#i've been reading more fics lately

[kazimo]

Just realized I forgot to post this here too :0

Anyway, fic rec time for the quanyin bingo! More under the cut!

First, “The words that take us by surprise” by tiny_sobek! This fic was inspired by one of my quanyin fanarts and has a special place in my heart ☺️ Very, very cute and sweet short fic! ❤️

If you’re in the mood for a longer read, I also recommend her series “Closer now than yesterday”, especially if you crave that happy ending and relationship development we never really got in canon 🥲

Lastly, I’d like to rec “Curl” by LinXueLian! It’s one of the first quanyin fics I read and I still love it :3 It’s a very fun read and includes one of my fav tropes for them, which is Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen being worshiped together post-canon 🤭

[varpusvaras]

Fox woke up with a dull headache and laying on the best mattress in the entire Galaxy.

He sighed. It had been a rough week. Someone could say that all of his weeks were rough, but Fox had very different parameters on what counted as rough anymore than most people. In that light, the past week had definitely been rough. It was a pleasant surprise to wake up with only a headache, and a manageable one at that, and not having to peel himself off of damp ground first thing after waking up.

Fox turned his head a bit more into the pillow. It had been a while since he had had the time to go meet Bail in the House. He had never slept the night there, but he had been into Bail's personal quarters a few times. It had always been like getting a little glimpse of what having a home with them would be like, and the times Fox had laid there on the bed, closing his eyes just for a moment, he had allowed himself to just dream of it and ignore everything that happened outside the walls of the room.

The linens smelled faintly of Bail's cologne mixed with the soft washing agent he preferred to use. It was Breha's favorite, and reminded him of home, he had told Fox, and Fox had used that knowledge to imagine how it would be to wake up next to her, in a time where he would have nothing to worry about anymore.

Fox breathed in the scent, and remembered that he was supposed to be dead.

Fox snapped properly awake instantly, every bit of his training kicking in all at once, and he jumped to sit up on the bed. That turned out to be a bad idea, since his back gave him a very intense warning not to move too fast in the form of searing pain coursing up his spine. It left him breathing rapidly for a moment, before whatever painkillers that were used to dull the pain this far started to soothe it over again.

Fox took another deep breath once he could, and with it came the rest of it. The fight, the explosion, hitting ground, and then- nothing. Nothing else between the last impact of hard ground beneath him and waking up in the Cantham House in Bail's bed.

This didn't make any sense. Or maybe it did, but not to Fox just yet. He needed to...he needed to find Bail.

Fox got all the way to pushing the blankets off of him when the door opened, and Bail stepped in.

There was a singular second, during which Bail stared at him, opened his mouth and immediately closed it again, and then he was hurrying up to the bed, crossing the entire room with only a few long strides, and then he was already wrapping his arms tightly around Fox.

Fox breathed in. It was a little shaky. Was he shaking? Bail was, just a little, Fox could feel it from how close to himself Bail was holding him. He pulled his head back in order to look him in the face. He couldn't see much, only the way how tightly set Bail's jaw was and how the corners of his mouth were turned down.

"Bail", Fox called softly. He didn't dare to speak any louder. It felt inapproriate, especially considering what he had done, how much it had probably hurt Bail and Breha and everyone else. This was too much, already, still having Bail hold him like this, and Fox didn't want to push beyond what he was given.

He both felt and heard Bail draw in a deeper breath as well, before he loosened his hold a little.

"Fox." Bail moved back, but only a couple of inches, still not letting go off Fox either. He pressed a soft kiss onto Fox's temple, and Fox had to fight his heart in order for it not to slam right into his throat. "How are you feeling, my love?"

My love. My love, my love, my love. The relief and the guilt that followed immediately after were so strong that Fox had to now fight the tears that were threatening to gather into his burning eyes. Bail was too good, way too good. Everything that Fox had done, and still he called him that.

"I'm..." His throat was dry, most likely not just from having emotions, and Fox had to swallow a couple of times before he got his voice to work. "Good. All things considered."

