#god i'm so glad i understand my brain a little better now

[astriiformes]

One thing they don't tell you about having raging undiagnosed moral OCD is that if you play a D&D character who is trying very hard to be a good person, they will accidentally get every single one of your Symptoms™ and years later in retrospect you will be extremely grateful your friends were willing to share a table with you

[fatuismooches]

I AM HAVING SO MUCH BRAIN ROT AUUUUGHHH

Just imagine with me for a moment... Insinuating that they have a crush on reader or like... that they want to kiss

Like the "Oh my god... You have a crush on me, that's so embarrassing of you!!" Or the whole "You wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid."

And both times it's funny because you're already together.

Reader says to Dottore he has a crush on them. Every single segment just turns to face them and their faces get red simultaneously. Over a dozen blushing Dottores just hiding it in various different ways as they go back to what they were doing but one thing is the same. All of their ears are bright red.

Or with Pantalone. "You have a crush on me, that's embarrassing." And be just... smiles. Tilts his head to the side. "I can assure you, I'm not embarrassed. Must I buy you another gift to prove that?" And Reader immediately has to explain, no, it was a joke, please stop spending ao much money on me. And yet, the next day they open their door to an entire basket full of their favorite things.

CAPITANO OML. Even insinuate he has a crush and he's even more silent than usual. He is a little embarrassed about it. Later, comes to Reader all worried that he was being too affectionate and it was too obvious when literally all he did was place a hand on their waist when he had to pass by.

AJSJKDJDNRN I LOVE THEM

🦚

THIS IS CANON. READER TEASES THEIR HUSBANDS NONSTOP.

The teasing isn't really anything new for Dottore and the segments, they've dealt with it for so long, dating back all the way to the Akademiya! You'd think they'd be immune to it by now, and well, they probably are for the most part, but you are the person who they can never always accurately predict for a reason. They love you for that but... it can be not in their favor sometimes. This would arise when Dottore tells you something along the lines of taking care of yourself better... something very much only ever afforded to you. This is TOTAL crush behavior, and you would instantly get giddy and inform him of his oh-so-embarrassing crush. The lab has never been so silent... save for your cackling, as the younger, more defensive segments deny it (for some odd reason) as the older ones stay silent ignoring the rising heat in their systems, while the original stands there, bracing for the oncoming headache.

And then Pantalone is just one irritatingly smooth man. You hate it and love it at the same time. Every single time you try to tease him he just brushes it off and returns it ten times harder. It stems from the fact Pantalone is very much aware of his love for you and proud of it - how could he not fall for a person as wonderful as you? Why would he ever be embarrassed? He accepts it wholly and he's more than willing to flaunt it. So declaring his crush on you just makes him double down more. In fact, he's very glad you're conscious of his crush on you. It makes it easier to justify the amount of money he spends on you without a second thought. Meanwhile, you're slightly regretting giving him another excuse to dish out more Mora but in the end, you just can't be mad at this man.

Oh, poor, poor Capitano... this little guy can't understand the joke at first. Are you making fun of him? Should he... not have a crush on you? Was that a bad thing? But you were laughing... he's happy to see you smile but at the same time, he is confused. He spends the whole day thinking about the encounter and what you could have meant by that. When he comes home all serious, you're initially worried for the worst but then he's concerned over him showing you affection. You vehemently apologize to him because you felt bad. After that, you always make sure to let him know how much you love him and how affectionate he is for you! You also always let him know it's okay to tease you back but... um, he is terrible at that.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Leah's Halloween Extravaganza: Butcher's Lane

(This was for Spooktober 2024! Prompt: skeleton & paranoia TW: cannibalism (as always))

*****

Butcher's Lane at night was a sight to see. The town council hadn't gotten around to repairing the lamps, so they flickered like the set of a horror movie, dying with buzz-filled screams. The streets reeked of piss, like a thousand terrified animals had urinated on it as they were dragged to their death. The worst of all, however, was what Butcher's lane was named after: the reek of butcher shops.

I ignored the grumbling in my stomach. How many days had it been now? 5? 6? The last of my water supply was dwindling, and they were growing more insistent on pushing their foods on me.

They weren't people, not like you and I. They ate the poisoned food with no problems, not even registering what killed you. It scares me, old friend, to see these things walking around wearing human skins. 

They recognise me as other, from the bones that poke out from my skin, from the growling of my stomach, from the blood on my cracked lips. I wonder if they understand that I know what they are, if they understand that they cannot convince me to fall for their trap, if they understand that the only way to take me is to pry my jaws open and pour that foul, foul food into my maw.

Gods, I was so hungry. It took everything in me to resist the urge to eat something, anything. I just wanted a meal. The half eaten burger sticking out of the trash was such a temptation, almost as bad as the rotting offal in the gutter. They were both tainted, of course, so I kept walking. 

Are you wondering, old friend, if I'm about to join you? Fret not. I will not succumb to being mere bones. Your precious teeth will not mingle with mine beneath the ground. I am better than that.

I kept walking, hands in pockets, all four of them. When I got cold, I interlaced mine with yours, stroking the exposed bone. The mimics in their disgusting butcher shops stared at me as I walked. It was almost as if they'd never seen a woman carrying a skeleton around, or as if they didn't know how to behave like a real person. My stomach growled at the thought.

All that meat in the butcher shop, cured ham and dried lamb and sausage links stinking like heaven. It made something deep in my chest shudder with lust. But- I wouldn't touch the fakes' tainted food. I kept walking.

Home was a little hovel at the end of Butcher's Lane. Something up there must have been laughing at me when it placed me there, right alongside the street full of diabolical meat.

Thinking about it made me glad you were nothing but bone. You were pure, unlike me. I'd tried to keep the taint from touching my flesh, but with it in everything the fakes ate, there was only so much I could do. I imagined it corrupting my flesh already, and shuddered in disgust.

But I heard you whispering to me. Your voice is like the sweetest of flesh, so tender and juicy and- Oh, how could I insult you by comparing you to tainted meat? You are bone, dry and safe and utterly unlike the delicious crunch-explosion of metal on my tongue.

I am listening, old friend. I hear you when you suggest that I eat. I know you worry, and I'm glad that you do. Truly, it warms my heart that you fear me wasting away.

But what am I to do? All the food here is tainted, and if I eat any food whatsoever, I'll end up tainted myself. Then who will be there to protect you?

Eat them? Are you out of your mind? That would destroy me! Why, they've got a higher concentration of toxin than anything else in this town! One bite of that tender, tender flesh, and I'd be shot to hell! Besides, it's cannibalism, and cannibalism is ‘bad’. I'm careful, not crazy.

Oh, I never thought of it that way. You're right. They aren't human, ergo eating them isn't cannibalism. That's so clever! See, this is why you're the brains of the operation. But still… what of the toxins?

Don't worry about them?! Of course I'm worried! Do I look like I want to die? 

I- Huh. I see. That… That might just be true, old friend. That might just be true. But if it isn't, it's my head on the line, not yours. Why should I risk it? 

Yes, of course I trust you. You're my best friend, the only one standing by my side against this horrid invasion. I'd follow you anywhere, you know that. Or at least drag your skeleton anywhere.

Alright, alright, you win. I'll go grab myself a bite of one of them. Which shop should I stop at? The butcher's? There is a certain irony to it, I must admit. I like it.

I dropped my old friend on the ground, letting their bones clatter unceremoniously. Brushing dust off my stained skirt, I strolled into the butcher shop. Immediately, one of them turned to stare at me. There was horror and disgust on his face, as though he were mimicking my expression. Fool thing: didn't he know I saw right through him?

“Hey there, mind letting me over the counter?” I batted my eyes at him.

He stared blankly, as though I'd grown a second head. I must admit, I should have been more careful about the whole affair. If he hadn't been so shocked by my hubris, I might have been in real trouble. “Miss, the shop's closed for the day. You have to come back another time. Please,” he added hurriedly, hands scrambling to find something. I had a sneaking suspicion it was a butcher knife.

Of course one of them would try to kill me. I launched myself over the counter before he could attack, fingers scratching and clawing at his eyes with ferality. “Die, monster, die!”

Righteousness must have lent me strength and luck in equal measure, for I overwhelmed him to the floor and caught his knife as it fell, plunging the tip right into his chest. A spurt of blood, red and luscious and oh-so-delicious, shot up, splattering my face. I closed my eyes and let his death coat me.

It felt so good to fight back. All this time spent fearing the taint, nursing that growl in my stomach, enduring the eternal hunger as it grew, and at last I was finally freed of my shackles. 

It was then that I let myself succumb to the hunger. I know, old friend, self-control is a key virtue. But just this once, I let myself go. 

I mean- how often does one get to feast?

My fingers dug into soft, loamy flesh, stuffing it into my mouth. I ate like an animal, tearing apart his ribcage, shoving my face in the cavity where all the organs, the good bits, were. I squeezed the stuffing out of his intestines and gulped them down. I sucked his eyeballs right out of their sockets. I ate and ate and ate until I was stuffed, and then I ate some more.

There was something luscious in the act, the devouring of a hostile being, taking them and making them yours. I loved it. I loved the waves of ecstasy that flooded me as I bit his throat, as I savoured the bile of his liver, and I straddled his violated corpse and ate his and my hearts out. I loved him, in that moment, loving my enemy wih a passion that I didn't know I had.

Old friend, old friend, was the start of my fall? That lying on the floor, clothes ripped and stained, panting in ecstasy, body pressed up against his corpse? Was that the moment the slippage of my sanity began, at your cajoling? Was that your intention all along, to tempt me into madness?

You traitor, tainting me deliberately, in a way I, so afraid of a different kind of taint, could never have seen coming. Oh, but you were right about one thing.

Insanity felt so, so very good.

Taglist: @coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@tragedycoded, @finickyfelix, @urnumber1star, @ratedn, @ramwritblr

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west, @differentnighttale

@evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms, @xenascribbles

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @owldwagitoutofyou, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

@riveriafalll, @the-golden-comet, @rascaronii, @trippingpossum, @real-fragments

@unrepentantcheeseaddict, @the-inkwell-variable, @paeliae-occasionally, @an-indecisive-nerd, @thecomfywriter

@seastarblue, @wyked-ao3

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Okay I finished the BOOK

YAYYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYA

God I need fanfics of Molly living with Giovanni now like T-T

AHGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH JUS

JU- AHHAHHSHHSHAHDJXBJBSKSJKZBSJS

Everything I ever WANTED

AND NOW THAT IVE FINISHED

My verdict on Lorelai:

I'm glad that whatever growth she may go through, Molly won't be suffering when she inevitably backtracks along the way. It'd be nice to see the two mend their relationship but it is definitely for the better that they've been separated.

I wanna see Lorelai struggle and grow but she shouldn't get anymore opportunities to hurt Molly, much less for the sake of her learning a lesson. So it's better this way imo

And now that Molly isn't there, Lorelai's gonna have to run the shop and learn her lesson through CUSTOMER SERVICE joining zuko and others in the redemption arc trend of becoming redeemed by dealing with bitchy people

I very much don't mind rotating Lorelai in my brain a lil more cuz I don't hate her. I want to bunt her across the room when she hurts Molly ofc, I will not retract my statements, but I hate HER FATHER more than her

Cuz her father has no excuse to be the way he is. I'll get back to Lorelai in a moment cause she is definitely NOT faultless, but HIM?? He enabled all of this. He never checked in with his daughters and was always so inconsiderate of them. AND HES A GROWN MAN! It's telling that Giovanni goes off on him more than he does Lorelai cause in the end, he did nothing.

Back to Lorelai, she feels like a very intentionally immature character. Immature and selfish in a way that contrasts with Molly when Molly is the actual kid. I mean, Lorelai is 17 and all but by that age you can fairly expect someone to grasp not leaving your 12 yr old sibling to suffer under responsibilities your supposed to share.

And Lorelai being immature I think is added to by her fear that she's the reason her mother died. And the grief in all that. I think it's a good enough reason to feel sympathetic for how she's spiraled into this unhealthy coping mechanism and separates her from her father when it comes to being a rotten person.

By the end of the book it still felt like she hadn't grasped WHY what she did was bad to me and I'm kinda hoping that was an intentional writing decision. The book shows how she doesn't grasp some things like what makes someone a genuinely horrible person and so for her to still not quite see how what she did was bad, feels fitting.

By the end of seemed to me like, she KNEW what she did wasnt okay because Giovanni told her off and she was confronted with the truth that, she wasn't the good guy. Yet knowing that didn't make her understand what her actions specifically caused. Despite. Molly telling her.

