#Monster Cards Set 4

[oldschoolfrp]

Rust monster corroding a shiny new sword before snacking on it (AD&D Monster Cards Set 4, TSR, 1982) Many cards in Set 4 are unsigned or have their signatures cropped. Harry Quinn contributed many of the signed illustrations, with some signed by Erol Otus and some unsigned ones resembling Jim Holloway's work.

[frecht]

cursed with Waiting Mode and the only thing i can do while im in Waiting Mode is clean but i already vacuumed my room and also the kitchen and cleaned my desk and i don’t want to do other peoples dishes but if my uncle doesn’t text me soon saying they’re all done resting that might have to happen

[dravidious]

You're just incredible

Braithia rulebook attack GO

The objective of the game is to get 7 victory points by battling with monsters. The first player to get 7 points wins. If both players get 7 points simultaneously, the game is a draw.

Each player starts with a deck of 30. A deck cannot contain multiple cards with the same name and must have exactly 30 cards. A deck must have two regions, and must contain cards from only those two regions.

Randomly choose a player. That player decides who goes first. After that, each player draws 4 cards as their starting hand, decides whether to redraw (explained later), and the game begins.

Each turn is divided into phases that the turn player (the player who's turn it is) acts during. The order is: Start Phase, Main Phase, Battle Phase, End Phase.

The first phase is the Start Phase. First, the turn player draws a card from their deck and adds it to their hand. Then, they gain 3 aether, up to a maximum of 4. Finally, any abilities of cards that trigger "when the turn starts" trigger now.

Next is the Main Phase. During the Main Phase, players can cast spells, summon monsters, and activate abilities.

To play a monster, place it from your hand into an empty Monster Zone and pay aether equal to its level.

To play a spell, place it from your hand into an empty Spell Zone and pay aether equal to its level. There are 4 types of spells: Normal, Trick, Enchantment, and Trap. Normal and Trick spells are discarded after their ability is resolved, but Enchantment and Trap spells stay until you're told to discard them.

Monsters and spells can have abilities that you can activate during your Main Phase. For more info, check the section on abilities below.

After the Main Phase is the Battle Phase. At the start of the Battle Phase, if the turn player has no monsters on their field, their opponent gains 2 Victory Points for free. During the Battle Phase, each of your monsters can move and attack once per turn. You can move your monsters during your Battle Phase, placing them in an empty Monster Zone on your field adjacent to their current Zone. You can move multiple monsters simultaneously, so if you have 2 adjacent monsters, you can swap their positions.

A monster can attack an opponent's monster if they are adjacent to each other. When a monster attacks, compare the attacking monster's Power to the targeted monster's Power. The monster with the higher number wins, defeating the other monster. If the numbers are equal, both monsters are defeated.

When a monster is defeated, its controller's opponent gains Victory Points equal to that monster's Level, and the monster is discarded. If an ability is preventing the monster from being discarded, it stays on the field, but the opponent still gains Victory Points.

After the Battle Phase is the End Phase. At the start of the End Phase, if the turn player has five or more cards in their hand, they must discard until they have four. Then, abilities that trigger "when the turn ends" trigger. After the End Phase, it becomes the next player's Start Phase.

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (Pt. 4)

—

Tw: descriptions of body horror, Dr. Crane has PTSD and Does Not Realize, Crane has an actual panic attack and just doesn’t care, the Riddler makes one (1) sex joke about Batman

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually

(Pt. 1 here) (Prev here) - (Pt. 5 here)

(Masterlist here)

—

Dr. Jonathan Crane is in his lab, the acrid scent of chemicals filling the air, and his hands are shaking.

Danny’s health, for the first week that he had him, had been steadily improving at an extremely quick rate. However, his healing had begun to stagnate. Danny said that it was because his body had run out of ectoplasm, and that while there was a lot of ambient ectoplasm in Gotham, he needed a stronger type in order to heal.

And so, that led Dr. Crane here.

He had stolen the research notes from the Penguin years ago regarding his experimentation on him.

(He quite vividly remembers the sound of bone creaking and groaning as it twisted, lengthened. The squelching of shifting tendons and muscles, the strange fabric-like tightening of skin. The feeling of going from man to monster, of losing all claim to his humanity.)

Danny had called him Liminal, part ghost. He had said that he was transformed by, among other things, a kind of synthetic ectoplasm.

Danny needed ectoplasm.

Crane had the research notes. He had every ingredient necessary. And yet, attempt after attempt failed.

The chemical smell burns his nose. His hands tremble.

Dr. Crane is not afraid.

He doesn’t feel fear anymore. He’s tried to, many, many times, but nothing has worked. And yet, his hands are shaking still.

(The horrifying sensation of vertebrae pop-pop-popping along his spine, growing and lengthening. The unbearable itching beneath his skin as toxin glands begin to form. The feeling of his teeth sharpening and elongating, of his skull growing, of his vision changing and brightening. The awful stench of chemicals. The awful stench of ectoplasm.)

Jonathan takes careful note of his shaking hands, his blurring vision, his accelerated heart-rate and shallow breathing.

(Human hands. Human vision. Human heart and lungs and organs.)

He takes note of them, but he does not let that distract him from the task at hand. Danny is not a chemist, but Jonathan is.

The boy knows enough about chemistry in theory, but he won’t go anywhere near Crane’s equipment. He seems to have some sort of intense fear of laboratory settings, probably developed during his stay with the GiW, and Crane is willing to respect that, if only because he cannot afford to lose him.

As such, Crane is the only one qualified to do this. And, unfortunately, if he isn’t successful the boy may very well die.

He heats the chemicals to precisely the right temperatures, adding each one to its correct container.

Dr. Crane thinks of the Scarebeast, that creature born of cruelty and greed and a sense of superiority. That creature which he tries to ignore is a part of him, that can never be removed. A damage which cannot be undone.

He pours the contents of a small beaker into a larger flask, watching the liquids swirl together. The stench in the air is becoming closer and closer to the one burned into his memory.

Crane’s whole body is wracked with unpleasant sensations. It’s truly unfortunate, he thinks, that despite his mind’s lack of fear, his body still reacts so harshly.

Jonathan’s eyes wander, eventually settling on a purple and green card sitting innocently on the corner of the table.

Right.

Even if they wiped out the GiW tomorrow, and even if Danny could survive without ectoplasm, he would still be in danger.

Crane has to get him back to good health. It’s the only way he can be sure that the boy can defend himself properly.

The solution in the flask begins to foam, and Jonathan does not hesitate as he adds the final ingredient. He pours the mixture into a new container, capping it and placing it into a freezer set to -40 degrees.

Hopefully this time he got the timing right.

Jonathan tries to relax, the ventilation in the room slowly but surely clearing the familiar smell from the air.

He thinks of the letter.

Surely, he thinks, that man can come up with some better material for his jokes. Or, at least something new.

Same old threats, same old attempted poisoning.

Aiming his threats at Danny, though, that was new. New and utterly unacceptable.

Scarecrow did what he had to.

He doubted that his solution would last forever, of course, as with that man it never did. As such, he would prepare both himself and Danny for the inevitable moment that his choices came back to bite them.

However, for the moment, they were safe. Danny could rest and recover, and Jonathan could figure out a plan to minimize possible damages.

Jonathan is no longer shaking.

He’s exhausted. This is his fifth attempt today, and each one leaves an unfortunate strain on his mind and body.

With a sigh, he settles himself into his seat at a nearby desk, opening up his computer and logging his most recent attempt. He still has to wait for it to chill to know if it was successful, but he can always update the logs later.

Once he’s done, he stretches, joints popping loudly as he walks to the freezer.

When he sees the results of his tireless work, the ghost of a smile flits across his face.

Success.

Jonathan picks up the jug of ectoplasm and leaves the lab, which is in all actuality the basement of the new apartment that he moved himself and Danny into after receiving the note. The scrappy old woman who was his landlord had told him that as long as he paid her five hundred dollars up front, she would let him set up in the basement without any questions or cop calls.

And so, the most expensive apartment in the Narrows was his.

At least, he thought, the distance between the basement and the apartment was short enough that Danny didn’t have to sit in while he was doing his labwork.

Jonathan knew that he didn’t exactly have a strong grasp on the concept of ‘lab safety,’ proven by his built-up immunity to almost every toxic chemical he’d ever encountered, and he doubted that Danny should be around such an environment.

He was back to the apartment quickly, not bothering to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face. Danny is sitting in his armchair, trying to read one of his books. Danny looks up, ready to greet him, when he sees the jug in his hands and pauses.

“Is that..?”

“Synthetic ectoplasm,” Jonathan says proudly, “I found the Penguin’s research notes and decided to recreate it, since you said that you needed it to heal properly. I’m not sure if it’ll work the same as what you usually have, but I hope it’s helpful all the same.”

Danny is standing, now, and looking at Jonathan with a strange look in his eyes. He looks, Jon thinks, like he’s about to cry.

Then Danny is rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Jonathan, his scrawny form shaking.

Jonathan is, for a moment, horrified. Did he do something wrong somehow? Why is this child, who’s so afraid of touch, hugging him?

And then he hears Danny’s voice, and he knows that it was all worth it.

“Thank you,” he’s mumbling, over and over, “thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Jonathan says softly, because what else can he say?

The boy cries in his arms for a while, and Jonathan briefly wonders what his life must have been like before, if a person like him can be seen as a comforting figure.

Then, Danny pours himself a small glass of the synthetic ectoplasm, putting the rest into the small fridge which had come with the apartment, and he settles back down, sitting in the armchair once again.

Jonathan sits opposite of him, and they chat with one another as Danny drinks.

Danny talks to him about the stars and tells him about different spaceships, and Jonathan makes sure to pay attention and ask the boy questions.

He doesn’t miss the way that Danny lights up every time he asks him something about his interests. He’s so passionate, so smart, a trait that he seldom sees outside of his fellow rogues, and Jonathan wants to encourage that.

It’s…nice. Peaceful, almost.

And then the front door flies open, because Jonathan isn’t allowed to have nice things.

“Jon,” a familiar voice rings out, “what the hell?!”

Danny is frozen in place, clearly terrified.

Jonathan heaves a sigh, turning to face the nuisance who’s entered his apartment.

“Eddie,” he drawls, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Edward’s face is red with anger as he invades Jonathan’s apartment.

“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe it’s the fact that you sent a bunch of rogues a cryptic message and then dropped off the face of the earth for two weeks! I was worried, Jon!”

Jonathan hums in acknowledgement.

“I didn’t think it was that cryptic,” he says, picking up a book in order to pointedly ignore the Riddler.

“Oh, of course you didn’t, you straw-stuffed hickory dickory dickhead. I swear, you’re always—” he pauses, finally having noticed Danny sitting opposite of Jonathan, “—who is this?”

“My apprentice,” Jonathan replies, dreading the upcoming headache he was no doubt going to develop from Edward’s company, “he’s helping me hunt down the GiW. His name is Danny.”

Edward gasps dramatically.

“You—an apprentice?! And you’re letting him sit in the old man chair?! You don’t even let me sit in the old man chair,” he wails, draping himself over the headrest of the couch with a flourish, “Jonathan, I thought I knew you!”

“Edward,” Jonathan says, “get out of my apartment.”

“Oh my goodness, this is incredible. You’re becoming the bat!”

“I am not becoming the bat, Eddie, now get out.”

Edward has a shit-eating grin on his face as he waltzes over to Danny. Danny, who seemed terrified when he first appeared, is now looking at him with obvious amusement written all over his face.

“I mean, look at him! The hair, the eyes, the scrappy build. If you put him in one of those traffic light vigilante costumes, he could easily pass as a Robin!”

“I’m not doing this with you today, Eddie.”

“Riddle me this, Jon: I am a treasure hidden inside of a chest. You can break me, or steal me, or give me a rest. I can flutter, or pound, or attack, or drop, but if you don’t have me, you’re certainly fucked. What am I?”

Jonathan pauses for a moment before he groans, dropping his head into his hands.

“Eddie.”

Danny sits still, a confused look on his face as he repeats the riddle silently. Then, his face lights up in delight.