The explosion he remembered before everything stopped had not been just a little bang, and Fox was honestly surprised that he still had all of his limbs and his face intact. At least the armor had proven to be worth everything he had put into it.

"Good", Bail said. He finally leaned back enough that Fox could see him properly again. There was still some tightness left in his expression, but there was unmistakeably relief written all over him as well. "You gave me quite the scare there, you know?"

There was no accusation in his voice, but that didn't matter, because Fox was feeling guilty enough already all on his own.

"I'm sorry", he blurted. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

To make you think I'm dead. To hurt you. To make you grieve someone like me when there is so much already for you to worry about constantly.

"Fox." Bail's hand came to craddle his face. "I understand. You don't have to apologise to me."

"Yes I do." Bail was too good, way too good for someone like Fox. "I didn't want to make you think I was gone when I really wasn't. I just...I just didn't know how to tell you without anyone finding out."

He had wanted to tell him and Breha immediately. Making them believe he was dead had been outright nauseating, but with how close the Senate was to Bail all the time, and with how many players there whose alliances Fox still couldn't name for sure, it had seemed impossible at the time, and with so many other pressing things coming at him constantly, he had not had the time to even begin to plan how to contact either of them safely, and had resigned himself to the fact that it was better this way, anyway. If he got killed on his way down to the core of the War, they wouldn't have to grieve him twice.

"I know", Bail said. "I'm serious. I know you. I know that you wouldn't have done it if you didn't think it was necessary or if you couldn't find a way. We've all made sacrifices during this war. This was not the first, and it will not be the last."

He ran his thumb gently across Fox's cheek, and Fox finally gave himself permission to lean into the touch. He had missed this. He had missed Bail and Breha so, so badly.

"Thank you", he said.

The corners of Bail's mouth finally turned more upwards.

"You don't need to thank me", he said. He quickly glanced down at Fox's body then. "Do you need more medication for the pain? You were pretty roughed up when we found you, I am honestly quite surprised that you are managing this good."

"I'm good." Fox looked down on himself then as well. His arms were pretty much completely covered in dressings that if he concentrated smelled faintly of bacta. The same situation was going on with what surface area Fox could see beneath his shirt, and when he looked towards his legs, he could see that his left shin was encased in a more heavy-duty brace. The medication was really putting in some work, since Fox hadn't noticed any of it until now. "We're made to be much sturdier than we look. Wouldn't be much use in combat otherwise."

Bail shook his head a little, but didn't comment on it otherwise.

"Please do tell me if you do need something", he said instead. "I'm...I was afraid for a moment that I'd lost you again, before we got there."

That reminded Fox again of all the questions he had.

"How did you find me?" He asked. "Or, more importantly, why were you even there?"

Bail perhaps lacked the level of self-preservation that Fox wished he had, but going after someone who had been at the center of major conflicts on the planet for weeks now was a decision Fox didn't understand. They did have the same enemies, of course, but that had been all the connection Bail had had to whatever Fox had been doing. Personally coming after someone like that just didn't make sense.

Bail frowned a bit.

"Padmé and I figured out what you were most likely after", he said. "And I realised that you were walking into what was essentially a trap. I had come get you."

Fox opened his mouth to ask him why when it clicked.

"You knew it was me?" He asked.

"Yes", Bail answered immediately. "I've known since the first broadcast after you leaked the files."

"How?" Fox had put so much effort into making the armor cover all recognizable features of him. He had put so much effort into learning to let go and not fight like a clone. He had put so much effort on making sure that he would succeed in his mission, ready to denounce every part of himself in the process if he had to, to make sure that none of them could be used to track him down.

Bail looked him in the eyes.

"I told you already", he said, easily, unwaveringly. "I know you."

Such a simple answer, but one that made Fox's heart hammer hard inside his chest nevertheless.

"Okay", he said, because what else was he supposed to say to that? "Can I call Breha?"

Bail smiled at him.

"Yes", he said. "She's been waiting for you."

[juustozzi]

you might've seen this in an ask already, but decided to post here too; a collection of Tenmas from Yara's fics, since I love the differences that thrown into different timelines and happenings give him!

