#the last thing i wanna do is put a common friend in the middle of all of this

[monstrousproductions]

PSST.

You wanna know a secret?

Neurotypical people use scripts too.

I'm neurodivergent and I struggle a lot with meeting new people. The only thing that helps me is scripting - planning the conversation beforehand, practicing the questions I'm going to ask, the anecdotes I can tell, all that jazz.

But what really helped me turn a corner was realising that neurotypicals are scripting too. Everyone in the supermarket is expecting the conversation with the cashier to go a certain way. I don't have to worry about being funny or interesting - I just have to play my part, and they'll play theirs, and we'll both go away from the interaction content!

And I know this is the Anti Small Talk website I knowwwwww. But small talk serves a vital social function! You can't just jump straight from Stranger to Friend - you need to do the intermediary steps first, or at least get introduced! Besides, it helps make brief, transactional interactions - like being served in a shop, for example - feel a bit more friendly, which, why wouldn't you want to make things more friendly??

It also - and let us simply speak in hypotheticals here - it also means that, for example, if you are an innocent podcaster who found themselves at a wedding a few weeks ago where you knew very few people, and, through various circumstances, ended up being sat at a table on the other side of the room to the people you actually did know, you wouldn't have had to spend the entire meal sitting in awkward silence because nobody else at your table knew how to make conversation with strangers. Hypothetically. For example. 🙃

And look. I get it. Meeting people can be awkward and uncomfortable, especially if you're neurodivergent. But there are things you can learn that can help minimise that awkwardness, or at least help you come across as 'harmlessly odd and doing their best' (my personal favourite social niche).

Society likes to pretend these skills are inherent. But babies aren't born knowing how to do any of this! We have to learn. As a neurodivergent person, I had to learn that skill very consciously, and rather later than some of my neurotypical peers - but they had to learn it too!!

And like every other skill, the only way you can improve is practice. You gotta put the time in. But that time pays off. I'm in my 30s, and by now, I have scripts on scripts, with variations for all sorts of different contexts. It's like a database I access, filtering through it for Middle Aged Woman In Professional Setting or Chatty Toddler On Bus or Millennial Programmer at Casual Social Event.

At this point, I feel pretty fluent in most social situations. It's not foolproof - I got so nervous at the pharmacists last week, I stammered too much for the clerk to understand me and had to start the whole interaction over 😶 But it makes life much easier, and - just as important - helps me to make stressful situations easier for other people, too.

So, please, if you struggle with small talk, can you do me a favour? Can you think of three questions you could ask a stranger? You want to keep them open-ended (no yes/no answers), friendly but not intrusive, and avoid anything that makes an assumption about the other person.

For example, I tend to go for, "What kind of thing do you like to do for fun?" instead of asking about work, because lots of people don't have jobs for all sorts of reasons they might not want to tell me, a random person at their friend's birthday party.

I'm also a huge fan of asking why people like something they said they like, or how they got into it. People like to talk about things they enjoy, and I like to hear about it!

Once you've got a set of questions to ask, you can have a think about your own responses. If someone asks you how you know the friend you have in common, what can you say that will keep the conversation going?

If they mention the weather, what could you say in response? It's been warm in Belfast recently after a cold snap, and I'm a bit annoyed because I was excited to wear all my woolly jumpers again. I've expressed that exact sentiment to four cashiers and three taxi drivers this month alone - and I'll do it again!!

Finally, above all, pay attention. Keep your head up, and try and see who's talking and who isn't. If you notice someone might not be getting chance to join in the conversation, you can bring them in by moving your attention to address them while you're answering someone else. Then, address your next question to them more directly.

The thing is, like I said, neurotypicals are scripting too. They'll be expecting this kind of chat. They'll be prepared. They're expecting to be asked this kind of thing, and to say the same kind of thing in return. There's no trick to it - they just learnt the script earlier than us, and without having to be told explicitly that it existed 😂

It's hard. I know it's hard. But you can learn, and it is worth learning - for your own sake, but also for the sake of your fellow wedding guests/birthday party attendees/newbies at the book club 😅

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

Lost and Found ♧| 2.

Leon S. Kennedy x reader (ft. my girl Ash)

A/N: This... this took me so long lmao I rewrote it like five times. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though! I don't really write slow burn, so this might suck. I wanna apologize for how fucking wonky the events of Part one are???? They're all out of order lmao anyway, Enjoy!

~Fi 🪻

Warnings: swearing, reader is an idiot (lovingly, of course), mention of a small injury, sucky slow burn

Word count: 2.7k

Part 1 ♧ Part 2 ♧ Part 3 ♧

Please don't copy my work! I put a lot of effort and heart into the things I write.

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It had been a couple of months since Spain happened. Your life has definitely... changed. Both good and bad. You were plagued by nightmares frequently, instinctively grasping your arm every time you shot awake. A faint, pink scar had formed where the gash once sat. Tracing it absent mindedly was a common occurrence ever since the first dream. You'd stare at the blank wall in your living room, gently caressing it.

That mission took a toll on you, so you were granted a few months off to work through your night terrors and process everything. Ashley had been a great help with that. She made sure you hung out at least once a week and always stayed in contact, calling you and you calling her. The events of Spain didn't leave Ashley without any struggles either. But, she had assured you that she was save, protected at all times and getting support from professionals. Talking to her, about Spain or anything really, helped you get out of the hole you were in.

She was your best friend. Whether or not she knew it, she really was. You didn't really have friends. Not since Raccoon City. You stayed inside your dull little home the last few years, working a boring office job for the government. Your only friend had been Dave, a middle-aged man who worked in the security department. So you rotted away for years, mourning your past life. Your past you.

Honestly, you have no idea how you ended up as a special agent in the first place. Your police background increased your chances at scoring the position, but you didn't really have much experience. When you were offered the 'promotion', you didn't think too much of it. Couldn't be that hard, could it? You'd survived Raccoon City after all.

You were so wrong. You basically traded the mediocre lunch breaks you had with Dave, with running for your life from Zombies. Bad fucking trade. And the worst part, your officials didn't give a shit. They just wanted this to be dealt with as discretely as possible. End of the story, they underestimated how big this whole thing actually was, and now you were the one left with the shitty consequences. But you had Ashley! And Leon, of course, but that was a little more complicated.

You still hadn't gotten around to the promise of getting drinks together. He was going away on missions all the time, so although you kept in touch no matter what, he wasn't there. You thought, after some excruciating years, you had found your best friend again. Your person. And you did, but he was so close yet so out of reach. You couldn't take it anymore. You lost 7 whole years with him, and you finally had him back, but he was still gone.

"I don't know what to do, Ash." You sighed, playing with your shirt while you held the phone to your ear.

"Well, have you told him that? I'm sure he wants to spend more time with you too, but you need to tell him that!" She urged. Biting your lip, you hestitated.

"I just... he was my best friend. We did everything together, and now.. I know that it's him but I don't recognize him. He's.. different now. I thought he didn't change, but.. he did. That scares me. What scares me even more is the fact that he's always on my mind, I can't seem to function without him here. I only think about him. 24/7." You mumbled into the phone.

"Sounds a whole lot like you're in love with him."

"I- what? No! I mean, of course I love him, he's my best friend, but that's it. He's just my friend and you can love your friends, right? Like, everyone does, it's not something odd or anything." you rambled.

Sure, your heart lit a flame every time he smiled, and the sound of his laugh was heaven. His dumb jokes never failed to put a smile on your face but that's just how friends are. Yes. Totally. Friends feel like that. Just some regular friendly feelings.

"You're so oblivious! That's NOT how friends feel about eachother. Like ever. I've seen the way you look at him!" She argued. "What look? I don't look at him differently... do I?"

"Yes, you do. Everytime he's near you, that lovesick smile on your face kinda gives it away. Or the blush when he asks if you're okay. Not to mention how you panic when he gets hurt. Just admit it!" Ashley whined.

"I'm not in love with him, Ashley! He's my best friend, that's it!" You argued. She groaned into the phone. "I can't believe you're so smart yet so stupid." She said, clearly annoyed. "Rude." you mumbled.

"I have to go now, Miss Denial. Seriously though, you're not doing yourself a favor by denying your feelings." She said softly. You rolled your eyes and huffed.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I'll think about it?"

"Definitely. Love you!" She beamed.

"Love you too." You chuckled as she hung up. Maybe you would think about it. If not for yourself, then for her. She was right about suppressing your feelings but about you being in love with Leon... you weren't sure.

Eh, that was a problem for the future you. For now, all you wanted to do was enjoy some drinks with him.

Your teeth gnawed at your lip, trying to decided how to go about this situation. Do you call Leon now? Tomorrow, maybe? Should you call him at all? You hadn't talked to eachother in a while... would it be awkward? Before you can lend any more attention to those thoughts, your phone rang and it was none other than Leon. Speak of the devil. You picked up, your heart racing.

"Hey... look, I'm sorry for not calling more, work s'just been busy. I.. Do you want to go for those drinks I promised tonight?" He sounded nervous. Unsure. He sounded so much like the Leon you knew. Your Leon. Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all. "Y-yeah, I'd love that. Um-  how does eight sound?" You responded, a little more nervous than you wanted to. "Sounds good. See you." And with that, he hung up.

Something's up with him. Your brows furrowed. Maybe he worked more to get his mind off Spain? He was a workaholic, trying to do more and more and not realizing how much it actually affected him. He was hurting himself by trying to protect others from harm. Maybe it's just the stress. You had plenty of time to question him at the bar, supported by a few Piña Coladas.

A couple of hours before, the anxiety hit you like a truck. It was safe to say that you were scared out of your mind right now. How the fuck were you supposed to talk to Leon like nothing was going on? Like nothing happened? You couldn't. And after that conversation with Ashley? Nope. No chance. Panic was bubbling up your throat. You felt like you could never face him again. Everytime you looked at him, or even thought of him, it was just pain. The pain of the building collapsing on top of you. Your pained cries when you realized he hadn't come back for you. The pain when you thought he was dead. The pain that if Ashley was right and you really were in love with him, you could lose him again.

He made your world bright and vibrant and when he was ripped from your grasp, you were lost in a sea of grey. Drowning. Desperately gasping for air, refusing to let the water in. Now, he had brought the color back to your life but all the vibrant hues made your head spin and your eyes hurt. You grew comfortable in your sea of grey. Embracing the cold kiss of the water filling your lungs, making you float peacefully.

Could you let the color back into your world? Could you pull yourself from the tide and cough up the water? Did you even want to? You didn't know. It was all too much. You were pulled out of your head when you dropped your glass of water. You were so consumed in your thoughts and anxieties that it had just slipped out of your hand. Carefully cleaning it up, you felt a sharp sting in your finger.

You had accidentally cut yourself on the broken glass shards. A small stream of blood was running down your finger and along your palm. A drop of blood hit the puddle of water, and it bloomed in red. You haven't felt like this in years. You could actually feel something. It's not like you didn't you feel the last seven years, but your soul was too numb to care. You actually felt something. Not like those times when you hit your head or nicked yourself while cooking. You would react relatively neutral to those incidents, but now... you could feel the burn of the cut, a searing sting in your skin. A small smile tugged at your lips.