I want to look up shenanigans between Molly and Giovanni in fics but I also kinda want to see Naven and Lorelai's relationship with the steps she'll make to become a better person

So def a ways away from growing significantly but I like that Naven has stuck around offering his help should she accept it. I mean Giovanni did that too but Naven's role in her story hits HARD

[EDIT: God I'm embarrassed Naven only pointed out Giovanni's card he left behind, ONLY GIOVANNI reached out if she wanted to work on herself to be better BUT I STILL LIKE TO THINK SHE AND NAVEN KEPT IN CONTACT SHUSH he could like give her some tough love]

Speaking of relationships, idk about Giovanni x Lorelai

I mean I still think it could be cute, Lorelai's crushing scenes are hilarious as much as they are sad and envoke feelings of "I just want good things for Lorelai". I def don't think she deserves him rn but I do think that, since Giovanni hasn't shut down her becoming his minion in THE FUTUREE, when she learns to be good at being bad, she has a shot.

Though, it's still a little lost on me if Giovanni has figured out she has been crushing on him HARD. Like, he picked up on her cheating and bullying but did he pick up on any of the signs for her affection?? Makes me think she's gonna have a hard time in the friendzone if she became a minion. Not sure what Giovanni with a crush would look like either tho so.

I have a bit of a hard time seeing Giovanni crushing on her but I still think their dynamic is cute enough! Just dragged down by how awful she's been to everyone and HIS NUMBER 1 MINIONNN

but the more I think about it, I think it'd be great to see them as just friends. Like, getting on the level of best buds and Lorelai loses her crush on him. Both still maintaining the dynamic they had in that last fight with all the bantering cuz they are pretty similar

If they ever became romantic though. Like. Molly and Lorelai's relationship NEEDS to be healed and I think healed for a WHILE. I just can't see it working out otherwise. This would probably need to ring true if they were to become best friends too but EVEN MORE SO if they got mushy (as in the failed baking trials that would compromise 40% of the time they would hang out. Love language quality time)

Anyway

Ngl I already got my own angsty ideas for Lorelai because self hatred + not wanting to be the bad guy is such a delicious combination of traits that contradict each other yet still exist never the less

I wonder how Lorelai reacted the morning she realized Molly was gone and gone for good. I'm betting she at first believed she'd be hanging out with her friends and would be back. Then a day passes. Then another. And another. She asks her father if he's seen Molly and is reminded he doesn't care. I wonder if she confronted Naven about where Molly was, if she'd at first lash out when he doesn't tell her, and that reminds her why this happened.

She probably couldn't wallow in self pity for very long since she'd be working now, but still vry interesting how it'll play out

[grape-eating-vampire]

alright, it's done. i finished it.

this is the third and final part of things that happened in my first bg3 playthrough ever that I found so funny that I put them in my notes (spoilers below)

let me start this by saying I have only cried twice in the 155 hours it took me to complete this shit. however, I have almost-screamed at the characters more times than I'd like to admit. but first here's stuff that happened since the last one of these posts I made:

after killing Orin I went around Baldur's Gate for a while and did odd sidequests, including

clearing out a haunted house and sidelining to kill a stinky man in a wardrobe (and drag his body to a guy two streets over)

entirely ignored Gale's quest to look at a book because I kept getting arrested there after having killed the boss mage guy

I also foolishly though this wouldn't have any consequences. oh boy was I wrong

went to see a underwater prison, got told off by Gortash, decided to explore it after killing him, and promptly forgot to do so

killed Gortash! fuck that guy the only good thing about him is his fancy robe

tried to recruit a dragon called Ansur, found out the emperor is Balduran (????????? honestly I was shocked)

killed said dragon and felt like I was playing skyrim all over again

found a letter ("Dear Ansur") by Balduran/the Emperor. this was the first time I cried. I could still cry.

patch 6 came out! that was yesterday and I spent about 10 minutes trying out new kisses and sitting on Shadowhearts stool in camp (she now says "I'm glad you decided to join me" or something like that when you do)

went pretty much straight to the underground pool thing where the brain was supposed to be

failed abysmally to Dominate The Brain™

got pulled out by the emperor and had to start beef with Lae'zel because I had also forgotten to care about Orpheus and the hammer from the House of Hope

admittedly, I didn't really forget, I just didn't want to spend any more time with Raphael than I absolutely had to

my +14 persuasion saved the day once more and Lae'zel was fine with the one hope in her life getting his brains sucked out

went off to fight the brain once more. my game crashed twice trying to load that cutscene.

met all my allies! I forgot how many there were actually, and I only called on two of the groups later on

fought a lot. like a LOT lot.

got to the Netherbrain and kicked it's ass*

*had to reload about 3 times and try again because Minsc at level 12 was stuck on 100 hp for some reason and kept fucking dying

finally managed to kill the fucker! had Lae'zel deal the killing blow which seemed very fitting

more cutscenes, but this one actually didn't crash the game, I got to look at some beautiful unloaded walls and stuff instead

Lae'zel left right after we got to the haven. understandably so

remember how I ignored Gale's quest? well he didn't blow himself up like he inteded earlier, but he left to becOME A GOD????? I cannot fucking deal with this man

Karlach on the pier. this was the second time I cried, but unproportionally much so

Wyll left with her for Avernus, the little cutscene of them arriving there made me feel a bit better

Astarion had to leg it because of the sun (sorry)

Shadowheart didn't do much of anything during all of this, neither did Minsc, Halsin or Jaheira

decided to go help kids with Halsin, seems to fit my character (eventhough I really didn't roleplay so much)

we got an epilogue! yippie!

caught up there with everyone, except Lae'zel (who was there via the fantasy version of zoom) and Gale (who was there via the fantasy equivalent of a voicemail)

tried to hug Gale, couldn't, almost cried again but managed

also met a tressym who I recognized from fanart as Tara. I don't know why she was there, we never met her before and Gale hadn't mentioned her either

read a LOT of letters the party had received. barely kept my composure at the Gur's letter to Astarion

Withers did a cool speech and the game ended

after all of this and so much more that I didn't take notes about, I can confidentially say that Baldur's Gate 3 is the best video game I have ever played, and within it's genre my favourite ever!

I'm also emotionally devestated, especially after these final parts (but in a good way)

that's all, thanks for reading!

[one-idea]

HIII it's me again :D glad to hear you're doing well!! I hope life is being kind to you <3

of course, take your time to get to this part of the story!! I hope you end up liking sabo as well !! and get ready for the heartbreak of marineford... no really, get a few tissues because there are gonna be tears

coming back to the au, your ideas continue to amaze me, I swear I had this exact expression of shock 😲 reading everything, ITS SO GOOD !!! it's very in character for whitebeard to want to take responsability of blackbeard's actions and appear to help luffy, and of course shanks is going to help his boy (also, don't wanna spoil too much, but he gets there late for reasons and IMAGINE him seeing he failed to protect the sweet boy he was confident would become the new king of the pirates, that he passed his precious hat to... he'd be blaming himself so hard and I'm here for it!)

now that's pretty much what happens in canon, but throw in the revolutionary army in the mix?? PERFECTION !!! of course Dragon would want to save his son, so it'd make sense for him to send some people to help, and who better than the boy he trained himself, sabo? there's no way that could go wrong, right ^^ (it's going to go terribly!)

the idea of sabo meeting with his brothers but not recognizing them... acting like strangers... then gaining back his memories... being right there seeing with his own eyes when it all goes down and not being able to do anything about it, to save his little brother (who he's just starting to remember is his little brother at all)... and worse, thinking he lost BOTH of them at once, right when he got his memory of them back... I'm going insane just thinking about it !!! the guilt this boy feels in canon is already off the charts, imagine in this scenario in which he was THERE and still it didn't change a thing and his baby brother died right in front of him??? he's gonna be consumed by it, probably won't feel worthy of daring to show his face to ace after everything and trying to isolate himself to wallow on his guilt and self-hatred... we love emotionally unstable blorbos in this house!! god help koala and olivia who will have to deal with this mess. and then sabo and ace will have no choice but to meet in dressrosa and that's! gonna be fun! not for them... but for us it will!

THE KOBYFICATION OF DEUCE. YOUR BRAIN IS HUGE!!!! THIS IS GENIUS!!! deuce running his anti marine propaganda newspaper is so important to me... him joining the revolutionary army... it's everything I could ever ask for... and the acedeuce beloveds... with the added bonus of that awkward moment when your coworker/boss is your crush's brother AND your crush's mother figure is also your coworker and hears you gush about him

isuka mention !!! she's such a cutie, glad to see she's here too !! also her taking the role of ace's marine rival is just perfect

sorry I got way too excited with this but your au is just way too amazing <3 thank you once more for sharing your ideas!!

🐝

I’m so sorry I took so long to respond to this.

I’m very afraid of getting to Marineford. My mental health can’t deal with the stress at the moment.

But yes you get it. Sabo and Ace working together to save Luffy without realizing it.

Like Ace just wants to get Luffy out of Impel down and this masked loser is slowing him down. How dare he!

Meanwhile Sabo has the biggest headache (particularly from his memories trying to resurface) because Ace is the most reckless person to ever live. He’s going to get them caught! Stop attacking everyone!

These two just can’t work together because Ace is in panic mode and this person who is only here to save Luffy because Dragon sent him can’t possibly understand the stress Ace is under. How important Luffy is.

Sabo (at the time) doesn’t get it. He needs to get his bosses son out of here. He gets that his adopted older brother is emotional but just calm down and think!

Later Sabo, with all of his memories will look back at this time and wonder. If I had let Ace rush it. If we were both fighting desperately for our little brother, could we have gotten to Luffy in time?

Even later when the meet at Dressrosa and Ace puts together just who the Masked loser in impel down was. When he realizes it was Sabo who “slowed him down” (kept him alive!) he has no idea how to feel. Enraged (why didn’t Sabo care about Luffy) confused (this couldn’t be their brother) desperate (one of his brothers is here, he’s not alone) upset (where was Sabo the past two years? Past 12? Ace needed him! Luffy needed them!) and fury (Luffy will never get to be with both his big brothers every again. He died think Sabo was gone)

Needless to say Ace has a lot of BIG feelings the day Sabo walks back into his life.

Back to Deuce!

I love him so much. His anti-marine paper is so important to me to. Like his dream is to be a writer. Let him write. Let him tell the world exactly what the Marines and pirates do. Let him tell the world about liberated countries and the injustices of the world government.

People say he’s afraid to show his face and that’s why he wears a mask and uses a fake name. But Deuce has never been more himself. He’s never been truer to himself than when he goes by the name Ace gave him.

He tells everyone how amazing the reverse strawhats are. And you best believe when Ace’s lineage gets out he’s writing about not only Ace’s character (how he saves people because he wants to, how no man should be judged by who their father is) but he’s doing his research on the original pirate king and just destroying all the lies the world government circulated about him. The public conscious changes. Roger’s wasn’t a horrible person, in fact he helped a lot of people. And even if he wasn’t should they really hold a son accountable for his father?

(This is after Luffy’s death and you best believe Deuce dragged the Marines for filth over that. The public knows Luffy as a 16 almost 17 year old who never left his home island. Sure he was a bit wild but everyone liked him. He never hurt anyone. And yet the government killed him because of what his father, who he never met, had done. Deuce ran them over the coals. He couldn’t stop what happened at Marineford. The revs wouldn’t even let him go to fight (he was to important by then) but he’s not going to have the last picture Ace has of his little brother be the one the papers ran with Luffy dying in Ace’s arms. Every piece he writes about Luffy he tries to find an old photo from Dawn island or Dragon’s surveillance to attach to the article. It drives home that he was just a boy, while also giving Ace new picture of his precious brother to cherish.

Speaking of Acedeuce. Deuce suffers those two years Nico Olive is there. It’s already awkward enough that Sabo, who has heard him talk about how down bad he is for Ace for two years, turns out to be Ace’s brother. But Nico Olivia? He never knows peace.

On one hand it’s nice. She helps him write his pieces about Luffy. (Ace told a lot of stories during their 3 years together) in exchange she gets a nice copy of every picture they find of Luffy and Ace from Dragon’s surveillance (he definitely had people watching over his boy) she collects them to give to Ace when they reunite.

On the other hand, she is relentless. Constantly teasing Deuce about his crush. (She’s met him before. In the early days of his paper before he was recruited by the Revs.) constantly asking when he was going to ask her captain out? When the wedding would be? Should he be joining the crew once they were official?