[estellardreams]

Some Prisoner Trio related stuff that idk where else to put.

First was actually a scrapped two parter because I literally didn't know where I was going with this. I think I was gonna go down the idea of "King Red gets so sick of TT Red resisting that he just starts flat out scarring him however he could (my first thought went to ice ocean water)" but then I just... Forgot. Oops.

Second... Post Prisoner Trio. These three are SCARRED. And this is only scratching the surface, quite literally.

If you had to base the time frame these three were under... My mind instantly went to at least two years under King Red. And YIKES did it get brutal.

Unsurprisingly Macaque got the least amount of damage. Sure the fillet became an issue from time to time but he usually did the work. Meanwhile Wukong and Red continuously resisted, and since King Red probably hates Wukong WAY MORE than his past self, especially after the monkey king killed his parents, then suffice to say he took most of his brutality out on the stone monkey.

And third... A small assortment of doodles. Including timers on the longest each has had their fillet activated.

Red once got three days, to the degree his body went numb to the pain and headache.

Wukong had the wreck of an entire WEEK to deal with. Absolutely sucked.

And Macaque only got an entire day once due to legitimately covering for Wukong so the two wouldn't get caught after purposefully sabotaging one of the King's devices. Wukong still took the fall for it, but for being the accomplice he still got a pretty extreme punishment.

And for the small doodle of TT Red trying to sleep... Well, I remembered that one ask I read on TT Red indulging in very cutesy stuff to not make himself like King Red. And while stuck in their current position he had an extremely hard time sleeping through the pain.

So... Wukong, knowing full well that the object couldn't be used to break them out but would still be quite "embarrassing" for someone like King Red to have around in his fortress, decided to grant TT Red's request of receiving something cutesy to help him sleep through the night.

That just so happened to be a Fluttershy doll (mlp looks so cutesy doesn't it? Also if Red probably had to choose his favorite would've most likely been between Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. But Fluttershy is absolutely NOT who he sees himself relating to (he actually does but doesn't know it) and chose that pony in particular. It's also the most soft looking main character there is).

[DKR and TT Red belong to @purble-turble]

[benevolenterrancy]

Last line meme

rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

Tagged for this by @mikkeneko -- thanks for the tag! I've been mostly picking at concepts lately; the most recent doc I had open was a fic where Xie Lian meets He Xuan before Hua Cheng and miscommunications ensue, just because I have fun playing with their dynamic

He was in the middle of a meeting when his corpse finally woke up and seemed inclined to stay awake. It had taken four days.  After the first day the man had managed to stay breathing continuously, and his heart had been beating any time He Xuan had made a demon check on it, but the man still hadn’t responded to anything beyond the occasional wild muscular impulse that consumed him, causing him to writhe in the sand or descend into coughing fits as his lungs continued to exorcise themselves of water. During the second and third days the demons had reported that he had very gradually begun to show more awareness.

People to tag... let's see... @tuttle-4077, @auxiliarydetective, @sorrel-scribbles, @morporkian-cryptid, @frau-wilhelm-klink, @rose-of-pollux and of course anyone else that wants an excuse, consider this my tag for you to talk about your writing!

[whattheskyknows]

just read all of 13 students remain in 3 days and wrote my first AO3 comment on it

just wanted to also come here and say your writing is devastating (/pos) and I can't wait to see how the fic ends

Ooough sorry I didn't see this until now!!!

But ahhhhh, thank you so much!!! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed my fic!!!

