#whoo BOY did this take longer than i hoped!

[homestuckreplay]

EOA1 ==> Media, Agency and the Suburbs in Act 1 of Homestuck

It is April 13, 1959. Mr. Egbert, Sr. has recently made the move out of the city into a newly built house in the suburbs, because clowning isn't paying so well after the recession. His son John hasn't seen his friend Rose since they moved. Staring out the window at 4:13pm and glimpsing nothing but the neighbor's wall, John goes downstairs to catch the second half of a black and white episode of Truth or Consequences, losing himself for fifteen minutes in their world of pranks, hilarity and emotional family reunions. Hopefully for his birthday, his dad will get him that cool new board game and its all-important hours of distraction.

We pick up the daily newspaper, and flip to the funnies to see John's new antics.

(Essay below the cut - about 5k words.)

==> I: John’s Suburb in Historical Context, or: Johntext

During the 1940s and 1950s, mass expansion of the American suburbs was accompanied by a ‘best of both worlds’ promise. Families who moved there could enjoy easy travel to the city via car for work and leisure, but wouldn’t have to deal with the ‘undesirable’ parts of city life, such as noise, pollution, or people from marginalized groups. Suburbs were characterized by detached, single family houses that guaranteed each family their own bubble of space away from neighbors, but also promised a community of likeminded people with whom to form neighborhood associations and PTA committees. Residents could enjoy independence from city governance and increased control over their own living spaces, but anybody who might push back against current social norms would be quietly excluded. Utopian promises and attractive prices encouraged many Americans to make the move, and many of them have never left. 

Here in 2009, it’s not uncommon for people to have lived their entire lives in the suburbs - often in a single house. Promises of progress and innovation within households have remained strictly cosmetic, while the values guarding suburban families and communities have changed very little. Although people of color comprise an increasing percentage of suburban residents, white people are still overrepresented. The same is true of married couples’ overrepresentation compared to other family structures. Suburban architecture remains centralized around the car as the primary means of transportation, and the separation of residential from commercial areas. Opportunities and reasons to leave the house are both minimized. 

With the growth of the suburbs came increased criticism of their designs and ideals. Their dream of a spacious home for each family has led to feelings of isolation, while the promised communities have primarily formed around churches and strict Christian ideals. Residents lack trust in their neighbors, and as such, children are no longer left to their own devices outside of the house. The suburban goal of easy car accessibility to cities has ended in highway congestion, air pollution and lack of public transport or pedestrian access. And while the percentage of Americans living in the suburbs continues to increase, not everyone has the luxury of choosing where they live - particularly children and teenagers. 

Homestuck’s main character John Egbert doesn't directly express a hatred of the suburbs - he seems more conflicted, showing fondness for the tire swing in a kid's yard (p.27), the fireplace (p.50) and the father smoking a pipe (p.74), while also expressing that he feels stuck in his home (p.30, 253), that he avoids his father's company (p.30), and that he feels something missing from his life (p.82). He doesn't seem aware of the source of his emptiness, just that he's always felt it, and we can only guess the source through incredibly subtle context clues, such as the work's title and the way John longingly gazes towards the outside.

It's certainly possible for someone with an otherwise privileged life to feel alienation in the suburbs, but those who differ from the white nuclear family ideal tend to have these feelings heightened, and may be ostracized by the community or threatened into conformity. Similarly, the gulf between John and his dad, and their separate perceptions of that relationship, could be simply generational, or could suggest bigger, unseen differences between them.

One interpretation I and others have discussed is that John is a transgender woman who has yet to actively realize her identity, but knows on some level that she can’t achieve the strict gender expectations of a suburban community. This loss of self-understanding would contribute to John's feelings of absence and lack of control, and strain her relationship with a father who expects her to fit a male gender role. 

This might be my favorite possible explanation, but there are lots of others, any or all of which could be true. John being queer in any sense would mean he might not fit into the nuclear family structure of the suburbs as an adult. John being a person of color in an otherwise white neighborhood would visually distinguish him from his neighbors and cause them to judge him based on stereotypes, and if John is mixed race and Dad is white, this distinction could highlight differences between them too, the absence in John's life marked by a disconnection from a culture he's a part of. John being neurodivergent could impact his ability to interact with other people in the neighborhood, or to replicate the rules and performativity of daily life. Single parent family structures are more accepted in 2009 than they were in 1959, but it's still possible that some past scandal involving Dad and John's family life is hanging over them, fresh in the minds of their neighborhood - perhaps one that just like Nanna's death, Dad 'never wants to talk about'. Any of these factors could lead to John being ostracized by his community and mean that even at a young age he didn't 'buy in' to the idea of the happy suburban family. 

I believe it is intentional that Homestuck hasn’t defined John’s location more specifically than ‘west of Kansas’. Although research has shown that different suburbs have their own individual characters, critics tend to emphasize their similarities. We’re supposed to think that John would have broadly the same experiences if he lives in Arizona or Colorado, Texas or Georgia, maybe even England or Belgium. The externalities of John’s life are the same as countless other kids in the Western world, not because of John’s choices or even his dad’s choices, but due to the larger structures that organize families into houses, houses into suburbs, and suburbs into sources of constraint.

==> II: If You Love Your House So Much, Why Don’t You Never Leave It?

The suburbs walk hand in hand with advances in technology. The 1950s saw a boom in the sale of household appliances, with devices for cooking and cleaning promising to lighten the housework load for women, and television providing entertainment for the whole family from the comfort of the living room. Various corporations created model homes to display the futuristic properties of their fantastical appliances, promising consumers that in the future, all homes would look just like this. This was a marketing tactic primarily benefiting the corporations - but in some cases, they were successful. General Electric’s ‘New American’ home in Denver featured a dishwasher as early as 1935, and these increased in affordability and domestic popularity across the 1950s and 60s. Disneyland’s Monsanto ‘House of the Future’ boasted a microwave oven. The house opened in real world 1957 but was ‘set in 1986’, and by 1986, one in four American homes owned a microwave. The Westinghouse ‘Home of Tomorrow’ contained the first ever portable radios - six of them, with radio outlets in every room to grant every family member a constant supply of media. 

This idea of constant, individualized media consumption may have been the greatest called shot of these houses. In 1959, John would be limited to a handful of TV channels on a fixed schedule, fighting over the tuning dials with his dad, but in 2009 he almost certainly knows the delights of Megavideo on top of having a video game collection, DVD collection and TV on demand service. 

Televisions were marketed to families in the 1950s claiming that they would keep families closer, as parents and children alike would want to stay home and watch together instead of going out to separate places, and many parents at first expressed relief at always knowing where their teenage children were, and consequently, being able to keep an eye on them. Television altered the boundaries between public and private space, allowing people to experience a public activity such as a trip to the movies, a performance from a live musician, even witnessing the moon landing, without leaving the home or interacting with strangers. 

Increasingly, media is marketed with the promise of interactivity and agency. Television provided a world to passively escape into, but video games allow the player to actually embody a character in that world. They present fantasies of control, of being able to explore a virtual map according to the player’s whims, and offering in-character choices that allow the player to control the narrative itself. Players are compelled by the possibility of media they can customize to their own specific tastes, and media they can master and bend to their will instead of simply observe. In this way, the Nintendo Wii isn’t so different from the fridge-freezer that promised greater mastery over the family’s diet, or the modern microwave oven and its dozens of settings and options for preparing food. 

As our society moves from home televisions to home computers and video game systems into an age of portable, all in one smartphones, we and the media become more dependent on each other, and we expect to have access to it more of the time. John Egbert has found connection with a close friend who lives multiple timezones east and stays in regular and real time contact with her. That friendship enriches his life, and wouldn't have been possible without today’s high speed internet and instant messaging services. John’s computer opens up an incredible social world, but - as we’ve seen with Rose losing power - if he lost that technology, he’d also lose that community. 

So, advertisers ask, what possible reason is there to leave? Why would you go somewhere mundane, like a park or a youth club, when you could go up on a plane surrounded by dangerous criminals and outsmart them all in time to save your friend? When you can bike down the highways from Missouri to Virginia to save the girl you like from natural disasters? You can be a hard boiled detective, a monster's best friend, a scientist making contact with aliens, an oil magnate turned savior of the world, a FBI agent surgically given the face of a terrorist, and a world leading expert on ghost slime - and you’ll never get dirty, you’ll never get hurt, and your dad will be right in the next room with a constant supply of fresh baked cakes and fatherly affection. What possible reason do kids have to complain, or to feel like anything is missing from their lives, when they can master reality from couches and computer chairs?

John Egbert embodies constant media consumption. Two of his five stated interests are consuming media - specifically movies and video games - and even when he’s not actively watching or playing something, he’s surrounded by media. His room is filled with movie posters, the television in the living room is switched on even when nobody’s watching, and the first thing he does after loading his computer is check for webcomic updates. Even his thoughts are consumed. He’s constantly replaying his favorite scenes in his head, which seems to bring him genuine joy, fixating on the next game he wants to play, and filling his social interactions with references to his favorite franchises. Even before actually entering Sburb’s virtual reality, John already wasn’t present in his material space. He’s digitally transitioned from what Lynn Spigel describes as ‘the home address to “home page”... computer generations rather than genders’. 

==> III: Kids These Days Just Don’t Respect The Cultural Idea Of Childhood We Created For Them

The suburban home loves technology, but the reverse may not be true. A significant amount of mass media depicts the suburbs as the place where creativity and individuality go to die, reflecting the cultural criticisms instead of the promises. Some of the earliest sitcoms, such as I Love Lucy and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, predated widespread criticisms of the suburbs and presented an idealized suburban life. These soon gave way to the ‘fantastic sitcoms’ of the 1960s, including Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. These shows have implausible premises, featuring supernatural creatures, aliens or futuristic settings while still depicting mundane suburban realities. This juxtaposition opened up new questions about the real world, asking why we exclude certain people from communities and playing with the strict roles within the nuclear family. 

Media aimed at young people often presents a world where kids are in control and regular power structures are inverted. 1950s and 60s comic strips aimed at kids, such as Peanuts and Dennis the Menace, were also set in the suburbs - but an idealized version of the suburbs where kids could roam freely, not confined to the home and able to disobey the instructions of adults without consequences. Some parents restrict these from children, not wanting them to ‘get the wrong idea’ and copy the bad behavior they see in comics or on TV. Popular music is a site of rebellion amongst teenagers - The Kinks in the 1960s, Talking Heads and Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s, Green Day and Blink-182 in the 1990s and 2000s, and uncountable other acts have put criticisms of suburbia to music and created a cultural dream of escape by getting on the road, joining a rock band and never putting down roots again. 

In a time of rapid technological change, parents fear the impact technology and new media will have on their children, partly because they didn’t grow up with those technologies themselves. Television was feared because it gave children access to knowledge, different worldviews, and the realities of the adult world that parents wanted to keep from them, lessening parents’ control over their kids. It was also feared for its all-consuming nature, for making children want to watch constantly at the expense of homework, chores and family meals. More recently, video games have been feared for these same addictive properties, and for the belief that they negatively impact social interaction and cause increased aggression and violence. 

But John isn’t like other teenagers. His taste is striking for being exclusively movies that reinforce ideals of the nuclear family - usually suburban, with the exception of New York City-based Ghostbusters II - which suggests he doesn’t only want to escape his current life, he wants to legitimate it to himself. John’s movies end with family reconciliation, not with the kids getting one over on the parents. If John feels like he doesn’t fit into suburban ideals, he can try to connect with them by seeing them through the eyes of a character he likes. In a world where John’s primary source of agency is the media he chooses to consume, he could easily choose to reject his unsatisfying life altogether and live vicariously through outlaws and exiles, getting really into Westerns or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but he doesn’t. He chooses characters who are fundamentally conventional, despite their rough edges, suggesting he’d really like to just fit in and be content with what he has.

Sburb, however, is the game that actualizes parents’ worst fears, inverting the power structures of the house, giving Rose and John dominion over the space while Dad - formerly both the breadwinner and the homemaker - has been relegated to an unseen location. John has access to a physically dangerous inventory system and a strife specibus that encourages him to solve problems by hitting them with a hammer.

Media promises us an escape, and it undoubtedly has the power to teach us and open our eyes to new perspectives, but in many cases provides nothing more than a filter over our lives. Encouraging people to live in a state of distraction, a TV show or video game gives us an easy way to hide from reality. People look for a new technology to solve their problems instead of a social solution, placing parental controls over their children’s television and internet usage instead of having honest conversations among families about media consumption, and designing security systems to keep ‘undesirable’ people from trespassing in middle class neighborhoods without questioning why those people are excluded from suburban society in the first place.

==> IV: There’s A Fine Line Between Fantasy And Reality And My House Is Built There

In the 1935 movie Murder by Television, a money-hungry scientist manipulates the interference between telephone lines and television broadcast signals to create the ‘death ray,’ and murder somebody on the other side of a television screen. Released less than a decade after the world’s first television broadcast, this movie demonstrates our cultural obsession with the boundaries between electrical and real space, and our dream of making those boundaries permeable. The 1950s presented TV families (such as the Nelsons from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) as normal families whose lives just happened to be televised, but who behaved the same way on and off screen to the point of forgetting the cameras were rolling. To this day, reality television such as Big Brother and The Bachelor promise to show us contestants’ authentic private lives, and even when we as viewers know the show is staged, we choose to buy into the fantasy.

More recently, 1998’s The Truman Show literalizes our dependence on the media, its ubiquity in our lives, and the impact this has on our personal relationships by showing a man whose whole life has been orchestrated by a TV production company that broadcasts him 24/7. Through a lucky accident with a time portal I obtained a copy of 2023’s Barbie, in which a plastic doll lives the dream life promised by her marketing, but starts thinking about mortality and the ‘real world’ when her owner’s mother starts drawing pictures of her with typical adult problems.

In both of these movies, the characters are happy until they are forced to confront the constructed nature of their worlds. By understanding the production and design processes controlling their lives, they become disillusioned with the simulation of perfection and begin searching for something more authentic. Even though Truman and Barbie both escape synthesized worlds and achieve full human agency, their endings are bittersweet. Their ‘escape’ lands them in present day Los Angeles, with all the social constraints, local mass produced suburbs, and constant diet of blockbuster media that this implies.

Blurring these boundaries is an effective advertising strategy as well as a narrative one. Adverts invite players to ‘become’ the main character of a video game, such as a Kid Chameleon promotion inviting players to ‘change personalities faster than they’ll change helmets’ and ‘transform’ themselves into a variety of mavericks. A Mortal Kombat arcade machine advert showed real men bursting out of the machine to attack the player. Promotions for The Sims 2 featured real photographs of people with the Sims interface added digitally, presenting the controllable Sims within the game as more than just pixels.

Following in this grand tradition, Sburb takes the permeable boundary between electrical and real space and smashes a meteor through it. Sburb answers the question of ‘can technology transform our society?’ with a 'yes'  loud enough to shake the neighborhood houses from their foundations. Sburb represents the greatest and most utopian promises of technology, as well as the worst of our cultural fears around it. 

The appeal of Sburb as a game is that it promises teenagers control over their lives in a world where they’re otherwise powerless. It’s a way to speedrun growing up - alchemy mechanics offer the chance to manipulate space and create all the material goods the player wants, but the game also bestows responsibility for tackling a crisis, for maintaining the home, perhaps even saving the world. And the players who are going to want this badly enough to fight through the impossible challenges Sburb presents are the kids who really can’t wait, the ones who aren’t doing well, and who feel trapped enough in their everyday lives that they would risk it all on an experimental technology to escape. 

In truth, many scholars challenge the concepts of interactivity and agency in video games, arguing that these are players’ perceptions and not their realities. Games invite players to participate in the creation of art, but the relationship is never equal, with the creators always having the final say on exactly how much free will the player is allowed. Even a game that aims to be open world and allow for as much free play as possible is bound by the limitations of processing power and how many options a human can reasonably write and code for. 

Sburb also puts restrictions on its players. Most likely, there are limits on what objects can be created via alchemy, and Sburb would likely restrict any item that could be used to work against the game. Players being controlled by commands which are interpreted by a computer also ensure that only commands coded for in the game are transmitted to the player. When a command is incorrect, the narrator steps in to help the player (p.253). And so far, the game has dramatic ways of keeping John on a very linear path - first starting a clock so he had no choice but to focus on stopping the meteor, then cutting him off from the world so that he has to stay in his current location. It’s impossible to have agency while living within a game that can and will end your life with four minutes and thirteen seconds of notice.

The ‘homes of tomorrow’ discussed at the start of part II were designed as sentient spaces, responsive to their inhabitants and able to almost anticipate their needs. John Brehm said about MOMA’s 1999 Un-Private House exhibition, ‘one can prepare a meal with the help of a virtual chef from a favorite restaurant and have dinner with a virtual guest or friend through the liquid wall’ and suggested that the house was ‘an extension of the body or a transparency of the mind… that both protects and transcends the limitations of the body’. In 2000, the Microsoft Home in New York City showed a future where people could control the lights, thermostats, security systems and stereos directly from their phones, even from another location. The home of tomorrow promises it can be anything its owner wants it to be, without questioning the idea that the privately owned, individualized home should exist and be desired.

Of course, the houses of tomorrow are always singular, prototype homes built with no thought of neighbors and community, but perhaps sacrificing a whole neighborhood to build the perfect home is a tradeoff some people have to make. Far from the static, impersonal houses of the suburbs, Sburb allows players to create their dream houses, offering bigger bedrooms, additional floors, and an endless void to throw your father’s harlequin statues into. It’s another technology that offers transformative potential for the family home, but is ultimately still driven by it, forming an individualist utopian bubble within a larger, far more conservative and restrictive structure.

==> V: If I Die, I Wanna Die In The Suburbs

The remote control, the video game joystick, and the Sburb alchemiter all tell us we can master reality by mastering technology. If that’s the case, then John still has to master technology. A shattered window from stack modus failures and a desktop littered with enraged programming files show us just how far John is from mastering either of these things.

John’s lack of agency goes far deeper than being trapped in the suburbs. His simple choice to pick something up and put it down is controlled by external agents. Though he can choose to escape his father in the kitchen by going to his room, a variety of screens will follow him and keep him in his own personalized panopticon. Rose’s mastery over the cursor means that John can’t guarantee the objects in his room will be where he left them, and even John’s thoughts are surveilled, interpreted and transmitted outwards by the narrator.

The USA PATRIOT act of 2001 expanded the US government’s legal rights to monitor electronic communication, and the early 2000s saw increased covert network surveillance by governments and private corporations alike. John’s technological illiteracy means he probably doesn’t know how to use a VPN and might not have known as a kid that his internet activities weren’t private, but in Act 2, inside Sburb, he begins to realize. Just as parents fretted at PTA meetings, John’s media has allowed him to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and put an end to his carefully constructed childhood, all on the cultural milestone of his thirteenth birthday. 

