#Walter can do much without him after all...

[lexumpysfunland]

Damn, Swap! Stanley is toxic..... I LOVE it! :)

He's fiiiineee... We love a crazy Stanley at times. He is more in control than his Walter at least. Someone has to be leader in the duo :)

[avis-writeshq]

heyyy omg I love your writings so much! congrats on your latest milestone, it's DESERVED 👏 can I pls request track one with spencer reid where he gets an epiphany and decides that he wants to propose to his girlfriend? just superrrr cute and fluffy 😍 thanks a lot!!

glue song – spencer reid

summary: “but you’re here, and so i love you.” in which spencer realises that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. pairing: s5!spencer reid x fem!reader genre: established relationship, fluff warnings: spencer in a knee brace (tell me why that’s attractive. why does he look good at his worst. face card never declines), he’s genuinely obsessed with you, not proof read oops a/n: thank you so much anon !!!! i’m so sorry it took so long to post; i kept changing and editing it hahaha i hope you enjoy it !! wc: 1.05k

“Careful watch your– no, pivot a little, pivot–” 

“I am pivoting! There’s nowhere to pivot to! Why is it so messy?”

You suppress a grimace as you manage to somehow squeeze your way through Spencer’s tiny doorway and into his apartment, the shoe rack on the side dangerously close to his damaged knee. You stumble a little as Spencer grips your shoulders tightly for support, his other hand holding onto a crutch. 

“Maybe we should move into a bigger apartment,” you muse, helping him to the couch. Your gaze shifts to his injured knee, your face falling. “Does it hurt?”

“Only when I think about it. Which is pretty much all the time,” Spencer says, wincing as he finally collapses against the cool leather cushions. “Thank you for doing this.”

You look almost offended at his words as you brush his hair out of his face and into a makeshift ponytail. “Did you think that I wouldn’t?”

He hums as he feels the way your fingers pull lightly at his hair, your nails scraping against his scalp. “Thought you’d get tired of me. After, you know, everything.”

“None of that was your fault,” you remind him swiftly. “This–” you gesture to his knee– “isn’t either.”

He softens, leaning his cheek on your shoulder. You’ve been there for him through everything and he knows what specifically it is you’re referring to. He could see it from the moment his doctors informed you that he wouldn’t take the vicodin they had prescribed to him to soothe his discomfort. His thought process makes sense; he didn’t want to risk it. Regardless, he was left with a growing pain in his leg that didn’t shake even after taking toradol. 

“I’d never get tired of you,” you clarify, squeezing his hands. “You’re too pretty to get tired of.”

He lets out a proper laugh as he squeezes back. “You’re funny.”

“I’m being serious!”

He laughs again, shaking his head adamantly. “Liar.”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Spencer beams in your direction, pressing kisses against the soft of your jaw. “You’re right.”

A triumphant smile spreads across your face at his words. “Exactly.”

*** 

From his spot on the couch, Spencer watches guiltily as you hustle and bustle about in the kitchen, grabbing plates and filling them to the brim with the food you ordered from the Chinese place he loves. He feels bad seeing you work so hard looking after him; especially when you have your own workload to take care of. He doesn’t even notice that you’ve already placed his portion of food in front of him until you whack him lightly on his head with some napkins. 

“Stop it. I know what you’re thinking.” You shoot him a half-hearted glare as you snap open your chopsticks. “I want to do this. I truly don’t mind.”

“You’re already doing so much,” he insists, “I’m okay, angel, I swear.”

You are not easily convinced and you point to the list of things the doctor suggested you to do in order to ensure Spencer’s speedy recovery. “I have a responsibility, Walter. What will your team do without you?”

“They’ll live,” he assures, reaching a hand out to massage the muscles by your shoulders. “I think you’ve seen me naked more the past two weeks than you have our entire relationship.”

“Well it’s not my fault that you need to bathe,” you argue, stabbing at your noodles. “You love it really.”

His cheeks burn with embarrassment at the accusation. “I do not! It’s humiliating.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” you soothe, smiling at him. “Besides, it’ll only be like this for a little while longer.”

“If you consider five months to be ‘a little while longer’,” he quips as he shovels food into his mouth.

You let out a laugh, not finding offence is his sarcastic blow. He thinks you’re a blessing and he figures that you definitely are. Who else can deal with the problems of him being, well, him aside from you? Spencer doesn’t know what he would do without you. How could he when you manage to push all the darkness and negativity away?

“I’m lucky to have you,” he says finally, his gaze on your face. “You’re so good to me.”

You hum in response, wiping your mouth and curling into his good side, draping an arm over his middle. “That’s true. You’re good to me, too.”

He brings his hand over your waist and kisses the side of your face in an act of reciprocation. “You’re beautiful.”

Heat crawls up your neck to your ears at the sudden compliment and you can’t help the silly bashful smile that pulls at your lips. Your mouth opens and closes, deciding on what to respond with before you settle with a simple, “Thank you.”

It’s the honest truth. There’s a look about you that tells him that you don’t believe it, but he doesn’t say anything more to try and convince you. He tells it to you everyday; he’s sure that you’ll end up accepting the compliments more readily. Your being beautiful might have been what had drawn him to you in the first place. Although he isn’t entirely sure. He recalls a certain folktale about invisible stings and how it was tying him to you. There’s something pretty about that thought, the mere idea that you were made for him and he was lucky enough to actually hold you in his arms. 

You’ve turned the television on now, a romance movie playing on the screen with familiar actors. It’s supposed to be a comedy, at least that was what the description on the DVD said, about the main male lead reminiscing about his year that he spent with some manic pixie dream girl. Spencer doesn’t understand how that could be comedic but you seem to enjoy it. 

Spencer has tuned out the movie now, finding entertainment in the reactions you have. Your face morphs into different emotions with each dramatic scene and in that moment Spencer realises one very important thing. 

“I’m gonna marry you one day,” he whispers, his breath tickling the shell of your ear. 

“What was that?” you ask obliviously and you lift your eyes to look up at him. 

“Nothing,” he dismisses, pressing his lips to your forehead. “Just keep watching the movie, angel.”

reblogs are always appreciated!

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[fluffyk97]

Sonic 3 spoiler rambling about Sonic and Shadow under cut !

Y'know something that I feel might go lil under-appreciated is how well they made Sonic and Shadow mirror each other in the movie.

Like something that always can easily irk me are people boasting one of the two over the other because from the very beginning of his introduction to the series, Shadow's character is meant to reflect Sonic. They're meant to be equals that are so similar and complete opposites at the same time.

With the movie, I honestly wasn't expecting it that much. Sonic actually has a backstory that is just like Shadow's: powerful little hedgehog that is wanted for his power, so the one he's known his whole small life that he loves sacrifices herself to save him.

I fr fully expected Sonic to learn about Maria and be like "I lost Longclaw, I know you're pain, but-" blah blah blah- BUT they don't do that??

Of course, we have Commander Walters first telling Sonic that Shadow's story is a lot like his but wasn't able to find family and friends, and Sonic does find Shadow had a family from finding a picture of him and Maria together. He never gets told what happened exactly though, although it wouldn't make too much of a difference with the fact they did change up Shadow losing Maria just a little bit.

Since they didn't live up in space, Maria didn't have a capsule to send Shadow off with sacrificing herself and instead they made it an accident. WHICH- can be understandable if people don't like that, however personally I don't mind it that much because honestly the intent to shoot Maria was there, but she ended up being lost from an accident caused by Walters.

Which, ties in to Shadow hurting Tom...

Walters in trying to help save Maria's, Shadow's and Gerald's lives unfortunately led to Maria's death and watching Shadow be put in stasis for 50 years where all he thinks about is that painful memory burned fresh in his head. So of course when Shadow sees Tom disguised as Walters, he takes his anger out on him by hurting him while also stealing the key for the ARK. Leading to unfortunately another scenario of where the intent of harm is there, but someone still got hurt from an accident because Shadow never really meant to hurt Tom. But he does anyway..

Which of course in turn, makes Sonic mad just like Shadow was 50 years ago. Only difference is Sonic doesn't get immediately captured by GUN and forced into stasis. Letting him able to go straight to Shadow afterwards for hurting his family.

We have Shadow take note of all of that himself, telling Sonic he's feeling exactly the pain he felt and Sonic being the one to say "I'm nothing like you!". Just like how I thought Sonic would tell Shadow about Longclaw in hopes of redeeming him, but reversed and both sides full of anger and grief.

One awesome super fight later though, we come to the talk on the moon. Probably my favorite part in the whole movie. outside of the super fights and Live and Learn playing lol

After mentioning Tom and getting uppercutted straight to the moon by Sonic, Shadow loses his super form, leaving him vulnerable, easy for Sonic to take his revenge on him. Only for all of that to be stopped because of Shadow pointing at his own chest which reminds Sonic what Tom told him at the beginning of the movie and calm down.

"You didn't let pain change who you are."

This completely baffles Shadow, with him actually wanting Sonic to finish it, but of course Sonic just refuses saying "No one wins with revenge". It just leaves silence between them, finally giving Shadow his own moment of remembering Maria outside of her death by looking at the stars he used to gaze upon with her.

He mentions it to Sonic how all he knew and felt was just the pain, and now finally- FINALLY, Sonic mentions how he shares that feeling of loss from Longclaw. Not in a moment of trying to just redeem Shadow without the full weight of it, but in a moment of understanding.

A strong moment of these two looking at each other in a mirror, eye to eye. Sonic, who was allowed to grieve all those years ago after losing Longclaw, telling Shadow the pain of loss will never go away, but the love will always remain.

"The light shines, even though the star is gone."

And through that shared pain and loss, now coupled with empathy and understanding one another through it. They truly connect.

Sonic and Shadow's dynamic was just done SO WELL in the movie and I couldn't be happier with it...

[billfarrah]

One thing that’s really rubbing me the wrong way about some people’s reaction to the ending is the way people are talking about Wille. I see comments that essentially imply he is nothing without his privilege backing him, that he has no personality outside of his relationship with Simon and he’s gonna be in for a rude awakening after the ending when he realizes the attention on him isn’t gone just because he’s giving up the title of Crown Prince and life as a normal person isn’t going to be an easy or smooth road.

To me it seems like the message has completely gone over some people’s heads.

No part of me felt while watching the ending that everything is now resolved and Wille will live happily ever after without any adversity ever again… No?

The point is he finally has a choice where he ends up.

Wille literally explains this to the Queen in the final scene - that he’s never felt like he’s had a choice. He didn’t choose to be born into the royal family, and as he points out to his mother, neither did she. The public didn’t choose who inherits the crown. None of them chose it. Wille wants a choice. By staying in this role and doing what is expected of him simply because it’s his birthright is exactly what Wille is actively fighting against.

Another common thread I’ve seen thrown around is that Wille has no personality outside of Simon and I think people need to realize that one’s hobbies and interests do not define their personality. Wille very much has a personality and he had one before he met Simon - he’s always been the type to question the status quo and why things are the way they are. In season 1 episode 1, before Wille meets Simon, we see Wille scoffing at being made to mingle and pose for photos with people he doesn’t know and we see him telling Henry and Walter they’re allowed to have their own opinions when they mindlessly agree with everything he says. If anything, he starts losing this side of his personality because of the restrictions the crown puts on him. Wille falling in line with his expectations throughout the series takes him further away from this side of himself that’s always been there. We see how detrimental this is not just to his relationship with Simon, but with Wille’s relationship with himself. How exactly is Wille supposed to find what he’s passionate about when he’s consistently being told that these are the things he should care about, this is how he needs to look to the public? This is all a very intentional narrative choice to demonstrate why Wille staying in his role is detrimental to his mental health and his ability to grow personally.

The ending is not saying “everything is fixed now and Wille will have a totally adversity-free life with Simon.” Nothing is fixed and nothing is certain, but at least he made a choice. He’s going to stumble and he’s going to continue to make mistakes and a life path is not going to construct itself for him, but at least he now has a choice. He doesn’t have to pick a hobby or interest that’s considered suitable for him. He can get tattoos if he wants to. He can get married or not get married. He can have kids or not have kids. He can go to university and study whatever he wants, and yes, he will still have his family’s money. He’s not gonna be destitute and that is indeed a privilege that Wille is aware of. Should he stay in a role he doesn’t want simply and that makes him miserable because he’s privileged? For all we know, maybe his family will cut him off and he’ll literally be on his own, and that’s a risk he’s willing to take to be, in his mind, free.

The public is not suddenly going to lose interest in him, but at least he won’t have to concern himself with the royal court dictating how he and Simon act or appear. He will no longer feel like he needs to control how Simon conducts his social media presence. It’s very clear in s3 that Wille is not personally upset with Simon for posting the song or the picture with the little boy at the worker’s March - he smiles when he sees it - but that he’s worried what the royal court is going to think about it.

As far as the idea that Wille giving up the crown at the end was indeed for Simon because Wille has no identity without Simon, I really don’t think this is fair to say at all, because Wille was unhappy with his position even before he met Simon. He hated that he couldn’t even do something silly and reckless without issuing an apology. He hated that he had to uproot his entire life because he made a mistake and his family was trying to save his image in the eyes of the public. The thing is, before he met Simon, and before the events of the series, Wille didn’t feel like he had a way out, and funnily enough, that’s for the exact same reason people are dunking on him for now - because it’s the only way of life he knew. He didn’t see a way out and it’s through being with Simon that his extremely narrow view of the world gets challenged and he’s finally able to see a way out. Did Simon inspire him to do what he did? Of course he did. This entire concept is materialized through the scene where Simon tells Wille that he never had a choice who he was born as and that he sees how the monarchy makes him feel. To say that Wille gave it up for Simon implies, to me, that Wille would’ve been happy in the role if not for Simon, which I don’t believe is true. He’d still be miserable but perhaps feel less like he has the agency to do things about it. Getting to be with Simon at the end is certainly a big part of why he did it, but that also just kinda goes hand in hand with his own personal freedom, doesn’t it?

I find it kinda funny how much the internet preaches that it’s never too late to figure out who you are or what you wanna do and I see people acting like Wille is somehow doomed because he’s a 17-year-old without any interests or hobbies. Wille’s entire struggle is with having his life completely mapped out for him and it’s like with him giving up his role people are now questioning the fact that he doesn’t have an entire life mapped out for himself. I spent my time when I was 17 blogging on tumblr and doing nothing else and didn’t go to college until I was 24. I’m 29 now and I’m still learning what I’m passionate about. To treat Wille’s lack of hobbies or interests as some kind of moral failure or indicative of a lack of personality really, really bothers me and to me his lack of interests and hobbies has always been a very intentional writing choice, and the ending, if anything, gives him all the time in the world to figure that out. He might even develop an interest and then realize it’s not for him! The amount of people I know that went to college for what they thought they wanted to do then dropped out because they changed their mind, or graduated from school, couldn’t find a job, and then went back to school for something else is endless. This is all part of the human experience and it’s going to be an entirely new journey for him, but that part of his journey did not a part of this particular story, and in that way, the ending is open. It also helps that regardless of Wille’s wealth and privilege, education in Sweden is FREE.

In the end, the message of the ending is exactly what Boris said to Wille in season 2: we can’t choose who we are born as, but we can choose how we want to live, and that’s exactly what the ending is saying, and that’s what Edvin meant when he said the ending is open. Wille’s road is not suddenly going to be perfect and easy, but at least all of his choices, including his mistakes and struggles, can be entirely his own.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

You Make Me Wanna 5

Warnings: dark elements, noncon, age gap, best friend’s dad trope other dark elements. Proceed with caution.

Note: Please let me know what you think as it helps me a lot with ideas and I love interacting with you all.

Part of The Club AU

Three times. Walter, Mr. Marshall, Detective, whoever he is that day, has driven by your house three times. Three times that you’ve noticed. 

The first time you recognised his car, you were taking out the trash. The second time, you were making sure your siblings got on the bus for school. And the third time, you’re coming out the front door, in uniform as you mentally steel yourself for another day at the grocery store. 

You try not to be too obvious as you look for him. You set out on your usual route, a peek here and there over your shoulder, a strategic glance down the street as you turn to cross. Maybe he can stop you for jaywalking. A perfect excuse for him to swing around his weight. 

You take out your phone as you come in sight of the plaza with the grocery store at its centre. Still not word from Faye. You really don’t expect her to be the first to reach out. You’re still sore yourself. It isn’t just that she ditched you, again, it’s that she was so quick to believe you sold her out. She knows the way her father is and yet just like him, she assumes you’re in the wrong. 

As you approach the front doors of the store, you glance back at the lot. It’s sparse with vehicles, still early enough that stockers work at the shelves and the deli still fills its baskets with slices and salads. You clock in and tie on your apron, taking your vigil behind a till. Debbie leaves you as the sole cashier as she goes to do her counts. 

You stare across the store, vision blurring, as the ceiling speakers drone out 80s pop. Your eyes nearly cross at the orbs of colours that form around you; the medley of produce, the smear of labels, and the looming shade of endless aisles. As you detach yourself from the monotony, you’re filled with a cloud of futile acceptance. Every day for the rest of your life. 