Deuce thinks she’s just teasing him. And he could live with it, if she didn’t make it sound like Ace wanted him to. (Baby is in hard core denial that his feelings could be returned)

Nico Olivia does not see herself as cruel. She is asking honest questions. To her (and the crew) Ace’s crush on Deuce was obvious. The question was never Ace’s feelings but Deuce’s though Olivia knew from the way Deuce wrote about Ace that he must have feelings for her captain, it was nice to have it confirmed by the other Revs. (Koala makes fun of Deuces crush at all times, especially now that it makes Sabo squirm because that’s HIS big brother they are talking about!) to Olivia she can’t see why the two boys wouldn’t get together. (After Ace has had time to grieve and process his loss of course)

Her captain deserves good things. He early lets himself want, believing he does not deserve the goodness of the world. Olivia violently disagrees. She wants her boy happy. And Deuce is a great young man who would make her boy happy. Sure she might be a little pushy, but she’s not getting any younger. Excuse her for wanting to see her kids get married before she dies. (She’s not dying anytime soon, but she will use guilt to her advantage if it will make these two knuckle heads get it together sooner rather than later)

[heartsoji]

cherry pop

kunimi akira x reader

summary: you, a volleyball player, are getting advice from your also volleyball player boyfriend, kunimi akira, on how to gain muscle.

a/n: akira is criminally underrated i actually love him sm wtf why does no one talk abt him

warnings: a lil suggestive? but not rlly just some kisses &lt;3

"this is actually so nasty."

you'd been chewing on a piece of beef sausage for a solid minute now, and you couldn't bring yourself to swallow it. it was too big and like.. meaty? damn the taste was getting overwhelming now and you wanted to spit it out.

"you're the one who asked how to build muscle. you gotta have protein after working out. would you rather have my protein peanut butter powder on ezekiel bread instead?" he smirked, getting down to your eye level, knowing how much you hate the texture of peanut butter.

you pouted. "you're so cruel."

"you asked. i'm helping."

you rolled your eyes before finally managing to swallow that last bite of beef sausage.

"bleh. that was getting really gamey. i need something sweet to wash it down, ugh." you spit.

"you have such a sweet tooth, you know that?"

"you say that like it's a crime! i just like sweets, is that so bad?"

he chuckled. "don't worry y/n. i've got you and your sweets kink."

"it's not a kink!"

"yeah, yeah."

you scowled and turned around, arms crossed, eyes closed, when suddenly, you were met with a cold, wet, sensation.

"AEEEE! oh my god-AKIRA!"

he batted his lashes at you. "yes, y/n, dear? i've retrieved a can of soda to satisfy your desires.."

"don't press it to my cheek like that, its so cold!"

he laughed. "kinda the point, babe. here, drink up."

his stupidly handsome face melted away your fake-anyways anger. you popped open the can and took a big chug.

"mmmm! that hits the spot! so good!" you said, savoring the sweet cherry flavor and the way the carbonation tingled in your throat.

"i'll never understand your obsession with that stuff. i mean, is it really that good?" he questioned.

"yeah!" you replied. you want a little taste?" you asked, offering him the can.

"yeah."

with that, instead of taking a sip from the can, he gave you a sweet kiss on the lips that made you melt.

when he pulled away, he licked his lips and sent you a look that sent shivers down your spine. "i kinda get it now. it is pretty good."

you ignored the racing in your heartbeat. "right?"

"and oh, hey, look!"

you looked around. "huh?"

"that cherry flavor was pretty good, but i like this one better," he said, cupping your cherry-red cheeks.

you couldn't help but laugh. you knew that if you told akira's team about this cheesey side of him, they'd raise their eyebrows and go, "huh? kunimi? no way, that's just too hard to believe." you were kind of glad, though. you got this version of him all to yourself. you stared up at him with a goofy lovesick grin.

"god, i love you."

he smiled in return.

"ok! now that you have something to wash down the sausage, how about we try my protein pasta?"

"NOOOO"

lolol my brain when the big meaty sausage came up resisted the urge to make my first spicy post(even though i'd probs get embarrassed and erase it after bc i know myself well enough to know that there's no way i can write anything more than slightly suggestive)

[khaleesiofalicante]

I am sending this, to again specify you are a gem!

You mentioned "Internal locus of control" in your latest LDV chapter. Reading it made something switch in my brain. Understanding how Max thinks and how it affects his personal worldview, made me realise something in my own thinking process.

So, as any sane person, I brought it up to my therapist during my session. I gave a small backstory about the author (you) and the character it was mentioned about. My therapist and I discussed a lot about my internal locus of control and how it subconsciously affected my thought process. I saw myself in Max in that one particular scene. And! Because of this, my therapist made me venture into a different aspect of my internal self which was a huge step in my self-help therapy.

Again, thank you.

(I want to ask your permission if I can send a PDF of TLND to her. I think she might enjoy it.)

Thank you so much for sharing this with me. This kind of feedback is helpful in more ways than one!

I remember second-guessing this a little bit when I wrote it. As you know, I like including stuff like this in my fics, but I always worry if it gets "preachy" at some point, so when I was editing the chapter, I really considered cutting it out.

But then I remembered how much it helped when I learned about this (I was 17) and I had a heavy internal locus of control and now mine is pretty much balanced. So, I am glad it led to some introspection for you as well.

I'm a firm believer of the fact that some of these 'things' we know but don't know how to explain or conceptualize really help us understand ourselves better. Like the whole "omg I didn't know it was a thing!" or "I didn't know there was a name for it!" is such an 'oh' moment and we definitely need more of those!

I'm glad this was helpful to you and I'm even gladder that you shared this with me. I'm sending you a lot of strength for more self-discovery and healing 🩵

And of course, you can share TLND with her. Tell her I said 'good luck and god bless'.

[fritextramole]

leave me standing in the hall or let me enter?

part 5 of a Dan Humphrey playlist - best heard in order

tracklist and quotes under the cut

Boom Went the Boom ~ Joe Glazer

The wolf don't bother any more He starved to death right by my door

Alien Blues ~ Vundabar

I only talk to dogs because they don't understand me My teeth are yellow, hello world Would you like me a little better if they were white like yours?

Bum Bum Bum ~ Cass McCombs

They say, "Buy when there's blood in the streets Even if the blood is your own" So they employed men far away To turn against their home Centuries in the distant mist But it's not a dream No, it ain't no dream, it's all too real How long until This river of blood congeals?

Brazil ~ Declan McKenna

What have I become? I'm the face of God, I'm my father's son

Hold Me My Daddy ~ XTC

If this means war, why are we in it? Might've fired off a couple of rounds, I didn't mean to begin it. If these are the bullets that every father and son must chew, Well then hold me my daddy, I forgot to say I love you.

Ghosting ~ Mother Mother

I won't make noises in your stairs I will be kind and I'll be sweet If you stop staring straight through me And this is why I have decided To pull these old white sheets from my head I'll leave them folded neat and tidy So that you'll know I'm out of hiding

Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land ~ MARINA

I am not my body, not my mind or my brain Not my thoughts or feelings, I am not my DNA I am the observer, I'm a witness of life

Don’t Shut Me Down ~ ABBA

I'm fired up, I'm hot, don't shut me down I'm not the one you knew, I'm now, and then combined And I'm asking you to have an open mind (and I won't be the same)

Something In My Eye ~ Matt Berry

But here I am Grown I've come so far Alone I count the days Until I see you again

How Soon Is Now? ~ The Smiths

How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am human and I need to be loved Just like everybody else does

My Own Worst Enemy ~ Lit

It's no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy 'Cause every now and then, I kick the living shit out of me

Freakin’ Out On the Interstate ~ Briston Maroney

I'm walking back to my favorite place And I can feel them staring at me Baby, do you think I'm doing something wrong? And you got a lot on your mind And your heart, it looks just like mine

Kiss Me (I Loved You) ~ Father John Misty

I loved you I heard everything about you And maybe half of it was true

Arms Unfolding ~ dodie

hope i'm not tired of rebuilding cause this might take a little more i think i'd like to try look at you and feel the way i did before.

You Only Need You ~ Tom Rosenthal

You'll get me if you need me and you'll be fine if you don't You said it was arranged by love You have a lot of love to give out

Hello Stranger ~ Julia Holter

If you're not gonna stay Please don't tease me like you did before Because I still love you so

Night Terrors ~ shinigami

Growing up time moves faster than I can Sick and tired of lying to myself I cannot fucking stand this I'm sick of fucking standing On my own, on my phone

Mad World ~ Gary Jules, Michael Andrews

Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me "Hello, teacher! Tell me, what's my lesson?" Look right through me, look right through me

3 a.m. ~ Gregory Alan Isakov

give me darkness when i’m dreaming give me moonlight when i’m leaving give me shoes that weren’t made for standing

Everything Is Free Father John Misty

Everything I ever done Gotta give it away Someone hit the big score They figured it out

Rest Awhile ~ They Might Be Giants

I got rid of my jackets and coats I threw out all of my pants I got sick of my stinkin' clothes I had to get rid of them I'm not yet considering replacing them I'm only glad to be rid of them

Daddy Sang Bass ~ Johnny Cash

singin' seems to help a troubled soul one of these days and it won't be long i'll rejoin them in a song

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Should Odd Acquaintance Be Forgot" Episode Followup, Part 1

Cue the kazoo trumpet! Our second part of our three-part finale is here!

Might as well jump right into it, so let's get going below the break.

(And just as a fair warning: like "Odd Ones In", this will be a multi-parter. Could be five parts, could be eight. Just bear with me.)

(A post-editing note: I was informed that Leonie is, in fact, a girl, and not a boy like I thought. I'm keeping the LGBTQ+ theory because we've already gotten gay triangle villain and they could extend that to child villains too, but keep in mind that Leonie is a girl and not a boy. That's my bad.)

Ohhhhhhh it's a Tasha episoooooooooooooooh nooooooooooooooooo.

Whatever happened to Mark writing it? Tim? Adam? Can we get one of them on here to send this season/series off with a bang?

"Another quiet day in the office."

She says, like she didn't just have to deal with three child villains.

A few- A FUCKING FEW WEEKS AGO??????

Oh, rest in pieces, you beautiful timeline. God is deader than deader than dead. It doesn't even make sense for the Terrible Three because they already have a plan and already have the shapes and it makes little sense for them to wait this long to enact it!

Now, see, if any character in this entire scene were Odd-Squad-savvy, they'd feel this like a red flag shoved in every bodily orifice. You'd have to have the IQ of a goddamn rock to think that the Terrible Three would willingly turn themselves in even if they didn't gather up all the shapes. (Which they did, but these agents don't know that.)

Hell, Orli is somewhat Odd-Squad-savvy! She should call Ozzie and Captain O both out!

"We locked them in the interrogation room."

One of the things that sucks ass about not having any sort of one-way listening device in there. You had that, you could easily listen to what they were saying and figure out their evil plan.

*slams table exactly three times*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

...Oh. Okay. Well, good. Glad someone here still has a working brain.

Now can you bop Orli's forehead and tell her that she could've had a [insert the UK's equivalent to V8 here]?

*long sigh*

Now why the fuck are we ping-ponging from smart to stupid?

Furthermore, can I yo Opie out of here because she is not helping the situation.

I WILL ASK AGAIN.

MAY I YOTE A CHILD.

MAY I YOTE A CHILD TODAY.

CAN I THROW ONE PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE.

I'LL PAY THE MEDICAL BILLS JUST LEMME THROW HER-

"I didn't give them anything dangerous, just the Goodnight-Sleep-inator."

Which, in those kids' hands, can be a viable weapon. Let's not forget what happened when Opal used the Nap-inator, and later the Slightly-Longer-Nap-inator, on Star Wipe, William Ocean, and Cardboard Carl in "Follow the Leader". Same effects, differently-named gadgets.

"Now, what's wrong with you? Lobotomy?!"

"...Appendicitis."

"Yeah?! Hahaha, no, Opie. Sweet Opie. No, you need a lobotomy."

"But...my append-"

"NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR INFLAMED APPENDIX. Orli...give me the IV needle, please..."

Honestly, this "I have a visual" joke is almost as unfunny as that bit in the beginning of "Odd Together Now" when the shields were at 001%.

Okay, so...the security computers here contain oddness, and these three shapes, when put into the correct slots, release it.

Do I have that stupid right?

Onom once again displaying his absolutely amazing insta-teleport skills, even in a time of crisis.

Man's got a gasping fixation so bad you'd think he's got asthma or something! Haha...haha...

...Aaaaaah...

...Oh God, wait a second-

"We have containment units here and all over town!"

Okay, here in HQ I can understand. But...out in fucking town?

I'll once again reiterate that I did this much better with The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy and sending odd stuff to The Odd Side, which is an alternate world that can be accessed by a gadget-made portal and not...y'know...something any random Joe can open in town.