It's because of him. Because you had him back, and he made you feel alive again. He had just stumbled into your life and turned it upside down. Like he always does. But you wouldn't want to have it any other way. God, how you had missed feeling like this. So vulnerable. So sensitive. So human.

You cleaned up the glass but hung on to the feeling of the cut. You didn't like it per se, but it made you feel like something inside you had been fixed. A missing puzzle piece that slotted right into place. It just felt so right.

Just like he did. You shook your thoughts, having the habit of spiraling, wether it may be good or bad, and continued on with your afternoon. Your nerves about spending time with Leon calmed, it was just Leon! Your best friend. You had nothing to worry about. Well, with Leon, usually there was at least a little something to be worried about.

You were out the door, into the night, on your way to Leon. You had decided to just walk there since parking was an absolute nightmare in this city. Besides, the fresh air in your lungs and cooling breeze on your face was something you hadn't felt in a while. Fumbling with a small box in your pocket, you continued to the bar you two had agreed to meet up at. It wasn't really a present, more something you wanted to return. You never thought you could.

You took a deep breath before stepping into the warmth of the bar. Your eyes were searching for Leon, looking for that familiar blonde head of hair. Spotting him in the back, an inevitable smile crept onto your face. When Leon noticed you, his face lit up, a hand reaching up to signal you over to him. He stood up when you approached and immediately pulled you into a tight hug.

"Hey." He mumbled, muffled by your hair. "Hi." You said, the joy in your voice evident. The first real hug in seven years. You could've melted on the spot. It felt so good. So right.

You reluctantly pulled away, smiling at him. "Wow... It's been a while, huh?" He said with a small laugh. "Yeah.." you responded with a chuckle. You sat down and ordered your drinks. "So.. what have you been up to? How have you been?" You asked. He pondered for a moment. "Not a lot to be honest. Worked a lot, you know, saved the world once or twice." He joked at which you just playfully rolled your eyes.

"What about you?"

"I uh... I adopted a dog. Her name is Lady, she's a Bernese mountain dog. I couldn't stand being alone anymore so I got Lady and yeah... that's about it when it comes to major life events." You laughed, a little nervous but the tension was fading by the minute.

"You gave in, huh? You used to talk my ear off about wanting a dog back then, remember?" He smiled. You did talk about wanting a dog all throughout your time at the police academy and it seemed like you had finally fulfilled that dream.

"Yeah, I did. She's so sweet, you'll love her." you said with a smile. Leon let out a laugh. "I'm more worried about her liking me." He joked.

You two continued to talk and drink, just laughing and having a good time. The night got closer and closer to ending when you remembered the box in your pocket.

"I have something for you." You mumbled, nervous to how he would react. He piped up at that and raised his eyebrows. "Aw, for me?" He teased. You just gave him a shy smile. Now or never. You pulled out the small box and slid it over to him. "I wanted to return this." you said quietly. His brows furrowed and a confused look fell on his face. "Return? Alright."

Leon carefully undid the bow and opened the lid. Not in a million years had he expected this. His jaw hit the fucking floor. It was his goddamn RPD badge. What the fuck? How did you even get this? It was tattered and faded. He gently ran his fingers across his barely legible name.

You chewed on the inside of your cheek. You had no idea how he would react. Leon looked at you completely bewildered. "I.. How?" He asked, still shocked. You shifted in your chair and fiddled with your fingers. "When... when I got out, I found it on the ground. It was the only thing I had left of you." You mumbled, avoiding eye contact. By 'got out' you meant fighting and clawing your way through infected residents and escaping the ruins of the collapsed building.

You could see the pain in his eyes. Whether it was his own for the pain he felt for you, you weren't sure. You spoke before he could. "I made a promise to myself that I would get it back to you one day, but.. at some point, I gave up and just kept it for myself. I thought you were dead and that this," you gestured to the badge," was the only thing I had left of you. My best friend. But it's yours, I want you to have it back." You said, your voice cracking, trying not to cry.

You could see the tears glistening in his eyes, his knuckles turning white as he tightly gripped his badge. "Thank you..." was all he managed to get out. You quickly wiped the tears that were threatening to fall and let out a sad laugh.

"God... I'm sorry for ruining the mood like that. It probably would've burned a hole in my pocket if I kept it any longer, though..."

Leon placed his badge on the table and took your hands in his. "You didn't. Well, a little maybe, but I'm really grateful for this. Thank you." He assured you, sqeezing your hands.  Your skin lit on fire. His touch was so addicting. And so comforting. A blush made its way onto your face. Oh, fuck. Was Ashley right? No. No way, it's just a little hot in here. That's all. But you couldn't deny the way your heart twisted and turned when he touched you, the butterflies in your stomach were having a fucking rave right now. Jesus, it's just Leon. Get it together You thought to yourself.

Shaking off all those annoying feelings, you returned a smile. "How about I make it up to you with a Movie Night, hm? Ice cream and cuddles from Lady included." You proposed. He grinned and leaned in a little closer. "What about cuddles from you?" He asked, a teasing smirk on his face. It didn't come off nearly was confident as he wanted it to. His voice shook a little, making him sound nervous.

Leon Kennedy? Nervous? Something was definitely up. His nervousness didn't stop the bubbling feeling in your stomach, though. There go the butterflies again. Stupid bugs. This is normal, though. Right? You always cuddled. Friends cuddle. No big deal. He's always been like that. No sweat. Just a little friendly cuddle session. That. Is. It. Is it bad that you wanted it to be more than that? The idea of being in love with him suddenly didn't feel as scary anymore.

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Part three is coming soon~

[booksinmythorax]

So you're an adult who wants to start reading for fun, but you don't know where to start

I'm a librarian, and I hear at least once a week from people who sheepishly tell me that they'd love to start reading for fun (for the first time or after a long break). Here's my best advice broken down into bullet points, but start here: there is no shame in being a beginner.

-Think about what you do enjoy and start from there. So you're not a book person. Do you like movies? Television? Podcasts? Music? Tabletop games? Video games? What other media do you like and what does it have in common? Make a little list and Venn diagram that shit.

Maybe you're into stories about fucked-up families (Sharp Objects, Succession) or found families (lots of realplay TTRPG podcasts, Leverage, Avatar: The Last Airbender) or fucked-up found families (various Batman media, Steven Universe, The Good Place). Maybe you mainly watch or listen to stuff for the romance (Taylor Swift music, The Best Man, Heartstopper) or the sci-fi horror (The Magnus Archives, M3gan, Nope) or the romantic sci-fi horror (Welcome to Night Vale). And hey, maybe you're not a fictional media person at all. What do you like? What do you want to know about? World history? True crime? Home improvement? Birdwatching? Gardening? Various animals and their behavior? Human psychology? Cooking? If it's a thing, there are books about it. Start there.

Think about why you started to dislike reading. Did an adult snatch a book you thought looked cool out of your hands and say "Don't read that, it's below your reading level/above your reading level/a comic, not a real book"? Did school give you an endless parade of miserable, bleak books and tell you they were universal stories about the human condition? Or did it maybe only give you stories with saccharine, unearned happy endings, or only show you stories about straight cis wealthy abled white kids, or keep you from reading entire books at all in favor of endlessly dissecting tiny passages out of context? (For some vindication, check out "How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading" by John Holt.) Did you have an older sibling or a friend who was better at reading? Did adults put you in competition with that other kid and make you feel like shit about it? Were you in a situation where you were good at reading in one language, or even more than one, but required to read in another that you were still learning? Did this make you feel like you were "behind schedule" or like you shouldn't read at all? Or was reading just harder for you than it seemed for other people? Did reading give you headaches? Did the letters or numbers seem to float around on the page? Was it hard for you to focus for long enough to get through a whole book? Did you need to learn to read differently than the kids around you could? Did adults punish you for this instead of helping you? (Look, I'm not a doctor, but if any of these apply to you, consider going to an optometrist, a psychologist, and/or a psychiatrist to talk about these things if they're persistent and interfere with your life.) Or maybe you're burned out on reading. Maybe you did an advanced degree in literature or writing or history or some other reading-heavy discipline and you're just tired. Maybe your professors or classmates got snobby about what constituted "literary" works and their good opinion didn't line up with what you actually enjoy. You get to be sad and angry about these things, if they happened to you. They're also clues to how to move forward if you'd like to read more, or enjoy reading more.

Give yourself permission to read whatever you want, in whatever way you want. Wanna start with young adult books? Middle grade books? Awesome. Many of them have stories that are sophisticated and complex. Starting with re-reading the first books you enjoyed reading could help jog your memory about why you initially found it fun. Hell, even picture books are a good start. Have you read a picture book lately? Those things are getting cooler every day. Comics and graphic novels? Those count as reading. Many of them are published for adults, though again, the ones published for a middle-grade or young adult audience are often complex and moving. If you're an anime fan, give manga a shot. The source material for many anime go deeper into the characters and stories, especially now that anime seasons are often truncated to 12 episodes for entire series. (The right-to-left thing is easier to get used to than you think, too.) Romance novels and mystery thrillers and science fiction and fantasy? Those count as reading. Many of the things you might have liked about the books you read as a child or a teenager are present in adult "genre" fiction, and many of the things you might despise about adult "literary" fiction (god, I hate that word, but that's another post) may be absent from those titles. E-books and audiobooks definitely count as reading, and they're often more accessible than paper books for some people. Anybody who tries to genre- or format-shame you is a dick and not worth talking to.

Go to your local library. All right, shameless self-promotion here, I'll admit it. But I promise you, if you walk into a library and say "I'm an adult, I stopped reading a while ago, and I'd like to start back up again but I need suggestions," you will make someone's day. I get asked for my opinion about books approximately once a month. I get asked how to use the printer approximately eighty-five times a day. I love helping with the printer and I'm saying that unironically, but my colleagues and I absolutely adore "readers' advisory" questions. If you come with the answers to the above questions about your preferred genres, formats, and reasons you'd like to read, it'll help the process, but most of us are trained to ask follow-up questions to get you the best possible book match. Do not apologize. You are not bothering us. It is literally part of our job. We want people to know that reading is fun, and you are a people.

[torturedblue]

It’s the middle of the week, have some dancing turtles

Spoilers below as I gush about my Mutant Mayhem Monday experience 🤗 please feel free to gush with me I wanna hear other people’s thoughts too!

First off… When Seth wanted to put the teenager in TMNT he meant it. Like, all the versions act like teenagers, but like Nickelodeon PG stereotypical teens. MM turtles were the realest PG-13 outta pocket 21st century teenagers I’ve ever seen and I love that shit because it’s the first time I actually felt like I was around the kids in middle school and high school again with the way they talk. Kinda appreciate Superfly cussing too? Like idk it’s Ice Cube and this villain goes hard tryna kill some teenage turtles he formally saw as his lil cousins, let the grown mutant cuss

Also uh, was not expecting to be sad so early in the movie? Like I could tell from the trailers it was gon be an emotional rollercoaster but shit like ten minutes in and these turtles are fuckin depressed. And to see it really hit me because in every other version (except for Bayverse) the turtles literally never let not being part of the human world get to them. In the shows especially they’re so well adjusted and never bothered by sticking to the shadows. Then there’s Rise where they pretty much go out whenever they want and indulge in most of the human world stuff they want to. For these guys to be so stunted and desperate to have more freedom was so heart wrenching. Especially when Splinter grounds them for a whole month and the reality sinks in of how much they know the life they want isn’t an option for them

Wasn’t expecting any kind of ship or romance but that crush Leo has on April hit me like truck because…… holy crap the Leo-April pair has never been a thing? On top of that this is only the second on screen black April we’ve seen and I’ve been a Leo kinnie across the board since day one so to see this combo of my favorite character liking a black girl is making me lose my mind 🥲 and like it got me thinking of several of my favorite shows and the single characters I kin in those and if they’ve ever had black love interests and it’s just still not a common normalized thing honestly.