“A heart!”

“Jon, I like this one,” Edward says with a smile, ruffling Danny’s hair, “you are correct! A heart, something that I wasn’t aware that our dear Jonathan had!”

“Eddie, stop.”

“No, no,” Edward says, “I was worried about you, you deserve this. I mean, you even missed girls night! You never miss girls night!”

“Girls night?” Danny asks, absolutely delighted.

“Oh, of course,” Edward says, sprawling over on the couch, dangerously close to just laying in Jonathan’s lap, “we have it once a week. I’m invited because of Selina and Jon’s invited because Harley likes him.”

“And what does girls night entail, exactly?”

“Eddie,” Jonathan groans, “please.”

“Well,” Edward hums, “we usually paint our nails, or watch a movie, or gossip about the other rogues, and occasionally, we tell each other about any ‘encounters’ we have with Batman,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down.

Danny’s jaw drops.

“Edward, shut up,” Jonathan says, an irritated tone in his voice that wasn’t there before.

“No way,” Danny says, “I thought that Batman, like, hated you guys or something. You mean he actually..?”

“Oh, the Bat is much like a bottle of liquor or a cheap cigarette, in that he was made to be passed around.”

Danny chokes on air.

“Edward Nygma,” Jonathan hisses, getting out of his seat and looming over the man, “get the hell out.”

Edward pales.

“Leaving, leaving!” Edward says, dashing away from Jonathan. He pauses, turning to flash Danny a quick smile.

“Remember Danny, I’m your favorite uncle! Not any of the other rogues, me!”

With that, he leaves, the room falling completely silent.

And, as per usual, that silence does not last.

“You full-named him?” Danny asks gleefully, “and it worked?”

Jonathan just sighs, sitting down on the couch and rubbing at his temples.

“Please, don’t take anything Eddie says seriously. He’s a moron.”

“Dr. Crane, please let me come to girls night with you,” Danny pleads, his eyes sparkling, “I promise I won’t embarrass you.”

Jonathan groans.

“Of course you won’t, Eddie will do it for you.”

“Come on, please?”

“I think we’re a bit busy with the GiW at the moment,” Jonathan snaps. He pauses as he notices the crestfallen expression on Danny’s face.

This boy is going to be the death of him.

“Perhaps, though, when all that is taken care of…”

Danny cheers, grinning wildly, and Jonathan is not at all relieved to see him happy again. Certainly not.

The rest of the day is relatively normal.

Danny works on trying to get information from the GiW database while Crane refines his his fear toxin, both preparing for a raid on the GiW base they located in Gotham.

It was only a temporary base, nothing of note, but there was a chance of discovering more bases through it, and that wasn’t something either of them were willing to give up.

Still, something like this would take time. Rushing would only lead to failure.

…

Late in the night, long after Danny is fast asleep in his room, Jonathan pauses.

The GiW are not the only threat out there. They aren’t the only threat to him or to Danny. Perhaps it could be helpful to reach out to someone with greater resources than himself.

He sends a quick message to Red Hood.

Hopefully, he thinks, everything will go smoothly.

—

[enchantedbarnes]

Uncle Buck • Part 7

Goodnightmorning

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Single Aunt!Reader

Word Count: 9.3k

Masterlist: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven

A/N: Surprise! I hope you enjoy 🤗 I love hearing from all of you, so don't be shy - please spam me with your thoughts. I love gifs and seeing your reactions. 🥰 If you have any ideas for future parts let me know! xo

"I GOT IT!" You call out while rushing downstairs to answer the door, grabbing your wallet from your purse by the door for the pizza delivery.

Opening the door while still fiddling with getting the money from your wallet, you look up and freeze.

"Fuuucking hell," you clutch your wallet at your chest.

"Heyyy, Aunt Y/n," Sam greets while leaning against the doorway holding a stack of pizzas.

"Cute outfit," Bucky smirks while looking you over. He has two pillows tucked under his arm and a backpack hanging from one shoulder.

It's movie night and you're currently wearing a fluffy hooded cookie monster robe (when you pull the hood up it has his goofy looking googly eyes on top), a blue ribbed tank top, black and blue plaid flannel pajama bottoms, fuzzy slipper socks, and your hair tossed up in two messy buns on top of your head.

"Did you guys decide to get a pizza delivery side hustle going?"

"Walked up at the same time as the delivery kid," Sam answers, nodding his head behind them.

"And what exactly are you doing here, besides stealing our pizzas?" You tilt your head to the side, a questioning glare looking over the both of them.

Bucky holds up a greeting card in his right hand. More specifically Benji's Christmas card. He flips the card open and holds it up to you. You reach out and take the card from him looking it over.

The front of the card says "MERRY CHRISTMAS YA FILTHY ANIMALS" with an edited Home Alone poster showing Benji in the middle with Bucky and Sam in the background. This you already knew, but what you didn't realize was the little shit apparently customized the inside of their cards without you knowing.

The inside of the card reads:

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You've been cordially invited to:

New Year's Eve Movie Marathon Night

📍 Location: Attic movie space

⏱️ Time: 3pm set up, 4pm movie selection process

Comfy Attire / Pajamas

Bring your own: overnight essentials - pillows and blankets encouraged but probably not necessary

Snacks and Pizza will be provided

[*Mom knows of this, Aunt Y/n does not...please direct any further inquiries to Mom 718-555-0110*]

"I saw you yesterday, you didn't want to bring this up to me??" You glare over at Bucky, holding the card up.

"Oh you did, did you?" Sam looks back and forth between the two of you.

"Must have slipped my mind," Bucky shrugs.

"I'm sure you were both very busy at this mystery meetup," Sam smirks.

"Yes, it was very eventful," you keep a straight face, "My legs are still sore."

"Oh??" His eyebrow raises as his head whips over to you.

"Mmhm, and there was also a lot more oils involved than I expected."

"Go on..."

"Lots of flowers. Candles. Honey. Fruits... Anything I'm missing?" You look over at Bucky.

"The leather. Can't forget that."

"Of course, how could I forget that. Very sturdy leather, indeed."

"Wow, I just knew you two were a couple of freaks." You can see the wheels turning in Sam's head as he processes this information and tries to decide which question to go with next.

"And then there was that sweet old lady that joined us," you're starting to struggle to keep a straight face, but manage to keep it together.

"Mildred was very energetic for 86 years old," Bucky nods. You finally break and start laughing.

"She probably could have gone another 3 or 4 rounds."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa," Sam interrupts, holding his hands up in an X motion. "You lost me. Explain yourselves," he looks back and forth between you, an eyebrow raised.

"We went to the farmer's and craft market, obviously. What were you thinking we were talking about?" You sass.

"Yeah, Samuel. What were you thinking of?" Bucky asks, a smirk appearing on his face now.

Sam scoffs. Nora makes her way downstairs and spots their new guests still standing in the doorway.

"Hey, guys! Welcome! Why are you still in the doorway? Come on in," Nora waves them inside. She greets Sam with a squeeze on his arm as she walks by, "Thanks for grabbing the pizzas! Bring 'em on up with you. Everyone's in the attic - you're just in time. Hey, Bucky!" She grins while greeting him with a quick wave.

Nora quickly disappears into the kitchen. Sam sets the pizza boxes down on the entry table temporarily and wraps you in a bear hug, giving you a lift before he sets you back down to snag the pizzas again while making his way upstairs.

Bucky steps inside and hesitates as he closes the door behind him, "Is this ok with you that we're here? I would have told you but I wasn't sure what repercussions would happen if I was the one to spill the beans. Plus seeing the look on your face when you opened the door..."

You grab one of the pillows from him and playfully whack him with it.

"How dare you," you laugh, "And of course it's ok. You're welcome here any time. The fact you keep willingly coming back to this circus amazes me every time."

Bucky just shakes his head and holds his pinky up to you. Those piercing blue eyes staring right at you with his stupidly handsome face.

You smile as you hook your own pinky around his, reminding you of his promise back in the attic during your last movie night together. "Promise you'll tell us if the crazy gets to be too much?"

Somehow we still haven't scared him away. He's gorgeous but you're worried he might be a beautiful idiot.

"Happy almost New Year," you smile as you place your hand on the side of his face, the stubble tickling your palm. He smiles down at you in return, "Happy New Year's Eve." He starts to lean in but you're lost in thought for a moment.

"Wait," You blink and Bucky halts his movement, "Did you guys tip the pizza delivery?"

"It was a young kid, he got a picture with Sam and ran off in his excitement after."

"Damn, that's genius." Note to self, remember that for the next time we order delivery.

You kiss his cheek and hand him the pillow back. "Well, I'm pleasantly surprised and glad you're here. Your continued movie education awaits. You first," you gesture up the stairs, "I'm just gonna go help Nora real quick." Bucky stares at you for a moment, an eyebrow raised as he tilts his head.

He goes to question you but you interrupt as you start to back away, "I'll be right up!"

He gives you a face that looks like you just kicked his dog and you suddenly realize in your frazzled state you gave him the brush off. You step closer again and place your hands back on his face.

"Hi, sorry. Starting over," you crank up the excitement, "I'm so happy you're here. Happy almost New Year!" You move his face between your hands back and forth for emphasis.

"Happy New Year's Eve," he repeats his part in amusement.

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer into a sweet kiss. Bucky slowly rests his forehead against yours after, his piercing gaze searching yours with a light smile.

"Sorry for the awkward scatter brain. Was just caught off guard."

"S'fine. Don't do it again though," he jokes with you.

"An eight year old wasn't trying to set me up with a stranger for no reason. He's aware I'm a basket case."

"If you think you're a basket case, I don't know what that could possibly mean for me then."

"Well, the remaining roles available are brain, athlete, criminal, and princess. If you don't understand that reference we'll add it to the growing movie list. But I'm voting princess," you quip and kiss his nose quickly before you step away, "See you upstairs, your majesty."

He glares down at you sceptically, but decides not to bother questioning you. He's sure he'll find out at some point. He shakes his head while adjusting his backpack strap on his shoulder and making his way over to the stairs.

You escape into the kitchen in a flash but wait a moment, listening to Bucky's footsteps make it up the stairs before you say anything.

"Nora, how could you?" You try to keep your voice low while you whisper yell at her.

She clearly knew about this and said nothing this whole time.

"I made sure you looked cute today! Come on!"

"Traitor."

"Why are you even in here? I don't need your help. Go make out with your handsome future husband."

"I'm moving somewhere tropical and far away from all of you," you mutter as you grab a tote bag off the counter.

"Send postcards! Save a guest suite for us," she blows a kiss at you. "Oh, that also sounds sunny! Make sure Bucky gets your back for you when you need to reapply sunscreen."

You send a middle finger (with love of course) her way as you exit the kitchen.

Bucky lets out a low whistle when he reaches the attic space, "Wow."

"How does it get cooler every time we come up here? What is this?" Sam waves his arms towards the fully decorated ceiling.

Benji's previous surprise movie set up had been recreated but on a much larger scale.

The couch was set up much the same with it's pillows lined up, sheet canopies hanging over it, and string lights surrounding the area. However Prudence had helped Benji cover the rest of the space to look like the room was basically a giant blanket fort, with sheets draped and hanging from the ceiling from various strings and pins.

The king size and queen size foam mattress toppers that belong both on your bed and Nora's now took up residence on the floor for some padding along with every cushion that could be found and removed in the house, making one large cozy area. Sam tosses his backpack down, flopping onto his stomach on the padded floor next to it, "I'm moving in."

Benji jumps on top of him, "Heck yeah!"

"Hi fellas!" Prudence greets from her spot on an oversized beanbag chair, her boyfriend Monty next to her.

You make your way up the attic stairs with Nora, the large tote full of snacks and candies in your hands.

You hold the tote open to Bucky with a grin when you reach the top of the stairs.

"Are you sharing?" He asks while peering into the bag.

"I suppose," you tease, "Go ahead and pick your poison."

The lights dim as Bucky goes to reach into the bag and "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited starts playing. The recognizable beat pumping through the Bluetooth speakers.

"Ohh, here we go," you sigh but laugh.