[blorb-el]

14 and 24

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write (fanfic end of year asks)

answered over here! the tl;dr is it's sure on this shining night, which is gen superfam fic focused on kara and martha recreating kryptonian recipes for the winter solstice <3

24. favorite fic you read this year

I can never pick just one... particular favorites this year were...

hoebiwan's onward, lonesome hero (carry on, carry on), a clark gets captured by lex early on au which gave me so much brainrot my wip fic of this fic is currently sitting at about 50k

nichepastiche and wisteria_lodge's Relationship Status, a very loving and intimate superbat getting together with low drama fic, with a lot of tenderness and a calm, unique and lovely flowing dialogue style even throughout the E rated scenes (so hard to pull off!!)

ionia/@supermanshield's Devotion, a lovely (very explicit) intimate superbat first time where every sentence just feels like canon, down to bruce forgetting his toothbrush

shipyrds/@burins' from the inside of the wound, a pain swap fic between bruce and clark that is somewhat like taffy in that it is rich and layered and sticks with you and i've been chewing on it for weeks/gently rotating it in my head

believe it or not i do actually occasionally read fics about non-superheroes... my favorite of which this year was ellen_fremedon's ongoing epic Les Mis fic In Which Is To Be Learned The Name of Enjolras's Fake Fiancée. I'm not convinced this author isn't a time traveler direct from 1832 the way the detail in this is so extraordinary, and the slow unfurling of characterization is unreal. It's probably readable canon-blind, if any followers of this blog happen to be into Hugolian style narration.

and my favorite superman fic of all time which I first came across in 2022 but no joke reread every three months or so, which easily makes my top 10 superman stories ever, the unreally good Shatterfall by tandrelmairon. read it and then agonize with me about how it's unfinished and hasn't been updated since 2007. then go read their OTHER stellar clois fic Getting Eaten Alive which IS complete

[nostalgia-tblr]

u know, once someone has pointed out the orientalism in most of fandom's depictions of jotun!loki you can never unsee it.

[rotisseries]

every time I get on tiktok and am reminded how popular the attitude of not reading incomplete fics is I'm just so sincerely confused cause there is so much joy in just. watching something be created over time idk

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Fic Rec Friday!!

No one said I couldn't do it more than once a day!

Todays other fic rec of the day is *drumroll* ...

problems for our future selves

By: @managician

Fandom: Sonic Prime

Ship: Sonic the Hedgehog/Nine the Fox

Rating: G

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 4,792

Link:

ㅤ

Now, you may already recognize this fic title as I have reblogged the official tumblr posting for this fic before and recommended it in the reblog tags.

While not necessarily tagged as such, I have always found this fic to be a bit of a refreshing character study. The author mixes predictions for what was the upcoming S2, self indulgence, and character interpretation in a fic that puts you inside the head of the character Nine. In this case, it explores his feelings and actions post S1 in regards to his goals, his situations, and how he feels about Sonic.

Even with the context of Sonic Prime S2 fresh on the mind, the fic reads as a plausible follow up to the ending of Season 1 if things were to go a bit differently. The interactions Nine has with Sonic, as well as the confusing nature of his feelings towards him, read very realistic to me in the context of the show, and as moments/topics that could theoretically be explored in such a setting. Nine is angry with Sonic, but also feels giddy when it comes to him. He needs Sonic alive if he is to be free from the council, doesn't care about him otherwise, right? And yet, he knows that he does. He feels that it would be easier for him if he did not care about Sonic, especially after how he's shaken up his life and left him behind, but he cannot help but care. He does not know how to feel about (or rather doesn't know if he can handle) the prospect of Sonic dying or the Chaos Council killing him, and yet also doesn't know what he will do if Sonic does come to save him.

As someone who'd hungered for some good Sonine or Nine character analysis around S2's release, this fic absolutely delivered, and it's one I still come back to and read quite a lot. Likewise, as someone who is aroaspec themselves but adores romance I love Sora's take on Sonine's relationship. Nine's confusion about his feelings come from a place of liking a person even though it feels like you shouldn't after everything, yes. Sure, it also comes from a place of inexperience in relationships. But to me it also depicts Nine in the position of not being able to place a relationship as purely platonic or romantic.

But anyways, I digress. This fic is sweet, a little angsty, and a bit bittersweet, and I'd recommend it for those who like stories regarding people trying to work out what a person means to them, and for those seeking Sonine in a canon context. This read is perfect for people who like to come away from a fic thinking about the implications of the characters' actions and taking another dive into their heads. It is also for those not afraid of reading something bittersweet, as the characters themselves aren't sure how to feel or how the future will turn out.