Last year, you still had hope. You remember you told Faye you could save up and join her at college. That’s definitely not going to happen. You barely saved a nickel. Just like high school, your cheques were spent picking up after your mom’s job hopping. Your siblings can’t go without food or clothes or everything you didn’t have. Even when you get a few staples free from the clearance cart, you’re still paying far too much just to feed the lot. 

Chrissie is almost fourteen now. She offered to put in an application but she’s still a few years from all that. Besides, you don’t want her to be like you. Only ever worrying about the empty fridge and your mom’s latest antics.  

Zooey is only ten and blissfully unconcerned with anything but anime and drawing in her sketchbook, and your brother, Milo, seven, likes to bring home frogs and snakes. They’re both too young to sense anything is off, though at times, they ask you very pertinent questions about the other kids in their class. 

You sigh. You never wanted this life. Against your will, you’ve inherited your mother’s lot. Your siblings need a parent and she’s not willing to be one. So, you’ll just have to ring through eggs and milk for the rest of your life and make sure they aren’t caught in the same bog. 

“Hey,” the sharp greeting draws you back. 

You blink and shake away the daze. You look over at Mr. Marshall. Not again. You do your best to smooth the worry from your forehead and reach for the sole item on the belt. An excuse, you’re sure. 

You can through the breakfast tray of a hardboiled egg, pita, hummus, cheese, and grapes. The beep chirps harshly in your ears as he stares you down over the top of your till. You stifle a yawn as you hover your hand over the buttons. 

“That everything?” You ask dully. 

“You looked worried,” he moves to lean on the other side of debit machine, where his tray awaits him. “Like maybe you’re keeping secrets.” 

You huff, “I told you I haven’t heard from Faye.” 

“I didn’t ask.” 

“Don’t treat me like I’m stupid,” you snap, “are you going to pay or do you want me to put this back, detective?” 

“I’m off duty,” he tilts his head, “night shift.” 

“Great, so credit or cash?” 

He puffs through his nostrils and squares his jaw, “lot of kids running around your place, huh?” 

“No,” you say curtly, “don’t.” 

“I’m just tryna figure out where my kid is. Pretty crowded at yours so... maybe she’s somewhere else.” 

“Maybe she is,” you utter in exasperation, “but I guess it doesn’t matter how many times I tell you that I don’t know where. You're still going to waste my time. And yours. So, please sir, cash or credit?” 

He scoffs and looks around, the place is still desolate, “you got time.” 

But you don’t have the patience. You barely keep from the retort. You turn and start tidying the till, distracting yourself as you rearrange your sanitizer and check the bin in case it was missed. 

“She’s my daughter. How would you feel if one of your sisters ran off, huh?” 

“You don’t get to talk about my sisters,” you turn back to him, “fine, alright, you want evidence, I’ll give you evidence, sir.” You take out your phone and flick through it in frustration, “the last message she sent me was the night we went out.” You turn the screen to him, “she hasn’t texted, she hasn’t called. Happy? Cause I don’t think she’s interested in being my friend anymore. She’s finally outgrown the poor girl.” 

You can’t help but throw the phone at him as your emotion wells up, “she was only ever friends with me to piss you off. Like I said, I’m not stupid. I just--” you cut yourself off, “I got work to do.” 

You turn back to the screen at your shoulder and brace the cash drawer. You take a slow breath and let it out. You’re embarrassed. He finally did it. He finally got you to crack. You refuse to look at him as he gently places your phone on the counter. 

“Got it,” he says softly, “she isn’t with you.” He clears his throat and shifts, “debit.” 

You grit your teeth, staring at the screen as you hit the button to activate the pin pad, “go ahead.” 

You listen to the beep of each button as he puts in his pin. You wait and the till chimes as the transaction goes through. You rip of the receipt and drop it beside you on the counter without looking. You can hear everything, even the soft noise of him slipping his card back in his wallet. You keep your attention on the monitor. 

“Enjoy your breakfast,” he says. 

Your furrow your nose as you listen to his footsteps and only turn when you hear the automatic door whoosh. You look down at your phone beside the tray of food, the receipt laid neatly over it. You peek up at the doors and your stomach growls. 

His pity is hardly preferable to his spite. 

[iouinotes]

Beautiful Boy | Alex Walter

pairing: Alex Walter x female!reader

show: My life with the Walter Boys

warnings: mostly fluff and love confessions, but a bit of implied sexual activities

word count: 4,6k

summary: You are completely in love with your best friend. When the chance is given, you decide to finally take it and show your love.

a/n: The story will mention a review from the past, where they play truth or dare. So, I was inspired to write that scenario: match made in heaven is here!

He's everything I ever wished for. It´s silly, thinking about it, really. My ongoing crush for him since the first time I met him all these years ago.

It was during the first day after the winter holiday. It was dark outside, very cold and rainy weather. Well, unfortunately it did not look like that in the morning, so I instantly panicked after school, because I forgot to bring my jacket. Normally one of my friends picked me up after school and drove me home, but she was sick today and I heard about her being ill, last minute.

So now I´m standing in the hallway, debating if I should better start to go to the bus station (probably getting soaked) or if I just walk to the school library, hoping that the weather cools down. I was drowning in my own thoughts, when I first heard his voice.

"Are you okay?" The second my eyes landed on him, I was gone for good. Because the boy in front of me was utterly beautiful. Handsome round face, freckles, warm brown eyes and a shy smile. One look at him and I fell in love with his beauty. Little did I know, I would soon fall head over heals for his personality or the way his voice sounds when he is making fun of me, because I believe in love at first sight. How could I not, when I have met him?

He was very caring the first time we met. Even though I was embarrassed of my situation, he made me feel comfortable. When I told him about my difficulty, he instantly helped me out. He told me, that his brother also picked him up from school every day, so it wouldnt be a problem, if I came along. Not only this sweet gesture made me speechless, it was also the way he stripped out of his jacket and gave it to me without hesitation, when we went outside and he saw that I didnt bring a jacket.

"What? No, I can´t-" I tried to argue, but one blink of his lashes, one look at his eyes, was enough to keep me occupied. "My mom would kill me, if I didnt. It´s okay, I dont mind." He really was the sweetest. His jacket kept in fact, keep me warm. And it also smelled like him, thats what made me blush in the end. I didnt know, if he noticed me looking at him from time to time (but then again, he nowadays didnt noticed it either), but I could not contain myself.

He was a gentleman, shy and adorable. He was all I wished for in a guy. When his brother - who I idetified as the most popular guy of our school- Cole, came in sight, only then it clicked. The boy in front of me, with his nervous smile, was Alex Walter.

When the car parked and the headlights were visible in the rain, we quickly ran to the blue vehicle. His brother didnt talk much, so the car ride was mostly quiet, my eyes were out the window and my thoughts were on Alex previous gesture of holding the door open for me. He didnt intend for me to fall in love with him, but I couldnt think of anything else to do, better than exactly that.

"I didnt get your name?" was all he said, when the car stopped in front of my house. "Oh right, sorry. Im y/n." He smiled again at me and my heart wanted to jump out off my chest. I didnt really notice Cole in the front and his famous "Cole effect". I was all catched up, by the beautiful boy next to me.

"Alex" he shook my hand and it made me giggle. I saw his ears turning pink at my laughter, so I smiled at him, so he knew I wasnt making fun of him. He relaxed then, but much to my dislike the blonde brother spoke up, before I could say something else. "I dont have all day, so are you two done looking at each other or can you go now? I swear, I saw y´all nearly kiss." At that, I was the one who turned red. "Sorry, thanks for the ride and-" as I wanted to strip off the jacket, Alex stopped my movements. "Oh no, you can have it. I mean- it´s still raining outside, I-I dont want you to get sick." Maybe I was already at that exact moment, falling in love with him. I also think, that his words made my cheeks turn a shade of red, that wasnt even on a scala anymore, because it was so high.

"But when do I give it back to you?" The last thing I wanted to do, was crossing a line with the Walter brothers. And maybe I also hoped to see him again. "Tomorrow? I will be in the gaming room in third grade. If thats okay with you?" He spoke quickly, because Cole kept getting more annoyed. "No, its fine. Thank you, Alex." I kissed him on the cheek (dont know where that one came from) and before I could look back, I was already out of the car and running towards the house. When I opened the door and the warmth embraced me, I looked out of the window from my house. The car was already gone, but I remember smiling so bright, I almost could not contain the happy feeling that consumed me.

That was the first time, my diary heard of Alex Walter.

The next day, I searched through three gaming rooms before I finally found him, starring at his laptop. As soon as I tapped him gently on the shoulder, he turned around and looked at me suprised. When he asked me, if I had had any trouble finding him, I said "what no, it took five minutes", when in reality it took 20 minutes, but he sounded really sincere, so it didnt matter.

That was the start of our ever-lasting friendship. We became best friends quickly and are verly close ever since, he is my other half. We are always together, in the hallway, at lunch, we see each other at the weekends and we even got the price "the best of best friends" by our friendgroup. I mean it was funny and its nice, really. But it says everything. We are just friends.

It´s very funny actually, because he knows me better than anyone and I can´t keep one secret from him. He just knows, when something is up. But my biggest secret of all time, that was the part where he was clueless about.

My love for him.

He just doesnt notice and I tried to not show it, but everyone knows I like him. Well, expect for him. When I look at him too long, because I (again) got lost in his eyes or looked a second too long at his lips, while he talked, he thinks he has something on his face. When I compliment him, for literal anything, he thinks I make fun of him, so he doesn't take it seriously. And I tried almost everything, so he could finally notice. Maybe then he could make the first move.

I once talked about my ideal type, because it was a truth or dare on my birthday party and I literally described him - he didnt notice. I swoon on a daily basis over his beauty, his intelligence , his personality, his habits, his cute flaws like staying up all night to play a video game - he doesnt know. I tried to learn his favorite video game, I read the Lord of the Rings saga, I even watched baseball games with him, I do anything so he will notice, how much I care about him. But he just doesn't get it.

If I would know, he simply didnt like me that way, I could somehow cope with that. But then, there are moments, where I would catch him starring at me, where he seems to be the one wanting me. He watches romantic movies with me and lets me cry about it after, when I´m sad about the ending, Sometimes I even get to lay on his chest. He listens when I talk about my newest book obsession, he goes shopping with me, even though he hates it. He helps me studying and I can tell him anything, he´s always there for me.

So it could be, that maybe my feelings were not completely unrequited. But then again, why didnt he made a move by now? Nevertheless, it keeps me awake at night. Because I want nothing more than to kiss his soft lips, feel his skin against mine, to look at his eyes and study every single freckle from his neck to his forehead. I want to love him. In a way, he knows it.

These feelings, these thoughts are constantly in my head. Especially now, when I sit across him and simply look at his concentrated face. His eyebrows are drawn together, he´s currently biting on his bottom lip, his nose scrunched in a frown. The light of his room shows me every little detail of his face. In moments like this, on a friday evening, where we study together for a biology test, I wish he would know how I feel about him. Because it would make everything so much easier.

Its currently raining outside, a remember of our first encounter, the clouds are dark and I hear loud thunder since the last couple of minutes went by. "Do you think, it will get better? The weather clearly looks bad." I shift my gaze to look at him and when I catch him starring at me, my heart swells in my chest.