The starting line "Y'all ready for this?" announces Theo's presence as he starts pumping his phone in the air while the lights in the room start flashing with the help from Nora flicking the switch off and on rapidly to the music.

Benji groans. "Every time," he grumbles while crawling off of Sam and standing back up.

"Party peopleeeee!" Theo shouts as he reaches the top of the stairs.

Nora turns the lights back on, "Everyone go ahead and pick out your movie choice for tonight. Try not to share your choice yet."

Sam and Benji move to huddle by a large shelf of DVDs.

Sam silently holds up a copy of Sleepless in Seattle to Benji with an eyebrow raised.

Benji's eyes widen as he continues their silent exchange with a violent head shake side to side.

Sam slowly puts the DVD back on the shelf and gestures to locking a key over his mouth and throwing it over his shoulder.

"I knew that line about soulmates, puzzle pieces and cosmic forces sounded familiar," he points an accusing finger at the small agent of mischief.

Benji smirks and flashes his choice so only Sam can see. They both break into a giggle fit and high five.

Meanwhile across the room, you stand next to Bucky, "Do you have any favorites you'd like to pick out? If we don't have the physical copy we can try finding it online and just hold up a photo on my phone."

"Haven't been big on movies these days. I caught part of a movie recently playing on one of the TV's at the bar? Never saw the end, definitely didn't start watching at the beginning either. Just glimpses here and there."

"Do you know what it was? We could find that one if you are interested."

"Never saw the title," he shrugs.

"Oooh, a challenge," you rub your hands together and turn to face him better, "Let's see... Was it real life or animated?" You lean in, face turning serious in concentration.

He laughs lightly under his breath at your switch in demeanor, "Not animated. It was in space? It had people and robots in it."

"Oh hell yeah, okay. Let's see... Was it like a moon landing situation? Or maybe trapped on a planet?"

"Uh.. buncha people with terrible aim. Like, astonishingly bad aim. They were in a garbage compactor that was closing in..?"

"BUCKY, please shut your beautiful mouth right now. Star Wars????"

"That's the movie people always bring up?"

You grab his arm and yank him over to the many movie collections. You pull 'A New Hope' out and hand it to him.

"Yeah, that's the one. The girl with the hair," he holds the cover up to your face to compare side by side. "Yours are cuter," a sweet but devilish smile appears on his face as he references your hair that's up in two buns.

You swat the case away from your face, "Is this what you'd like to pick? You might get some heat for choosing this... Just a fair warning."

He shrugs while tucking the case under his arm.

"Beautiful mouth, huh?" He smiles slyly over at you.

You fix a playful glare at him, "Now is not the time, Barnes. This is serious business."

"Okay!" Nora announces, "For our esteemed guests, welcome. We're glad to have you join us. Everyone please put your choices behind your backs and line up when you're ready."

You all finish grabbing your choices and gather in a line, standing side by side. You pull on Bucky's arm and direct him to stand next to you. Benji grins up at him and tosses his arms around Bucky's waist, giving him an excited hug. Bucky freezes at first and then relaxes, ruffling Benji's hair. Benji lets go and gives his attention back to what's going on in the room.

"Here's the deal," Theo begins, "We each get a turn. When it's your turn you step to the front and present your choice. When you hold the movie up, we like to say a line from the movie for an added razzle dazzle, you don't have to though. The next person goes up and does the same with their movie. We then vote on which one stays and which one goes. The winner stays and the next entry goes up against them. We repeat until the last movie is standing. Got it?"

You all nod and confirm your understanding of the rules.

"Since we're watching more than one movie tonight, how are we deciding follow up winners?" Prudence asks.

"Well I mean, if you insist, I will choo-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Nora cuts Theo off.

"Guests could choose," Prudence suggests.

"What about the youngest? Hellooo?" Benji cuts in, waving his hand.

"We could go by highest rating on IMDb?" Monty adds.

Arguments break out. You roll your eyes and go back to picking out chocolate from your tote. You grab a snickers and inspect the wrapping and then silently offer a piece to Bucky, tapping his arm with the wrapper to grab his attention. He smiles and accepts your offering while you rip into a KitKat and take a bite. "This could be a minute."

Sam nods over to you and holds his hands up in a stance ready to catch. You reach into the tote again and toss over a random candy for him. He catches the orange Reese's and gives you a thumbs up.

"Alright!" Nora interrupts the bickering, "Raffle style? We pull from a hat."

A chorus of fiiiiine's agree and you're all finally ready to continue.

Theo steps up to present his choice first. "Pockets ain't empty, cuz." He proudly slides a copy of 2 Fast 2 Furious out from behind his back.

Nora rolls her eyes. "Another one?! Again? Why the second one?"

Theo puts his hand over his heart, "How could you? You're my wife, my FAMILY."

"Don't you dare say it-"

"You're gonna turn your back on family?"

Nora's palm covers her face.

"This is the fourth time in a row he's chosen a fast and furious movie," you whisper to Sam and Bucky, taking another bite of your candy.

"I heard that," Theo points at you, "and that is a lie. This is my seco-... No wait, it's the third time."

"And you don't choose them in any order. You just pick random ones! Last time we watched one of the more recent ones, now you wanna go back to not the first but the second movie? Make it make sense," Nora argues. They both stick their tongues out at each other.

Prudence skips up next to Theo, "Well this should be an easy choice then." She holds up her choice over her head: Hot Rod. "You look pretty. What did you say? Uh, I said you look shitty. Goodnight, Denise!" She quotes while mimicking the two different voices.

You laugh while pointing towards Prudence, "Cool beans!" You quote back.

The majority votes for Prudence and Theo dejectedly goes to stand to the side, Monty stepping up in his place.

"You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting," he kneels while holding up A Knight's Tale over his head, "Come back when you're worthy."

"Dang. Sorry Prue," you join the votes and point over to Monty.

"It's a worthy choice, I understand." She moves to the side and Nora steps in her place.

"D-i-g, what's that spell?" She swings the DVD case for Holes like a shovel, "DIG!"

Theo groans, "I'm tired of this, Grandpa!"

"Well that's too damn bad!" Nora shouts back.

Bucky looks over at you with visible confusion written on his face.

"They're still quoting the movie," you answer for him.

He nods but still seems baffled by this movie selection process. You link your arm around his and pat it in a gesture to show your silent support among the chaos.

Votes stick with A Knight's Tale. It was close though.

"If you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity," Nora does her best Eartha Kitt impression as she moves aside.

Finally it's your turn. You let go of Bucky's arm and make your way over next to Monty.

"I do a great impression of a hot dog!" You scrunch your shoulders up and neck down, holding up Mrs. Doubtfire.

"HelloooOOooo!" Prudence cheers while voting for you.

"My first day as a woman and I'm already getting hot flashes!" Nora points to you as well.

"It was a run-by fruiting," Benji giggles.

"I'm melting like a snow cone in Phoenix," Sam joins in, Benji giving him a high five.

Bucky's eyebrows scrunch together. Benji tugs on his hand and pulls him down to whisper in his ear.

Standing back up, Bucky clears his throat and answers, "Help is on the way, dear?"

"Yeah!" You all cheer.

Bucky blushes a bit at the attention. Benji grabs his arm, giving it an excited shake.

"Alright, alright." Monty surrenders and steps aside.

Sam starts singing in a deep voice as he walks up next to you, "Bow bow, Oooh yeahhhhh," he raises his movie up, "Chick, chicka-chickaaaa!"

His voice goes monotone as he continues, "Bueller..... Bueller......"

It's a strong choice but votes stick with Mrs. Doubtfire instead of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Bucky shyly makes his way up next to you. You give him an encouraging nod and smile. His face is scrunched up and unsure, "I'm not really prepared with a quote or anything..."

"Wait! Hang on," you pull out your phone, quickly typing away. "One second... Almost got it... Fucking ads - five more seconds please..." You watch the countdown waiting for 'Skip Ads' to finally appear. "Ok! On the count of 3," you nod over at Bucky. You hold up three fingers, two, one, and then point over at him as you press play.

The intro to Star Wars dramatically blares as Bucky presents his choice.

"Boooo, hiss!" Prudence yells out towards you.

"You coached him!" Theo argues.

"Party foul, bending the rules to your advantage!" Monty joins in.

"I didn't coach shit! This was his choice! So be nice!"

"Then you two really are perfect together," Nora rolls her eyes.

"The rule was I can't choose this movie ever again. Our GUEST chose it!"

Bucky's eyes are wide as he stands frozen, trying to figure out what is happening.

"Uh, we can skip my choice?"

"Of course not, Bucky. So sorry for freaking you out. Y/n has made us watch this a million times. Open the case, we started a tally mark system for them," Nora motions towards the case.

He opens the case and sees the cluster of line tallies filling the inside cover.

"I tried to warn you," you shrug at him.

"At least it's not Lord of the Rings again," Theo sighs.

"You leave my precious out of this," you point at Theo accusingly, "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

Theo rolls his eyes at you.

"I'm just gonna.. step aside... No votes necessary, really," Bucky assures.

"You're all a bunch of jerks. Bucky, I will gladly watch the entire series with you. You're not getting out of it that easy."

"Wait, have you not seen them before?" Nora asks.

"I've only seen parts of that one," Bucky shrugs and moves back to his original spot.

"Well, that's a different story I guess," Monty shrugs, "but still not enough to sit through it again. Sorry."

"Nerf herders," you mutter under your breath.

Benji dances up to the empty spot. "With it being New Years, I have decided to go with a more New Year resolvation related choice."

"Resolution," Theo corrects.

"Yeah, that." Benji reveals his DVD, holding it up with a wide grin. Uncle Buck.

Prudence lets out a snort that instantly makes her start giggling even harder. "Remember when you showed me his first ultrasound and I told you ' this baby is destined for greatness'?" She asks Nora next to her, "Absolutely knocked it out of the park."

"Well, that was fun. I'm so honored to have the winning choice," you interrupt while shoving Benji's face as you push by him.

"Hey! We didn't vote yet!" Benji protests.

"Are you really sure you want us all to watch this? Mr. 'Where do you live, own or rent?' Hm?" You whisper the last part to him, hinting at you knowing all about his previous kitchen interrogation after prying the info out from Bucky yourself during your first date.

Benji's eyes widen as he gasps. "I, uh, I... Y'know what... I was just being silly. You know meee, just gotta get that title joke in there. I.. take back my choice and pass," he plasters on a nervous grin as he hides the movie behind his back, "Maybe next time!"

Bucky raises an eyebrow but you refuse to look over at him.

"Can I see that?" He asks Benji with a smirk.

Theo and Nora claimed the couch.

On the floor area in front of it Monty and Prudence assembled their own little nest where they gathered some of the extra cushions and blankets around them.

You were next to Prudence, a wall of cushions between the two of you and a stack of pillows from your bed behind you. Bucky is next to you with his pillow he brought with him, the other pillow he carried in earlier was Sam's. Sam is on the other side of Bucky, an empty space left between them for Benji who called 'dibs' on the spot before disappearing downstairs.

While Theo sets up your winning movie for Mrs. Doubtfire, you get up to grab some plates and pass out pizza slices with Prudence who passes out the drinks.

You place one more plate of pizza in Benji's open space and sit back down in your spot with your own.

As you're pulling your blanket over your lap, loud thumps and clatters from Benji running back upstairs start to echo and he emerges carrying a bag full of items over his shoulder like a small Santa Claus. He plops everything down immediately.

"Here you go, Sam." Benji grins while tossing a thick rolled up fleece blanket over to him.

"Ayyy! Thanks so much, big guy." Sam unrolls the blanket and tosses it up slightly to spread it over his legs, revealing a large captain america shield on it. "It's perfect," he laughs.

"Do I get a blanket?" Bucky asks, looking over at the blanket and back over to Benji in betrayal.

"I'm all out. Sorry. You'll have to share one," Benji smirks and scurries away.

"I wonder who he thinks you'll share with," you ask in an airy tone while pretending to brush dirt off and pick lint from the comforter over your lap, tucking it closer under your legs with one hand while taking a bite of your pizza with the other.