[fandom-hoard]

Is it just me or is there a trend of more and more "poorly written" fics?

I don't mean "poorly written" as in the story being bad or not engaging, I just mean that it'd get a bad grade in school because it doesn't have correct capitalization/punctuation/formatting/ect.

But fanfiction is NOT written for a grade, so authors can write however they want. Just, can anyone tell me if they think fanfiction getting more casual is a trend that's going to keep increasing?

I'm not against reading fic like this it's just that I find it very very distracting and tiring to try and read, but I don't want to miss out on good fics because I grew up with some elitist idea of what writing should look like or something.

[sysig]

It always seems like such a good idea in the moment (Patreon)

The first four are in reference to a great idea I had of - since I’ve finished my lower-limit page number testing for making books; shorter fics take up less page space, and just increasing the font size isn’t as handsome! - simply making a mini book! All it would take would be to halve the pages again, right? Just cut them right down the middle! Easy peasy!

As I’m sure you can tell by the second, no. Not easy peasy. Difficult painful un-fun >:(

Obviously I still did it tho! What do you take me for, someone who could have the idea of an even tinier book and then not do something about it?? No It’s also the only one so far to have a paper bookmark rather than a ribbon!

All told it’s a bit smaller than your average manga (I love the monochrome covers on these under their dust jackets haha <3) - you can see even with effectively doubling up the pages by halving their size, it was still very small-spined!

A quick shot while it was still being made hehe ♪ It’s Out! Paired here - and the earlier one, just without its dust jacket haha - with my Zarla SC2 collection (ft. Family, Negotiations are Going...Well, and With No Obligation) - I absolutely kicked myself after the fact for not including Out as the run-up to everything, I was really trying to make a full collection in probably-chronological order! Out would’ve been a perfect start! And it only would’ve taken like four pages!!

Ah well, it was still quite a learning experience - I probably wouldn’t make another standalone of under 4k-ish just for formatting reasons but I did get some good ideas of how to do so if I wanted to! Although, my next project is going to be even more of a formatting nightmare........I’ll get there when I get there! Lol

[transingthoseformers]

dhhdjf ohh

okay so in one of the fics I found Ford just brought human!Bill into the Mystery Shack, right?

Except

His family doesn't know it's Bill

They all think Ford just shot some random fucking twink with a stun gun, dragged him into the shack, and shot him again.

[bubbleteasing]

Small fics update...

butb, 2x1, and the new acaat sequel are all in the works. I'll probably have at least two of those ready, plus a new chapter for the new fic the early bird catches de bone by next week.

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Villain AU - Deadlock, Part 5

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 ||

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

smooth_criminal: idk, must be some kind of chess nerd.

She too had noticed that Bishop name on the investors' list. Getting that question from Donatello confirmed that this was a new face in the game, or at least one that usually knew how to cover their tracks efficiently.

smooth_criminal: Is that the new target you want me to look into? HookedOnCoffee: Not yet. I need to think. Things are getting a bit complicated... smooth_criminal: How so?

The answer took some time to come in.

HookedOnCoffee: Lack of trust.

A grunt escaped Vee. For what? The info she gave him? Herself? His own team?

smooth_criminal: Gotta be more specific, turtle.

She couldn't afford being tossed to the side this early, especially considering the advance she got from her mysterious client.

HookedOnCoffee: The others don't want an external presence in the investigation.

"Fuck 'em," hissed Vee.

She pushed herself away from her desk, walking away only to crash on her bed in the nearby bedroom. A muffled grumble left her, face planted in her pillow. Thinking fast wasn't her forte tonight, yet she knew she had to bring a new idea on the table in order to keep the mutant invested in her. ... Nonchalant, she brought a nearby tablet to her, starting to scroll through its content mindlessly. Landing back on the project Renaissance's information, she decided to revise it lightly. Maybe that would hype her again to truly keep this mission alive...

Skipping some pages, she landed on a listing of who was working on what, as well as a mention of contributors and commissioners. Frowning, Vee stopped as her gaze landed on the name "Bishop".