Please make it make fucking sense.

...No. No, actually, I can buy this. Given how many sub-basements there are? I'd believe 100. In fact, the number almost seems too small!

(Also, this is 100% an iPad. Home button's a dead giveaway. Welcome back, Apple products in Odd Squad!)

I don't know why bro's surprised here. In the beginning, he got help from one agent and one agent only. Not a whole mass of them. Not anyone like, say, the Mobile Unit, which has four agents but still. No, no, he got only one. How did he think that would impact this precinct having less than 100 agents in any capacity? Going by that one OddTube Season 2 video (and don't ask me which, my mind is blanking), I'd think 100 agents is a base standard, a minimum number!

Though I can appreciate the parallels with Orli being the only employee in Niagara Falls bar her Director.

...Partly rescinding previous statement, because the point still applies but I paused before she finished with "...with us today".

If 100+ agents can't solve all that oddness in "Odd Ones In", that's either a failing on the Academy's part or a massively-shared skill issue.

She fights the high seas, but the high seas always win.

(Alternatively: "I fought the high seas, and the high seas won.")

I was about to make a comment on a third party before I sat on it for a minute and went "okay...if it's Captain O, maybe it's okay".

...Oooooooohhhhhhhhh.

That...doesn't really surprise me. Again, even without looking at spoilers, I probably could've pieced two and two together. Kids? Probably not. Me? Hell yeah.

As...opposed to telling the story right here? Is she worried someone's gonna skedaddle in when she has less than 100 agents?

That's silly, right? Right.

it's the end of the world as we know i-

*a pained scream through gritted teeth*

Okay, I can appreciate the 4chan Anon figures in the ba-

...Oh shit. That's one reference I'll regret making.

Coming from Orli, "we're in a hurry" sounds less like "we have to find what floor they're going to" and "we only got 7 minutes of episode left".

Clearly Ozzie didn't get the same training from the previous Director that Olive did, and really, if he had, it would have taken away so much hassle.

Running through five bosses in the span of a very short time, though, because of these three, is fucking insane. Again, we've seen that Directors can be meticulous about choosing their successors, which these four...weren't. Ozzie, at least, is somewhat justified because he likes helping people and he's got drive, so whoever his previous boss was made a fairly good choice in selecting him as a successor. But being a Director means that you really shouldn't quit because of a few bad apples in your employee base. Not many bosses in real life quit because of a few employees; most deal with the problem (in this case, perhaps by firing them) and remain in their position of power.

And speaking of, I hope this story ends with Ozzie firing their asses and yo'ing them out onto the streets. Make it be realistic, please.

I...okay...now, see, the booth and the fish and chips shop could have easily not been a thing if the HQ were entirely underground like we've seen in the past.

That being said...if they were a handful, how the fuck did they graduate from the Academy? What boss looked at them, pointed, and said "I got three empty slots, I want these ones"?

(That's a rhetorical question. The answer is "a very stupid one.")

THEY GAVE THE "RESKINNED" OHLM THE OHLM NAME SCHTICK????????

TASHA WHAT IN FIVE MILLION LEVELS OF F U C K ARE YOU SMOKIN' HONEY. STOP IT. STOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-

Ohhhhh...it's ironic because he's a villaaaaaaaaaaaa- look guys, it was either this or comment on how a bit of LGBTQ+ got in my reskinned Ohlm.

(On to Part 2!)

[gurokichi]

Oh my! I didn't mean to send that ask off anon,,, Doll thanks you so much for answering is anonymously- M' so sorry!!!

Good afternoon^^ There is no need to apologize for the later reply, promise! Dolly is just glad you got a good rest <3 So then you can give me more attention of course!!!

I haven't watched Bungo Stray Dogs yet!! I've heard many good things about it, and knowing you like it, I'll be sure to watch it and tell you all about my thoughts! It's definitely an anime I've been meaning to watch :3

Eep- Dolls simple little brain really does struggle with thinking,,, couldn't even do something simple like turn on anon still so embarrassed,,, I really want your attention but didn't quite expect you to know just who I was yet (III╥_╥⁠)

I am a possessive little doll and want all your attention but wanna be polite for you and I understand that Bon also has his god,, so don't worry I won't let it get tooo far! I'm not forgetting my place don't worry,,, I'm just remembering where you usually are~ trust me I'm still begging for attention and your little doll,, surely a doll can have some fun though hehe

Doll would Love Love if Bon posted more, your posts always make Dolly's day better <3

-Dumb Doll🎀

Ahah, I figured that was the case. You’re welcome, Dolly! No need to apologize. Just be more careful next time, yeah?

Good afternoon and thank you for your understanding, dear. I slept very well and can now give plenty of attention to my darling doll! How's your day been? What'd you get up to while I was resting?

Aaa, it's such a good anime. You'd really watch it, just for me? That makes me so happy!! My favorite character is probably Ranpo! He's a member of the Armed Detective Agency. You gotta let me know who yours is when you do watch it. I can't wait to hear what you think of it! Do you have a favorite anime, Doll?

It's good you have me to catch things like that then, hm? I can always help my dumb little doll out if they're struggling! No need to be embarrassed, although I was a bit surprised to see who my doll is. Wanna know something..? I've gone through your blog before you sent any asks at all! I found it intriguing, ehehe. You have such a pretty theme too. Does it please you to know that I've noticed you long before you even asked me to?

I assure you all my attention is currently on you, Doll. You're so sweet, wanting to be good for me. I don't think that my God would mind you too much, as it's not like you're trying to take their place. Hm, I see.. I guess I'll let my doll have their fun for now. I'll play along with you; dolls are meant to be played with after all! You're too cute not to indulge!!

Awh, really? You don't know how much that means to me, Doll. I hope that I can continue to make your days better! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[paytato435]

Chapter 9: Straight F*cking Sugar

Note: Prose in italics indicates events occurring in the bad future. (CONTENT WARNING: blood and injury)

Straight Fucking Sugar

“You’re bleeding, Casey.”

“I… yeah,” he didn’t even look down at his arm. It was probably fucked up, but at the moment he couldn’t bring himself to care. If anything, the throbbing pain was grounding him. He was still on the floor, staring at the carpet in front of him. Sunshine sat to one side of him, now looking him over with concern. Why was she doing that?

She hummed to herself and stood up.

“We need to get the glass out.” Yeah, probably. But Casey still didn’t trust his voice. He was still trying his hardest not to cry. Crying for other people? Fine. Crying with Leo over the end of 50 First Dates? Maybe a little excessive, but sure. Crying over himself? Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. That was pathetic. He didn’t deserve them. There were far more important things to worry about.

It took everything in himself just to breathe. Why was he so-

“Ah!” he flinched and pulled left, turning to look over at Sunshine, who now had a pair of tweezers in her hand and a shard of glass between the steel mandibles. He hadn’t even noticed she’d moved to get them.

“Sorry, I probably should have said something.”

‘It’s fine,’ he signed with his left hand. To his surprise, the musk turtle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure," she sighed before reaching out for his arm again. He forced himself to relax. It was the shock rather than the pain that had scared him.

'I'm sorry,' he signed as she dug around his scales to pull out the shards of his latest victim.

"I'm sorry too, I should have been out there to break it up sooner."

Casey shook his head. 'I was wrong.'

Sunshine hummed again, but Casey couldn't tell if she was agreeing with him or not.

"I’m sure they’ll be fine,” she said quietly. “They’re tough.”

‘I could have killed them,’ it was janky and fingerspelled while Sunshine worked on his right arm, but she seemed to understand..

Sunshine squeezed his hand gently. “They’re stupid. They have no one to blame but themselves.”

That didn’t make any sense. Even if she was saying that because Big Mama was listening, it would have been better for her to not say anything at all. Sunshine saw what he did; he was choking Rocksteady out.

‘Don’t lie.’

“You… you’re a scary guy, Casey,” she admitted. When he glanced over at her, she was staring at the blood on the tips of her tweezers.

‘Yes.’ He was supposed to be. He hated it, but he couldn’t lie to either of them.

“But I’m glad you’re here for me. Even if you have to be.”

‘No.’ She deserved a better friend. He’s supposed to be helping her, not the other way around.

‘Yes!’ she insisted with her free hand. “Don’t be stupid. When I’m here by myself, it’s horrible. It’s incredibly lonely.”

Casey was saved by a knock at the door.

“Oh my god, food!” She dropped the tweezers and ran to the door, swinging it open for a staff member to come in.

Casey gawked. She had jumped to her feet effortlessly, and she ran to the door. She was beaten black and blue, tired, hungry, and clumsy on her feet, but it was like something just switched in her brain to give her the grace to overcome her conditions. Was she that motivated by dinner? She still swayed when she moved out of the way of the delivery, sure, but the difference in her movement was staggering.

“Thank you so much!” she practically sang to the yokai as they set a large silver platter on the foot of her bed. They tipped their head and bowed out, taking only a single masked glance over at Casey, who felt his chest throb with guilt.

He needed to get his shit together.

Sunshine reached out to lift the tray, but as she did, she hesitated.

“Do you need help?” he asked, leaning forward to stand.

She gave him a nasty look. “You stay right there. I got it.”

“Uhuh,” he sank back down, letting his face bleed skepticism, but internally, he really hoped she could do it.

“I’m not gonna drop it,” she asserted, flexing her biceps before trying to lift the tray again. Casey felt a smile creeping up to his face.

It was like watching a child walk along a balance beam for the first time. The weight of the tray seemed to be considerable, and every movement she made was exaggerated by the added force she needed to lift the tray and the care required to not throw herself backward as she creeped upright. She approached the window like she would cross a minefield. Tentative steps were taken that by the nature of her speed added pressure to her knees. Her face contorted in the effort of remaining steady. If she wasn’t so passionate about it, Casey might have laughed. He counted three minutes for her to reach him.

“I can’t set it down.” Ok, that got a wheeze out of him.

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” he apologized, standing up. He took the tray from her and lowered it to the floor. As he did so, a drop of blood ran down his arm and dripped onto the polished silver.

“Crap, I gotta finish your arm,” she chastised herself, kneeling back down next to him.

“It’s fine,” he assured her. “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

“It feels like years,” she admitted, looking like was going to collapse into herself.

“Then eat, dummy-”

“No! It can wait,” she insisted, reaching for his arm, but he pulled away.

“It’s fine, really.”

“Don’t be stubborn!” she frowned. “Let me help you.”

Casey didn’t deserve her kindness. He had done this to himself. But when he saw the determined look in her eye, he realized he didn’t want to fight anymore. He reluctantly held his arm back out to her. She took it back with a triumphant smile, leaning in to carefully inspect the tears in his skin for any more shards of glass.

“You a… you’re balance is better,” he pointed out to fill the quiet.

“Is it?” She kept her eyes on her task, but Casey could tell she was excited by the praise.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t think of what else to say. He hoped he wasn’t being awkward.

The smaller turtle hummed happily anyway, dropping another shard onto the tray.

How had she turned the mood around so quickly? She was literally dressing his open wound but already he felt lighter than air. If he ever found out her real name, he couldn’t imagine it would fit her any better than Sunshine would.

The minutes ticked by, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Casey waited patiently as she moved to the restroom and came back with a damp cloth and bandages.

“If you want, I’m sure Leatherhead could take a look at it after dinner,” she offered, sitting back down. “I’m no doctor…”

“Hard pass,” Casey frowned, twitching slightly as she cleaned his arm. “I’d sooner bleed out. He’d probably only make it worse, anyway.”

He suppressed a squeak as she tightened gauze around his arm. He held it in place for her as she taped it into place.

“How are you going to tell your brothers how you got this?” she asked, inspecting her work.

“No idea,” he shrugged, rolling his shoulder. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about my shirt either.” Sunshine looked behind him to see where his spines had torn through the back of the fabric.

“I guess you could have one of mine, if you’ll fit.”

“I’ll make it work.” That was the fun thing about his cloaking enchantment; his human self was actually a bit smaller; whatever clothes he put on in one form or the other would magically shrink or grow to accommodate him. If he put one of her shirts on when he was smaller it should fit him fine.

“Do you need help getting that one off?” she pointed to the snags in his shirt. He wouldn’t be able to just pull it upward without pieces getting caught. There’d probably even be some fibers he couldn’t reach if he ripped his way out of it. But the idea of Sunshine helping him take his shirt up felt entirely too intimate. He could feel his cheeks starting to burn.

“No, that’s ok. I can get it later,” he turned her down as normally as he could. He could change shirts when he switched back anyway. No spines, no problem. God his shell was annoying.