Bucky gives you a side eye, but you keep a straight face while focusing on your pizza. A piece of mozzarella stretches as you pull it away and place it back on your plate.

Sam makes a show out of smoothing his blanket out as well, pulling it up over his shoulders and giving them a shimmy. "So cozy. Wow. It's like I'm being hugged by a fluffy cloud."

Bucky shakes his head at both your antics.

"You can share with us, BB." Monty lifts a corner of their blanket up with a wink.

Suddenly the large blanket over Prudence and Monty disappears towards their feet. Benji has their blanket tangled at his feet as he walks away. "Whoops," he shrugs while shuffling his feet and the blanket around some more like a plate of spaghetti. You almost break, but manage to keep a straight face still. Benji then grabs two chunky black plastic objects from his earlier pile and you know exactly what they are. One definitely came from your room, the other from his own. He rushes over to the corner of the room and plugs one in, setting the object down on the floor at a slight angle. He then rushes to the other corner of the room and does the same with the second one. He excitedly runs over to the light switch, shutting off the overhead lights, leaving only the movie projector and the string lights lighting the room.

"Sure, I didn't need to see anything," Theo grumps, remote in hand still clicking around on the screen.

"It's a projector, you can see better in the dark," Nora shakes her head at him.

Benji excitedly plops down in his spot and leans over to Bucky. "Are you ready for this??"

"Da na na, da d-da da, na na-" Theo starts singing the same 2 Unlimited song from earlier.

"Dad, stoppppp!" Benji swats behind him at Theo. "Anyways! Watch this!" He holds up two small remotes and presses the power buttons on them.

Two more projectors come to life, but these cast laser dots to look like stars with multi-color aurora light effects dancing around the room.

"Are you kidding me?? I'm forwarding my mail. How much for my share of rent?" Sam asks Theo behind him.

"We'll crunch some numbers and get back to you," Theo answers.

"I could stare at this for hours," Bucky watches in awe as the colors slowly shift and dance around.

"I bought Benji one for his birthday and then immediately bought one for myself. Ceilings are so boring and depressing without them now."

"Can we turn the spinning off? It makes me slightly nauseous," Prudence requests.

"On it," Benji presses a button and the laser stars stay stationary in their positions, they continue to blink in and out softly and the Aurora effect is still shimmering and shifting colors.

"Perfect, thank you!"

Benji starts making himself comfortable in his spot between Bucky and Sam. He has wrapped himself in his favorite fleece blanket that looks like a giant tortilla and has managed to lounge his way across both Sam and Bucky, shoving a large slice of pizza in his mouth.

The 20th Century Fox logo pops up on the screen as the opening music for Mrs. Doubtfire starts playing.

A sense of calm washes over Bucky as he relaxes. Next to Wakanda he thinks he has found a new favorite spot. A feeling catches him off guard. A feeling he hasn't had a lot of experience with in a long time... Home. He has had a similar taste of it when he visits the Wilson's, but he still felt more like an outsider looking in. This though. This felt different. He looks over at you.

You were still sitting up, a bag of chips now resting in your lap while you toss candies back and forth with Prudence. A smile is stretched across your face as the two best friends giggle at each other. Monty retrieved their blanket.

Benji has his head resting back against Bucky's chest and left shoulder, while one leg stretches across Sam's shins. Bucky's vibranium arm rests across Benji's small shoulders, his forearm bent up allowing his hand to rest on top of Benji's head.

You smile and shake your head when you look over and see Benji has made himself comfortable. In his own little chosen people bubble. Wrapped as a cozy pizza-eating burrito.

You give in and lift the edge of your blanket and comforter, tossing it over what you can reach of Bucky.

He looks down in surprise for a moment and then smiles over at you. With his Benji-free right arm, he adjusts the blanket over his legs. You scooch over closer, purely to make it easier to share of course. He nudges you with his shoulder in thanks. You tap him with your knee as your silent reply.

During the movie Benji grabs a bag of peelable red licorice strips that he starts chowing down on. Every few peels he'll hold a couple strings up and offer them to Bucky or Sam.

-

Mrs. Doubtfire wraps up and you all get up to stretch and take bathroom breaks while setting up for the next movie.

You start clearing up some discarded pizza plates.

"Anybody want some cake?" Nora asks.

"Yes!" Benji cheers.

Nora goes to open a cake box, revealing a decorated vanilla & chocolate marble cake made to resemble a clock.

"Theodore, why is the 5 o'clock slice missing?" She points the serving knife over at her husband.

"Uh.. because seven ate five?"

Prudence lets out a snort of laughter. Nora just sighs while shaking her head, slicing into the cake to serve the rest.

"Alright, Benji," you hand him a plastic cup, "I scribbled down the movies on paper scraps and put them in the cup. Go ahead and pick out the next movie."

"How do we know you didn't put Star Wars in there for every entry?" Monty points an accusing finger at you.

Benji reaches in and pulls out A Knight's Tale. You hold a middle finger up while Monty cheers, "Only joking, sweet Y/n. I knew you'd never do that." He cuts his eyes over to Prudence quickly, mouthing "What are the odds?"

"You owe me five," she mouths back while holding up her hand.

Monty gives her a quick high-five, earning an eye roll from Prudence. "That was my fault for not being more specific that I meant dollars, you cheeky bastard."

Monty grins and leans over, stealing a kiss from her.

-

Mid-movie Benji let's out a slight snore-snort as he startles himself awake, sitting up straight. "Wha- is it midnight yet?" He rubs at his eyes.

"It's not even 8pm yet, you lightweight," you toss a smaller pillow at him and it bounces off his head.

"Heyyy. So rude." He yawns while laying back down but instead of leaning back on Bucky again, he burrows into his own stack of pillows.

Bucky takes advantage of his newly freed arm and range of motion, reaching over to steal some of your snacks. You playfully glare over at him in mock offense as he gives you a smirk in return.

Benji pops his head back up suddenly, a new wave of energy hitting him at his sudden thought. His head whips around to look over at his parents on the couch behind him, his eyes staring owlishly wide at them.

Theo whispers over to Nora, "We made that terrifying little being."

"Straight up brought that chaos into this world," she whispers back. "How can we help you, sweet definitely-not-possessed baby boy of ours?"

"Can we play my new board game?"

"That sounds more like a group vote decision, my love."

Benji sits up on his knees sitting back enough to have all eyes on him. The overkill gut-punch pout and large puss in boots eyes appear, "Can we all play my new board game, pleeeease?" He clasps his hands together under his chin making sure to tilt his head and pitifully look at each adult while he begs.

"Man, that is stone cold. How do you say no to that?" Sam asks.

You and Nora sigh at the same time, "You don't."

"Which board game is it, Ben Ben?" Prudence asks.

"I'll go get it!" He leaps up and runs to a closet in the corner

"Are you sure you can stay awake long enough to play a game?" You tease.

"I was not sleeping! I was resting my eyes like Pop-pop! It wasn't my fault, Bucky's arm must have some sort of sleeping magic."

"Sleeping magic?" Bucky and Nora ask at the same time.

"Can't say I've unlocked that feature before," Bucky answers while flexing and twisting his arm back and forth as the plates shift with the motion.

"Please tell whoever made it I will donate my entire body to get some of this sleeping magic. Even if it's just a pinky," Nora pleads back.

"I'll pass that along," Bucky laughs.

Benji runs back in with his new board game proudly held over his head. A box that says... Benjopoly?

"Benji, what is this?" You ask taking the box from his hands to get a closer look.

"It's a custom monopoly board!" He jumps up and down in excitement.

"Hey, our house is on a spot!" You point at a spot on the box, "How cool! Why is this the first time I'm seeing this?"

"He wanted to surprise everyone with it today," Nora shrugged, "I haven't even seen some of the choices he went with yet."

"So can we play, pleeeease??" He begs.

You open the lid and hold the box back out to Benji. He's practically vibrating with excitement as he pulls the board out.

As Benji lays the board out you get a closer look at the property choices around the board. You also catch a glimpse at the little trinkets for player pieces.

"Sweet Jesus...." You sigh and shut your eyes while you press your fingers against them.

"What?" Bucky questions, "You okay?"

You clear your throat, "Fine, I'm fine..." You grab Benji by the back of his shirt and tug him over into your lap. He lands with a thump and gazes up at you with a look of complete innocence, but you know it is anything but. Placing your forehead against his, you playfully glare into his tiny mischievous eyes, "Wanna delight me with an answer on why you chose these places?"

Your house, the library, museum of natural history, a few fancy hotels, the gazebo at a local park, Brooklyn botanic garden, the aquarium, even Disneyland and the Smithsonian were on here. These were all innocent enough until you started noticing things like your childhood family church, city hall, the large barn on your uncle's property where Nora and Theo were married and you finally start to piece together... These were all a variety of wedding venue options. The player pieces? You noticed a diamond ring, top hat, flower bouquet, and a limo amongst them.

He beams up at you in return and rubs his nose against yours. He then pulls you into a tight hug, squeezing the life out of you. "Just some favorite places!"

"Oh hey, it's Uncle Dave's barrnnnn-ooooh..." Nora's sudden epiphany hits next. She looks over at you, her eyes wide but trying to keep a neutral face. She mouths, "I didn't know," over to you and winces.

"Oooh? Oooooh what?" Theo asks her.

"Uh..I was just thinking how long this is gonna take to play... Bubs, I know you're excited about this, but what do you think about something less time consuming? Like maybe Uno?"

Benji pouts and huffs while getting up and going to grab the deck of cards instead.

Nora makes quick work of packing up the board game and discarding the box discreetly under the couch.

At 10:45pm Prudence jumps up and starts lining up plastic champagne flutes, filling them with a sparkling cider. Benji also gets up and grabs a shopping bag from the corner of the room, pulling out a stack of cone shaped party hats, glittery gold paper crowns, and some foil horns to blow into. He passes out one of each to everyone, asking each person, "hat or crown?" while holding each option up.

You try to figure out the best way to make this work with your hair up. You grab two crowns. Bucky takes one from you and helps you adjust the sizes to put a crown around each bun on top of your head. He shakes his head once they're on and pulls his phone out, snapping a photo of you posing with your hands under your chin. Benji and Theo can be spotted in the background giggling as they were also trying to figure out how to give Theo a mohawk look with the party hats, elastic strings meant to go under your chin covering his face at weird angles to accommodate multiple hats going along the back of his head, which only makes them giggle harder. Nora shakes her head at their antics but has a smile on her face as she watches the two in amusement, a crown already on her head as well.

You grab Bucky's phone and go to take a picture of the both of you. He places his arm over your shoulder and smiles for the photo. After you take a couple to make sure you get a cute one you tell Sam to move closer and join in for a photo.

"I don't want a photo of Sam," Bucky argues with a huff. You lightly elbow him and Sam ignores Bucky, plastering a goofy grin on his face for a photo with both of you, while yelling "Misterwives!" as his way of saying 'cheese!'

Prudence checks her phone, "My co-worker lives up the street. She said they're all at the park having a new years party. Looks like there's a projector show of their own set up against the nearby buildings to watch the ball drop with music. Anybody interested in checking it out? We have enough time to get over there."

You trade your cookie monster bathrobe for a long wool coat and slip on your boots on the way out.

Bucky is giving an overtired, sugar-buzzed Benji a piggyback ride. Benj yaps away in his ear as you all walk along the sidewalk

"We have a 'bring your favorite person to school' day coming up soon. Can you come?" He asks Bucky while playing with the cone party hat on Bucky's head.

"EXCUSE me?!" Theo, Nora, and you stop short and yell at the same time.

"I can't pick just one of you. Two of you will get all butthurt. So I'm choosing outside the box.. or roof..? And then you all can be equally butthurt together."

"Unbelievable. The audacity," Nora scoffs and keeps walking while holding Theo's hand.

"Judas," Theo grumbles.

"Good thing we kept the receipts on those Christmas presents."

Benji ignores them and continues, "We eat lunch and they have some games set up around. We would totally crush it." He holds his fist up.

"Am I expected to make some sort of presentation?"

