#issue 289

[johannepetereric]

Hey, we get to see all Timoteo's gang! (heh)

And half of 'em have funny puns lol

[where-am-i-by-mary-regan]

"Where Am I?" Issue #289

Maybe not a comprehensive list, but a good starting point.

[hereforyourdispleasure]

Bro I love Donna she's just fucking trolling Ten every single second. This is the 5th episode she's been in and we're yet to have a full episode where she doesn't tell the doctor she wants to go tf home

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1967 Ford Mustang

The 1967 model year Mustang was the first significant redesign of the original model. Ford's designers began drawing up a larger version even as the original was achieving sales success, and while "Iacocca later complained about the Mustang's growth, he did oversee the redesign for 1967 ."The major mechanical feature was to allow the installation of a big-block V8 engine. The overall size, interior and cargo space were increased. Exterior trim changes included concave taillights, side scoop (1967 model) and chrome (1968 model) side ornamentation, square rear-view mirrors, and usual yearly wheel and gas cap changes. The high-performance 289 option was placed behind the newer 335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE engine from the Ford Thunderbird, which was equipped with a four-barrel carburetor. During the mid-1968 model year, a drag racer for the street could be ordered with the optional 428 cu in (7.0 L) Cobra Jet engine which was officially rated at 335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) all of these Mustangs were issued R codes on their VINs.

[k-hotchoisan]

🔮 Divination with the Demon 🔮

Behemoth demon!San x fem witch! Reader

Synopsis: outcasted by your previous coven due to your overly sharp and dangerously specific divination readings of the fall of your coven, you were exiled to being alone for the next 562 years. Sick being in solitude and missing your deck, you summon a behemoth demon to make a new one.

Word count: 6K

Genre warnings: general Smut, San is an eldritch being so he has like a demon sized dick, ritualistic things (magic talk and lingo), demonic contract with San through unprotected sex, riding, multiple orgasms, creaming & cream pies, oral sex (f receiving) cum drinking (not a lot), bulge kink, finger pricks (only once), dry humping(?), biting and bleeding, San is a really sweet behemoth—just like the one in the game!❤️

A/n: loosely based off this wonderful game—The Cosmic Wheel, Sisterhood🔮 (please go ahead and support indie creators! ❤️). I was so inspired bc the behemoth in game is such a flirt hehehehe no please I’m down bad for enough people already. 😐

Enjoy!

“So you were exiled here due to treason within the coven, and concern of spreading panic via divination readings by the supreme”, the witch arbitrator announces as she reads out from the book. “You’ve been here for 289 years already?”

“Concerned is an overstatement”, you reply through gritted teeth. “She cursed me, banished me here for the next 562 years, and burned my deck. That’s pretty fucked up.”

The arbitrator raises an eyebrow as her gaze returns to the book. “Well I suppose I could grant you visitation at least because by the records here so far, you’ve been pretty-behaved.” Your temper cools off a little—just a little. It was a step forward, albeit a fucking tiny one. “Yes. I think that would be fine, Arbitrator. Thank you.”

She nods at you. “Behave well and I’m sure she can’t implicate anything else on you. Please take care”, she says before leaving the window on her flying stick. You stare as her figure quickly disappears into the starless night sky.

You sigh in annoyance. It was ridiculous how the supreme deemed your divination readings a threat, then subsequently accused you of treason and causing unrest within the coven, just because the other sisters had started leaning onto you for your accurate readings. Was she afraid of your prophesized dissolving of the coven, or was she simply scared of being overthrown? Whatever it was, being stuck here in solitude for 562 years, and your deck burned at the stake was not on your bingo list.

You nibble on your thumb nail, thinking of what to do. 289 years had passed since then, and all you had been doing was meditate and reflect on your actions. You had an itching to get your deck back—or least have a temporary deck or something. Your eyes flicker to your grimore lying at the bottom of your bookshelf and a lightbulb goes off in your head.

If you couldn’t get your deck back, why not make a new one? However the only issue is that a contract had to be made in order to breathe magick into the deck. You’ve never tried this ritual before but desperate times called for desperate measures—you really needed to do a reading.

You circle the wooden floor with your fingers, feeling the bumpy texture—each crease and indent. Retrieving your matchbox, you pull out the deep purple matchstick from the bundle, and began lighting the dark-coloured candles formed in a circle, and finally the incense sticks that were lodged in a miniature caldron, used for holding said sticks for your rituals.

Dabbing your your index finger with a black inky substance, you draw out a summoning rune onto the wooden surface, chants leaving your lips as you do so. It was a perfect full moon that night, just what you needed. You sit at edge of the summoning circle, with your grimore open at the side, carefully reading the spell.

Taking out a small silver needle, you prick your middle finger, letting the blood pool the size of a pinprick before letting the drop of blood splatter onto the middle of the black rune, reciting your final chant.

For a moment, the room is dead silent. Then the wind picks up, howling into the dead of the night, the flames on the candles dancing to keep burning, then being quickly extinguished one by one. Your curtains flutter violently, as you notice the full moon turning into a crimson colour. You stay seated as the wind whirls around you and the grimore’s pages flipping non stop. The rune activates, along with your blood which sinks into the black ink, and something slithers up to your window.

“Come in,” you invite, your gaze never breaking from the entity. It hisses at first before turning into a more human-sized creature as it enters your room, its feet gingerly touching the wooden floor.

The candles’ flames flicker back on, you look up at the entity standing before you. He barely looked like a behemoth demon—not like the one described in the book at all. Instead, he looked pretty fucking young—he has an appearance of a younger male actually. His eyes were silts as black and red markings smudged at the ends of his eyes. Speaking of his eyes—they were a glowing red, almost enchanting. Incantation runes were littered all over his arms and limbs, all visible since he was wearing a black vest. A third eye was present right smack in the middle of where his cleavage dived into, it’s iris a deep red as well. His hair is jet black with cream streaks and slicked back, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and facial features. His lips are stretched slightly wider than a human’s, and seemingly torn black wings extended out from his back.

He tilts his head at you in curiosity. “A witch summoned me?” he asks as he inches closer to you.

You nod, still seated. “I’ve summoned you to make a blood bind with you. I need a new deck.”

“Well, you’ve definitely summoned the right behemoth, that’s for sure. What happened to the deck you’ve been using?” he prods, his jet black fingers tapping on his chin.

“It was burned by my coven’s supreme. She banished me here because she was scared that the coven would dissolve because of my divinations”, you reply.

“Quite a bitch isn’t she?” the behemoth replies. You nod. At least someone fucking agrees.

He cracks his knuckles. “Well, you’ve definitely came to the right behemoth. They call me San”, he introduces as a smile spreads over his pretty face.

You smile. “You don’t look how what I expected you to look actually.”

And that cracks San up, his sharp fangs all visible. “I get that a lot. It’s just my secondary form I prefer to take on since the first usually can’t fit through windows.”

You surprise your laughter, amused at how casual this behemoth is being. “You’re pretty casual for a behemoth actually,” you point out.

San nods. “Well, I am an eldritch nonetheless, and I’ve been here since these universes were born—I’ve watched them be born and destroyed countless of times. I don’t really feel the need to be intimidating since I’ve been around for too long. You’re the first to have summoned me since the past 3 centuries.”

You nod in interest. “Must have been pretty fucking boring out there, huh?” San only smiles, and that slightly gets you. You look away and shut the grimore before turning back to him.

“So walk me through the process, San” you request. San moves forward and he sits across you, his boney wings tapping against the window panes at how wide they were.

“Well, you know the basics, but we’ll go through it together—the elements—fire, air, earth and water are always the building foundations of any deck. You get that, right?”

You nod.

He continues, “then we go onto the elements of each card—the Arcana—which will determine how you read and interpret the cards.”

Pretty basic deck stuff, but it was great that he was taking the time to refresh your memory since it had been way too long.

“I will go through each element with you per day—you’re basically going back to magick school again. Then once the final element is sealed, that’s when I’ll bind myself to you, through another ritual”, he concludes. “Any questions?”

“What’s the other ritual? Do I need to prepare anything?” You ask. San shakes his head. “The only thing you need to prepare is your consent.”

“Yeah, sure of course.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest y/n.”

Day one: Air

Sure enough, at the same timing as the previous night, San slithers into your open window, his serpent-like tail splitting into two, long legs as he climbs into your room.

“Good evening to the lovely behemoth”, you greet. San exposes his fanged grin. “I see you’re already prepared for the first lesson.” He glances at the empty deck of cards piled up on the small wooden table. Scattered around are more candles, another stick of incense, crystals and a bowl of ink for rune casting, and finally, a small crystal sword right by the plate.

He begins. “The element air represents the ability to reflect, communicate, to be aware and to perceive. Let that flow through your veins as you charge the card.”

You gingerly placed an empty card onto the selenite plate, and San sits across you, as usual as his fingertips touch yours, where he ends up linking his fingers with yours.

“It’s time to seal the card. Tell me,” San asks, “what do you crave for the most? Power? Love? Knowledge of the universe?”

You pause to think about your answer. And you tell him once you’re ready. He nods in agreement. “You seem like the type.” You roll your eyes.

“We literally just met yesterday, San” you joke. He shrugs, “feels like I’ve known you for an eternity.”

“Lying ass,” you poke. “But you did mention that the last time you did this was, what, three centuries ago?”

San nods. “It definitely has been awhile. To be fairly honest, I had an inkling we would meet soon, just not this soon.”

“And the universe brought you to me”, you hum. “Okay. Back to the Air ritual.”

He gestures you to shut your eyes and you do, so he follows shortly after.

It doesn’t take long for the magick to activate. You feel your energy getting sucked off by San and it feels though as if your body was about to be ripped into a million pieces. San throws his head back in pleasure as a low, manic cackle rumbles through his vocal chords.

“Yes, that’s lovely. Pour in all that energy into me, master”, he sings. He soon lets go of you, and you gasp for air, beads of perspiration clinging onto your forehead and temples. Your hands had slipped out his and you clutch your chest, taking slow breaths.

“Fuck, San, is it supposed to hurt so much?” You heave, eyebrows furrowed. How in Astaroth’s name will you be able to pull through the next three elements if Air is already leaving you clutching for your fucking life? Granted, witches are immortal, they cannot die, but they can still be gravely wounded.

San turns to you and pats your back gently. “I’m sorry my master, it is part of the blood contract. If it makes you feel better, you only have to go through this once per element.”

You stare at him in disbelief, unsure if you should be concerned or relieved. San materialises a silk handkerchief and dabs the sweat off your skin, and your heart flutters slightly at the gesture. Also, since when did he start calling you ‘Master’?

“Your first air card is ready”, he reminds you. “Now you can create more air elemental cards. Be proud of yourself, my master.” He points to the glowing card on the selenite plate. You reach over and flip the card, and sure enough—what you had envisioned on the card was imprinted onto the once empty card. It glimmers a gorgeous white at its accents. You feel the light and airy feeling surging through your hands as you touch the card, and your heart is racing at how many air cards you can begin creating.

He intertwines his fingers with yours, to steady yourself, and you notice that the third eye on his chest was white now. Your breathing has stabled now and you lie onto your bed where San hums you to sleep, telling you to get some rest.

Day 2: Water

“Are you feeling better?” San asks as he hops into your room. You nod, feeling a strange surge of energy after a night’s rest. The sky was always the same—dark and starless.

“We can start with today’s element”, you say, prepared for the class.

San smiles and nods, as always, he takes a seat across you, and you can’t help but get lost in his crimson eyes.

“Water is all about flow, dealing with emotions, fluidity, spirituality. It is a passive element, often linked with healing and love. However, most witches tend to forget that the calmest elements can be the most deadly when used right.”

Undoubtedly, water was always of both opposite spectrums—extremely calm or extremely malevolent if it wanted to be. Today, you had a small chalice decorated in jewels on the body, filled with moon-charged water. You take another empty card, and begin sketching out the rune you want, with your first water card in your head, clear as day before settling it onto the plate. Once you were done, San’s fingers snake in between yours, and you’re starting to get used to this feeling already.

“Now, the Water seal. Tell me; who or what do you hold closest to your heart? You family? Your intelligence? The coven?

It takes you awhile to think of an answer but then you’re confident when it comes to you. San nods as he lets the answer sink in. “I was kind of hoping you’d stray and say my name, yknow,” he teases. You laugh and slap his palm lightly. “It very well could be. It’s kind of hard to pick though honestly. Maybe I just want to feel something again.”

San cocks an eyebrow, quite touched by your passion. “May this lift any heaviness you feel then”, he says, drawing circles into your palm. Your heart only flutters even more.

“Take a deep breath, master. The element will be sealed soon.”