Sunshine shrugged and seemed not to notice his panic. Instead, she picked up the pieces of glass and leftover bandages and went to put them away. Casey leaned back against the window and rubbed his eyes. What was he thinking?

When Sunshine came back, she dropped down across from him instead of the space beside him. Her eyes were fixed solely on the previously forgotten service tray between them.

“What did you order?” Casey asked, breaking the silence.

“Chicken and waffles!” she all but squealed as she pulled off the tin covers from the serving tray.

“Chicken and what?” Casey looked down at the fried nightmare in front of him.

“Harlem’s greatest invention,” she sighed, pressing her hands together in thanks.

“You have a very selective memory,” Casey noticed. She could remember the origin of a fried food dish but not her own name?

“It comes and goes,” she shrugged.

“Unbelievable,” he shook his head.

Sunshine unrolled silverware and started carving into her waffles. “Are you going to eat?”

“What? Me?” It hadn’t occurred to him until just now that there were two servings on the tray.

“Duh. I got you waffles too.” She uncapped a small plastic cup and drizzled maple syrup all over her food.

Straight fucking sugar. After everything he’d been through today, did he really want to push his luck? “Sure. Why the fuck not.”

A Thank You

Central Park's Endless Summer Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest was exactly and precisely named to be as accurate and long winded as possible. Endless because anyone could enter and fill the sidewalk space all over the park (and in recent years even considerably beyond its boundaries), Summer because it was still technically summer, and sidewalk because… you get the idea.

Mikey had “unofficially” entered the contest on a few occasions before; how could he not? He had become somewhat of an urban legend over the last few years- a strange kid spotted in the middle of the night who adds some weird fantastical chalk creature in whatever space had not been taken yet by the official entries. Last year he had perfectly recreated Baron Draxum and his snaking mystic vines, wrapping around (but never touching) the art of other participants. When he’d come back the following morning (in a suitable disguise, of course) he felt as if he might burst with joy when someone pointed out his work; when they’d notice the colors he chose or the sweeping gestures of Barry’s dramatic pose. And his overalls. Mikey had dressed him up as a farmer. It was great- he was spreading pastel flowers all over Central Park.

But Mikey’d never quite picked up the courage to try and enter the competition. All he really needed was a phone number and email to put down to register, and Mikey’s disguises were state-of-the-art, but he was worried that, if he were outed while he was drawing and surrounded by hundreds of potentially frightened humans, he’d never get to come back. It didn’t matter whether or not he won anyway. The fun part was creating something with so many other people; he didn’t want to lose that.

But things were different now! At least he hoped so. His teacher had invited him to join the art club, and they were all going to meet at the park tonight to draw on the sidewalk together. He had never been so excited- aside from any cosmetic features he’d helped Donnie with on his various inventions over the years, this was the most collaborative project he’d ever worked on. And now he got to be a part of it officially.

His heart was racing as he bounced from one foot to the next on his approach to the park. The sun would be going down soon, but he could see flood lights had been set up in strategic locations throughout the park, allowing artists to come by and participate for as long as they wanted. That was the other aspect of the endless nature to it. It made for a particularly interesting challenge to avoid the late night stragglers in previous years.

It didn’t take very long to find his group- their teacher had handed out t-shirts in their school colors to wear together. Mikey nervously stretched the collar of his as he approached them, trying not to appear as excited as he really was. His brothers would probably laugh if they could see how nervous he felt; Mikey… shy? No, that couldn’t be right. But as members of the club looked up and took notice of his arrival, his limbs felt like they might reflexively retract into his shell. He was nervous because they were scared of him. He could see it in the quick glances away and the guilty eyes focused on their shoes. Even if he was technically allowed to be here, they all had a long way to go before he’d feel like he belonged.

When everyone had arrived, the teacher took their names and split the students up into teams of two. Each team could draw whatever they wanted, but if they chose too, the teacher encouraged them to explore the contest’s theme: The New World. To Mikey’s relief, the teams were randomly assigned. Unfortunately, his soon-to-be partner in crime didn’t look so thrilled to be grouped with him.

“Did you snort Pop Rocks or something? You look like you’re about to fly away.”

“Pop Rocks?” Mikey’s head popped up at the mention. “I wish I had some Pop Rocks!” he bounced nervously. “Oh wait, sorry, that’s not what you meant,” he stretched out his hand, fully expecting the girl to just stare at it like a three headed snake. “I’m Mikey.”

His entire body froze up as she shook his hand robotically. “Angel. Are you alright? You’re in my art class aren’t you?”

His eyes lit up with recognition. She WAS in his art class! She sat on the opposite side of the room, but he remembered her all the same. She was always chatting with her friends instead of drawing, which brought up the question;

“Do you like to draw?”

A puff of amused air blew out of the girl as she let go of his hand. “Nah, I’m just here for my friends. Who…” she turned and looked over at two other girls who were already walking away to look for a spot to draw. “... totally rigged the system to get to be on the same team. It sucks.”

“Uh…Ouch?”

“Oh no no!” Angel’s irritation sprung to panic. “I don’t… I’m sorry.” She deflated. “This isn’t the first time they’ve conspired against me.”

“Then we’ll just have to beat them!” Mikey asserted, shaking the plastic tub of chalk he’d collected from the teacher only moments ago.

Angel’s face lit up to match his determination. “Aw fuck yeah!” She turned her head one way and the other, scanning the sidewalk for potential spots. “Where should we go?”

“I have the perfect spot,” Mikey smiled deviously.

The two made their way around the park, dodging the artists on their hands and knees already at work, and the pedestrians already meandering their way around to see them.

Mikey stopped when they reached a fork in the sidewalk. The gradual branching of the cement gave them a wider surface to work with. It was a spot usually taken before he could ever get to it. Nervous and lost for a moment, he was once again overcome by the excitement that he was finally participating in an event he’d only dreamed of.

When he turned to see if Angel approved however, he noticed her eyes were focused on something else. He followed her gaze and saw the nearby playground. Swings were rocking gently in the wind.

“Do you want to set up over there?” he asked, pointing toward the playground.

Angel blinked, and looked down at where they were standing. It didn’t seem like she was thinking about the chalk contest.

“Hm?”

Mikey plopped himself down onto the sidewalk and dumped the chalk sticks onto the ground, letting them tumble and roll across the pavement.

“Oh! No, sorry. Here is fine…” she stopped a stick of chalk from rolling with her foot. “Although you seem to-”

“I’ve been eyeing this spot for years!” Mikey smiled, reaching out to begin sorting the colors and test them on the pavement. He wanted to know exactly what colors he was working with.

“Does it usually get taken?” Angel asked, squatting down beside him to help.

“Yeah… well… I haven’t gotten to participate before actually,” he told her.

“Why not?”

Mikey nearly choked. “Are you kidding? You’re asking the mutant turtle why he doesn’t enter himself into an art competition hosted by humans?”

Angel’s face flushed. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t even…”

Mikey waved her off, smiling. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m not trying to put you on the spot.” He leaned forward a little bit. “But I am a little surprised you’re talking to me. Most people don’t.”

“What? That’s so rude! Why wouldn’t they?”

Mikey shrugged, sitting back again. “What do you want to draw?”

Taken aback by the abrupt change in topic, Angel gave him a confused look. “I told you, I’m not much of an artist…. But hey, you are! I’ve seen your drawings in class. I’ll help you color whatever you want.”

Mikey crossed one arm and held his chin. “The theme is The New World…”

“Do you think they mean… like… the discovery of the Americas?” Angel asked. “Should we draw explorers or something?”

“Like Jupiter Jim!” Mikey squeaked.

“Jupiter Jim?” Angel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Like, those old sci-fi movies?”

Mikey nodded his head eagerly. “Have you seen any of them?”

Angel rolled her eyes away in thought. “I think I may have, when I was younger. My brother has a VHS of one. Jupiter Jim’s Last trip to the Moon… I think?”

“Which one?”

“What do you mean?”

“Which Last Trip to the Moon?”

Angel blinked. “The Last one?”

Mikey sunk his head. “No no no, the final Last Trip to the Moon came out like six years ago, there’s no way they released that on VHS.”

“You mean there’s… more than one Last Trip to the Moon?”

“Of course! There’s nine of them!”

Angel opened her mouth and then shut it again, clearly impressed by the long-standing potential of the moon-based expeditions. “So… you want to draw Jupiter Jim?”

“We could create a new planet for him to explore!” Mikey all but exploded over the pavement, hugging the ground as if it were the surface of an extraterrestrial homeland.

“Uh… yeah. Sure.”

Mikey looked up at her with one-eyed disapproval. “Unless you have another idea?”

“Nah, Columbus was a horrible person anyway. Making a new world seems way more fun.”

“Woo hoo!” the box turtle bounced off the pavement and snatched up a yellow chalk stick. “We’re going to need some enemies and allies for him to encounter,” he projected, twirling the chalk. “Oh I know! He’ll fight a giant evil alligator man!”

“An evil alligator man?” Angel tilted her head.

“There’s this asshole I ran into the other day,” Mikey shrugged. “This is the least I can do to get back at him.”

“Is that… healthy?”

“I’m channeling my frustration into something productive,” Mikey pointed out, raising a finger. “And it’s always moral to make art that critiques bad people.”

Angel looked over Mikey’s shoulder as he set to work sketching out Jupiter Jim’s confrontation with his new supervillain: Professor Razorskin, the evil alligator alien from Reptilaner 4. It was decided, at Angel’s suggestion, that turtles should of course be Jupiter Jim’s allies, and Mikey decided that the recently redeemed turtle aliens would convince the natives of Reptilaner 4 that reptile aliens and mammals could exist together in peace. But of course, that wouldn’t make for a very interesting drawing, so Mikey instead drew the climactic final battle between Jim and Professor Razorskin. At the last moment, Jim would be rescued by the natives and his turtle alien allies. It was such a heartfelt moment it moved Mikey to tears just drawing it, and Angel had to remind him to wipe his face several times or else he might ruin the drawing. His shirt was a mess by the end of it, slightly damp and covered in chalk from his hands, he beat it out several times after they finished the illustration, but the effort was fairly useless, and only served to irritate his eyes further.

“Would you stop that? Just wash it when you get home!” Angel told him, taking a step away from the small cloud he had created.

“Oops! Sorry,” he apologized, letting his shirt drop. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re a mess,” Angel tutted.

“Like you’re any better,” he pointed out, noticing she was nearly just as covered in dust as he was. “And that’s not what I meant,” he gestured to the drawing with both hands.

“It’s awesome,” she said while smiling, taking it all in. “Although after everything that’s happened, I think some people might have mixed feelings about it.”

Mikey bit his lip. It was too late now, but he hadn’t thought of that.

“I’m sure not all of space is made up of evil planet-conquering aliens,” he reasoned.

“I hope I never have to find out,” Angel pocketed her hands.

Mikey didn’t know what to say to that.

“And the theme, it didn’t hit me until just now, but the judges probably meant New York as it is now right? So much has changed in the last month.”

“I’m sure they tried to choose something as open ended as possible.”

The silence that followed brought an uneasy feeling to Mikey’s fingers. He squeezed them nervously.

“Hey Mikey… you… are you one of those guys who fought the Krang? You look a lot like them.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I am.” There probably wasn’t any harm in admitting it.

“And nobody wants to talk to you?”

His throat was starting to feel a little dry.

“It’s not like everyone can recognize us from the tv footage. We were pretty high up.”

“Nobody’s even thanked you for it.”

“Not personally, no.”

Angel glanced back over to the rest of the students who were still drawing. Among them, Mikey noticed her friends had left.

“Orange is far too friendly a color to ever feel alone, don’t you think?” she asked suddenly, turning toward him.

“What?”

“Give me your phone number,” she practically ordered, pulling out her cell.

“WHAT?”

“So we can be friends, dummy,” she said as she checked her phone, not looking up at him.

“Oh, uh… sure.”

They exchanged numbers.

“Now you have someone to talk to, Michelangelo Hamato,” she raised her eyebrow as she stared at his contact information.

“Hey, we’re both angels!” Mikey pointed out, fluttering his eyelids.

Angel bared her teeth with an estranged look. “Yeah. Yeah we sure are. Well, if you ever need someone to talk to at school, just come find me okay? And I may not be like… a superhero myself or whatever, but I am captain of the field hockey team, so no one’s gonna dare look at you strange or whatever if you’re next to me.”

“I’m sure they still will,” Mikey pouted, pocketing his phone. “But thanks, Angel. That means a lot.” Did she just imply he was a superhero?

“I’m thanking you, dumbass. You deserve a little credit.”