I’m sure a lot of people aren’t excited for the prospect of ships coming back (especially after 2012 scarred us) but as a Leo lover and black girl it got me so excited to see something like this. I’m just hopeful and optimistic they won’t mess it up like a lot of shows do. The “this is just as friends line” already makes me a little worried bc that trope never has a good history but I have faith they’ll handle things tastefully and not make it toxic or messy

MURDER THE SHREKS!

“I assume you’d wanna be on camera. ‘Cause you have, like a very camera ready look…” OKAY SMOOOOOTH LEONARDOOOOOO 👏🏽

Could not stop laughing while he was shooting his shot my face was literally donnie’s restraining myself from bursting out laughing

Just a couple of my favorite questions that April wrote down for them:

“Do you carry salmonella?” Look I still don’t know wtf salmonella is but it’s the second time a TMNT iteration has joked about it so I’m starting to think it has something specifically to do with turtles 👀

“Have you caught covid?” Oml covid exists in this world

“Are you the source of covid?” OUT OF LINE 💀

“How many people has the red bandana turtle stabbed? Does he need therapy?” Yes.

“Does sunlight cause you to burst into flames?” They’re- they’re not vampires? 😂

Leon Ardo deserves the world and whatever he wants in it give him everything 😭

I will never understand what made Donnie laugh so hard at the name Nardo other than it being because it’s his sibling and that it bothers Leo lmao

All imma say about the puke scene is that I’m glad I heard an “out of context” spoiler about it bc I knew exactly when to look away and I’m glad I did bc the scene lasted for so long??? 😀❓But hey at least I had Unwritten to listen too while I was sparing my eyes 😂

The sequence of them going around and shaking down those gangs and Superfly’s connections. BAD. ASS. And each of them got their own moments to shine? Loved it. Like they each even got to take point and have their moments where they got to kick in the door lol. And the fight scenes were just, muah. Chef’s kiss, they all looked amazing taking grown ass adults down together

Okay Splinter definitely gets the best dad award for putting together that little surprise party, with all the celebrity Chris’s and pretending to wait on them 🥺 so pure. It did make me sad the guys immediately left and you can just see such a sad dejected look on Splinter’s face, knowing he can’t provide what his kids really want or make them happy enough without it 🥲 At the very least they say thanks and that they appreciate but I would’ve at least stayed for a lil bit and gone along with it, Splinter just looked so excited about it and it was so sweet 😭

And he doesn’t even get upset though he knows they’re hiding something, he just says he’ll help them if they’ve gotten into trouble, which is something I’m sure almost every kid has wanted instead of having the kind of relationship where they’re more scared of telling their parents they messed up instead of handling it on their own

I love how musical Superfly’s family is 😂 Ray Filet just starts sing-introducing his name and Mondo and the other couple mutants when they drive with in the car trying to find music they could all sing to together 🥹 not to mention the musical references Superfly makes later that I’ll get to. “Kinda don’t wanna murder everyone on Earth, I just kinda wanna sing” Me too bruh.

Raph immediately going “goochi goochi goo” and playing peekaboo with Genghis frog is so underrated that boy has such a soft side he’s not even that afraid of showing at times, and maybe it’s continuing the trope of Raph having a soft spot for pets/animals? Who knows 😌

Yo I was kinda shook when that government guy knocked Leo out and he just fell unconscious on the ground 😶 Like we’re used to seeing the authorities be brutal especially in movies like this but that’s a whole teenager? You just assaulted a minor? 🙂 Crazy

Also I know it’s sad they got captured and drained painfully but Mikey in that scene was hilarious 😂 like even the way he was dramatically crying and Leo was just started to cry with him like “iM sO sOrRy mIkEeEeEy! 😭” gold. When one of his children is hurting Leo hurts too. One of my favorite moments 🤣

They literally started singing BTS while being tortured they’re so unserious but like in a serious way to them and I love it. Also the fact that they did it just to make Donnie feel better? So pure. Like Raph of all turtles offered to sing while being drained of blood (bc I refuse to use the m word 💀)

The way Splinter snuck in and soloed literal government soldiers single handedly? Badass. Never loved seeing a Splinter save his sons so much 🥹

“But it’s the only way we’ll be accepted.”

“No! We accept you!”

“You can come live with us! We accept you!”

“WE VIBE!”

Oml they’re so puuuuure 😭 I really thought this was gonna be a moment where the guys invite them all to come live with them and Splinter was gonna be like ‘aha 😬 whoa slow down there’ but damn nah he was just as enthusiastic as them inviting all those mutants to come live in their home forever “The more the merrier!” Like ugh he just loves finding family like Baxter Stockman and we see where the guys got their loving nature from 🥹

The amount of his soul Mikey put into that BROSEEEPH was so real like I’ve never heard the name broseph be said in any other way, I’m so glad they put that moment in there

“New York, New York!” “I’m the king of New York!”

Oml superfly’s a Broadway baby 🤗 he’s a big bad villain marching through time square and talking about King Kong but he’s fill gonna nerd out and make his musical theatre references 😂

“For once in your life you didn’t sound lame. You actually started to sound like a leader”

“That was really heartfelt Raph”

I love the Leo Raph dynamic in this movie. Like they don’t always agree or understand each other but they will show love towards one another and show mutual appreciation

Something about any of the turtles shells cracking always gets to me for some reason like those are some serious permanent injuries so I want to see if they do anything special with that in the sequel or show maybe 🤔 And I couldn’t tell if all of theirs cracked or just one, and if so which turtle it was. I think Leo or Raph. I feel like it was Leo but Raph’s are also starting to have a trend of getting cracks in their shells so 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also I do not want to judge what other people like to wear but why are Raph and Donnie the only normal dressed ones 😭 like Mikey looks like he’s going on vacation and Leo looks like he’s going to clock in at Best Buy 😂 tell me it’s because they have limited resources for clothes lmao. HE’S LITERALLY WEARING A LANYARD

Them taking off the masks was crazy honestly… like them deciding not to wear them made my brain pause until I realize they’re kids going to school now and not being ninjas all the time… they don’t need them anymore. I’m just so pleased with the fact that this movie was willing to do what all other iterations weren’t. I see why they’re getting a sequel and show already, these guys and the plot development deserve so much more exploration

Maybe I missed something in the beginning but I’m wondering where Stockman went. Like is he still in custody? Did he die? Because not seeing him again that’s what I assumed but we only saw him get arrested or whatever, so if anything I don’t get why Superfly and the others wouldn’t try to break him out 🤔 I was surprised they didn’t make him a villain though, but I’m pretty happy about him getting to be a more optimistic kind character tho

SHREDDER HAD ME SHOOK LIKE THE ARMOR ALREADY LOOKED SO COOL AND I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO GET THE BIG BAD INVOLVED AHHHH I’M SO READY TO SEE THEM REACT TO THIS ANGRY GIANT TIN CAN

Although I do wonder if Shredder’s gonna have some personal gripe with them since they have a different backstory he doesn’t seem to be a part of. And shit now that they’re public and in school it’s gonna be so much easier for him to go after them 😅 pluses and minuses…

The soundtrack: golden. Cultured. Nothing but range. Goes from a 90’s rap song to Natasha Bedingfield’s soulful 2000’s song. Most movies only ever have all pop mainstream songs or only rap songs because they think they can’t mix but MM does it effortlessly. The turtles are so versatile not just with music genres but they make old and new references ‘cause they’re well rounded kings 💪🏽 Between rizz, Adele, broski, Hey Arnold, K-Pop, Ferris Bueller, etc… I mean Donnie’s literally doing the sprinkler and the funky chicken in that gif up top 😂 they’re born in 2008 I doubt any kids today know about those dances anymore

Clearly I have all the thoughts and feelings about these boys and the movie, but I think this is probably my favorite TMNT movie? I’ve loved all of them but I think this one definitely brings me the most comfort fr

[lfghughes]

Heaven Can’t Help Me Now

a/n: I have been sooooo excited about posting this and I was going to put it up later but I can’t wait. I really hope you guys like it because I really enjoyed writing it and I kinda wanna make multiple parts if it’s something you guys want

From the moment you had moved in next door to the boys, it had been the three of you since. It’s not like you had been in each others lives since childhood or even for several years yet but it was one of those where you had meshed in so well and now if you didn’t see at least one of them a day it was weird. Of course there were days when they would go off on their hockey trips and you wouldn’t see them. Summer last year wasn’t too bad either because you somehow managed to tag along on their plans instead of going the full few months without them.

It had all really started when they had come home from practice one afternoon and you were struggling carrying some boxes in when you were moving in. Immediately they offered to help you and after easily getting into conversation with them you three found out you had a lot more in common than you would have thought. From that point on you spent a lot of lunches, dinners, and late nights at their place or yours. You went to their games, they’ve met your family, and so much more.

Now summer was coming again and your plans had stayed pretty similar to last year. You were actually in the middle of packing because Trevor had invited you to go to Canada for the F1 stuff that was going on and you knew his friend Jack and Cole would be there too. Jamie had a few things going on with his family so he wouldn’t be making the trip this time. But you already made plans with him for when you got back.

“Z is out for the night but wanna come over and watch a movie before you abandon me for weeks ;p” a laugh left your lips as soon as you read Jamies text and you quickly typed back a yes before heading on over. It wasn’t exactly shocking that the door was already unlocked for you to come in and that he already had the whole living room set up for the two of you. “I got your favorite popcorn, extra butter. Also some candy for the both of us.” He patted the spot on the couch next to him.

You made yourself at home, grabbing a blanket and putting it out between the two of you. One thing you did like about your friendship with them was your level of comfort with them and also the affection you three could share and it didn’t mean anything romantically. You let your head rest against Jamies shoulder as you watched the movie. “I’m going to miss you while you’re gone.”

“I’m only going to be gone a week but I do wish you could have come with us too. You keep me sane with all of Trevors energy.” You teased as you tilted your head to look up at Jamie. There was a look in his eyes that you couldn’t quite describe but it almost seemed like he was trying to decide on something in that moment. His hand went up to your jaw, cautiously and you could feel your heart thumping in your chest because you had a feeling you knew what was coming next.

His lips were mere inches from yours when you heard the front door close shut, making both of you jump feet away from each other. You let out a small awkward cough as you adjusted yourself back on the couch as Trevor walked into the living room. “How are my favorite two people doing??” He was clearly in a good mood as he leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and ruffling Jamies hair. 

“You got your stuff all packed right? We leave at five a.m so I figured I was going to just bring my bags out to the car now and I can come with you to your place and grab your stuff too.” You nodded your head, trying your best to keep up with the information your best friend was throwing at you but you were still reeling from the fact that your other best friend had just almost kissed you.