I want to break the distant between us and close the gap of our lips. Want to get to know every little detail of his body. But as he speaks up, I clear my head. "I dont know, Danny said something about a storm. I honestly didnt know, it would be that bad." He closes his textbook and stands up, looking out the window. ,,Should I go?" My question suprises him. "Now? I think if you take a step outside, you will get swept up by your feet. It´s not safe." He looks at me unwary. "I dont know, I always wanted to fly. Maybe thats a sign." I grin at him and he laughs quietly. "Yeah, of course. Let me ask my dad, what he thinks is for the best. Maybe he can get you an umbrella and you do your best Mary Poppins impression."

~~~~~~

30 minutes later I find myself in a full-on Walter-family-disscussion. "But uncle! I dont get to have girls stay overnight. Thats unfair!" Lee is looking at George, unable to hide his jealousy. "When did a girl ever wanted to stay overnight with you?" Isaac asks from across the table. Lee just ignores him, an angry look in his eyes.

"Look, its nothing that I will allow forever. But right now, she cant go home, so she is welcomed to stay here." I smile at him, thankful that I´m not getting thrown out. "Also, she is like a thirteen family member. She´s practically living here." George added. One look at Alex and I wanted to know what he was thinking. Was I just like a sister to him? "Okay enough of that. Y/n, dear you are welcome to stay the night. We will figure it out. Nathan is staying with Skylar, so his bed is free." I´m glad, Katherine is here. I thank her and George and by the time, we ate dinner and Alex got me a toothbrush, so I could get ready for bed, it was late after 11.

As I make my way back to Alex's room after using the bathroom to change into my clothes, leaving me with shorts and a shirt, Cole is suddenly standing next to me. "Well, what a great opportunity for you." He grins at me. At his comment, I am visible confused. "What do you mean?" I look up to his smiling figure. "You have him all by yourself, of course. Your chance to finally do something. I can´t stand it anymore, you like him and he likes you. I always thought you were the clever one out of you two, so please put everyone out of this misery and kiss him, because he´s a complete idiot. It's long overdue for you two to get together."

His words leave me stunned. After he´s done talking, he makes his way silently back to his own room and I´m still standing in the hallway, trying to process his words. Kiss him. He likes you. Does Alex really likes me or is that some cruel joke for Cole? I hope not. Because my friends have told me several times, that they think, Alex likes me too. But I always thought, they were wrong.

My heart is heavily pounding as I make my way back to his room, taking a deep breath as I open the door. Alex is playing a video game, as always, but I see that he also changed into something more comfortable. It helps me calm down my nerves, when I see him doing something, he always does. I take a few steps towards his chair and his concentrated figure.

I mean, what was there in life, if I didnt take any risks? If he likes me back, it could be the answer to all my dreams and if not - well, the weather was still going pretty bad and could help me out of the awkward situation.

When I decided to test their he-likes-you-too-theory, I quickly came up with a plan. Okay, so I wasnt the best at flirting, that was for sure, but I could make a move. For starters, I wanted something, I often thought about.

As I stand behind him, I trace my fingers along his shoulders, hearing his surprised breath, that he quickly tries to hide. Well too bad, I heard it.

"Alex?" My voice is quiet.

"...yes?" I can see his muscles tense, while I keep touching his shoulders, going lower until I touch his arm. Something about what Cole said, about Alex liking me, gives me a certain confidence, that wasnt there before. Please dont let the King of hooking up be wrong.

"Could I borrow one of your hoodies? I´m freezing and only have my shirt." I try not to think about the possibility that he laughs in my face and says no. But then again, I know that Alex wouldnt do that. "I-uh, yeah. You can, um, grab one out of my closet." I smile to myself, when I see his eyes nervously scanning the display. He paused the game, even though he doesnt look at me while he talks.

"Thanks." As I turn towards his closet, I get the feeling that he´s secretly watching me choose a hoodie. When I get a hold on a dark green one, I immediately know its the one from when we first met. I take it and walk towards the other bed, getting a glimpse of his eyes, that continue to follow me. And then I do something, I thought I would never do in front of him. I change out of my top, the cold air hitting my skin and I hear him gasps.

When I change into his hoodie, a settling warmth embraces me. I smile to myself, a joy blooms in my chest, the feeling of wearing his clothes, makes me feel too good to be true. The shorts I´m wearing are the same ones as before and I think, that I kinda like the casual look. And maybe it looks fine, that could be a good way to get Alex attention. My shorts cover my thighs, but because his hoodie is bigger than what I normally wear, this way it looks like I only wear his hoodie.

When I turn around and fix my hair, he already started another game again. Okay, mission getting-some-sort-of-reaction, is starting to get interesting. "Soo, what do you think? Too big?" I wait for his reaction. When he slowly turns around, one hand holding up his headphones, I see him trying not to stare too hard. But since I see his eyes scanning my body, it´s impossible for him to pretend. I smile to myself.

"And?" I make a step in his direction, watching him swallow. His eyes wander to the floor and a nervous expression crosses his face. "I- I need to finish this game so-" he turns around so fast, I´m almost surprised his neck didnt broke. Shit. That wasnt part of the plan. I glance around the room, trying to come up with something, another way to keep his attention at me. I sit on his bed, near his computer and decide to watch him play. I hear the sound of the game playing in the background, while I continue to think of a way for him to notice me.

And even though I keep my hands to myself, I see him sqirming in his seat. I laugh quietly. "Everything okay?" it seems he isnt that concentrated anymore. "Yeah, uh, are you bored? You never watch me play." His head turns to look at me. "You could teach me some moves." I say, looking at him and then the game, that shows a spider attacking some creature. He raises his eyebrows at my words.

"You sure? I thought you didnt like video games." My eyes wander to his lap as I quickly come up with a plan. "Maybe I will like it, if you show me some tricks. And also, I like you and you´re really interested in gaming, so I thought I could make an effort." His cheeks are blushing, my eyes are starring at his clueless ones.

A smile tucks at his lips, but he tries to keep his cool. "I mean, I´m really good at this, so I could teach you one or two lessons. Where do you want to sit? I only have one gaming chair, but-" he glances around the room, trying to come up with something.

"Well, we could share?" I ask, my voice sounding sincere and not as much thrilled at the idea, to sit in his lap, even though I am freaking out in my thoughts. His eyes widen, when he realizes what I just said.

"You want to-" he doesn't finish his sentence, stuttering at the idea of me sitting on his lap. "If thats okay with you, of course? I think its the best solution, I mean I do want the full experience. So its fair." I see him nervously licking his lips. "Yeah, yeah. I get that. Okay, cool, how do you want to-" I smile at him and his nervous speech. "Just relax, I dont bite. You do know that, right?" I laugh when I see his ears turning pink.

"Right. So uh, come here, I guess?" He puts his arms on the armrests to give me good access and I feel myself getting nervous. God, I never got to be this close to him. I stand up, his eyes take my form in his sweater in, I see him starring at the naked skin. And when I see something shining in his hair, I act without a second thought.

"You have something in your hair, dummy." It's a little paper ball from Benny, probably from the previous dinner (fight), I lean myself down, facing him forward in his lap and cross my legs over his thighs. I don't notice what position we are in until I lean back to show him the piece of paper and suddenly, I'm just a few centimeters from his face. Shocked by the less to no space we have left between us, he doesn't speak and neither do I. We just look at each other.

"i-i got it." The words leave my mouth, the distance between our faces -god his lips look so soft- leaves me speechless. It takes him a moment, but when he answers he sounds just as out of breath as me.

"thanks."

Again, we sit in silence. Suddenly I loose my balance and I almost fall out of the chair, but his arms are quick to catch me. So now, he has his arms around my waist and my arms linger around his shoulders for support. If I would lean closer, I could kiss him.

The thought of kissing him, makes me sqirm and when he lays his hands onto my waist to still my movements, I feel dizzy. Because Im not just sitting on his legs. Indeed, I sit literally on his lap. So when I feel myself getting wet, because he makes me so touch starved, I completely loose my mind.

"Im sorry- i didnt mean to sit that way. I just-" his eyes are so fascinating, brown, green and warm. It feels like he´s looking at my soul. He´s watching my every move. I know I should probably get up, but its the first time, he is that close to me and I cant stop looking at him.

Without a thought in my head, I raise my hand and touch his cheek. I see his lips breaking apart, so he can draw a surprised breath. "You have so many freckles everywhere." My eyes wander around his face. His voice comes back to life for a second, but only to sign. "Too many, actually." I draw my eyebrows together.

"It suits you and it´s not too much. Thats a perfectly fine amount of freckles. Look-" I start to count them. Each and every one. Starting from his ears towards his cheeks, his nose, further down until I stop at his lips. "You have one right above the corner of your mouth." I mutter, my thumb brushes his lips for a second.

Caught, my eyes sneak back to search his gaze. But he just looks at me. My heart feels like it could break any second, if I dont open my mouth to say something.

"You are" I begin to say "so beautiful to me. Every freckle you have, the colour of your eyes, your hair, your lips, your voice, just you."

I cant hold back anymore.

"i-i love you, Alex. I really do. I thought it would just be a crush that would go away, when time goes on, but it hasnt. You´re in every piece of my heart, you hold it together. You are my joy, my laugh, my sadness, you were everything for me, the first second I got to know you. Because you are the best person in my life, my best friend, my other half, my partner in crime, I would bail you out of jail in a heartbeat. Without you, my heart wouldn't beat anymore anyway. Because you make it live. Every day, every time I see you. Maybe if I would have known better, I would have never agreed to take your jacket, the first time we met. If I would have known, how absolutely in love I would get with you, it would have scared me to death. But now? Now I know better than to be away from you, because I better live as your best friend than without having you in my life. Because now, being away from you would be my death."

In one second, I bail my heart out and before I know it, he takes my face in his hands and leans forward. He stops his movement right before our lips touch.

"I think you will be the death of me too, sweetheart."

And with that, he kisses me.

Slow at first, his lips touch mine, so very soft and gentle. I almost think I´m dreaming, because his lips do feel like a dream to me. His hands caress my back and I clutch to his shoulders, afraid the moment will end. His warm hands strive back to my cheeks, tilding my head in a way he can have more access.

And I let him, mainly because I´m too caught up with this emotion and also because I would let him do anything with me. My hands are in his dark hair, gently tugging at his strings, so I get to hear that little breathless sound he makes, that makes my heart flutter.

I sink in his warm embrace, moving my lips with the same rhythm as him, hearing my heartbeat in my ears. His right hand goes to the back of my neck and this action makes me weak in the knees. And he notices it. Gently he breaks apart, leaving me with the want to have more of him and when I open my eyes - I didnt know I closed them - he looks at me, like I´m the sun and he´s the moon, that was away for too long.

"God, you´re so beautiful." His voice is deep, I can hear him catch his breath. His words make my heart ache until I think it isnt able to comprehend his compliment. I feel his lips again, my eyes flutter at the contact. One hand around my hip, holding me steady and the other one, around my neck, making me unsteady.

"alex-" a moan wants to escape me, but I try to hold myself together. His lips leave my mouth and trail further down, finding a spot at the curve of my neck.

"god, yes. Say my name again." I´m pretty sure, I never wanted him more than now.

My hands linger in his hair, I feel his hot breath on my skin and clench my thighs together. He is making me feel all worked up. As his lips leave that spot, I whimper his name, but as soon as his mouth leaves my body, he reconnects with it.

Brushing my hair aside, he kisses me again for a second before he lets go of me. With that, im completely convinced he hates me, the way he´s making me suffer. I hear him quietly laugh, so I slowly open my eyes to watch his face.

"You look drunk on love. Are you alright?" He smiles at me, looking at me, like he didnt just turn my world up site down (and my panties wet, by the way).

"What?" I ask, catching my breath. His skin glows and as I watch every detail of his face (how could I not), I almost miss his next sentence. "I would have never thought that this was your idea of gaming." I feel his shoulders move, when he tries to keep himself from laughing.

I gently smile and roll my eyes. "You are just too handsome for me, to concentrate on anything other than you." His cheeks turn red and there´s a glimmer in his eyes, that makes me feel completed. "So that´s why you have bad grades in math, maybe I shouldnt be sitting next to you then." His joke makes me laugh.

"Well, maybe you can give me some private lessons, so I could improve." At that, he opens his mouth, but no words are said. "Too stunned to speak?" I lean forward, his eyes follow my lips. "You just never flirted with me, its distracting." He looks up.

I just shake my head. One of my hands sneaks around to linger at his cheek. "Oh, trust me. I have. You just never noticed." His eyebrows rise. "Thats a shame. But I guess I have now." He catches my lips.

Yes, he definitely did notice me now.

[d3lly1000]

I finally watched Sonic 3!!!!! (IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE)

I had been holding back so I could talk without worrying about spoilers, but I think I can now comment on my general opinion of the movie.

There will be spoilers, so you have been warned!

I’ll admit that I found the first act a bit rushed. I understand that they had a lot of characters to “reintroduce” and new ones to add (especially Shadow), but I felt a bit lost with what was happening—it was really convenient how the script handled a lot of things just to get to the point.

For example: Shadow attacking in Japan with no real explanation, Rockwell quickly finding Sonic and the others. Even Commander Walters showed up just to explain what happened in the past, only to die unexpectedly right after. Even though he's not a particularly memorable character, I felt like his death didn’t carry the weight it should have, even for Team Sonic who witnessed it.

There was also the fact that a lot of what happened in the first act had already been revealed in the trailers and TV spots, which kind of deflated my excitement, knowing what was going to happen. But as I said, things were happening so fast that I couldn’t process all the information right away! XD

I have to say, I absolutely love the interactions between all the characters. The relationships and how they were developed felt so unique to me. I’ve always had the headcanon that Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic acted like siblings, and in the movies, I got to witness that in a meaningful and very loving way (shoutout to Tails saving Sonic and Knuckles protecting them, my boys <3).

One of my favorite scenes is definitely the argument between Knuckles and Sonic, as it really shows their maturity. It shows how much they are changing with each movie, which is so valuable to me because it demonstrates that the characters are really learning from their experiences. In a franchise, this deepens their moral journey and enriches who they are — it’s truly wonderful.

Speaking of siblings, I can’t not talk about Maria and Shadow. Right from the beginning, I could already feel the heartache hearing Live and Learn in an acoustic version. I think for fans who know how iconic this song is for the franchise, the idea that MARIA COULD HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL COMPOSER of it (at least in the SCU) hits so hard.

The narrative of Shadow talking about Maria always moved me, and the film managed to emphasize what she meant to Shadow in such a sweet way. Seeing the scene where Shadow recalls the day of the accident and then carrying the Eclipse Cannon gave me chills.

The parallels between Sonic/Shadow and Tom/Maria were something I was really looking forward to! The franchise often makes these types of comparisons between characters, not just in the games but also in the movies. As I mentioned before, I think this makes everything richer — it gives you a new perspective and helps you understand the complexity of characters by revisiting the "same memory" through a different person. I love when they do that!

ABOUT THE FIGHT SCENES, ALL OF THEM. I was breathless! I have to confess I was cursing A LOT during the third act. It was so epic, something you wouldn’t even think you'd see! Super Form battles were such a great concept for the situation, seeing Sonic get so angry really fed my fan dream of seeing him want to destroy everything XDD. Shadow literally crushed him, both physically and mentally. He REALLY IS THE STAR of this movie. The whole year was his. And he delivered in every possible media!

((I screamed so much when they did the pose, Live and Learn, it was so epic.))

Jim Carrey’s performance is always amazing. I’m still stunned at how naturally Gerald and Eggman felt together. It really seemed like a completely different actor, and that’s insane! I think the only thing I wish we’d seen more of was scenes between Gerald and Maria in the past, but who knows, maybe they’re planning something for a "Shadow solo spin-off."

The light shines, even when the star dies. – I was already emotionally losing it inside, there were just so many things to process.

AND THE POST-CREDITS SCENE HAUSFHSAIFHGVSNUHGUSAHGUSAH

OK OK I’M >TOTALLY< NORMAL ABOUT MY BABIES

Literally my two FAVORITES showed up. METAL WILL BE THE MAIN VILLAIN, I have so many theories and DEFINITELY it will be an adaptation of Heroes and CD. I CAN'T WAIT to see him in action, the whole Artificial vs. Natural thing is something that really resonates with me in the rivalry between him and Sonic.

AND HAUSHFUASFHUASFH AMY MY GIRL!!!

She’s so cool, she appeared in SUCH A UNIQUE way, the cracked moon in the background, revealing herself by taking off the hood... I can’t wait to see her in 2027... I need it so much aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I definitely loved the movie a lot. I still want to rewatch it in English since I saw it dubbed in my language, but I think I’d give it an 8.5/10 or 9/10! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!! I’m still shaking remembering the action scene sahufzahghaghs

[holylulusworld]

Big grumpy bear (FIN)

Summary: He’s grumpy. You are sweet. A match made in heaven.

Pairing: Alpha!Walter Marshall x OmegaReader

Warnings: a/b/o, a/b/o dynamics, grumpy alpha, scenting, mating, implied claiming, light smut (unprotected), needy/demanding reader, fluff,

Catch up here: Big grumpy bear (5)

Big grumpy bear masterlist

Now, …

‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder.’ That’s what people say. But in your case, it’s the opposite. You want to be closer to Walter. 

If you had the chance to wrap yourself around the alpha like a Koala, you’d do it all day long. 