"Nope!"

"I'll think about it, but I think you have better options, pal."

"Nope!" He repeats and squeezes his grip around him.

"I thought I was offended before, now I'm extra offended. The absolute nerve," Theo scoffs.

"I'll text you the info," Benji fake whispers.

You get separated from Bucky at the park. He went to get you a water but he hasn't returned yet. You make a quick sweep through and finally find him, his body language clearly showing discomfort as he looks around. A woman is standing in front of him trying to pull him into conversation. You walk over and see his shoulders sag slightly with relief.

"There you are, we were about to start a search party!" You joke as you walk up to him and link your arm around his. "Hello," you greet the woman standing in front of him.

"Oh, hi!"

"This is the future Mrs," Bucky tilts his head towards you.

Her eyes dart down to your gloved hands.

"Yup, that's me," you play along, "Nice to meet you. Are you the owner of the salon on 8th? I think I've seen you there before? I've had an appointment with Mac before."

"Oh yes! We miss her. She moved back west after the baby was born."

"I heard. I'm happy for her, but she will definitely be missed."

"You'll like Alex, he has the same aura. Very welcoming and highly recommended by clients. His bridal updos are to die for."

"I'll keep that in mind. Happy New Year," you wave to her as you steer both you and Bucky away.

"We lose you for a few minutes and you're nearly on your way to another future wife, you stud."

"Haa-haa," he gives a flat response back, pulling you closer to him. "Can we go find the others before she decides to appear again?"

"What, you weren't enjoying your conversation with crazy eyes? She's loaded, you could have been her sugar baby."

-

The midnight countdown echoes as everyone chants down from ten.

At 'three', Bucky gently tugs you closer while his hand cups your jaw. His vibranium fingers brush gently against your chin, tilting your head towards him. You can feel your heart pounding faster in anticipation. The growing noise of the excited crowd starts to fade as he pulls you into a soft, tender kiss. Your lips fitting perfectly together.

The midnight cheers erupt and echo around you as you fight your own internal fireworks erupting for your new year's kiss. Time feels like it slows to a crawl.

"Happy New Year," you whisper with a grin when you finally pull away. You can't help but let out a laugh.

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" He squints down at you.

"Sorry, I don't wanna ruin the moment... This is just so cheesy," you bite your lip while holding back another laugh at the stunned look on his face.

"Cheesy? Cheesy?? You think this is cheesy, huh??" He squeezes your waist, while he playfully taunts you. With each question his face inches closer to you.

You break into laughter as his fingers tickle into your sides.

"I'll show you cheesy," his grip tightens as he dips you backwards, pulling you in for a breathtaking kiss.

Bucky lifts you back up and you both take a moment to breathe before he interrupts and pulls you back in for a more passionate kiss.

Benji makes his presence known by blowing a foil horn at both of you. The loud sound startles you away from the kiss. "Ew, was his tongue in your mouth? Or was that your tongue? Either way, tongue was involved here." He holds an accusing finger up at the two of you as his face twists in disgust.

Theo places a hand over Benji's forehead and directs him away. "Stop making things weird. Keep moving."

"I'm making it weird?? But that can't be sanitary!"

You hide your face against Bucky's shirt, both of you shaking with laughter. Tears fill your vision from a combo of the cold weather and your laughter. Your face burning up from both the exertion of laughing and the embarrassment of being called out by your nephew.

You finally look up and go to wipe your eyes but Bucky beats you to it. His finger slides along your cheek first and then gently swipes his thumb under your eyes. He takes extra care to wipe some of your smudged eyeshadow at the corners and he smiles warmly at you in the process.

"Are you gonna finally let me call you mine, or will Benji need a 12 step plan drafted up to help convince you?"

"I dunno, I might have to update my cootie shots and consult with the counsel. It's a whole to-do."

He growls and goes to squeeze your sides again, playfully nipping at your chin and cheek, "C'mere."

You giggle as you try to back away but he only squeezes you closer, "I'm still waiting for an answer," he locks his arms around you, holding you in place.

"How could I say no to this face?" You try to go squeeze his face but he has your arms pinned to your sides.

"That's not a proper answer," he squeezes tighter. "Are," he leans closer, "you," and closer, "my girl," his nose brushes against your cheek, "or not?"

"Yes."

You let out a surprised squeal as his bends slightly, moving his grip around your hips and upper thighs, lifting you off the ground and giving you an excited spin.

You gather the group back up and start to head back to the house. This time Theo gives a dozing Benji a piggyback ride.

You squeeze Bucky's hand and smile over at him. He squeezes back and pulls you closer as you both continue walking behind the group. You still can't believe how this all started. You're still expecting to blink and this all was one big hallucination.

Nora unlocks the front door as you return to the house and you all make your way back upstairs after discarding your coats and shoes.

Theo and Nora grab their pillows from the couch and decide to go sleep in their room. Theo's snoring would keep everyone awake. Although you're surprised Nora doesn't want to stay. She claims without Theo's snoring it's too quiet for her to fall asleep.

They offer Sam the couch, "If you stay down there, Benji sleeps like a starfish and moves around as if he's fighting crime in his sleep," they warn him on their way back downstairs.

"I do not," Benji grunts as he sits up while rubbing at his eyes. He reaches a tired hand up and pulls at a dangling string. A series of sheets pinned to the ceiling fall and section you all into your own little separate fort areas.

The couch area is almost completely covered, and both sides surround you and Bucky into a somewhat tent-like section together.

You hear snickering and look over to see Benji and Sam making shadow finger puppets at each other through the sheets.

Bucky moves to kneel while he grabs his pillow, and starts to shift as if he's going to stand up.

"Um, where are you going?" You ask.

"Home?" He answers, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"What do you mean home? It's late, just stay here?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why? Do you turn into a green ogre like Fiona?"

"I hate that I understand that reference now."

"You loved that movie and you know it. Stay and we can watch Shrek 2."

"They made another one?" He looks baffled at this fact.

"Oh, my sweet Fiona," he rolls his eyes at you, "there's a whole franchise. At least 4... or 5? Maybe 6. I'm honestly not sure at this point, but we're going to find out."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," you grin and grab the remote. You reach for his hand and tug him back down.

Everyone has settled into their spots. Monty and Prudence have already fallen asleep by the time you find the movie.

"Hey, Shrek 2!" Sam cheers quietly.

Bucky places a hand over his face. You try not to laugh as you grab his pillow from him and place it back in it's spot behind him. He moves his hand down to look over at you and shakes his head. You continue to grin over at him as you press play.

-

"You're still awake?" You whisper. The movie ended at least 15 minutes ago. Everyone else peacefully snoozing around you. Well, it's 50/50 on how peaceful Benji actually is, judging on the awkward position he's contorted and passed out in. Oh to be a kid and not worry about your neck and back again. You're already positive you're gonna be regretting this floor slumber later today, even with the foam padding attempt under you.

It's not that Bucky doesn't want to sleep, he just...can't. Too many people in the room. Too self conscious of having a nightmare and potentially disturbing the rest of the sleeping occupants. The last thing he wanted to be was a burden or a nuisance. His mind is also telling him to stay vigilant as he watches the staircase entrance.

He shrugs as his short answer, not wanting to voice his thoughts out loud.

"Sleep magic run out on you?" You joke, trying to lighten the mood when you see the dark look in his eyes, the wheels turning in thought behind them. You can tell he's fighting his answer, a look of uncertainty on his face, but a lazy smile appears. He shakes his head at you.

Laying on your side, you scoot closer and grab his right arm, hugging it against you. "Can I borrow your sleep magic then?"

Bucky smiles over at you as you drift off. He tugs your pillow closer and tucks it against his arm some more so your head and neck are more comfortable. He places a gentle kiss to your forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment. He slowly tilts his head back up towards the ceiling. However, he continues to stay awake. Silently watching the stars and swirling patterns dance across the room. Soaking in the comfort and the feeling of being surrounded by people that care for him. In their own dream worlds.

Benji starts to stir with a slight grumble. Bucky lazily turns his head and watches the shadow of a small lump shift slightly closer to him behind the sheet.

"Un Buc, m'gumdrops. Gone," he mumbles together in his sleep. "How dare...th's m'ne. Hmmph." He shifts again, an arm and leg flailing as he turns over and starts to settle back into a deep sleep. Bucky shakes his head in amusement and goes back to watching the ceiling.

-

Hours later, Bucky is still awake when everyone starts slowly shifting and waking up. He hears Prudence and Monty shift around as they quietly make their way downstairs.

You start to stir and stretch next to him soon after. He watches as you rub your eyes and then bury your face into both your pillow and his arm. He waits a moment to see if you're awake. You finally peak up at him, giving him a slurred greeting.

"Mornin', " he greets back with a tired smile. You clock the dark circles under his eyes.

"Please don't tell me you've been awake this whole time."

"Course not. I feel fresh as a daisy."

"Liar."

You sit up, grab your pillows and drag him downstairs.

"Where are we going?" He asks at the bottom of the stairs. You ignore his question and approach the door to your room. "Can't drag me to your bed fast enough, huh?"

"Oh baby, you're about to get hours," you pause and look over at him, leaning up closer, "and hours," you lower your voice and kiss his knuckles quickly, "of great sleep. Let's go." You pull on his arm again and direct him over to the bed. You give him a push towards it and take a step towards the side table. He sits on the edge of the bed and watches as you open the side table drawer, pulling out a small spray bottle. Uncapping it, you give two quick spritzes over the pillow areas and one more in the general area over the bed behind him before putting the cap back on and tossing it back in the drawer.

"What the hell was that?" He blinks at you.

"Lavender spray," you shrug and walk over to your dresser. "It's supposed to be calming and relaxing to assist you with falling asleep." Opening a bottom drawer of the dresser you pull out a water bottle and set it on the side table.

Bucky watches in amusement, observing the other bright colored packages of what looks to be a snack stash in the same drawer before you close it.

"Are you one of those doomsday preppers? Or is it a hoarding thing? What else do you have stashed around here?"

"Look, I'm just trying to survive in this household. Benji and his little friends eat everything. I'm terrified when puberty hits. Also, I don't feel like going all the way downstairs when I'm thirsty," you shrug. "Now will you lay down?"

You pull the blankets back, "Chop chop. Don't make me dump that whole bottle of lavender on you."

He rolls his eyes and lays back against the pillows.

"Is this ok? Are you comfortable? Do you need space and want me to leave?"

He scoots back and grabs your arm, tugging you onto the bed next to him. You sit on the edge of the bed and he pulls your arm again, and then places a gentle hand on your leg making you lay down next to him. You lay on your side facing him.

"That didn't answer my questions. Do you need music? white noise? a bedtime story? I can go grab the comforter," You continue to ramble on.

"Just a good night kiss," he pouts his lips towards you.

You lean over and place a soft kiss to his waiting lips.

He smiles and wraps his arms around your waist, hugging you to him. "Goodnightmorning," he whispers.

You let out a soft laugh in return and place another kiss to his cheek which gets another smile from him.

You start to lightly run your fingertips up and down his forearm and then repeat again lightly with your nails, back to your fingertips.

He hums in appreciation.

"Goodnightmorning. Sweet dreams," you whisper back as he drifts off.

Dividers by @saradika

[mavrintarou]

[4:44 PM] Suna Rintarou

Quickly whipped this because I'm trying to find an excuse to not go to the gym. Nothing edited. I know all I ever post about is Rin, Rin, Kiyoomi, Shinsuke, and Rin again... he was just too fitting for this. I'm really trying to expand my fantasy to the other characters.

Warning: Angst, asshole Rin, makeup smut contents .

Rintarou let out a frustrated sigh having been blocked once again. That was three times now in a row.

“Shake it off!” he heard his teammate shout.

“Suna!” Turning his head, he can see his coach signaling for him to rotate out, switching with his other teammate.

As soon as he was off the court, his coach jerked his head, indicating for him to take the empty seat beside him. “What’s going on?”

Rintarou inhales sharply, “bad day, I guess?” He knew what was going on, just didn’t want to speak of it.