"Who the hell are you...," she mumbled to herself, already starting a search for any other mentions of that name.

The results were very few, but she did find some other instances that were listed alongside the initials "E.P.F." In a rush, she jumped out of bed and headed back to her computer. She briefly saw another message from Donatello, but disregarded it at first and prefered to open a new browser tab. Her queries were basic at first:

>> E.P.F. >> What is E.P.F. >> Bishop E.P.F. >> Who is Bishop >> Bishop Eternal Poopstain Fucker

"Come on, brain, wake up," groaned Vee, unable to find anything sustainable.

She hopped back to her conversation with the terrapin, finally seeing what he had written.

HookedOnCoffee: That doesn't reflect my view on this matter. I want to prove them wrong, and I hope you can show them you're trustworthy.

She paused. ... It certainly was a wonder to see how adamant he now seemed to include her in this operation.

smooth_criminal: Aww, cute. You like me already!

His response was almost immediate:

HookedOnCoffee: Don't get some high hopes. I simply recognize talent when I see it.

That brought a smile to Vee's face. His enthusiasm was worthy of calling him a 'sweet summer child', but she did admire his convictions.

smooth_criminal: Speaking of hope, I was wondering (hoping) you'd know something about "E.P.F."? HookedOnCoffee: No idea. Where's that coming from? smooth_criminal: I found a mention of Bishop in the project Renaissance files. Alongside it were those initials... I found nothing online about that, nor Bishop.

Gosh, she hoped she wasn't making a faux-pas by mentioning the project...

HookedOnCoffee: Interesting. HookedOnCoffee: Let's meet up and discuss.

"Woah there, mister," puffed Vee, not expecting such request.

smooth_criminal: What about your dear ol' family? Won't they be pissed if you do that? HookedOnCoffee: They don't need to know. For now.

That brought a quick laugh out of the woman, highly entertained by this sudden rebel strike of his. Was she inspiring him?

smooth_criminal: That's what I'm talking about! smooth_criminal: And to reward this initiative, plus prove you can trust me, we can meet up at my place. smooth_criminal: but that'll have to wait close to the weekend. Right now I'm swamped.

She had to up her game if she wanted to get into his good graces.

HookedOnCoffee: Can't get your phone number, but going to your place is cool? ... I don't understand you. smooth_criminal: I don't understand myself either. Glad we agree on that! smooth_criminal: Take the offer or leave it, turtle. Dunno what you want to talk about, but if you want to join our searches together, that'll be a good step forward. HookedOnCoffee: Count me in.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Finally back on tracks, Vee forwarded him her address, alongside an ideal date and time to meet up. She fluttered her legs happily, making her chair swivel. Getting a look around her apartment at the same moment, her lips formed a thin line.

"Fuck. I'll have to clean around..."

***

It was always so easy to lure his family away. Giving the pretense that he needed to go scavenge for some electronics was the ideal excuse for him to be left alone - especially if he needed to get topside by himself. The trek to Vee's place was easy and pleasant at first, until a storm slowly crept its way over the city. The joys of spring.

He found the apartment building, aiming for her floor as he scaled down the fire escape stairs from the rooftop. As he reached for her window he paused, feeling somewhat weird to arrive at this new place - a woman's place nonetheless! Finally knocking on the glass that gave view into her living room, he soon spotted Vee making her way towards him. She gasped after opening the window, noticing the heavy downpour.

"Fuck, wait! Let me go grab some towels."

As she rushed away, the turtle took a moment to glance inside furthermore. The place seemed small, the living and kitchen areas melding together, and he guessed that there was only one bedroom and a bathroom. When the woman reappeared, he finally got a view at her frame. She was wearing jeans and a tank top - which gave a nice sight on her cleavage... Keep it together.

He was allowed to step in, Vee tossing him several towels as she also started to forcefully pat the water off of him.

"I don't want you to mess any furniture or my tech. Otherwise I'll slap you."

"Oh, I'm so scared," replied the terrapin, amused.