“Well come on then.” Trevor said and you got up from the couch. Clearly you and Jamie were not going to get a couple of minutes to talk about this tonight. “Alright, well I’m going to head to bed and since I won’t be awake at that time I hope you two have a safe trip. See you when you get back.” You knew that last sentence was more directed at you and you nodded your head.

As you and Trevor walked the short walk back to your place you felt his arms wrap around your waist as he picked you up and spun you around before setting you back down. “So you excited about hanging out with me for the whole week, baby girl?” A groan left your lips at the nickname he had deemed was yours just to annoy you. “You’re going to give me such a headache.” You teased but you knew he’d take it just like that. 

While you felt like your friendship with Jamie was a lot more on the affectionate side and sweet. Your friendship with Trevor had tones of that too but you two also loved annoying each other this way. Jamie was your person when you needed comfort and someone to talk to about what was bothering you. Trevor was your person to get your mind off of what was bothering you. It was a great dynamic and now you were worried that this almost kiss could have ruined it.

“Don’t worry, I have some great plans I think you’ll enjoy out there. Just you and me, baby.” He gave you a little tap on the nose with his pointer finger. You had helped him grab the two bags you had packed and he quickly adjusted it so he could carry both back to his car. “Don’t worry, I’ll go pack these up. You go to sleep because we have a fun week ahead of us.”

[wolfblood-of-anubis]

random headcanons about House of Anubis in this PJO demigod world:

(fyi i havent read the kane chronicles so if i get some stuff wrong let me know without spoilers)

Nina’s been able to see life and death auras around people since she was little, it’s made her isolated over time

her mom and step-dad died when she was nine

it was a car accident in the middle of an earthquake… yeah could’ve been poseidon who knows

she went to live with her grandmother who had moved to england a few years prior

a satyr found her when she was 15

reminder that in this au monsters aren’t that common outside the us. the only reason a lot of them were around Rome and Greece was because that was their home turf, the original places

and yet monsters slowly started showing up again in the united kingdom for some reason

the last child of the big three in england was winston churchill

(we still dont know which big three)

nina’s invited to attend a special boarding school for people like her

her godly parent is still unknown atm but it’s okay, unlike their US counterparts they dont separate the students via godly parent during school time, that’s just a summer thing.

the houses are based on Egyptian gods because of some past magicians that wanted to make a sanctuary for any and all young heroes regardless of their patronage. this includes Egypt, Greek and Roman demigods, Norse ones too. all are welcomed. (again, i havent read TKC, im aware Carter and Sadie are magicians but idk if other characters are demigods via Egyptian gods)

the Egyptian vibe has stuck around because of the founding magicians who created it.

the houses the students live in arent separated by godly parent but rather by where they hail from.

so in the cause of Anubis House, it’s Greek demigods. Isis House also hosts Greeks.

Nina is put in Anubis because despite not knowing who her godly parent is, when tested she reads Ancient Greek like a pro

at the same time as her being put in this house, the sketchy adults who maintain the sanctuary and maintain the institution have removed Joy Mercer, a daughter of Nemesis for unknown reasons

yes i already have the twist planned out

meanwhile, Joy’s best friend Patricia Williamson, daughter of Ares is 100% sure this newcomer, an American of all things, has something to do with Joy’s disappearance and she won’t rest till she finds out.

in the mean time, Nina runs into an old lady, she talks about a great treasure hidden in the house and gifts her something that will be invaluable

a locket in the shape of the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection, a warding against evil, but tells her not to open it unless she’s in danger

when a monster invades the school for the first time in decades, Nina discovers it’s more than just a necklace.

when she opens it for the time, it reveals:

(fyi yes i wanna change the purple stones for maroon eventually)

click here for part two

[nightsmudge]

At The Demon Bar, all patrons are welcome as long as they follow the rules and don't cause any trouble. This does include criminals, but plenty of patrons with a good heart come in without fear of getting hurt or robbed due to the bar's strict neutral zone policy. These six are frequent visitors, some of them even lend a hand in enhancing the bar's community and atmosphere.

I cleaned up this page and I'm most of the way through cleaning up the next page, if I have time hopefully I'll be able to post the last two tomorrow

And of course, if you wanna know more about these characters you can read more down below

Rambunctious and chaotic, Felicia’s always up for downing a pint at the bar, beating the crap out of some jerk, or both at the same time (though she has been kicked out a few times for this). She’s a lovable energetic riot with a fierce rage within her thanks to her being half war demon. She's friends with Blain plus two of the members of the bar's staff Karsiffiks and Amaranth. When she's not at the bar or hanging out with friends, she's working at the local mechanic's shop putting her war demon strength to good use.

Blain is a lot more calm reserved than Felicia, mainly because of his night guard job at the town's shopping center. It's tedious and boring work, but it's the closest thing he was able to get for his dream job of being a police officer. Plus him being one quarter ice demon and one quarter shadow demon makes it easy for him to trip up and stop the occasional troublemaking trespasser. Besides coffee, Felicia is his best friend, the two of them being close ever since middle school.

Moppet Felse is a quiet and timid catfolk who works as a tailor. She frequently visits the The Demon Bar to provide her talents on the violin to the bar's electro swing band. She also hosts a small weekly knitting cub during the day when business is slow. She has a very hard time standing up for herself if one of the more dubious patrons tries to mess with her, but just about everyone else agrees that you do not mess with sweet little Moppet.

Talisa is an odd case. She's a chaos demon but her magic can't be controlled directly, instead things tend to just... happen around her. For example every Tuesday poor Quirlos gets smacked by a door if she happens to be around. Besides that, she's a peppy part time worker at The Demon Bar who plays the saxophone in the bar's band if the bouncer Seltic can't play that night.

Rardoqu is a water and poison demon with some hella sick sound mixing skills who got himself a sweet gig in The Demon Bar's band. He loves the Shibuya Punk aesthetic and games from the late 90’s and early Y2K era (think Jet Set Radio, PaRappa the Rapper, or Vib-Ribbon). He mainly plays rhythm games, if there's a vs mode he likes to play against his little brother Kredin, though he usually ends up crushing the poor kid.

The last patron is known as Creepiness or Creepy. He has a real name but he always gets the worst stroke of luck whenever he tries to tell it to someone. It doesn't help that he has a common disorder amongst fear demons known as frozen face syndrome which renders him mute. He also lacks physical limbs, he's only able to pick stuff up or write by manipulating the sleeves of his coat. It really is a shame, he's actually a very nice and friendly guy despite his uncanny appearance.

[twothpaste]

Sorry if this sounds a bit dumb, but what is Claus’s relationship with Porky in your Intermission AU? How do they view each other and how did they stand and how are they currently standing with each other. I read that part of the fic where Porky goes to Ness and Paula’s apartment and made a scene there and it feels like that’s where Claus is done with him and their. “Friendship”

Aw, man, these two are an absolute trainwreck! Claus n' Porky's relationship was one of the things that sparked the whole AU, truth be told. This premise of taking fantastical events from the games, and translating them into grounded experiences young people often go through irl... What if instead of Porky converting Claus into a brainwashed cyborg supersoldier, the whole thing was literally just an abusive friendship? That's basically the first fic in a nutshell. The more I wrote and thought about it though, the more intricate and sad and harrowing it got. I have so much rattling around in my head about these two, and it's been oozing out of my ears like Cheez Whiz for a year and a half 🫠. I'll put the charcuterie board below the cut:

Intermission Claus and Porky have a lot more in common than you'd expect (I think this is true in canon, too, but that's a whole other post). They were both outta place college freshmen, masking their insecurities with overconfident edgelord personas. They shared a lot of the same interests (video games, Reddit, misinterpreting messages about toxic masculinity in Berserk and Fight Club). They've got a lot of similar baggage, worst of all. Broken families, woes over their emotionally unavailable fathers, mental health problems that sometimes alienate them from their loved ones… Porky appealed to Claus' broken ego, making this guilt-ridden once-neglected kid feel exclusively cool and smart and valued. Porky, an always-neglected kid (with no fucking friends), absolutely relished Claus' earnest company and undivided attention. You'd almost think it could've been good for them. Havin' a mutual confidant to vent their frustrations to, bonding through genuine solidarity. But since Porky is Porky, he doesn't know how to maintain friendships without being a possessive megalomaniac about it. And since Claus is naive and impressionable by nature, he fell for it hook line n' sinker.

He coaxed Claus away from his other friends. Gradually got this dude parroting his vernacular and his bullheaded attitude. Which, of course, made Ness n' pals less willing to put up with Claus. "You're practically my double," Porky might've joked. N' Claus wouldda laughed it up, mistaking it for praise. Porky takes advantage of Claus' emotional volatility. He can rile him up into tirades, or flip him into horrific dissociative states, at a moment's notice. Instead of cybernetic mind-control, it's all the weird ways abusers isolate victims, and re-wire their personality and behavior. Most abusers don't exactly do this stuff consciously - and it's obviously just as unacceptable whether it's conscious or not - but I kinda wanna leave Porky's manipulation up to reader interpretation. Is he deliberately pulling strings like a puppetmaster, here? Does he think that's what he's doing? Or is he blindly channeling his parents' behavior, since it's all he's ever known? Maybe all of the above…

There's all these miserable layers to it, like?? How Porky's vendetta against Ness provoked the whole thing. (He drove his first and last best friend away in middle school, never got over it, and now is out to spite him by hoarding their lovable fun upstanding mutual college acquaintance.) How Claus is still frantically trying to emulate his father's masculinity at this stage, and how that's leading him down a dangerous path with Porky. (Trying his very best to forgive a now-reformed Flint for 3 years of griefstricken alcoholic absence - while Porky throws a wrench in his efforts, stoking his righteous anger to keep him bitter and isolated.) How Porky emulates Aloysius almost inevitably, despite hating his father's guts, 'cause after torching his friendship with Ness he was left with no other role models. How Claus yearns for acceptance and approval, and gets this twisted version of it from a guy who treats him like an action figure. How Porky's secretly vehemently jealous of Claus' tight bond with Lucas - 'cause he himself has been self-sabotaging his relationship with Picky for years. How Claus put up with being taken advantage of and dehumanized, 'cause his self esteem is so terrible - but the last straw for him was seeing Porky treat Picky like shit. 'Cause he'd never in a million years even dream of treating Lucas like that. Forgive me if it's a lot, but every bit of it makes me feel like [this].

In the aftermath of it all, I think Porky does realize (deep, deep, deep down) he's ruined what couldda been a really positive friendship for the both of 'em. And he does feel deliriously guilty about it. But he never admits fault. Just blames Ness n' Lucas n' Paula, resigns to hate Claus forevermore, and stews about it endlessly. Even though he knows all it's accomplishing is making him more lonesome and miserable. His Peter-Pan-esque immortal childhood, in Intermission AU, is deconstructed into this sad sick shell of a guy who simply refuses to grow up. (Or confront his guilt, or mature as a person, or apologize to anyone, etc etc…) And his "Absolutely Safe Capsule" is really is just his self-inflicted friendlessness. Maybe he resigns himself to it. If he doesn't have any friends, no one can "betray" him anymore. And he won't have to hurt like this ever again 🥲

Claus, on the other hand, walks away with this erratic mix of anger and pity towards Porky. Which often turns inward - blaming himself for getting so sucked into it, for bein' such a d-bag to his own friends & brother under Porky's influence. Graciously now he's got several absolute real ones he can talk to about it. He ultimately ends up pinning most of the blame on Aloysius (who kinda lives rent free in his head, even though they only met once). But regardless, he can barely stand to think much about Porky. Much less to be in a room with him. Which is a shame, considering they've got at least 2 more years at the same college. I might do more with 'em in the future.