“Well, turn that bad day into a good day, shake it off, everyone needs you.” His coach pats his shoulder, “do whatever you gotta do.”

EPJ Raijin lost their second set, this third game will determine their win or not.

With a towel over his head, Rin zoned out, tuning out the sound of the crowd and everything else around him. The only thing on his mind was Y/n.

Three weeks ago, they abruptly ended their casual fling.

No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault, it was definitely, his fault.

He is a hypocrite.

He was the one who said just casual sex. No feelings.

But the moment he saw her at a table with another man he did not recognize at one of Matsumoto’s top restaurants, he lost his shit.

How dare she doll up and wear a red dress, the red dress he purchased for her to go on a date with this mother fucker.

He watched as Y/n looked at her phone, the smile on her face immediately disappeared. Rin looked down at his phone, seeing the Read underneath the photo he sent her.

Y/n glanced up, her eyes scanning the room until they met his. He arched an eyebrow at her, and she responded by tilting her head, mirroring his expression perfectly.

Bathroom. Now. He texted.

Rin didn’t need to look back to see Y/n following him shortly as he made his way to the restroom.

He tugged her into the private room, locking the door behind him. “Really?” His eyes scanned her from head to toe.

“Really,” Y/n smiled, and she gave him a spin. “Do you not like it?”

Y/n knew how to rile him up, making the green jealous monster within him wake up and flip a table.

Rin stalked towards her, noticing how her smile slowly faded as she stepped back until she hit the counter of the sink. He pressed himself against her, sandwiching her between him and the counter. His fingers trail along her jaw, “does your date know that I purchased this dress and that I’ve fucked you while you were wearing it?”

“Be careful Rintarou,” she only used his full name when she was serious, “jealousy looks good on you but some might believe you’ve developed feelings for me.”

She has become bold, voicing her feelings each day.

Rin was not oblivious. He knows this casual fling between them needs to end. He wasn’t blind to her recent advances.

How her eyes twinkle for him when he comes over.

How she holds him tighter when he’s rocking deeply inside her.

How she whispers his name with love.

How she kisses his palms before a game, giving him luck.

She is expressing her love for him in every possible way except through words. Because the moment she played that card, he would end the game.

“You’re becoming delusional, Y/n.” He gritted, his lips smirking, “I will admit I am jealous, should I show you how jealous I am?”

They glared at one another, Y/n looking deep into his eyes, searching for the man she fell in love with. Deep down, she knew her place. “Do it,” she whispered, “I dare you.”

His eyes darken and she’s flipped around in a blink of an eye. She sees in the mirror as Rin tugs her dress up, bunching it at her hips, his fingers immediately graze over the thin lacy thong, circling her clit.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, biting down on her lip to prevent herself from moaning. “Hurry, I have my date I need to get back to.”

“As you wish.”

Y/n half gasped and yelped at his hand and slapped her right ass cheek. Her thong is pushed to the side as feels his cock sliding in between her thighs.

“You’re soaked, was it me or him?” He began rocking, thrusting in between her thighs. He pulled her against him, locking an arm around her shoulder. He locked eyes with her through the mirror, “answer me.”

“You.” Y/n whispered, “you made me this wet…” she whimpered when he rolled his hips, his cock grazing against her clit. “Please… Rin…”

His teeth nips her earlobe as he reached in between them and align his cock to her pussy and slipped inside in one swift thrust. He wastes no time pounding into her from behind. Y/n’s hand comes to cover her mouth.

His groans are heavy against her ear and he hated it, hated how she made him feel. His teeth bite down on her skin, biting down hard until he can feel Y/n flitching and tightening around his cock.

Rin pulls away, satisfied by his mark, knowing it would be visible. He pauses his movement for a second, maneuvering her until she is bent forward before him. His grip on her hips tightened as he resumed his thrusts, pounding until the small bathroom echoed only of their skin slapping.

Y/n drops onto her elbow, head falling forward as her moans are muffled by her hands. He was thrusting deep inside her, triggering her orgasm faster than usual. “Ri – Rin…” she whimpered, a hand reaching behind to push against his abdomen. “Too fast…”

He gripped her wrist and thrust faster until the moment he felt her pussy flutter around his cock.

“Ah,” he groaned coming undone, pounding into her slowly yet hard with each ejaculation. His eyes suddenly widened, “fuck.”

He forgot to wear a condom.

He let go of her wrist and immediately withdrew, his cock was coated with their essence. It wasn’t a time for his cock to twitch lively again at the sight of his cum leaking down Y/n’s pussy and down her thighs.

He swore again, half turned on and half pissed off at himself.

He always wore a condom.

“Here,” he slammed a few bills on the counter, “get yourself the pill. Let’s end this.”

Rin groaned, covering his face. He was such a fucken asshole.

He glanced down at his palms, feeling disheartened by his poor performance, and was convinced that it was all because Y/n hadn’t kissed his palms before the game.

His mind flashed back to the very first time she had done it. She had come to his game, and just before it started, she called his name and took hold of his wrists. Rin looked at her confused, but she gently turned his palms upward and pressed her lips to the center of his hand. “Good luck kisses,” she whispered with a smile.

“Hey, look it’s Y/n.”

Rin’s head snapped up, and he swiftly removed the towel from his head. Before him stood Motoya, gazing towards the crowd behind Rin. In response, Rin pivoted his upper body and scanned the bustling crowd. “Where?”

“Right there!” Motoya pointed.

Rin’s gaze tracked his pointed finger until it intersected with the eyes of the pair he longed for so intensely.

As if caught in the act, she hastily concealed her face and attempted to make a swift getaway.

“Y/n!” Rin roared over the loud music and crowd chatter, chasing after her. He hopped over the barriers and ascended the stairs with determination. “Y/n!” he called out once more, steadily closing the gap between them as she weaved through the crowd.

Finally, reaching his limit, he lengthened his strides and snagged her wrist, gently drawing her into his embrace. “Stop, please don’t run,” he implored softly. His arms constricted around her, one hand tenderly cradling the back of her head. “Please don’t go,” he whispered.  

She remained tensed in his embrace and softly uttered, “you’re the one who walked away.”

“I know, I’m a fucken fool. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I left you. Please,” he pulled away, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Please come back to me, I am a mess without you. I need you, Y/n. I –” he blinks the tears back, “I’m in love with you, please come back to me, please.”  

Her eyes widen, hearing the words she longed to hear. Tears filled her pretty eyes as she closed them, letting the tears fall down her cheeks before she nodded her head.

Rin sighed in relief and hugged her once more, “thank God. I love you. I love you, Y/n. I love you so fucken much and it took walking away from you to realize I am in love with you all this time.” He leaned back to cup her face, “please, can I kiss you?”

She extended her hand to gently cup his face, drawing him down to meet her lips. Their mouths danced in a graceful, passionate exchange until they parted, both gasping for breath. Their lips inches apart, “I love… I love you too, Rin. I loved you for a long time.”

“I know, I know baby.” He pressed his lips against hers again. “I’m never letting you go again.”

Y/n nodded, “promise?”

“Yeah, promise.”

Her eyes widened and she leaned back, “Rin don’t you have a – “

“Suna! Where the fuck did you go? The third set is about to start!”

.

Rin’s mouth never once left Y/n as they stumbled into his apartment. He pulled away briefly to tug off his shirt before his mouth resumed hungrily against hers.

In the grueling third set, EPJ Raijin fought valiantly, shedding blood and sweat, and managed to secure a hard-fought victory. Finally, with the fortunate kisses pressed onto his palm by his beloved, Rin executed his spikes flawlessly, scoring nine crucial points that contributed to their triumphant win.

His hands rest on Y/n’s hips, guiding her backward towards the hall of his place and into his bedroom. He is nervous, almost shy at standing half naked before her. “I… I didn’t get to shower after the game – do you want to shower together?”

Her lips curved upward as she grabbed his hand leading him into his bathroom. She quickly stripped her clothes off and turned on the shower, looking over her shoulder, Rin stood there gawking as if he had never seen her naked before. “You coming?”

He quickly pushed down his joggers and boxers, striding into the shower with her. The water cascaded down their bodies as she reached for his body wash to spread it all over his body.

Rin caught her wrist that was lathering his chest with body wash and brought it down to his cock, he closed her hand around it. He hissed feeling his cock harden from her touch. “Y/n,” he murmured, slowly thrusting into her hand.

Y/n stepped closer, pressed her lips to his left nipple, sucking it gently and swirling her tongue around the bud. Her hand tightens around his cock as she strokes him faster.

He hissed, reaching with his other hand to find her clit, “missed this.”

“I missed this too,” Y/n squeezed his cock, pressing her thumb against the tip. She was about to drop to her knees when he stopped her.

“I need to be inside you, now.” He lifted her, her legs wrapped around his hips and arms around his neck. He easily slipped his cock inside her pussy.

For a brief moment, they savored the intimate moment of being united as one again.

Y/n leaned down and kissed him deeply and passionately, rocking her hips to meet his thrusts. “Ah!” she breaks the kiss, moaning his name. “We – we forgot a condom – again…”

Rin thrust deeper, pressing his lips to her clavicle. “I’m clean, there – there’s been no one but you…”

Y/n’s arms tighten around his shoulder and neck, her lips to his ear, “that’s not what I mean… Rin – we could risk –“

Rin is reminded of the last time he came inside of her. He is selfish but he wanted nothing more than to cum inside of her again, over again and again until he knows she is pregnant.

Y/n pregnant with his baby, he loves the thought of that.

He wanted that.

Y/n moaned loudly into his ear, “you like that?” She tightens her pussy around his cock, hearing him groan, slowing his hips. “You want to knock me up, Rin? You want me to have your baby?” He hummed, agreeing. “You want to breed me?”

“Yes. Fuck yes. I want to breed you. Cum inside you again. And again.” His nose trailed along her neck until he reached her ear, “I’m not asking Y/n, I’m going to cum inside you. I’m going to put a baby – my baby inside you.” He nipped her earlobe, fastening his thrust. He is so closed, all this promise is knocking him over the edge as he is eager to cum inside of her. “You’re mine.”

Y/n tightens her arms and legs around him, chanting, “yes! Want your baby!” Her tummy coils, tightening and her body trembles in release, cumming around his cock.

Rin pressed Y/n against the tile walls, hooking his arms behind her knees and hoisting her weight so he could pound into her pussy with the purpose to breed.

Her overstimulated pussy fluttered around his cock until he painted her womb with his cum.

Walking over to the seat built into his shower, he sits down, keeping Y/n close as she straddles his lap. They catch their breaths, gazing tiredly yet lovingly into each other’s eyes.

Y/n was about to lift herself off of him when he stopped her, “don’t, not yet.”

She relaxed around him, holding onto his shoulders. “You’re serious about baby-making?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “It sounded like in the heat of the moment talk but I’m dead serious. Were you not serious?”

Y/n threaded her fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back. “Aside from you telling me you love me and want to be with me, I want nothing more than to have your baby.” She lifts herself off, letting his flaccid cock fall limp. “But before that, let us focus on just the two of us for now.” She pressed her lips against his, “take me out on a proper date first.”

Rin grins against her lips, “a little out of order but yes, anything you want.”

. . .

E/n: When I'm writing and releasing my dirty imagination, Rin is the only one I can see getting away with this shit. He can talk about breeding any time and I'll be like... "yes daddy." Please don't be like me. Make good choices. Lol. I'm finishing up on Lord Ushijima... I'll share it soon.

@queenelleee @mfreedomstuff @erintaro @callmeraider @chaotic-fangirl-blog @wolffmaiden @cloud-lyy

[asidian]

Set breakdown time! Next up: Tragic Mick's shop.

As before, I've circled the points of interest and numbered them to make them easier to talk about. Cool? Cool. Let's do this!

1: Individually labeled... paper goods? Packets? It's hard to see what these are, but they seem to be priced per item. One is 3 for [off screen]. One is $5.25. If anyone can read more of these, please feel free to chime in!

2: Drawers full of spell components. I can't read them all, but three of them seem to be Whiskers, Vertebrae, and Bezoars.