Sburb has compounded the problem of John being surveilled and puppeted, but didn't invent it. The first 136 pages of Homestuck establish the meta-narrative restrictions on his life, from his inventory system to his being guided by commands, before he installs the game. There are layers of control over John’s life that he’ll need to break through one at a time. The first will be acquiring the Sburb server disc, which will give John greater power within Sburb, and the ability to use the full extent of its abilities. The second will be escaping the game of Sburb, which could be accomplished by simply winning the game (like in 1995’s Jumanji), or by using some kind of cheat or glitch to break out of it (2003’s Spy Kids 3: Game Over), but either way John will need to master the game mechanics. 

The final layer is Homestuck itself, and unfortunately for us, John escaping the player and narrator’s influence over his life would almost certainly mean the end of the comic. But in Homestuck the Earth is already being destroyed, and being a webcomic that doesn’t have the constraints of a two hour Hollywood movie, the story doesn’t have to stop at the level of escaping the simulation. It has the chance to go a layer further, and imagine a world where John and his friends are able to enact real and meaningful change.

John has clearly had an emotional dependency on media for a long time, and now, he has a physical dependency too. Sburb is the thing keeping him alive, and his only hope to save the rest of the world, but he’s not alone in seeing popular media as a sacred text necessary for his existence. Smethurst and Craps point out that the player reacts to the game as much as the game does to the player - if anywhere, agency can be found in players’ interpretations of a game. Increasingly we rely on fiction to shape our politics and our worldviews, while also reading texts at a surface level. While media itself is insufficient to give us agency, media literacy is a big step towards asking questions about what restricts our agency, how, and why. The way John discusses movies now isn’t too in depth, with reviews like ‘the applejuice scene was so funny’ and ‘cage is sweet. so sweet.’ But in a story about becoming part of a video game, media literacy could be a very powerful tool for John, and he could come out of this as a genuine movie critic.

==> Conclusion

While Homestuck is a distinctly modern multimedia experience, it exists in a much larger tradition of media that criticizes the suburbs, and depicts the fantasy of escape for young people. Like other metafictional works before it, it handles these themes self-reflexively, showing its main character combat the horrors of the suburbs directly, instead of depicting a fantasy where problems do not exist. 

Based on its first act, Homestuck is a story about John Egbert’s quest for agency in a world that constantly tries to restrict it. John’s life so far has been defined by the suburbs, by a single but unremarkable point in space that he’s been trapped in for the first thirteen years of his life. John is both physically confined to his suburban neighborhood, and socially confined into being the ideal of the middle class all American boy that has been presented as his only option. John’s taste in media reinforces the ideals of his society, meaning he has yet to question the status quo of his existence or examine the source of his depression. John is also controlled directly by his server player, the Homestuck players, and the narrator. 

John’s experiences playing Sburb show us that while the escape media provides for us is real and can change us in meaningful ways, it can only solve the first step of the problem - and isn’t without its own risks and drawbacks. In order to truly develop agency, John will need to question the existence of the suburbs themselves, and not only his placein them. He’ll also need to  - at some point - quit the game, return to reality, and use the skills he’s learned in the game to develop mastery over both the physical world and the story itself.

==> Sources

I wrote this essay after reading Lynn Spigel’s excellent essay collection ‘Welcome to the Dreamhouse: Popular Media and Postwar Suburbs’ (2001), which I would highly recommend.

Full bibliography

Filmography

[bambeebirdie]

This is for @bluepeachstudios ‘s Ghost in a Shell. It’s really good you should read it.

I looked at exactly one picture of Jupiter Jim and went “yeah this should be enough to draw him.” I will not be answering if it actually was

Have some bonus content under the cut!

And sketches

(I love any character who can say “I don’t want to go back to prison” it’s like the funniest thing to me)

[stellartraveler]

Some rgb siblings quotes. More under cut.

Nya to Lloyd: First rule of battle, little one... don’t ever let them know where you are.

Kai, shooting out of frame: WHOO-HOO! I’M RIGHT HERE! I’M RIGHT HERE! YOU WANT SOME O’ ME?! YEAH YOU DO! COME ON! COME ON! AAAAAH! Whoo-hoo!

Nya: 'Course, there’re other schools of thought.

Nya, to Lloyd: You know, Kai can be really aggressive, so it's important to take all the necessary precautions when approaching.

Nya: *blows airhorn at Kai* GET FUCKED!

Lloyd: Nya said its my turn with the brain cell.

Kai: Square up.

Lloyd: The results are in, I’m afraid you have updog…

Kai: What’s updog?

Lloyd: Nya! Get in here, I told you I could do it!

Nya: What did you two do?

Kai: ...

Lloyd: ...

Nya: You’re not in trouble, I just need to know if I have to lie to the police again or not.

Lloyd: You're pathetic!

Kai: You're pathetic-er!

Nya: You're both losers.

*Something crashes*

Lloyd: Shoot-

Kai: *running into the room in a panic* WHAT FELL?!

Nya: *walking by the room calmly* What died?

Kai: This is horrible! This is the most humiliating thing to ever happen to me!

Nya: Oh-? Even more humiliating than-

Kai: We are not doing this Nya!

Nya, texting Kai: Text me when you’re home safely.

Kai: I’m home dangerously.

Nya: Stop it.

Kai: I’m home lethally.

Lloyd: If bees can be fish and boys can be girls, then why can't my dad love me?

Kai: I thought I was going to have to yell at you, but now I think I should hug you.

Kai: When I get Doordash I order 20 Cheeseburgers at a time and heat them up throughout the week so that I don’t have to pay the delivery fee multiple times.

Nya: I hope you understand how food poisoning works.

Kai: I hope food poisoning understands how I work. I never met a burger i couldn’t eat.

Nya: The saying “it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission” no longer applies to Kai.

Nya: How do you want your coffee?

Lloyd: Black, like my soul.

Nya: ...

Nya: Lloyd, your soul is a latte.

[highfiveheroes]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii so I absolutely love your fic on ao3 (so excited for part 2) and I wanted to ask what your opinions on the finale were! I personally think that the rat grinders were deeply robbed and that it was honestly such a unkind and mean way to end that season. like was the overarching theme not redemption and that unrestrained violence isn't the answer? anyway ye would love to hear your thoughts on it

(sorry if you've already made posts about it also, feel free to ignore this if so)

ahhh!!! oh man i have SO many thoughts on it, and i’ve kind of tried to keep them to dms and stuff but whoo boy. whoooo boy!!!

this got SO much longer than i expected so sorry in advance

i have sort of hit the point of reflection where i’m just sad about it now. sophomore year was SUCH a lovely piece of art, and the choices and lessons made and gained were something that resonated so deeply. i’ll start by saying that yeah, it’s fairly obvious the second half of the season was rushed through production, and specifically after “baron’s game” (which i expected to love but i can get into on a different post) the tone completely shifted.

the point i’ve finally come to is that brennan had a LOT of ideas for this season, but ultimately it went the way it did because he wasn’t dming the season for the fans. he was doing it for his friends, and they all had fun, and if the topics had been changed or certain plot points had been altered or different it wouldn’t have seemed so flippant and disappointing when the overarching themes got missed. from a meta standpoint (and also taking into account the interview he did that came out within the past few days discussing the season) it was never supposed to be that serious, so egg on our faces for reading into things that weren’t supposed to be there.

the season specifically suffered because it had so much stuffed into it, in my opinion? plots and threads were dropped early on in favor of following the bits—and for a dnd show run by comedians, i’m sure it was really fun for everyone involved! but i could tell after a certain point that discussions were overloading and way more stuff was getting missed than being followed up on, so i think brennan got caught up in trying to tie the story up neatly for his friends, and i think some of the plot may have changed from what it was first envisioned to be (though that may just be me being waaaaay too hopeful)

it is, however, WHOLLY disappointing to me that the bad kids were so rewarded for being literal bullies all season except to each other. it was in the name of bits, sure, but god, i would have loved for the solution to have been for them to reach out to the rat grinders in that final fight with something—a dispel magic maybe, or a really strong persuasion check, to prove that rage isn’t always the fucking answer, especially when faced with something like this. but that was never how it was going to go and i’m less mad now than just straight up sad about it. the rat grinders were just npcs made to be annoyances and obstacles and threads to follow, and we definitely as a collective tried to have more faith in the story. it’s just…i mean, it’s a dnd game. he’s running it for his friends, he’s lucky to get paid for it, it wasn’t about us reading the whole narrative like a book.

if the whole season had been scripted and unrushed—if it had been an actual series, for example—i think we would have gotten a lovely ending that satisfied almost everyone. but we got the fun ending for the players and at least half the fandom had an amazing time (maybe more—i definitely am at fault for only really following the rat grinder fans, lbr, but i don’t feel like having to curb my feelings about them every time i see a new post about how they deserved it).

i think for me, the ending was kind of rushed and filled with cheap cop outs, but i don’t think it was meant to be any more than that. it was supposed to be fun for the players, and it was, and that’s what they were happy with. i’ve really had to think about it a LOT this week though

(side note: as i’ve been working on part 2 and the prequel for it, i’m having to take the canon as milestones but not necessarily as fact, because there was so much unexplored there that i need to make sense when i’m writing it, but i fully disagree with just completely dismissing the implications. kipperlilly’s whole arc and her choosing this path wasn’t something i predicted, but it doesn’t necessarily go against what i wrote—it’s just that now, with context and reflection, i’m really having to sit down and explore her not as a many faceted character but instead as something that can still appear one dimensional. i’m not going to completely ignore the nuances, but i’m having a difficult time writing it, knowing now where the story is going to end up.)

(and fun fact, if you’ve read this far—it’s going to end up three parts instead of two, so publishing may be pushed off a bit longer than i wanted for the sole fact of wanting to put out parts 2&3 out at the same time. the prequel i’m gonna put on the back burner for a bit though :( so if you think part 2 is going to be good, i can’t wait for the reaction to part 3, if it goes the way i want!!!)

[capnhanbers]

Yay new chapter!!! I really like this one too, especially the flowey part. Love that duo of babysitter awkwardness! Honestly can't wait to see what's in store for the next chapter, cus whoo boy. I feel something is cooking there haha. In relation to The Hustle Never Stops, I actually did take a break as you said haha. Working on short stories before I go back to it. BUT! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the cliffhanger that ended with it. That last scene put a massive whoozy in me. The whole thing took longer than I expected. Hope you have a great and FANTASTIC SPECTACULAR AMAZING SUPERB DAY!!!! Congrats on getting that chapter done, and the many more!!! Keep going at your own pace, you're getting closer and closer to what you want to achieve!

something is always cooking in!

Mod's Kitchen!!!!! Nightmare!!!!

YES breaks are good gotta refuel the tanks!! i haven't read it yet, i got really busy right when it came out and lost time/energy to read, but as soon as i do i'm gonna leave a gushing comment, mark my words 👍 and THANK YOUUU we're fucking! gettin there!

[fonulyn]

fon's 2021 in fic

so I said I wouldn't and I did, the story of my life :'D I also managed to start this post three separate times and each time tumblr wiped it before I managed to actually post it, so this has been a true major test of strength. but I did post over ~350k of fic this year and I do think it deserves to be celebrated, so here we go!

fics are organized by pairing, roughly in a chronological order from oldest to newest, but so that the ao3 fics are first and the tumblr ficlets after them.

there’s exactly 100 fics (whoo!) (okay some of them are super short but i am counting them all, try and stop me :’D). featuring:

31 Piers/Leon

24 Chris/Leon

18 ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

7 Krauser/Leon

3 Jake/Piers

2 Wesker/Chris

6 “others” (Patrick/Leon, Adam/Leon, Jason/Leon, Claire/Leon, Queen Plaga/Leon, Lickers/Leon)

9 Joe/Nicky

so. here you go. and here’s to hoping that 2022 will be an equally good writing year :3

Piers/Leon

you can have it (you know you've got it) | 3,8k | Leon pushes his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and spins around to face Piers again. “Nice place, Nivans,” he says, flashing a grin that’s so charming that it alone is enough to make Piers feel a little weak in the knees.

got something to tell you (that I never thought I would) | 2,4k | The one wherein Leon proposes no less than four times. (Spoiler alert: Piers says yes. Eventually.)

memories are made of this | 8,8k | Leon recovers and finally gets his cast off, they celebrate their engagement a couple of different ways, and are sickeningly domestic.

driving deep into your heart | 2,2k | Piers, the newly crowned champion of MotoGP, gets a surprise visit from his boyfriend.

so I confide in you (for nothing compares to you) | 20k | Leon is sent in to rescue the president's son from a cult, and ends up getting more than he bargained for.

all I wanted (all I'll ever need) | 3,3k | This was the best birthday Leon had ever had. At least right at this moment he could’ve sworn to that, as having Piers spread out for him like this was the stuff dreams were made of.

love will always find the way | 15k | Leon meets Piers' family for the first time.

saved my heart for you | 8,2k | In a way, Piers had two first meetings with Leon S. Kennedy. Only for the first one of those he had no idea who he was with was actually Leon S. Kennedy. That is how it started, anyway. The journey itself was much, much longer. And worth every single step.

when the air's too thick to breathe | 1,9k | It was Leon, unmistakably so, lying on the ground half hidden by the undergrowth. His clothes were torn, his hair matted with blood, and he looked so pale that it was almost unreal. Almost as if he was sleeping, not--

maybe he's born with it | 1,7k | The one wherein there's a bet going within the BSAA whether Leon is a natural blond or not.

all that I need is just one moment in your arms | 1,9k | Leon saves Piers' life and gets hurt. It scores him cuddles, though.

fall in love so easy | 1,5k | Piers brings pet names into the equation. Leon kind of loves it.

you're my fantasy (someone I'm made for) | 4k | The one wherein they enjoy the easy access skirts provide.

so much more (than falling in love) | 3,2k | Their holiday plans get disrupted by an amazing bathtub.

will you be by me? | 12k | Piers comes back home infected and mutated. As a cherry on top, he doesn't even remember who Leon is. Leon is determined to stay by him, to help him heal, no matter the cost. In the end, it is a story of love and recovery.  

no boundaries | 2,6k | They hide in a closet from a tyrant. They also get a little carried away.

never too much to ask for | 4k | The one wherein Leon learns how amazing hugs are.

and it takes me over again | 3,6k | They fight a giant snow monster, Piers gets a bad burn and Leon takes care of him.

you're feeding the fire within me | 7,5k | Piers and Leon get dosed with Rebecca's new Super-Viagra. It's fuck-or-die. And, boy, do they fuck.

stay until the end of life | 9,5k | After the plaga did a number on Leon's insides, leaving him slowly dying, there doesn't seem to be much hope left. Somehow, he gets there anyway, even if the road to recovery is a rocky one.

'cause everyone's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man | 3,3k | Leon walks in on Piers' private time, but in the end it's a win-win for everyone.

cleanse the wounds and forget the name | 2,7k | A new BSAA recruit just can't shut up, talking shit about everything important. When he starts shit-talking Leon, Piers simply needs to shut him up. With his fist.

nothing else remains | 4,4k | Leon might have a tiny praise kink. Just a little one.

only the courage to continue counts | 26k (ongoing) | RE4 au. Leon isn't sent to Spain alone but with a partner. Too bad he has a tendency to get attached to his partners way too easily.

winter lovin' (there's snow one like you) | 12k | Piers takes Leon on a snowy vacation in Lapland.

delete the ladder | 500w | Leon finds that the Sims has changed from when he last played it. It's gotten worse.

lessons in relaxation | 1,2k | Piers has slept beside his friends before, it's not a big deal. He can sleep anywhere. Except apparently now his big gay crush on Leon is making it A Big Deal. Thankfully Leon knows how to make him relax.

healing | 860w | The mission left Leon broken, bruised and banged up, and he's fully prepared to tough it out alone while Piers is on whatever mission the BSAA has sent him on. Except Piers has other ideas.

favorite uncles | 970w | Piers' niece sometimes gets to stay for a sleepover with them. They all kind of love it.

hot like hell | 755w | Not even a thousand degrees of sweltering summer heat can make Leon keep his hands off Piers.

under the rubble | 1,1k | Leon gets trapped in the basement of a collapsed building, and it takes him a moment to realize he's not alone. Truthfully, the company is the best he's had in ages.

Chris/Leon

kiss your eyes, caress your hair, kill that pain away | 5,9k | Glenn Arias kidnaps Leon because he reminds him of his dead husband. Leon is not having the time of his life.

when you don't look, you find | 3,5k | Childhood friends are reunited in 1999.

it is time to do something right | 2,6k | Being thrown into a wall came as no surprise at all. Leon didn’t even remember a time when he hadn’t been thrown around by these gigantic monsters, it had become more the norm than the exception. And of course Arias did it too, because why the hell wouldn’t he?

dance to the end of love | 1,5k | Chris tries to teach Leon to dance.

no space between | 1k | Leon passes out from exhaustion. But he gets cuddles, at least.

tell me that I'm okay, tell me that you'll stay | 1,8k | Chris finds Leon at the morgue with what's left of his team.

end of the road | 1,8k | The one where a life is lost.

sweet distraction | 2,6k | The one wherein Chris offers Leon an alternative to overworking himself.

change all that's gone before | 3k | For the first time, a mission gone sideways doesn't only earn Leon bruises.

you know I want you and you want me | 1,3k | “If we weren’t in public right now,” Chris says, so low that only Leon can hear. His hot breath hits Leon’s ear, and Leon shudders helplessly already before Chris goes on. “I’d have my head between your legs.”

you give me heart to carry on | 1,9k | Chris is in danger and all Leon can do is wait. It is hell.

take me through the night | 1,8k | Chris comes back home early and they celebrate accordingly.

dressed to kill | 1,8k | Chris enjoys some lace on Leon.

that sweet sensation of living in your love | 1,8k | The one wherein Leon helps Chris relax, in multiple ways.

(tho i am made of glass i am) safe in the palm of your hand | 1,6k | Chris is held captive, but Leon gets him out of there.

time for retirement | 730w | After they both get injured on a mission, Chris and Leon talk retirement. Maybe some feelings, too.

glasses | 511w | Chris likes Leon wearing glasses.

how much i missed you | 1,1k | Chris gets woken up for some sleepy midnight sex.

dance with me | 1,5k | Claire tricks Chris and Leon into taking dancing classes together. They're both going to owe her.

a cheap shot (but whatever works) | 1,2k | Chris learns that the new rookie broke his unbreakable record at the shooting range. He's got to meet the man who managed that.

glasses, take two | 400w | Leon likes Chris wearing glasses.

it's a roadtrip, baby | 890w | Driver picks the music. Everyone else complains.

dirty pirates know the dirtiest tricks | 910 | Chris hates that Claire makes him wear the stupid sailor costume to a Halloween party. After that helps him score a date, though, he might owe her an apology.

aches | 610w | Chris can't sleep.

ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

been crazy for you, so long | 2,2k | The one where they fuck. Again. Fun times is had by all.

so good together | 2,3k | The one wherein Chris gets shown a good time.

here after | 2,6k | Chris is sick and gets taken care of.

so hold on tight | 2,8k | Leon gets himself injured on a mission, but at least he gets a little help from his boyfriends.

put me in a daze | 1,9k | The one wherein Leon gets fucked until he barely knows his own name.

with you by my side | 1k | Leon is sick and gets taken care of.

not giving up yet | 3,9k | Chris and Piers get in trouble. Good thing they have Leon, and his absolutely official obviously approved strike team.

all the things that matter | 3,8k | Piers is sick and gets taken care of.

we'll take on the world and wait | 7,4k | Someone from Chris's past kidnaps Piers and Leon to set him a trap.

and love shall heal the scars | 8k | Even at Leon's funeral, Chris and Piers don't believe that he is really gone. They're going to get him back. No matter the cost.

a little bit of caretaking | 700w | Piers comes home absolutely exhausted. Chris and Leon make it better.

happy accidents | 1k | Piers sends Leon a suggestive picture. Except he picks the wrong number and Chris almost ends up having a heart attack. He certainly ends up getting some, eventually, so he can definitely forgive that.

last chance garage | 830w | Chris, Leon and Piers have that garage. Even if Piers seems to be the only one who ever gets any work done, goddamnit.

it's not that bad | 400w | Chris is afraid of going to the dentist.

i could take you on | 520w | Leon is super sleepy and gets taken to bed.

enjoying the show | 640w | Leon is so effortlessly badass he has half of BSAA drooling after him.

sleep seduction | 1k | Piers and Chris try to trick Leon into sleeping more. It works.

shower shenanigans | 800w | Chris, Leon and Piers enjoy a post mission shower.

Krauser/Leon

slipping on a razor's edge (I hope you'll finally find me) | 4,8k | It's 2013 and Krauser has been dead for almost a decade. Except he hasn't.

hold on to what is never changing | 3,6k | The one wherein Krauser's back. Again.

when the light of the chosen has died | 1k | Every single movement sends a flash of pain through Leon and he grimaces, bringing his hand to his side. But there's no choice but to keep moving. No choice but to try to get away.

so came our time | 1,1k | The one with final goodbyes.

can't help but follow in spite of going insane | 2,6k | Krauser takes too long to kill Leon and Saddler intervenes.

can we pretend (that we end up okay) | 5,1k | Krauser keeps on coming back. Even worse, Leon doesn't want anyone else as much as he wants Krauser.

i'll keep watch | 820w | Leon is tired and overwhelmed but no matter what he does he can't sleep. Not until Krauser helps him.

Jake/Piers

(we don't have to fight) if I can take you home tonight | 1,5k | “Fucking hell,” Piers groaned, letting his head fall backwards onto Jake’s shoulder as a full-bodied shudder shook his frame. As an answer Jake tightened his hold of Piers’ hip with one hand, sliding his other palm down to Piers’ thigh.

all the things you are | 10k | Much to his shock (and displeasure), Piers found out the man he'd been falling for was an actual goddamn mercenary.

kiss before the fall | 3,6k | After they're back from the underwater facility, Piers and Jake can no longer ignore the mounting tension between them.

Wesker/Chris

you will feel it when all your love is gone (you will love it when all your love is wrong) | 3,4k | Tonight was the night Wesker’s plans would come to fruition. It was a pity, he thought, that tonight Chris would be walking into his death. Only eight years later, they meet again.

when the Master is slave to his life | 450w | Jill might not be in control of herself but she is still aware. And watching Wesker obsess over Chris is starting to get on her nerves.

others

maybe one day | Patrick/Leon | 725w | Surprisingly, Leon asks Patrick if he'd like to have dinner with him. Patrick eagerly agrees.

just a man | Adam Benford/Leon | 2,5k | If there is one thing that Leon S. Kennedy knows it's loneliness. Sometimes he needs help to cope.

without hope, without fear | Jason/Leon | 4,7k | Leon's eyes slipped shut, and when Jason leaned down and kissed him, he didn't stop him. Then Jason was between his thighs, kissing him again, and Leon let himself imagine it was Krauser instead.

hooked on you | Claire/Leon | 1k | Leon tries to convince Claire to stay home instead of going out for dinner.

on an all time high | Leon/Queen Plaga | 5,9k | The one wherein Leon gets thoroughly monster-fucked.

lost control | Leon/lickers | 3,1k | Leon didn't even know lickers had dicks, not before he found two of them fucking. He could've lived his life without that knowledge, but seems that interrupting the two means they'll now make him their target. And not in the we're-going-to-slash-your-throat kind of way.

Joe/Nicky

someone like you | 3,1k | No powers AU. The one wherein there is only one bed. Maybe not entirely by accident.

here sometimes | 1k | The one wherein they have a sleepy three am dance.

the man and his moon | 1,2k | The one wherein Nicky takes care of Joe after a nightmare.

gone so far already | 1k | The one wherein they kiss for the first time.

the fire within | 1k | The one wherein Yusuf gets his fingers into Nicolò’s long hair.

little wonders | 900w | The team takes a small break and enjoy a day at the market place.

someone to adore | 1,6k | The one wherein Joe is a charming vet and Nicky owns multiple dogs.

patchwork quilt of a life | 27k | A scrapbook of memories through a millennium, and a family adjusting to a new normal.

who likes short shorts | 720w | Nile takes Nicky shopping and they come back with some obscenely short shorts with... questionable things printed on the backside.

[weresodiscxnnected]

Relationships: Peter Parker/ Original Female Character Warnings: Swearing Word count: 4822 Notes: Whoo! I'm back, not done with my deadlines but getting there. This one was a bit of a struggle since all the report writing I'm doing for Uni is getting the best of me, I can't even open word without feeling overwhelmed. But I made it! I know it has been a slow start but I promise there will be more action in the near future! I also now have a tag list!

Series Master List Tag list for the series

Chapter 6

Peter stares at the flash drive in his hand. Ten new pictures of Spiderman from the night prior, all of the perfect quality; he had even edited them when he had gotten home. People rushed in and out of the elevator on almost every floor. Peter had tucked himself in the elevator corner, trying to be as invisible as possible. He still feared that someone would recognise him in busy places.

When the elevator hit the top floor, people cleared out; Peter waited for everyone else to leave before walking out. Where the others turned left, Peter turned right. He followed the long corridor to the end office. Knocking the door with a shaky hand, he was unprepared for what was to come. A deep raspy voice tells him to come in, and when he opens the door, he’s met with a stale smell of cigar.

Mr Jameson turns with his chair, eyebrow tightly knit together, arms crossed on his chest.

“So, you’re back. I believe you have something for me since you’re standing there, or are you just going to waste my time?”

“Uh, yes.”

Peter walks in front of the desk, throwing the flash drive. The older man raises an eyebrow, takes the flash drive, and plugs it into his computer.

It’s impossible to read the man’s face as he studies the pictures Peter has handed him. Jameson was going through the photos with the same grumpy look he always had. As the silence got longer, Peter’s nerves got worse. He rubbed his hands together behind his back, trying his best not to rock back and forth on his heels.  Peter knew they were good, he made sure to pick the best of the best, but still, he was nervous. He wasn’t a photographer; he didn’t know what angles to use or how to use the few settings he had in his old camera. He just propped the camera up and hoped for the best.

“I’m surprised. These are decent photos, Parker.”

Peter let out a relieved sigh. Did the man just compliment him? He didn’t seem like the type to do such a thing.

“Thank you. Mr Jameson.”

“Don’t get cocky, boy; these aren’t great, but these sadly are the best we have, like I said on Monday.”

The man presses a button on the landline on his table, lifting the phone to his ear.

“Abernathy, send Betty a check and copy of our photographer contracts and tell her to get the key card ready. The kid will sign them on his way out.”

Mr Jameson puts down the phone and looks at Peter, still standing at his desk.

“What, are you still standing there? You have the job, so go to work. Betty will give you the paperwork.”

“Right, um”, Peter mumbles, taking a step back and turning on his heels before heading out of the office. That was it? It was easier than he had thought, but something inside of him made him feel like it wouldn’t be as easy from now on.

As he steps into the empty elevator, Peter's first thing is to pull his phone out of his pocket. He opens his contacts and scrolls down; he finds the number he was looking for and hits the dial. It was a whim. He knew it, but he couldn’t wait any longer; he had the job and wouldn’t return to his old one.

“Mr Lee, it’s Peter… I’m quitting. It means I’m not coming today or ever; I’m done. I don’t know. Ask Paul to cover, or Gina; I don’t care. Goodbye,” Peter hangs up the phone. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders like he was getting part of his freedom back. He shoves the device back into his pockets as the elevator doors open to the main lobby.

Behind the front desk is Betty, cursing at the printer, her hands covered in black ink stains. On the floor lays individual pieces of paper with black ink spots on them, some of them had parts of writing, but most were just black mess. Peter was now approaching the desk, stopping just a couple of feet away.

“Hi”, Peter smiles, and the girl turns her attention from the printer to Peter.

“Hi! Sorry for the mess. The printer is acting up. I’ve been asking for it to be replaced for months now, but it’s not top of the priority list, so I’m lucky if it’s even fixed this year” Betty lets out a small laugh.

“If I’m honest, that thing looks like it belongs in a museum.”

“You’re not wrong; you should see some people's computers. Most people bring their laptops to work because the computers are from the nineties.”

“You’d think that media houses like this would upgrade their appliances more often.” Peter looks around.

“Yeah, you’d think. Only the people Jameson sees as valuable get upgrades.”

When Peter is about to answer, Abernathy approaches them, placing a file on the desk in front of Peter.

“Your contract and check as Betty can’t seem to print them.” The man then turns to look at Betty, telling her to give Peter the temporary ID and key card as they can’t offer the official ones yet since they need to process Peter’s paperwork. Abernathy orders Betty to show Peter around the building before Peter can leave. He’ll be required on Friday with ten new pictures but doesn’t have to stay the whole day today. And just like that, Abernathy disappears as quickly as he had appeared.

Betty works right away, opening the top drawer on her desk and pulling out two laminated cards. The first one read ‘press’ and the second one ‘Daily Bugle’. She hands them to Peter with a pen, showing him all the places he needs to sign the contract. Peter eyes the content to make sure everything looks right before he signs the papers with a smooth swift.  Betty takes the file Peter offers her, placing one copy side for the archives and giving Peter his copy.

“Welcome to Daily Bugle” Betty smiles as she files Peter’s contract.

“Thank you”, Peter smiles back.

“I think we can start the tour from the first floor and work our way up”, The girl suggests circling to the desk to stand next to Peter.

They start at the first-floor public archives, where guests can read the newspapers and view other content for free. Betty explains to Peter that it’s one of the few places you could go without a key card. Other places were the fifteenth floor, where Jameson’s office was, and tenth-floor meeting rooms. The second floor was a social space for the employees. The third floor was where Peter was going to work, grey cubicles clustered together, all of them seemed to be occupied, but Betty assured Peter that he’d have a place to work when he got back on Friday.

The fourth and fifth floors were private archives. Two floors were filled with shelves, old film rolls, newspapers, brown boxes, and books covered in dust. No one went there, especially now when everything was on computers. The sixth floor was for administration, the seventh was the studio for newscasting and live streaming, and reporters and editors of different fields from the eighth to fourteen. And the fifteenth was Jameson’s office and other head editors.

They had stopped at one of the tenth floor’s meeting rooms. Peter stared outside from the glass window that covered the wall from floor to ceiling. It looked straight towards the Stark Tower. The bugle’s office wasn’t nearly as tall as the Stark tower or other tall buildings in New York, but it was taller than the buildings surrounding it.

“It’s a nice view,” Betty says as she walks next to Peter. Outside, the sun appeared between two clouds in the otherwise grey sky. Leaves would swirl in the air as the wind blew them off the ground; it was clear that the winter was getting closer.

“It is”, Peter agrees. Betty turns to face Peter with a puzzling look on her face.

“I don’t mean to sound a creep, but you look very familiar. Have we met before Monday?”

The boy freezes; what he was supposed to say?

We went to high school together, and you’re engaged to my former best friend. You don’t remember me because a sorcerer cast a spell that made everyone forget me a year ago. After all, you see, I’m Spiderman.

There was a time when Peter had practised his little speech for Ned and MJ, telling everything they’ve been through in hopes they’d believe him or remember. But now, he had nothing.

For a couple of months, after he chickened out of telling his best friends the truth about him in the coffee shop, he hoped he’d bump into his friends, that he could have a second chance to tell them, but slowly it turned into avoiding the places he could meet them.

He was scared that they’d think he was just some crazy person, a stalker; he was afraid that if they knew about him, they’d get hurt again or get in trouble; he was worried that if he told his secret, it would be revealed to the world again and he’d never get his life back.

The truth was that even after the spell wiped Peter Parker out of existence, he didn’t have his life back; he just got his secret back. He knew that his life would never be the same, but he didn’t realise its extent. And when Betty told him he looked familiar, it sparked hope and fear inside him. A hope that there could be a part of them hidden inside their mind that remembers him and fear that if that was the case, it was only a matter of time before someone remembered him being Spiderman.

He didn’t have anything to lose if he told a little truth when he thought about it. To test the water.

“Honestly, I was thinking the same about you. Did you happen to go to Midtown High?” Peter finally says. The girl’s puzzled look turned into a big smile, and she nodded.

“Yes! I did the morning news and school newspaper. I’ve been thinking my head off where I knew you. Your face is so familiar.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t particularly popular. Usually I just stayed in the background, hanging by myself.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the truth either.

“It’s weird that I remember you so vividly. Like are you sure you weren’t into any after school activities?”

Peter swallowed hard, scratching his neck. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut. Heat rushed on his face, regretting he had said anything about high school.

“No, I wasn’t in any after school activities,” he shakes his head. Of course, that was a lie. He had been in marching band and mathletes, but telling the truth felt like it would complicate things. Like she’d be one step closer to figuring out who he really was.

The girl shrugs and tells him that she was sure he’d been in mathletes at some point, and that’s where she knew him, but maybe she had just seen him frequently in the hallways. Betty couldn’t be more right, which frightened Peter even more. He agrees with the girl that they probably just saw each other in the hallways. To make small talk on their way back downstairs, Betty tells Peter how she met her fiancé, Ned, in Midtown High, and he was part of mathletes. She didn’t know that Peter was there; he knew everything. So, he played along, needing to remind himself that he was a stranger occasionally. He couldn’t just start filling the gaps in Betty’s stories.

When they get back into the lobby, Betty heads back to work straight away, finding ten new messages and multiple unanswered emails. Peter decides not to bother the girl anymore since showing him the building had already taken away from her work time. He simply waves her goodbye before heading out.

Walking into the crisp air, making him zip his coat as the wind blows. His feet carry him towards the nearest subway; at least this time, it wasn’t raining. He pulls out his phone, revealing spam messages from his old boss telling him he can’t just call him and quit without two weeks’ notice. He deletes them. No matter how much his old boss threatens him, he’s not going back. One message stands out to him, and he opens it.

Melissa: how's it going?

A couple of hours earlier, Peter had been a nervous wreck back home. He was pacing around the kitchen-living-room-combo, unsure what he was doing. He knew he wanted the job at the Bugle, and he hated his old one, but still, he was thinking if he was doing the right thing. Maybe it would've been easier just to stay in the convenience store, live unnoticed, far from the media circus he would join. Melissa had walked in the middle of his existential crisis. He had had them more than he wanted to admit for the past year. He was careful with everything he was doing, not stepping over lines or giving out too much. Yet he was thinking about getting a job where he’d send pictures of himself as Spiderman to the one media house eager to reveal his identity.

Of course, he couldn’t tell Melissa why he was so nervous, so he had just said to her he was anxious if they liked his pictures and would he get the job. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. She had then stopped Peter by his hand and looked him straight into his eyes, telling him that everything would be great, he had no reason to worry, and she was sure they’d like his pictures and get the job. An odd wave of warmness and relief had spread across Peter’s body like he hadn’t been nervous at all in the first place. He felt confident like he could do anything.

However, Peter’s newfound confidence had slowly faded on his way to the offices. The second his ways parted with Melissa, who had taken the train with him, he had felt like his nerves were going to give out at any minute.

Peter: I got the job!

He glances at the Stark tower where Melissa currently sat cross-legged on an office chair in the Laboratory 12 D, eating her early lunch while watching her best friends work on her suit. Her attention shifted from the boys to her phone, and a small smile crept onto her face.

Melissa: congrats! I believe this calls for a celebratory cake x)

Peter: Cake?

Melissa: it’s a tradition, good news = cake

Peter: It’s Ok, I don’t need cake. It’s not a big deal.

Melissa: don’t fight it, i’m bringing one when i get back home

Melissa places the phone on the table, returning to her meal. She makes a mental note to get the cake after Morgan’s dance practice. Or, if she was quick, she could get one when she goes to get Morgan from school. There were a few bakeries along the way. Maybe she could ask Aida to end the interviews early or let her skip the last interview. Reminding herself that she was supposed to meet Happy in 15 minutes, he had called her into an urgent meeting when she left for lunch, but she insisted on eating first. She just wanted to drop her suit for an upgrade and hang out with Harley and Harry.

She was tired of the same conversations, same topics, and different departments. If they wanted to know if there was something sketchy going around, they’d put her into the cafeteria or the break rooms, where the employees talked. Almost everyone knew her, and they knew she worked closely with Aida and Pepper. Some of them knew she was Morgan’s nanny; some were told she was Aida’s assistant. And if she went there, she was with Harley and Harry. Her hanging around there alone would raise questions.

Melissa looks at the boys, connecting wires to her suit on the table. They were scared to touch Lily’s work, afraid they’d mess something up. But Melissa had insisted they’d give her an upgrade. Turn the suit more Black Widow and less Taylor Swift like she had put it.

“How long do you think it’ll take?” Melissa asks, getting up and placing her salad on the desk next to her phone.

“If we throw it in the nanite chamber and work a bit overtime today. It’ll be done tomorrow or Friday Morning,” Harley answers, pushing his glasses on top of his head. Melissa walks next to Harley, crossing her arms, studying the suit on the table.

She suggested they add longer sleeves and legs and prepare the suit to be ready to imbed AI. It was something she had been working on in her free time. It was working but not at the level that Melissa was happy with. Something simple to check her vitals and give directions, like Siri, but in her suit, she wasn’t even trying to make something like Friday.

“No, I can’t work overtime, I have stuff to do, and places to be” Harry shakes his head.

“By stuff, you mean a girl?” Harley smirks.

“Or a boy”, Melissa chimes in.

“There’s no girl or a boy”, Harry scoffs. Melissa squints her eyes and laughs. She knew the truth.

“Liar.”

“Get out of my head Melissa!” Harry groans, pushing himself off the table and walking to the computer.

“You know I can’t control it if you lie,” The girl sighs.