If anyone's interested in these two - aside from Intermission (the fic) (the first one), there's more Claus n' Porky woes in Hunker. Especially [Chapter 20] (which can be read as a oneshot 😉🤐).

[marthamaewhovier]

anyone wanna read the arsonist Lucy fic I abandoned

There’s a knock at Buck’s door at exactly ten a.m. His mind had been racing, going over his evidence again and again, looking for holes and finding none, but the second he hears the sharp rap at his door his mind clears, a stillness settling over it that he usually only feels in the middle of a demanding call.

He answers the door, and just as expected, Lucy is on the other side, smiling.

Lucy, his friend, his partner while Eddie was gone. The woman he’d felt a kinship with.

Lucy, the serial arsonist.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” he says, pasting on a smile.

“Yeah, can’t say I expected to get a random invite to your apartment at nine in the morning, but I’m here,” she replies, stepping past him and eying the place.

“Yeah, well, you seem as interested in the arsons as I do, so I thought maybe we’d put our heads together, see if we can notice any patterns,” he says, closing the door before perching on a bar stool. He watches as Lucy dumps her backpack on the dining table and then pulls herself up to sit right on his island, peering down her nose at him.

“I don’t know if I would say interested,” she says, picking up an index card on which he’d scrawled information about the dispatch fire. “Maybe just vaguely curious.”

He nods, easy smile still plastered on his face. 

“Well, I’ve been looking at the incident reports from the suspected arson cases from the last few months, and I’ve noticed a few things.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. All of the fires have one big thing in common–they’re set by someone who knows a thing or two about fire rescue protocol.”

If he wasn’t watching very closely for it, he would’ve missed the way Lucy’s spine goes rigid, because it’s a minute movement. But it’s there. “So, what, you think a firefighter is doing this?”

He shrugs. “Maybe. Wouldn’t be the first time. There’s a long history of firefighters starting fires.”

She nods, looking back down at the index card still held tightly in her hand. “What makes you think it’s someone in the know, anyway?”

“Because the fires rarely block escape routes. The accelerants are never found near doors, or windows that are viable as escape methods. When the fire does obstruct these areas it’s usually only because it had more time to spread before being contained. The arsonist doesn’t want to kill people, and the types of places burned don’t seem to have any kind of connection, so that rules out any kind of revenge based motive.”

She arches an eyebrow at him. “Which leaves?”

“Glory. The thrill of walking into danger and coming out a hero.”

She laughs. “Something you know a little about.”

He doesn’t rise to the bait. “Something a lot of firefighters know something about.”

“Well, in that case, how do you narrow it down? How do you figure out what firefighter is doing it?” she asks, her tone too level to be natural.

He looks her straight in the eye. “Did you know that in 2021 the 147 responded to more fires than any other station in the city, by a wide margin? About five months ago they started averaging about the same as everyone else though. But the 118’s average started climbing.”

She stares him down, and he expects her to start refuting his claim, saying it’s a coincidence, or that he’s making it all up. But she just sighs, and drops his notecard on the pile with the others.

“You couldn’t just take the glory I was bringing you, huh?”

He’d wanted to be wrong. He knew he wasn’t, but he’d wanted to be.

“I’m not in it for the glory.”

Lucy laughs at him. “Yeah fucking right. I’ve known you five months and the only times you’ve seemed alive are right after a big, dramatic save. You live for it, for the thrill.”

He shakes his head. “I love saving people, yeah, but I couldn’t give two shits about the glory.”

She looks at him almost pityingly. “We’re cut from the same cloth, Buck. I was right there next to you the other day talking to that reporter. I saw you smile when she called you a hero. Deep down you are just like me.”

“No,” he barks, standing abruptly, needing to put space between himself and Lucy. She just watches, practically lounging on his island. “I am nothing like you. I would never put innocent people in danger.”

“No you just want to throw yourself into danger and hope eventually the universe will take you out of the equation so you don’t have to.” He sucks in a breath, and she smirks. “Yeah, you know, you’re right, not cut from the same cloth, but two sides of the same coin. I want to live as a hero, you want to die one.”

“That’s not true,” he argues.

“Yeah, it is. I saw you, a couple of months ago, after that rescue that almost went south for you? I saw the disappointment, and I didn’t get it. Because you saved the victim! You had news reporters crawling all over you! But for just a split second, when you realized you survived, you were disappointed. Because you want to go out saving someone. You want to be remembered as Evan Buckley, the hero who gave his life to save the day.” She shakes her head. “At least I want to be around to enjoy people celebrating me.”

“Well, no one’s going to be celebrating you for much longer,” he says bitterly, and her eyes flash.

“What are you gonna do, Buck, turn me in? With all the mountains of evidence you have?” she asks, laughing as she flicks one of his note cards off the island.

He shrugs. “Maybe I don’t have real evidence, but I’m sure it won’t be hard for the investigators to find some. If I could put this together it won’t be hard for someone else to do the same.”

“Then why bring me here and confront me? Why not just turn me in and be done?”

“Because I wanted to be wrong. And I wanted to give you the chance to turn yourself in.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. Because maybe you can get the help you need instead of just punishment if you admit you have a problem.”

She sighs, looking disappointed in him. “You know, you should be thanking me. I heard that Eddie’s coming back next week. Seems like the dispatch fire made him realize he’s meant to be a firefighter. I got you your boy back.”

It’s true that the dispatch fire spurred Eddie into returning to the 118, but she’s wrong about one thing. “I don’t have him back. I never lost him to begin with.”

She looks down at his index cards again, spreading them around. She points to one. “You’ve got this one wrong,” she says, and he steps forward to see what she’s talking about.

He doesn’t expect the booted foot that smashes into his temple.

—-

His lungs seizing on a hard cough brings him back to consciousness. His head feels like it’s split in two, but that’s not his most pressing issue, because every lungful of air he tries to take is hampered by thick smoke.

He pulls his shirt up over his nose and mouth, but it barely helps, and does nothing at all for the smoke already in his lungs. He’s on his back next to his dining table, and something’s on fire.

He lifts his head, the movement slow and painful. He wants to retch, but he forces the feeling down, knowing it will only make him inhale more smoke.

He manages to focus his eyes, consciousness a fraying thread, but everything clears a little with the sight that greets him.

His front door is engulfed in flames.

He pats his pocket for his phone, but it’s not there. He pats around on the floor before he remembers the Lucy of it all and realizes she must have taken his phone.

Groaning, he rolls over onto his stomach. Everything spins, and he has to fight to hold onto consciousness, the head trauma and the smoke inhalation warring to send him into unconsciousness. But he holds on, and gets his knees under him, doing some semblance of an army crawl towards the dresser stationed between his living room and kitchen. Every inch is hard won, but his movements are so slow, taking precious seconds he doesn’t have. But eventually he gets there, and he uses the drawer handles to pull himself up, grimacing as it pulls him up into thicker smoke. 

He gathers his waning strength and pulls one of the top drawers out so hard it yanks it out of the dresser to crash onto the floor next to him. He drops back down to the floor, where the smoke is thinner and digs blindly through the contents of the drawer until his fingers brush a familiar box. He pulls it out and with shaking fingers pries it open. He fumbles with the bracelet inside, dropping the box when he’s got a firm hold on it, feeling over it because the smoke has irritated his eyes so much he can’t really see through the tears.

But he finds what he’s looking for, and he presses the button that will call for help before losing consciousness once more.

[bbms-bb]

DEAR DIARY - JEALOUSY AU - PEPPI'S POV - PART 2/3

Nov 6

me, tess, and nina hung out today. i felt happy, i havent felt that in a while. maybe i dont need mei or jaime. i can just hang out with my art club friends. i still feel that pit in my stomach. they asked me if i was okay. should i tell them?

PROGRESS

weight

oct 15 - 102

now (nov 6) - 92

----<3-----

Nov 9

I HATE EVERYONE. I HATE EVERYTHING.

i gave in and told them what was happening with mei and jaime. i dont wanna be here anymore. whats the point of living if you suffer even at this age?

they better not tell anyone.

----<3-----

Nov 11

okay.. maybe i wasnt so clear the last entry.. i told tessa, nina, and felicity about the situation, our conversation went something like this:

P: and i feel like its my fault.

T: what.. how is this your fault?

N: i knew something was off about that girl.

F: im so sorry.. if it makes you feel better ill beat her up tommorow!-

P: no! i mean- no, just, please dont tell her..

T: why not? she's like and evil witch who's slowly poisoning your life!

N: Jaime too, i get its unintentional but he hasn't even bothered to at the least talk to peppi, even less wonder how its affecting her!

P: i dont want to do anything about it because their still just friends, but even if they were more than that, it would feel wrong because i care about mei and jaime!

T: caring about jaime is reasonable, but why do you still care about mei?, youve known her for less that 3 months and you trust her already?

the rest of the conversation was alright when i changed the subject

once they left i was wondering why is still care about mei. i had bigger things to worry about. do i?

----<3-----

(TW FOR S3XV4L H4RR4SM3N7)

Nov 18

okay so i shouldve put this down at the start but i couldnt write it down without crying.

this sounds pathetic but i dont think i trust my diary even though its an INANIMATE OBJECT.

god what is wrong with me.

ive never told anyone about this, only my mom knows.

it happened when i was in my mom's hometown in mexico for the summer, i went to go run some errands or my mom, since it was a small and safe town (or so i thought) it was common to see little kids walking around alone, i was ten at the time, so i guess i was one of those kids, i was headed to the grocery store when i was pulled into an alley by a middle aged man, i tried to scream but her covered my mouth. he started running his hands through my body, he was unbvttoning my jeans when my mom's friend, doña petra, who had a store infront of the alley ran in and knocked him out with a broom, then called the cops, she walked me home and told my mom what happened. i never walked out alone in mexico again.

thats it.

----<3-----

Nov 22

i just realized what a mess im becoming. i havent taken the time to get ready, and i would, i just never have the motivation to. everyones been asking me if i was okay, even jaime, he was the last person id expect to ask if i was okay! whats wrong with meeee..

----<3-----

Nov 26

im so tired of everything, im almost failing most of my classes.

----<3-----

tessa and mei got into an argument about me after tess sent a text to mei instead of me.

it went like this:

t: i still cant forgive mei for what she did, you still want jaime right? ive got a plan to destroy mei.

m: who is this?

t: tessa, is this not peppi?

m: THIS IS MEI!

m: penelope is so dead.

----<3-----

nov 27

mei told me this at school.

m: okay listen here you little sh*t, if you dont stay away from jaime im going to make your life hell.

p: i thought you knew i liked jaime.

m: does it look like i care? i never cared about your feelings! you were the only obstacle keeping me away from dating jaime. those nasty rumors about you? that was me! now that he's practically head over heels for me, its gonna be ba breeze getting rid of you! especially now that i have evidence that YOUR the bad guy here! oh, btw im jaime's girlfriend now, just thought i should let you know! byee!!

oh sh*t.