3: An alarm clock.

4: An array of playing cards.

5: A wall phone.

6: Paper currency. Antique, maybe? It doesn't seem to be designs currently in rotation.

7: A miniature coffin. Incredible.

8: A random mushroom just hanging out on the shelf.

9: An antique-style ceramic phrenology brain map.

10: Some sort of taxidermied animal in a jar.

11: Various dried botanicals.

12: Looks like more spell components.

13: Individually labeled drawers. I can make out: Crow's Feet, Pigeon Brains, Chicken Eyes, Pigeon Eyes. If anyone can read more of these, please feel free to chime in!

14:  A bunch of little drawers.

15: A collection of lanterns.

16: A pair of rabbit statues.

17: Looks like another set of labeled drawers, but I'm not able to make out any of the writing. If anyone can read these, please feel free to chime in!

18: The music box they use to calm the sea monster.

19: A typewriter.

20: The cursed sheet music that calls evils seagulls.

21: A collection of mirrors.

22: Some sort of taxidermy creature. It looks vaguely like the Fiji mermaid and similar fake taxidermy mermaids that used to be put on display to draw an audience.

23: More jars of spell components.

24: An old-fashioned cash register.

25: A statue of what looks to be a Bodhisattva.

26: A bell.

27: A whole lot of books.

28: A mantlepiece clock.

29: A barometer.

30: Is... is this mannequin gradually breaking out of its bindings as the series goes on?? How did I not notice this before this very moment??

31: An assortment of lamps.

32: An antique telephone.

33: The token Mick gives to Niko, a bear of carved out of some sort of dark stone.

34: An array of what look like wood-carving tools.

35: And last but certainly not least… Mick's lunch, which seems to be an entire fish on a piece of toast. Incredible. I wish him the best of it.

[darkshadowduelist]

SUPREME DARKNESS

SUDA-JP001 Evil HERO Toxic Bubble

Level 4 WATER Fiend Effect Monster

ATK 800

DEF 1200

You can only Special Summon with the (1)st effect of this card’s name once per turn. You can only use the (2)nd effect of this card’s name once per turn.

(1) You can Special Summon this card (from your hand). If Summoned this way, you cannot Special Summon for the rest of this turn, except “HERO” monsters.

(2) If this card is Special Summoned and you control a Fusion Monster that must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”: You can draw 2 cards.

Note: This card is an Evil HERO version of “Elemental Hero (Neo) Bubbleman”.

SUDA-JP002 Evil HERO Death Prison

Level 4 LIGHT Rock Effect Monster

ATK 1700

DEF 1100

You can only Special Summon with the (1)st effect of this card’s name once per turn. You can only use the (2)nd effect of this card’s name once per turn.

(1) If you control a Fusion Monster that must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).

(2) You can send 1 “HERO” monster from your Deck to the GY; if you Fusion Summon a “HERO” monster this turn, this face-up card can be used as a substitute for any 1 Fusion Material whose name is mentioned on it, but the other materials must be correct.

Note: This card is an Evil HERO version of “Elemental HERO Prisma”.

SUDA-JP003 Evil HERO Hell Rider (Evil HERO Infernal Rider)

Level 6 WIND Fiend Effect Monster

ATK 2100

DEF 800

You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.

(1) If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 “Dark Fusion” from your Deck or GY to your hand.

(2) You can banish this card and 4 other monsters from your GY; Set 1 “Super Polymerization” from your Deck, also, until the end of your opponent’s turn, you cannot Special Summon, except “HERO” monsters, but you can Fusion Summon Fusion Monsters that must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”, with effects other than it.

Note: This card references Picador (Arch)fiend, which showed up in O’Brien’s nightmare dreams of Supreme King Judai.

SUDA-JP031 Evil HERO Neos Lord

Level 10 DARK Fiend Fusion Effect Monster

ATK 2500

DEF 2500

Materials: “Elemental HERO Neos” or 1 Fusion Monster that mentions it + 1 Effect Monster on the field

Must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”. You can only use the (1)st effect of this card’s name once per turn.

(1) If this card is Special Summoned, OR if a monster(s) is sent to your opponent’s GY while this monster is on the field: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; take control of it.

(2) Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.

SUDA-JP032 Evil HERO Inferno Wing – Hellback Fire (Evil HERO Inferno Wing – Infernal Backlash)

Level 6 FIRE Fiend Fusion Effect Monster

ATK 2100

DEF 1200

Materials: “Elemental HERO Avian” or “Elemental HERO Burstinatrix” + 1 “HERO” monster

Must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”. You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.

(1) If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 “Dark Fusion” or 1 card that mentions it from your Deck or GY to your hand, except a Fusion Monster.

(2) If your “HERO” monster destroys an opponent’s monster by battle: Inflict 2100 damage to them.

Note: This card takes its name from the effect of “Evil HERO Inferno Wing”, not the attack.

SUDA-JP033 Evil HERO Dark Knight

Level 8 EARTH Fiend Fusion Effect Monster

ATK 1600

DEF 0

Materials: 1 Fiend monster + 1 Warrior monster

Must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion”.

(1) Monsters your opponent controls lose ATK equal to the total original ATK of the Fusion Materials used for this card’s Summon.

(2) Can make a second attack during each Battle Phase.

(3) If this face-up Special Summoned card you control leaves the field by your opponent: You can target 1 Fiend or Warrior monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position.

SUDA-JP051 Dark Contact

Normal Spell Card

(1) Activate 1 of these effects (but you can only use each effect of this card’s name once per turn);

● Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster that must be Special Summoned with “Dark Fusion” from your Extra Deck, by shuffling its materials from your field, GY, and/or banishment into the Deck. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon with “Dark Fusion”.)

● Add 1 “Supreme King’s Castle” or “Dark Fusion” from your Deck to your hand.

SUDA-JP052 Evil Assault

Normal Spell Card

You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.

(1) Discard 1 card; you cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, except “HERO” monsters, also take 1 Level 4 or lower “Evil HERO” monster from your Deck, and either add it to your hand or Special Summon it.

(2) If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish it; add 1 “Dark Fusion” from your GY to your hand.

SUDA-JP067 Dark Supremacy

Normal Trap Card

You can only use the (1)st and (2)nd effect of this card’s name each once per turn.

(1) Target face-up cards your opponent controls up to the number of “Dark Fusion” and Spells that mention it in your GY; negate their effects until the end of this turn.

(2) If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish it, then target up to 5 “HERO” monsters in your GY and/or banishment; shuffle them into the Deck.

[ultimate-chickennougat]

| Your Salaryman Husband | (Vol 6)

Vol 1 Vol 2 Vol 3 Vol 4 Vol 5 (Not Required) Vol 7 Vol 8 Vol 9

Salaryman!Kento x Housewife!Reader

Having lunch with Satoru Gojo...

Word Count: 1.6k

CW: SFW, domestic fluff, fem!Reader, Nanami's a bit rude, Gojo...

A/n: I hope I didn't fail Gojo's dialogue too bad, this volume has a bit more plot in it than usual. I'll keep it light next one.

Nanami, your perfect husband, never ceased to surprise you. You couldn’t imagine that a man like him, so perfect and loving, could not have friends. There was Ijichi, a former coworker that he checked in with on occasion, and Ieiri, another coworker that he insisted on be your doctor, but in general he was never one to stay out late to drink with his friends after work, or watch a sports game like other married men his age. He always reasoned, that there was no one he would rather spend time with than you, which was true of course. But still, it didn’t make sense. 

Now a salaryman, a senior manager at an investment company, you had met him when he was a Jujutsu Sorcerer, though he didn’t stay that way for long. Once the two of you started courting, he quickly decided to go back to his former position, something he was already considering before meeting you. For the longest time, you hadn’t met anyone from his past, though he never shied away from telling you anything you asked about.

Now what you didn’t know, was that there were other reasons for his reclusiveness. A great scar on his heart, you could say. Something that could never be healed, for it was formed by a monster.

That monster, was none other than Satoru Gojo, Nanami’s former upperclassman and fellow Jujutsu sorcerer. 

The sheer amount of pain inflicted upon Nanami every time he had to go within a kilometer radius of that man was something most people couldn’t imagine, who was so incredibly annoying that his own brain cells suffered substantially at the sound of his voice. The living being that just might have been his main reason for leaving Jujutsu High way back then. 

And that was the man you two were set to have lunch with, that afternoon. You hadn’t seen him since your wedding, where he was sitting in the front row, making sure to give Nanami a pat on the back before saying “I do.” He was happy to introduce himself, of course curious about the new Mrs. Nanami who had been kept far, far away from him, but the way Nanami was, he quickly hurried the bother away and swept you off your feet as soon as he could to enjoy the rest of the night. 

Your husband, Nanami, tried his hardest to be respectful to just about everyone, preferring to get work done and pay attention to more important things than those who bothered him. However when it came to Gojo, only the bitter honesty remained. He had no problem insulting that pest that called himself “the strongest”, which sadly he couldn’t deny. This was true when you tried to bring him up, asking about the man at the wedding while writing thank you notes to the guests. 

“Don’t mind him,” he said sternly, trying to avoid the topic - as the great perk of getting out of the Jujutsu world might just have been being done with Satoru Gojo, after all. A lifetime long break from that man. “In fact, I don’t think he even needs a card,” He smiled, holding up the envelope, about to rip it into shreds. 

“Of course he does, he gave us such a nice gift,” you muttered, snatching the envelope  back from his hands. That was about as far as you got when trying to bring him up. Nanami would always tell you everything you wanted to know, about his work and past life, and the same was true with Gojo. But something about the way that he scowled just at the thought of him had you wishing you hadn’t mentioned it at all. 

You were running around at home waiting for Nanami to get back, as per usual, though this time your struggle was quickly sweeping and vacuuming up a dropped glass. Reaching into the high cabinets in the kitchen, your apron had gotten snagged on a handle as you stepped down from the stepping stool. If only it had been a small spill, but the large glass jar flew out of your hands as you tried to not fall yourself, and landed, smashing into a million pieces directly in the middle of the kitchen floor. Glass pieces tucked into every nook and cranny of the kitchen and surrounding rooms. Then you heard the phone ring. Rushing to grab it, the unknown number didn’t phase you. Nanami’s work often sent calls to the home phone, after all. 

“Hello? This is the Nanami residence,” you spoke, holding the phone to your ear. “Good, I got the right number,” the voice sighed. “This is Satoru Gojo, Nanami’s coworker?” The voice who you now knew as Gojo waited for your reply. “Ah Mr. Gojo…” you took a few breaths, “Kento isn’t here right now, but he’ll be back in a few minutes.” “Oh he isn’t? That’s great… I mean fine, that’s fine. I don’t need him here.” Gojo let out a few laughs under his breath. “Actually, I was wondering if you two would like to meet up for lunch tomorrow. Theres this great new restaurant that opened up, and I haven’t seen either of you in a while. How does that sound?” He asked. “I’ll have to ask Nanami, though I doubt he’d be busy. I’m sure he would enjoy seeing you…” You let out a few giggles yourself, thinking about your stoic husband. Of course you didn’t want to upset him, but maybe he would enjoy meeting up with a coworker - and of course, you were awfully curious. 

“If you two have any conflicts, just let me know. I’ll make us a reservation anyways.” Gojo leafed through the menu, the sound audible through the phone. “Oh and they have mochi, that’ll be great,” he laughed, “It was good to talk to you, Y/n, I’ll see you later.” “Goodbye, Mr. Gojo,” you responded back, and the call was ended. 

In perfect timing, of course, the moment you got back to work, bending down to sweep up the glass mess on the floor, your husband walked up the front steps. You ran over to greet him, fixing your hair and removing your apron. “Welcome home darling,” you smiled as he opened the door. You took his briefcase and set it to the side of the door for him. “I… I broke some glass in the kitchen, I’ll go clean it up in a minute,” you started, as he looked you in the eyes. “And…” he stared, curious as to what you were so nervous about. “I received a phone call, from a coworker of yours, or should I say former coworker?” part of you wanted to change the subject. “I see… and does this coworker have a name?” he asked, taking a seat on the couch. 