Just like the previous time, the magick activates, and again, you feel a sharp pain, as if struggling against rough tides of water, your breath sucked out of you. San, humming as he absorbs your energy again, his eyes glowing a pale shade of blue this time. You exhale to get a hold of yourself as the feeling washes over as quickly as it came, clutching the edge of your table. You take deep breaths, your vision focusing on the blue glowing card on the selenite plate. You flip the card over, the serotonin boost seeing how gorgeous the water card was—metallic blue covering the borders of the card and the elements within the card at perfect places.

“I should give you a reading for fun”, you suggest, your fingertips tracing the edges of the card. San’s eyes light up at the idea. “We should do one when you’ve got all four elements. I’d love that.”

You slip the card above the Air element card, clearing out the table, preparing to get some rest as San accompanies you through the night.

Day three: Earth

“Now, Earth is known to be an element of grounding, practically, foundation and stability. It reminds you of who you are at the present moment and gives you a place to stand on”, San explains, flicking the coins on the table. “Just like the ground, it is reliable because it is strong enough to hold you up. The only thing is that it’s hard on you as you are hard on yourself.”

“Tell me; what do you tend to harbour the most? Grudges? The past? Emotions?” He asks again. You tap against your lips, wondering about the answer, and then you tell him once you were ready. He nods in acknowledgement. “Interesting answer, as always from you. You’d probably have a lot you held in, especially in the past hundreds years in solitude.”

“Meditation can only get you so far, when you remember that you were exiled for telling the truth”, you say quietly, staring at the moon, which had turned into a shade of ivory. “My sisters were everything to me.”

San knew that very well. Witches treated each other closer than what a conventional family did. A coven was supposed to protect and bond the sisters, not outcast them.

“But do you still have sisters that you want to see?”

You nod, your eyes twinkling at the thought of two precious sisters who had been there through everything. And you yearned to see them again, now even possible that the arbitrator had granted visitation rights. Maybe you’d send a falcon to them once you were done with your deck creation.

“Now, shall we begin? You’d best prepare yourself, master,” San says as he takes your hand in his. You feel your hands moulding into his automatically, nothing but comfort being offered.

Again, San begins extracting your energy and this time was no different from the previous—it stung, it hurt and a wave of nausea hits you this time. Through the ringing in your ears, you hear San’s laughter as the magick seems to tickle him if anything. And then, it was over.

You tilt your head backwards, trying to get some cool air, trying to let the nausea leave your system.

You feel a warm hand pat your back, then rubbing circles.

“You know, most witches would immediately throw up after this round. You’re holding up really well.”

“Guess I’m one of the best witches then?” You find the strength to joke a little. San laughs and replies, “one of my favourites too.”

The nausea soon goes away and colour starts returning to your cheeks. By then, you were already holding the Earth element card up against the moonlight, admiring the sand-coloured decals lined across the card, as well as the border.

Day four: Fire

San looks rather chirpy tonight, there was a bounce in his steps as he settles himself onto the lavender carpet. “Someone’s excited,” you smirk, putting one of your spell books away.

“Of course! Fire’s my favourite element”, he exclaims, playing around with your unfinished deck. You’ve had created a handful of elemental cards already, 12 of each element, while San was both in and out of your room. All there was left was the Fire element and the deck could almost be complete—you could already taste it. You already did a couple of readings as a warm up with San and you found out a couple of things through the divination readings.

One, his true purpose—other than aiding in the creation of divination decks—was to destroy other universes and guide the dead stars to the recreation of a new one.

Two, despite his chirpy demeanour, the cards revealed that there was some kind of loneliness he harbours, being detached and left to watch over the cosmos for millenniums.

Three, you sort of deduce that he was summoned also to seduce you in some sort of way—and he finds that amusing, and he doesn’t deny it.

Needless to say, San is greatly impressed by your divination skills and offhandedly mentions that he’s in love with the cosmos for bringing him to someone like you.

Soon enough, the both of you were back to business—sitting across each other, a wooden wand splayed across the table this time round.

He begins.

“Fire—the element of willpower, ambition and energy. Those who are able to wield this, wield it well, those who can’t—it takes them awhile. Fire is for inspiration, drive, passion. One of the most beautiful yet difficult elements to control. In the beginning, mankind was the first and the only mammals to be able to manipulate fire.”

“No wonder you like this element so much”, you point out as you scribble the rune onto the empty card.

“If you’re able to handle earth, fire might be a level up in intensity. Don’t push yourself if you can alright?” San reminds you, and you could spot the excitement glinting in his eyes. “Now for the seal; who would you sacrifice to the cosomos for your divination deck? Your immortality? Your coven? Or your family?”

That question weighs heavily in your mind and San gives you the time to answer as he plays with your fingers. You finally give him your answer, and he nods in understanding. “You’re willing to let that go?” You nod.

He smiles, “as long as you know it’s the right choice for you. Let’s begin.”

The ritual starts as usual—the swirl of flames from the candles, the howl of the winds. You prep yourself for the burn and it comes—albeit painfully. San’s eyes are fully engulfed in crimson red now, glowing as he feeds into your energy.

“Beautiful! Your essence is beautiful master! I’ve never felt such extraordinary energy from a witch!” He cries out as red fluid leaks down from his eyes. The runes and symbols on his limbs start glowing and his wings expand, filtering the moonlight. That is all you could remember before your mind buzzes, your ears ring and your head pounds as you black out.

Day ??

Your eyes flutter open, and something is different—you feel it. All the pain you’ve felt has faded, as if it never happened. In fact, energy was surging through you—so much energy. You slowly sit up as you look around the room. Everything looks the same as when you finished the fourth ritual. Perfectly at that moment, San emerges from the darkness and appears slightly different—his hair was slightly longer, his eyes had red smudges, which for some reason made him look even more attractive, and the third eye on his chest was a bright red.

“Hey, you’re awake”, he exclaims as he levitates over to you.

“Was it successful?” You ask. San furrows his eyebrows.

“My master, you were out cold for a couple of days, and the only thing you’re worried about is if the Fire ritual was successful? Care for yourself a little more would you?” San pouts as he pulls a cup of cold water into your arms with his magic.

You thank him softly as you take small sips.

“I was out for a few days from the ritual?” You ask again. San nods. Apparently you blacked out just right after San had finished feeding you, and he had caught you in time before you hit the floor.

“How are you feeling though? Any pain?” He asks, concerned as he brushes his fingers across your forehead. You shake your head and tell him you feel a little more different—more powerful or something. San pulls out the beautiful Fire card, reminding you of your craft. You break into a smile as you take the card off his hands and embrace him into a hug.

Now there was only one ritual left—whatever it was. San hasn’t told you yet and you were too engrossed with creating your cards that it slipped your mind.

“The last ritual,” you say, and you notice slight red tinting his cheeks and your curiosity peaks.

“The last ritual, is to bind us together”, he pauses, “through sex.”

Your jaw drops. “Holy fucking shit. Are you serious?”

San nods. “Yeah I am a behemoth in contract after all. That’s why I uh, said the only thing you needed to prepare for for the final ritual was your consent.”

It wasn’t about that. It was about you being fucked by a demon. You haven’t had physical contact with a human for years, let alone a whole ass demon.

“It might hurt compared to a mortal’s but I’ll try my best to be gentle”, he continues. But you see his confidence slowly dwindle the more you stay silent. “I need to consume your blood through biting as well in order for the pact to be bonded by blood.”

You never thought this would be how the contract would finish. Butterflies filled your stomach as you realise how attracted you were to this behemoth who, despite existing since the birth of the cosmos, was gentle and a soft, even a flirt. If anything, it was almost an honour to be one with him.

“Please, San. We can start the ritual. I wouldn’t ask for anyone else to do it with,” you confess as you leave yourself vulnerable for him. That sealed your consent, and the markings on his limbs start glowing again. San held an expression of relief and affection. He reaches out to you and traps you on the bed, in between his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so happy to hear that”, San confesses next, and his eyes glow a soft, dark red hue. You could see he was trying to hold back.

He leans in slowly and you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. He is lips are soft and there was a slight burn as you kissed him, but it only drives you to want to indulge in him even more. Only behemoth demons could taste this good. Maybe only San.

You feel his appendage hardening above you and your heart races. He wasn’t kidding—he was way bigger than any of your previous mortal partners. No way was he gonna fit in you. But at the same time, the challenge of trying to take him was exhilarating to think about.

As the kiss continues to deepen, San pulls off his vest, revealing it bare, and you realise that only his limbs were covered in symbols. He peels off your top and tosses it onto the floor as he continues to kiss down to your chin then to your neck. You exhale in pleasure as your fingers find locks of his hair. His tongue licks your neck and it drives you crazy from the slight pricks.

Your bare tits are out for him to gawk at and he dives into them, licking and squeezing them, only pooling the arousal in between your legs.

Your grip on his hair tightens as your soft moans increase in pitch.

“Does that feel good, master?” San asks as he shifts forward to give you a kiss.

You trace some of the runes on his muscled arm, recognising a few of it. “You’ll look even prettier when my rune is engraved onto you, San”, you flirt, and you feel his cock harden even more, pressing against your cunt. “Of course, only for you, master,” he hums as he rubs you against him, and your mind starts getting lost in the pleasure. He peppers kisses down from your nipples, to your abdomen, then your pelvis and finally to your pulsating pussy.

He spreads your legs, glancing up at you before licking your clitoris, the small barbed edges of his tongue causing your hips to jerk upwards. He dives in deeper, wanting to turn you into a mess.

San slowly plunges two fingers into your wet cunt, swallowing hard at how tight your pussy was, imagining how his cock would definitely fucking stretch you out perfectly. He glances up again, looking at you for a reaction before continuing to pump his fingers. Your moans fill the room as he finger fucks you in bliss, hitting the perfect spot. He adds another and your hips lift from the pleasure. It takes a while for you to adjust, and he pulls out his fingers, soaked in your essence. He gives his fingers a good suck.

“Witches tend to have good tasting essences, and yours just happens to taste the best.” Red creeps across your cheeks.

He removes his pants and underwear, revealing a girthy cock, red and angry, spilling with precum. You had to touch the sides of your lips to make sure you weren’t drooling too much. Fuck, how are you gonna take that in you?

“You’re gonna be fine”, San assures. “Tell me if it’s too much for you okay?”

You nod and San presses his tip at your entrance, and pushes in. Your eyes roll back as he pushes another inch in. Fuck, even the heavens could never compete with this feeling of pleasure. San pauses for second and your eyes flicker to his face, which is contorted in pleasure. He seemed like he was about to explode—and he wasn’t even fully in you yet.

“Y/n, you’re so tight. Gods, you’re squeezing me so good”, he pants, his grip tightening against the sheets beside you.

You decide to be a tease, and you shift your cunt deeper into your cock, and San fucking loses it. His eyes were flickering from crimson red to a lighter shade of red. “My master,” he pants in between. “If you’re gonna do it like that, the heavens won’t know what I’d do if I lost control.”

And that provokes you to tease him even more as you push yourself deeper, at the same time bringing your pleasure to almost a fever pitch. San groans as he pushes the rest of him into you.

“Fuck, San, you feel so amazing. If I knew you’d feel this good, I would have summoned you way earlier”, you cry out as he barely pulls out fully before rutting back into you.

San doesn’t forget to pamper you with kisses. It stings, definitely, but the pleasure is definitely overriding the pain. In fact, the pain was probably egging the pleasure even more.

His fingers trace the bulge at where his cock lies in you. “We fit so well, Master. Don’t you think so?”

You were starting to feel to fucked out to form any rational thought, but you nod, staring at him through hooded lids. He fucks into you a couple more times before you stop him. San’s face switches to an expression of concern immediately.

“I want to ride you. I want to feel your cock fully in me, San”, you barely say, rubbing his face gently with your thumb. He sighs in relief as he pulls out of you, causing you to cry in pleasure again, a string of precum connecting his cock to your pussy.

He takes your hand and guides you to his lap as the both of you get comfortable on his lap.

You adjust yourself to sit on his cock and you start grinding against him, the mix of his and your precum reducing the friction and enhancing the pleasure. You made sure you move forwards to reach the tip of his cock and grind backwards. San throws his head back, crying from pleasure as more precum leaks from his sensitive tip. Grinding up on his cock was making you even more soaking wet, sparking even more pleasure as your clit rubs against his wet cock. You continue to swerve your hips on his cock, loving the slight friction that tingles your core. It builds up from the previous time he ate you out, and when he fucked you in missionary.

“How does that feel, Master?” San asks, half lidded. He was starting to get lost in the pleasure every time you grind up to his tip.

“It feels amazing. I think I’m gonna cum-“ you fight to finish the sentence as you speed up, feeling your orgasm approaching sooner than you expected. You cry out in bliss, your orgasm flooding you as your pussy pulses against San’s twitching cock. San is doing everything in his power not to just lift you and fuck you like this, seeing how soaked you were in pleasure with him.