----<3-----

Dec 3

its heather day! since heather is one of me and jaime's favorite songs, we celebrate heather day every year! we exchange sweaters and jokingly talk about people we were jealous about (classmates, celeberties, fictional characters, etc..) while we eat ice cream. i skipped out on the ice cream since i didnt want to gain weight (lost 4 pounds since nov 6 :DD) it was still really fun though! i wanted to talk about how jealous i was of mei, i was jealous of her hair, her clear skin, her flat stomach and hourglass wait, her straight teeth, and that she had jaime, and i didnt. as soon as i thought of mei, jaime started talking about how he had canceled plans with mei to be here, i was preparing myself to hear more about mei until he told me how much he'd missed hanging out with me.

did i hear that right?

----<3-----

i woke up feeling a bit better than i usually do, i checked my phone to see around 25 dms? something big mustve happened, i usually only wake up with around 3 or 4, at the most 5. first i checked the "girlfriends <3" groupchat, which had 4 messages.

T: PEPPI

T: WAKE UP MEI POSTED THE MESSAGE

F: SAY YOUR JOKING RN.

N: WHAT.

one from akilah

A: penelope, why would you do that to mei?!

three from jensen

J: peppi pls tell me mei is just joking.

J: you guys were best friends!

J: peppi?

two from nic

N: why would you do that to mei?!

N: never speak to me again.

one from leticia

L: jaime was so happy with her, why?!

two from jack

J: W move mei had it coming

J: #jaimexpeppiforlife

two from jazmine

J: your a nice person, but what you did to mei was too far!

J: say one more thing to her that isnt sunshine and rainbows and ill make sure you never see the light of day again.

two from olivia

O: mess with her again and your gonna regret it

O: slvt.

and 8 from jaime

J: I HATE YOU.

J: KYS YOU IDIOT

J: i hope you fall in a hole and die

J: i knew you were trying to hurt mei.

J: idek what to say anymore.

J: i wish we never met.

J: dont EVER talk to me or mei again.

J: our friendship is done.

i was already crying when mei sent me a message

M: have fun at school today f**kface <3!

today isnt gonna be pretty.

[libertastandem]

I wanna join too! I know it's such a common topic, but I wanna read your headcanons of the main characters (I mean the ones with most screentimes) in modern world. What activity are they up to? What matters they're involved in? Their relationship with people? So on and so on. I'll be waiting! Thank you!

Thank you again for requesting!

I only did the ones I have a pretty good idea about what they would do.

(English isn't my first language so please ignore grammatical mistakes lol)

Yuzuriha

I see Yuzuriha being either a stylist, an actress or an influencer. A stylist because she seems the kind of person who'd be into fashion and curating/organising clothing and accessories. An actress because, since being a kunoichi entails gaining trust of people to ease infiltration, information-gathering, and espionage, it would be "easy" for her to employ those skills in the modern world as well. I think she could also be an influencer because, since she values her freedom, being an influencer would grant her more options. Yuzuriha puts up a very friendly and carefree façade so it's very easy for people to like her. She'd have many friends but she would "use" them both for her own entertainment and to get what she wants, whatever that may be.

Gabimaru

You know how, in the one shot, he became a farmer temporarily to help his wife? I don't think Gabimaru would have a permanent job. I think he would take up multiple small jobs, both to get money to support Yui and to learn skills to help her around the house.

He doesn't particurarly care about making friends but Yui would encourage him to do so.

Yui

Even though Yui gives me major housewife vibes, I can easily see her being a preschool or elementary school teacher. EVERYONE loves her (how can you not?). Her students almost see her as a mother figure. She has many friends (mostly coworkers) and they all adore her. Have I mentioned that everyone loves her?

Mei and Nurugai

Both Mei and Nurugai are students and, just like with Yui, everyone loves them.

Nurugai is a middle school student. She's a little bit of a rebel but still behaves pretty well. She makes friends very easily and she doesn't hesitate to stand up for them. Shion will go pick her up every day.

Mei is very caring. She likes to help and comfort her classmates/schoolmates. Although she's a little shy at first, she can come off her shell pretty easily when making friends. She's very "proper" and hardworking. She loves school because she gets to learn new things and hang out with her friends. Hoko will be the one to pick her up from preschool/kindergarten, since Gui Fa doesn't want to show his* eyes to anyone.

Hoko

Speaking of Hoko, this man is a chef. Mark my words. He learned how to cook just to spoil Mei. He doesn't enjoy going out of the house (he lives with Gui Fa and Mei) but when he does he's very well-liked, since he's very polite and "noble".

Senta

Senta is a painter (duh). He taking painting lessons to further master his craft and he ended up selling his art online. This brought him a lot of recognition. So much so that he started setting up art exhibitions and galleries. His nervous and humble demeanor gained him many friends.

Fuchi

Last but not least, Fuchi is a pathologist/medical examiner. What else could he be up to? He really enjoys performing autopsies and find out new things about the human body. He's helped/helps solving many crime cases thanks to his profession. He's very reserved so he doesn't have many friends but most people (especially colleagues) respect him a lot.

* "In terms of referring to themselves, Gui Fa uses the Japanese pronoun "boku" (僕), which is most commonly used by males." His wiki page, however, refers to them with they/them pronouns. They also like to keep an androgynous appearance. I think it's safe to assume he uses he/they pronouns? Let me know what you think!

[june-of-earth]

08May(23)

Hey You,

Its been some time since I last spoke to you, or gave some sense of an update of what’s going on in my life. I’m finally in a safe space to do so.

-While listening to Fred Again & Brian Eno’s Album : Secret Life-

9 or so months ago I was in a weird situation. Months prior I got into a bad wreck (No physical damage) that left me financially stuck. Paying bills that would just roll over into the next bill. While at the same time trying to keeping my composure the only way I know how, by just drinking and just being out. Eventually I got let go from my job that I hadn’t put in a full year in. To only lucky to find work shortly after dong something less than what I would normally do.

Time passed the new job seemed to have its potential. I packed everything up and ventured out into asking a coworker for help. Little did I know I would be couch surfing for the next couple of months instead of securing a place to call my home. The place I stayed at was a run down house turned into units. I didn't have a way to get in sometimes so their were moments I had to break in just to get to the unit I was staying in. Most of the people stayed there were either on one or something more stronger than the common recreational drug. (No judgements). All the while my drinking habits continued to dwindle in the loops they always were. Eventually my coworker/roommate got let go, and my living situation was up in the air. My moral at work was slowly diminishing after I was told I wont advance up, and should just try working at another bar if I wanted to do I what I’m passionate about. By the end of November I was taken off the schedule (Silently let go). After my buddy got let go he stopped paying rent and eventually got an eviction notice. He went to court. Lost the case, and had to be out within a month. All the while its Dec-Jan and I’m looking for work.

I hit up a old colleague to catch up on life, & my situation. He got into solar sales, and was slowly working his way on making a living with it. Told him my situation and he offered to help me out. By this time it’s Jan and we are now staying pass the eviction date. Leaving the place felt like walking on eggs shells on getting caught/told to get out. My buddy got a job and was putting his eggs on a new venture. All the while we’re siphoning power from the apartment main grid.

I finally got prospected for work and said, “enough was enough”. I hit up my friend Thomas and he got me out of there. I didn’t tell Adam bye, and I didn’t have to. We all have our own journey and things to tackle. Mine was getting my life back together and him the same. I got hired at this nice theater in town and got prospected for a bartendering job at a Hotel I had my eyes on for work. I did the interview and got hired on the spot. Full-Time w/benefits.

Started in February and have been working there since. The money turned out to be more than I’ve gotten in a long time. I hadn't felt so comfortable nor financially secured/solid in a long time. Surely but Surely the time staying with my buddy Thomas was coming to an end. By the middle of April I pulled the trigger and said (”Its time to get the fuck out of here and do my own thing now!”) So I found a place about 6 mins of a drive commute to work in a nice part of town near my job which is in the heart of downtown SA. 30mins of a walk commute if I don't wanna Uber home.

As of May 5th I can finally saying I passed the bridge of getting my life together. and since the 30th of April I’ve been sober. My next bridge to cross is keeping sobriety part of my life. May sound simple but in my industry it’s income. So finding new habits, discipline and being productive in new ventures I feel will keep me on the right track. Though this is a new beginning and its can shift one way or another. Call it Destiny, Fate, Luck or Just coincidence everything aligning the way that it did only makes my drive to become more stronger, more sharper, and more better than ever before!

I hope everything is going okay or better for you. Feel free to drop a message anytime.

Your Truly,

Rico a.k.a June-of-Earth

p.s.

So... One night being out a few months after I left that trap house and was settled in at the new job (I wanna say March/April). I went out to the bar that I worked at (free man that I am) to have some late night food and drinks. I ran into the tenant next next door to the unit I was staying in (who also worked at my previous job) who told me that the place burned down. To my surprise I asked “When?” When she told me the date is was two days after I packed up and left. So I asked her, “what caused the fire?” Well it turns out it was an electrical fire, and that the other tenants living there (not only my ex-roommate) were siphoning electricity which lead to the place burning down. (Crazy.)

[tenderyellowbluefics]

hi there! fellow eddie munson lover here :) i’m in the middle of an absolute downpour where i live and it’s storming quite hard. i was wondering if you might be able to write something where eddie and the reader are close friends hiding their feelings from eachother. perhaps they’re just sitting together listening to the rain and the thunder and eventually they end up confessing their feelings? i’d be happy to see what you come up with!! much love <3

God Bless The Rain // E.M

So sorry this took so long!! I absolutely loved this idea and wanted to get it perfect haha! Thank you so much for the request! Hope you like it.

Summary: When sudden rain ruins plans, Eddie and you have no other choice but to share your thoughts.

Warnings: None really. Mainly fluff. Light angst if you squint.

It hinted that the reader is female, not specified though I believe.

Requests are open!

"Follow me! I know where to go!" Eddie shouted, grabbing your hand to pull you along behind him.

You and eddies favorite place to go to hang out was the woods. No one to be bothered by, just you, him, and nature. Plus, he loved finding weird bugs to freak you out with.

This time while doing that, it started to pour. You were too far into the woods to run back to eddies van, so instead, he led you to a clearing in the trees that revealed, skull rock. A rock structure that could provide you two some shelter from the rain.

"This really is our luck." You laughed, finally getting a chance to breathe now that you were out of the downpour.

"Truly," He agreed, chuckling. "How long do you think this will last?"

"No clue," You answered truthfully. "It's not so bad though, kind of peaceful."

"Yeah, it is."

You leaned your head back onto the rock structure behind you, taking in the sights.

"You come here a lot?" You inquired.

"Huh?" Eddie questioned.

"Like, skull rock; You knew exactly where to go."

"Oh, yeah." He sighed. "It's a nice place to just come and think; I'd love to say it's because this is the most popular makeout place in all of Hawkins, but I think we both know that isn't true." He chuckled, smiling at you.

"You know, you could get women if you just put yourself out there." You mumbled, looking away from him.