She didn’t know why her mind worked the way it did. She had control over everything else, but she’d pick it up immediately if people lied. She could see it in their minds and actions; she’d pick up the nervousness everyone had when lying, no matter how experienced liars they were. It was a blessing and a curse. People had to walk on eggshells around her, thinking their every word twice not to set her off. People were entitled to have secrets, and she made having them hard. For strangers, she didn’t say anything; she just smiled and dropped it. But when it came to her friends, it didn’t work; they knew she knew and usually started to explain themselves, which led to overhearing as she didn’t know what they exactly tried to hide by lying. In some cases, when she knew, like now, she’d call her friends out.

“Who is she? Gwen from the front desk?” Harley wiggles his eyebrows, and Harry rolls his eyes.

“I’m not going to tell, it’s new, and I don’t want to ruin it, okay”.

“What do you mean to ruin it?” Melissa asks.

“Last time I had a date with someone, you two had dug up every piece of her information before I could even get into the restaurant!”

“I don’t see how that’s ruining it”, Harley defends.

“I asked her about her dog before she could tell me that she even has a dog! I looked like a stalker.”

Harley informs Harry that they did it to ensure she wasn’t some psycho killer and thought about his best. Melissa admits that they had gone a bit too far and it wouldn’t happen again, and Harley keeps going, asking the girl's name. Harry rolls his eyes, going back to the computer and starting to insert the code that prepares the nanite chamber in the room.  Harley could be the most annoying thing if he just wanted to. And now he was set to know more about his best friend’s mystery girl. Harley asked questions like if they knew her, where they met, and what she was like; this went on for a while before Harry had enough.

“Okay, you know what! I’ll tell you, but you need to promise you won’t look her up!”

Melissa and Harley exchange looks before nodding in agreement; they wouldn’t try to look the girl up.

“I met her in the tower lobby a couple of weeks back, and I asked her if she needed help because she looked lost. She told me she was just waiting for Ned as they were supposed to grab coffee together after Ned’s work. When Ned came, he asked me to join them, and I did. We hit off quite well and exchanged numbers, we’ve been texting ever since, and today we’re going to the movies.”

Harry wasn’t much of a dater; he’d had occasional one-night stands but rarely went on any dates, so going on a date was a big deal. Especially as he seemed nervous and excited at the same time. Melissa was glad to see he was getting out there and trying after what had happened to him, his parents, and his ex in the past. He feared getting attached, but he seemed ready to try to get past his issues this time.

“I’m happy that you’re putting yourself out there” she smiled and patted her friend on the back.

***

“You’re late,” Happy says as Melissa appears in his room, fixing her dress as she had been running the whole way from the 12th floor to the 20th. The lifts had been packed, so she had decided to take the stairs, which she now regretted as she was out of breath and red like a fire truck. She hoped she’d have high endurance, but she wasn’t a super soldier or enhanced; she was just a dancer and gymnastic. And eight floors of stairs in a skyscraper was too much even for her.

“Sorry, I dropped my suit at the labs and had my lunch there. I kind of forgot to watch the time”, Melissa explained and dropped into a chair in front of Happy’s desk. She hoped that sitting down would calm her breath.

“Speaking about your suit, that’s why you’re here.” Happy says, throwing a newspaper in front of her. Melissa takes the paper and raises her eyebrows.

“Third page”, Happy points out, and Melissa opens the page. A picture took over the whole spread, it was dark, but you could see one tall red figure and one much shorter black one with gold on its chest and arms.

“You were seen,” Happy crosses his arms on his chest and leans back in his chair.

Melissa eyes the pages, taking in every detail in the picture and text. Yes, they were seen, but they weren’t caught. You couldn’t even see her face from the angle the photo was taken, not to mention the poor quality ruined every possibility to recognise her. It was taken a couple of days back from the warehouse they visited with wade. They didn’t find Viktor, but they found stolen tech and the van used in the robberies, so they hinted it to the police. Police then set out a wanted poster for Viktor and confiscated the whole building.

“You can’t even tell it’s me,” she throws the paper back to Happy’s desk.

“One wrong move, and they’ll know. We can’t risk it.”

Happy kept reminding Melissa that she needed to be careful when she went out. The times he had told her that Tony wasn’t there anymore to save her with his witty speeches if something went south. One wrong move and her past would be public, her identity would be gone, and everyone would know who she was. Happy was also scared that if wrong people made the connection between her and the company, it would put the company on the line. Or, even worse, it would put her friends and family on the line. She knew where the conversation was going next.

“I’m not wearing a full mask. I hate those things; I’d like to see,” Melissa sighs.

“I’m not asking you to wear a full mask; just wear something to tip off your identity,”

“Should I go Winter Soldier style? Do you think Bucky would tell me the best black eyeshadow if I asked? Or should I put on a wig? I have one from my Halloween costume, I think I can rock being a redhead,” Melissa jokes, and Happy shakes his head. He was smiling, so Melissa knew he wasn’t mad at her.

“I don’t care; figure something out. You can go now, Aida is waiting” He waves toward the door, and Melissa gets up from the chair, waving goodbye before closing the door behind her.

***

Peter was halfway through Revenge of the Sith when the front door went. He saw a sneaker fly across the hallway, followed by cursing and rumbling, and shortly after, the other one flew too. Melissa appeared in the room, holding a white box, her hair pointing everywhere, a gym back hanging from her shoulder. She had changed from the ridiculously expensive designer dress she had worn to work into a pair of training tights and a hoodie.

Melissa had told Peter that she uses the time Morgan spends in her dance class to train. She had then explained to him that she had been dancing since she was three, and even though the last time she had taken a professional class was when she was ten, she had kept training herself all these years.

“I bought cake!” She announces, holding the box up and heading to the kitchen.

“Seriously, you didn’t need to.”

“No, I did! You got a job!” The girl starts getting plates out of the cabinet, and Peter moves to sit from the sofa to the barstool. He unties the twine around the box and carefully lifts the lid off.

“Happy 85th Birthday Maude?” Peter looks at Melissa, who sets two plates on the table.

“It was the only one left at the store; I’m sorry I didn’t have time during the day. But it was seventy percent off.” She hands Peter a knife before grabbing two forks from the dishwasher.

“Do I even want to know why?” Peter lifts an eyebrow and cuts into the light-yellow cake, revealing a darker, chocolate looking inside.

“Well, I think you already know why.”

“No.”

“Sadly, yes”, Melissa nods, handing her plate to Peter, who slabs a piece of the crumbling cake on top of it.

Peter takes a small piece of the cake to his fork, smelling it, before putting the work into his mouth. It smelled like alcohol, it tasted like it too, and then something sweet hit his taste buds, finishing off with something weirdly tropical. It was an odd flavour combination, something he had never tasted before, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it.

“What did you say the flavour was,” he asked Melissa, who had the same confused expression with slight disgust on her face. She mumbles something, the piece still inside her mouth, not sure if she should spit or swallow the piece.

“What?” Peter coughs. Struggling, the girl finally swallows and lets out a deep breath.

“I didn’t, but it’s rum raisin and pineapple.”

“That is…”

“The second reason was seventy percent off,” Melissa laughs.

“I was going to say tropical, but that is understandable,” Peter smiles.

After a while, the cake lays on the kitchen island abandoned, while Melissa and Peter move to the sofa and continue the movie Peter had started. Peter had made popcorn to get rid of the taste of the cake.  While making the popcorn, they argued whether they should restart the movie or not. Peter wanted to restart so Melissa could catch up, but she said it would be okay to continue from the spot Peter had left. She had seen it multiple times, so she knew what was happening without the recap. Towards the end of the movie, it was more of them acting out the film as it played in the background than watching it.

“It’s over, Anakin! I have the high ground!” Peter yells, throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

Melissa dramatically looks at Peter, making her best Anakin Skywalker impression.

“You underestimate my power!”

“Don’t try it”, Peter answers, and they both burst into laughter.

For the first time in a year, Peter felt normal; it was almost like when he used to watch Star Wars with Ned and act out the scenes. Melissa had gotten him a cake because he got a new job, it was inedible, but he appreciated the thought. It reminded him of when he found out he was going to MIT and May had decided to bake him a cake to celebrate it; that cake, too, had turned out to be inedible. He thought about his morning crisis and Melissa’s oddly calming pep talk to him. It felt like MJ’s little pep talks when he was getting too much into his head. And for the first time in a year, it felt like he had a friend.

[obae-me]

Hi! It said requests were open so here is one. So pretty much how the brothers would react to an MC who says "I love you" after they had helped them with something. Thats something I do regularly, like someone helps them and they respond with "Oh my gosh I love you, thank you so much!" Cause. Affection. Idk, i just found the idea to be cute.

This is such a cute idea! I hope I pulled it off okay, for some reason Belphie’s is a bit angsty because I like pain I guess, but most of it is fluff! Thank you for your suggestion! 💜

Lucifer

He openly admitted it caught him off guard at first. What he will never admit is how harshly the air escaped from his lungs. Or how quickly his mind went blank at the words. 

He had simply brought MC some tea, noticing how hard they had been studying. Working day and night to try to catch up and understand topics demons themselves had spent decades learning. He was proud of them for working so hard. He settled the tea down by them, watching them beam with appreciation. 

“Is that for me?” 

Their question elicited an amused hum from him. “Is there anyone else in here?” 

They wrapped their fingers around it excitedly, entirely grateful. “Ugh, thank you, I love you, I needed this.” 

He had been lucky he settled the teacup down before they spoke. Had it remained in his hands, he most assuredly would’ve dropped it, or spilt the contents at the very least. He was not prepared at all. They hadn’t been down here nearly long enough to fall in love with him, right? Was he that alluring? He must’ve done something wrong, he was sure he had been focused solely on being intimidating. He didn’t remember doing anything in particular to elicit such a response. He was flattered, but...maybe--surely-- he had heard incorrectly. 

“You…” He blinked a few times as he shoved his emotions into the back of his mind, the silent screaming in his head muffled by his usual calm exterior. “..love me?”

MC covered their mouth with their hands, recognizing his confusion no matter how hard he tried to hide it. “No, no!” 

Well now he was a bit irritated, and secretly disappointed even. Were they playing a joke on him? 

They stammered and turned more in their seat to look at him. “What I mean is, I just kinda use the term ‘I love you’ as a general term, not an…” They blushed, “..intimate one. I say it all the time to people, I’m really sorry for confusing you. I’ll try not to say it as casually.” 

It was a bit unusual to hear something like that thrown around so often, it reminded him of his days in the Celestial Realm, love thrown around at the drop of a hat. The Devildom was a lot less...affectionate. He shook his head, any sign of his surprise now completely gone from view. “Don’t change a harmless habit like that for me, I just wasn’t expecting it. I’ll know now for the future.” 

It takes him quite a while to get used to it, taking every ounce of concentration not to blush whenever MC says that they love him. Once he does get used to it, he’s fond of it and may or may not continually go out of his way to perform some simple gesture to encourage them to say it to him more often. It takes even longer after that for him to finally respond with “I love you too” making them stop dead in their tracks, heart fluttering, mouth ajar, much like he did that first day when he brought them a simple cup of tea. He relished the look on their face.

How such a human stirred up these feelings within him is beyond his understanding. 

Mammon 

He was an open mess when MC first expressed it to him. He’d done what? Just find a pretty rock on the ground? It was shiny and smooth, surely worth a fortune, but when he went to see how much it was worth, it was declared utterly worthless. So he gave it to MC--but only because it was useless okay?! It’s not like he likes MC or anything, that’s not what this is about. Obviously.

He handed it over, acting casual, like it was nothing. Their eyes lit up at it, watching it glint mesmerizing colors in the moonlight, reacting like it might as well have been a diamond. “Whaaat, it’s so cool, I love you, thank you!” 

“Don’t say I never do anything for-” It had taken a few seconds to process, but once he realized the words that had come out of their mouth, he went frozen. Rigid. His other brothers might’ve called it a miracle. His jaw was open, his glasses had somehow slipped to the end of his nose, threatening to fall off. He didn’t even blink.

“I’m sorry, I guess demons aren’t quite used to that huh? I use it as a friendly term, I used to say it to my friends all the time back home.” 

He was still as stone for a good long time, gradually building up the concern in MC’s chest the more he was reactionless. Had they broken him? Once he finally gathered his one erratic brain cell in order, it was like someone hit a sudden unpause. He quickly puffed out his chest with both his hands on his hips. The explanation they gave him went in through one ear and out the other, as he was still focused on the ‘I love you’. 

“Don’t freak me out like that, human, but of- of course if you were to love someone, it’d be me, eh? I don’t blame you, it would be hard to resist the Great Mammon.” 

He’ll get a big head about it, strutting around, bragging to anyone who would listen--not that he gave them a say on the matter--that MC expressed they loved him. Doesn’t matter if there were romantic intentions or not, MC loved him, and he wouldn’t let it go. He’ll ignore the fact that MC will say that to most anyone.

“Yeah, well, when they say that about me, it’s different!” Or he’ll put on an act. “Yeah? Not like I care about some dumb human!” 

The more he takes time to know MC, the more possessive he acts, and he gets a little bent out of shape anytime MC says ‘I love you’ so casually to anyone other than him. Mostly because he’s greedy for it, he wants those words to be his and his alone. He wants MC to be his...and his alone. 

“Oi, MC, you can’t just go saying that to anyone...It’s our thing...you know?” He’ll get endlessly teased about it by everyone in the household, but no matter how much he gets pestered about it, he still wants to hear MC say it.

Only if things get romantic between them, will he be vulnerable with MC. Whenever they’re alone, he’ll get in close, melting against MC’s touch. With MC he can feel these strange and addicting feelings. With his hidden insecurities coming to light, he’ll ask MC the same question every night. “You love me, right? Like...love love me?...I...love love you too.”

Levi 

MC had been convinced they gave the poor boy an actual heart attack. Although, to be perfectly fair, almost anything MC does puts Levi in a tizzy. It’s not their fault, he’s just sensitive. 

They had been playing games together, nothing too unusual. Together, MC and Levi, the Best Friend Duo, battled an intense match against other real players. It had been close, but with both of their talents combined (admittedly Levi doing a lot of impressive carrying) they managed to strike victorious. 

MC felt a rush, their head tingling a bit. They had been on the edge of their seat the whole time, positively exhilarated when they won. “Whoo! That was all thanks to you, Levi! I love you!” 

First, MC heard the controller clatter out of his hands. They turned to look at him, his face went completely red, his eyes flicking back and forth out of control, not focusing on anything in particular. He had a hand clutching over his chest. Then to add on top of that, he completely collapsed. 

“Levi!” MC’s shout was loud enough to bring some of his other brothers to check the commotion. After a short examination, they declared that Levi was fine, just dazed and lightheaded, although the color in his face refused to go away for quite some time. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I meant it in a friendly way.” 

He’ll end up locking himself in his room for days on end after the event, trying to wrap his head around how ‘I love you’ and ‘friendly’ could ever be even remotely the same. That’s not how it’s supposed to go! It’s supposed to be like...like in fiction where both of the love interests are alone, finally having the chance to meet up under a pretty sky, possibly under strenuous circumstances beyond their control, inevitably forcing them to admit their feelings! 

He’ll get over it, he always does, but when he comes back he finds out MC now deliberately avoids saying ‘I love you’ to him. They meant it for his own safety, truly, but his Envy is now rubbing away at his normal shy personality. 

It'll get to the point where he can’t hold back anymore. “How come you tell everyone else you love them but me!” 

“Because last time...you collapsed, and then went MIA for almost a week! I didn’t want to hurt you anymore. Is this not what you wanted?”

He ends up using his arm to cover his burning face. “I...I...I...I…” After several more consecutive ‘I’s, Levi finally tells MC that he didn’t want to be treated differently, he wanted MC to tell him that they loved him too. “Because I...lo..lo...lov...I appreciate you, MC!” 

MC will chuckle a little, giving him one of his favorite headpats. “I love you too, Levi.” He doesn’t collapse this time, but feels his knees get a little weak. He refuses to remove his arm from his face because now there are fresh tears flooding from his eyes that he doesn’t want MC to see. He loves them too, so much his physical body can’t handle it. Even if he doesn’t have the courage yet to say it, he’ll tell them one day. 

Satan 

He’s quite angry with himself for how he reacted, which isn’t a huge surprise. He does wish he would’ve handled it better, but he had no idea those three words would be sprung on him so suddenly. 

He’s usually quite down to earth, but not even the many romance novels he’s read--and if you tell anyone that he reads gushy romance novels, he will kill you--had prepared him for this. Where was the buildup, the slow rising passion before the eventual confession? Despite occasional temper tantrums and pranking tendencies, he’s truly an old soul. He’s a ‘my dearest, shall we take a stroll, and perhaps, should our shoulders brush, would you permit me a show of boldness, of passion, I dream for the day our fingers intertwine’ kinda guy. So MC’s ‘I love you’ was many chapters early for him. 

He’d crossed paths with MC near the front door to the House of Lamentation. MC had just gotten back from RAD, being kept by Diavolo himself. Every one and a while, after classes, Diavolo personally checks up on them to discuss the program. Meanwhile, the demon of wrath was just on his way out, a full stack of books in his arms. 

“Hey, Satan, where’re you off to?” MC attempted to catch his gaze behind the many tomes stacked against his chest. 

“Ah, off to return these books back to the Library.” Some hair fell before his face, but with the absence of free hands, he utilized a puff of air from his mouth to blow the strands away. 

“I see, be safe then, love you!” 

The words caught him off guard, and with his focus distracted, his foot caught against an unfortunate crack in the pathway. He tumbled, the books in his arms scattering themselves all over the front yard. MC turned and attempted to help, but with Satan’s panicked scramble, he ended up smacking his head against MC’s. 

“My-uh-apologies-I-” He stuttered while he frantically tried picking up the books, only to have some continue to slip from his arms. 

“Here, use my bag,” MC opened the backpack that had been around their shoulders. It was already full of some textbooks and assignments, but it was enough to lessen some of the struggle. He gave them a small thank you as he slung the bag over his shoulder, the remaining stragglers tucked under his arm. He waited till MC went back into the house, and then he angrily tore the front gate off its hinges. He looked like such an idiot just now. 

He knows MC means not much of it other than general affection, once he thinks about it. Alongside Lucifer, anytime MC now says it, he’ll act unaffected by it. The truth is, the never ending rage burning beside him magically subsides anytime those words fall from their lips. 

If he works softly and intelligently enough, perhaps he’ll have forged a tight enough bond where MC can say it for real, and the fire in his soul can find some peace. 

Asmo

Honestly, despite his over dramatizations and flamboyant nature, he’s the least affected out of all the brothers. Trust him, he’s had plenty of demons try to crawl their way back to him after a night of fun, insisting that they’re in love with him. So, he’s heard it a lot, and it’s not his favorite. That being said, he discovered that MC is probably the only one he’ll tolerate the dreaded L word with. 

He’d sat there, working on MC’s nails, giving them one of his—as he calls it—Asmo-tastic manicures. MC appreciates the pampering, even if Asmo uses it mostly as an excuse to hold hands and get close to the human. 