Walter barely gets the chance to leave the bed without you making a scene. Your post-heat haze is still lingering in the back of your mind, and all you want is to stay close to your…alpha.

One week earlier, …

You crawl under the blanket, smirking as Walter is still asleep. Today you’ll get what you want. This time you won’t let him out of your clutches. He won’t resist you, not if you put your hands on him first.

“Omega, what are you doing,” Walter fights your hands. After he nursed you back to life, you became more confident around him. Now you are tugging at his boxers to get him bare. “Y/N…what?”

“I want my alpha,” you purr under the blanket. “you’ve got a nice cock, alpha.” You hum in appreciation. “I want it.”

“What?” He laughs as you crawl on top of him and poke your head out from under the blanket. “Y/N, we will take our time.”

“No, I want it now,” you wiggle on top of Walter. “I want your knot, and I want it…no, I demand your knot.” You purse your lips. 

“You want it?” He cups your cheek. “How about you get it then, hmm…? Take it, omega. Sit on top of your alpha and ride him. Make yourself cum.”

“No…I…” you wrinkle your nose. “I want you on top of me, and for you to scent me. Maybe you can nip at my neck or bite it. Hmm…can we do it without protection? Are you clean? I’m on birth control…”

“Fuck it!”

You squeak as Walter suddenly rolls you over. He crushes his lips against yours, roughly claiming your mouth. “Walter,” you breathe against his lips. “Alpha.”

He settles between your legs to rub his aching cock against you. “Do you want me?” He groans when you move your hand between your bodies to stroke his cock. “Angel, don’t do this to me.” His voice sounds strained. “Please.”

“I want you,” you purr lowly. Heat pools in your belly feeling the alpha so close, and his arousal. “Please, big bear. Make me yours.”

He cups your face and kisses you again. You don’t know if you are dreaming or not. It feels like you’re floating when Walter cups the back of your head and looks you in the eyes while teasing your entrance with his weeping cock. “I want you too.”

Your heart flutters. Not only at his admission but the feeling of his massive cock slowly inching its way inside of your body. “Yes!” 

“You’re mine,” he slams one fist into the pillow. “Only mine! No one can have you.”

“Oh fuck!” Your hands shoot to his head to bring Walter down for another kiss. He moans against you. “You’re so tight for me.”

“You’re…huge…and throbbing and I…” You whimper. “You ruined my poor pumpum! This means you must claim me.” 

“Your pumpum?” Walter hides his face in your neck, laughing loudly. “God, I love you, angel. You’re so cute and even with my cock inside of you, you’re babbling cute nonsense.”

“I wanna be yours. Please.”

“You’re already mine.” He throbs inside of you, reading to ruin you even more. “I will split this cunt open some more with my swelling knot. After, you are going to be full of my seed. I’m going to breed you every night and make you round. Everyone will know you’ve got claimed.”

You wrap your legs and arms around Walter’s body. He’s much bigger than you, but you are stronger than you look. Holding tight onto him like a Koala you look him straight in the eyes. “I bet we can ruin your bed.”

“Oh, sweet angel. I’m going to break the fucking bed with you,” he growls and grabs the headboard with one hand. Walter digs his knees into the mattress and smirks down at you. “Hold tight, this is going to be a wild ride.”

You giggle and hold even tighter onto Walter as he starts moving his hips. He laughs when you make squeaking noises with every deep thrust. The alpha keeps his promise. He uses all of his strength to fuck you straight into the mattress.

“My grumpy bear,” you scream and moan all the while rocking your hips. “Yes…fuck���oh…you are going to break my coochie.”

“Did I break you or your poor coochie,” Walter looks up from between your legs. He insisted on kissing your sore pussy better. “Aw, she looks sweet and perfect.”

Walter places a searing kiss on your pussy lips. “Walter…no…you are going to break her for real!” You try to push him off your cunt with your foot. “Please.”

“Hmmm…she’s all mine. But you are right,” he purrs and crawls back on top of you. “I should give her a break. One week of non-stop fucking is too much for my poor omega.”

You smile dopily when he pecks your temple. “I wanna rest now. I’m so tired.”

“Come here, angel,” he rolls onto his back, taking you with him. “Snuggle into your grumpy bear’s chest…”

Now, ...

“Y/N, we got to go back to work,” Walter sighs as you cling to him. “Together.” He adds. “I talked them into giving me an office closer to yours. You can visit me during lunch break, or I’ll visit my omega.”

He drops his eyes to your neck to admire the mark he left. 

“It’s a perfect mark, alpha,” you coo, and pat his cheek. “Everyone will know we belong together. Especially Rachel will know that you are my big grumpy bear from now on.”

“I was your big grumpy bear from the moment I laid eyes on you for the first time…”

Tags in reblog.

[simpingforthemm]

Hello angel face 🌷

I fell so head over heels in love with your writing ^-^

I was wondering if I could request a headcanon on dating Isaac from My life with the walter boys?

Sending you lots of love ♡

~ 🧸

dating isaac garcia headcanons

a/n: omg not you making me blush 🤭❤️ thank you so much ❤️❤️ and ofc! I really enjoyed writing this since Isaac is so asfjlskjk 😍 I hope you enjoy!

words: 1.4k

summary: what it would be like to date isaac garcia

• as we all know, Isaac is a total ladies man and he has girls all over town crushing on him

• but he's not searching for anything serious with any of them

• if he were to really get into a relationship, his girlfriend would have to stand out

• he wouldn't want to date someone who blindly falls for him without really knowing him

• he wants that slow-burn enemies to lovers typa shit 😌

• me personally I think Isaac would go for an outsider girl who's kinda mysterious

• also probably someone who has a good sense of style and an interest in fashion

• he wants a girl who doesn't just simply agree with everything he says or does, he wants her to call him out on his bullshit, scold him if he's being an asshole etc!

• bc even tho he loves all the attention he gets from girls and he loves when they swoon over him, that stuff can get boring real quick and he just wants someone to be real with him!

• when you first meet, you don't think much of Isaac

• you are of the opinion that he's arrogant af and extremely entitled

• he's the popular guy and you're just chilling with your small friend group, away from all the high school drama

• it's only when you're paired as lab partners in chemistry and have to sit next to each other that you're forced to talk more (forced proximity y'all 😌😌)

• you bicker for a few weeks, exchanging snarky comments

you: "you really have no idea what the periodic table is? fucking stupid ass himbo"

Isaac: "oh so you're saying I'm good looking? can't even insult me properly huh?"

you: "oh stfu"

• it's only until both of you burst out laughing at some stupid video the teacher showed you in class

• and both of you are looking at each other like ????

• "I didn't know you had a good sense of humor too?"

• then both of you find yourself more often than not laughing at the same things

• you start making jokes to each other in classes, still bickering with each other but the bickering turning more into play fighting??

• also now you don't despise having to work together as lab partners anymore

• sometimes you also purposely sit next to each other in different classes just because it's more fun together

• yet both of you would never admit that

• lots of people from school are surprised about your new acquaintance with Isaac bc what is this popular guy doing with this outsider girl?

• but Isaac doesn't care about what other people think bc you're actually really chill and fun to be around

• one day, Isaac decides he's sick of conversing with his admirers and finds that your bickering with him is far more interesting and also more intellectually stimulating (yes 😂) than just having a bunch of girls stare at him with heart eyes swooning over him and just nodding at everything he's saying

• so at lunch he goes over to your friend group's table (actually just you and your two friend's table 😌) and asks if he can sit with you

• your two friends are like : 🤨🤨🤨him?

• but you're like: nah nah guys he's cool

• so you guys are just chilling together for lunch and he realizes what he's been missing out on!!

• he actually gets along with you and your friends so well bc y'all are also fashion mfs like him and not football ppl like his other friends lmao (tho he mostly hangs out with his cousins)

• after lunch he asks you if you want to hang out after school sometime and chill just the two of you, which surprises you but ofc you say yes

• on your first hangout you go to get matcha 🍵 and talk about art (I could imagine that also being one of Isaac's interests) and fashion, also like your fav brands and stuff and how both of you want to model/design/study fashion etc. in your future

• you also deep talk about his dad a lil and how Isaac mostly grew up at the Walter's house bc his dad is in the army

• your hangouts get more frequent and soon you realize it's more than friendship for both of you and that you actually are like in love with each other

• both of you used to always chat during class and laugh together which you still do but now it's just with a little bit of tension and awkwardness bc you're now crushing on each other

"hahaha...yeah that was um... really funny😅haha"

• and somehow Isaac can't flirt with you like he does with other girls bc with the other girls it was never genuine, he didn't really care about them but with you it's like...

• he really likes you and he doesn't wanna f it up

• I think he would get a lil more touchy tho as he realizes he likes u

• for example: you're out at the cinema watching an indie movie together and he puts an arm around you

• you're like: you've never done that before 🤨🤨🤨

• but then you have to hide your blush bc omg!! 😳 he just put his arm around you

• I feel like Isaac is a scaredy cat so he tells you he loves you over text 😭

• he doesn't even tell you he likes you first, bro just goes all out with the L word

• you've just woken up, it's like 6am on a Sunday and you see a text from Isaac from like an hour ago 💀💀

• "I think I'm in love with you lmao"

• and you immediately call him bc wtf???

• you ask him: "is this one of your jokes?" bc ain't no way are you gonna confess too only to be told it's a prank

• "no, no... it's true"

• "and you decided to tell me this over text?? literally wtf Isaac"

• then you're silent for a while and just say "I can't believe I'm about to say this on the phone but...I feel the same"

• then you meet up that same day and the second you meet you're literally laughing saying: "literally wtf Isaac"

• "sorry I, uh.. didn't know how else to say it..", he says awkwardly, looking away bc he's blushingg

• "well, it's fine because.. I love you too"

• Isaac literally perks up even though you've already said you feel the same, it's different hearing you say it in front of him

• then you guys have your first kiss which is literally life changing for Isaac because so far he's only ever kissed girls like for fun and not because he's fallen for them

• so this is a very new experience for Isaac

• you show up as a couple at school the next day and walk the hallways holding hands 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

• everybody is confused and asks Isaac: "really? her?"

• he answers: "yeah, why? she's cool af?? and I'm literally in love with her??!!"

• so let's talk about your relationship

• you both match fits often and are basically the most stylish couple at school

• you also go thrifting together!

• you guys have a very strong emotional bond and talk about anything and everything literally

• you're his rock and his best friend, he tells you everything

• and by that I mean literally everything

• he also tells you about every prank he plans / has done and he also tells you about the putting bleach in Jackie's shampoo bottle prank

• which you immediately scold him for bc why is he putting that poor girl through this when she's literally still adjusting to the new life in the Walter's house after having to leave her home because her parents died?

• at school you go to Jackie to apologize for Isaac's behavior and offer to help with her hair, which she gladly accepts

• this leads to you and Jackie becoming best friends and to her joining your little friend group with your 2 friends

• (you guys are a better influence on her than Skylar and Grace)

• you also get invited to Walter family events, for example Will's wedding or Thanksgiving

• you can be a bit shy so you always cling to Isaac and Jackie whenever you're there

• But Katherine makes you warm up quickly with her good-hearted nature and you find yourself feeling comfortable in the Walter's home pretty soon

• you get along with Lee pretty well and you just fit in perfectly with the whole bunch

• your parents also love him bc he's literally your prince charming 💕

[3600frames]

Overlaid my changes (plus some additional edits) to the pre-existing fan translation of the Baker tweets for easier readability. Thank you to MagicalGirlFia for the original translation.

[The tweets of the bassist/vocalist Beika of C-Side on a certain day]

Waiting for Kiki, who's late to the studio, as usual.

〇2　←5　♡623

Is there anyone else who’d come back to the band they quit once, or is it just Kiki? Well, I suppose the ones who'd let 'em back in with open arms are just as rare.

〇5　←18　♡1533

I think Clickbait was first made when Walter started hitting the drums while we were setting up the sound in our rehearsal studio. There was this funky cymbal noise that sounded like a "WHAM"! When Kiki and I first heard that, there was no way we wouldn't start singing "dededededede"!

〇　←5　♡322

No point in hiding it, I'm happy that people are covering and arranging that song in across many different places. Though when that school of salmon attacked, I heard the version they played with the violin(?). It was so baffling that I couldn't help but laugh.

〇3　←12　♡475

Paintscraper is based on a demo that Walter made. It seems like he played the guitar himself too. It sounded kinda limp and really cracked me up, but it's got this odd appeal to it. If I get the chance, I wanna share it.

〇8　←56　♡757

"Triple Dip" - If they tell you that you can't double dip, why not triple dip? Know what I mean? I tried to make a song without knowing if it was cool or not. How'd I do?

〇3　←18　♡224

I'm typing this in a drunken stupor. I've said this half a billion times just this year, but please know this: Now or Never is a C-Side original. Some guys from Inkopolis, Skip...something or other… had the nerve to cover it without permission, but we recorded it before they released theirs. We just didn't release ours.

〇54　←3577　♡8993

One has gotta wonder if there’s anything that tastes better than having dinner alone in the middle of the night.

〇25　←28　♡223

I can forgive the version by that weird trio who do the Splatcasts because it's funny. I got no clue what they're saying in the intro, though.

〇45　←2213　♡12k

One more thing. That guitarist/vocalist of Skid-something, Ichiya, was born in the Splatlands. I should know- i went to middle school with him. He said he was going to Inkopolis, and off he went. Soon after, I heard about how he’d debuted with a band. I tried listening to them, but their sound was so soft that it made my ink churn.

〇512　←75k　♡52k

So, you’re probably wondering why we covered that Splattack (did I get it right? LOL song of theirs. I get a lot of people thinking it’s an homage, but just for the record, I was only trying to get across, like “If it’s you lots’ "music" we’re talking about, then obviously we could make it SO much cooler. I mean, our version is 300 times better, right?”. That’s all. It wasn’t meant as a damn homage.

〇156　←4573　♡9130

What's he doing now? Apparently, he changed the band's name and is loitering around the Splatlands now. It’s the kind of thing that makes you think "You have some nerve to come crawling back home", y'know?

〇89　←5282　♡11k

Well, I guess their… music? It’s not as bad as it used to be.

〇144　←3423　♡8924

I rambled too much last night. I think the current Inkopolis scene is way too pretentious. However, I know they’re kinda old news now, but those Bottom Feeder guys are pretty cool. I'd like to perform with that violin chick. 

〇12　←4674　♡8995

I want to play along with the rest of C-Side so you all can hear it. A truly pure sound that'll reverberate throughout this era of chaos, no matter whether it's the Splatlands or Inkopolis.

〇??　←??　♡??

[multific]

Rorschach Being in Love with You - Headcanons

Rorschach x Fem!Reader

Warnings: mention of violence, smut

Of course, in the beginning, he would deny it

He thinks it's better if you stay far from him

And yet, he keeps coming back for you

He often watches you sleep or do daily tasks

And you pretend you don't know he is watching

It was a simple system

Until one day

It was a late evening, you were let off from work later than usual 

Recipe for disaster and for men to take advantage

You ran, but there was nowhere to hide

But of course, you were saved

And from that day on, he never wants to leave your side

And he only does after making sure you are home, safe

A relationship with Rorschach is difficult

And even with your history, it does have a lot of challenges 

But you love him and he loves you, that should be enough

He would always come home late and sleep through the night

But sometimes, on occasion, he would come home early

Sex with him was a bit of a struggle, especially in the beginning

Given how his mother was, he had to get used to having a woman's touch

But once he got comfortable, nothing was off the table

He would refuse to do anything that would hurt you.

But other than that, he was open especially if you wanted to try something out

Rough, angry sex with him is like magic

It was a way to take out his anger 

And it was in a way that pleased you very much

He would pound you so hard, you would lose feeling in your legs for the next few hours and your legs would be sore for the next few days

But he can be gentle

Those are what you would call, love making

When you prove to one another how much you love each other

He likes to pull on your hair and fuck you from behind

He likes to have your legs around his neck as he eats you out and then fucks you

Scratch his back all you want, he will not complain

You can ride him if you ask nicely

He can be so dominant, you absolutely loved it

He would tell you what to do

And he loves to get blowjobs, again, while pulling on your hair

He would call you all kinds of names, Darling, My Love, Sweetheart

He would never degrade you, don't ask him to call you a slut or a whore

But he can call you Kitten, Princess or My Queen

Just imagine riding him, the bed is creaking as you keep moving, all you can feel is his cock inside you and he calls you "My Queen."

But he makes sure you come first before he does

If you tire him out, he won't leave for the night

But there are nights when he just comes home for a quicky before going back to fight crime

You would call it a simple life

But it was your love

And you are the only person who can call him Walter without him killing you

He is not the type to go or to take you on dates

But it doesn't mean he can't or won't enjoy a night with candlelight and food

Soft is not a word you would use to describe him

But he can be gentle with you

And he wants to be better, do better for you

It was love

Undeniable love

Not even he could do anything about it

Taglist: 

@castellandiangelo @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl @manduse @jacalineiscomingforyou @mandoloriancookie @il0vebeingdelulu @deliciousfestsalad @groovyqueer @lilliumrorum @asgards-princess-of-mischief

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

/YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE, OR TO REPOST STEAL ANY OF MY WORKS TO THIS OR OTHER PLATFORMS/

[waokevale]

A Clarification to Wormwood's Age (And why he's fully fledged without a shred of doubt)

So, as we all know or have heard some at point, there are still people out there, who think the peculiar lunar plantation is an infant, solely due to the way he speaks, behaves and of conviction that he was literally born yesterday. Which by all means is false.

That's why I'm here to finally dismantle that belief. I'll present you with several compelling arguments of mine based on throughout research I did on his character overall, and if by the end of this post, you'll still hold firm to that same opinion, then I'm afraid that's out of my hands by that point.