"What?" He slightly raised his voice. "I put myself out there!" He protested.

"Offering girls twenty percent discounts on weed isn't exactly putting yourself out there." You chuckled.

"It's an attempt at least." He mumbled. "What about you though?! There's plenty of dudes at school that'd kill to be with you but you never even look at them!"

You felt a small amount of heat flush to your cheeks at his remarks. "I just don't have feelings like that for any of 'em." you mumbled, trying to conceal your grin.

He chuckled at your words, biting his bottom lip, but stayed silent. He looked as if he was fighting off a thought.

You and Eddie had been friends for a couple years now. He was the first person to talk to you when you first transferred to Hawkins high. It was freshman year, and as if that wasn't already scary enough, you knew absolutely no-one. He walked up to your empty table and slammed a flyer down in front of you. Across it read the words, Hellfire club. "Wanna join?" He'd asked with a sly grin. You had no clue what Dungeons & Dragons were, so that was a no-go, but you found other common interests in things like music, and art.

Recently though, your feelings had started to change. You couldn't quite understand them, but it all clicked when you felt a burning rage seeing him with Chrissy Cunningham. You had nothing against Chrissy, how could you? She was the queen of Hawkins high, an absolute sweetheart. It was the fact that Eddie was giving another girl his attention, making another girl laugh, and flashing his beautiful smile at her. After that you realized why you felt such a burning pain at that sight, you liked him, or even loved him. You couldn't be sure, all you knew was that you wanted him.

"You cold?" Eddie's voice broke you from your thoughts.

"What? Oh, no." You stuttered, feeling awkward about the thoughts you were having about the man sitting right next to you.

"You sure? You're shivering."

Shit, you were shivering. The one time you didn't bring a coat.

"Here," He sat up and slipped his arms out of his black leather jacket. "Put this on."

"Eddie no."

"Just take it; You don't need to catch a cold." He insisted.

You slipped the large jacket on your arms, crossing the sides over one another for maximum warmth. You loved the smell, Eddie's smell. Cheap cologne mixed with, weed, cigarettes, and the tiniest bit of strawberries from his shampoo.

"Why don't you like any one at school?" He questioned, tilting his head to look at you.

"Oh, I don't know." You looked down, feeling another slight flush of warmth creeping onto your cheeks.

"There's gotta be someone you like." He teased, gently poking your side with his elbow.

"I guess there is one guy." Your heart stopped realizing what you said, having no idea how or why you let those words leave your mouth.

His eyes widened a little, staring at you for a moment with a small frown, before clearing his throat. "Who is this lucky fellow." He dryly laughed, unconvincingly.

"No one, it's stupid." You grumbled, looking away from him.

"C'mon, tell me; Its just me."

"No." You said sternly, turning to look at him.

"Fine," He puffed, tilting his head away from you. "I guess I wont tell you what girl I like."

You felt a twang of pain in yor chest at those words. Your eyes widened, as you snapped your head over to examine his expression. Was he joking? He had to be, right?

"You, you like someone." You slightly choked on the words as they came out, trying your hardest not to seem normal.

"Yep! She's real hot too!" He laughed looking back at you.

There it was again, that burning anger. You felt your face heat up and your heartbeat quicken, as you folded your arms across your chest.

"I bet it's Chrissy right?" You scoffed, again trying so hard not to let your emotions be apparent in your voice.

"What?" He seemed almost offended, at your words.

"Chrissy Cunningham, I saw you two talking the other day and giggling, you like her right?"

"I was dealing to her, of course I have to be friendly, it'd be bad for business if I didn't."

"Yeah right, dealing drugs to Chrissy Cunningham, that angel, no way!" You slightly raised your voice, more than you intend to as more anger built up in your chest.

"I swear!" He put his hands up. "She was acting really weird, maybe that douche Jason broke up with her."

Chrissy was acting strange when you passed her in the hall. His story seemed believable, but if not her, who else could it be.

"Who is it then?"

He frowned, looking down at his hands, fiddling with the metal rings.

"What is it ed?" You reached a hand to place it on his shoulder.

"It's, It's you." He exhaled loudly, turning his head to where he was completely looking away from you.

"What?" Your voice was small, not fully processing his words.

"I like you," He almost whispered, turning to face you. His brown, fear-filled eyes meeting yours. "It doesn't matter though, you like someone already." He grumbled, breaking eye contact.

"Eddie," You began, "The guy I like is you."

It felt like a two-ton weight had just been lifted from your chest. Finally free of this little secret you've kept for so long.

"Really?" he asked quietly, his eyes meeting yours once again.

"Uh huh." You nodded.

"Oh," His voice was filled with a mixture of shock and relief as his once frowning face had a childish grin plastered across it.

You scooted even closer to him than you already were, placing a hand on his.

He looked at your hands holding one another, than back to your face.

"Uh, so, could I uh, maybe, uh kis-" You cut off his rambling by placing a gentle kiss on his soft lips. His hand made its way to your hip, deepening the kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" You teased, pulling away.

He laughed before grabbing your face and peppering you with kisses. All the way from your forehead, to your nose, your lips, cheeks, down to your neck.

"I've waited like, years to do this." He laughed, childishly grinning.

"God bless the rain." You giggled leaning your head onto his shoulder as you both sat against the rock once more.

"I can't wait to tell everyone in hellfire about this."

"Oh god," you face palmed, already feeling the embarrassment this would bring.

[blahbeble]

Late to posting this (my first draft got deleted and I lost motivation lol) but wow the new episode was amazing and I shed some tears Honestly I just wanna give a little love letter to Teruki's character because he's one of my favorites and I always just appreciated him being on screen as a support cause he's just an absolute sweet heart and seems like someone who seems like a pleasure to be around. And I wanna appreciate how far he's come cause this character conclusion was so good for him

One thing I always loved about him was his constant drive to genuinely want to improve himself as a person.

I think we all know him trying to humble himself after having such a heavy superiority complex is a big part of it. But I feel like we don’t remind ourselves enough that Teru’s superiority complex stemmed from trying to hide an inferiority complex. It’s not JUST a struggle about going over your head even if that’s apart of it. But it’s also a journey of discovering what it truly means to be equal with others. It’s a concept I really appreciate being explored here because it’s something I struggle with myself. And while his arc is subtle for a lot of the series. It’s definitely there.

This is why his dynamic with Mob is so important. How he feels about Mob throughout the series perfectly captures his character arc. Seeing him as a threat to his ego and life and needing to establish “the hierarchy” but then putting him on a pedestal and admiring him greatly and essentially labelling Mob as someone “Above him” There’s still a lot of little things in the series that adds up to him still viewing the world through this hierarchy he’s made in his head even if he’s trying to rid of it.

This moment was really great and you can see the horror in him as he truly has to take in what’s happening and the dangers with it. I adore that the way Teru finally sees Mob as an equal is also seeing him at a very low point in his life. He’s not above mistakes, and everyone has their bad days and things they want to hide about themselves.

Calling himself a common constantly is pretty blunt and perhaps harsh in some peoples eyes. But it means what it means, he’s not above or below anyone, he’s just like everyone else.

Also note I’ve been anime only for Mob Psycho since I’ve started watching in middle school though I have read a few chapters of the manga and plan to do a full read when the anime is done. But for this arc I’ve been reading the manga chapter right after the episode and I just wanted to talk about this line that was cut

(The last panel) I’m really sad about this change because it really says how much Mob hates himself and all it does is break my heart and make me reflect on how innocent all this started. He spent so much time trying to gain the courage to ask his crush out flowers and everything and he ended up with a near death experience and destroying everything around him and hurting his friend. I might make a seperate post talking about him in this episode or perhaps wait for the next to do so.But Teru refusing to hurt him and claiming his victory through saving the people around him is honestly so amazing so many ways. Not only is he easing the pain of his friend and making sure his worst fear doesn’t happen. But it truly speaks where his values now lie.

Originally a gang leader drunk on power and participating in fights because it was the biggest boost for his ego to someone who wants to whole heartedly help other people.

Those other psychic kids from the awakening lab in season one he took upon himself to train, he always tries to help take claw down, his absolute refusal to be brain washed and let that happen to the city, he always tries to help Mob out when he’s in trouble.

When Teru says “I win” he did. It’s an amazing victory for him because he accomplished his goal of protecting others and wants to make the world a better place and he’s become a true leader in the process.

I can’t help but think back to season 2’s Toichiro when thinking of Teru. The idea of being so drunk on power and dismissing the importance of others he expresses. Human connection is a very important theme in Mob Psycho and I think human connection is also very important to Teru’s arc for the reasons stated above

A while back my friend showed me some things in the fan book that didnt contain manga spoilers and I think the last line stuck with me because of this idea. It also took me back to that omake with him and Reigen of him having a fun summer after seeing them as boring.

I’m very very proud of him for not closing his heart off. He did a great job.

[mercy-burning]

Roommate Agreement

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader x Luke Alvez Summary: After about a year of living with Spencer, Y/N gets excited when he introduces her to a new potential roommate. Category: SMUT (18+) Content: Free use, threesome, cum play, penetrative/unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (male receiving), rough sex, dirty talk Word Count: 2.3k

MASTERLIST

NOTE: I was gonna write this as a blurb, but it got a little longer than I anticipated lol. I’ve been super into this kink/fantasy lately, so uh.. this was just pure indulgence 🥰✌

———

Apartment hunting and living on my own sucked, which is why Spencer Reid coming into my life was the biggest blessing I ever could have hoped for. He was handsome, kind, welcoming... And he let me live with him for free.

Well, not entirely.

But regardless of our little agreement, I still slip him some cash when rent comes up because it's just common courtesy. I'm grateful that he lets me stay with him and provides me with what I need (and then some), and if there's any way for me to return that favor, I'll do it.

He gets annoyed with me whenever I do it, but I always know how to get him to forget about it...

Just thinking about last night brings a smile to my face as I put away the last few glasses in their respective cupboards.

The heavy padding of Spencer's feet behind me makes me turn around then, and I nearly clench my legs at the sight of him, dressed and ready for work, except his dick is out and hefty in his right hand. It's hard, leaking, and by the look on his face I can tell he's about ready to let go.

"Give me your panties, sweetheart."

Before he even gets out the whole sentence, I make quick work of lifting my shirt out of the way and opening up the fabric, pulling it away from my body and giving him an opening. He walks up with a hungry kiss to my jaw as he jerks himself off, right into my panties until he's making a mess of them. I sigh out happily as he hums against my skin.

And when he's done, he kisses my cheek chastely and uses my shirt to clean up a bit before tucking himself back neatly into his pants. I adjust my panties and feel the warmth spread over my skin while he grabs his bag from the back of the chair to leave.

"Have a good day, Doctor," I call with a cute smile, my hand dipping down to feel the mess he made and wishing he didn't have to go.

"You too, sweetheart," he returns with a wink. He turns to leave, but before he's at the door, he throws back, "Oh, and make sure you're dressed properly when I get back, he's coming over with me after work."

"Wait, really?" I ask brightly, my heart starting to race.

"Mhm. He's excited to meet you."

I’d had plans to run some errands today, but as soon as he tells me the good news, I know I won't be able to get anything done.