She dismissed his comment with a quick grimace, then offering him to remove any gear he wanted to let dry on towels left aside. Finally settled, the woman stood before him, hands on her hips as she laid out some rules:

"First of all, do NOT try to log back into my stuff while you're here. I was able to push you out once, I can push you out again. Please respect my privacy."

"I already agreed to that, what else?"

"Don't go snooping around my place. It's small and I know where everything's at. If you touch something, I'll know."

"Didn't know I was in the presence of a dragon."

That brought a quick chuck out of Vee: "Fun fact, they're my favorite mythical creatures."

"Another rule, or we're gonna share more info as if we're playing a get-to-know-you game?"

"Rule number three, don't be an ass. And rule number four-" she made her way towards the small kitchen, getting some wine glasses out. "- when we're here, we drink. What's your age?"

"Oh now you're asking me how old I am," smiled the terrapin, coming her way, then leaning against a countertop. "I thought you were just going to hand me a drink out of nowhere, like last time."

"I was too focused on leaving with class, I do have a dramatic flair as well."

After pouring some red wine, she offered him a glass.

"I'll be thirty-one in October," answered Donnie as he took it. "So we're basically in the same age group."

Vee whistled low: "Looking swell for an old man."

"Same goes to you, old woman."

They both took a first sip, Donatello appreciating the flavor for a moment.

"You got good taste, I'll give you that," he commented.

Vee jokingly flipped her hair, letting out an "I know" as she made her way next to her computer desk. Setting herself in her chair, she unlocked the screens, revealing notes and some of the Renaissance files opened.

"You wanted to discuss, let's do so," she started.

As her eyes fell back on the mutant she frowned lightly. She had no seat to offer to him, and she sure as hell wasn't going to offer him one of her weak kitchen chairs. Guessing her questionnement, Donnie simply knelt down beside her, his new height allowing him to rest his forearms on the desk.

"No worries, I'm cool like this," he reassured. He then vaguely pointed the screen: "Turns out 'E.P.F.' stands for 'Earth Protection Force'."

"Wait. Where did you get that information?" Vee was already scrambling through her opened windows, trying to find any mentions of what he just said.

"I have my ways to find things off the grid, and I want to offer some of my tools to you so we can be on the same level."

That slowed the woman down, somehow incredulous.

"... Wait, you'd do that just like that for someone you barely know?"

He shrugged: "Why not? I feel like you'd make good use of it. Unless I should be worried?"

"Any sane person would be!"

A quick flash appeared in the room, surprising both. It was quickly followed by thunder, the air slightly shaking in its roar.

"Look, do you want to help me, or not?" asked the male next. "I can't have you be slowed down by generic tools."

Vee slumped back into her chair with a sigh.

"I mean, sure," she said. "I just hope your thing doesn't have anything suspicious in it."

"I think now we're past that point of questioning eachother's stuff. Trust me."

He got back up and headed for his backpack he had left near where he entered.

"It's a simple installation," he continued, still searching around. "It'll allow you to get past government firewalls, dig deeper into queries, and basically uncover anything that is usually hidden to the public." He got a small USB device out with a grin. "I'll teach you how to use it!"

And right after his words another lightning appeared, its crash closer this time. Power was instantly lost, plunging the small apartment into darkness.

"Are you FUCKING kidding me?!" let out Vee.

That made the mutant laugh, a quiet snort escaping him.

"That was a good, yet unfortunate timing," he said next.

"I guess we wait now..."

With a sigh, she grabbed her glass and got up, trying to aim for her couch next. She heard some movement as well from Donnie's side, which was enough to distract her and for her leg to hit her coffee table in the dark. She was about to lose balance, but was quickly stabilized by the turtle's grasp around her free hand and forearm. Dang, now she remembered how big he truly was... Her fingers got a chance to graze across his scales, taking in the texture and realizing how thick his skin seemed like. Great, she thought quickly with slight annoyance, I may need a stronger needle...

"Thanks," she quickly mumbled, both then letting go of eachother.

Vee finally settled down on the couch, taking a well-deserved sip of wine. It didn't take long before she felt a dip into the seat, her body instantly falling towards the terrapin's mass and clashing into his form.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry!" he let out.