You feel his hands trail up to your ass as he lifts you up gently, angling his cock at your entrance, and slowly lets you go. Your hands press hard against his naked chest as tears start pooling at the corners of your eyes, while drool starts pooling at the corners of your lips as you sink onto his cock.

“You can take me, Master. I know you can”, he whispers into your ears. You sink in deeper to his length and your fingers dig into San’s broad shoulders. His hands snake to your thighs and he cheekily pushes you down and you scream from the fullness of his cock.

“There you go. There’s my good Master. I love how your pussy feels around my cock”, San encourages. He lifts your ass and drops you back into his cock. “Doesn’t it feel good?”

You nod. “So good it’s almost sinful”, you mange out. San snickers. “Nothing too sinful if a behemoth is fucking you so well.”

You lean in for a kiss, and this surprises San but he immediately reciprocates, deepening the kiss quickly.

Soon enough, you are just mindlessly bouncing in his cock, every thrust sending you closer to the edge. San struggles to keep it together as well, as you feel him rutting his hips up.

“Master, I’m gonna cum”, San says, with an expression of desperation and desire.

“Go ahead. You’ve been doing so well”, you reply as you comb his hair back. He leans in, lips attached to your neck as he continues to fuck into you desperately. He bares his fangs and bites into you as his cock spurts into your cunt, filling you up to the brim. Blood pools at the base of your neck, and you cry from the simultaneous pain and pleasure, your second orgasm hitting you right at that point as you cream all over San’s cock.

San licks up the blood on your neck, and the skin heals almost as quickly as it broke just mere seconds ago, and he’s still fucking cumming in your pussy, his lower abdomen twitching.

He removes his lips from your neck and blood stains pool at the corner of his lips. You lift yourself off his cock, his cum just dripping out of your pussy. San holds you gently as he uses his free hand to collect the mixture of fluids on his fingers. He pushes his cum-covered fingers to you and you take it eagerly, savouring the taste albeit it being salty. He takes his turn to lick his hands.

“The contract has been sealed, master”, San confirms, and his eyes glow a bright red.

“That’s lovely. I wouldn’t ask for anyone else, San”, you smile as you plant a kiss on his lips, which takes him by surprise, but he seems nothing less of satisfied.

As the planet begins to shift from the blood pact being created, it shakes the universe. You don’t know what’s about to happen, nor do you care. A burst of energy enters you as you levitate into the air, feeling the energy of the cosmos, as well as elements of the deck. Your cards shuffle, and float around you, and you see all of your creations in its glory. Your own divination deck, bonded to you by blood.

You take a deep breath in, as you settle back onto the bed, your cards shuffling back into its deck, onto the selenite plate. Something catches your attention, and you walk over to the full length mirror leaning against the wall. Something is glowing. You gasp, looking at the behemoth’s rune engraved into your skin, a beautiful crimson red as the glow fades. San, right behind you, tracing over your rune fondly. You look up to him and you notice he has the same rune engraved into this skin—and the only rune around his chest.

“Now we’re official bonded. You did so well, my master,” he compliments, stroking your hair gently, understanding how taxing the rituals must have been, still admiring the shared runes you both had on your bodies. “I will make you happy, I promise.” Your heart skips at beat at his words.

“San”, you call out, even though he’s standing right by you. He hums in attention, his eyes now on you.

“Do you think we could do this more often? Like the fucking?”

San is stunned for a moment as he processes the question. No one had asked him that before. Usually the binding rituals were solely to bind the energies of the witch and behemoth, and it is never done again. He’s confused but he agrees, seemingly happy that you enjoyed the ritual with him.

And that’s what you drown yourself in—doing divination readings for others and San as well, and taking his cock whenever you felt like it. It was too good to pass on. Not to mention he was so good at aftercare—making sure you were alright after every session. Undoubtedly, San, himself, was really starting to enjoy having sex with you as well.

You couldn’t think of wanting anything else.

[interdimensionalpancakes]

the main reasons why i ship coai

to me, coai/ shinshi is just the healthier ship, filled with trust, understanding, and mutual interests. it's also the one ship i can see lasting long term in the real world.

they are partners/ solve cases together: Ai likes when he rambles his deductions calling him a "sparrow" (file 713 & 714), though she isn't afraid to ask him for clarification if his explanations get too convoluted. He doesn't really need to help her understand the case, she can figure it out on her own most of the time (file 466-469, 656 [he smiled when he was listening to her deduction]) nor does she give up before she puts any effort into solving the problem first (file 548, 713). She actively contributes to his deductions and he always asks her if she has any ideas (file 287, 525, 664, 729). he can depend on her to stay calm under investigations (file 729) and come up with plans to protect/ help the DB if conan can't be there (file 549, 817). she shares his same investigative curiousity and isn't a bystander, sharing her biochemist background to help shinichi's deductions (file 1098).

they help each other's overcome their weaknesses/ fears: her trust-issues & self-blaming tendencies (file 189-191, 344-346), his impatience & impulsivity (file 429, 475). they put each other at ease when it comes to being paranoid about BO members in public (file 287, 289, 359, 624, 680, 775, 1006). As for the lies regarding the BO between the two, shinichi said it best in file 341: "[Haibara's] not as tough as she looks." They protect each other because if haibara tells conan about the BO he'll be impulsive/ wanting to attack them immeadiately and if conan tells haibara BO stuff before he resolved it, her trust issues would go on overdrive. Though it should be noted that haibara eavesdropped on some things, so she understands that conan's hiding things from her, by nature that she's the BO "traitor" she's hiding things from shinichi.

they accept each other imperfections: they tease each other about being adults in a kid's body (file 515-517,724), shiho's age, his lack of tact, his tone-deafnesses, his relationship with ran, her fangirling higo, her aloofness/ sarcasm (file 680), etc. she loves being able to challenge him intellectually such as telling him to guess her favorite song and the code in file 491, while he's always up for the challenge (file 200) since she knows that shinichi likes puzzles.

he always notices and likes when she smiles (file 275, 292).

shinichi is protective of her and she's protective of him (file 238- 242, 346, 429, 582, 624, 681, 824, 1070) but not in a possesive way. he promised to always protect her and he kept it.

shinichi always knows when shiho looks like she's going to run away. he always hopes that she doesn't but he always runs after her anyways just to make sure (file 289, 346, 437, 817).

he defends her family when other people make negative comments about them (file 425, 1072).

they share interests other than the BO (soccer, pop culture, animals, music, history, etc.) but they're individuals first.

their relationship has boundaries: haibara respects shinichi's feelings for ran / navigates her jealousy rather gracefully (file 313, 999,1000). conan doesn't probe further about her past with gin when she doesn't want to answer (file 242). they keep each other in check (file 242, 515, 1091). they never force each other to reveal secrets they're not ready to share (file 341) and she can tell when he's suppressing his emotions/ concerns (file 609).

they rescue each other even though they can rescue themselves without each other (file 755,817). she can guess where he'll be/ gives him a spare antidote (file 654) and he always has a plan to get her to safety (file 429, 824). haibara can predict conan's behavior and vice versa (file 289, 430).

side note: it's canon that ran ships coai (file 876), which is hilarious because ai ships shinran (mainly out of denial/ love bc she wants shinichi to be happy/ ran looks like her sister so she wants her to be happy, but this is a whole seperate discussion). also the DB always noticed a vibe between coai, especially ayumi and Mitsuhiko.

for those interested, there's a parallel to shinran: in file 887, haibara ai guessed conan's phone passcode correctly on the first try. whereas it took ran in file 483 multiple tries just to get it correctly. in non-canon movie 16th, conan saw ran's underwear and said 'white' out loud, in canon file 714, he saw haibara's underwear and also said 'white' out loud and he got defensive when she called him a pervert.

[tetrix-anime]

Megami Magazine June 2024 Issue (#289) - Mushoku Tensei II: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2)

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes from the moment when Zionist warplanes bombed the Jules Tower in the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, shattering the building to pieces and ejecting plumes of smoke, dust and shrapnel through the air. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

GAZA GENOCIDE DAY 289: ISRAEL MUST FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR "SUCH CRUELTY" SAYS ERDOGAN, GALLANT LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK OF PALESTINE, GENOCIDE CONTINUES AS CIVILIANS SLAUGHTERED IN THEIR HOMES BY THE ZIONIST ARMY

On 289th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 4 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 64 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 105 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or whose bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

On Sunday, Turkiye's President, Racep Tayyip Erdogan, said of the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, that the Court's opinion will awaken the global community and that the Zionist entity must face strong enough punishment for its actions that would deter any other country "from considering such cruelty again."

Speaking on a plane returning from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erdogan said that "Israel must face the consequences of its actions, ensuring that the punishment serves as a stark deterrent against anyone considering such cruelty again."

Erdogan went on to comment on the advisory opinion of the ICJ by declaring that "I hope this decision and previous ones not implemented by Israel will bring an awakening in the international community."

The Turkish President also encouraged the United States to exert pressure on the occupation, and said it should withdraw its support for the "murderer" Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his administration to end the "oppression" in the Gaza Strip.

"The whole issue is for those who stand for justice against Israel's actions to unite, ensuring everyone stands alongside the decision of the ICJ. We can only disrupt this game with such a stance," Erdogan said.

"To end this oppression, it is necessary for the US administration to pressure Israel and withdraw its support from murderer Netanyahu and his associates," the President added.

This comes after the ICJ slammed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank of Palestine, declaring that the Zionist entity must end its occupation "as rapidly as possible," while also demanding that Tel Aviv make full reparations to Palestinians for its "internationally wrongful acts."

The ICJ also found that the Israeli occupation has committed multiple breaches of international law, including activities the Court likened to "Apartheid."

In other news, Zionist Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced on Sunday that he will remove restrictions on the use of warplanes and other military aircraft in the occupied West Bank, and further, issued orders for the Israeli occupation army to "eliminate" the battalions of armed resistance in the western Palestinian territories.

"I also removed restrictions on the use of military drones in the West Bank to reduce the risk to soldiers' lives," Galant added.

The statements were made during a session for the assessment of the situation in the occupied West Bank, held with the newly appointed commander of the Central Command, Avi Balut, who's division is responsible for the occupied territory.

Additionally, also attending was the Commander of the West Bank Division of the occupation army, Yaki Dolev, along with the commander of the Border Guard forces in the West Bank, Barak Mordechai, as well as field commanders and representatives of the Shin Bet security apparatus.

During the meeting, Galant received briefings on the "most active forces in the area to thwart operations, eliminate armed organizations in refugee camps, and improve security measures in local authorities", which refers to the illegal Zionist settlements in the West Bank, to "enhance the security of the population (settlers)," according to a statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Galant continued by emphasizing "the need for the continuous and systematic elimination of all armed organizations, and stressed that the IDF has full support for working to achieve this goal."

Following the conference, the statement cited Galant as stating that "terrorism is boiling in this sector, among other things as a result of guidance from Iran, Hezbollah and other factors seeking to undermine the situation."

"Yesterday we carried out an attack in an area 2,000 kilometers from Israel (referring to the Yemeni port of Hodeidah), and now we are in the heart of the State of Israel, and we will know how to operate here as well. A few months ago, we lifted the restrictions on the operation of air force planes, including the attack in the Central Command area, in order to thwart terrorism without putting soldiers in unnecessary danger. If necessary, we will expand this issue," the Defense Minister said during the meeting.

Defense Minister Galant also stated that he has instructed the Central Command and Army Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, to "ensure that all the actions of the terrorist brigades inside the refugee camps are thwarted and that we crush these brigades, in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and other places."

"We will act as needed, we will not allow the citizens of Israel to be endangered as a result of the actions of terrorists directed from Iran," Galant concluded.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued its war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, slaughtering Palestinian children and other civilians, while one-by-one targeting the few remaining housing units and public infrastructure, and detonating residential buildings with explosives and airstrikes.

Beginning on Saturday night, IOF warplanes bombed another commercial facility housing displaced Palestinian families in the Armeida area, east of the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources with a local hospital told official Palestinian news agency WAFA that at least 6 civilians were killed and dozens of others wounded, after occupation forces bombed a commercial facility in which displaced civilians were being housed in the Armeida area of the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.

Following that strike, during the early morning hours of Sunday, Zionist fighter jets bombed a residential house belonging to the Khalifa family in the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing 7 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, and wounded a number of others.

Similarly, occupation aircraft bombarded a residential home in the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, killing 4 civilians.

The Israeli occupation's war crimes continued when occupation warplanes bombed a civilian home north of the Nuseirat Camp, killing a young child, while another Zionist army raid targeted a residential building north of the camp, wounding at least 5 Palestinians.

In the next Israeli atrocity on Sunday morning, occupation fighter jets bombarded a residential house belonging to the Ghurab family in the New Camp area of the Nuseirat Camp, resulting in the martyredom of one Palestinian and wounding dozens of others.