When Asmo was complete, MC looked down at their newly soft hands with beautifully decorated nails, feeling a bit closer to the demons now that they had matching manicures. “It’s beautiful, Asmo, I love you, thanks!”

His chest did flutter a bit, and he let out a stream of giddy giggles as he pressed MC into him for a hug. “MC, you’re so cute, I can’t take it!” 

He had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t use the words ‘I love you’ ever, no matter what, but if MC was using it so casually, why can’t he, it didn’t mean much of anything right? He quickly turns a 180 on the idea, and says it as often to MC as he can. 

“Bye, MC, love you, dear! You’re wearing the outfit I gave you? I love you!” But his new form of affection is now not just centered towards the human, it’s now directed towards his brothers as well. No one is safe. “You’re giving me this, Lucifer? I love you! Beel, a snack for me? I love you!” 

He’s such a hype man, and the affection spreading throughout the House of Lamentation by his and MC’s hand is infectious. Even if they don’t mean to, simply Asmo’s added influence has the brothers saying ‘I love you’ to each other more often, which has led to plenty of entertaining moments. Mammon said it once to Lucifer on accident, which admittedly filled the eldest with a bit of pride, especially at seeing Mammon’s mortified face. Beel and Belphie have no problem saying it between themselves, although it leaves them softer than they had been in a while. But perhaps the most shocking of them all was when Lucifer sleepily mumbled it to Satan, who then parroted it back to him without thinking. Both were a bit flustered, but Satan was so angry about it he wanted to tear both Lucifer’s and his own tongue out. The two refuse to talk about it, but they were both a little softer to each other that week. 

But why are we talking about the others? This should be all about Asmo! You know how when someone continually says something out of irony after a while they end up speaking it unironically? That’s what was happening to Asmo, much to his confusion and unfortunately his fear. He had never...loved someone before, not in a romantic way, it was too much commitment, it was too much...emotion. But the more he continued telling MC he loved them...the more he started to believe it. The more he noticed the little things about them that he couldn’t get enough of. So one day, he stopped saying ‘I love you’ altogether.

MC met with him in private, concerned over his new out of character action. “Asmo? What’s wrong, I noticed you’ve been...distant, which isn’t like you.” 

Of course they would notice, they always did. “Oh...MC...I…” For once, he was actually shy, covering up his own beautiful face to hide, an incomprehensible action. He could barely speak, he was so...scared? “MC I think...I...I think I love you.”

Beel 

He was second place in the ‘staying calm’ category when MC said it. He’s a family man, loving those around him is in his nature. So hearing MC say those words, he merely took it as a family thing, and he was all too happy to bring MC into the family. 

He noticed MC had been looking just a bit run down, and so, he shared a single snack with them. They practically glowed, looking up at him with a heart-melting smile. “Thanks Beel, I love you, thank you!” 

Suddenly the food he was eating tasted ten times better, and he had been fully convinced for a while that it was some magic spell MC put on him. He almost ends up crying. Honestly, it’s been such a long time since he’s heard words like those. He didn’t realize how starved he was for affection. He pulls them into a tight hug that lasts for several minutes. He let them go eventually, but only because he needed hands to eat. He continued to scarf down the mouth-watering food, although the ache in his stomach wasn’t as pronounced as it had been. 

He ends up giving MC a little snack anytime they say ‘I love you’, because he finds them adorable, and his way of reciprocating affection is with food. He loves MC immensely, so it’s only natural he shares his favorite things with them. Only, he was unaware that he was more or less training MC and himself by doing this. In fact, it was unbeknownst to everyone save Satan, who is very aware of what Pavlov’s Theory is. Satan doesn’t say anything though, he wants to see how this plays out. 

The more MC says ‘I love you’ the more they get rewarded by Beel, and the demon has now conditioned himself by associating food with MC’s tenderness and endearment. MC steadily increases the time they spend with the demon of gluttony, almost stuck to his side as often as Belphie. MC finds they can’t help but smother him with love and affection, which Beel can’t get enough of since gluttony is his sin. And Beel discovered that he always has some sort of treat on hand that he refuses to touch because it’s MC’s. 

The day MC finally caught on was the day Satan finally intervened. He himself spent some private time with MC, and, much like Beel had for a while now, he gave MC an unsolicited treat. 

They hardly looked at him as they instinctively stated, “I love you!” Then ended up pausing for a long time. Satan teased them mercilessly before he explained, and MC felt their entire body grow hot with embarrassment. However, they took this opportunity to do something for Beel in return. They prepared a big meal for him, texting him to bring him down into the dining room, just for the two of them. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the banquet, but for once, his first instinct wasn’t to eat. He wrapped MC tightly in his arms, tears almost streaming down his face. MC’s presence seemed to satiate him almost as well as a twelve course meal. 

“I love you, MC! I love you so much!” 

Belphie

As shocking as it is, Belphie reacted the most severely. Which if you actually take the time to think about it, probably isn’t that surprising at the end of the day. It was the last thing he expected to hear, especially after everything that happened. 

All he had done was run into MC in the hall. Lucifer had called Light’s Out and anyone who didn’t want to be punished would be heading straight to bed. Since he sleeps all day, he was fairly awake at this hour, not to mention recently he had felt annoyingly restless. Finally free to roam the house like he wished left him wandering and wanting. There was still something he needed, but he wasn’t sure what. MC stepped past him to get to their room, already looking exhausted, a large yawn escaping their lungs. 

“Heading to bed?” They asked him, and he still found it difficult to bring his eyes up to theirs. 

“Maybe soon.” He acted nonchalant. 

MC rubbed their eyes, gently touching his shoulder as they passed. “Okay, love ya, get some good rest.” 

He was grateful MC had immediately walked into their room, because he wasn’t prepared for how extreme his body would react. He found the energy upholding his legs went missing, and he had to lean against the closest wall to keep from crumpling to the ground. He continued to try to trick himself into believing he didn’t care. They were a human, he didn’t care, why would he care? Why should he feel guilty for everything he’d done? He was a demon, a monster, he’d embraced that when he fell, or he thought he did. But...being around MC...it made him feel like he was back in the Celestial Realm, filled with hope, with love, something he was sure he’d never truly feel again. 

He recalled before the inevitable fall what his dear sister had told him before his life had been shattered before his eyes. “Remember Belphie, I love you.” 

He couldn’t hold himself up any longer, clutching his pillow to his chest as the hole in his heart he had filled with sleep and anger crumbled away. He pressed his face deep into the fluff of the cushion as he sobbed. His heart felt like it was stinging like wounds often do when they’re cleaned and healing. It hurt. It threatened to break him. He had tried avoiding feelings. How could MC be so nice to him after everything? What had he done to deserve it? 

Beel, influenced by the magical connected emotions to his twin, left everything he had been eating behind to come get him immediately. The intense pounding in his chest worried him to no end, he needed to find Belphie now. He found the demon of sloth curled up on the floor of the hallway, convulsing and shaking from violently crying. Beel hated seeing his beloved brother like this, but on the inside he was secretly thankful. He knew Belphie couldn’t keep acting like nothing mattered, it wasn’t healthy. He was finally coming to terms with everything, opening the door to finally, after all this time, being able to move on. 

The next time the human sees the youngest brother, they see that he’s a little more aware, maybe not quite awake, but mindful of the people around him. For once, he talks about what he’s going to do in the future, looking forward instead of repeating broken events of the past. He finds that being around MC, if they’ll let him, helps the feeling in his ribs hurt a bit less, that the personality he thought had been locked up was starting to escape. Life itself matters a bit more than it used to. He has to be ready though, because he can’t afford to cry in front of his brothers the next time MC tells him ‘I love you’. Even if they think nothing by it, it means more than the world to him. But as always, he’ll act apathetic about it. 

He’s working on it though, and all because MC showed him a bit of kindness despite his unforgivable actions. All he needed was a bit of love.

[drakenology]

Operation Deku Day- Izuku Midoriya

author’s note: hiiii! so today’s inspiration is drunk sex. anyone who’s ever had drunk sex before knows that shit hit different. Something about it is soo nasty and hot ugh I’m a sucker. I firmly believe that izuku is an insatiable sex god don’t let that innocent sweetness fool you so he was the perfect candidate for my idea. please enjoy! all characters are aged up 18 +

warnings: cussing, smut!, alcohol use, breeding kink? and sex under the influence. also light degradation

summary: For Izuku’s 21st birthday you and the girls decide to throw him a surprise birthday party. As the night progressed, you and Izuku got real drunk and couldn’t keep your hands off each other... in more ways than one. 

word count: 2.4k

You spent all week preparing for this surprise party for Izuku. It was his birthday and you really wanted him to feel special and appreciated for being a great friend and loving boyfriend. You were pretty good at pretending that all the things you snuck home were just “things for the apartment” instead of decorations and all his favorite foods for the party. Bakugo being Izuku’s childhood friend couldn’t pass up on helping you and everyone from your graduating class of 1-A prep for the party, keeping everything hidden from Izuku. 

“MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS DEKU!” He’d yell at him if the green haired pro hero asked one too many questions. Today was finally the day to set up the party. You just had to keep everything hidden for a little while longer. You woke Izuku up with kisses and a plate of his favorite breakfast. He’d always loved pancakes but for whatever reason, he loved your waffles. Izuku could eat them for dinner if you’d let him. He smiled and ate his food, gushing about how he’s finally 21. 

“I can drink with you now, Y/N.” He said with a mouthful of waffles. You grinned and kissed him on the cheek as he ate. “So, what are we doing today?” He asked. Even though today was his birthday, the hero still had to work. 

“Oh.. uhm.. well.” You struggle to tell Midoriya that you had “nothing planned” knowing that he’d be hurt by that. 

“Maybe we could just go out to the bar and have a few drinks?” You lie, wincing at the upcoming disappointment in his voice. He nodded with a weak smile, trying not to seem too disappointed at the lazy plans. But he was grateful anyways and kind of excited to see the bar scene. After eating his birthday breakfast, he stood up from the bed and got ready for the day. While he was in the bathroom you text the mass group chat with the entire class in it named “Operation Deku Day!” Mina had already been messaging you all throughout the morning reminding everyone that the party starts at 9 pm; right when Izuku is expected to be home. 

“So what kind of cake does he like? I’m at the bakery right now.” Todoroki texts followed by an image of the options of cake the menu had. 

“Get him chocolate.” You text, giggling at the plan all coming together nicely. You wait for a response while looking at all the gifs and memes everyone’s sending sharing the same excitement for the party.

“Cool. I’ll have them decorate it and drop it off at your place, Y/N. Just let me know when Midoriya leaves.” Shoto texts back, you responding with an Ok and answering any questions about the party from the others. 

“Your phone’s going off a lot today, Y/N. Who are you talking to?” Izuku asks, his hips adorning a towel as he just got out of the shower. You look his wet body up and down, almost forgetting to respond to the question before he gets too curious.

“OH! Uh, It’s just the girls. Yaoyorozu wished you a happy birthday.” You laugh nervously, clearly awful at keeping secrets. Izuku just smiles and tells you to tell her he said thank you and got dressed in his hero costume. 

“Well, I’m off. I love you Y/N. I’ll see you later tonight.” Izuku says giving you a small peck on the lips as he leaves your shared apartment. You wave goodbye as he shuts the door and jumped up from your bed, texting the group chat

 “THE EAGLE HAS LEFT THE NEST. OPERATION DEKU DAY IS AGO.” 

Momo, Mina and Uraraka spend all day decorating the house and setting the ambiance for the party. Todoroki brought the cake and put it in the fridge and starting making a small ice sculpture in the shape of All Might for the spiked punch he made (He was known for making a good cocktail). Kyoka made a playlist for the party, she was the DJ afterall. She tweaked the stereo so the sound system would be JUMPIN and laughed maniacally as she knew she was gonna rock the fucking house down. Katsuki insisted on cooking since “You can’t cook half as good as he can.” Or at least that’s what Katsuki said. He handed a hot dish of buffalo chicken dip (my favorite) to Mineta, who insisted on helping with... idk something.

“It’s hot on the bottom, idiot. If you drop my dip I’m gonna drop my fucking fist down your throat.” Bakugo shouts, making Mineta nervous as he walks carefully with the dish. Sero and Yaoyorozu were putting the finishing touches on the decorations as you check the clock on your phone. Shit. It was 8:59. You see a text you received from Izuku 30 minutes ago saying he was on his way home and another from just now saying he’s coming upstairs. You squeal and start panicking. He was probably already on your floor. 

“Everybody ready? Izuku’s home!” You yell over everyone’s excited chatter. Everyone replied in a harmonious yes and took their places. You run towards the door and adjust your strapless dress, turning off the lights. You stand behind the houseplant by the door and almost squeal in excitement as you hear the door click unlocked. 

“Y/N?” You hear Izuku say nervously as he turned on the lights. He gasps as everyone jumps out from their hiding places and yell 

“SURPISE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY IZUKU!” 

He smiles brightly and grabs you, giving you the biggest hug while lifting you off your feet. 

“Wow, thanks everyone!” He says excitedly, looking around the room to see all his friends. He became a little emotional knowing that you all went through the trouble of planning a surprise birthday party for him. You wipe his tears and give him a big fat kiss, earning an excited spin from him. 

“We love you Izuku. Now, let’s enjoy your party!” You said as you let him to the delicious spread of food to start Izuku off. Kyoko started the music and danced along to the beat to get everyone to join in on the fun. Mina pulled Uraraka towards the living to dance with her as she waved Asui over to join in. Shoto manned the punch bowl, serving everyone with a half smile hoping they like his punch. Midoriya walks over to grab a plate of food from Katsuki.

“Yo, Ka-Chan!” He yelled over the music. Bakugo smirks and gives the birthday boy his plate. They chat over the food and laugh together as they have a good time in each other’s company. Katsuki seemed to cease the usual teasing, just for this one special night. You giggle and run over to the dancefloor with your cup of punch in toe. You drink and dance at the same time, spilling a little bit of punch as it ran down your chin. Mina laughs and takes your hands dancing along to the beat with you. The night was young and the party was a success. You were just glad Midoriya seemed to be having a great time. 

Drink after drink you feel yourself get extremely tipsy, stumbling around with a drunk Mina and Asui. Uraraka had passed out on the couch from all the drinking and dancing. Even Momo was drunk, creating a phone to drunkenly call in some pizza since there was no more of the food Katsuki made. It was 1 am and everyone was still partying like there was no tomorrow. Including Midoriya. You had never seen this shy boy act so boldy and confidently. It was kind of a turn on. He was in a chug contest with Bakugo, seeing who out of them both could drink the most drinks the fastest. Ida, Shoto, Kirishima and Kaminari crowded around the two chanting chug chug chug as they both drank themselves into a drunken stupor. Izuku finished first, erupting into a loud and boisterous burp. Bakugo grunts and raises Izuku’s arm in the air claiming him the victor. When the hell did Katsuki EVER admit to defeat?

“ *hic* IZUKU’S THE FUCKING CHAMPION! *hic* And he’s one of my best fucking friends! I- I love you bro.” Katsuki says, slurring his speech and stuttering over his words. Midoriya winks at you, who was watching the whole thing go down from across the room. 

“L-Love you too, Kaaaachan.” Izuku slurred, stumbling over to you to give you a kiss. He wanted to celebrate his victory the right way; with a kiss from his girlfriend who was looking sexier than usual tonight. Midoriya approached you, smelling like beer and sweat as he pulled you close to him. Without warning he crashed his lips into yours, turning a sweet kiss into an intense and passionate make out session in front of the whole party. Something definitely took over in Midoriya. He was more aggressive with you than usual. You hear encouraging whoos and a jealous aww from Mineta who wished he was the one kissing you. Izuku waved him away as if he was shooing a fly and lifted you up, carrying you away from the party and into your bedroom. He shut the door with a slam, you squealing with excitement as he heatened the kiss. Izuku’s hands were all over you, groping your ass, squeezing your boobs and leaving sloppy kisses all over your neck. He was a beast, hungry for his well deserved prize. 

“Do you know what you do to me, Y/N?” Izuku asked, pulling away from the sloppy kiss as he throws you on the bed. You can’t even answer as you stare at him dumbly, still shocked at your normally sweet and gentle boyfriend turn into a lust stricken beast. He hovers over you on the bed, drinking in your body in that tight little dress you wore. Izuku feels himself stiffen at the sight of you, pulling your panties down under your dress. 

“’M gonna leave this dress on. You look so good right now, ya know that? Your tits are popping out of this little thing” Midoriya hisses, taking his calloused hand and rubbing tight circles on your already sensitive bud. You moan at his dirty words, intoxicated on his touch as you grab a pillow and cover your face with it. Izuku snatched the pillow away and threw it across the room, eager to hear your moans no matter who else was around to hear them. 

“Let everyone know how good I’m making you feel.” He said, easing two fingers inside you wet walls. You moan like a pornstar, grabbing onto Midoriya’s arm for dear life as he fingered you with a steady pace. Izuku’s eyes were glued to your face, watching you make those faces he loved to see pull on your features as he pulled your breasts out of your dress suckling on your swollen nipple. You pant, gasping at the euphoric feeling as the pit of your stomach tightened, threatening to snap as you approach a fast climax. Izuku noticed you body language automatically able to tell you’re about to cum. He quickened his pace as he watched you arch your back as you came undone before him. 

“Good girl.” Izuku coos as he takes his hand and sucked his sweet juices off his fingers. You flutter your eyes open as Izuku pulled his pants and boxers down in one swift movement, his impressive length springing out as you lick your lips at the sight. You wanted him in your mouth so you grab his dick and stroke it with a tight grip earning an eager moan from Midoriya as he grabbed your hair. 

“N-No. As much as I want you to, I have to be inside you.” He stutters, pulling your dress up over your hips. He kissed you sloppily, slipping some tongue in as you moan into the kiss. He motioned for you to bend over and you do so with excitement, wiggling your ass to tease him as he smacked it with fervor. 

“You ready for me?” Izuku asked tapping his dick against you as you nod and back yourself onto him, feeling his dick slide inside you with ease. You both moan at the feeling as Midoriya grabs your hips and thrusts harshly inside you, holding nothing back as he pulled your hair and smacked your ass. The muffled sounds of the music along with the sinful noises coating the walls of your room were all you could hear as you feel his hand reach forward to rub your clit as he brushed up against your g-spot repeatedly. You scream, trying to keep up with his swift and hard strokes as you throw your ass back on him, gripping the sheets for dear life. You’re sure everyone can hear your loud moans over all the music as you approach a second climax. 