If you're willing to stay for the duration of this thesis, and hear me out, I'll be very greatful. And please do listen, so we may not make any more misconceptions as such about him in the future.

I'll be splitting this post into 5 segments, one with additional subcategories.

General Appearance

Behavioral Pattern

Intelligence

Character Interrelations

Canon Information

First of, let's start off with the obvious:

General Appearance

If we're going to interpret his appearance based on 'human qualities', then physically, compared to actual child characters, Wormwood's design is vastly different.

The easiest way for me to prove that, lies in one of the recent animations: (Swine & Dine), where all the (live) children are gathered in one place, alongside Wormwood and Wes.

Here, you can distinctly pick apart the difference between the three preteen characters, Walter, (who's likely supposed to be a teenager on the younger side; around 13-14), and the last two.

The most obvious difference is the jawline. Wormwood, for one, has a massive jaw, easily rivaling that of Maxwell's (while technically, this feature isn't reserved solely for adults, it is moreso common to see an adult with a define jawline, rather than a child.)

This, alongside his torso being usually depicted as an inverted triangle (at least in the official animations), seem to be features added intentionally somewhere post his release, as he looks much more childlike in his animation video, where he's still technically a sapling per se.

Even Several of Wormwood's skins showcase, that he is in no way meant to be seen in a juvenile way.

The best example of that being his Victorian skin.

Look me dead in the eye and tell me that's a child. That is one of the most indisputable old man portrayals, you can get from an anthropomorphic plant character in media. Do not try and argue, how a child is meant to look like that, because neither of the four actual child characters has a skin, which makes them appear that much significantly older than they actually are.

So what reason would Klei even have to make his skin look so apparently elderly, if they saw him as a child?

More examples of his mature skins could be said for the Roseate and Guest of Honor. While they're not outright elderly, as is the former, the general vibe is similar to that of other adult characters' portraits.

Now that we've compared him to human characters and their characteristics, we should take into consideration what he actually is. Let's remember, that at the end of the day, he's partially a plant organism and partially an inorganic crystal from the moon , certainly he ages much differently than us humans, or even most other constant species for that matter.

I'm pretty sure he was also formed with a fully developed body (since he seemingly bloomed shortly after forming, which is a trait reserved primarily for mature plants)

But then again, appearance alone isn't enough to make one truly adult, is it? Thus we're moving on to:

Behavioral pattern

Few things you'll immediately realize about Wormwood is his alleged naivety, playful nature and seldom use of grammatical correctness. Due to this, many immediately assume that he's a child, which is understandable, but not a good enough reason to make such an assumption.

There are many factors involved in building one's disposition, and in Wormwood's case, there's plenty of reasonable causes for his behavor:

As previously stated, he's quite literally a sentient amalgam of vines, brought to life by a jewel from the moon. His origin far disparates that of any known being, especially a human.

His mind develops much differently than that of an average person. This correlates with the point above (since its a big green gem in his chest and not an actual brain). Plus, he likely hadn't had the chance to have a proper education. While he seems to have picked up on a lot of mannerisms from the pigsfolk in Hamlet, I doubt anyone went out of their way to actually school him.

He's feral. The majority of his upbringing, he likely spent surviving in the jungle. In a way, he reminds me a lot of Tarzan (A human, who grew up raised by a troop of gorillas after his parents were killed. He can communicate with the local wildlife just fine, but deeply struggles understanding and relating to the outsiders; other humans, who one day arrived on his land.) That's likely the reason why Wormwood refers to certain creatures with mimicking the sounds they make. Perhaps he can understand them to a degree, or at least is trying to.

Just because he doesn't speak English, doesn't mean he's slow. It is plausible he speaks a different language, while English doesn't come naturally to him. As is the case with Wolfgang, who has similar speech impediment issues and struggles with saying full sentences, but that's quite literally because English isn't his mother tongue. It's been a running gag that Wolfgang is the embodiment of a European man, and whichever country/countries he might've originated from, it's definitely not the UK. As might be the case for Wormwood and whatever constant language he actually thinks in.

He has certain traits akin to people with autism/Asperger's or ADHD (Nonverbal communication, delayed language development, lacking social cues, sensitive nose, short attention span, hyperactive and somewhat impulsive behavior, wild or overexaggerated movement, struggle with fitting in, little sense of awareness etc.) And I'm speaking from experience with this one, he's quite relatable to me, and many of my friends on the spectrum.

With that let's move on to the third segment.

Intelligence

Just how smart is he truly?

Wormwood isn't regarded for his high intellect, that's for sure, but remember, intelligence isn't defined by just the book smarts society imposes on us. Therefore it doesn't always correspond to a person's age and experience.

Wormwood, while definitely not on a level of a Harvard graduate, is extremely intelligent and a quick learner at that.

Let's digest what we generally know about intelligence and what it really means for Wormwood.

With the main question at hand : What differentiates a child mind from an adults'?

While he certainly shares some personality traits with Webber, their mindsets are rather different.

I'd like to present my point with a simple method.(From that one Quora post, believe it or not, it was the most convenient out of all the theories and tests I found) Dividing that, which is known as thought process into five subcategories, of which are:

Cognitive Development

Life Experience

Responsibility and Independence

Emotional Regulation

Social and Moral Development

So let's start with Cognitive Development/Psychology

(Definition : The process of growth and change in intellectual/mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning and understanding. That includes: the ability to interpret information, verbally communicate ideas, appropriately apply words and gestures to given situations, recognize and differentiate various sounds, comprehend your surroundings, use past experience to resolve current or future problems more efficiently, etc. TLDR: How thought process changes with age ; Talking, hearing, reading, remembering, problem-solving, understanding, You get the point. )

By this point, Wormwood's acquired plenty of general knowledge of the world around him and what to expect from it. (In some cases, he seems to know things without realizing it, or simply wishes to not provide more info of what he's already aware of.)

He is capable of understanding various different things, applying appropriate words to them, when given the chance. He often struggles to properly phrase what he means, but you can still get around to grasp it.

And you know what? He's especially good at deducing things not every character can point out. Here are some of the more obvious to least obvious things he's mentioned:

Leaky teacup - "Can't drink from it"

Beaten Beater - "Hmm... Can't use it"

Start tower kit - "Need to plant it on the water"

Compass- "which way?"

N- "North

S- "South"

E- "East"

W- "West"

NE- "Northeast"

SE- "Southeast"

NW- "Northwest

SW- "Southwest"

(The direction one would seem pointless to add but let's remember that there literally are characters in this game who don't know which way is which cough cough Winona cough)

Clippings - "Can sell this hair"

Sapphire Medallion/Tenpiece oinc – "Can buy things now"

(the plant understands capitalism 👍)

Winona's GEM-erator (out of fuel) - "Oh. Needs sparky"

Telelocator Focus (missing gem)- "Needs Purple Shiny"

Telelocator Socket (missing gem)- "Where shiny things?"

The Queen of Moon Quay: "Oh...she thinks Night Ball is friend hair?"

(He might know who They are after all)

Beast of Hunger (1) - "Oh. Not alive"

(This, plus any other quote of his mistaking a statue or an object with distinguishable features as alive, does not make him dull; this world literally has statues coming to life. He simply uses a reasoning he acquired from living in the Constant.)

Rose-Colored Glasses – "Friends show Fixer friend secret things"

(Most character, barring Maxwell, Wendy and Wigfrid don't know about the glasses' true purpose)

Ancient chest - "Put stuff in there!"

(One of 4 characters to have an inclining what to do with it)

Greater Gestalt- "Protect"

Enlightened Crown - "Helps hear them"

(Okay, he definitely knows who They are)

Hound Corpse (reanimating) - "Coming back"

(He seems the least bit of surprised or disturbed by this, compared to everyone else)

Antlion (upset) - "Oh no. Needs gifts"

(interestingly, no one else seems to mention why the Antlion is upset)

Mysterious Energy- "Seed"

(...?)

Distilled knowledge- "Plant this in funny floor"

(he's the only one to have figured out what to actually do with it)

I think what we all can realize from going through his quotes, is that he's in no way as clueless as he initially seems. He has his moments, but so do the rest of the survivors.

Life Experience, Responsibility and Independence

This plant has lived through a lot, but then again so have the rest, a lot of them have faced countless hardships most of us can't even fathom.

From what we already know, the fandom generally believes he is very naive and trusting, which really isn't the case. The thing is, it's not that he's naive, he may not react especially negatively to a creature or thing because he's used to seeing bizarre things, or because he's not afraid of them, unlike the majority of the survivor cast, who are alien to the constant.

Barring the in-game mechanics which force characters to be competent regardless of their experience, we're going to focus on his reactions to mobs and items that might pose actual threat to him or others, or are considered as questionable by him.

Inflatable Vest - "Safe?"

Shadowcraft plinth - "Scary hands helping?"

Fish steak - "Watch for bones"

Candy Apple - "Careful! Don't eat stick! "

Platapine (sleeping)- "don't wake it"

Sentrypede husk - "Sleeping. Shhh"

Sea Stack - "Oops! Watch out!

Great Tree Root - "Oh! Don't bump into friends!"

Worm hole (open) - "Deep. Dark"

(When deerclops is near) - "Something scary coming!"

Pressure plate - Hmmm...Odd rock"

Dread mite (about to explode) - "Look out!"

Shadow Reaper - "No...Wants to hurt friends!"

Depth Worm (lure) - "Hmm... not safe"

Depth Worm (burrowed) - "something hiding"

Meat bulb - "Careful!"

[The fish quotes in DST + the candy Apple are giving me an image of him saying that to the child characters (and definitely Woodie for the latter)]

Independence-wise, the one thing I especially took notice of, is how much the child characters seek guidance from the adults in the group, mentioning them by their formal titles too. That's especially frequent with Webber, Wurt, and Walter, though Wendy rarely does this. On one hand, she claims she considers toys and fun to be behind her, but contradictory, enjoys playing with other children and some of the adults. (Besides we canonically know she's 10-11 years old)

Wormwood isn't known for wanting to seek guidance either. He's sometimes confused about how certain things work and thus will ask about it, but that's understandable given his predicament. (As @thebleedingalien once mentioned, he's like an extraterrestrial experiencing bits and pieces from 2 different worlds at once)

He doesn't really care to play with toys either, (barring a couple of instances, one being Bernie and the others; toys with wheels and Antlion's sand castle. But c'mon, I know some of you grown adults own toy cars/collectibles or build sandcastles when you have the tools, you can't lie to me and say neither of these things is fun. Plus, this post is literally about a video game character, and those, not too long ago, were considered childish.

And besides, adult characters in this game also goof around. There's the whole sand castle building thing in Shipwrecked, which curiously Wormwood doesn't have a strong opinion on.)

But if we were to compare his maturity to other adult characters…

(Wilson) [aside his many, many jokes]: Silk- "It comes from a spider's butt."

(Willow) Portal Exit - "It's fun to watch OTHER people fall on their butts."

(Wolfgang) Coral Nubbin - "Haha. Rock is bald."

(WX-78) Regular Jungle Tree (normal and stump) - "THIS DUMB TREE HAS A DUMB FACE"

(Wickerbottom) Weregoose - "My! What a silly goose!"

(Wigfrid) Plant (ready to be picked) - "Ugh, vegetables. I'm nöt sure what I expected..."

(Woodie) Ghost - "Boo! Ha ha!"

(Winona) Kingly Figure - "It's BUST-ed! Ha!"

(Maxwell) Frazzled Wires - "I might hide those in WX-78's bedroll if I get bored"

(Wortox) [But if we were to pick an example of many] Potato Sack- "Hyuyuyu, wouldn't it be fun to hide inside and give him a scare?"

Yeah, I think he's good.

In this section I don't really have much else to say. He can be cautious, he can be daft. He joggles the braincells alongside the rest of the survivors. But all in all, I would not consider him any more reckless or goofy than either the child or adult characters. Independence wise, while he can absolutely manage just fine on his own, his desire for companionship far outweighs that.

And since we've already talked about maturity, let's move on to:

Emotional Regulation

Despite common belief, Wormwood is not overly emotional. While, yes, he is excitable and easy to impress, he doesn't usually display intense negative emotions, unless something (more often than not wooden) is destroyed, or unless a plant or a creature he likes, suffers. But then again, in those situations, it's logical to display panic, worry and grief. Imagine if your family member or friend suddenly caught on fire and burned before your eyes... Yeah, I bet no one morally adjusted would be the slightest bit of composed in those kinds of situations...

Worse yet, the majority of the Constant is filled with plants, most of whom are his friends, the closest to his kind, beings which display varying amount of sentience...

In actuality, the children, including Wendy, display a shift in emotions much more often than Wormwood does.

Then there's Willow, WX-78, Woodie (birds) and Maxwell, who all have even less emotional stability.

In comparison, I'd say he handles most situations much more maturely and nonchalantly.

Social & Moral Development

Ah yes, the ability to difference right from wrong, morality, patos or however you would call it. Now this one's a little tricky, on one hand, while he may react strongly to a plant's demise, his reaction varies, when it comes to animals and structures. Sometimes, he doesn't really bat an eye, frankly, other times, he displays intense amounts of grief.

I guess that's the definition of selective empathy.

Curiously, he has 2 separate quotes for a pigeon. One from Hamlet, where he seems a lot more distressed when it perishes, and the other, from The Gorge, where he simply states the fact "Oh. Dead."

I'd like to think this was intentional to sort of give him that fading care many of us experience as we grow older.

Here's another example:

[Hamlet] Glowfly (dead) - "(sob)"

[DST, Host of Horrors update] Koalefant Carcass - "Braump...? Not anymore"

Regarding the other survivors; for the most part, he sympathizes with them. Though he doesn't panic much when they die from average constant shenanigans. He knows it's not permanent or consequential.

He does show sympathy, when some of the others' precious belongings get destroyed or damaged.

Winona's Catapult (burnt)- "Fire bad"

Winona's Spotlight (burnt)- "Oh. So sad"

Mighty Gym (burnt)- "Oh... poor muscle man..."

Or in some instances, when a character strongly disapproves of something/is emotionally hurt and he takes notice of that:

Nautipilot - "Robot friend doesn't like Pull Rock"

Mocking Bird - "Mean tweeters, hurt friends' feelings!"

What's interesting, is that, while he calls many creatures his friends, he specifically avoids calling Maxwell that. He even considers Lucy, Willow and Woodie his friends, which is just... wow. May he harbor a grudge against him for what he did to the other survivors? Something more personal? Or is it moreso related to the fact he's fully siding with the shadows... Most likely the former.

Overall I would say he's definitely more empathetic than not, and one doesn't have to care for every living being after all.

Character Interrelations

Regarding what other characters think of how old he is...

It's debatable, keep in mind, the characters don't have to be fully aware, or can misinterpret his age based on his behavior alone.

Most people just refer to him as "plant", unsurprisingly.

There's characters like Winona, who seem to intentionally downplay his age. Winona in her quotes refers to both Wormwood and Wilson (who's officially in his 30s) as 'bucko' (a lively, young fellow. Or in some cases a friend, or another version of buddy). As for her quotes for Bramble trap and Compost wrap, she refers to Wormwood with the terms 'lil plant fella' and 'little guy'. She pretty much just teases people who are younger than her or seem younger. Or she genuinely believes he's actually that young.

There's plenty instances of people calling him a variation of little, small or sapling, which might just be how they see him. Keep in mind, just because a character may think he's on the younger side, does not mean their interpretation is the absolute firm belief you should uphold.

Then, there's Wolfgang and Wurt, who both firmly believe that he's a grown adult.

(Wolfgang) Generic - "Is leafy green man, %s! Hello!"

Firestarter - "Leafy green man did a fire booboo."

Syrup of Ipecaca - "Will leafy green man be sad if Wolfgang doesn't have a taste?"

(Wolfgang only calls him little once in his quotes, because he calls everyone little, children though, he refers to as very tiny + boy/girl/child, so there's that.)

(Wurt) Attacker - "Ow! You mean old weed!"

You might think; why would I care about what a child and a man who's considered to not be so bright think? Well, my previous point about language barriers explains that. Besides, Wurt is a constant-born creature who builds an entire kingdom in her play style, by no means, is she clueless. She also refers to Deerclops and Antlion as 'She', while most of the other characters use he or it.

What's interesting is that Wickerbottom also tends to avoid referring to him with youthful terms, aside the obvious general one she uses for everyone and everything. If anything, she's more patronizing towards Woodie, Wilson, Winona and Wigfrid. (All of whom are in between their late 20s-40s)

Lastly, we have:

Canon Information

While there isn't much information relating to his age, there are hints in the game canon that explain that.

In the game's compendium, where reside the survivors' profile, backstory and description, three of the four kids have 'young' in their introduction. Barring Walter, who instead has 'boy' which is as much of a youthful term. Wormwood's simply stated as 'an amalgam of vines' not a seedling, sapling nor a young/little plant.

From his backstory, we know that:

"A green gem fell from the moon, landing on an ancient stone monument in the middle of overgrown rubble. Over a long period of time, a vine encircled the gem and eventually formed a humanoid figure sitting on the monument. The figure, Wormwood, opened his eyes and looked at his hands. (...)"

(Now this simply explains, that a lot of time has passed as he was forming, unlike what's shown in his animation, where his body instantly forms.)

There's also this part of his bio.

“Though the circumstances of his creation were unusual at best, Wormwood came into this world full of optimism and curiosity, ready to make new friends and see all that life had to offer. But as time wore on and he experienced the cold sting of rejection, he came to learn what the moon above had always known: Wormwood the Lonesome does not belong here.”