Israeli warplanes also bombed the Al-Da'wa area, in the vicinity of the power station and Salah al-Din Street, northeast of the Nuseirat Camp, while occupation drones fired missiles into the same area.

Zionist forces went on to target in the vicinity of the Kuwait roundabout in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, leading to the deaths of two citizens who were transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city.

Palestinian medical sources are reporting that more than 60 victims of Israeli bombings have been killed since dawn on Saturday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has also reported that their rescue crews managed to recover the body of one dead citizen, along with two others who were wounded after occupation fighter jets bombed a civilian residence in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza.

PRCS also said that their rescue crews also recovered three bodies of martyrs who were murdered as a result of Israeli bombing of the Al-Shaboura Refugee Camp in central Rafah City, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The paramedic organization added that the occupation continues to bomb and shell the Al-Bureij Camp, in central Gaza, with a local residential apartment building targeted in an Israeli bombing that killed 4 civilians.

Later on Sunday, occupation forces bombed a residential home in the Qizan Al-Najjar neighborhood, south of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 3 Palestinians, including two young children, and wounding several others.

A number of civilians were also wounded after the Zionist occupation army shelled a Mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the death toll now exceeds 38'983 Palestinians killed, including well and above 15'000 children and more than 10'000 women, while another 89'727 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, begining with the events of October 7th, 2023.

This brings the total number of Palestinian casualties to 128'710 or the equivalent of 5.59% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.

July 21st, 2024.

#source1

#source2

#source3

#source4

#source5

#source6

#source7

#source8

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[callsign-rogueone]

ok but!! ive been reading some fw theories in the subreddit, and one that has a lot of diff opinions on is whether liam has a second signet or if he was wielding ice in that scene, especially since deigh’s name means ice. what are your thoughts, do you think it was just a mistake?? and what about liam in your universe?

[insert that clip of Cardi B going: “I’m glad you brung it up because I’ve been dying to talk about this for a minute”]

FOURTH WING AND IRON FLAME SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. this ramble is not going to be proofread, nor supported with textual evidence, because I have a migraine. but if anyone wants to jump in with page numbers and quotes or things I missed / got wrong, please feel free! 

in short: I think it’s possible that Liam did have a second signet.

first, my only hangup on this theory: what are the odds of two riders in the same squad, in the same year, having the same signet (Ridoc and Liam)? I know some signets are more rare than others, but that’s still a very slim chance when there’s 20+ signets out there that we know of, and RY will probably come up with more (fr, I need to know what Garrick and Aaric's signets are. I hope they're something unique, that we haven't seen yet.) but here are a few arguments in favor of two-signet Liam:

one: I don’t think it was just “RY putting the wrong name”.

Ridoc wasn’t there at Resson, so RY would have to have confused the two boys entirely for it to be a mistake. besides them both being perfect little bbs and adoring fans of Violet, they’re not alike in appearance, dragon color, nor backstory -- what is Ridoc’s deal? like why did he want to become a rider? I need to know for my next gfverse chapter 😭 and the mistake would also have to slip past multiple rounds of editors and proofreaders as well, which is possible, but not probable.  and was Ridoc's signet even confirmed at that time? maybe this is me forgetting things, because ADHD, and it’s been a while since I’ve read FW in full, but the first time I remember hearing about Ridoc’s signet is in Iron Flame — when they’re at RSC and he’s like “I could force the locks open with ice”. that confused me at the time because I didn’t know about (or remember) his signet. and then it really clicked for me later, when he makes an ice pack for poor Brennan after Mira decks him lmao. is it mentioned earlier than that? when I search “ice” in my FW ebook it shows me every instance of “voice” and "nice" and “office” etc., too, and I'm not scrolling through all that 🙄 and neither of the reference sites I like to use have a page number listed for him getting his signet or the first time it’s mentioned. as another aside: look how gorgeous Ridoc is here. smash. EDIT TO ADD: it is mentioned in Fourth Wing, in one line on page 289 (as identified by @hockeyspiral23 - thank you!) but he doesn't actually use it. no wonder my adhd brain forgot about it when there were bigger issues at hand lol they also pointed out that it could still have been a mistake, if RY meant to have it be another one of the barely-mentioned marked riders who aren't part of the main gang, as ice-wielding is "a common signet" (FW p. 289), and there were a few students we never really met apart from Resson (including Masen and Soleil. RIP.) so it could have been one of them. another possible explanation that I just came up with for the mistake category -- unreliable narrator? the events of that day were incredibly distressing for Vi, and she literally gets poisoned and loses consciousness and doesn't wake up for three days (following the theory that FW and IF are her diary, written in an ancient language and translated by Jesinia later) so it could have been a blur / hard to remember and VIOLET could have gotten it wrong. If I were RY, and it was a genuine mistake, this is the explanation I would give lmao

two: Deigh meaning ice is another tally in the “not a mistake” column.

RY likes to have the dragons' names refer to their current rider's signets. (Tairn = thunder, Aimsir = weather...) but not all of them match (Tiene = fire, I think, and Mira makes shields.) Liam and the ice is only mentioned once, at Resson, but there are many characters who we don't see getting their signet -- really just Vi's sex-induced lightning, and a mention of Sawyer nearly killing someone in a swordfight on accident. and Sloane's siphoning, too. okay, maybe this isn't a great point. but I still want to hear how they figured these things out! especially Bodhi. and Xaden's second one. poor thing couldn't tell anyone, even his best friend, and had to figure out how to manage it entirely on his own (he had Sgaeyl, but that's it.) and maybe Liam didn’t realize he had the ice until Resson, and just started slinging icicles at the wyvern once he figured out that he could. though that's kinda unlikely, I guess, since he would have channeled in November or December and Resson wasn't until July... hm.

three: Deigh could have been the dragon of Liam's relative, giving him a second signet like Xaden has with Sgaeyl.

it’s my understanding that Liam, like all the marked ones (except my addition of Darling and her little sibs) were military kids, and his mom is mentioned in IF as being the one to weave the protection runes, which I believe requires a level of magic that only a rider would have. so he has at least one relative who was a rider, and therefore probably more. ngl, at first I thought it was mad suspicious that his parents were executed separately from everyone else’s, but then we didn’t meet them in Aretia, so I guess they really are dead. but how mf heartbreaking would it be if they were alive -- and the first time they see their son in a whole year of him being gone at Basgiath, it’s Xaden carrying his body into the fortress 😭 and Vi and X crying and apologizing to Mama Mairi for not being able to save him… I’M SO SORRY. IT JUST CAME TO ME, AND I HAD TO WRITE IT DOWN. if any FW writer wants to write that AU, go for it. we could all use another good cry. there seems to be a trend of the dragons who had Tyrrish riders purposely (and "illegally") bonding the descendants of their previous riders. - Xaden has a second signet from Sgaeyl as his grandfather was one of her former riders, allegedly, but he "didn't make it out of the quadrant"? so he had a kid (Fen, Xaden's dad?) before graduating? is that why Xaden mentions that his dad hated dragon riders in one of his letters to Vi? - and then I believe Imogen has the dragon of a relative, but not a direct relative, so she doesn't have a second signet, but the one she does have is just really strong? I feel like they glossed over that a little too quickly, and it remains unclear to me how that whole thing works. - and now maybe Liam, too?

I might tack more stuff on below as it comes to me, or RB with commentary, but I think that's all I've got for now.

but regardless of if it was a mistake or not, I’m not planning on putting it in Liam and Spark’s story — just his farsight, which is confirmed multiple times. if Spark believed in the gods, she’d thank them for not giving him something as destructive and deadly as her water, but Li’s still gonna have some issues with it, because I feel the need to project my issues onto my fave characters, and everyone loves some mild hurt/comfort that’s resolved with cuddles and a nap, right? 🥰

[johannepetereric]

"It seems that they've found the ones who're scheming to interfere with the [Inheritance] Ceremony.

"They say that they will wipe them out, as a gift to the Tenth Vongola Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

If we take that statement as Not Sarcastic, it reads like, "Hey, you don't wanna be here? We'll just kill everybody there!" and I find that really funny /gen

[cringeborg-moved]

Girls' Accessory Pantalettes - 4 versions

Hey! Do you want accessory pantalettes for children? Well, here they are! These were requested by @inlovewithregencyera.

BGC

Found in the leggings category

Come in 4 lengths - V1 is ankle-length and V4 ends a bit below the knees.

Pantalettes taken from Kirsten's Winter Outfit (though I do realize that's not where they're originally from. that's where I got em)

2 swatches - plain white and with a subtle lace texture at the bottom (which, in hindsight, isn't particularly noticeable in-game. But you can see it in CAS!)

Not all socks are compatible with the texture, but one pair I've found to generally work well are the Tea Socks from this pack

I don't recommend combining them with dresses shorter than knee-length or anything with preexisting pantalettes. It doesn't look good.

Some dresses also end up sort of... highjacking the pantalette texture.

HOWEVER, this can actually end up looking alright! While most pantalettes were white, they did sometimes match the dresses. But then again, the dresses were usually white as well.

Vertices: 289

Polygons: 289

Known issues:

They do a strange exploding thing in certain situations. I've noticed it in CAS, household portraits (the ones seen in the household manager), and the portrait in the bottom left corner in Live Mode. It doesn't seem to be an issue in gameplay though! And it only SOMETIMES occurs in cas. If it's very annoying, switching to another outfit and then back to the one you were editing should get rid of the exploding.

Some compatible dresses (used in the previews):

1: Qnie Child Long Sleeve Dress (direct download)

2: Cecile Nightgown

3: Josefina's School Outfit

4: 1896 CF Dress

Download (SFS) (i'm on sfs now!!)

Download (Mediafire)

[allgremlinart]

I'm sorry, would you like to elaborate on the alien tentacle sex 🤔

(staring into the distance) they don't know about World's Finest #289...

so. yeah. they just. watch the tentacle aliens have sex. and then cry. and hug off screen. I did not lie about this.

oh this is also the issue where this happens

so. pretty gay all around.

[shadamyheadcanons]

Headcanon #291: Day After Valentine’s Day

((Better late than never, right?

Cross-posted along with its prequel on AO3.

This is the sequel to Headcanon #289, but you don’t have to read that one to understand this one.

You should anyway, though. It’s a good one, if I do say so myself.

Also, these Archie panels are relevant, oddly enough:

^ From issues 22 and 24 of Archie’s Sonic Universe comics. This isn’t even the funniest thing that happens in that arc. A+))

--

Amy rounded the corner of the snack aisle at the grocery store, dragging her feet as she went. Her eyes ran lazily over the foods until she reached the section she was looking for.

She sighed as she perused the wares in front of her. I thought Valentine’s Day would get more bearable over time, but I feel even more drained every year. She held herself as she looked past heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and conversation hearts, hoping to find something a little less specific to the holiday. Her expression tightened. It’s the day after, but I still feel lonely. Will this ever get any easier? She smiled wryly when she spotted a rose-shaped hunk of chocolate. At least there’s always my favorite tradition: half-price Valentine’s candy on the 15th.

She reached out for the chocolate rose. Just as she was about to put her fingers on it, though, another gloved hand got there first.

She jumped. “Oh! Excuse me, I--” She stopped when her gaze trailed up the person’s arm, noting the black fur, red stripe, and eventually a head of spiky quills she knew all too well. “Shadow?”

He held her gaze, his slightly widened eyes being the only indication of his own surprise. His gaze flicked back over to their hands. She removed her hand from his and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that!” He nodded in affirmation and removed the chocolate rose from the shelf.

Noting he’d brought neither a cart nor even a basket, Amy couldn’t help but ask, “What are you shopping for? Just that?”

He nodded again. “Candy’s always half-price the day after Valentine’s Day.” He peeked at her nearly empty basket. “You?”

“Heh. We had the same idea. It’s a tradition for me,” Amy admitted, examining the shelves once more. She felt her shoulders droop.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Shadow was still watching her. She put on a smile once more. “Might as well make the most of it, right?”

His expression didn’t change. He kept watching her for several seconds. Then, he glanced down at the rose he was holding and handed it to her. “Here. You should have it.”

Taken aback, Amy glanced between him and the shelf. “But that’s the last one! You got to it first, so you--”

“Take it. You deserve it more.”

He waited, hand extended, while she hesitated.

Is he...trying to make me feel better?

Eventually, she gave in. With a laugh, she took the rose from his hand. “Okay, okay, if you insist.” She carefully placed it in her basket, smiling to herself. “Thank you, Shadow.”

He nodded absently, his attention now back on the shelves of candy. Amy shuffled her feet. “Sooo...how was your Valentine’s Day?”

He hummed softly, not looking away from the shelves. “I looked after Omega to make sure he didn’t burn the house down.”