That brought the woman to spit some of her drink back into her glass, instantly laughing right after. Maybe it was the adrenaline of being so close all of a sudden; Vee couldn't quite control her reactions.

"No worries, I just didn't expect it," she said. "I can't see shit!"

Man, this guy was well-toned as fuuuuuuuuuuuc- Sitting straighter, the woman returned to her drink, letting the sound of rain fill the space instead for a moment. Allowing for this silence to reign made the gears of her mind work, almost regretting the next words leaving her mouth:

"You know... I'm starting to wonder why you need my help, really." She tried to find his gaze, but her eyes were not quite yet adjusted to the darkness. "You look and sound like you can handle yourself with all that research stuff. Won't I slow you down or something?"

The turtle hummed, first taking a sip of wine.

"Sure I can find my way through anything," he started. "And I can always let an algorithm work for me whenever I'm either away or asleep... but there's always a margin for errors and details can get omitted. Meanwhile-" Vee saw the faint silhouette of his hand get up, a finger tapping to his temple. "A living brain gets to see nuances and make connections where a machine can't. And that's what I need right now."

He took another sip, probably finishing his drink as he next left his glass on the nearby coffee table.

"And that is actually a great segway into something I wanted to talk about. ... You found Bishop's mention into the project Renaissance documents; why were you looking through that in the first place? I asked you before why you were seeking information about it, but never got an answer."

Oh boy. Vee finished her glass as well, trying to find something good to say. The deep rumble of thunder rattled through her brain, opting for an innocent approach.

"I was curious?" she started. "The information was unknown to me, and like I said when we met previously; if I don't know something, that'll only push me to get to know more about it."

"What do you intend to do with that information?"

She noticed how his tone was now serious and somewhat deeper. Unwillingly, she started to feel some fear deep within her - which she would never confess about.

"I just want to know what I'm dealing with," she replied.

"You're not thinking about selling anything you know to any good offers?"

He had said that while getting closer, his intimidation act somehow now sending shivers along Vee's spine.

"I wouldn't have anything really sustainable to sell, anyway." The woman tried to keep her cool. "Most information I've found was incomplete."

She risked leaving her hand against the terrapin's chest, stopping his motion.

"You said you want me to show how trustworthy I can be, then let this be your proof. I will never sell the information I've read."

But I can easily sell anything related to it... Her spoken word did seem to bring some calm onto Donnie, a quiet and relieved sigh leaving him. This time Vee was the one to get closer, her hold shifting to one of his mask's tails. She replaced her fear with enticement, speaking so close to his jaw:

"Don't worry, I won't stab you in the back. I don't think I could anyway with that shell of yours."

She released him next, getting up instead and grabbing the empty glasses so she could bring them to the kitchen. Donnie prefered to remain silent at that moment, attempting to bring the rapid pace of his heart to a calmer beat. He could still feel the touch of her hand on his plastron and the ghost of her lips so close to his face...

"I'm guessing those concerns of me selling any information is also part of your family's lack of trust towards me?" rose up Vee's voice once more from the shadows.

The turtle's attention snapped back to her.

"For the most part, yes."

"I get it, and I don't blame them."

Donnie couldn't help noting a faint trace of melancholy in her tone. At once, he did realize that her world was probably feeling very small - with most people surely having little to no confidence in her due to her occupation. His conscience got him to stand up, approaching the woman's position. He couldn't explain why, but if he could bring her any peace and comfort, he'd do so in a heartbeat... He felt Vee's gaze in the dark, her small frame a sudden magnet to the depths of the mutant's soul.

"Need something?" her words echoed timidly.

Suddenly he needed everything...

The power came back, illuminating the frozen scene they were now in. Donnie finally realized his position; standing so close to the human who had backed up against the countertop. His eyes grew slightly, suddenly ashamed of his behavior. With a quick clear of his throat he got his device out of his pocket, pointing towards the computer's direction with it.

"Let's get this installed and I'll give you a quick rundown of it."

((Part 6))