It's implied that a while has passed since his birth. Everyone assumes that he was just created recently and that he doesn't know anything, but as I've shown you previously, he's very perceptive when it matters. He has the knowledge and experience, even insight or a hunch. He is able to determine things others can't. Ever since Hamlet happened, his quotes gradually became somewhat more apathetic towards creatures dying, as opposed to the worry and care he previously displayed.

I wouldn't say he's exactly an adult the same way the human characters are, but he's in no way a child as many presume him to be.

(It actually kind of reminds me of how certain Greek gods are created; some are formed as adults, some grow and then eventually stop, and some come to be under very strange and specific circumstances, Aphrodite. But overall, you can't exactly compare their maturing process to that of a human.) Meanwhile, Wormwood is an alien plant with a crystal for a brain

So by the end of this post, are you still inclined to believe he's a child?

Was this completely unnecessary and took far too long to construct? Yes.

Do I regret making this? Nah.

[writingtraumaforever]

A Courtship Christmas: Chapter 1

Notes: Hello everyone! This addition to the Courtship series will be a holiday special and multiple chapters! Yay! I can't promise how quickly this will be updated, but I am really hoping to have the second chapter out before the movie, at least. Either way, I hope you all enjoy this work! (More Notes at the End)

Summary: Sonic is excited to make Shadow's first Christmas on earth a great one! This is completely derailed when Commander Walters has a special letter for Shadow.

Courtship Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sonic loves so, so much about earth.

From the obvious things like the people and the places to the more intimate things like their cuisines and music and customs, he never spends a single moment regretting his choice to stop running and choosing this planet as his home.

But by far, his absolute favorite holiday on this planet is easily Christmas! 

Maddie and Tom explained it to him when he spent his first year celebrating it with them. How there’s a lot of rumored origins to the holiday. One being the birthday of the Sun God. The other being the birthday of the Son of God. And some just celebrating it because it’s a trademark at this point in society and regardless of the origin, it’s about family and giving and friends and being thankful for what one has. And Sonic loves that concept.

And presents. He loves the presents.

Last year had been Knuckles and Tails’ first Christmas. Knuckles had refused to celebrate at first, saying he was now Jewish thanks to Mrs. Whipple. But he eventually, with the help of a little chat with the Donut Lord, realized he isn’t actually Jewish. He just wanted to be supportive of his friend. And he can do that without conversion into a religion he ultimately doesn’t really know anything about, let alone believe. So after spending a few days celebrating Hanakkuh with Wendy, Wade and Wanda, he came back home to help prepare for Christmas with his own family. 

Tails had fallen in love with it immediately, infatuated with all the lights and the tiny trinkets that would play Christmas melodies and spin.. he invented a different gift for every single one of his family members. Even Ozzie got an automatic fetch machine! 

Sonic and Knuckles had stayed up as long as they could with a trap set by the chimney hoping to snag Santa, but they fell asleep before he came.. they woke up to the trap being untouched and a little note with red and green glitter on it reading ‘nice try, boys - S’. They vowed to get the old man one day. Sonic is a pro at foiling old, fat men. It was inevitable.

The point is that the Christmas Spirit is strong in the Wachowski household. And with the MOBIUS project in full swing this year, they decided to help acclimate some of the new Mobians into the world’s traditions by having a ‘Cookies with Santa’ event in the parking lot of GUN. Sonic had convinced them after demanding they owed him for saving the world. 3 times now. 

They put fake snow everywhere, had an ornament-making station, a gift-wrapping station, Tom dressed up as Santa Claus and let little Mobians sit on his lap and tell them what they wanted— though this giant alligator nearly crushed him at one point doing this— and they had lights strung across the front of GUN and its landscape.

The Guardian Units of Nations had never been merrier!

Shadow had been there, of course. He, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Rouge and Amy had all dressed as elves to help overwhelming crowd of human and alien children alike. They would each help at different stations. Sonic and Knuckles and Tails helped at the Santa station since most people wanted to meet the heroes of earth anyway. Shadow and Amy were on ornament-making duty. And Rouge helped Rachel wrap gifts that were brought for donation to the Mobians who still haven’t found a home.

There was even a sign-up sheet for people who wanted to volunteer to host a Mobian for the holidays!

It all went off with a sinch, and Randall even showed up dressed as the Grinch to cause mischief! He was a hit with the kids, but Sonic did not like it. Something about the Grinch just kinda makes him… disgusted. Some sort of familiarity about him that turns him off the green Who.

Either way, everything went perfect, and by the end of it, humans and Mobians were mingling and celebrating with laughter and hot cocoa and it was perfect. This. This is why he loved Christmas.

Walking to Tom’s truck after helping clean up, Shadow was showing Sonic some of the ornaments he made. “I put fake snow in this one,” he held it up to show Sonic, “and there’s a little snowman inside like one of those little balls..?”

“A snow globe?”

“Yes, those,” Shadow nodded, reaching for his next ornament to show.

This was Shadow’s first Christmas too… well.. on earth, anyway. He celebrated back on the ARK with Maria every year.. they didn’t have much in the ways of gift-giving, but they’d make each other something each year and exchange it at the midnight of Christmas Eve. Then they’d sit and eat cookies together and watch earth from the window..

Maria would talking about how she hoped Santa could find them all the way in space. Shadow would vow to make sure she got enough presents to believe that he did— which she always did thanks to the scientists on the ARK practically adopting her as the whole station’s daughter. 

The point is, Christmas isn’t foreign entirely to him. But it’s his first one on the planet, and Sonic knows it’s gotta be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for the guy since Maria isn’t here to celebrate with him..

Holding up his fourth ornament he made that’s painted to look like a gingerbread man, Sonic grins supportively at it and looks to Shadow, “These will all look real good on the tree, Shads!”

“You think so?” Shadow asks hopefully, a hint of excitement in his crimson eyes.

“Sure I do! They’re all great. We’ll have to let you pick a spot for them on the tree when we get it put up.”

Shadow smiles timidly at this, nodding in return. They’re standing at Tom’s truck, now. The door open but Sonic doesn’t climb in yet. Instead, he stands there looking at Shadow with a shy little smile, Shadow looking back at him with the same sort.

They haven’t kissed again since the bowling alley a month ago.. if that even counts. Sonic didn’t even get to kiss back!! 

They’ve both been dancing around it since then, not addressing it but not fully ignoring it. They’ll do things like a couple would, now. When they go out for lunch, Shadow will hold Sonic’s hand across the table. Or when they end a friendly race, they find somewhere to sit and lean on each other for a bit and just talk. They’ll hug goodbye, nuzzle each other to rub their scents on the other.. 

But no kisses. None.

It’s driving Sonic crazy.

He just wants to kiss this boy properly!

And every time it feels like they’re about to share one, something has to interrupt them.

Every. Time.

“Soo.. you’re coming over, right?” Sonic asks with a little coy smile, tilting his head at the hybrid. 

“Of course,” Shadow smirks, “I’ll hop on my bike and be right over.”

“Good,” Sonic grins a bit wider, biting his lower lip all innocent and shy. Like he don’t know what he’s trying to do when his eyes shift down to Shadow’s mouth a little too long.

Shadow swallows, taking notice, of course, and moving to ever so slowly lean in towards Sonic.

This is it!! They’re gonna do it! They’re gonna—

“Hey Shadow!” 

Every. Damn. Time.

Shadow blushes and immediately pulls back to turn and see Rouge approaching. She pauses upon realizing what she had interrupted and gives an apologetic smile, “Sorry to interrupt, boys— Shadow, Commander Walters wants a word with you before you go..”

Shadow blinks at this, exchanging a look with Sonic who offers a little quirk of his brow before they both look back to Rouge.

“Commander Walters??” he frowns, “What for?? I’m off duty until after Christmas..”

“He so is not being deployed on Christmas,” Sonic demands with a little scowl and cross of his arms, “Not happenin’.”

“Nothing like that,” Rouge quickly clarifies before the two get too snippy, “Don’t get your quills in a huff. He just said he had something to deliver to you. That it’s a private matter..”

Sonic’s eyes widen with a gasp, “Oh my God— what if Commander Walters is secretly Santa???”

Shadow’s eyes roll with a small snicker at his counterpart’s amusing theory, turning to offer Sonic a little side hug— ugh, always with the hugs— and then stepping away, “I’m gonna go see what he wants then I’ll head to your place.”

Sonic nods with a little smile, “Okay. Let me know if you need me.”

“I will,” the hybrid assures before turning to follow Rouge back to the GUN building for his meeting with the commander. Rouge offering a wave to Sonic as she goes, “See you in a bit, Blue!”

“See ya!”

The crew is meeting up at the Wachowski’s for some Christmas festivities. They’re decorating for the holidays and invited everyone to come help since they would all be in town anyway due to the GUN Cookies with Santa Fundraiser. 

It’s rare they can all get together at one time like this with they’re constant conflicting schedules, so Sonic is extremely pumped to have all the people who matter most to him all over at once. 

First to arrive as always thanks to Sonic’s very poor example of nagging Tom into every drive being a race— he’s corrupted the once speed-trap-cop, for sure— Sonic slides right on out of the truck just in time to see Maddie pulling up in her car with Tails and Knuckles in the back.

“We kicked your butts!” Sonic teases as they open their car doors, “Beat you by a solid thirty seconds!”

“You were going seventy in a fifty-five,” Maddie scolds with narrowed eyes towards Tom.

Tom just sheepishly smiles and rubs the back of his neck, “What?? My speedometer read fifty-seven. Thing must be busted..”

“Mhm,” Maddie hums as she waltzes past him to the front door, unconvinced eyes glaring at him as she goes. He just offers a nervous little chuckle and follows her on in.

Sonic dashes to the side of the road to look for the 

Hansel’s to show up next since they’re likely not far behind, and sure as Christmas, he sees them turning onto their street a few moments later. He’s so excited to get to spend some proper time with JoJo since he was a bit too busy to at the event. She’s getting so big! More around Tails’ age than his own, but that just makes things more fun! Plus Amy was a member of the Handel family now, too, so she’d be attending as well. Sonic just loves when everyone comes together. It’s a big reason why he loves the Christmas time, especially now that their family has grown so much!

He remembers the times he spent sitting outside the Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady’s window, watching them turn on Christmas music and put their tree up while they danced around the televised fireplace.. how he’d dance with them in the cold outside, pretending he was a part of something so warm and lovely and merry..

And now he really is. It’s a miracle in his eyes. Something he’ll never be able to appreciate enough but sure as heck tries.

Rushing down the street, Sonic does some playful and excited laps around the Handel car before it pulls up into their driveway knowing that JoJo loves it when he does that. The car door opens once parked and Sonic is immediately darting up to greet them with an excited, “WOO WOO! Handel’s in the HOUUUUSE!”

Jojo laughs as she climbs out, high-fiving her cousin, “You bet we are! Ready to get our Christmas on!”

Sonic laughs and looks to his aunt and uncle with a polite grin and wave, “Heya Uncle Randall and Aunt Rachel.”

“Hey Sonic, you did good with the kids at the fundraiser,” Randal compliments, face still painted green from being Grinch-ified.

“Always do! The Grinch seemed to be a hit,” Sonic replies encouragingly even if he himself didn’t much care for the Grinch.. who the heck likes a guy who steals Christmas??? No one sane.

“Figured I’d bring some green into our colorful bunch,” Randal replies, shutting his car door and heading inside to wash the makeup off, “Gonna get back to being tall, dark and handsome now, though.”

“Just like I like him,” Rachel adds with a wink, Sonic chuckling at his aunt’s flirty antics. 

Rachel has mellowed out a lot since her first attempted wedding. Joining GUN seems to have brought her a better feeling of control in her life rather than chaos randomly popping up on her doorstep. She looks and feels more prepared for what the universe has thrown into her family— which happens to be a bunch of aliens. And despite her sassiness, Sonic knows firsthand that she’d put a bullet in anything that dared to threaten a single member of their family, aliens and all. They’ve all grown close. Trauma does that to people!

Amy piles out of the car after JoJo, immediately nearly knocking Sonic over in a hug. He chuckles at that, grunting at the impact before offering an arm around her in return, “Take it easy, Amy!”

“Sorry!” the pink hedgehog apologizes but doesn’t let go just yet, “I’ve just missed you guys! It’s been too long.”

“I was there visiting like— two weeks ago,” Sonic snorts with a rub to her back.

“I know, I know! But still,” she huffs and pulls back at last to grin up at him, bouncing on her toes a little, “I also think I’m just really in the Christmas spirit—“

Her brows furrow with a frown as she looks around then, “…Where’s Shadow??”

“Oh- he had some thing with the Commander to take care of,” Sonic replies casually.

“They’re not gonna send him away this close to the holidays, are they??” Amy huffs, looking very much prepared to take her magic hammer to GUN’s head of the answer is yes.

“No,” Sonic chuckles, shaking his head, “Nah. Rouge said it was just a meeting or something. Nothing more. They’ll both be here shortly, I’m sure.”

Amy’s smile returns at this approvingly, “Good. It’s his first Christmas on earth! He deserves it to be a good one!”

“Agreed,” Sonic winks with a thumbs up before ushering her and JoJo inside, “So let’s get inside and get started on unloading stuff from the shed  so we can be ready to decorate by the time they get here!”

They all contribute, forming an assembly line of sorts from the shed’s attic to the house. It all use to be in the attic, but then Sonic moved in and it was moved to the basement. And then Tails moved in and it was moved to the shed— except that’s where Knuckles ended up moving in next, so they added flooring to the ceiling of the shed to make a small attic. And that’s now where all their seasonal decor goes.

The line goes pretty quickly between Amy and Knuckles’ strength, Tails’ flight and Sonic’s speed. The humans of the family hardly even have to do anything, so they take to emptying and sorting the boxes so they can be returned to the attic for storage until the holidays are over.

By the time it’s all done and ready to be put up for decoration, Shadow and Rouge still haven’t arrived..

Sonic really wanted them to be here for the start of their traditions, so he tries to stall for a bit. Offering to make some late lunch before they get going. Everyone seems to know what he’s trying to do, so they don’t argue. Maddie and Amy whip up some sandwiches while Sonic helps JoJo with an assortment of fruits and veggies— which is a pain when a certain echidna keeps stealing the grapes.

It’s about when everyone is settling to eat that the doorbell rings, Sonic’s tail sent wagging and his feet carrying him to answer the call before the bell even stops ringing. Swinging the door open, he’s caught by surprise when he finds a tall Rabbit standing there with a child next to her..

“Oh, hello,” the older one speaks politely, her voice soft and sweet and immediately screaming ‘mother’ vibes, “I was going to ask if this was the Wachowski residence, but it seems we’ve found the place.”

Sonic blinks up at her before offering a smile, “Yup! That’s us! How can I help ya, ma’am??”

“We were actually invited here by Mr. Shadow,” she says with a slight knit in her brow, “I take it by your reaction, you were not informed.. if we’re going to be a bother, we can absolutely leave. It’s not a problem—“

“No way!” Sonic grins, opening the door wider to allow them inside, “Any friend of Shadow’s is a friend of ours. Come on in!”

“Oh, thank you so much,” the mother smiles politely, ushering her daughter who has been hiding behind her skirt throughout the interaction, inside, “Come along, Cream dear..”

“Cream??” Sonic asks, that hitting a familiar string inside him. Shadow had rescued a young Mobian a few weeks back.. said she had a mother that he was trying to find and reunite her with. The kid’s name was Cream. By the looks of it, Shadow had managed to reunite them before the holidays! He’s so great..

The young rabbit peeks out at Sonic when he says her name, the blue hedgehog closing the door behind her with a welcoming smile. She seems real shy.. maybe a bit scared at their new environment. It’s hard being transported into a new world.. especially all alone. Sonic is real glad she found her mom..

See??? Sonic really needs to kiss Shadow for stuff like this, right?!

“Heya, kiddo, I remember Shadow telling me about you..,” he smiles as he crouches down to her level, “Said you were real brave.”

“Thank you, Mister,” the tiny rabbit replies shyly and ohmygodhervoiceissohighandcutewhattheheck—

“Call me Sonic,” the hedgehog winks.

“Okay, Mr. Sonic,” she nods and Sonic’s brain glitches and his heart flips. She’s so cute, hemustprotectheratallcosts.

Sonic chuckles at this, standing up again to hold a hand out to the mother now, “I’m real glad Shadow was able to find you for Cream. He told me about her back when she first got here..”

The mother shakes Sonic’s hand with a bittersweet smile, “Yes, I’m so grateful for Mr. Shadow’s heroism, he returned my sweet baby to me, and I’ll never be able to repay that.. I am Vanilla, by the way.”

Sonic smiles and nods, “Cream and Ms. Vanilla. Sweet names!”

Cream giggles at that, seeming to get his joke. Sonic just grins a bit wider at the child’s precious laugh. 

“We’re having lunch right now. You’re more than welcome to join us! I can introduce you.”

“That would be very pleasant, dear, thank you,” Ms. Vanilla replies all sweet and warm and yeah. She’s got them mom-vibes. Strong mom-vibes.

Moving to the kitchen and dining room where everyone has formed a little line to fix their plates, Sonic raises his hands to make an announcement, “Everyone, everyone! Eyes on the blue hedgehog!”

Everyone looks to them then, a mixture of confusion and intrigue and welcoming friendliness on their faces as they take in the two newcomers.

“This is Ms. Vanilla and her daughter, Cream,” Sonic explains as he gestures to the two, the mother nodding her head with a polite and subtle curtsey, Cream offering a tiny and shy wave from behind her mother’s dress, “They’re friends of Shadow’s and will be joining us for the festivities! So everyone give them a big Wachowski-Handel welcome!”

“Welcome!” they mostly all say in unison.

Except Knuckles. Who says something weird like “It is an honor to be your host on this fine evening, madams.”

Which is overkill, as always, but Ms. Vanilla seems to find it endearing so whatever.

Maddie is immediately moving to welcome the two properly, introducing herself and her husband to their guests and automatically chatting it up with the rabbit. Maybe they’ll be good friends! Sonic is sure Maddie wouldn’t mind being friends with a fellow mom of a Mobian. Maybe Vanilla can give her tips— not that Maddie needs them. She’s an awesome Mobian mom.

Amy introduces herself as well, seeming intrigued by having another female Mobian around. Her and Rouge have been pretty outnumbered, so this’ll help even things out. Amy seems to take to Cream specifically pretty well and pretty quick, crouching down to talk to her and getting the little rabbit to come out of her shell a bit. 