Amy scoffed. “Why would he do that?”

“He hasn’t liked Valentine’s Day ever since Blaze got with Silver,” Shadow explained, picking up a couple of alternately-colored chocolate bars--one pink, one purple.

Amy frowned and thought back. “Hang on...” Her eyes bugged out. “You mean that time years ago when Omega kept fawning over Blaze because she was good at burning things? He still...?”

Shadow snorted quietly. “Yeah...he never really got over that. He’ll be alright, though.” He put back the purple candy bar and gazed at the pink one in his hand. “It’s just tough when you’re stuck on the same person for a long time.”

Amy’s face fell. I know that better than anyone. How many years have I been stuck on Sonic? She rubbed her upper arm. I’ll never call it a waste, but...

“...Amy? Amy?”

She flinched and shook herself off. “Oh, sorry! What did you say?”

“I asked what you did yesterday,” he clarified, looking at her sideways.

“Oh, right! Uh...Cream and I normally celebrate PAL-entine’s Day,” she joked, “but this year, she actually had a date! Can you believe she’s that age already?! I can’t!”

“But what did you do?”

Shadow’s blunt question made her deflate. “Ah, I just stayed in this year. Nothing too interesting,” she mumbled.

His frown deepened. “By yourself?”

Amy huffed. “What are you trying to say? So what if I didn’t have a date on Valentine’s Day? I’m not gonna cry about it!”

Shadow’s face was unreadable. He just stared at her for a while, long enough to make her nervous. He scratched his chin.

Suddenly, his ears perked up. “You owe me.”

Amy was dumbfounded. What is his deal?! First he gives me the chocolate he wanted, then he shows actual concern for me...only to judge me for not having a date and claim I owe him...? “For what?!” she demanded.

“It was last year at Rouge and Knuckles’ wedding,” he explained. “You promised you’d teach me how to bake cookies, but you still haven’t.”

She could only stare at him blankly. That didn’t explain anything! Now I’m even more confused! She shook her head and took out her phone to open up her calendar. “Uh, okay...when--”

“Today.”

She frowned, looking up from her phone. “Today...?”

He gave a curt nod. “I’m a very busy person, so it has to be today.” He averted his gaze and crossed his arms. “Unless you’re busy with something.”

Amy paused. She looked down at her basket, which held only chocolate and a bottle of wine. She thought back to the movie she already had set up at home, a romance she knew would just make her cry. She chuckled to herself and shook her head.

You know what? Fuck it.

“Alright, alright, fine...but we’ll have to stop by the baking aisle first.”

--

The two of them arrived in Shadow’s kitchen with a green flash. “So what do we do first?” Shadow asked.

“Before any type of cooking or baking, you should lay out every ingredient you need just to make sure you have it all.” Amy started laying out the groceries on the counter. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten halfway through a dish, only to realize I forgot something basic. One time, I got halfway through making sugar cookies before realizing I was out of sugar!” She giggled at the memory.

“Hmm...I hadn’t thought of that,” Shadow muttered.

Amy watched as he laid out the eggs and butter. That’s the first thing anyone learns about cooking! He really didn’t have anyone to teach him, did he? Her sad frown turned determined. Well, that’s what I’m here for!

Shadow’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. “Is this everything?”

Amy scanned the counter. “Hmm...butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, flour, aaaand...chocolate chips! Yup! We’re all set!”

Shadow squinted at the ingredients. “Don’t we need a mix or something?”

“Nope! Not if you’re baking the right way,” Amy assured with a cheeky wink. “We’re baking from scratch, just the way Vanilla taught me. It’s all up in here!” She tapped her forehead proudly.

“Huh.”

Amy gave a quick nod. “You’re learning from the best!” she insisted. She approached his stove. “First, you need to preheat the oven. Do you know how to do that?”

She inwardly cringed at her own question. Of course he knows how to preheat an oven. He owns an oven.

Shadow hesitated, though. He joined her in front of the stove and squinted at the console. “Is there a specific button for that...?”

Amy just stared. Chaos, it’s worse than I thought. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Nope! You just turn the dial here. We’re gonna want 350 degrees.” He watched closely as she turned it.

Then, his eyes lit up. “Oh, I’ve done that before. I remember now.”

“Oh, good!”

He nodded with authority. “My microwave died a few years ago, so I had to heat my Hot Pockets in the oven for a couple days until the new one came in.”

The hint of relief Amy had begun to feel immediately died out. She resisted the urge to facepalm.

“Great!” she blurted out instead, returning to the counter. “We’ll need a large bowl, a mixing spoon, and measuring tools.”

Shadow returned with a bowl and a spoon--both a little small for Amy’s taste, but they’d get the job done--but then he got stuck. “When you say ‘measuring tools,’ you mean...?”

Amy frowned for a moment, then perked up. “Oh, right! We’ll need to measure cups, teaspoons, and a half teaspoon.”

His face remained blank. “Yeah, so?”

There was an awkward pause while Amy tried to figure out where she’d lost him. “Y’know, like...little cups and spoons to measure out the cups and teaspoons? They usually come in little collections.” His face didn’t change. She pursed her lips. “They nest with each other in sets,” she tried.

His eyes widened. He zipped off and returned with a set of measuring cups and spoons. “Is that what these are? I didn’t know cooks actually measured, I thought those were just ballpark suggestions.”

Amy stared at Shadow. He stared back.

Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh. Don’t you dare laugh at him!

She covered her face with her hand. Her smile was strained from holding back laughter. “Yep! We have to make sure all the proportions are right.”

“Ah...that explains a lot.” He looked away. She sorted through the nested cups and kept an eye on him while he continued. “So how come Rouge doesn’t measure when she cooks? She says she just kind of puts in what ‘feels right.’ She left these behind when she moved out, but I never saw her use them.”

“It’s a little different with cooking. If someone has enough experience, they can sometimes get away with it there,” Amy explained. “But you can’t do that with baking! Everything has to be exact, or it won’t come out right.”

“How come?”

Amy pursed her lips while she sorted through the spoons. “There are more chemical reactions involved.” He perked up at that, so she added, “Baking is chemistry, and the ingredients are materials. If you use the wrong ratios or mess with the procedure, the results will be completely off. It’s easy to get things mixed up, too.” She held up the tablespoon and teaspoon utensils, pointing out the similar abbreviations on their handles.

Shadow examined them for a moment, then scoffed. “Hmph. This’ll be easy. I’m a science experiment myself, so I can’t screw this up.”

Amy’s grin widened at his confidence. “Is that how it works? You’ve got it all figured out now?”

“Of course.” He took the teaspoon from her hands. “If you use this much, you get the Ultimate Life Form, but if you fuck up and use this much...” he continued, picking up the tablespoon, “...you get a giant lizard.”

Amy snickered at first, then burst out laughing when the punchline fully hit her. She leaned her head on Shadow’s shoulder as she cracked up, the way she often did with close friends. She could feel his body shake as he chuckled quietly at his own joke.

I wish more people knew how funny Shadow is. Whenever I tell people he makes jokes, they never believe me.

She straightened back up as she calmed down. By then, his gaze was serious and intent once more. Her bright smile remained as she returned to the task at hand.

She leaned in toward Shadow, and he mirrored her action. In a comical stage whisper, she confided, “Now...don’t tell anyone, but I actually cheat a bit with this next part.” She winked.

His subtle but surprised expression made it clear he was taking it entirely too seriously.

She giggled. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. Most people wait until a little later to add the eggs, but I put them in first just in case I crack any eggshells into the mix. It’s easier to get them out if there’s less in the bowl.”

“Oh.” He nodded seriously. “That’s a good idea.”

“It’s just experience.” She waved it off casually, though she couldn’t help but feel flattered at the compliment. “I do this with Cream, too. It took her a while to get the hang of cracking them cleanly.”

Shadow opened up the carton of eggs so Amy could take out two of them. She held one of them over the counter. “Some people crack them against the edge of the bowl, but I crack them directly on the counter.”

“How come?”

“I’ve found it helps keep the eggshell together more,” Amy explained. “If you crack it against an edge, some of the bits separate out and get stuck on the yolk in the middle.” She lightly smacked the egg against the counter, then lifted it over the bowl and easily spread the shell apart, allowing the insides to spill out into the bowl. She tossed the eggshell into the sink. “See? No sweat!”

“Hmph.” Shadow picked up the other egg. He scrutinized it so closely that Amy had to hold back a laugh.

“I can do the second one, too, or you could take a crack at it.” She giggled at her own pun. “It’s up to you.”

Shadow snorted. “As if the Ultimate Life Form would have trouble with such a simple task. I’m built for precision. Physical dexterity is my specialty.”

“Prove it.”

He met her teasing smile with narrowed eyes. He scoffed and turned his attention back to the egg. After squinting at it for a moment longer, as if trying to glean its secrets, he whacked it against the counter just as she had, using exactly the right amount of force. He held it over the sink and expertly spread the shell to let out its contents, as if he’d done so a million times. He tossed the empty shell into the bowl with a brand of confidence only he had. He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest proudly. “Hmph.”

Amy stared at the bowl. She glanced into the sink, then looked back up at Shadow. A few seconds passed while she waited for it to sink in.

Shadow stared at the eggshell sitting in the bowl. His expression didn’t change as he let out a quiet, “...Oh.”

A loud bark of laughter burst from Amy’s lips. She bent down at the waist and held her stomach as she cackled.

Shadow’s expression turned sour, and his ears reddened in humiliation. Amy covered her mouth and rested a hand on his shoulder to ground herself.

“Oh, Shadow, I’m sorry! I--pfft--I can’t help it, that was just too funny!”

He didn’t look placated. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “It’s alright, Shadow. Cream did exactly the same thing when she was first starting out!”

Shadow’s ears perked up, and his expression softened. “Really?”

Amy nodded. “She was so proud of herself, too! But then it hit her, and...” Amy devolved into laughter once more, letting out an involuntary snort.

“Let me guess: she did that thing where she gets embarrassed and puffs out her cheeks?”

Amy gasped. “Yeah! How’d you know?”

“Hmph. I see it all the time when I babysit her. She did it the last time I saw her. Vanilla teased her about someone she knew from her art club.”

Amy giggled. “I bet that was her date from yesterday. It’s cute, isn’t it?”

He nodded. A tiny, lopsided smile graced his face. Amy couldn’t help but grin herself.

He doesn’t smile often, but it’s so nice when he does.

His fleeting smile made way for a determined frown. “I’ll be cracking the other egg. I need to redeem myself.”

Amy snickered under her breath at his overly serious demeanor. She extracted the eggshell from the bowl and disposed of it in the sink. “Be my guest. We’ve got ten left just in case!”

“I won’t need more than one.”

His confident declaration proved to be correct as he cracked the next egg with skill and efficiency, dropping the components in their correct places this time.

Amy nudged his upper arm. “You know, you really are good at that. Most people take a while to get the hang of it.”

“Naturally.” He held his nose in the air. A moment later, though, he muttered a hasty, “Thanks.”

Amy smiled. She picked up the largest measuring cup. “Next, we’ll need butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.”

Shadow handed her the white sugar. He took out a stick of butter, then looked at the measuring cup in confusion. “Ah...how do I...”

Amy pointed to the measurement lines on the side of the wrapper.

“Oh! So...”

“You need to soften it first. Microwave it for a few seconds, but don’t let it burn!” she warned.

“Hmph. I’ve got this. I’m an expert with the microwave.”

Amy almost laughed, but when she saw the sincere look of pride on his face, she held it back. God, he’s serious, isn’t he?

She shook it off and glanced around. “Do you have a knife?”

In a split second, he was back by her side with an assortment of knives in his hand. “I have steak knives, butter knives, paring knives, boring knives, carving knives, utility knives...plus Swiss army knives, combat knives, serrated and beveled edges--”

Amy laughed. “Why am I not surprised that this is the most well-stocked part of your kitchen?” She plucked the butter knife from between his fingers. “This’ll do.”

He zipped off to return the others and returned to her side. “Why do you need a knife?”

Amy dipped the cup into the bag of white sugar. “To get the amount just right.” She lifted the cup to the edge and carefully scraped off the excess with the knife, then dumped the remaining sugar into the bowl. “See?”

Shadow nodded. “Can I try?”

“Mhm!”

He mimicked her motions with the brown sugar, deftly leveling it off and dumping the sugar into the bowl. He nodded his head once in satisfaction.

“Nice! You’re a natural!” she praised.

He opened his mouth to reply, but then his nose twitched, and he dashed over to open the microwave. He retrieved the bowl of now half-melted butter.

Amy’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s perfect! Could you really tell just by smelling it?”

“It’s subtle, but it’s there.”

He poured the butter into the bowl, spreading it out evenly over the sugar. She scratched her chin. “You’ve got a steady hand and a strong nose. You could be a really good chef if you wanted to, you know.”