“I’m gonna fill that pretty pussy with my cum, baby. You want me to fill you up don’t you, you filthy whore?” Izuku said, earning a frantic yes from you as you whine for him. You’re shocked at his words but more so turned on by them as you clench around him, cumming for him a second time. Izuku hissed as he rode out your orgasm, chasing his own. Soon enough, he’s coating your insides with his hot seed, grunting and moaning as he ruts into you a few more times. You whine at the loss of his dick as he pulled out of you. Izuku watched as his thick sperm dripped out of you, satisfied with the job for now. He grabbed a towel and cleaned you off sloppily, still heavily intoxicated. You giggled and grabbed your underwear and slipped them back on to rejoin the party. Izuku and you were both a visual mess. It looked as if you both just had sex, your hair was an absolute wreck, your dress was disheveled and you were missing a shoe. Izuku was just as bad, sweat glistening on his forehead and he had this big cheesy grin plastered on his face. You hoped you were both inconspicuous enough for you both to just rejoin the party as if nothing happened in your bedroom. But Mina took one look at you two and erupted into laughter. 

“You two just had sex didn’t you?!” 

[mxpseudonym]

Three Musketeers

Pairing: Isiah Jesus x Fem!Reader x Michael Gray

Summary: Isiah makes a saucy proposal, Michael agrees for once, and you can’t help but go along.

Length: 1691 words (allegedly)

Warnings: Dangerous for work, threesome/polyamory, 

A/N: Whoo! This turned out more fun and youthful than I expected, so I hope you crack a smile and get a little flustered upon reading. 

--

"You ever sleep with someone, y/n? You've got the two of us right here." 

It was Isiah's cheekiest proposal to date and the one that started it all. 

You were the secretary taking over for Lizzie now that she was moving to Mr. Shelby's new aboveboard office. Though you were only coming up on a year at the position, your similar age and humor with Michael and Isiah made you the three musketeers. There was hardly a day you weren't all together, trying to experience as much life as one could in the smoke and mud of Birmingham. 

It had been a few months since Isiah rested his elbow on Michael's shoulder and sent you a cheeky grin that didn't fit his inherently salacious ask. Standing in your living room, blood warm from the liquid courage coursing through all of you, you turned your eyes to Michael. You expected surprise, maybe even anger, but instead, you found him waiting expectantly for your answer. 

"If you don't like it, we can stop."

It was a little awkward in the beginning, trying to figure out who was to do what. Still, you found yourself enjoying it that time and every time after. Now it was more likely than not that whenever the boys walked you home from work or the Garrison, they'd stay a while. Today was no different. 

"Your eyes get bigger when you drink. Did you know that, y/n? It's pretty. You're pretty," Isiah smiled sloppily at you. Your cheeks, already warm from the rum, turned even hotter as he kissed down your neck. 

"You don't have to sweet-talk me; I'm already here," you said with a laugh. 

Isiah pulled down your dress, letting it fall to expose your delicate underthings. He kissed down your neck, then buried his face into your shoulder as he pulled you closer into a hug.

"Y/n, don't throw away my compliments. It makes me upset," he murmured.

"This is what happens when you two start drinking rum. He goes all soft," Michael accused as he walked into the bedroom in only his boxers. 

"I do enjoy it, so it's worth the risk," you mused. Isiah mumbles something unintelligible before lowering to his knees in front of you. 

"I'm just calling it as I see it. You're incredibly sexy, y/n. I haven't to hold myself back in the office when you come in looking pretty like you do."

Isiah spoke between kisses planted on your cotton panties that he was eager to get rid of. Michael patted Isiah's head before moving behind you. 

"He's right about your eyes," Michael spoke in your ear while dipping his fingers between your bra strap and the sensitive skin beneath. "Can we take this off?" 

You nodded once, already starting to feel warmth pool in your lower belly as your garter straps were released and your bottoms were also being pulled off. You gasped as Isiah finally reached you, placing feather-light kisses up and down your slit. 

It was Michael's turn to start on your neck. Your head dropped back onto his shoulder when his hands found your breasts. He felt them in his palms, kneading them until you were sighing and aching for ample attention to your sensitive nipples. You leaned against Michael more when he suggested Isiah put your leg over his shoulder. 

"Oh god, this- ah!" A bite to your inner thigh jolted you. You looked down with wide eyes, only to see Isiah's mischievous ones. 

"Oi, watch it," Michael warned, guessing what happened. From his own experiences, Isiah could get very into biting depending on which type of liquor he drank. 

"It's okay," you stopped them. The heat rose to your face as a smile rose to Isiah's.

"You like that?" He asked, doing it again and watching your bottom lip gets pulled between your teeth. "Atta girl. She likes it, Mikey, keep going."

"Heathens, the lot of you," Michael muttered, earning a chuckle from you both. Though, as things progressed, he quickly joined you. Your nipples were pinched and rolled harder than before, paired with Isiah's greedy laps at your leaking pussy made you shiver. A stiffened tongue and bite to the neck was enough to send you over and leave you squirming against the two. 

"Absolutely beautiful, love," Michael kissed your temple. 

"To the bed?" Isiah asked though it was more of a direction. If you had to describe them, you could say Isiah pointed, and Michael drove. Isiah always made the first move, and Michael was there to support. Isiah kissed you first, and Michael played with the hem of your skirt. Isiah asked what you liked, and Michael remembered to make it happen later. Now, Isiah mentioned the bed, but Michael was the one moving you to it. Not that you minded any of this in the slightest. Ever since fully grasping that you could, in fact, orgasm several times, it had become a matter of continuing to please you.  

You laid back and watched the two men undress. They were so different even in their bodies. And yet, they were perfect when they moved together. Michael pulls Isiah to him, but it's Isiah who cups the shorter man's face and says something about you tasting good before kissing him.

It no longer surprised you to see them lean into each other. Your first night together, there seemed to be a few almost kisses, but Isiah never pursued it. You weren't a fool; you knew there was likely something between them before you came along. So, in your second encounter, you kissed Michael then looked to Isiah. 

"I know you're dying to get a taste, aren't you?" 

Now there was no stopping them. While Michael kissed you neatly and with purpose as if to send a message depending on the mood, Isiah chose enthusiasm over form. Sometimes your teeth would knock together if you weren't careful. Both made you weak in the knees. 

Together, however, they left behind any need to treat their lover delicately and moved on to devouring each other. Just before you could feel left out, Michael reached out to you blindly, leaning away from the kiss. 

"We have to let her decide who she wants this time," Michael reminded his lovers of the rules. 

There was no guarantee of who got what job. Isiah could have you seeing stars several times over if he didn't accidentally overstimulate you and end things for the night. Michael was exceptionally good at drawing out your pleasure in a way that could leave you satisfied, but ultimately nowhere near a release. It was hard to compare and say who was better, so you did the work of not overthinking and compromising. Michael smirked somewhat smugly as he went to grab a condom from your bedside table, while Isiah sighed. He'd be more upset if there were any losers in this situation.

Back on the bed, you reveled in all of the attention they gave you. You could tell whose touch was whose even when they moved in tandem. Isiah moved without any hesitation- full of enthusiasm and impulse. Michael is more calculated and deliberate, thoughtful in everything he did. With your eyes closed, you can tell it's Michael's fingers brushing over your lips and kiss your jaw, and Isiah placing wet kisses down your body, already on your shoulders. Your wrists were moved above your head, both held in one large hand, and two others pull your legs apart. 

"Don't tease," you warned as Michael moved between your legs. 

"How could I when you're this wet?" 

Still, he ran his head over you until you were whimpering before grabbing the base of his cock and sinking into you. Isiah laid next to you, propped up on one arm and stroking himself with his other hand. He leaned over you, alternating between covering your skin with wet kisses and saying the naughtiest things in your ear. 

You brought your hands up to squeeze your breasts on his command, and Michael groaned. They'd left the pub just for this, and it showed in the way he wrapped your legs around him. He pushed into you deeper, hitting the perfect spot that made your back arch.

"Michael, p-please," 

"Look at you all worked up, y/n," Isiah groaned in your ear. Knowing they were both enjoying themselves made everything more erotic. "Why don't you ask Mikey for more, love?"

"M-Micheal, Michael more." 

You were so close already, and Michael's grip on your waist tightened as his rhythm picking up brought you to the edge. Isiah kissed your cheek, then your jaw while your moans grew louder. He moved his hand from his own dripping cock to flatten on your stomach, sliding down until he could circle your clit. 

"Isiah," you said his name softly and turned your head to kiss him. His tongue slid against yours for a moment before he moved to kiss your cheek again. 

"Hm? Does it feel good? Is he stretching you out, darling? I love it when he does that," 

"Fuck!" 

Michael, usually the quiet one, swore at Isiah's words and broke his rhythm to slam into you. Isiah only slightly held back his laugh at that reaction. Micheal filling you to the hilt with a newfound ferocity paired with Isiah's encouragement left you squirming and coming hard around Michael's cock. Your clenching left him swearing again as he finished in you. Michael stroked your thighs with his eyes closed as you both caught your breath. 

"You're gonna to pay for that," Michael finally said, looking to Isiah, who was petting your hair. 

"You're in trouble," you teased Isiah. Michael slid out of you, doing the responsible thing of tossing away the used condom. 

"I'll pay in full, but you'll have to work for it, Peaky boy."

Isiah rolled to his back and motioned to his erection, desperately in need of attention. You crawled forward and took it in your hand, giving it a generous lick. 

"Don't worry, Mikey, I'll help." 

Michael shook his head at his two favorite people, but climbed on the bed anyway. His hand wrapped around yours, helping you pump as he licked his lips. 

"Heathens, all of us." 

[aliasimagines]

One Hell of a Night // Luke Patterson

a/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL, it officially passed midnight here.Are you guys going to celebrate Halloween at home? And if so are you going to dress up? Tell me all about it lovelies, I wanna hear it ❤️. prompt 18 nad 15 from this list🎃 this fic is chaotic, hope you enjoy😊

word count: 2692

warnings: a few (three i think?) curse words, and a..uhm a line of dirty talking (I'm sorry I'm not like this all the time I promise 😅) and scary stories

The dry, colorful autumn leaves creaked under hiking boots as you walked into the woods. A smile appeared on your face as you heard some noises. Only a few seconds later you spotted the source. The Sunset Curve. The boys worked on getting the campfire lit while joking and laughing loudly. You stopped by a tree and leaned against it. Alex just hit Reggie on the back for just sitting around and not helping with putting logs and dry leaves on the fireplace. Thanks to Alex, Reggie swallowed the huge marshmello he had in his mouth and started coughing. 

Bobby was trying to light his lighter again and again but it just didn't work. That's when Luke threw a pack of matches at him causing the rhythm guitarist to stumble back and fall into a pile of leaves. You started laughing quietly and walked up to them.

"That wasn't nice of you, babe." you said from behind Luke. He jumped, not noticing you creeping up on him.

"BAH! I almost got a heart attack, y/n!" he shouts pouting. You giggled and placed a small kiss on his cheek. 

"That's what you get for not waiting for me." you smirk. Luke looks down embarrassed and goes to scrape the back of his head. 

"Yeah…Sorry about that. I was too eager to set up the camp." he gestured at the two tents. Both were full of blankets and pillows. It looked super comfortable. You also spotted his acoustic guitar, and a whole bunch of food in you guys' tent. 

"You did a great job."you smiled before walking over to the other boys." Hi guys! What's up?"

"Y/N! Finally! Tell Alex to stop hitting me!" yelled Reggie. You shook your head laughing. 

“Stop being so childish than Reginald!”

“Boys, come on!! It is halloween, have some fun!” and with that you fished out a huge bag of candy from your backpack and threw it into Reggie’s hands. He looked up at you like you were some kind of miracle maker. 

“Is this..is this all candy?” the dark haired boy asked, still in awe. You laughed, nodding your head slightly. 

“Yeah. I don’t really want to think about how much money I spent on sweets.” 

Soon after everyone got to work (this time for real) and the fire was lit in no time. Just as it started to get darker. All five of you sat around the campfire. You sat next to Luke, opposed to  Reggie and Alex. Bobby sat beside them in a camping chair. Thanks to the warm californian weather you didn’t need jackets just yet, despite being the end of october.

"It's getting dark. I think we could get started on the ghost stories?" asked Bobby looking up at the sky then around the little clearing in the woods where your tents were set up. Reggie munched on some candy corns but immediately stopped upon hearing those words. 

"Ghost stories? Don't mind if I do." he sat his candies aside and prepared to tell a story that would send shivers down your spines. You leaned over to Luke, placing your head on his shoulder. He looked down at you with a smile before turning his attention back to the bassist. 

"One day, a little boy, while walking around the woods, found a big toe on the ground. He ran home with it and-" 

"-his mom cooked it in the soup which revolted in the toe's owner haunting them." you suddenly cut Reggie off. He gasps, offended. 

"What? I knew the story. Was I supposed to just sit around?" you ask, earning a soft laugh from Luke. Reggie huffed and gestured at you. 

"Alright then, take it away y/n. See if you can do better."

"Not to be that person but she definitely can. You only said like two sentences." Alex jumped in, not wanting to miss an opportunity to roast his friend. 

"Because she cut me off!!" 

The woods, once again erupted with the boys' laughter as you stared into the fire, waiting for them to quiet down so you can start your story. 

"I was only a small kid when this happened, around five,maybe six, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. My mother was out of town for the weekend because of her work, so naturally, it was my father who read me a bedtime story in the evening. Everything was great, he was reading from my favorite book but right before he could finish the chapter we heard a quiet tapping noise from downstairs. My father looked puzzled and put his finger against his lips, signaling me to stay quiet so he could listen. The tapping didn't stop, it got louder before turning into banging and a final loud crash which sounded like the front door flying open. I looked at my father, scared to death, not knowing what to do." you kept your voice low, your face straight and never removed your eyes from the fire."He grabbed me and quickly ran with me to the small bathroom that was connected to my room. He instructed me to lock my door and only open it when he says so. I don't know what happened after that, but heard my father going down and some muffled noises before hearing him climb back up the stairs. I remember his voice. It was just so nice and comforting. He said it was a false alarm and I could come out. I reached for the doorknob but then he leaned down and looked inside through the keyhole. My little hands stopped midair. I kept staring at his eyes. He repeated that it was safe to come out and that everything was fine. But I did not believe him. Because that wasn't my father. He sounded exactly like him, but his eyes… They were a different color. Not my father's welcoming eye color. So I just stood there. For minutes. Maybe hours. He wouldn't stop talking, reassuring me but I still didn't unlock the door."

Reggie leaned forward with a worried and scared expression.  

"What happened next?" 

You lifted your gaze, slowly to look at the spooked boy. 

"He started tapping. It sounded just like it did on the front door. And it wasn't long before he started banging his hand against the wood." 

"Oh my god.." Reggie whispers. 

"He is hitting harder and harder until finally the door breaks and flies open. And the creature, no longer looking or sounding like my father, rather like a tall bloodied figure with sharp teeth, jumps at me, opening his huge mouth and SWALLOWS ME WHOLE." you shout the last part causing Reggie to scream and the others to jump just a little. 

"Fuuckk, i think I peed myself!" exclaims Reggie. You only laugh, seeing all the boys being a bit paler. 

"So who's next?" 

"I'll go." Luke said beside you and you shifted away from him, knowing that he will need the space to gesture along his story. You watched as he started to speak. His expression changes with every sentence as he introduces his characters. His frown as he talks about a creepy night in the woods. Your eyes wander down to his lips, too busy just staring at them to actually listen to the words that make them move. You distantly hear various curse words from the guys as your boyfriend goes deeper into detail with his horrifying story. With eyes still glued to Luke, you smile slightly. 

"../n...y/n...Y/N!" you hear making you jump and almost falling backwards on the log you have been sitting on. You see all the guys staring at you. 

"How are you not scared? Did you not hear Luke's story?" Reggie asks, earning a knowing laugh from Alex. 

"No, she did not. She was too busy staring at his lips." as your friend's words hit your ears you feel your face heating up. 

"Dude..,alright I might have zoomed out. A bit but I am here now. Where were you, babe?" 

Luke looks at you, amused. 

"I finished like 3 minutes ago. You 'zoomed out' for legit 20 minutes." 

Looking up at the sky, you realized they were right because it got pitch black since you last looked up. Your lips curved into an 'o' shape before mumbling a sorry.. 

“We should put more wood on the fire. It's starting to weaken.” says Reggie. Bobby points into the dark woods.

“Suit yourself, man.” 

“What? I am not going alone. Someone come with me.” he whines. Alex visibly changes his posture and sits into a more comfortable position.Luke puts his muscular arm around your shoulder grinning.

“You’re on your own, man.”

“No! Please??”

You bite back a laugh and carefully remove Luke’s arm from you. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you.” 

“Thank you!You are amazing!” 

You grab the basket ,that’s been laying on the ground, for the twigs. You also reach into your bag for your flashlight. 

“Ok, I’m ready to go.” you step towards Reggie but Luke grabs your hand and places a small kiss on it. 

“Be careful, love.”

“Always.”

The two of you start walking towards the woods.

“Try not to pee yourselfs guys!” Alex calls after you in a sing-song voice.

“Ha ha, very funny Alex.”

To be honest you were a little spooked but didn’t show it.Not like Reggie who was literally shaking beside you and jumped up at every little noise he heard as you got further into the woods. You picked up a few sticks and bigger twigs, slowly filling the basket with them. Or rather, you tried but when Reggie stoped right in front of you you accidentally dropped it spilling the stuff everywhere.

“Dude! I am trying to help you here!”

“Shhhhh! Didn’t you hear that?” he whispers, voice panicked. 

“Come on, Reg. This isn’t going to work on me.”

He turns to look at you.

“No, y/n! I am serious! I heard a whisper! I’m sure of it!”

You roll your eyes, not believing your friend.

“You gotta be more convincing next time. I dont scare that easily..AH” just as you assured Reginald how it takes more for you to get spooked, someone, or something grabbed you from behind and started to pull you while shouting ‘WAA’. The flashlight landed on the ground too as you let out a bloodcurdling scream. You kicked your attacker(s?) wherever you could. 

“Ahh! WHoo, stop, it’s just us.” you suddenly hear your boyfriend's voice and feel the arms around you letting go. You turned around your fear vanishing and turning into anger.

Reggie behind you falls on the ground,clutching his chest while he tries not to cry.

“ARE YOU GUYS INSANE?!” you shout at Luke and Booby. Alex is nowhere to be seen, he probably stayed next the fire to keep an eye on your stuff. Luke's eyes immediately  widen upon hearing you raise your voice.

“I..I am sorry we thought-”

“What?! Lucas Patterson I am, so, so mad at you right now” you say shaking. You hear Bobby giggle quietly. You snap your head in his direction. “And don't even get me started on you Bobby...Bobby..uhm” you stop to think about his surname, only to realise you don’t know it. For a moment you let go of your anger. “What is your surname?”

He only scoffs and smiles. Alex must have heard the shouting and come to investigate with a flashlight in one hand and a drumstick (as a weapon?) in his other.He soon puts them down tho as he sees that you are all in one piece. Luke looks at Bobby with a puzzled expression.

“That is actually creepy, cause I don’t know it either.”

“What?! How? He has been in a band for, what? A year and a half? And you never actually asked his last name?” you ask, more interested in the mystery of Bobby’s name than shouting at them now. Luke shrugs.

