spock, 2021-08-05 [original]

This had so many wonderful one-off gags in the honor of the first few seasons — the casual body horror and cruelty of work; Mr. Burns' very limited affection; the implied cut-away bit of Carl's car meeting its untimely yet brief end; the mattress store that apparently had been there the entire time, which such a catchy name too! — that I was smiling the entire time. You so perfectly captured the kitschy, dark humor that always made The Simpsons must-watch TV.

He rolled onto his other side, found Carl lying right beside him, and jerked in surprise.

“Hey, Carl,” he greeted him calmly, when the initial shock had passed.

I can't put it into words but this was so hilarious to me — I could literally see Lenny's jolt in my head and I laughed aloud.

It seemed no different from the first. Once he looked up, he realised Carl was lying next to him again.

Seriously, I love this bit. It is so pitch-perfectly Simpsons. I am in awe of how well you've captured the tone of canon, especially for all its clever writing (which you certainly match), it is such a visual comedy medium, and yet none of that spirit or humor is lost here.

Remarkably, Carl got into the next bed on his own. Lenny looked down at him for a moment, and then joined him.

“Oh, hey,” said Carl. “Miss me?”

(✧ω✧)

“I kind of like this,” said Carl. “Being in bed with you.” His expression was as inscrutable as ever; Lenny, on the other hand, suddenly felt his face growing extremely warm.

Oh my goooooooosh it's been years since I have watched the show but these two remain firmly in my childhood OTP camp and I am officially all up in my emotions — this is so good.

I loved everything about this! Also it's completely unrelated and yet slightly related, but I can't stop thinking about Lenny's tragic apartment (I think he has a better one as of later seasons, but I always remember that one gag) so I am kind of in love with the idea that Carl shows up, sees how awful it is, and then is torn with losing some dignity by fucking Lenny in his sad little flophouse of a bachelor pad or insisting Lenny come back to his and them subsequently living together just like how the carpooling shook out — or both! Both is good. This fic was a pure delight for a fandom I don't even really consider myself "in" which is always one of the greatest gifts and exchanges can give, so thank you ♥

twoam, 2021-08-06 [original]

This reads like an early episode! It really gets the spirit of them, which is difficult to do, so I was both impressed and laughed a lot. Apart from in this one, they actually get to kiss! It's exactly what I was hoping for when requesting this pairing, so I was so happy when I read it. I really enjoyed the opening in the plant. The casual disregard for safety and everyone's well-being and the fact nobody knows what they're doing or why but they're doing it anyway. It nails the horror of working under late-stage capitalism.

"“Good work, everyone,” he said, ignoring the trails of glowing plasma that streaked across the floor, and the fact that more than one of his employees appeared to be foaming at the mouth."

I laughed at this. I can picture Smithers gingerly stepping over one of them to reach the two of them too. Smithers being a hardass throughout was great.

The dialogue throughout is spot-on and captures the character's voices really well. I could hear all the dialogue in their voices in my head as I read through, you got the rhythm of it down. Your Lenny is so good, too. We don't see his narrative voice often in the show, but this reads like how he would think. Carl's one of those characters where it is hard to tell what he's thinking, and you give

" Lenny exchanged a surprised glance with Carl. Moe’s, he was thinking. Moesmoesmoesmoesmoes. Carl was clearly having the same thought: for once, he was easy to figure out. When he blinked, the word Moe’s was practically imprinted on his eyelids."
I don't have anything clever to say beyond this part is funny, and I enjoyed how synchronised their thoughts were.

"Carl’s had been put out of action about a year ago following an incident involving a family of ducks and a two-litre bottle of soda, and although he’d had it fixed not long afterwards, Lenny had been giving him lifts to work ever since. He had to get up an hour earlier every morning to make the round trip to Carl’s place, but he didn’t mind."
This is funny but also an incredibly sweet detail that I loved. They're taking care of each other! Lenny, a guy who's generally too lazy to go out of his way for anyone, will do that for Carl.

I loved the name of the bed store and the little digression about it – I love it when characters notice Springfield's weirdness but then go 'eh, doesn't matter' afterwards. The lack of wonder is very true of the show.

The bed sharing! You took my prompt, took it in a direction that I never would have thought of and it worked so well. It's one of the joys of doing exchanges. I like the gentle acceptance Lenny has of Carl being incapable of being able to test beds correctly, and how Carl in all his coolness, just rolls with it. The image of the two of them just casually testing out beds together is such a couple thing to do, and the way they slot into it without questioning it is part of what I like about this pairing. I feel they could easily fall into a relationship without realising it's happening, so it's pleasing to see it here.

"“I kind of like this,” said Carl. “Being in bed with you.” His expression was as inscrutable as ever; Lenny, on the other hand, suddenly felt his face growing extremely warm.
“Uh, yeah,” he managed to stammer out. “I guess I kind of like it too.” He paused. “Actually, I like it a lot.”"
Oh, it's just, so, so cute! Carl being inscrutable but actually putting it out there for real and Lenny reacts so honesty without overthinking made me go 'aww' out loud when I read it. I love it when the stoic guy finally lets out his feelings and it's even better when they get returned.

The kiss! Finally! (In terms of how long it's been going on in-show, in the story it's at the perfect time.) It's short but sweet, and it looks like it's promising for their future. I'm glad to see they've found somewhere more interesting than Moe's to go to as well, hah. I hope they have a great time.

Thank you so much for writing for me! I loved it, and I will definitely come back to reread this and enjoy it all over again. I could see this happening on the show, which is what I was really hoping for, so I am so thrilled that you wrote this for me!

ForbiddenSoupDealer, 2022-02-24 [original]

Cuuuute

Edit: I’m realizing everyone else is leaving really heartfelt messages, and I’m over here just saying this. All I can say is that I concur and I enjoyed this fic immensely. We need more of these two.

Freack, 2023-03-09 [original]

The first half of this was so episode, marvelous. Big laugh at the "there was a thousand beds" twist.