He lifted his shoulders. “Maybe. It hasn’t really been a priority for me.” Before she could say anything in response, he put the bowl back down and asked, “What’s next?”

“We need to mix it all together.” She glanced around. “I don’t suppose you have an electric mixer, do you?”

In response, Shadow held his communicator up to his face. “Omega, are you busy? I need your assistance.”

Amy cocked her head, so he explained. “I don’t know if Rouge took it with her or not, but I can’t find it. I hardly used it as it was, though, so I’ve been taking another approach.”

The metallic clanging of Omega’s footsteps approached. He paused in the doorway upon seeing the two of them. “GREETINGS, AMY ROSE. SHADOW, WHAT IS MY MISSION?”

Shadow inclined his head toward the bowl. “We need to mix these ingredients.”

“UNDERSTOOD.” Omega held up one of his clawed hands. He pressed a button on his arm, and his hand started spinning, his sharp silver fingers whirring around at an alarming speed.

Amy cringed, head filling with images of sugar, eggs, and butter being flung from the bowl at high velocity to coat the walls of the kitchen. “Ahhh, just one sec!” she cut in, stepping forward to take ahold of the bowl herself. “We might want to be a little more careful.”

The high-pitched whirring stopped. “WHY?”

Amy picked up the spoon Shadow had given to her earlier and started stirring the mixture vigorously herself. “It’s easier to keep things under control if you stir by hand. An electric mixer can help, but the manual approach might be better for now.”

She eyed Omega’s knife-like fingers warily. Not to mention safer.

Omega watched awkwardly as she stirred. “Sorry to call you in here for nothing, Omega,” she apologized. “I hope we didn’t interrupt anything important.”

“I WAS ENGAGING IN TARGET PRACTICE TO TEST THE NEW MISSILE LAUNCHER G.U.N. INSTALLED FOR ME.” Omega’s eyes glowed with excitement. “ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER IS EXHILARATING.”

Shadow reached for the bowl in Amy’s arms. She handed it over, and he took over the stirring for a while as he spoke. “It’s a good thing the training area’s soundproofed. Personally, I think G.U.N. went overboard.”

“THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ‘OVERBOARD’ WHEN IT COMES TO DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL, ONLY POWER AND THOSE TOO COWARDLY TO WIELD IT.”

Shadow snorted, and Amy giggled.

Omega changed the subject. “WHY ARE YOU NOT TRAINING AS WELL, SHADOW? IT IS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. YOU TRAIN EVERY SATURDAY FROM 1 PM UNTIL 4 PM. ANOMALY DETECTED.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t look up from the bowl. “I can train later. I’m in the middle of something important.”

“YOU ARE A CREATURE OF HABIT. THIS BEHAVIOR IS HIGHLY ABNORMAL. SHALL I CONSULT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL?”

Shadow’s stirring grew faster. “I’m fine. I don’t get sick.”

Amy glanced back and forth between Shadow and Omega, confused.

“YOU HAVE NOT SKIPPED A TRAINING SESSION IN FOUR YEARS, THREE MONTHS, THIRTEEN DAYS, AND--”

“Ah--I think it’s mixed well enough!” Amy cut in, taking the bowl from Shadow’s hands. She smiled sheepishly up at Omega. “Do you want to bake cookies with us, Omega? It must be lonely training by yourself.”

Omega’s cooling fans sped up. “I AM FINE! I REQUIRE NO ASSISTANCE!”

Amy flinched, but Shadow just held a hand to his forehead.

Omega tromped back toward the door. “I AM AN INDEPENDENT ROBOT! I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF BURNING THINGS ALONE!” His metal footsteps retreated down the hall.

Amy winced as she realized the sore spot she’d just hit. “Poor Omega.”

“It’s gotten a lot better,” Shadow muttered, leaning toward her to make himself heard. “The first year, I had to remind him that Silver can stop bullets and crush metal.”

Amy’s face twisted in sympathy, but then she smiled up at Shadow. “I’m glad he has you to look after him!”

He shrugged it off. “I just do what I have to for public safety.”

Amy giggled. She picked up the vanilla extract. “This next part is always a little nerve-racking for me. If you add even one extra drop of vanilla extract, it can ruin the whole thing. It’s that strong! So..” She found the teaspoon and pressed that and the vanilla extract into Shadow’s hands. “Can you? Please? You have steadier hands than I do!”

She looked up at him with the cutest, most endearing expression she could muster.

He just gave her an unimpressed look, then sighed. “You can put the puppy-dog eyes away. I can handle this.”

She squealed happily. “Yes!” She directed him to pour in two teaspoons. He stirred it all together while she took out the baking soda and salt.

As she guided him through the next few steps, she couldn’t help but notice just how intensely he watched, the way he was hanging on her every word. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to. After a lifetime of being the silly girl with a crush, the tagalong who followed Sonic around, the one whose feelings were a little too big...it felt as if everyone treated her like a naïve little girl who knew nothing about the world. She couldn’t count the number of times her friends and foes alike had disregarded her feelings and input.

Even her “little sister” thought she had her head in the clouds.

But as Shadow watched her, focusing on everything she had to say, she felt none of that. In fact, it occurred to her that he’d never made her feel that way. Every word she’d spoken to him had been given a level of care and consideration she never got to feel with anyone else.

“What’s next?” Shadow asked.

Amy thought back, checked all the ingredients, and grinned. “That’s it for prep! We just have to bake them in the oven now.” After checking to make sure the oven was preheated, she opened it and slid in the first tray. Shadow did the same with the other. She set the timer for nine minutes. “This recipe usually takes ten minutes to bake, so I set it for nine minutes and check on them a little early so they don’t burn.”

Shadow’s gaze was fixed on the timer. “Why don’t you just turn the heat higher? It’d make them cook faster.” He reached for the temperature knob.

“No!” She stumbled over to grab his hand. “That’s not how it works!”

He paused and looked down at their hands. His eyes turned...mischievous? “How come? It’s at 350 degrees, so why not 700 degrees for 5 minutes?” He reached for the knob with his free hand.

She immediately grabbed that hand, too. “NO! You’re going to ruin our cookies!”

“1400 degrees for two and a half minutes. 2800 degrees for one minute and fifteen seconds.”

“Stopppp!” Amy cut in, though they were both laughing by then. “If you bake them faster at higher heat, then the outside will burn and the inside won’t cook all the way through.” He nodded in response, still paying rapt attention even through their laughter.

Her giggles quieted, and she could hear his own low chuckles under his breath. She decided she liked the sound.

“Mmm?”

A soft sound drew their attention from the floor. A pink Chao was peeking around the corner, its eyes focused on their joined hands. Its emote ball had formed a curious question mark.

Shadow released Amy’s hands and made his way over to the Chao. He squatted down next to it and held out a hand. The Chao put its paw in his and gazed up at Amy, clearly skeptical.

Amy could just barely hear Shadow’s voice as he spoke to it. “Do you want to say hi, Rosie?”

The Chao looked back and forth between the two hedgehogs. After a moment of contemplation, she bobbed her head.

“Good.” Shadow led the Chao into the middle of the room. He stopped, leaving extra space between Amy and the Chao. “Rosie, this is Amy. She’s a friend of mine.”

Amy squatted down to the Chao’s level, just as Shadow had. She smiled disarmingly and waved. “Hi!” she greeted, keeping her voice quiet. “It’s nice to meet you!”

The Chao shuffled over to hide behind Shadow’s feet. Shadow kept an eye on her, but he didn’t pressure her to respond to Amy. Instead, he just waited. After about ten seconds, Rosie peeked out from behind Shadow’s foot. She waved a shy paw at Amy. Amy beamed.

So cute!!

Shadow nodded in approval and gestured down at the Chao. “This is Rosie. I adopted her from the shelter last week.”

Rosie kept her eyes fixed on Amy. She sucked on her paw. Shadow leaned in to exchange a few words with the Chao. He stood and retrieved a bowl and a few spices from his cabinets. He took out a couple square fruits from a basket Amy hadn’t noticed before. She watched in fascination as he chopped up the fruits, then scraped them into the bowl along with a dash of nutmeg and a dusting of cinnamon. He stirred the concoction as he made his way to the kitchen table. Rather than remaining on the floor to eat as most Chao would, Rosie climbed up to sit on one of the chairs. Shadow allowed her to do so, though he spotted her to make sure she didn’t fall.

Amy cocked her head in confusion. What is going on? Why didn’t he just pick her up?

Rosie’s tail wagged happily. Now fully focused on the food, she dug in while Amy watched, baffled.

Shadow walked over to stand by her side. “Rosie’s...been through a lot,” he muttered. “She needs support that other Chao don’t. And she’s picky.” He chuckled once under his breath. “Kind of like me.”

Amy’s gaze drifted from the happy Chao up to Shadow’s face, which showed a small, fond smile. Her heart melted.

This guy doesn’t know the first thing about cooking, but he figured out just what spices to use to take care of a Chao who needed his help. He’s been looking after his silly, lovestruck robot friend for years. He happily babysits Cream. He’s made it his entire life mission to protect anyone who calls this planet home.

And...come to think of it...

“Shadow...is this really about cookies?”

Shadow immediately stiffened. His wide eyes slid over to Amy’s knowing smile with trepidation. His jaw clenched, and he crossed his arms tightly in front of him. “Well...” he croaked out. He scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

He sighed. “You...you looked so sad. I couldn’t...”

She remained silent. His shoulders dropped, and he met her eyes once more. “I know you hate being alone.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her.

“I can tell.”

She waited. Eventually, he continued.

“I’m not good at cheering people up. But...I thought if you didn’t have to be alone, then maybe you’d feel a little better.”

He kept eye contact. Her heart gave an odd lurch. “Shadow, I...” She trailed off and bit her lip, then asked, “Can I hug you?”

He nodded. She pulled him into a tight hug, tucking her head under his chin. She felt his arms wrap around her, tentative but reassuring, and she buried her face in his soft chest fur. “Today was wonderful. Thank you.”

He didn’t reply, but he gently cradled the back of her head and held her closer.

Just as she was noticing how warm he was, the oven let out a series of loud, piercing beeps, making her jump. She could hear Rosie whine in discomfort at the noise. Shadow immediately let go and made his way to the stove. He turned off the timer, opened the oven, and reached in as if to grab one of the cookie sheets.

“Wait, stop!” Amy cried out, jumping forward to grab his hand. “You’re gonna burn yourself!”

“I heal quickly. It’s not a big deal.”

“Yes it is! It would still hurt!” She sighed and checked the cookies. This guy...

She closed the oven door. “They should stay in for another minute.” She reached for the timer, but Shadow stopped her, nodding toward Rosie, who still seemed shaken by the noise. Amy looked up at Shadow again.

You know how to take care of just about everyone...except yourself.

Maybe it’s about time someone returned the favor.

Amy pursed her lips. She mulled it over, then spoke.

“We could hang out again some other time if you want. I could teach you how to cook some other things.”

His eyes widened. After a few seconds that felt far more nerve-racking than Amy had anticipated, he lifted his shoulders. “...I guess I could use the help.”

She half-smiled. “I’d be happy to, though I’d understand if you didn’t have the time. What with you being such a busy guy and all.”

“I don’t have much spare time. But if something is important to me, I’ll make time for it.”

Amy could read between the lines.

I’ll make time for you.

She clasped her hands together in front of her and beamed. “Does next weekend work for you?”

He took out his phone to peruse his calendar, then nodded. “Sunday at exactly 5:15. Don’t be late.”

“Of course I won’t. It’s important to me, too,” she replied with a wink.

--

Amy waved to Shadow and left, bringing half the cookies with her. Shadow took a bite of one from his own stash, savoring the soft texture and sweet flavor.

“Ah?”

Shadow peeked down to see Rosie was pointing to Amy, shooting him an inquisitive look.

“Hmph.” Shadow sat down beside Rosie and scratched under her chin, enjoying the contented noise she made. “Someday I’ll tell her...but today, she needed a friend.”

--

((Most of Shadow’s failures are mistakes I personally made when I first started baking, and I actually do crack the eggs first like Amy does here. It’s probably not “standard,” but I think it should be! I’ve also only ever made cookies with a mix before, not from scratch. No shame! The recipe I looked up for this headcanon is located here.

Fair warning: I have no idea whether that recipe is any good.

If you want to read more about Rosie, she originally appeared in Shadow Sitting. Shadow first adopted her in A Rosie Outlook.))

[bigahhhhhhhh]

Why is nobody talking about the new chapter??? Like omg. So much Leosuya content. I love it... Also I think it's so cute how Suya is slowly relying on Leo for the most basic things like, it slowly seems as she is noticing little by little that what they have might not be just friendship... And I am ALLL for it. Also, Leo's face here is just so cute.