Mikey didn’t know about that, but he appreciated the gesture all the same.

“Wanna go see what the others drew?” she asked, bending down to pick up their chalk bucket.

“Sure!”

They shuffled over to where the others were finishing up their drawings, and Mikey was pleasantly surprised to hear the teacher tell him what a wonderful job they’d done on their drawing. Of course it was cool- he drew it, and it was Jupiter freaking Jim. But it was also kind of nuts to hear it coming from the other students too. When they saw his drawing, Angel talked him up like he was a limited edition stuffed crust pizza.

All the way home, he felt light as air. It reminded him of the first question Angel had asked him, and something Casey had mentioned to him a few weeks ago. Was it possible he could really fly? He’d really like to. He looked up at the sky and wondered how far he could go. He could imagine it; after all he’d had many dreams before about flying. Could he reach up into the sky and make it his own?

Wait wait wait wait wait. Did Angel say she was on field hockey?????

Liar Liar

Casey was a confused buzz of feelings when he started his walk home from the Nexus. At the front of his mind, basking in the last stretches of sunlight as the sky fell into a warm summer darkness, was that same fuzzy feeling he got when he was teasing Angel about her shoes. That of course, was competing with the enormous guilt of having said feeling in the first place. Surely Sunshine was just being nice to him. They were friends. He couldn’t have caught feelings for them both right?? He had far too much going on already! And somehow thoughts of the arguably more important things were buried in the background of his mind. He had completely lost it. Angel was scared of him for who knows why, Sunshine was scared of him but still somehow so freaking nice… and now Leo was blowing up his phone wondering where the fuck he was. He had totally lost track of the time. It was probably best just to call him.

"There you are! What have you been up to?" The slider seemed uncharacteristically concerned.

"Well, I had practice, and then a few of the guys wanted to see a movie," he lied.

"You're out and about by yourself now?"

"Leo, I've been out by myself since Wednesday," Casey huffed, pulling his hoodie over his head as it started to rain. "Shit."

"And you got lost the day before that!" Leo argued.

"I'm fine!" Casey asserted. "What are you, my dad?" He was really glad Leo didn't know the answer to that.

"No, but I probably feel like one right now!" Leo answered, making Casey stop. "We've been worried about you, man. Can we talk when you get home?"

Casey suddenly had the urge to turn around and go right back to where he came from. Casey did not want to talk. He’d rather let Bebop have a few more swings at him. But he couldn't say any of that. He was already making them suspicious of him. If he didn't come up with something to tell them, he was going to be in trouble.

"Yeah, yeah ok," he sighed, pinching his nose. "I'll be home in twenty." He was really only five minutes away, but he could at least buy himself some time.

"Ok, stay safe out there!" The line clicked before Casey could respond.

God, why did Leo have to sound just like… himself??

Casey moved to sit under a bus stop to get out of the rain, and leaned his head against the glass. This was going to suck. He set an alarm for fifteen minutes, and closed his eyes.

-

When Casey came home he was soaking wet, so Leo let him change before he started bugging what was clearly a rather annoyed Future Boy.

Once he was dressed in shorts and a long sleeve shirt, Leo put down the comic book he had totally been reading this whole time and sat up on his bed.

"So… how was the movie?"

"It was fine,"

"What did you see? Is the new Jupiter Jim still showing?"

"Nah, we saw Scumbagz," Casey huffed and hopped up onto his bed, wrapping the covers around himself.

"Oh, I heard about that one. Two ex cops become vigilante drug busters, right? How was it?"

"Copaganda. The action scenes were also pretty unrealistic."

"Only Liu Jitsu movies get it right," Leo nodded.

"Yeah, Splints is pretty cool," Casey admitted. "But you didn't really want to talk about that, did you?"

Oh, he brought it up himself. That was a good sign.

"Yeah. Are you really doing alright now on your own? You were really nervous about school and going outside before. Now you're… suddenly out there all evening like it's nothing."

"It's not… nothing…" Casey answered carefully. "I still have my moments, but you guys have helped a lot. Especially since those walks with Mikey."

Leo looked over Casey skeptically.

"I woke up twice Tuesday night and both times you were on your phone looking sadder than a raincloud. And this was after having thrown up and refused to talk to us. That was only three days ago!"

Casey scowled. "What do you want me to say? I was kind of overreacting alright? I was really in my head."

"And getting lost? That wasn't scary?"

"Yeah, it was scary! But now I know my way around here better. Google maps saved my life."

Leo wasn't buying it. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

"Where did you go Tuesday? Did it have to do with Big Mama?"

Casey looked away.

"Casey…"

"I… I had a panic attack."

"You what?"

Casey took a deep breath and kept his eyes on the floor. Leo waited as patiently as he could. He felt like he was already pushing his luck.

"I didn't mean to scare you guys, really. I… I was hoping you'd just forget about it. At the pizza place, you remember when Sunita came in?"

Leo nodded. It had been a brief visit, but he remembered.

"As I'm getting very used to sounding like a broken record… I knew her for a short while before she died in the future."

"As you do," Leo shrugged. Was he getting used to this?

"Yeah, well, I saw her turning a corner just as we were about to leave and I went after her."

"Oh." He had just ran off on his own?

"This is so stupid," Casey grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it. "I don't even know what I was going to say to her!"

"Casey, what happened?"

"She…" Leo heard him sniffle. Was he crying? "I tried to play it cool in the pizza place, I really did, but…"

Leo could see where this was going and he didn't like it. His imagination started throwing all kinds of horrendous possibilities at him. "What happened to her?" Did he want to know?

Casey didn't say anything for a long time, but the silence spoke volumes.

"I couldn't stop thinking about it," he finally said, without elaborating on what 'it' was. "She's here again. She's so nice, Leo. And I'm so dumb."

"What did you do?" Leo felt like he was stepping into uncharted territory. Was he allowed to ask that?

"I embarrassed myself." He raised his head again. "You know when I just say stupid shit without thinking about it? 'Oh by the way you really gotta practice medicine Leo before Raph gets compartment syndrome haha oops…'" he rambled without humor.

Yeah, that wasn't a great way to figure out his older brother lost his hand in the future; and to find out over breakfast, no less.

"Yeah so… I told her I missed her and some other shit and-I-kinda- forgot that she-didn't-know-I-was-from-the-future-and-that-I-was keepingItUnderWraps because SHE. WAS. THERE. SHE’S ALIVE." The words spilled out like water from a bucket; it was almost too difficult for Leo to keep up.

Casey crashed his head into the pillow again, but this time with frustration.

"I'm an idiot Leo. You should have seen the way she looked at me."

"That must have sucked."

"Yeah! It really did! And I realized I fucked up so then…” Casey's fingers tightened around the pillow. “...I just bolted."

"You ran away?" Leo asked, surprised.

"Like I said, stupid." Casey sunk further into his blankets.

"So that's when you got lost," Leo realized.

"Yeah."

There was a long pause. The tension in the air was too much for the slider.

"Dude. That is so lame," Leo couldn't help but say.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be as cool as you,” Casey grumbled, pulling his head back up and resting it on his arms.

Leo smiled, and noticed Casey smiled a little bit there too.

“So then I couldn’t find my way back… I panicked… I don’t… really remember a lot of it…”

“It’s fine, Case, don’t worry about it. I get it.”

“Yeah.” He watched Casey massage the covers between his fingers; his eyes looked far away.

“I know we make fun of each other all the time, but we love you. If something is bugging you, you can talk to us.”

“I know.”

“Good. Cause we’d been worrying over you for a minute and it's gonna give me a Raph chasm if this keeps up.”

“You should see the Sensei chasm.”

Leo froze. Oh please no….

“Sensei chasm?”

“It’s about a solid inch deeper,” Casey told him, rubbing his own forehead to taunt him.

“That’s not even possible!” Leo protested, pressing his fingers to his forehead as if he could smooth it out.

“The apocalypse was stressful man,” Casey shrugged. “And you were in charge the whole time.”

“Well thank god we saved the world, huh?” At least there was that. Pizza supreme he hoped he’d seen enough trouble like that for a lifetime- for his skin’s sake, of course. This definitely wasn’t about the nightmares.

“So are you happy now? Good talk?”

“Almost,” Leo squinted his eyes. “You’ve been out late every night since school started and you haven’t said where. What are you up to?”

Casey’s eyes darted away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“A secret?” Leo leaned in further, smiling dangerously. “There will be no not-future secrets between us.”

“And what makes you entitled to that?” Casey scoffed dramatically.

“What are you hiding?” Leo pressed.

“Nothing… nothing you need to worry about,” Casey said while quite obviously insinuating the opposite. “Maybe I’ll tell you… if anything happens.”

“If what happens? Why are you being so secretive?”

Casey laid down and pulled the covers up over him.

“Bro you are not sleeping until you tell me what this is!” Leo jumped up. “I’ll keep you up all night if I have to!”

“That’s literally a form of torture,” Casey pointed out with a single digit from under the covers.

“Only if you don’t give in…” Leo leaned over to where he approximated Casey’s head to be.

“Ew, dude! Personal space!” Casey flinched, curling up into a small ball.

Leo jumped up onto Casey’s bed and sprawled over top of him. “You don’t live in a world where personal space exists anymore. Not until you tell me what’s up.”

Poking his head out from under the blankets, Leo saw what he was hoping for- an annoyed glare.

“You can’t let anything go, can you?” Casey growled.

“Only Donnie does it better,” Leo shrugged.

Casey groaned.

“Come on, out with it champ. What have you been up to?”

Casey grumbled something inaudible.

“What was that?”

“I’m just out on that study date...”

“HAH?????”

Casey buried his head.

“WITH WHO???”

“Goodnight, Leo.”

“Come on man, you can’t leave me hanging like this? Tell me!”

“She’s on field hockey,” came a muffled reply.

This was the best news Leo had heard in probably his whole life. This was a well of tremendous and annoying opportunities.

“And you started dating on the first day of school right? That’s crazy!!”

“I wouldn’t say it’s like… official or anything…” he mumbled.

“What are you guys… doin’?” Leo asked, trying not to think about it but also very much thinking about it.

“We’re just studying.”

“For four hours?”

“I’m going to murder you,” Casey growled.

“You wouldn't dare!”

“I don’t care. And you can try and keep me up all night if you want, but you’re going to lose both your arms to do so.”

Oof, he’s sensitive.

“This is so lame. How am I supposed to sleep now?”

“You always sleep better than me anyway; you’ll be fine,” Casey grumbled. That wasn’t true. Leo was just very good at pretending to be asleep.

“What’s her name, you gotta tell me!”

“Nope.”

“Please?”

“Nuh-uh.”

The exchange of begging and pleading carried on for entirely too long, but Casey did not budge an inch. It was terrible. How could Casey be talking to a girl at school and not talk about it? Eventually, Leo gave up, but not without grumbling about how awful Casey was for not providing even the smallest of details. But he had to admit he was tired too, so Casey got off easy.

And so Leo was none the wiser.

-

“Don, you can’t go out there. We need you here.” The voices were muffled at first, but as Casey nudged the door open to the command center and slipped inside, they clarified and brought the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.

“We can’t keep letting him go out on his own! He’s going to get himself killed!” They were talking about Sensei again. It didn’t look like they even noticed Casey had entered, although he was sure Donatello must have.

“He’s not alone. And are you really going to leave Mikey here by himself? You’re the only one that can help him.”

“It’s not enough, April! Whatever I’ve been doing hasn’t been working for quite some time now. He’s getting weaker and there’s nothing I can do about it!”

Casey took in a sharp breath. He knew Master Michelangelo was hurt, but it sounded like it was worse now than he had originally let on.

“Have a little more faith in yourself Donnie. And have more faith in Leo too. We can figure this out.”

"I'm going."

"Let me go instead."

"You won't catch up to them in time."

"Commander…" Casey finally pulled up the courage to speak. The pair froze. April's stern expression melted away when she turned to face him.

"Yes, Casey?"

"He's on his way back, right?"

"He is."

"We could meet him halfway!"

"He won't make it halfway!" Donatello snapped. Casey flinched back in fright. "I'm going ahead. Don't you try and stop me."

"That's ironic, coming from you," Casey muttered.

"What was that?"

"Prioritizing the team until it comes to someone you really care about," Casey explained, crossing his arms.

"He's my brother, I have to help him!" Donnie insisted.

"You're acting exactly like he did; just admit he was right!"

Donatello's face was almost always an easy read. It was obvious by his scowl that Casey had struck a nerve.

"This has nothing to do with that."

"You're lying," Casey insisted.