It’s sweet.

And all Sonic can do is wish Shadow was there to see it. See how he’s brought more people together. Added to their whacky family..

Where is he???

Everyone eventually finishes up eating and is sort of just standing around letting their food settle while they chat, but Sonic knows they’ll want to get back to doing Christmas things soon. He’s already sad Shadow missed out on making cookies..

They can make more once he’s finally there. It’ll be fine.

“Worried about Shadow?” Amy’s voice comes from his left, Sonic jumping just slightly since he had been staring out the window looking for his– boyfriend(?)’s arrival. He spins around to face her, finding her very caring and understanding expression looking right back up at him. She really was the one with the heart in the group.

“I just wish he was here,” Sonic admits with a sigh, glancing back towards the window, “It’s his first Christmas on earth, and I know that’ll be emotionally kinda… confusing for him.” Amy nods with a hummed, “Yeah.. His first without Maria.” “Exactly,” Sonic agrees with a nod, “I just really wanted to make sure it was perfect for him..” It’s so easy to open up to Amy. Something about her is so open and non-judging and nurturing. Sonic gets why Shadow trusts her so much. He’s often said she reminds him of Maria..

Sonic thinks he would’ve gotten along with Maria just fine if that’s true.

“Don’t worry,” Amy smiles and places a reassuring hand on his arm, squeezing it gently as she winks, “He’ll show up. This is very important to him too, ya’know?? He wants this to go perfect too.”

“Really??” Sonic blinks, seeming a bit surprised by this. Shadow has seemed relatively indifferent to Sonic’s Christmas talk. He never stopped to think Shadow wanted the holidays to be perfect too, he just– he was too stressed about making them perfect for Shadow.

“Mhm,” Amy nods, “He knows how much this means to you.. He wants you happy. You should know that.” “I do,” the hero sighs with a little blush, “His happiness is just so much more… I don’t know–” “Precious?”

“Yes,” Sonic agrees immediately, “That. It’s more rare and harder to come by. And his first Christmas on earth will be the foundation for every Christmas after. If this one sucks, he’ll never love the holiday..”

“Oh Sonic,” Amy giggles and shakes her head fondly at him, “You know Shadow is more open-minded than that.” “I also know he dwells on stuff,” Sonic mutters with a little frown, eyes drifting back out the window, “Even if he doesn’t let people know.. Things stick with him.”

Amy sighs at this, nodding in agreement before giving Sonic’s arm a gentle squeeze again and tugging him away from the window, “He’ll come. For now, he wouldn’t want you worrying over him when you have guests and festivities to tend to.”

Sonic allows himself to be tugged away from the window, quirking his brow suspiciously at her as a slow smirk grows on his muzzle, “Shadow put you on Sonic-babysitting duty?” “I’m not inclined to answer that,” Amy replies simply, not looking him in the eye as Sonic laughs in response.

They return to the others, and Sonic can only stall so long before they begin sorting through the decor and handing out jobs. The women will tend to the inside while the men will take care of hanging lights on the roof and in the yard. Sonic points out that that isn’t very ‘equal’ of them to send all the men out in the cold, but he receives a few too many feminist glares and decides to let it slide.

They get on the lights outside right away, wanting to get them up before the sun goes down since it’s setting early these days. Tails works on untangling them and Sonic runs nails and tools around to whoever needs them. Randall and Tom are on the roof with Knuckles, holding lights in place and nails while Knuckles hammers them down with his fists. Amy comes out to tell him to lighten up on his punches halfway through though. Apparently he’s scaring Cream and the ceiling’s spackle is starting to give due to his overkill.

Sonic climbs the trees and tangles the lights through their limbs and all the way down their trunks to the ground. He also sets up lights down their driveway and along the bushes in their flowerbeds. It all goes by fairly quickly thanks to their abilities, Randall commenting that they need to all come to his place next and put up his lights.

They get the outside done just as 4:45 rolls around and the sun is beginning to get low..

Shadow still isn’t in sight. Neither is Rouge.

Knuckles approaches Sonic as the others go inside, both staring down the road as if expecting to see Shadow’s bike come rolling up or a bat to be seen flying through the sky..

“..You invited the bat, yes?” “Yeah, Knux,” Sonic sighs with a frown, eyes still watching the road, “I invited your girlfriend.” “I– she is not my–” “Save it, dude,” Sonic groans with a roll of his eyes, turning with a frown to walk to the house, “They’re both suppose to be here by now..” “Perhaps there is trouble?” “Nah,” Sonic shakes his head, “Shadow would’ve called or something. Chaos controlled here so we could help. It’s the stupid GUN Commander. I bet he has them working or somethin’..” “We could go rescue them from the Commander?” Knuckles offers, hitting his fists together. Always looking for a fight.

“No,” Sonic snickers with a shake of his head, “Shadow doesn’t like when I get involved with his work.. Besides, he can handle himself. So can Rouge.” “This is true,” Knuckles agrees, nodding as they enter the house again, “I am still deeply wounded that you would suggest I’d ruin my pure echidna blood by dating a bat.” “Dude, that almost sounds racist.” “It is not racist! It is simply a fact. I have a duty as the last echidna to repopulate this world with the finest warriors–” “FALALALALA! CAN’T HEAR YOU EW LALALALA!”

The women have gotten the fireplace’s mantel decorated as well as the doorways and the kitchen. The tree has been left untouched so far as well as the ornaments and snowglobes. Sonic can’t help but be grateful of this, knowing everyone has silently agreed to wait for Shadow for this part.

They continue with the extra decorations, leaving little Santa figurines everywhere and using white chalk paint to make it look like there’s snow on the windows. Cream likes this part real well, Sonic notices. She seems to have a knack for arts and crafts.

By the time 6:30 rolls around, it’s dark out and they’re all making hot cocoa and the kids are sitting down at the dining room table to work on ugly Christmas sweaters. Apparently each black sweater was hand-knitted by Amy and Aunt Rachel. Sonic didn’t take Rachel as the knitting type, but Amy was a good influence, he supposed. Sonic’s was red. Knuckles’ was dark green. Tails’ was light blue. JoJo’s was purple. Rouge’s was pink. Amy’s was light green. And Shadow’s was blue. 

Thankfully, Shadow had informed Ms. Vanilla that the kids would be doing this, so she had preparedly brought Cream an orange sweater as well.

The table was laid out with all sorts of crafts and materials they could sew and glue onto their shirts. From fuzzy craft balls to ornaments to battery lights to tinsel, they had plenty of options to choose from. Everyone excitedly got to work on their sweaters while the adults helped them out with hot glue guns and scissors and stuff. Mostly Cream since the others were pretty capable on their own. However, Sonic just sat staring at the empty seat next to him with the blue sweater laid out in front of it..

He didn’t really feel like decorating his sweater without Shadow..

Then there’s a knock at the door followed by Ozzy’s barking and a familiar voice.

“Hey! Down dog, it’s just me,” the bat giggles as she pets the excited pup jumping up on her.

“Rouge!!” Sonic excitedly jumps up from his seat, knocking it over in the process. Knuckles’ eyes shift up quickly to look at her. She’s all dressed up as an elf still from the GUN event, her makeup pristine as always. 

“Hey everyone, sorry I’m a little late,” she apologizes with a wave to the crew, walking into the dining room and looking over the table, “What’re we doin’??” “Christmas Sweaters!” Cream pipes up, having come out of her shell pretty well by now.

“Oh!” Rouge grins, seeming to recognize the rabbit upon hearing her voice, “Cream! And Ms. Vanilla! Glad you both found the place.” “Glad you and Shadow informed us we’d be having extra guests,” Maddie mutters to her with a playful quirk of her brow.

Rouge just smirks at this and shrugs, “What can I say?? We’re a little naughty.” Maddie just laughs at this and offers Rouge a welcoming hug, the bat returning it before Amy pipes up.

“I have you a sweater right over there, Rouge,” the pink hedgehog grins, pointing to the empty seat by– of course– Knuckles.

Rouge smirks at this, moving around the table and tucking in her wings as to not knock anything over, “For little ole me?? You shouldn’t have..” Knuckles makes a noticeable effort not to give her any attention and act as though he hasn’t even realized she’s arrived at all as she makes her way to her seat, even though his growingly pink cheeks tell a different story. He only acknowledges her when she pulls the chair out beside him.

“You save a spot for me, Knuckie??” she coos all flirtatious, sitting herself down to which Knuckles just huffs and keeps his eyes set on the fabric glue he’s messily using to attach a purple fuzzball to look like grapes on the front of his shirt, “The seating arrangements were not my doing.” “Mhm. Sure,” she winks only to pause when she feels a tapping on her shoulder. She turns her head and finds Sonic sitting on the other side of her looking very much like an excited puppy vibrating in his seat. “Can I help you, Blue??” “Um-yes. Shadow come with you??” “He left the same time I did on his bike,” Rouge answers with a little smile.

So he’s coming. Sonic breathes a sigh of relief and leans back in his chair.

This relief is short lived when Rouge discreetly leans back as well and mumbles only loud enough for Sonic to hear.

“He’s outside..”

Sonic blinks at this, looking at Rouge who isn’t looking at him and seems to be pretending she didn’t say anything. Which means Shadow must not want anyone knowing he’s out there. Anyone other than Sonic..

He wants them to be alone.

Sonic instantly has butterflies in his stomach, biting his lower lip and looking to the blank blue sweater that belongs to Shadow beside him. He only spares one more glance to Rouge’s unreadable face before he’s moving from his chair once more to walk around the table towards the door.

Very casually he remembers there’s mistletoe hanging on the front porch..

As nonchalantly as he can manage, he sneaks his way to the front door and slides out of it without a word, shutting it behind him and turning to look for his partner.

Except.. Shadow isn’t there.

“Shadow??” Sonic calls with a knit in his brow, looking around in the dark for the hedgehog but finding it a bit difficult to spot him in the night. Even with all the Christmas lights on, Shadow is pretty stealthy in the dark when he wants to be. 

“Shads, you here??” Sonic calls again, frowning to himself as he leans to look down the side of the house.. Nothing. Maybe Rouge meant he’s in the back yard??

He’s just about to dash around to the back when his eyes catch slight movement at the end of the driveway..

Shadow. Sitting on the curb by his bike. Back to Sonic.

Sonic’s tail immediately wags, a grin forming on his face as he speeds across the yard over to him. He pounces against his back once close enough, wrapping his arms around him from behind and hugging him with a laugh. Shadow merely grunts and is knocked forward just slightly at the impact, no other reaction.

“You’re here! Finally!” Sonic cheers as he nuzzles his cheek to Shadow’s and takes in his warmth and scent. Immediate comfort. 

Shadow doesn’t respond still. Sonic’s smile falters at that. He leans his head back a bit to look at the side of Shadow’s face. He’s frowning. Looks.. lost..

“Uhh.. Shads?” Sonic snickers quietly, a bit of nervousness rising in his voice now, “You freeze out here or somethin’?? I am hugging you very merrily, and you are not really matching my vibes right now, dude.”

Shadow blinks at that, eyes lifting to find Sonic’s as if he’s only just now realizing he’s even there at all. “Oh.” His lips curl into a small smile that’s not super convincing, but Sonic can tell the hybrid is happy to see him. Which is good. Makes Sonic a little less nervous about this, at least.

Shadow tilts his head towards Sonic so their foreheads press together, nuzzling Sonic lightly with his own and making Sonic’s heart melt at the affection. 

“Sorry. I was just lost in thought..”

Sonic hums at this, his own smile growing more fond and soft now as he settles down from his crouched position behind Shadow to his knees. Scooting around to sit beside him on the curb, he moves his head to rest on Shadow’s shoulder as Shadow continues to rub against him. His nose buries in Sonic’s quills and takes in a deep breath, eyes shutting as he keeps himself hidden there.. As if seeking comfort of some sort..

Sonic doesn’t pay this much attention at first, just basking in the fuzzy feeling he gets from it and lifting a hand to rest it in Shadow’s chest fur to rub there–

Only to then spot the small envelope in Shadow’s hands.

“What’s that??”

Shadow doesn’t answer. Just sighs and keeps rubbing against Sonic. “..Shadow??” Sonic prompts again when he doesn’t get an answer, chuckling quietly as he nudges Shadow’s chin with his shoulder to try and get him to come out from hiding in his quills, “Shads, I can’t talk to ya with you stuck in my spines.” “Mm,” Shadow hums, defiantly placing a hand on Sonic’s waist to hold him still as he speckles a tiny kiss to Sonic’s ear and makes the blue blur shiver.

A shaky breath escapes Sonic, eyes fluttering slightly as he feels Shadow’s teeth nibble lightly on the tip of his now burning ear. The blue hedgehog’s lips curling into a grin as his cheeks grow hotter..

This is it. He could just tip his head up and seal the deal. Kiss him for the first time since the bowling alley. Kiss him proper. The moment is perfect! They’re alone and Shadow is showing a rare form of affection right now and–

And Shadow is hiding from something…

Sonic’s eyes blink and look back down at the envelope in Shadow’s hands. 

Shadow continues his advances on Sonic.. He’s trying to distract him.

Sonic groans a bit and gently pushes Shadow back with the hand on his chest fur, Shadow looking at him with knitted brows and tilted head at this. “Did I do something wrong??” “No,” Sonic says quietly, voiced hushed and face flushed despite himself. He offers a little smile and lifts his hand to Shadow’s cheek now which the ebony hedgehog tilts into.

“...I just don’t want you to use us to hide..”

Shadow’s eyes blink at that, face looking guilty as they avert from Sonic’s emerald ones and instead look down at the envelope he still clutches..

Sonic looks down at it too. What could be in there that’s bothering Shadow so much?? “...What did Commander Walters want??”

Shadow sighs heavy at this, removing his hands from Sonic now but still staying close enough that they’re shoulder to shoulder. Touching.

After a long pause, Shadow doesn’t answer. He doesn’t seem to be able to. Instead, he holds the envelope towards Sonic, prompting the blue hedgehog to read it for himself.

Sonic stares at it a long moment, suddenly terrified of what’s inside. If it has Shadow acting like this, then-... 

“Do I have to open it??” “What??”

“Maybe we can just–” Sonic sighs, taking it from Shadow now and looking at Shadow with a little grin, “throw it away?? Pretend whatever it is isn’t there. Didn’t happen. Doesn’t exist.” “Sonic..” “No, Shadow!” Sonic snaps a bit unexpectedly, “No. This is your first Christmas here on earth! You’re supposed to spend it here with me, not on some stupid GUN mission–” “It’s not a GUN mission.” “I– huh??” Sonic blinks, the fire in him fading a bit at this news, “It’s.. not?” Shadow shakes his head, his hand resting on Sonic’s knee now as if to try and keep the blue hedgehog calm.

“..Then what is it?” This suddenly makes Sonic even more scared. If not a mission then what?? What has Shadow so torn up???

Shadow doesn’t say anything. Just nods towards the envelope.

Sonic frowns at this, looking down at the envelope, “I don’t wanna..” “Read it,” Shadow sighs quietly, head now leaning against Sonic’s shoulder, “...I need you to understand..” Sonic swallows hard. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want whatever is in here. Whatever is gonna change things for them, ruin their Christmas. He doesn’t want it. 

But he has to be mature right now. Grow up. Because Shadow needs him.. And he can’t just live in denial.

So Sonic does. He opens the already opened envelope and pulls out the folded up paper from inside.

Unfolding it, he holds it up so he can read it under the Christmas lights.

‘To Commander Walters,

I hope this letter finds you well. I, myself, am doing fine. My family is preparing for the holidays, and my daughter is recovering from her last procedure quite well. Thank you again to GUN for paying for all her medical needs..

I am writing this in regards to Project Shadow. I have been keeping up with the news, and it has come to my attention that the creature that once ran rampant on the ARK is now running free on earth. I’m sure you can understand why this would trouble me seeing as it is responsible for my sister’s death. Or so I believed.. When GUN’s Project Shadow files were leaked to the public, I did my reading. And I can not begin to express how deeply troubled and disappointed I am by how falsely informed myself and my parents were on this entire tragedy. To learn that it was not, in fact, my grandfather’s experiments that killed my sister, but instead was a GUN raid was incredibly shocking and eye opening. I now understand why we have been compensated so much. Not out of obligation or contracts, but of guilt. Not only this, but I have learned the very experiment that my family has blamed for all these years is innocent and confused and alone. From the footage I’ve seen, my sister loved him. And to think the very being she put so much time and love into is being used as a GUN operative, a weapon, is foul. 

I do not write this letter to reprimand you. So before you toss it carelessly in the trash, let me get to my point. After some time and discussion, my family has decided that we would like to meet Shadow. We want to know why my sister loved him so much, and if he loved her in return. I believe we deserve this if nothing more. At the very least, it may provide some long-deserved closure for both us and perhaps even him.

I have enclosed in this envelope an invitation I would like you to deliver to Shadow. 

You will hear from me again before the New Year.

-T’

Sonic reads it. Then he reads it again. Then he reads it a few more times and a few parts specifically.

His eyes are wide, brows furrowed as he processes all this. 

Then he looks back inside the envelope and indeed finds a more formal invitation inside on red cardstock with white snowflakes decorating the border.

‘Please join us for a 

Holiday Party.

Saturday, December 21st at 5:30 PM.

Hosted by Terra Robotnik’

There’s an address at the bottom. And a request to RSVP.

Sonic reads this. Then he reads it again. Then he reads it a few more times and then goes back to the letter.

Then his eyes lift to look at Shadow who is still resting his head on Sonic’s shoulder. He can see the knit in his brow.. The way his hands are clamped tightly together between his knees.

Sonic nudges his nose on Shadow’s forehead once, the black hedgehog grunting in response. But Sonic persists and does it again, Shadow lifting his head this time to look at Sonic and..

He’s scared. Very scared.

“Oh Shads,” Sonic sighs out in a whisper before wrapping his arms tight around the hybrid and hugging him close. His fingers pet down Shadow’s quills as Shadow leans into him and breathes all shaky and uneven. He’s close to breaking down, Sonic can feel it. He’s likely been holding this in all day.. 

Sonic holds him a long moment, not saying anything as his mind races and he lets Shadow calm down a bit. Seek comfort in his arms..

“I wanted to kill him,” Shadow says eventually, voice coming muffled and growled against Sonic’s shoulder, “When I found out he’s kept this from me… I nearly jumped him without a second thought.. If Rouge hadn’t been there-” “You wouldn’t have hurt him,” Sonic assures immediately, not wanting Shadow to even start thinking he was a monster, “..You were hurt. And rightfully so. This is-.. This is a pretty big thing to keep from you..”

Shadow sighs shakily, “..He seemed remorseful. But he also seemed confident in his choice to have kept it from me until now.. He said they needed to be ready first.” “How were they suppose to be ready when GUN had kept the truth from them for so long???” Sonic huffs, trying not to get too fired up for Shadow’s sake.