I said this once, and I will say this again... They are the closest we will ever get to a Gomes and Morticia of this generation in the anime world... How they are so unapologetically in love and flirt all the time, and all the whole dying and killing for each other... They just do NOT give a CRAP about anyone else watching and that's beautiful.

Also I love how Leo is caring less and less about how others perceive him and just after chapter 289 he just kind of said "fuck it. I will do whatever I want from now on and I will deal with the consequences later..."

Like OMG THIS IS SO CUTE. SEEING HIM THIS HAPPY IS JUST OMG OMG OMG FUCK YES!!!

Also I like how we are starting to see in a way things slowly from Suya's perspective too, as in Leo's perspective he is just both embarrassed and happy and also very confused with Suya's antics in general and trying to give her light on the actual problems she's facing; while on her perspective it looks like he is annoyed and she is being rejected once again... Which brings to the question chapter 298... Where she was both happy and shocked to know that he cared so much about her...

Which makes sense since Suya doesn't have any idea of Leo's actual feelings and only WE the audience know about his feelings and the things he does for her... While in her POV it probably looks like he is not that interested in her besides just a friend he helps in a way... Probably. She probably knows he feels a certain way about her, but due to his unwillingness to actually put his work life aside and worry so much, alongside with his self seems issues and A LOT of other stuff going on he just kind of denies himself the Possibility of having anything with her or even pursuing her... Though Suya knows she does a lot of bad things and did a lot of crap, mainly to Leo which is WHY she tries her best to be a better person mainly for him, because he takes such good care of her and she really wants to be closer to him dispose everything :D. And she kind of knows she is mainly the problem, like I love Suya and her character development and stuff but let's be honest she was mean to Leo the most in the first chapters of the manga, like literally tried to kill him multiple times even though he was always the nicest and kindest with her... Which is one of the main reasons of why he is so on guard around her in the first 170 chapters dispise liking her... And she only starts to truly, TRULY change as a whole after the first 170, in a way??? Given that she used him to commit crimes too and did favors for him in order for him to give her something pretty messed up in return as stated in 209 and 165-166?? Which is great she doesn't do that as much anymore. She is just genuinely happy to be with him :D

I love my babies. I wish them all the happiness.

[ariesgamesandminis]

Iron Wind Metals restocks are in and ready!

10-050 The Bounty Hunter Set 20-044 Mako Corvette 20-174 Feng Huang Cruiser 20-208 Wolverine WVR-8K 20-230 White Flame WHF-3B 20-285 Harasser Tank (2) 20-289 Daimyo DMO-1K 20-424 Bombardier BMB-12D 20-432 Valiant V4-LNT-K7 20-479 Firebee FRB-2E 20-481 Maultier Hover Vehicle (2) 20-5018 Karhu KHU-R1 20-5026 Mongoose II MON-266 20-5030 Onager 20-5040 Mad Cat MKII (Enhanced) 20-5059 Septicemia E 20-5074 Dola DOL-1A1 20-5081 Rokurokubi RK-4K 20-5086 Wulfen Prime 20-5124 Quasimodo QSM-3D 20-5148 Flea FLE-14 20-5182 Catapult CPLT-C1 / K2 20-607RE Daishi "Dire Wolf" Prime 20-751 Long Tom Artillery LT-MOB-25 20-798 Hammer HMR-3M 20-800 Hex Bases (4) 20-907 Black Hawk-KU BHKU-O 20-919 Stooping Hawk Prime 20-932 Vindicator VND-1R 99-201 Large Flat Top Hex Base #1 99-202 Large Flat Top Hex Base #2 BT-006 Phalanx Battle Armor BT-081 Rapier Micro Fighter BT-099 Jengiz Micro Fighter BT-102 Xerxes Micro Fighter BT-105 Issus Micro Fighter BT-116 Chaeronea Micro Fighter BT-134 Gray Death Legion Battle Armor BT-187 Djinn Battle Armor BT-189 Kobold Battle Armor BT-198 Tengu Battle Armor BT-199 Asura Md. Battle Armor BT-201 Nephilim Assault Battle Armor BT-209 Se'irim Medium Battle Armor BT-222 Tau Wraith BT-223 Tau Zombie BT-237 Recon Infantry BT-291 Super-Griffin GRF-2N-X BT-292 Shiro SH-2P BT-301 Poseidon PSD-V2 BT-340 Waneta S-WN-2LAM (Mech) BT-372 Savannah Master Hovercraft BT-383 Longinus Battle Armor (3) FT-018 Visigoth Mech Scale Fighter Omega Super Heavy Mechs

[takeyourcyanide]

Pathetic

AO3

Fandom: Soul Eater

Characters: Franken Stein, Spirit Albarn, Marie Mjolnir, Yumi Azusa

Word count: 4 289

Tags: Sickfic, Hiding Medical Issues, Nausea, Dry-Heaving, Vomiting, Hurt No Comfort, Angst and Feels, Heavy Angst, Stuffed Toys, Mentions of Age Regression, Mentions of Violence, Hiding and Illness, Insomnia

Summary: Stein is unable to sleep due to illness which was partly brought on by the madness and worsened by the madness. He attempts to hide his illness and simply go to school like any other day and fails miserably. A hoard of other questionings ensue. This is an exploration of potential affection-starvation and pathetic desires and contemplations, as well as the effects the noise can have on one’s vessel.

Notes: This reminds me of a lyric from an unreleased Marina (formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds) song titled ‘Scab & Plaster’; “If nobody could see, I’d hold my hand out to be held.”

“Argh..”

Stein flung a tired and somewhat heavy arm over his eyes, squinting in avoidance of the influx of morning rays inviting themselves in through the thin cracks of his blinds - or what was truly a dreaded sign that he had no more time to attempt to sleep.

He’d tossed and turned about a thousand times, uncomfortably warm and yet uncomfortably cold, unable to breathe through his nose properly. His body felt more dense and difficult to control, his head swarming with dizziness and a constant, incessant pain. He found himself being forced to repeatedly take deep, long breaths, rubbing the pressure point between the two tendons in his wrist, his stomach randomly churning and aching. He just got that way sometimes.. often as a result of a certain strident volume. And worst of all, he had school in the morning.

“Stein!” Spirit’s grating voice boomed, as he banged his fist against the door, as energized as ever. “Get up!”

“Ugh..” He couldn’t help but groan and whine, though he certainly needed to help it.

‘Suck it up. Stop being such a pathetic sack of shit. You have work to do, go do it.’

His legs folded underneath him as the room spun, the walls mimicking the motion of waves curling and rushing against the beach, as he propelled himself up and off of the bed. It was truly as though he’d drugged himself to oblivion, and was facing the dire consequences of that, though he’d done nothing but wrap himself in his quilt and held his eyelids shut.

He crawled closer to the dancing walls, wobbling as he stood, leaning against and leveraging the cool surface. He could physically feel heat radiating from off of his face, encasing him, so the lower temperature was more than a welcomed, relieving soother.

He’d managed to trudge over to his closet, utilizing the wall as a sort of mobility aid, throwing on what he usually would; grey, baggy pants, and a grey, long-sleeved shirt, each article

having stitches embroidered in their seams.

Once he changed out of his somewhat sweat-soaked pajamas, he allowed himself to hunch over for the duration of his brief walk over to his bedroom door, a painful sensation sending repeated shocks all over and throughout his abdomen, before begrudgingly turning the silver knob and straightening his body.

“Did you sleep any last night?” Spirit’s countenance appeared almost bewildered and horrified at the sight of his disheveled meister, of whom was slowly and unsettlingly emerging from the shadows of the corridor, his eyes fixated on the pallidness of his skin and the rosy hue of his cheeks - not to mention his unkempt and mussed hair. There were tremors in his extremities that he looked to be desperately trying to conceal.

“Why do you ask?” There were tremors in his voice, as well, as he spoke. He shuffled over to the kitchen where Spirit stood, packing his lunch rather distractedly, in order to throw a snack or two in his own lunchbox. Hopefully, he’d make it to lunch. He needed to. He had work and training to drown himself in, he wasn’t a baby. He needed to stop behaving like one. Sure, there were certain reasons he’d felt so horribly and tossed and turned that night, but none of them were serious enough to warrant staying home. Serious enough to bring on and worsen illness? Sure. But that was only because he was weak.

“Well… you look like absolute shit, for one. And you’ve been kinda… off lately. You seem more-“

“I’m fine.”

Stein shoved his lunchbox in his computer bag, throwing the strap over his shoulder haphazardly. He ignored the raised eyebrow he received, instead focusing on not making the aching in his joints as he bent down to tie his shoes too obvious, as well as the violent rolling of his stomach. His limbs were still heavy and cumbersome to maneuver. His body felt weak and weathered and fatigued. He always got that way after… those nights. Just never before to such an excessive degree.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Mhm.”

Talking was no longer possible the longer he held in his coughs and sniffles.

“Okay….” His voice was coated in, dripping with suspicion. “Are you already leaving? Did you even brush your teeth?”

‘I need to cough in peace.’

“Mhm,” Stein rushed out of the door.

He knew he was behaving conspicuously. He knew he was not hiding his illness well. He, too, knew he was being over-dramatic about it. It wasn’t that bad. He was lying to himself. Many had it much worse than he did. He needed to cough into his hand, blow his nose, and get his act together. He shouldn’t let it destroy his functionality. He needed to stop being so weak and pitiful. He was not a baby.

-

If Stein thought that the light peaking in through the blinds was bad, actually stepping outside and rushing through the bustling crowds on the streets had to be the worst thing in the world. On a good day, that level of noise, light, and polite “excuse me’s” left him annoyed and overstimulated. On a bad day, he could truly understand why so many mass shootings had occurred the year prior.

By the time he’d made it up the DWMA’s infamous flight of steps, which were clearly designed by a fellow sadist, he was covering up his wheezing, the agitating eyes of his group of friends and a few other students not leaving his face.

‘For the love of God, can everyone just stop fucking staring at me?’

“Stein?”

He sniffled. He loudly sniffled. He wasn’t supposed to sniffle in front of anyone. Why did his own body have to betray him?

“Stein? Are you okay?”

He didn’t dare look anyone in the eye or in their face, not when he was publicly displaying how weak and vulnerable he was, but by how concerned and somewhat gentle the voice was, he could easily discern that it was Marie who was prodding him for information.

“I’m.. perfectly fine, why do you ask?” The amount of effort it took to muster just a simple response was astounding. He’d commend himself for that, and for somehow, by the grace of Death himself, not having accidentally killed himself whilst walking up those stairs, but given how easy it was for everyone else, he knew he shouldn’t. To be fair, he was sick, but did it matter? No.

“Are you joking?” Azusa snickered, as obnoxious and pompous as usual. “Did you really just ask her why she asked?”

“I did, indeed.” Stein adjusted the strap digging into the skin of his rather bony shoulder, even fiddling with his bangs in a last-ditch effort to make himself appear even somewhat normal and okay.

“Did you look in your mirror this morning? You look dead.”

“Honestly, he’s been looking more and more like a corpse for weeks now.. I’m surprised it took this long,” Spirit remarked, standing beside Stein with a faltering, twitching smile on his face.

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Marie moved closer towards him, her hands outstretching, coming to button up the few buttons he’d apparently missed. Before her nimble, quick, and threatening fingers could reach his shirt, he jerked away, holding his own hands out in defense.

“Don’t touch me,” he blurted out in a moment of failure- failure to settle and conceal the feeling gnawing at his insides. “I.. c’n button it myself,” he mumbled in a small voice, desperate to disguise his little outburst as a simple penchant for independence.

“What’s wrong with you lately? You’re even more weird and off-putting than usual,” Spirit stepped a little further away from him, what looked to be a disgusted, confused, and bothered look on his face. “You could afford to deny people’s help and generosity a little more nicely, and not be such an annoying jerk.”

“No, Spirit, it’s okay! Really. I don’t mind.”

‘Why can’t they all just leave me be?’

“He looks really sick. I’m sure he feels horrible, I don’t blame him for being a little… on guard…? I wouldn’t want to be out in this heat and have to walk up that behemoth of a staircase if I was sick.”

‘Can we just go inside?’

“Yeah, I agree with you, but he’s been…”

The more they continued discussing him, the more jittery, antsy, and almost whiny he felt. Was it anxiety? Was it purely agitation? Both? Why did they have to focus on him so much? Were they planning something? Was it in their dialogue with one another- subtle hints and language that only they would understand?

He began fiddling with the same buttons he was supposed to fix, ruthlessly rolling his lips between his teeth, ripping the lifting skin off of his bottom lip, as his head reeled with a sensation he could not quite describe, though it did make his chest feel pressured and dense.

The urge to beat on his arms and legs had nearly overcame him, despite him trying desperately to ignore it, instead grabbing fistfuls of his pants, yanking on them roughly, though gently enough that he hoped it wouldn’t be pointed out.