“Do you even have a last name?” you hear Reggie asking from the ground. You all turn to him with questioning looks.

“Everyone has a last name Reginald.” says Alex.

“Not celtic gods, no.” he responds.

“What?” Luke exclaims clearny not understanding the bassist.

“Bobby is not a god.” says the drummer annoyed. “ He is a normal teenager like us.”

“Is he tho?”

Meanwhile Bobby leans back against a tree and stares at Reggie.

“You are creeping me out...Please stop creeping me out oh majestic god of...what are you the god of?”

Booby just smiles mysteriously. 

“Oh for f…’s sake.Y/N back me up here, there are no gods and even if there were, Bobby is not one of them.”

“Thanks Alex but I am not offending a celtic god.”

“What is wrong with you guys?!”

Luke doesn’t know who to look at in this chaos. Soon he decides to pick up the twigs and collect more while you, Reggie and Alex argue whether Bobby is a god or not. Bobby bends down too, to help the lead singer.

“You do know my name is actually Wilson, right?” 

“Yeah. Of course I do, I think Reggie does too, he just forgot.” the two boys laugh. 

You all walk back to the camp and Booby, upon seeing Reggie still looking at him suspiciously walks over to him.

“I am not an ancient god, you know.”

“That is exactly what I would say too.”

Not hearing Reggie’s nonsense reminds you of what Luke did so when you feel him wrapping his arms around you, you push him away.

“I sorry, bae. I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have. Please look at me?” he stands before you so there is no way you can avoid him.

“Don’t do this again.” you said with a firm tone. You can't help but smile, seeing Luke’s shit eating grin. He opens his arms once again but waits for you to hug him first. You do, and for minutes you just stand there in his embrace. The silence was broken by the familiar sound of the acoustic guitar which was followed by Reggie’s voice as he started to play some country song. 

“Dude, no, put down my guitar.”Luke ran off to get his instrument or to, at least convince him to play ‘normal’ music. You laugh and walk over to Alex and Bobby.

“Hey, y/n, I am sorry about scaring you.”

You wave your hand. 

“It’s fine. However don’t be surprised when I get back at you.” you say before sitting down next to Reggie and giving him a hug because let’s be honest he was pretty traumatised in the woods too.

“Woo,hey! Why does he get a hug?” Luke asks, upset he couldn’t change Reggies mind about playing country songs. And from the fact that his girlfriend was hugging him.

“Maybe because you decided that it was a funny idea to scare the living shit out of him and I.”

“Stop guilt tripping me.” he pulls you up and away from the fire, closer to the tents. ”I said I am sorry. And you are right, I shouldn’t  have scared you. Besides…” he leaned closer to your ear “I know more fun ways to make you scream.”

You gasp upon hearing his words and right when you are about to react Alex walks by casually. 

“No, no. With the tents it’s like we are sleeping next to each other. If you guys try anything I will murder you myself.”

Both of you look after him, blushing before breaking into laughter.

Luke’s watch showed 3:58 when you all agreed to call it a night.You put out the fire with the help of Bobby while Luke went to pack away the trash you all left out.

Reggie yawned and looked up at Alex.

“I am still pretty scared...Can I cuddle you Alex?”

He looks at him like he heard it wrong.

“Absolutely not.”

“What about you Bobby?”

“No way, Reg.”

Despite them saying this, all three of them woke up hugging each other in the morning.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

the People have requested my book report on The Library at Mt. Char so this is now a Mt Char book club.

if you have not read The Library at Mt Char there is no reason to keep reading. I hope you're having a nice day, stay safe and don't do drugs.

So Mt Char has a couple of problems, but in my opinion only one grave problem.

Not a grave problem:

Erwin doesn't need to be in this book. An astonishing amount of ink is spilled on giving us Erwin's POV and I am at a loss in regards to what that's supposed to bring to the story. I mean, it's kind of neat to see Carolyn's "trick shot" from the POV of one of the people being manipulated, but that perspective could have just been provided by Steve. Everything Erwin does of any plot significance could have been done by Steve, a character who actually matters.

Please note that I don't hate Erwin, he's perfectly fine as characters go, he just contributes nothing, and it is baffling that he and Carolyn get the last scene in the book (instead of just ending on her reunion with Michael, a scene that was emotionally affecting and felt like a natural end point to her story). We are taking no questions, Erwin needed to be cut.

Also not a grave problem in my opinion, but I am sure others feel differently and I understand why they would:

Yo, the scope of what the catalogs cover is mad vague. I mean, I get that that's the point: when you have a character whose magic powers are "anything that has to do with death or murder," that's a broad license, and I'm fine with that. These are supposed to be demi-gods. I don't require a rigorously explicated magic system.

But then like...why can't Jennifer, the healer, also heal minds? That seems weird. Or like, it's implied that she kinda can, maybe, but none of the kids talk about their therapy sessions with Jennifer: they explicitly call out that she heals their bodies. But then she talks about how Margaret and David are sick (meaning mentally) in a way she can "no longer help?" Aren't you supposed to be the God Of Healing? Why can't you help anymore? And were you actually trying to help them before - or anyone else? That's never shown. You could have just said you only healed bodies, not minds, but then it's repeatedly implied that she CAN diagnose mental and emotional problems (and therefore should probably be able to do something about them).

So that's weird.

Or like, why is there Alicia, who "sees the future," and Rachel, who "sees possible futures?" That, uh, just sounds like the author was running out of ideas. Also, if Alicia could see the future, she probably shouldn't have been in that house when the SWAT team hit, yeah?

Stuff like that. The magic the kids can do is very "they have the powers the author needs them to have when the author needs them to have them, and they can't do anything the author would find inconvenient for them to do" but that's not a deal breaker for me because overall the vibe being put off by their various magical specialties works for me. Still, there were ways of getting us where we needed to go without begging quite so many questions.

Also not a grave problem, although more of a problem than the other stuff:

You know that anime trope where a super-genius character is having an entire conversation with another super-genius character through a screen, and it's revealed that the whole conversation was a distraction and pre-recorded so that Character 2 could Complete His Scheme against Character 1? And used his super-genius brain to predict every single thing Character 1 would say? And your suspension of disbelief staggers bloodied into the alleyway and collapses because you're really trying to hang in there, Code Geass, but that's fucking stupid, you're asking for me to believe that this character's intelligence is flat-out supernatural now and you've given me no reason why that should be?

That's how I feel about Carolyn, by the time she takes over the Library. Like, okay. The kids canonically have not even been at the Library long enough for any of them to master their catalogues except for Jennifer. None of them but Jennifer are masters of even their own subject.

Carolyn has been studying in secret from multiple catalogues - which is cool! I like how she slowly reveals over the course of the latter half of the book that she has powers from other people's specialties.

...But like...

She seems close to mastering her own catalogue. She is a competent healer and can raise the dead (Jennifer's catalogue). She can block attempts to read her mind, beats David in a fight, and understands how to kill Father (David's catalogue). She speaks lion and controls the dogs that surround the Library (Michael's catalogue). She could make the mathy "Denial That Rends" thing that kicks off the whole plot, and she can make a new sun and correct orbital rotations around it (Peter's catalogue). She can predict the future with such specificity that she knows how to cause Steve to drop a clip of bullets while he's being attacked by dogs exactly where Erwin will need to pick it up later (Rachel's catalogue, also this one is stupid, she could have just given Erwin an extra clip or something, but whatever).

That's half the catalogues. Carolyn doesn't seem prodigiously more intelligent than the other kids. She's smart, sure, but they're all weird demi-gods with a genius for their specialties. The rest of them haven't even mastered their own catalogue, and I'm supposed to swallow that Carolyn has attained 'competent or better' status in six? When she has to research five of them in secret? Without falling behind in her own studies?

It would be fine if they had all been masters of their own catalogues for years and years; that would mean they would begin to stagnate, while Carolyn kept learning. But that's not the case. By the end I wasn't impressed anymore at Carolyn's resourcefulness, it just felt like she could do anything and everything, shh, don't ask questions, she's the Chosen One so she just can.

The reason this isn't a grave problem to me is because Carolyn's journey isn't about becoming more powerful: it's about her emotional journey, which isn't affected by her being stupidly OP for no reason by the end of the book. She still sucked at the things that mattered, like "feelings" and "relationships" and "not being a shitty person." But I do think it hurt the story. I should be cheering on my protagonist when her wild schemes come together, not rolling my eyes.

Anyway. All that was the aperitif. Let's talk about

THE GRAVE AND GLARING PROBLEM AT THE CENTER OF MT CHAR.

So everything that happens in the book stems from Carolyn's thoroughly justified hatred of Father (and David, but David was made that way by Father). Father treated her, and all of the other kids, with extravagant cruelty. If you haven't read the book in a while, here's a sample of the kinds of things Father did to the kids, or, if David did them, that Father did nothing to prevent:

- Cooked David alive over 2 full days in a giant bronze bull (and made the rest of the kids bring the fuel)

- Put Michael's eyes out with a hot poker every night for 2 weeks (and made the rest of the kids watch)

- Murdered Margaret every few days, often in drawn-out and painful ways

- Made Rachel repeatedly give birth, raise the babies to about 9 months, then murder them with her own hands

- Allowed David to rape all 11 of the other kids (except Jennifer, probably because she was the healer and he wanted to stay on her good side)

- Allowed David to crucify, brutalize and rape Carolyn and Peter

- Gave Carolyn a loving new family for a year when she was nine years old (those two deer), then had David murder them in front of her and blame it on her for not remembering her homework well enough, then served the two deer at a feast to 'celebrate' her returning to the family

- Whippings, skinnings, and bone-breakings as standard disciplinary actions

Whoo-ee! Okay! We are talking about mythological cruelty. I am fine with this! The story takes place on a mythological scale. As outlandish as all of that is, the cruelty feels proportionate in a story about killing and replacing god. Father is cruel, indifferent, controlling, and alien. I have no questions, Carolyn please proceed with your revenge. We seemed on track for a tale in which Carolyn defeats Father, but in doing so she runs the risk of becoming him. Will she step back from the brink and retain her humanity after all of the trauma and brutality she's endured? Let's find out!

And then

and then.

Oh boy.

And then.

...It turns out, Father is a good guy after all.

And let me be clear: THIS IS NOT, IN AND OF ITSELF, A PROBLEM.

By the time you learn that Father is actually benevolent, and loved those kids, and cares about being a responsible steward to the world, and tried to leave the universe a better place than he found it, and genuinely regretted the suffering he inflicted on them when they were growing up, it feels kind of...natural? Like, I was surprised, but also not, because there were 90 pages of book left and Carolyn had already become god. This seemed like a thematically meaningful place to take the rest of the story.

It turns out Father was training Carolyn to replace him the entire time. He had to make her hate David because it was important that she "defeat a monster" on her path to becoming god. (It's not explained why she had to defeat a monster, but sure, okay; it's the kind of mythic feat that fits with the story we're in.)

Why did he choose Carolyn to be his successor? Well, originally he chose David, but David wasn't strong enough: every time Carolyn was the monster in David's story, she defeated him, and went on to rule the universe as an unspeakable tyrant. Since Carolyn always won, Father swapped their roles. He knew he had made the right choice when he put David into the bronze bull, and heard David begging for mercy: because when Carolyn had been the fated monster, she had never begged.

...Okay, so...hang on.

Hang on.

The only rule that we've established on "how to become god" is "you have to defeat a monster," right? I'll even grant you for free that it has to be a monster who is personally meaningful to you, although that part is never stated. Overcoming a great evil which has cast you down and abused you many times before, sure, okay.

...Why the FUCK did all that other awful shit have to happen??

I did not have this question when Father was just evil! That was a good enough explanation! But now that he's not evil, you HAVE TO EXPLAIN why he treated all of the kids so brutally!

Like dude you're GOD. If you need a monster for Carolyn, I'm sure you can make that happen without TORTURING CHILDREN FOR DECADES.

There didn't even need to be any other children! You could have two kids: the languages-kid, who is the chosen one (the chosen one has to be the languages-kid so they can read the Onyx Codex or whatever it was called at the end, the one written by Original God), and the war-and-murder kid, who is the monster. They could have just been forbidden to read the other codices, if it's important to you that your chosen one still prove her resourcefulness or whatever.

Why include all of the other kids??? It wasn't to give your chosen one a sense of family: Carolyn didn't feel close to any of them except for Michael (who I liked, but whose contribution to the plot was negligible).

Or keep the kids! But then why make them, and Carolyn, hate you?? You could just say, "Hey Carolyn, I am raising you to be my successor, you have to figure it out yourself because part of proving your worthiness is this kind of abstract, big-picture thinking, but I love you and whatever you end up deciding to do, just believe in yourself." And meanwhile you're off torturing the fated monster in order to get him piping hot and ready to be served.

Was the idea that Carolyn had to endure so much horror in order to prove she was 'tough enough' to be god?? Because that's not how trauma works! Kids who have been brutally traumatized are usually not made tougher by the experience! A fact that even the book understands, because 10 of the 12 kids are completely destroyed by their upbringing (I'm giving marginal exceptions to Michael and Carolyn herself).

And like

if Father doesn't have a good reason for having treated them so badly, the whole book falls apart!

Because getting revenge for that cruelty is Carolyn's whole motivation!

We are clearly supposed to feel okay about Father going to make a new universe at the end of the book: he's going with his cool tiger friend and that little girl with the connection to the elemental plane of joy who used to be the sun, he's happy to see Carolyn embracing compassion and kindness, which means he cares about compassion and kindness. He invented light and pleasure. Carolyn does nothing to try to stop him from going. He seems like a pretty good candidate for god. And I do feel okay with him leaving! I was convinced! Father is not evil after all!

But then you have! to explain! the abuse!!

It can be a throwaway line!! "Carolyn realized that everything she and her siblings went through had to happen the way it did, because [X]," embedded in the middle of a paragraph! That would have been enough! But I need an explanation!

"They were raised the way Father was raised himself" WHY? He was raised by the Emperor, an on-the-record awful fucking dude! Father proceeded to rule the universe in a far more benevolent way than the Emperor did, why would he feel like he had to raise his kids the way the Emperor raised him?

"Carolyn needed to overcome challenges on her path to godhood" how is TRAUMATIZING HER SO BADLY SHE ALMOST BECOMES INHUMAN - SOMETHING YOU WERE OSTENSIBLY TRYING TO PREVENT, see Steve being preserved as something that could give her hope, etc - A "CHALLENGE??"

Again, none of this is a problem if Father is just evil! YOU CHOSE to make him not evil! And that's fine!! I think it's a good choice for the story actually!! But then you have to, you have to, HAVE TO explain why all of that bad shit happened!

Because all of that bad shit is the reason Carolyn made there be a story.

And it turns out it doesn't make sense.

[silvanils]

Happy Friday!! Would love to see your take on "let chaos be undone," from the chantry prompts ✝️🙏🔥

@dadrunkwriting

WHOO, I was still in a mood to write about Serault so have this fic I threw together based on a headcanon of mine that the Horned Knight's true purpose is actually Reflection.

Word Count: 777 Rating: G

Reflection had always admired the noble Marquis.

He was a bright flame, a beacon of light — and the spirit hoped he could help this man’s dreams become a little more real.

His ideas and passions were endless, insatiable! They paved new paths together, began to create a dazzling network the likes of which hadn’t been seen in all of Reflection’s long memory…

And then the Marquis had to leave, suddenly. Reflection awaited his return as eagerly as his own people did, grew restless as the man’s absence stretched on longer than anyone had anticipated. The Marquis’s young son grew sullen, quiet, distrustful of his father’s friend… and the spirit did not enjoy the gloom that had settled over their lands like a dark cloud.

He retreated into his forest, to continue waiting alone.

.

The Marquis did return, eventually, but when he sought out Reflection he did not wish to pick up where they’d left off or plan new, even more wondrous schemes — he was tired, drained by whatever business had called him away… and all he had for the spirit was a locked box.

“I can’t trust anyone else with this,” the proud Marquis said. “Keep it safe for me, won’t you?”

He mostly kept to his own lands after that. He had a family to care for, a court to mind, secrets to keep — and in his unbearable loneliness, Reflection sought out company of his own. Soon enough, he met a lovely dryad who was most pleased to call herself his Lady… and together, they began to care for any that could not care for themselves. Orphaned deer, injured wolves, people who had no-where else to go…

Not long after that, the Lord of the Forest stumbled upon a young girl living alone in his woods. She had the same eyes as the Marquis, the same hair, but none of his regal bearing. A castaway, like him. But the sight of him scared her half to death and she threw a ball of fire at him — and after that, he decided to leave her alone.

.

He sensed the moment the powers shifted, felt the Marquis give in to his Pride. Some might have called this end inevitable when a mage held so much power. Some might have believed he was too-far-gone the moment he bound any spirit to his whims. But the spirit considered THAT to be the greatest Shame of all — that his old friend’s brilliance was drowned by a single failure.

.

The solemn Marquis still despised his father’s “creation.” But he was too busy dealing with the fallout from his father’s other mistakes to do much about one that knew how to mind itself. He left the Horned Knight alone, mostly —

But he did build the first of many walls between their kingdoms, one that firmly divided their realm in two halves: the forest and the roads and fields. For many, many years that was simply the way things were.

In his old age, however, the solemn Marquis finally sired a single child — a girl who looked much like the aunt she’d never met, but had the same fiery spirit as her grandfather.

.

The fierce Marquis ventured into the forest often, accompanied by equally ferocious friends. They waged war on the woodsfolk several times, hoping to tame the wild creatures, ease the fears that had begun to fester in the people of their realm. Each slight they did to him, the Horned Knight returned — until, finally, they stopped attacking his lands with such fervor.

She let her children play in the woods sometimes, too. The girl took to them more than the boy did, always flitting about, sneaking deeper and deeper... She was not afraid of what lurked in their domain, and her eyes were as bright as the Shame’s had once been.

Whenever he watched those youths play at the edge of his forest, the Horned Knight felt a little spark of hope.

.

The young Marquis was as just as he was gentle — his people felt as though he truly understood them, and he did everything he could to help ensure his lands prospered. He built a strong foundation of trust in a world where most people got ahead by stabbing each other.

And still, the Horned Knight was surprised that this Marquis seemed to understand him.

“We are not so different,” the Scholar mused. “You and I, and I and he. Can we leave the past behind us, let chaos be undone? Together, I believe we could achieve something truly marvelous.”

Reflection had always admired the noble Marquis.

He was a bright flame, a beacon of light — and the spirit hoped he could help this man’s dreams become a little more real.