“I don’t know,” Shadow huffs right back, pulling back from Sonic now to look back down at the invitation Sonic still holds between them.. “...I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you have to go,” Sonic says without a second thought. “What??” Shadow blinks, looking genuinely surprised by Sonic’s response.

“I mean– you don’t have to,” Sonic quickly corrects with a knit to his brow, “..But I think you should.” Shadow stares at Sonic a long moment before speaking, “Why?? You read it, these people have hated me for fifty years. And rightfully so–” “Not rightfully so,” Sonic corrects again, holding up a finger to stop Shadow, “They were lied to and made to believe the ARK tragedy was your fault. Just like you were.” “It still was partially my fault–” “Bullshit,” Sonic calls immediately, not letting Shadow even speak such things, “Don’t let all of this throw you back to thinking that, Shadow. Don’t go there again.. You know better now. You’ve grown.” Shadow sighs at this, looking down a moment in thought before looking back to Sonic with a small nod. 

“Okay.. So even if it wasn’t my fault, they still have every right to hate me.” “Why??” Sonic smiles a bit as he says this, truly not getting it, “You’re you. You’re Maria’s walking legacy. You were her best friend. If she loved you, then why wouldn’t they–” “I am not her walking legacy,” Shadow corrects, a bit more edge in his voice now as his eyes narrow into a glare, “I am Gerald’s walking legacy. I– I am the walking reminder of a cure that never came for her. I am a failure. I am the reason she should still be here, and yet, I’m the very reason she’s gone!” Sonic’s eyes are wide at this, staring at Shadow in silence and taking in his words.

They don’t talk about the ARK tragedy a lot. They can talk about Maria. And they can talk about Shadow growing up on the ARK. But they don’t talk about the tragedy. It’s not allowed. Sonic doesn’t dare bring it up, waiting for Shadow to be ready..

Seems like Shadow is going to have to be ready now whether he likes it or not.

“Shadow..,” Sonic hushes gently, his hand resting on Shadow’s cheek as the hybrid breathes heavy and almost panicked. He rubs his thumb along his muzzle, trying to calm him as he watches Shadow’s teary eyes flutter shut..

“I’m sorry..,” he whispers to Sonic, apologizing for his outburst, “I’m sorry, I just–” “You’re wrong..,” Sonic whispers back, brows knitting, “I hate to tell ya that, but you are.”

Shadow just frowns at this, opening his eyes to look at Sonic now. And Sonic can see his determination, his rising self-loathing. But he doesn’t give him the chance to argue.

“You are her joy. Her smile. Her laughter. Her rage. Her calm. Her strength. Her understanding. Her heart,” Sonic explains softly, his hand moving from Shadow’s cheek to his chest to rest over his heart, “... Shadow, you’re her hope. And you prove that every day by protecting her world.. I don’t look at you and see Gerald Robotnik– I don’t even look at you and see Maria. I look at you and see you.” Shadow takes in a sharp breath at that, a small tear falling from his cheek that shatters Sonic’s heart. Sonic immediately wipes it away and returns to cupping his cheek so he can wipe away any more that may fall.

“You are all of you. But I won’t ignore that she’s the majority of the reason you have the morals you do.. She taught you to be all these things that you are. Not a monster. Not an experiment. Not a failure. But a light. A living being. You’re someone… And I don’t think Maria would care who you were as long as it made you happy.. I think that was her whole point in her promise, ya’know?.. To make you understand that living is a gift.. And just by doing that, you’re no failure. You’re succeeding.”

Shadow stares at Sonic a long moment, Sonic wiping away each tear that the Ultimate Lifeform sheds. Eventually, Shadow sniffles and chuckles out breathlessly, “She would’ve loved you.” “And she did love you,” Sonic points out with a soft smile, “...And they will too.”

Shadow shakily sighs then, nodding and looking away as he wipes his own tears now with a few sniffles, “Okay..” “Okay??” “Okay,” Shadow agrees with a nod, “..I’ll go.”

Sonic grins immediately, “I’m real proud of you, Shads..”

“But you’re coming too.” Sonic blinks at that. “...Excuse me??” “I can’t do this without you,” Shadow admits as he looks back to Sonic, “..I’m asking you. Please.” Sonic’s brows knit up at that, “...Of course I’ll come, Shads. Where else would I go??” Shadow melts a bit at that, his head moving to slowly reach for Sonic’s, “Besides.. If I’m going to be having a, uh-.. family reunion,” Shadow chuckles bittersweet, “I better go ahead and introduce my boyfriend.” Sonic’s brain glitches. His eyes widening a bit and his tail wagging uncontrollably. A dramatic gasp escapes him, “Yousaidthething!”Shadow chuckles quietly, nodding his head as he squeezes Sonic’s hand, “I did.” “Youcalledmeyourboyfriend!”

“You are.” “Iam!” “You are.” “Cool.”

(Art by the very talented and lovely @grim-hawkins 💙)

Notes: Terra (noun): the planet earth, of earth. I don't know how many of you played Sonic X Shadow Generations, but it was revealed in the game that Maria has a sister. I have been absolutely fixated on this fact since then. In the game, there's also a letter from someone with the initial 'T' who sends the remains of Gerald's journal to GUN. Some have theorized this 'T' is Maria's sister. I've ran with this and named her 'Terra'. Which was chosen for her by her parents who vowed never to lose a child again.. especially not to being kidnapped to space.

[4dkellysworld]

Be Not Discouraged

If you were working on a mathematical problem and came to the end of your process only to find you had made an error, you would know at once that you had not applied the principle correctly. You would not even so much as vaguely think the principle to be wrong. You would start over to solve the matter from the premise that the principle was absolutely correct, always has been and always will be, and that the problem could be worked out with ease when the principle was thoroughly understood. When you fail to make a demonstration of Truth, what do you oftentimes say? "Well I have tried and tried and been faithful, and for some reason or other, my problem does not work out." You are so busy with the problem itself that you have little or no time to go to the Principle, which you must abide by, and study it more closely and become more conversant with it. You spend all your time with the unsolved problem, hoping against hope that, after all, you can get through somehow. In mathematics, you simply set aside the wrong results which were obtained through misapplication of the principle and go to work at the beginning again. Or if you are not sure about some line of work, you go to the principle of the thing and refresh yourself, then start out with the positive knowledge that if you apply the principle correctly, the answer follows without question. If this is true in mathematics, it is infinitely more true in metaphysics. If it is true in solving the problems about material existence, it is infinitely true in solving the riddle of human life. Note this one thing: until you are thoroughly convinced that you are working to demonstrate an absolute Principle that is always perfect and infallible, you are likely to whine around over unsolved problems, spending most of the time in failure, instead of going to the fountainhead and increasing your understanding of the principle. Learn this: effect is not to be considered at all; seek only the causative side of existence. If a man offered you a loaf of bread or handful of wheat, your human sense would seize the loaf of bread, but your wisdom would take the seed. Why? Because the loaf of bread, while it would more quickly satisfy human craving, would soon be gone. But the seed is the substance of increase and would grow into unlimited possibilities, for there is no end to the result of one seed if properly planted. In a short time, the result of one seed could make a girdle of flowers or wheat around the entire world. You know all this - it is merely brought to your remembrance with admonition to "get understanding" and stop trying to gain material things. Once you have an understanding for the infinitude of substance, the material effect takes care of itself quite naturally. The harvest is plentiful; you can make it into flour and bread at will, or you can plant it again and increase the substance. Keep your thoughts away from the seeming material existence and let them dwell in the kingdom of Reality. Remember that you are not controlled by the human being side of your nature, but the God-being side which is the Soul, which is the Spirit that is one with the Father within and is a majority because of Its singleness. When a man begins to work on the inner side of his life, truly "the fields are white" with grain. A thousand ways open to him. Opportunity is not an evasive something but a sure thing, coming as often as man is ready to claim it. Form the habit of first acknowledging the principle you are working with as absolutely above change and as infallible. This is your premise, so whenever you fail to work out a problem, do not give a moment's consideration to the failure. The only thing that is wrong is your application of the principle, so go quickly to this principle; seek a better understanding of it and find out what you missed in your application and then work your problem out anew.

The Joy Bringer by Walter C. Lanyon

[munsster]

cropped

A/N: if i had a boyfriend i would simply cut off the bottoms of all of his shirts. it’s not toxic, im just a girl (gif creds: @lomlkeery)

Pairing: Walter “Keys” McKey x GN!Reader

Summary: You convince your easily flustered boyfriend to put on a crop top. 0.7k words

Warnings: a little bit of physical insecurity, fluff, kissing, pet names (sweetheart)

"Keys, get your cute butt out here! I wanna see."

Oh, but he's groaning through the door already. You had burst into the apartment parading an overzised bag full of soft cottons and light denim, dropped it at his feet, and declared you bought him a new outfit. And that he must try it on. You picked it out special for him after all.

"Really? I mean, it fits great, I just..."

You've been pining over his midriff since he yawned one wednesday afternoon, arms stretched high above his head, shirt riding up just enough to expose his navel to your wandering eyes. So, of course, you warmed him up to the idea of shorter shirts. Crop tops, to be specific. You know, like the kind Johnny Depp sports in Nightmare on Elm Street. Or Mark Wahlberg in that cheeky Calvin Klein ad.

Keys wasn't sure for a while, but he noticed the way your face lit up at the mere thought, and figured why the hell not. But now, he's staring down at the crop of this particular top and thinking this whole thing might've been an oversight on his part. The light grey tank is loose around his ribcage, the graphic on the front some generic athletic slogan.

I don't want you to realize you wasted your money on an outfit that's a little lackluster now that I'm wearing it, he thinks. Which is silly, and he knows that you like anything he has on simply because he's the one wearing it. But the thought still creeps in. He startles when you knock on the master bathroom door.

"You okay in there?" you coo, tapping your fingers gently across the wood.

"Yeah," he sighs, "yeah, I'm okay. Just..." Worried he'll disappoint you. Maybe he could try and squeeze through the bathroom window before it's too late.

"Can I come in?"

He gulps, tugging on the droopy waist of the jeans one more time before turning the lock on the door. You gasp.

"Baby, you look..."

Silly?

"Delicious!" you squeal, pawing at his waist and latching your lips onto his neck almost immediately. Your thumbs sink into his sides when you pull away, pupils blown and mouth just barely ajar. "You're a total stud!"

"You think so?" His ego's a little out of wack when you nod wildly.

"Keys, you're so yummy," you tease, "Just like Marky Mark." You grab his hand and tug him into the bedroom, stopping short of the bed, much to his dismay. It gets him all hot and bothered the way you cling to his hips and kiss his cupid's bow. You're the prettiest thing he's ever seen, and you're treating him like he's made of molten gold.

He can barely get a word out without a stutter. God, the way you make him blush should be illegal. He's complete mush in your adoring palms, wishing you'd never take your hands off of him lest he combust. Then, you slip your fingertips just under the waistband of the jeans and he hums.

"Sorry," you snicker, knowing exactly what you're doing to him.

"Shut up," he grumbles.

You draw your hands up the curve of his back, tracing the valley of his spine until he shivers. His cheeks are glowing hot as he pecks wet kisses across your jaw and cheek and forehead. You giggle and drag your nails down to the small of his back with a contented sigh.

"Thank you for trying," you admit. Your head bows low, suddenly shy under all the glory of his honeyed scrutiny.

"What d'you mean? Of course I tried, sweetheart. I'd try anything for you," he says. You pout.

"Mean it?"

"Hell yeah. As long as you ask nice enough," he says, holding your jaw and pressing his soft lips to yours in a chaste kiss. You curl your hand around his wrist like a darling threadsnake kissing his fingertips.

"So much access to your mid section," you say, voice frenzied and eyes wide staring hungrily at his faint happy trail.

"What happened to our anti-objectification economy? What about our morals? Our ethics?" he says. Clearly, he's joking but his doe eyes twinkle dastardly behind his glasses. You wind your arm around his waist and smack his ass.

"What morals?"

"Touché, sweetheart."

masterlist

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Ransom Drysdale

Summary: Your laptop needs repair and you're at risk of embarrassing yourself and the company in front of some very big investors.

Warnings: Ransom kinda being an ass. Let me know if I missed any.

A/N: Reader is female. No other physical descriptors used.

A/N2: I know Thanksgiving (USA) is next week but who cares about accurate timing?

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Previous

"What the he--what is 'Friendsgiving'?" Ransom quickly stops himself from saying the minor curse. You've been nothing but friendly towards him and he's been trying his damnedest to return that, including not cursing around you because you don't like that kind of language.

"It's an alternative to Thanksgiving, for those of us who prefer friends to family," you answer. "We get together at someone's place and we each bring a dish to contribute to the meal. You can do the meal like a 'traditional' Thanksgiving, with all the food at the table, but I'm hosting so we're doing it potluck style!"

"Potluck style?"

You think for a few seconds before explaining. You've learned that Ransom definitely didn't have the average upbringing and that it's very much a sore spot for him so you've been working on how to explain things without sounding condescending. It's actually helped you out in your presentations and meetings.

"The basics of a potluck setup is that it's like one of those all-you-can-eat buffets, but with homemade food."

"Okay, I get that," Ransom nods. He's been grateful for your willingness to explain these kinds of things to him but he's learned that, if he doesn't acknowledge that he's understood what you said, you'll just continue to explain. "But I can't cook."

"That's okay," you assure. "Store bought stuff still works. The point of Friendsgiving is to have fun, not nitpick each other's contributions." Ransom huffs a little at that, thinking of all the Thanksgiving meals that devolved into fights about who's personal chef was better. "Seriously, my stuffing is always just Stove Top, from the box. You can just bring some cookies or a pie from the store and that'll work!"

"Thanks," he mumbles. He's fighting putting up his usual cold demeanor to hide the fact that he's ashamed at his lack of cooking skills. A part of him is pretty sure you're genuinely not judging him, but you can't undo decades of emotional abuse after just a couple years. Still, he's been trying and you've been very helpful in that. "So who else will be showing up?"

"If all goes well, Spitfire and a few other friends of mine, whom you haven't met yet." Ransom winces at that. "What? Do you not like them?"

"I...I don't think Spitfire likes me," he confesses. "I...it was stupid of me, I admit. I made fun of her size. She was standing right next to Walter and their difference in size was just really funny to me."

"And so you expressed that in a very rude way?"

"Yes," he grumbles.

"Well then you should send her an email to apologize and make sure to do so in person at Friendsgiving."

"Will she be bringing Walter along?"

"If all goes well," you smile. "So do not bring up the fact that I told you about the dunce cap, please!"

Ransom gives you a smug grin. "We'll see, Bubbles."

"Nooooo! Pretty please, Ransom?" You give him your best playful pout, knowing he can't keep a straight face every time you use it.

Sure enough, he laughs. "Okay, okay. I'll keep the secret. That's what friends do, right?"

"Thank you! Can I hug you?"

He winces, "I...I'm still not ready for that."

"That's okay," you're quick to reassure. "Just tell me when you are so I can give you a giant koala hug!"

He smiles, "thanks."

To say Ransom was overwhelmed would be an understatement. It's not even that there were a lot of people at the Friendsgiving (they were greatly outnumbered by the fall themed plushies you'd used to decorate). It's just...they were all having a good time. No one had started arguing. No one was threatening to call the lawyers. Everyone was having a good time. Ransom was very much out of his element here.

His one comfort, if you can call it that, was the biscoff cookies on the dessert table. He'd noticed no one else was really eating them so he took that as an okay to indulge as he needed them. Yes, they were a reminder of painful family gatherings, but at least it had some familiarity for him. Something to help him keep his metaphorical feet on the ground since he couldn't get his bearing among these friends of yours.

Even Spitfire and Walter were the most cordial he's ever seen them. It felt like he was in an alternative reality. Worse than that, it was a reality he'd known was possible and wanted for himself, but he felt so out of place in it. It hurt because what if he couldn't actually handle the reality he'd wanted? Did he make a mistake getting away from his family? His only real distraction was the biscoff cookies.

There were a few times Ransom had to excuse himself to step outside for some air. The brisk weather always helped him feel better. The cold winds always felt like a smack to the face that helped him regain his senses. He really needed that right now.

After the second time you excuse yourself and follow him outside. "Ransom?" you get his attention. "Are you okay?"

He's startled out of his deep breathing and he quickly shakes his head. "I'm okay. I'm okay. This is just different than I'm used to."

"If it's too much, if you need to leave, I'll understand."

"Did I say I wanted to leave?!" he snaps, making you flinch. He immediately drops his face, angry with himself for his outburst. You're just trying to help and he can't stop being an asshole.

"You're not the only one who had a bad family, you know." Ransom doesn't look up. "I went no contact with my own family. I'm guessing for very different reasons than you did. At least, I hope it was different reasons. You know I wasn't even allowed to attend public school because my parents knew it was a brainwashing government institution designed to get you to worship Satan?" Ransom huffs.

"Anyways," you continue. "I know from experience it can take time, and work, to really shake what we're trying to escape from. And it can be very overwhelming for a long time. So just...just know that if you need to leave you can. I don't want you to think you have to stay. I want to confirm that you can choose to stay or go."

"Thanks," he mumbles.

"Also, let me know before you head out so you can take the rest of the biscoff cookies with you." He raises his head in surprise. "I got them because they were on sale, didn't know if anyone would actually be interested in them. You've eaten pretty much the entire box by yourself! Not a judgment, by the way. But now I know your favorite cookies!"

Ransom gives you a soft smile. "I'm not sure what I need to do right now. But I'm glad to know I've got options. Thank you."

"Any time," you reassure him.

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