“You should really take him home, Spirit,” their voices came back in after being replaced by a familiar ringing sound. “He kinda looks like he might throw up, doesn’t he?”

She wasn’t wrong. His stomach felt as though it was being crushed under the weight of a hydraulic press- or perhaps stretched out, squished, and flattened by a rolling pin. He could taste the bitterness of his stomach acid, as it crept up his esophagus.

“Well, he hasn’t eaten anything in a while, so-“

“Oh, my God!”

Each and every single one of them jumped away from him on instinct, though, as Spirit stated, he’d not eaten anything in a long while, so all that his stomach managed to evict was its own acid. And while there was thankfully no real mess to clean, unfortunately, the lack of contents in his stomach only made the experience all the more painful, as his abdomen forcefully sunk in, frantic to wring and squeeze out anything that it could, causing him to hunch over, convulsing and folding in on himself.

After a good minute or two of gasping coming from multiple different groups of students, as well as his profuse gagging, his body finally gave up. Stein straightened himself out, wiping his lips, clumsily rubbing the slight moisture from out of his eyes with his other hand, before his arms quickly came to wrap around his mildly sore abdomen.

Spirit raised one of his furrowed brows, sarcastically gazing at Stein from over his shoulder. “Are you still just ‘fine’?”

He shook his head with a pout of defeat.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

“I have work to do..”

“You can’t be serious, Stein.”

“……Fine.”

Spirit released a dramatic, dreadful, and burdened sigh, waving the group goodbye, as he motioned for Stein to follow him down the monstrous steps, holding his hand out for him to take as though he were a stumbling, klutz of a small child.

“Is Marie coming?” Franken glanced behind himself and back at the group, begrudgingly taking his scythe’s hand.

“I don’t think so. …Why? Do you want her to?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Not necessarily… just curious.”

“Well… it makes more sense for your weapon partner to be the one late for class just to make sure you don’t die on your way back home, you know?”

‘I could’ve gone alone.’

“You’re not staying, then?”

“No, there’s some stuff I have to catch up on, so….”

“Oh. Okay.”

At least he wouldn’t be there to witness his little moment of weakness. And the next one that would surely come, like little episodes.

If he was miserably failing to hide it all just mere moments ago, what would you even call his supreme failure now?

-

“Go get in bed, Stein. I’m gonna.. grab some.. medicine and water and stuff for you to take later…. I really have to get back- shit,” Spirit rushed into their kitchen, looking down at his ever-ticking watch with an anxiety and stress-ridden fervor.

Franken, stuck between grasping onto his precious independence for dear life and simply obeying his partner’s order to avoid any possible obnoxious frustration from him, lethargically marched into the kitchen - quickly turning away from it, only to turn back a second later.

“Hey, what are you still doing in here?” A thin stream of water erupted from the shiny faucet, finding its way down into a plastic, grey cup. “Shoo,” he, somewhat playfully and lightheartedly, waved the sniveling meister away, the creaking of wooden cabinet doors reverberating within Stein’s sensitive ears. “Go tuck yourself in, you look like death.”

The shaking of pills trapped within a bottle had Stein picking up his pace almost instantaneously, racing to leave the room, the throbbing in his temples and in the rims of his eyes increasing with each bang of a capsule against the plastic of the walls, which confined them.

Upon reentering his bedroom, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found that his room had remained pleasantly dark, only a small fraction of sunlight peeking in. He slid underneath his covers, quickly grabbing his stuffed T-Rex and holding it under the blanket as to avoid any probing, teasing comments about it, before curling in a position that seemed to lessen the degree of the repeated blows his stomach happened to be taking.

His brows pinched for a moment at the odd crinkling of wrappers in the kitchen, and the subsequent footsteps growing louder the closer and closer they came.

“I got you a snack too… You really need to eat something soon, okay?” Spirit sat item after item down on his nightstand, naming them all off, much to Stein’s annoyance. “Not eating anything’s only gonna make you start dry-heaving again.”

He placed his hands on his hips in an almost sassy, domineering fashion, giving Stein a particular look, which read as simultaneously parental and exhausted of dealing with him and his “trials and tribulations,” so to speak. Truthfully, that exhaustion confused him, as he never told Spirit anything, he had never vented to him, never pestered him for comfort, or assistance, or nothing. Perhaps his supposed ‘oddities’ and behavioral quirks were a chore to put up with in and of themselves. Perhaps he was simply a chore to deal with, whether he was seeking out another’s patience and care or not.. whether he was being entirely himself or not… whether they knew what was going on with him, and who he truly was, or not. Only sweet, normal people were deserving of effort and love, so it seemed in the eyes of the world at large.

“Take the pills I left on your nightstand. Water’s right there. ….If you’re legitimately on the verge of death or something, then call me. Otherwise, I’ll be back later. Don’t kill yourself. Don’t kill anyone else. Eat that protein bar. Take your meds. Okay?

…… Okay?” Spirit repeated himself with annoyance-induced emphasis after receiving no verbal reply, only being given a continuous and disturbingly alert stare.

“Okay.”

As to not be conspicuous, Stein stroked his stuffed toy gently back and forth with his thumb, repressing and resisting the urge to succumb to his incessant fatigue and foreign… craving. He would not shut his eyelids, no matter how much weight they seemed to gain, nor would he cuddle the dinosaur, until he knew the weapon was gone.

“I’m gonna go, then. Get some sleep, or something.”

Since, apparently, not speaking was not allowed and was simply so very rude, Stein mumbled, “Okay.”

Spirit turned swiftly on his heels, almost waltzing out of the room, before shifting his body around to face his partner, his hand on the doorframe. “Oh.. and, by the way, I actually have a date after school, so… I won’t be back as soon..”

“You mean you won’t be back until one in the morning?”

“Uh… maybe. Depends on how it goes.”

‘Why can’t people just say what they truly mean? What’s the point in dancing around it?’

“Ok.”

“Well, okay. …Uhm… Do you want this door open, or….?”

“No.”

“All right,” he drawled, uncomfortably grinning in response to whatever awkward air had been created, shutting the door rather speedily behind him.

‘Well, fucking someone’s most likely a lot less boring than trying, and failing, to ignore a sick person,’ Stein considered to himself, as he tucked his stuffie under his chin, holding it tightly against his seemingly weighted chest.

Something about that almost disappointed him, despite the fact that he’d longed for complete and utter solitude. Did he want him to stay? Not necessarily. Did he want him to shove aside his sexual escapades so that he could assist him? But ultimately, why would he? Stein should be able to take care of himself at his age. Couldn’t everyone else?

He did not need his help, nor did he want it. But then, why did it worsen the expanding hole in chest, why did it send dull and sharp aches throughout his body when he continued to ponder it? Why did the aching worsen when he thought about how patient and calm Marie was, in comparison to how Spirit often was towards him? Was he just being melodramatic? It’s not as though he was some poor, delicate, harrowed soul. He was just being an idiot. That was all. He could not for the life of him tell what it was that he was longing for, but his friends’ affection and comfort, and even attention? That most certainly could not have been it. There had not been a singular point in his life in which he’d ever desired that before. Was it simply that he got a small taste, a glimpse of what patience and care was like, and was suddenly desperate for more? But that was so terribly degrading and stupid. So, so, so stupid.

Not to mention, most people did not have to ask for comfort, did they? No one walks up to people and asks others for a scrap of care and thoughtfulness. And he should truly be grateful for what he’s been given. Most wouldn’t give him the time of day, considering how unempathetic, selfish, and generally parasitic he often was. All he could ever care about was satiating his own curiosity, his own often sadistic and hedonistic desires. No one wanted to care for someone of whom they knew would not do the same for them.

He hugged his T-Rex even tighter, embracing the toy with his strangely overheating arms.

He should be grateful. He was asking for too much. And asking people for things is often considered rude. And rudeness was to be denounced.

He’d asked Spirit for his stuffed T-Rex. Well, not verbally. He’d pointed at it, as he assumed that was the least offensive way one could ask if they could get something. Even then, he’d expected to be faced with pure vitriol. It seemed as though most assumed that him asking for something meant he considered himself entitled to that something, though it did not. He wouldn’t have minded being denied, maybe he’d be a bit disappointed, but asking someone to pay for something as dumb as a stuffie was more than rude- in fact, it was crude, was it not? He should have his own money to buy little trinkets with. So, looking back on that memory of Spirit nonchalantly allowing him to purchase the stuffie was so terribly confusing, though it seemed his body ached and yearned for more. But he was supposed to be yelled at. It was rude of him. Where was all of the anger and frustration with his demanding nature? Whatever the case may be, he definitely seemed to want more of that, though he couldn’t even begin to understand why. And what even was “that”? Being allowed an item without being reminded that his behavior is burdensome to the rest of the world? He didn’t mind being viewed as burdensome. It was a universal perception of him, one he’d shrug off. He wasn’t ever much of a fan of those whom he burdened, anyway. So, then, what did he want? To not be viewed in such a light? Was it simply nicer to not be a burden, an archetype, an urban legend of sorts, and something that is, too, alive and possible to love and care for? To be seen for who he truly is, and instead of being met with fear and repulsion, sincere adoration?

Perhaps it was only because of his moronic little episodes, which left him curling into his plushies even more so. Even when he was truly small, he’d not desired affection from anyone. He had never desired connection, either. Then again, why would he? He never came to quite understand what either two concepts happened to be. He was told they existed, but it seemed that they were entirely fictional concepts. No one genuinely treated anyone in such a nice manner, not without an ulterior motive at the very least. He’d surely have lost it if he believed otherwise, no?

Again, he was most certainly asking for too much, asking for something entirely unrealistic. Of course people were going to be angry with him- when were they not? His very existence acts as a complete defiance of any and all social norms and protocol. He was pretending as though patience was normal. He was acting as though he was just some poor, miserable baby, and not the same individual who was known for mercilessly and ruthlessly dissecting everything. Was it possible to be both? But how pathetic was that!

The fact that Spirit even walked him home should be enough. Of course, him tossing things onto his nightstand was rather suspicious, as he could have very well poisoned everything, but still, it should be enough of a gesture. He shouldn’t be disappointed because sex was more important than him- that was just being melodramatic, he’d never needed any attention. Not to mention the fact that anyone else his age could care just fine for themselves. Just suck it up. He was acting as though he’d never been treated as important or precious, as though Spirit hadn’t taken time out of his day to make sure he didn’t immediately die. The fact that he hadn’t been spit on for being so pathetic whilst ill should be enough for him to feel loved, though he didn’t need that either. It’s not as though he’d ever felt particularly cared for or loved before, so how could he ever want something he could not even begin to fathom? He’d never felt any form of love for anyone, of course people did not want to give love to him. But who said they didn’t? He didn’t know what love even was, who said being walked home wasn’t? However, no one had ever known him before. And can you really love someone you don’t truly know? He was even allowed his stuffie, that should be enough. Spirit didn’t scream either, that should be enough. Screaming was just obnoxious, not to mention homicidally-enraging, though sometimes a bit humorous.

There are people with real problems in the world. He was only being dramatic. What friend would actually take care of him, anyway? That sounds like something corny and dumb out of some children’s book. That doesn’t exist. And he wasn’t human. Of course he wasn’t going to be treated like one.

People don’t like pathetic individuals, nor does he. He’s lucky he wasn’t promptly mocked for his dry-heaving. And it’s not as though he wasn’t suspicious of such kindness. It was clearly a lie. He was being an idiot. That was all.

And there was also the fact that such affection repulsed him. He never wanted it from any specific person. Or did he? No. Sometimes it was still nice. It made his brain fuzzy with the incoming of another episode. But he was so violently suspicious of it, he couldn’t trust it. It was obviously a way to lure him in and mock him and take advantage of him. But it felt nice to be doted on.

Stein wrapped his arm around his torso, tenderly moving his nails up and down what portion of his back and shoulders he could successfully reach. He closed his eyes, hiding his face in his plushie, inhaling and exhaling slowly, though a bit shakily.

What was it like to not ruin things and have no clue as to how or why you even ruined them? What was it like to be treated as though you weren’t just a bizarre zoo animal to gawk at and be entertained by? What was it like to be a priority, someone’s favorite, to be important and wanted? What was it like to have the privilege of being fully yourself, and even loved for yourself? What was it like to not be able to overestimate your importance? What was it like for people to genuinely want to put in the effort to deal with you, to be burdened by you?

There were simply some curiosities he would not be able to sate. He was much too violent and apathetic and agitated of an individual. And that was fine. He had always been a solitary creature, someone who had the best time when alone. Though that did not mean that he wasn’t at all curious as to what it was like to be treated as though you were sweet, normal, and human. Then again, that sort of treatment did not truly exist, did it?