Donatello didn't deny it. Casey finally had him, and he couldn't say a damn thing. So he didn't.

The softshell just walked out.

"If you don't come back with him, don't come back at all!" Casey screamed after him.

"Casey, why would you say that?" April gasped.

Why would you say that Casey? There's no way you really meant that, right? There's no way you wanted him dead. It's not like he actually hurt you. He probably saved your life more times than you could count. That's what he fucking did everyday. He’d saved so many lives. He did everything he could, and you said that to him? That was the last thing you ever said to him. Why? Why would you do that?

Because you're a horrible person, Casey Jones.

He awoke with a start, eyes wide open against the ceiling that felt almost suffocatingly close to him. His fingers twisted the sheets under him to remind himself where he was. It was futile; waking from a nightmare like that could never save him from his own mind.

-

Prev. Masterpost Next

Notes: I just can’t seem to end a chapter on a happy note, can I?

[californiaboytoybilly]

HoHoHoe Week - Day Five: Up in Lights (Christmas party) Pairing: Cheerscoops / Chrissy x Steve Tags: Semi-Public Sex, Unsafe Sex, Eating Out, Creampie, Fingering, Exes-to-Lovers, Getting Back Together Ao3: Link WC: 3.3k, 1/1 Chapters

(Oops I put feelings in my porn again-)

"I didn't know you could get more beautiful." 

Chrissy didn't register that she was no longer alone until a familiar voice spoke up from behind her. She spun around, surprised, cheeks already beginning to flush. 

Steve. 

"You don't need to say anything to that; I just-" A tiny pucker appeared between his brows, "I haven't gotten to speak to you all night. Thought you deserved to know, you look…" He breathed out a wistful sound. 

Suddenly, she felt a little wrong for how devoutly she'd been trying to avoid him all night. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak to him. It was the opposite if she was being honest with herself. 

Things had just been so complicated the last time they saw each other; it had seemed to be for the best. 

Steve was unable to understand why she had to leave. Why she couldn't stay in Hawkins. Stuck here himself because he'd inherited a business he didn't care about but had always known he'd have to handle one day. Chrissy, unable to voice that every second she spent at home felt like it killed a little bit more of her spirit. That she loved him, but she couldn't survive this town. 

She missed him these last three years. Of all places, she hadn't been expecting to see him at her father's corporate Christmas party and from the moment he'd crossed her sight, a bone-deep longing had settled into her body.

"You clean up nice yourself." She said with a small smile, trying not to succumb to old comforts and rest her head against his chest, reaching out with two fingers to straighten his tie up instead. She wasn't sure she'd seen him in clothes this formal since prom. 

"I didn't know you were back." He said, glancing down at where her fingers lingered a moment too long on his chest.

Chrissy turned her gaze down to her feet. "Only for the weekend," she said quietly. 

"A weekend is better than none of you at all." 

Oh, that one stung a little. Steve must've seen her wince because he quickly backpedaled. "I didn't mean-"

Chrissy sighed, shaking her head. The intricate strawberry blonde curls she'd spent painstaking attention to this morning bobbed with the movement. "No, it's okay. I…” 

I missed you too, she thought. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Would that be cruel? She'd been the one to break his heart; what right did she have to miss him?

"I'm leaving." He said, changing the topic before she could spiral about it. 

Chrissy paused, confused. "What?"

"I'm leaving Hawkins. This was…" Steve scrunched his nose slightly, "I'm here because I sold the shares of my dad's company to your father. He didn't tell you…?"

"He doesn't bring you up to me." She said carefully. Steve looked a little stricken, and she wanted to rephrase, but he kept going. 

"Well… that's the important part, I guess. I'm not staying here." It felt like there was something else he was trying to say, something layered under the words, but she couldn't bring herself to seek it out right now. "So I'm glad you're here. Didn’t feel right saying goodbye to this place without you there.” 

Chrissy could feel herself melting. Why did this one boy have to constantly do his utmost best to be irreplaceable? The way his big hazel eyes locked on her, soft and affectionate, was her tipping point. 

Steve made a noise of surprise when she moved faster than her brain could veto the decision. Soft, glossed lips pressed against his with a familiarity tinged with longing. But he was frozen and decidedly not kissing back. Oh god.

Embarrassed at her behaviour, Chrissy hurriedly pulled back with an apology on the tip of her tongue, face scarlet and eyes burning. 

"Don't you dare say sorry," he said, barely taking long enough to get the words out before he apparently caught up with what had just happened and pulled her back in. 

She'd forgotten what this was like. What he was like. How every single one of her senses would be filled with him when he kissed her. 

His big, warm arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close until she could feel every breath he took pushing against her chest. The same cologne he'd always worn clung pleasantly to him, dragging her back to days long gone, laying in bed together and feeling young and in love. 

It was as easy to get lost in him now as it had been then. 

It didn't take long for the innocent press of lips to take on a hint of desperation that only usually came to her in the dead of night when her bed was empty and her memories too vivid. But now, he was here. She didn't have to imagine what it would feel like under his touch again. 

Maybe this was stupid. It probably was. The most likely way this would end was two whirlwind days of passion before she returned to her city apartment, crawled into her too-cold bed, and cried her heart out all over again. But she didn't have it in her to stop this. Not when this was everything she'd craved for three long years.  

Let the gingerbread fall where it may later. 

Chrissy gasped as she was picked up, her thighs meeting the cold wood of a desk mere seconds later. She shivered, toes curling in her fancy shoes as Steve stepped between her legs and leaned back in to kiss her again. 

Was the air warm, or was she? Ripples of wine-coloured satin clung to her skin as he thumbed at her hips through her dress, his tongue sweet where it brushed hers with the taste of the sugary punch bowls on every table. 

Chrissy slid her hands up his sides, careful not to press too lightly. She knew from experience Steve was incredibly ticklish. 

She pulled his lips between her teeth, keeping it clasped as she broke the kiss and pulled his tucked shirt free of the slacks he wore. Steve's eyes scanned her face, taking in her wide, round eyes and kiss-bitten lips when she freed his own. 

He groaned as she slipped her hands under his shirt, scratching her nails up and over his hips with a soft little "please?" aimed at him through her lashes. 

His face was the definition of 'how could I possibly say no to that?' as he looked between her and the door, briefly leaving her alone on the desk as he moved towards the door. 

She didn't so much as have time to question his actions or be disappointed before she heard the lock click, sticky sweet warmth flooding her abdomen and travelling rapidly down. Shit, this was really happening. 

Steve crossed back to her side of the room, eyes dark and lips swollen in a way that made her want to bite him all over again. He, however, clearly had other plans. "Are you sure?" He asked, eye contact never wavering until she shyly nodded her head. "Please…" She repeated. 

Steve kissed her again, this time slow and burning, but it didn't linger long. A soft sigh escaped her throat as another series of kisses were pressed to her ear, neck, and shoulder before he brushed the strap of her dress away. 

It felt so lovely that she briefly closed her eyes, only to find that he'd slid to his knees upon reopening them. 

As his mouth brushed over her thigh, Chrissy took just a second to properly acknowledge that this was the riskiest thing she'd ever done. She was at a Christmas party, about to get eaten out and fucked by her ex-boyfriend she'd once thought she'd marry on somebody's desk. 

Life was really throwing her some curveballs lately. 

Thinking time was over, however, as he pulled her baby blue cotton underwear off. She was a little embarrassed to have been wearing them, but in her defence, she hadn't exactly been expecting anybody to see under her dress tonight. 

Still, the contrast between her slinky red elegant outfit and polka dot panties had Steve trying to bite back a smile as he- not remotely subtly- shoved them in his jacket pocket. 

The sight alone made her clench tight as a throb of want shot through her core. She placed her hands behind her on the desk so she could shift her hips forward. Even the thought of what he might do with those later had something purring, and she didn't see any cats around.

"Almost forgot about the tattoo," Steve said, fingers brushing over her inner thigh. She snorted out an indelicate laugh, turning her face towards the ceiling. 

It was a tiny little stamp of a tattoo, so close to her bikini line that you weren't seeing it unless she wanted you to. A little salamander silhouette pulled from a random flash tattoo machine the day of her eighteenth birthday almost six years ago now. 

"You shouldn't have! You were the one who dared me to get it." She couldn't help but grin. 

Steve's own smile was a little too soft to not look out of place kneeling between her thighs. It made her squirm for a variety of reasons. "Well, I stand by that dare. It's a good memory." 

If he made her cry when he was supposed to be-

Almost as though he read her mind, he fell silent and spread her legs further apart. His eyes drank her in like his favourite meal had been served, and fuck, he needed to touch her or close his eyes this second before she actually died.

She impatiently rolled her hips, earning a bemused little smirk before he finally gave her what she wanted. 

A soft whimper escaped her as his tongue spread her open, a pointed little flick of the tip in just the right spot making her entire body shudder. Chrissy's head dropped back, a pant of breath following. The distant thrum of Christmas music drifted through the background, and she hoped it was loud enough to keep the other partygoers in the dark because she didn't trust her ability to stay completely quiet.

His fingertips curled into her thighs where he held them, just tight enough that she hoped they would leave a bruise behind. Something to remember this by when she was alone on Monday. 

A little taste of the man she wasn't entirely positive she'd ever completely move on from.

Who could blame her when he had a tongue like that?

Chrissy reached down to thread a hand through his hair, biting down on her lower lip hard to muffle herself as he shifted, the pad of his ring finger circling her entrance teasingly as he sucked hard on her clit. 

She cried out softly, the sole arm holding her up shaking like it was going to give out. 

The stretch of the digit pushing into her, thicker than two of her own, was accompanied by a delicious burn that had her legs shaking. He curled it like he was beckoning her, stroking at her walls, playing her body like an expert. Like he remembered everything she'd ever liked. 

He just might kill her, right here on this desk. She hadn't been touched by anyone in so long, nevermind touched by him. 

It took barely a minute more and the very tip of his second finger before she started to beg. "Please, Stevie. Need you in me." She slurred, feeling drunk on the fireworks currently going off inside of her. 

As fucking delicious as his mouth and hands were, she needed more. She needed him.

Steve groaned into her, once again making her thighs spasm with the vibration. "You're going to kill me." He echoed her earlier thoughts. If she wasn't so desperate, she might've taken a minute to be proud of the effect she clearly still had on him. 

He got to his feet fluidly as she suddenly found herself empty, only the promise of more to come keeping her from whining as she clenched around empty air. 

She'd asked him to stop yet it felt like her world might end from impatience now that he had listened. 

Chrissy batted his hands away from his belt as he fumbled the clasp, fingers only a little clumsy as she popped the gold button and pulled his zipper down. Her mouth watered at the sight as he fished himself out of the confines of his dress slacks. She wondered if he could still recover as fast as he had at twenty one. 

If she wasn't so eager to be full of him, she might've dropped to her knees right then and there. 

She watched as a conflicted expression crossed his face, then annoyance. "Shit..." He muttered, eyes darting towards the door. "I left my jacket out there. I don't have protection." 

Chrissy tried to hide the way her teeth ground together at the thought of him bring protection to this party to begin with. He hadn't known she'd been here, was there some other girl who he'd been hoping to go home with?

... that wasn't fair of her. She had no right to be jealous of who he may or may not want to sleep with. Still, he was here. With her. She was his choice. If that made her preen ever so slightly, that was her own business. 

"Don't need it." She said, fluttering her eyes with mock innocence as she pulled him back in between her legs with a firm grip on his tie. Steve looked like he was going to ask so she beat him to it. 

"I'm on the pill. Don't need protection, I want feel all of you." She licked over her lip, waiting for his answer. 

But he was a gone man. 

Instead of saying anything, she watched as his chest rose and then dropped in a sharp exhale. "I don't know what I did to deserve this." He mumbled, looking briefly skyward- or... ceiling-ward? -as though in thanks to karma herself. 

Messy, eager lips slotted back against her own as he pressed the blunt head of his cock against her, sliding it through her slick teasingly for barely a moment before she felt him start to push in. 

Oh god.

She'd forgotten that he felt even bigger than he looked, a feat she hadn't realized was possible their first time together. 

It felt like he might split her apart as she babbled something incoherent against his lips, eyes pricking with tears. 

"Too much?" He sounded strained as he leaned back just barely an inch, clearly using all of his willpower to go slow. She shook her head furiously, a half sob bubbling from her lips. 

"If you stop right now, I'll never forgive you." She threatened breathlessly, her eyes rolling back in her head as another inch pressed into her. Fuck!

Her dainty gold rings glinted in the low light as she lifted her hand to curl around the back of his neck, pressing their foreheads together as he bottomed out. They shared quick breaths, dilated eyes meeting in the shadowed space between them. 

