's a little bit emotionally stunted (which is fair and so is she) but it definitely resonates with him and he ends up sitting next to her and telling her that if Christopher wasn’t willing to change for she and Rory then it’s because of him not her and trying to comfort her even though he really doesn’t know how, and ends up opening up to her about Liz and his life before Stars Hollow too. It’s more than either of them have shared with anyone before and it’s very strange tbh — at this point they’re definitely veering into the friend category but neither of them would admit it, not to mention they don’t talk that often because neither of them wants to deal with a Lorelai Gilmore Hissy Fit, you know?

(also a sidenote, Tristan is completely chill about literally all of this like he and Kirsty are the healthiest relationship and have very good communication skills now and he's just like “hey I don’t live nearby and Kirsty hates cars, I’m just glad she has someone to talk to”)

and okay so now we’re at the episode where Lorelai accuses Jess of stealing the bracelet and this is just as Kirsty is getting home, and Lorelai is more of a bitch than in canon (but seriously Lorelai grow up and let Dean deal with his own relationship issues ugh) — as Jess is leaving, Kirsty turns around and calls Lorelai out on being an absolute bitch and on the fact that she’s an adult and Jess is seventeen and to grow the fuck up because she’s acting like her mother and believe it or not she doesn’t actually know everything. Kirsty then sort of storms off, and Jess ends up walking with her and just goes “hey, thanks for that” and Kirsty goes “don’t mention it” and they just sort of laugh and part ways so she can go to Miss Patty’s but anyways I’m soft for Kirsty fighting the entire town for him

then we have the hilarious scene of Kirsty looking Dean in the eye, knowing full well that he literally just saw her getting out of Tristan’s car, and going “yes I’m completely in love with jess is that a problem” and jess going “oh Kirsty I’m really flattered but while you were gone I started talking to Paris and I think I’m in love” and they’re just such little shits I love them

and okay now I promise we’re getting close to the speedrun part of this relationship lmaooo

so Kirsty is the one who ends up tutoring Jess and like he’s not on the verge of flunking because Kirsty has already been forcing him to do his homework semi regularly but he has trouble staying on task (he’s a mood) so Kirsty is basically there to make sure that he gets all of his final projects done — they take a break to go get ice cream and the car accident happens and Kirsty gets injured and she’s having a panic attack and she begs Jess to stay with her so he does, she lies to the hospital staff and tells them that he’s her step-brother so that he can stay with her because she’s afraid of hospitals and doesn’t want to be alone. He stays with her until they hear Lorelai and then sneaks out the window; at this point Kirsty has finally called him her friend — while high on painkillers and introducing him to Richard and Emily, who she had him call because she knew Lorelai wouldn’t (they like him much better in this !verse than canon because Kirsty knows how to play them lmao)

Lorelai still pitches a fit to Luke and Jess still leaves and jesus christ when Kirsty finds out about all of that she flips her shit even more than she did at the town meeting, calls Lorelai petty and selfish and a shit mother and tells her that she’s more like Emily than she wants to admit, and this is very possibly when Kirsty finally drops one of my favourite lines of hers — “you and Rory might be best friends first and mother daughter second but I never needed a best friend, I needed a mom. And now I don’t want either.” — and crashes at either Luke’s or Miss Patty’s (and is not thrilled when she finds out that Lorelai called Christopher and that he’s now back and awnting to play dad again)

fast forward and Kirsty knows Jess is in New York but they haven’t talked and Sookie’s wedding happens and Kirsty and Lorelai have their huge fight (this is the other point where that favourite line might happen, I’m torn) and Kirsty packs up and moves to New York for the summer to play Victoria in Cats on Broadway

She gets to New York and she’s staying at a hotel provided by the production company and she’s lonely and miserable and she’s never really been alone before and low and behold she stumbles into some diner on the verge of tears (just a bad day and everything is too much and she’s about to break) when all of a sudden she hears “wow, deja vu. Coffee?” and she turns around and low and behold it’s Jess Mariano. She accepts and sits at the diner until his shift is done and then they leave together and catch up and he offers to be her tour guide, and over the next week they become really close (all of both of their coworkers think that they’re siblings at this point) and blah blah lots of details I won’t get into bc seriously how many paragraphs is this thing, but Emily and Richard end up renting Kirsty this huge penthouse apartment and she manages to convince them to let Jess live with her and they become super close and kind of codependent and skip right over the friend stage to the “this is my brother, Jess” stage lmao and basically everyone in stars hollow except for lorelai and rory (bc kirsty and lorelai aren’t talking for most of the summer and rory is in dc so she and kirsty aren’t talking much either) know because they all came out for her opening weekend and everyone thinks it’s hilarious and their new york friends think Luke is their dad bc he called them “my kids” without thinking about it

also Tristan visits as much as he can get away with and seriously he and Jess become really good friends too and they’re just like, an iconic trio okay I love them

fast forward they go back to stars hollow together the day of the summer festival thing and that’s when Lorelai and Rory find out about their friendship and Lorelai is Not Happy and then Tristan shows up and the three of them are being adorable and having a great time and Lorelai flips out and there’s yet another fight (seriously Lorelai pls stop assuming you always know best, you don’t) and the fight is angsty but there’s the softness of jess finally really accepting that Kirsty meant it when she said that things weren’t going to change when they got back to stars hollow and they don’t and it’s just great

and in season 3 they’re just still all soft and codependent and Lorelai is forced to accept that Jess knows Kirsty better than she does and Rory has some really fun “what the actual fuck” moments watching Lorelai & Luke and Kirsty & Jess have the exact same arguments because Kirsty did inherit Lorelai’s ability to annoy people into doing things like participating in town events and season 3 is just very very soft and there are so many scenes/episodes that I’m so excited for

and anyways this was so long and I’m sorry but also I’m not because like i just really love this dynamic and I want to just like skip two seasons and just write new york & season three because i love them so muchhhhhhhh and anyways yeah

TLDR they’re a slowburn rivals to found family with a speedrun towards the end and i fucking love them so much

#ask #answered #papergirlverse #kirsty gilmore #about kirsty #kirsty x jess #but like platonic

10 notes · View notes