———

The second I hear the door, I'm waiting like a dog with a wagging tail, excited for extra company and eager to make a new friend. I flatten my tiny skirt, though with how frilly it is, it really makes no difference— I think that as excited as I am, I'm definitely anxious about potentially adding a new person to our dynamic.

My hands reach behind my back and clasp together as I rock slowly on my feet, ready to welcome them when they come through the door.

Spencer, as always, looks positively delicious, and it only amplifies when he sees me and smiles, reaching out for me. "Somebody's excited..."

In his embrace, I laugh and welcome his hand as it slips up the front of my skirt to make sure I've followed his instructions. He quickly runs his middle finger through my opening, a smile forming on his lips— I can feel it against my neck. "Good girl."

"I couldn't help it," I tell him earnestly, refraining from whining in protest when he removes himself from me entirely. Then I look over his shoulder to see our guest of honor, Spencer's co-worker Luke Alvez. With a shy smile, I reach my hand out to shake his. "I have a new guest to impress."

Luke accepts my hand with a smile all his own, accompanied by wandering eyes that make me feel warm from head-to-toe. It reminds me of how I felt when I first met Spencer while apartment hunting last year. Luke's eyes are just a few shades darker but regardless of color, the hunger swimming within them remains plentiful.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N," he says smoothly. His voice makes me feel a whole new sense of ease and the overwhelming need to submit to him entirely. "I've heard great things."

With introductions out of the way, Spencer ushers Luke into the apartment and I close the door. "Let me show you around a bit," he says, and the two walk off, leaving me to follow behind.

We tour the whole apartment, Spencer taking his sweet time with the walking and the talking... I swear he's doing it on purpose, to make me wait and get me riled up, but regardless I stay patient and involve myself in their conversations as normal. Actually, it would have all felt like a completely normal apartment tour in the first place, had I not been thinking about how the men accompanying me would use me in the future...

Spencer saves the living room for last, and once we make it to the couch, I pray that he's ready to start showing Luke the added benefit of choosing to live here rather than in an apartment by himself...

And he knows me so well, because he pulls me aside with a cheeky smile, his hand resting firmly on my ass and under my skirt. "So, Alvez, you wanna give her a whirl?"

"You're uh... You're sure this is alright? You don't mind?"

His concern is sweet, but I can see the lust sparkling in his eyes as he looks over me once more.

Spencer laughs a bit, squeezing my ass with a nod. "Of course. Look how happy she is to see you... So ready to be used up..."

Luke's tongue darts out over his bottom lip at my roommate's words, his decision becoming more clear.

Still, I help out. "It's true... When Spencer first mentioned adding a new roommate to our arrangement, I couldn't wait... And you're perfect.

"So what do you say?" Spencer asks once more with finality.

Luke strides over to me slowly, my head tilting higher with each inch he gets closer. He looks down at my lips and smiles before bringing his thumb gently to my mouth. "This pretty little mouth has been calling to me since I walked through the door..."

I hear Spencer laugh beside me as Luke slips his thumb past my lips and over my tongue. I suck it into my mouth with a tiny groan, flitting my eyes up at him and arching my back as Spencer's grip on my ass gets tighter.

"Get on the couch, sweetheart," he says, letting go and giving me a small spank.

Luke's thumb pops out of my mouth and I stumble to the couch, getting on all fours so my hands are on the arm and my knees are buried in one of the cushions.

The unmistakable sound of their laughing fills my ears and makes me even more eager, though I know better than to tell them outright what I want. Unless either of them asks me to, I'm not going to beg. I mean, I'm not sure about Luke, but I know that Spencer prefers when I use visual signs in our daily routine. He likes to hear me use my words, sure, but that's only on occasions where he's in a happier, more giving mood. Most of the fucking we do is when he comes home frustrated and needs to take. No questions asked.

And truthfully, I like that more. Which is why I'd agreed to be his roommate in the end.

Spencer does seem to be more giving today, moving this right along and taking his pants off before walking over to me while his friend follows suit, but I follow our rules anyway, wanting to make a good impression on Luke (though I'm positive I've already secured that bag).

Luke's pants come off too, though he waits until he's right in front of my face. I'm looking up at him with my bottom lip between my teeth, and when he starts to work at his belt, I look down to see.

Meanwhile I feel Spencer's weight dip down behind me, and it doesn't take long for him to slide right in, spreading my legs further and beginning to fuck me steadily. He gathers my hair from my face and into a makeshift ponytail with one hand while the other rests at my hip. "You gonna be a big girl and open your mouth wide, or do I have to make you?"

I respond in kind by slacking my jaw and welcoming Luke, his hands coming down to tilt my chin and slide his thick, hard dick into my mouth.

"That's right, sweetheart," Spencer praises, giving me another small spank and a slight tug of the hair. Meanwhile Luke is slowly fucking my throat, pushing himself deeper with each thrust.

Eventually, the two of them are fucking me with perfect rhythm. Each time Spencer goes in, Luke goes out, and their force is even the same. It's building and building with each second, and I can feel my whole body start to go numb with pleasure. My knees are tingling from the couch, my ass is surely red from how many times Spencer has spanked me, and my throat is bruising beautifully.

Spencer's hand releases my ass and reaches out to my throat. The way he's bending forward gives him a deeper angle inside me, and I can't help the choked whimper that comes out of my mouth because of it. He can feel it, too, because his fingers rest just under my chin.

"His cock feels so good down your throat, doesn't it, baby?" he coos, driving into me harder.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds to blink away the tears that blur my vision, and when I open them I look up at Luke, pure unadulterated bliss painting his features. He looks down at me with awe and lust and need, and I can tell that it won't be long before he snaps.

"When he comes, you're gonna keep it in, okay? I wanna see it..."

I clench around Spencer at his words, and my orgasm follows shortly after. As soon as I start to come down, Luke holds himself still at the back of my throat and comes with a shout, his hands rooting in my hair. I try my hardest to keep it all in, meanwhile Spencer starts to stutter as well. And by the time Luke is pulling himself away from me, his friend is coming inside me, just like he's done so many times before.

It's a familiar, wonderful feeling, though this time it's even better because I know I have cum filling both ends of me. I feel so full, so warm and numb and fucked out, and I never want to go a single day without it that way.

When Spencer pulls out and leaves the couch, Luke makes room for him in front of me. He steps into view then, reaching his hand out to pry my mouth open and examine his friend's work.

"Oh, sweetheart, you look so pretty with all Luke's cum in your mouth... Doesn't she look pretty, Alvez?"

The other man muses, his hand coming down to graze my cheek. Both their hands are on either side of my face, and they're gazing down at me with such wonderment that I swear I'll do anything to feel this way again— to make them feel this way again.

"She sure does," Luke says, and I nuzzle into his hand. "Just like a proper cumdump."

Their words and their eyes and their touches send butterflies soaring through my whole body and bring an open-mouthed smile to my face.

"You can swallow now," Spencer says, tapping my cheek. I do, and immediately afterwards he leans down to kiss me deeply. I lean into him and flutter my eyes closed, the feeling of his cum dripping out of me and down my leg only adding to the blissful state I'm in.

He pulls away, and I glance over at Luke, who has his dick in his hand and an amused smile on his face. "Damn, I could almost go again..."

I can tell he only means it as a way to keep the mood light, maybe as a joke, but in hopes that it will make him more comfortable with the idea that he can quite literally use me whenever he wants to, I smile as sincerely as I can. "That's what I'm here for," I offer brightly, getting up off the couch and trying to stand on wobbling legs.

I somehow manage, Spencer helps to steady me, and then he laughs, kissing me on the cheek. "You two have fun. I'm gonna shower, and then I have to take care of some errands. That okay with you?"

Luke and I give our approval, Spencer kisses me once more, and then admires me for a few seconds before throwing his friend a wink and heading off to the shower.

The moment I'm alone with Luke Alvez, he takes my hand and gives it a kiss. "You really are something special, princess..."

The nickname, while not entirely new since Spencer had mumbled it a few times with my mouth wrapped around his dick, sounds absolutely delightful coming from Luke's lips.

"Thank you," I purr, leading him to the couch and pulling him on top of me. "But there's still so much for you to discover..."

He hums amusedly, tracing my mouth with his thumb again. This time I take it gently between my teeth before he slips his cock inside me, which inadvertently makes me let go of it in favor of a whimper.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I'm moving in..."

———

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[wonwoonlight]

my daisy / prologue | kim mingyu

➝ CEO!Mingyu x Secretary!Reader

➝ feat. Seungcheol, Jennie, Jisoo, Seungkwan, Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seokmin, Minghao, Wonwoo, etc.

➝ strangers to lovers // single dad!Mingyu // fluff // lighthearted // non idol!au // like pls dont expect any dramas here lol // tiny bit of angst ig

➝ series warning: mentions of sex, no smut tho just implied sexual activities, insecurity (as always jshbdjhsfshbf am sorry), curses, food, let me know if theres more ^^

➝ A/N: hello!!!!! so i've always wanted to write a series but i never really... get around to it bc i always lose will in the middle and i dont wanna make u guys go through that. but! this fic is about 85% done so I'm gonna put the prologue up right here andddd hopefully the first chapter will be up next week. hope you're looking forward to this🧡

series masterlist

You wake up with your whole body sore and your head pounding like there’s no tomorrow. Thankfully, your stomach isn’t acting up and there’s no urge to throw your guts up.

You stay there for a while, eyes closed and fingers slowly rubbing your throbbing temple. The first thing that you manage to register in your mind is the mattress under you is much too soft, which means this is definitely not your bed.

At the thought, you immediately open your eyes, the weight of another person beside you finally settles in your mind—oh, no, no, no. There is definitely someone sleeping on the other side of the bed, and you don’t dare to look and see. The memories of last night come rushing in just like that; you remember arriving at the club with Jisoo and then accidentally meeting her boyfriend there. You remember him greeting you, and then dropped a kiss on Jisoo’s head as he told you two to have fun before leaving to find his friends.

What you don’t remember is how you end up here with… whoever this person is. You were a little past tipsy when he sat down beside you on the bar and, the next thing you remember, you were going up in the elevator with his lips never leaving yours.

Fuck. You shouldn’t have listened to Jisoo when she said it’s time you ‘unwind and have fun’ because you ‘finally quit that hellhole of a company’. You exhale a deep breath, fingers gripping the blanket that’s safely covering your body as you dare yourself to turn around and see the guy you’ve spent the night with.

The sight of his muscular back greets you; his hair black and, if the fact that you’re still naked in a hotel room still doesn’t convince you, the red marks adorning his back and bruises blooming on the side of his neck definitely does.

You remember his name—Mingyu. A pretty common name for someone who, even from your blurry memory, is quite dashing. You don’t dare to try seeing his face when you’re sober, afraid that it will plant itself too deep in your mind if you do.

So, you do the best thing you could possibly think of that does not include you burying yourself in the ground: make a run for it. This Mingyu guy must’ve had a lot of money if he managed to get this luxurious suite drunk.

You heart beats a million times faster as you gather your clothing and do your best to quickly and quietly wash up even a little. When you’re done, you can’t be more glad that this guy seems to not bothered even a little bit. You turn to him one last time as your hand hovers over the door knob, his body unmoving from his earlier position as he’s still deep in sleep.

Inhale. Exhale.

I’m sorry.