The chemistry they'd always had definitely hadn't dissipated with time. She just may have wanted him now more than ever before. 

After a moment, she relaxed enough that the last little spike of pain started to receed. "Move-" She pleaded, "I can take it." 

She didn't need to ask twice, a strangled sound forcing it's way out as he pulled almost all the way out and then fucked back into her like she'd lit a fire under his feet. 

"You feel so fucking good." He grunted, eyelids fluttering as set a quick pace that had her little tits bouncing with every single thrust. Chrissy felt herself go pliant, body too melty to hold herself up anymore. Reluctantly, because the intimacy of their shared sounds was something she was loathe to lose, she let go of the back of his neck to lower herself down. 

The cold wood made goosebumps rise on her skin, hair hanging over the back and swinging with each jolt of her body. 

Now free to wander, her hands ghosted up her silk encased sides until she reached the neckline of her dress, pulling it down just enough to roll a petal pink nipple between her fingers. 

"A-ah! Fuck please, just like that, keep doing th-" Chrissy tried to keep her voice down as best she could as her abdomen tightened, every inch of her skin flushed and hot. 

Steve looked about as put together as she did with his bruised mouth, mussed hair and half lidded eyes. He hadn't once taken his eyes off of her since he pushed in, making her feel like a treasure. A pretty thing to be revered, admired. 

It only stoked the flames hotter. 

Flames which were rapidly bringing her to the edge, so worked up from his tongue and the lead up alone that his finger was hovering on her trigger already. 

It wouldn't take much more for her to fall to pieces. 

He seemed to know that in the same way that he knew her body all these years later. Like she was his favourite book he'd long memorized, able to quote any scene on a whim no matter the time it had sat untouched on the shelf. 

His hips snapped faster, the wet, smacking sound of their bodies meeting filling the room. She felt drool pool at the corner of her mouth, which was a little slack as an unintelligable littany of pleading poured from her without end. 

"M'so close. Please, baby." She slipped, too needy to register what she'd said. 

Steve's eyes flew open at the pet name, face crumpling as though he'd been wounded, thrusts out of rhythm and getting messier by the second. She knew what that meant, and she was right there with him. 

"Want to feel you come inside me-" She barely managed to get out, but it did exactly what she wanted as the coil inside of her snapped and her orgasm crashed into her with a force that seemed to shake her down to her very bones.

She felt him shudder as he stilled, buried so deep inside of her as he came that her delirious mind could almost convince her she could taste him. 

The only sound in the aftermath was their laboured breathing as they both came down, Steve almost folding himself in half to press his face into her stomach as he tried to get his grip back on reality. 

After a moment, when some of the brain fog started to clear, Chrissy finally spoke up. "If I'm losing this again on Monday, you better be spending all day tomorrow at my hotel." She mumbled, brain still too drowned in endorphins to veto her too honest words. 

But Steve had more surprises than even she could have imagined, chuckling as he slowly stood back up straight on uneasy legs. 

"I mean, I told you I was leaving Hawkins." He said, making her brows furrow. "Tonight?" She asked, trying not to let the sad lump in her throat ruin the glow currently buzzing through her. 

Steve shook his head. "No I mean..." He looked nervous, holding out a hand to help her sit back up to see him better. 

"I'm moving to Portland. Next week, as soon as the lawyer stamps the paperwork. Already got an apartment lined up." 

Portland. 

Portland? 

"But... wait, I live in Portland." She said, almost as though she'd forgotten before. Steve shook his head, so incredibly fondly, and reached out to brush a lock of hair back from her face.

"I know. That was the main appeal." 

Chrissy's eyes widened, tears pooling at her lashline almost immediately as his words really sunk in. 

For the first time all night, she realized this might not just be a stolen moment doomed to crush her heart later. 

She could keep him, this time. 

Maybe coming home for the holidays wasn't so bad after all. 

[sungbeam]

alright- because this is way awake me- I didn't read back my tags until today- i wasn't speaking properly in those tags (i said sleeping instead of reading... and other messy tags)- I def didn't convey half of what I wished to- (esp because we're limited to thirty tags...) anyways! scooby doo brains unite hehe~ it was an absolute fever dream to read this at 3-4am- (esp when I knew I was gonna help a friend move but once I start sth *esp a fic this good* I must finish it-) It was worth every second of missed sleep- The emotions were so powerful 😭💖 and I felt them to the nth degree- Omg?!? You wrote it without knowing the ending!? I love that sm- because that ending!? Was beyond what words can express- You tied up every end- And omg!? I was looking for the word foil- and god- I loved the use of it- You're so right the slow burn was def burning that midnight oil at midnight creek!!! 😭😭 Omg?!?! You imagine fics as movies too omg!? Heck yeah 😭 The parallel between the sisters!!! Omg it was one of my favorite little bits- You may have not realized it- but it was just so goooodddd- I was hoping for a brutal fight sequence with Bonnie- and you provided all that and more! I was sincerely left with my jaw dropped it was so good- (what I was trying to express was how it felt fated that after yn named it clyde- he jokingly named his bonnie and once he saved yn from mika- he called it bonnie again. It was as if their relationship was fated for it to happen the moment after the reader named clyde- because bonnie and clyde were together til the end/no matter what- if that makes more sense?) No it's not strange that you liked writing it- it was beyond amazing- i'm so glad you enjoyed writing it 😭💖 because for me as a reader it was clear how much love and thought was put into this fic- I lllloooovveeed that scene- (I def couldn't express it that night and meant to fix my tags but my sleepy brain said *post*)- I loved the other two fics in this series- and I just- even thinking back into the story I'm just so content- it was my everything- (ngl this makes me want to read it all over again). (I wish for you to know that I keep thinking about that little ring and it means sm- I wish I had gotten to talk about the disgrace bit because it was brutal yet a deeper dive into his backstory and I loved it- there's just sm to say about this brilliant fic but I'll stop here). anyways thank you again for writing that lovely "movie" 🥺💖

omg no cuz why do we always stay up when we know we have to get up to do something the next day 😭😭 scooby doo brain fever or sumn @@ PLS honestly if u read half of what i spout out after reading long fics, u wouldn't even understand what im trying to convey 😭

RAAAH I APPRECIATE THAT 😭😭 no cuz i kinda wrote the confession part separately but it was supposed to be closer to the middle?? BUT that was when i planned for the fic to be waaay longer 🤧 the end really was made up on the fly skfbeknfnf so im glad it all wrapped up nicely for u, that puts my mind at ease 😅 i figured there'd be some questions lol

omg i just realized i put midnight creek instead of moonstone creek 😭😭😭 my own fic and i can't even remember akfndknfkd BUT YES I IMAGINE LIKE EVERY FIC AS A MOVIE :'))) it's just so much fun to see how it progresses and to imagine like music and camera angles lol and when the fic is written well, the scenes just flow sooo nicely together yk?

no omg the bonnie and clyde thing def makes sense !!! i didn't know if doing that pairing would be cheesy or not but i think it fits w them well, and im glad u agree :'))) AHHH YEAH im so glad u thought so, this was my passion project, like truly. idt i'll ever be able to write sumn like this ever again and that low-key makes me sad TT

the disgrace part has so much behind it, like i put it into the beginning without quite knowing where it would lead, but now i have a better idea of his back story that i hope to write out some time !! im so glad the little ring part is sticking with u; it makes me so emo thinking abt it 😭

THANK U AGAIN SM FOR READING AND FOR UR THOUGHTS !!! 💖💖 much, MUCH love <3

[prettypleaseinplnk]

hello my lovely bunny! <3

im so glad you enjoyed reading my last ask- i see it's made you so eager to hear from me again. don't worry, you've made me sooo so eager as well with how needy you sound :)

i love the fact that you have no idea who i am, i wish i could take advantage of that- just show up in the same aisle as you while you're out shopping, not being able to take my eyes off of you as my mind wanders, just wondering how easy it would be to grab you and take you home with me..

this time, i'd lay you on your back, place a bar between your legs to make sure you're spread completely open for me, and tie your hands to the headboard. i'd start softly drawing letters on your clit with the tip of my tongue, spelling out my name and forcing you to guess. i know how desperate you get, but i'd have so much fun watching you nearly cry from how badly you wish i'd just let you fall apart in my mouth. you'd only have a few chances to get it right, so pay close to attention...

but this wandering mind problem you have would make this hard for you, right baby? don't worry, i can fix that for you.. i could smack you, but i don't think my hand is enough- if im going to train you to only focus on the feeling of my tongue edging you to no end, i'll need to replace that pleasure with painful smacks on your already aching clit. aww, did that hurt, my bunny? maybe you can figure out how to pay better attention next time, hm? i'd keep denying you pleasure until you're just a perfect doll with no space in your pretty mind for a single thought. oh how embarrassing, did that sting on your pussy make you more wet? god, seeing you like this would drive me insane.. i'd need to get my fix before i let you finish..

i'd untie you, remove the bar from your legs, sit in a chair across from the bed, and make you crawl to me. you'd look like such a desperate little slut on your hands and knees for me- now let's see how deserving you are. come and taste me, baby- show me how worthy you are with that pretty little mouth of yours.. i can only imagine the needy little moans you'd make and how the vibration would feel on my pussy. i know you'd be so good for me. it wouldn't take long before i'm gripping your hair to push your face down, burying it in my pussy as my body tenses and i cum. you'd clean me up like such a good little bunny, right?

oh it seems like you're dripping all over the floor underneath you- how pathetic, getting all worked up like this from pleasing a stranger.. unfortunately for you my pretty little toy, i think i'd want to see just how long i can keep you yearning for release now.. hours? days? weeks? i know how badly you want to be broken, and im sure this would be a fun way to do it, at least on my end. torturing you would be my favorite, my bunny.

-🫧

Hello 🫧, I’m so glad to hear from you again, that last ask got me so desperate!

Oh how I would love for that to happen..I would love to be out somewhere minding my own business maybe getting groceries or browsing items in a clothing store when suddenly you come up behind me, maybe you’ll grab my hips? cover my mouth with your hand? Whisper into my ear that I know you, and that I was made for this, whilst my brain scrambles to understand and figure out who you are.

I’d love to have you tie me up so I am completely at your mercy, my legs spread open, unable to move and revealing my cunt to you, allowing you to see how wet I am already just from what little you’ve done to me. I think even just having me spread out like that is enough to make me a mindless little doll for you…

And giving me the honour of being between your legs? Wow… I promise I’d be such a good little bunny for you, I’d be so eager to make you feel wonderful and get you to cum>.< So eager to bury myself in your pussy that my face would get absolutely covered in your slick, getting all messy just to please you. Would love to feel your legs shake around me and your pretty cunt pulse as you cum on my tongue it would feel so good, get me so wet and drippy.. it sounds so lovely.

Xx bunny

[wildemaven]

As it turns out I'm feeling much better after having the night off and cooking/baking my little heart out with music playing, half a bottle of wine then a long hot hot bubble bath.

Anyway this got me thinkin about our boy Frankie. So imagine it's Friday eveningish, it's guys night and it's Frankie's turn hosting. So you've been cooking and baking to feed four grown men. Frankie comes into the kitchen and looks around. He sees cheeseball, a crockpot of BBQ meatballs, cookiecake bars and dill pickle cream cheese roll ups. Frankie comes up behind you and rests his chin on your shoulder. He's pouting.

"Mi amor, why do you never make any of my favorites for guys night?" He asks honest to God a little upset.

You turn and face him. "What do you mean?"

"You make cheeseball for Pope, meatballs for Will and those weird ass pickle roll ups for Benny."

You hum your understanding. "Frankie I do too make your favorite ever guys nights..."

He interrupts frustrated. "Do not."

You tilt your head and raise an eyebrow as you wrap your arms around his neck. "Francisco Morales what is your favorite snack in the whole world....that only you get to eat...and the guys never ever get any?"

Frankie looks at you confused then the light bulb goes off in his brain. "The guys won't be for an hour....can we go upstairs so I can have a snack to hold me over till after they're gone." He asks in a low lust filled voice.

You smile as you kiss his lips. "Baby, I'm always open 24/7 for you."

HEATHER!!!!! It’s nearly 4 am and now I’m HUNGRY for this!!

😮‍💨 Frankie would be so needy too! But we love a needy man!!

I’m gonna assume Frankie texts the guys that the evening canceled— He needs seconds and thirds

Also, I’m glad you are feeling better!! Cooking and baking are the sometimes so therapeutic.

Thanks for these thots! They’re gonna be floatin around with me all day!!