[jostepherjoestar]

Imagine if over time everyone notices Trisha’s twin seems to getting more distant and focused on the goal. When they ask her what’s wrong she avoids the question but what everyone doesn’t know is that for everyone to get out alive either her or her sister has to die and she decided that she would protect trish like her sister has down for her over the years

Una Gemella (fic 1,5k)

Decided to name Trish’s twin Claudia after Claudia Schiffer, the famous 90′s model since Trish is also named after one. I hope you can enjoy this, it’s pretty sad and basically a totally different ending to part 5. Whoo boy.

part 1 and part 2 of the ask

Content warning: wounds, death

Under their capo’s watchful gazes, the merry band of gangsters actually worked together for their common goal: to take down Diavolo. With their combined strengths they’d figured out much more information, a lot faster. But with their collaboration also came the discovery that two of his own divisions were working against him, Diavolo went into quite a fit of rage, especially knowing that his two daughters had developed stands. His hatred only grew stronger and his lust to rid the planet of anyone who knew his history only further developed.

In some miraculous way no-one had lost their lives, of course there were less battles to be fought, having to no longer see the assassins as their enemies and vice versa. Diavolo had sent his Unità Speciale onto the large team with a few extra recently added members so he’d be sure of the traitor’s demises. Of course they all knew that Doppio was in fact protecting and housing part of their enemy, thanks to Claudia’s recently acquired stand.

Knowing how large the threat was, Diavolo decided to unleash all hell in Rome on the combined teams arrival. Night had fallen and all seemed normal, tourists were loudly enjoying their dinners, lovers enjoyed their romantic walks past the centuries old monuments, families put their children to bed. That calm was disrupted by the many stand attacks that would mark the city for years to come. The teams had decided to split up so they’d all have enemies to fight at the same time, urging for the safest way to ensure a quick end to the chaos.

On their way to the Colosseum to meet Polnareff about the arrow, Claudia seemed even more focused, there was barely any trace left of the shivering, crying girl from a few days ago. She’d hardened quickly, perhaps too quickly. Her more stern sister even being surprised to see her twin this way. Risotto, Giorno, Bruno, Trish and Claudia had formed their team and quickly met with the Frenchmen. Claudia offering short and stern answers, she’d already seen what would happen and there was no time to waste. Her father was lurking in this very spot. She knew she had no choice, there was no future in which they all could survive if she and Trish both lived. One of them had to go, she was sure of her resolve, Claudia was dying tonight.

Claudia had ignored or brushed off her companions concerns until Risotto cornered her. He knew there was something going on and he was sure to find out. “Tell me what’s going on. We are a team, you need to talk to us.” he said in a stern but concern filled voice. Before she would have been afraid to look the capo right into his crimson eyes but now she took it head on. “I have to die. There is no other way. Your men will suffer, Bucciarati’s will too if nothing is done.” the strength in her voice trembling as she felt tears pushing to release. She held them back with all her might but her trembling hand betrayed her true feelings. Risotto understood. He had put his trust in her since she first called the meeting, admiring her bravery for such a youngster.

The tall silver haired man sighed deeply, he didn’t even hide the pain behind his eyes. He was going to miss this one. He knew she wouldn’t change her mind, she was going to make the ultimate sacrifice. He didn’t ask how or when, he knew enough to deduct that it was soon. He didn’t want to make peace with her decision but he knew he had too. She could feel Diavolo getting closer, Trish could too. The two capo’s strategising inside the old rings of the crumbling monument but it was too late for that, the pink haired villain had already made his entrance, no longer using Doppio to protect himself.

It was time. The attacks were brutal but their team had the advantage of knowing his powers, even though it didn’t help much. The rage behind his hits were felt, Bruno and Giorno had taken quite the beating already. Diavolo’s plan was to work his way down to his “beautiful daughters” as he so lovingly said. Risotto stayed close to Claudia, somewhere hoping that it didn’t need to end the way it was going to. The solemn nod the youth gave to him made him aware the moment was nearing. Bruno had been incapacitated, Giorno by his side to protect him from any more harm for the moment. The blond looked not that much better off than his capo, his stand could only do so much.

Claudia was alert, knowing the direction her father would strike from, sure to protect her sister who’d taken place beside her. “I want you to finish him Trish, no mercy. I know you can. Do it for us, Risotto will help.” she told her sister, voice beginning to shake, avoiding her sisters confused gaze. She would only tear up at the sight of her. “Claudia what are you talking about? We’ll do it together. Ok?” Trish’s confusion distracting her from the incoming attack. It nearly hit her but not before her sister pushed her aside to accept the blow. Giant pieces of stone rubble had been hurled at them, smaller rocks hitting Trish and Risotto, a plume of dust camouflaging Claudia’s body from view. A pang of fear struck them as they saw her crushed beneath the large stone, barely breathing. Diavolo was still hiding behind pillars to avoid counter attacks, awaiting to see the result of his.

“Claudia! No!” Trish couldn’t hold herself back and rushed to her sister, tears already falling down her flushed cheeks, Risotto following suit. The pink haired sisters holding onto each others hands, Trish pleading for her to stay awake. “Giorno please help her! You have to, please!” she begged her teammate who’d gotten up to fight again. Risotto placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s no use. It had to be this way. I’m... sorry.” he sternly said. But the sight before him tore at his heart, it shouldn’t have to end this way. “She’s not dead yet you fucking idiot. Giorno get over here!” Trish spitting her orders as her tears wet the ground beneath her. Claudia still faintly breathing, eyes fluttering. “You have to do it Trish... Do it for us. Kill that bastard... It had to be.” she could barely talk, shallow breaths sputtering her through her sentence. Her hand feeling numb from her sisters squeeze, like the pressure would somehow save her from her fate. “We have to keep fighting Trish, I’m sorry.” Giorno said with a solemn tone, knowing not even his healing powers could save her.

Risotto stayed by Claudia’s side, the tear stained sister focusing her anger on her father, not ready to say goodbye to her twin just yet. While Giorno and Trish continued, the capo’s large hand had taken the frail one in his. “You did really good out there kid. It takes balls to be a gangster but what you did? I don’t know what to say...” he could feel his heart swell with sadness for the coming loss. She was slipping fast. “Maybe in another life we’ll do it right.” a sad smile the last thing that would grace her beautiful face as she whispered her last words. Risotto knew it was time to help the remaining team finish off the cruel man. His sadness fuelling his resolve to fight on, holding on to her last words. Maybe in another life.

The end was in sight. Giorno had evolved his powers and was able to bring the devil himself to his knees before him. He looked pathetic, his eyes filled with fear he wasn’t going to admit to. Trish walked over, the tears having dried, remnants of dust making the watery paths visible on her cheeks. She bore her heel into the ribs of her father making him hiss and cough in response. “This is for Claudia you filthy bastard! Enjoy this pain now, you’ll be wishing you felt it again because wherever you’re going is a million times worse. You’re the most disgusting being I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” she spit on his face, she would have never done this in any other situation, thinking it a disgusting act, but now her rage was acting for her. Trish let Giorno finish him off, sending Diavolo into his own personal hell.

When he was finally gone Trish fell to her knees, not even caring about scuffing her skin. There was a faint relief, knowing there would be no more fighting, no more worrying. But it hurt, god it hurt so bad. She knew sacrifices had to be made to complete the mission but this... It wasn’t what she imagined. Her sobs returning, it felt like the tears would never stop. Bruno and Giorno placing themselves by her side to console her as best as they could. They sat by her until the sun had starting rising again, lighting the way for the dawn.

Like Claudia had predicted, all men were safe. Some worse off than others but they were all still breathing. Risotto felt a gaping emptiness in his soul, the little one had left quite the mark on him. Maybe next time, in another life, they’ll be luckier.

[mangop1e]

my Thoughts about mcc14, because this is my blog and the official year of no cringe (in that i will no longer regard my interests as cringe and enjoy them wholeheartedly and post about them if i want)

overall !! it was a really fun event, i was watching blue bats punz pov and they popped off so it was a really good watch for me, the updates to the games were sick as hell and i cannot wait to see these get more refined as we go along plus see what they have in store for bingo and sands of time

putting everything else below the cut for the sake of all the mutuals i have on here that have never interacted with a mcyt in their life! 

so. will preface this by saying i’ve watched every mcc live starting with mcc9 and am . just very very into this tournament, i’ll probably do a little analysis post next mcc because i just find it all very fun !! and tumblr is like a void i can scream into and sometimes it screams back so it’s the perfect place to let myself ramble. that being said, here’s my thoughts on this mcc from the blue bats punz pov, with vague knowledge of what happened in a few other povs

build mart: so sue me, i’m a build mart fan. the new map build is INCREDIBLE and i love the choice of elytras rather than the scuffed boats!! the new addition of the golden build is really fun too! not something that could necessarily be changed but build mart is definitely a killer for teams that don’t have good comms and coordination, and having it as a first game can really shake some teams and cause a drop in morale that could affect the rest of their performance in the event. overall, though? im loyal to build mart and i think it only got better with the updates

tgttosawaf: i love how pedantically long that acronym is <3 i think some of the changes really threw players into the deep end, that one round where they had to break the wool in the targets to get through especially, and terra swoop force Definitely threw some players that are otherwise cracked for a loop, especially if they were unfamiliar with the map, but this one was also super fun to watch!! definitely a good game for the first half of the event

sky battle: at long last, sky battle returns <3 as a shameless inniter sky battle is one of my favourite games simply because i Know tommy will always pop off, but it’s also such a fun twist on classic minigames like sky wars and a faster version of skyblockle done super well! i like the new map layout a ton as well, the little towers in the middle ring plus the structure of the innermost ring made for some really interesting plays all around. this game’s another one that can go south really fast if your team comms aren’t great, but definitely more forgiving than build battle, and a hell of a lot more adrenaline-inducing!! in terms of the updates i think this one was probably one of the best, tied with build mart.

survival games: survival games was CRAZY i do think this is one where you need to get good rng with your loot pickups as well as have good team coordination but it’s definitely a really fun pvp game!! only thing i will say is it can be a bit bland next to the rest of the crazy games in mcc but it’s definitely a classic and depending on how its played (cough red rabbits cough) can definitely turn things wayyyy around for a team!! very high stakes in a fun way

hole in the wall: god :sob: the glitch. ohhhh hbomb you and your glitchy ways. this glitch was definitely a new one compared to the usual “spam-space-bar-and-pray” glitch that our dearest tommyinnit has taken advantage of before, but i honestly can’t really blame him too much for using it? it did give aqua an advantage but it’s only slightly different from falsesymmetry using the spam-space glitch to win a few rounds of hitw in a more recent mcc (would have to double check which one, but i do remember hbomb taking note of this when he was reviewing mcc vods the day after). hole in the wall has been a glitchy bastard for as long as it’s been in mcc and it was truly hilarious to see hbomb clip through walls, so - all in all i think if the glitch could be fixed that’d be great but it was still a fun watch! also, pete zahutt is CRACKED.

ace race: whoo boy. ace race. honest opinion? i think the map is REALLY cool and has a lot of potential, but there was a lot of confusion and bugs that need to be fixed for next time - the fact that the players could reset back to a previous checkpoint, the general confusion over where to go which cld mean they need to add more directional arrows. overall i’m really really excited to see how people will perform on this map when they’re more familiar with it and some of the kinks have been worked out on the developer end. i do think scott had a Huge advantage here and it was really prominent due to the fact that this was a new map for everyone aside from him, albeit him seeing a much earlier version that wasn’t the same as the version that existed in the event, and it would definitely be wise of noxcrew and the developing team in the future to be more aware of how much involvement scott has in the gameplay side of testing. the general confusion and checkpoint resetting also did Not help anyone and i do think a few teams really lost out this event because of the issues with ace race, but this map has a ton of potential and im really excited to see what they do with it in the future.

battle box: oooo battle box !! this one didn’t really leave too big of an impression on me but the new map was definitely interesting!! the fact that the way to get to the middle was a bit unclear was ,, definitely interesting to watch :sob: but you can’t go wrong with battle box to be honest. solid team pvp game!

parkour tag: PARKOUR TAG!!! having this as the final game was so fun :] the map they had this time was complicated which definitely comes with its pros and cons: pros being that it creates potential for a lot of really interesting routes and unique usage of the area and environment, and cons being that it can feel really cluttered and overwhelming especially when its your first time playing. overall i liked the fact that it was busier but i think striking a better balance between full and barren could really elevate parkour tag from a good game to a great game

dodgebolt: blue bats </3 they had a fantastic run in the games and had an awful dodgebolt and sometimes that’s how it shakes down !! i always always love the unpredictability to the final winner that dodgebolt gives - the first place team pointswise isnt guaranteed a win, reverse sweeps have happened multiple times in the past, and dodgebolt is always nail-bitingly exciting to watch!

misc thoughts: i do think aqua had an advantage but from the sounds of things scott and noxcrew will be taking genuine criticism into account for next time and have learned from this event, i DONT think that removing parkour warrior was unfair because it wasn’t an event that noxcrew could ever successfully balance by making it hard enough to not have the same guy dominating every event and creating a gap, especially when played later, that no other players had HOPE of reducing and i think parkour tag was a really really fun alternative to it especially since runner and hunter play to diff strengths of the team members and it has a bit more strategy to it plus team comms than parkour warrior did, and i think build mart is a good game and i WILL die on this hill

if you read this far, fantastic, you madlad, i appreciate you

[spaceorphan18]

do u have a ranking of klaine kisses? it's a bit of a weird question, i know.

Maybe it’s a weird question? But I’m going to have fun answering. 

Unfortunately, no gifs, cause I’m too tired to go looking for them, I hope you can be satisfied with stills. 

So, there aren’t really a whole lot of kisses to talk about here, which is sad, and let’s not get into times they should have kissed (**coughtonguetiedcough**).  I’m also not including times when Blaine kissed Kurt’s cheek, or when they were in an intimate embrace but lips did not touch.  

Bonus Moment -- That One Time On Tour

Not really canon, but it was hilarious and unexpected and forever talked about it, so worth mentioning.  (It was when they were in Dublin, in case you want to go looking it up on YouTube.) 

So, here we go, from least favorite to favorite! 

The Pity Kiss (The Break Up) 

I call it a pity kiss - because this was the writers literally throwing us a bone before screwing us over.  I’m not a huge fan of it because it’s a tad awkward (and quick - hence no actual photo), and Rachel literally throws herself in-between them like a giant, orange piano. 

The Bird Inspired Kiss (The Untitled Rachel Berry Project) 

I’m actually probably more annoyed by this one than the Break Up one, but bleh, break up one.  First of all, it’s so weirdly edited, that you don’t really even see them kiss because it’s cut away so quickly (hence another moment too quick to still.)  On top of that, this scene was a great, emotional moment scene - where they should have shared a real kiss while sitting on those steps, and instead, the writers decided to tack on a lame joke and this unsatisfying quick kiss.  

The Throwaway Kisses (The Back-Up Plan) 

/

So, there are two quick, nothing kisses in this episode -- and they both have the same kind of function, so I’m talking about them together.  The first one I really, really love, the second is meh, mostly cause of how they edited the scene and it’s a weird way to cut it.  Mostly, though, what I like about these ones are that they’re nothing kisses you give your long-time partner.  It’s a sign of domesticity and comfort of being with your long-time partner, which is something that’s kind of cool.  We watched Finn and Rachel do this all the time in season 3, and Tina and Mike excessively do it in season 2 -- it’s nice that the gays get to be treated like normal couples. 

However, since they are kind of nothing kisses, they’re near the bottom, even if I think they’re important.  

Because of the Layers Kiss (The First Time) 

It’s essentially the same as the two above, but we get a clearer shot of it (not clear enough for me to still, though!).  It’s cute and sweet and the first tender moment we got since the first one! 

The Last Kiss (Dreams Come True) 

I kind of couple it in with the throwaway kisses, which all are here towards the bottom of the list.  I think it’s sweet to end the series on this note, a gay couple who is no longer afraid to kiss each other in the hallway, and a married couple who are now so comfortable with each other, kisses aren’t the be all and end all -- they’re just another way to show affection. 

The Married Kiss (A Wedding) 

So.... controversy time? I’m not the biggest fan of this one? Partly because they cut in the middle of it to go over to Brittana, partly because everything about it feels incredibly formal (which makes sense considering).  Out of all the ‘big’ kisses - I kinda wish this one had a little more behind it. 

The Experimental Kiss (Transitioning) 

This one is a little one-sided as it’s mostly for Blaine to confirm what his heart is telling him and Kurt’s just along for the ride.  I love the scene it’s in, and I love the moment, but I just kinda like the rest of them on this list just a bit more. 

The Reunion 1 (Love Love Love) 

Hell yeah, boys, you go get it.  I love the enthusiasm and passion of this one! It’s just so short -- just let them make out there in the courtyard some more - we won’t mind. ;) 

The Reunion 2 Kiss (A Wedding) 

I love Kurt’s sense of desperation and urgency and I love how Blaine just falls into it.  I do wish we had gotten a smidge more on the making-out side of things as it lingered, but I’m not really complaining.

The Sex in a Car in a Church Parking Lot in the Middle of the Day Kiss (I Do) 

The framing of this kiss is clearly hot, but it was more about the framing, and bodies, and clothes, and steamy window than it was about the kisses themselves.  The scene is amazing, but we didn’t get to see nearly as much making out as I (or America) would have liked. 

The Auditorium Kiss (The First Time) 

This is the kiss that made me fall in love with Klaine.  It’s passionate and in the moment and very romantic.  I’m knocking it a slight point for being weirdly off center - but they’re on a stage, and it still took my breath away, so I still love it. 

The Proposal Kiss (Love Love Love) 

This kiss was perfectly acted and shot, being the culmination of their romantic story (thus far).  I loved it.  It’s not the hottest kiss on the list, but it is the most romantic and it’s classically beautiful. 

Tina’s Dream Fantasy Kiss (New Directions) 

I’m still slightly shocked this even happen.  This is hot -- and the closest we ever get to see them fully in the process of having sex before it’s cut away or hinted at (even if it’s clearly at the very beginning -- and a dream sequence.)  Now, if Blaine would just straddle Kurt and they take off all their clothes.... 

The Make Up Kiss (New New York) 

So, what I love about this one was that it started out as a standard issue kiss, and involved into making out and neck kisses, which were clearly orgasmic by the look on Kurt’s face. I love the intimacy of it, I love the passion of it, and I love that it’s the end of a beautifully, emotional scene and explicitly is leading to sex.  Get it boys! 

The First Kisses (Original Song) 

This scene is really a thing of beauty.  The first kiss was deeply romantic, the second one was passionately hot.  Everything about this moment and these kisses were deeply satisfying -- especially since we had waited so long to see them hook up.  Really, the best kisses they had on the show.... 

Wait, a second... I’m missing one... 

The Elevator Kiss (The Hurt Locker, Part 2) 

I know a bunch of you are going to be screaming at me - cause I didn’t put the first kiss first, or that they still feel deeply uncomfortable about Sue being a stand in for the audience.  I do not care.  This kiss is hot -- like, I’m feeling things in my panties hot.  This is making out as it should be, Why did Sue bother to open the elevators - they would have done it right then and there.  This is my favorite kiss, because it’s hot and intimate and passionate it and lustful and making out and all the things.  

There ya go! :D Whoo - is it me or is it hot in here? ;)