“Mr. Gojo gave a call, actually.” Nanami’s hands clenched, the veins showing down from his knuckles. “He invited us to lunch tomorrow, isn’t that nice?” 

And that is how you ended up in the car, with a very bothered husband on a nice Saturday afternoon. The restaurant was in a nice quiet part of the city, just a few miles away. Threading your fingers together as you sat in the passengers seat, the annoyance was clear on Nanami’s face. “I’m sorry, Kento, but he already made the reservation… I would feel bad to cancel,” he let out a small grunt, gripping the steering wheel. “I’m not mad at you, Y/n, it’s that stupid-” he moved his hand to hold onto yours as he breathed. “Please don’t take anything he says seriously, my love,” you smiled, glad to know he wasn’t mad at you, his humor still coming through. 

After checking in with the waiter, the two of you were led to an outdoor table. “I’m surprised you didn’t show up in a t-shirt,” the two of you sat down as Nanami glared at the man before him. “Of course not, I am meeting with my favorite couple, you know.” Gojo sneered back. “I don’t see why you always ignore me nowadays, Nanami, are we not friends?” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Y/n, look at the menu, it has some great sandwich options,” Nanami pointed to the paper in front of him, as Gojo whined, being ignored. 

“To be honest I’ve moved on from all of that,” the food was getting served as Nanami and Gojo continued their conversation. “That kind of work isn’t for everyone,” Nanami explained, eying the ham and cheese sandwich before him. “And Y/n, is he treating you well?” Gojo asked, giving a look to Nanami. “Yes, of course, he’s wonderful,” you responded shyly, the question catching you off guard. “I don’t know how you got that number anyway, but I know Y/n was quite interested in meeting you,” he smirked at you, his nerves having calmed down quite a bit. “Has he met your expectations?” you thought about it for a moment. “Yes, any friend of yours is a friend of mine. By the way, thank you so much for the gift Mr. Gojo,” he smiled back at you. “That toaster is top of the line, it’s got a ton of extra settings so you can use it on more than sliced bread,” you laughed, taking a sip of water from your glass. 

“Anyways, I hope we can do this again, hmm?” Gojo asked, having paid the bill. Nanami looked at you, rolling his eyes. “If we must, then sure,” he responded, grabbing your hand to walk out of the building. “By the way, how is it that my upperclassman is so far behind? I’d think you’d at least have some prospects…” Nanami pretended to ponder, watching Gojo’s face turn into a frown. Thus concluded your first real meeting with one of Nanami’s friends, an interesting experience forever ingrained into your mind.

[datura-tea]

okey dokey! i just finished the fallout show! some Thoughts under the read more

tl:dr, the (bethesda) fallout vibes were definitely there. i liked it as a show on its own merits but as a part of the series canon... i'm mad, and that anger is kind of overriding the little i liked about it. overall maybe 2.5/5 stars and im being generous

things i liked:

visually, it's stunning - i could see scenes already being made into gifsets - the color grading is pretty good; even in dark scenes i could see and understand what was happening

the sets are soooo good!! costume design was alright too

title cards were fun and cute

they did some interesting stuff with the cultures of both vault 33 and the brotherhood of steel

they used the sound effects from the games :)

i liked the wastelanders!!! big npc and random encounter energy. i kind of want a whole show of just them. for example i love the marketplace and settlement in filly; it feels very lived in

the background characters weren't just young thin able-bodied conventionally attractive white people :) there's so many elders, which i loved!! ma june and barv were cool. i love gruff old lesbians

lucy!!! she was already kind of weird and a little off-putting even in vault 33 ("what's your sperm count" as an opener to the husband she was just arranged married to is WILD) and i like that. she's sweet and bullheaded and surprisingly competent :)

maximus is kind of an ass, but is also a pathetic nerd and brotherhood dickrider who actually doesn't really know anything. kind of a girlfailure

the ghoul was pretty cool too!! i liked him, though more for his prewar story than the one he has post-apocalypse

lucy's brother norman kinda grew on me. "i lack enthusiasm for every job that i do here" so relateable. also short king <3

THE DENTIST THAT BUYS TEETH. never thought that would be a Thing but now that i think about it, it makes sense

the monsters that we have were cool!! wish there had been more of them

MATT BERRY IS IN THIS!! i just really like him so i got excited :))

maximus and lucy's "wanna have sex?" talk LMAO

vault 4's various mutations!!

those giant unwieldy fuckass duffel bags that brotherhood squires lug around hahahhahahaaha

vault 4 and its genetic experiments because its main conceit is that it was ruled by scientists who hybridized humans. it's exactly the right amount of fucked up i want in a vault

i like that the protagonists regularly get captured and eat shit

FRED ARMISEN IS ALSO HERE

haha hacking minigame :) also chatting via terminals (and im assuming pipboys?) is canon now

they're growing crops in the wasteland + bustling trade + livestock + pets yay

robobrain was cute

things i was just ok with:

dane, the they/them brotherhood of steel aspirant who was fucked over so maximus can get their spot as a squire LMAO what a waste of a potentially cool character

IT'S SO FUNNY that there's yodelling whenever the ghoul comes into the scene ????? WHY

fight scenes.... pretty good but someone definitely had the bloody mess perk (i don't do well with gore so ew yucky). also lots of [VATS NOISE]

pipboy was not used as much as i thought it would be

cousin stuff... i get it, i guess in a vault you'd have a lot of cousins and not a lot of choice, so some incest would probably happen

the ghoul being vault boy's inspiration?? not sure what to feel about that tbh

the casual dismemberments... and equally casual attaching of limbs... not even prosthetic limbs.....

the vaulties eating good healthy well-balanced meals. giving out caviar in the welcome basket. kinda 50/50 on it

the vault 31 - 32 - 33 subplot couldve been more fucked up

have brotherhood knights always been celibate or did i miss the memo

there are regular chickens and... deer? for some reason?

the ghoul's design. it's fine in action but mostly it's meh

the vault 4 cult for moldaver

vault 4 as a refuge for shady sands survivors. im mad about it but like. i get it

that guys "elixir" (some altered jet??) fixing everything about thaddeus' foot instantenously AND GIVING HIM HEALING POWERS???

things i did not like:

lucy's plot premise is very much fallout 3 redux

lucy and maximus as a ship is very meh and kind of forced and not compelling. go give us nothing!!!

wilzig's head as a macguffin that everyone is after... ehh kind of just okay as a plot device

also the ghoul randomly eating that other ghoul???

the squire who bullied maximus calls himself fat but he isn't fat?? not even chubby??? hello????? just got a soft face

water chip being fucked feels very fallout 3 also but they kind of dropped it?

they definitely named cooper howard after todd. as tribute probably, which he doesn't deserve

fiend = cannibal now?????

maximus recognizing vault 4 as a cult but not recognizing the brotherhood as one lol

vault tec evil capitalism vs hollywood communists storyline was kind of basic. and bland. and weak

the enclave could've been established + explored better

no geckos or any other west coast-specific monsters

showing me ncr ranger armor when the ncr is gone

ghouls have healing powers?? WITHOUT RADIATION??

things i hated hated hated:

the ghoul needing drugs to combat the Disease That Turns Ghouls Feral

feral ghouls being basically zombies :/

IN EPISODE FIVE. THEY REVEAL. THAT SHADY SANDS. WAS BOMBED. THE ENTIRE NCR. WAS BOMBED. IN 2277. THE YEAR OF THE FIRST BATTLE OF HOOVER DAM

BASICALLY RETCONNED FNV?? IM PUTTING MY EARS IN MY FINGERS AND GOING LA LA LAAAAA

VAULT-TEC DROPPED THE BOMBS ???? BIG MT + MR HOUSE BEING IN ON IT????

THE BIG STUPID FUCKING REVEAL IN EPISODE EIGHT?? THAT THE OVERSEER BOMBED SHADY SANDS BECAUSE HIS WIFE DIDN'T WANT TO GO HOME WITH HIM??? FUCK THAT???

the brotherhood being the main faction of the west coast now. booo!! booo!!!!

the fucking last shot of new vegas being a burnt out husk. probably foreshadowing that hank is going to house's body but. UGH I HATE IT

to summarize: it came out strong! and stumbled hard falling face fucking first at the finish line. i would have liked it a lot more if it did not shit on the west coast as much as it did. because what the FUCK. if it was set literally anywhere else and left the ncr alone i would have liked it more, because on its own, as a self-contained story, divorced from the rest of the fallout series canon, it's not bad!!! it's fun, there's some good bits, it has the ~vibes~ but - and this is a big but - i don't know what it's trying to say. it's all very surface level and the very vague themes i picked up on are not really reiterated in the plot

it's like... the bits that make it fallout are there. vaults. the brotherhood. ghouls. a dog named dogmeat. but there's something lacking. it's like your usual sci-fi post-apocalypse show with a fallout veneer. idk. i like it for what it is but also i hate it for what it's emblematic of. that's all

[oldschoolfrp]

The leucrotta is a creature of deserted and desolated places.  It can imitate the voice of a man or woman to lure its prey.  (AD&D Monster Cards Set 4, TSR, 1982)

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

Time for the March Summary!

First of, the egg that haunts my dreams,

Richarlyson

For the 3rd month in a row, with 13/62 polls won last month, Richas has been voted most likely to:

Eat a random nut/berry/bug he found outside

Aim for the head during dodgeball

Intentionally cough/sneeze on someone while sick

Pick up something gross and chase his siblings around with it

Play computer games in class instead of doing his school work

Play football indoors and accidentally break a family relic

Play Julius Ceasar in a recreation of the Ides of March

Love a cursed food combination

Hunt down islanders that aren't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day

Pretend to be possessed to scare a sibling/parent

Refuse to wear shoes, even in the woods

Be the Rico (Penguins of Madagascar) of the island

Be covered in band-aids all the time

I do not know how he managed to win this many without me noticing. I think he's stealing trophies from me when I'm not looking.

Dapper

Wait, what? Even I wasn't expecting our favorite literal-demon child to win 2nd! With 11/62 polls won, Dapper has been voted most likely to:

Read Wikipedia articles for fun

Berate adults for coughing into their hand

Be a "Home Alone" protagonist

Love "Doctor Who"

Read Homestuck

Make a recreation of the Ides of March

Actually catch a leprechaun on Saint Patrick's Day

NOT have to sing the alphabet song to remember what order the letters are in

Love the Sherlock Holmes books

Know everything about demon folklore and scare everyone with their knowledge of it

Be determined to find every single easter egg at the island-wide easter egg hunt

She's a nerd, what else is there to say?

Chayanne & Pepito

Tied for 3rd, with 6/62 polls won each! Chayanne has been voted most likely to:

Love Hockey

Hyperfixate on the Percy Jackson series

Be a try-hard in P.E. class

Start a game of King Of The Hill everytime the school replaces the woodchips at recess

Fight with a teacher over a test grade

Sleep through fasting all day

Only look for the difficult to find eggs so their younger siblings can have fun at the Easter egg hunt

And Pepito has been voted most likely to:

Lose every round of Hide N' Seek because Pepito can't stop giggling

Believe in the Tooth Fairy

Chase Pepito's own tail

Still not know how to swim

Actually break a leg during a school play on accident

Eat paper because Pepito thinks it tastes good

One of the oldest eggs tying with one of the youngest. It's perfect.

Sunny

With 5/62 polls won, I'm sure Sunny is a little miffed that she's ended up in 4th. But it's okay, you all are sure to put her in 1st place one of these months. Sunny has been voted most likely to:

Secretly paint their closet an obnoxious color

Have a fashion show using her parents' clothes

Sleep with all of their stuffed animals so they don't get lonely

Treat the masjid shoe racks as their own personal shoe store

Have an imaginary friend

Tallulah, Ramón, & Pomme

Tying for 5th, with 4/62 polls won each, I'm very happy to see Pomme winning her first ever polls! And a total of 4 of them, no less! Tallulah has been voted most likely to:

Try and dye her own hair (making a huge mess)

Fit the main character role in "Coraline"

Perform Tarot card readings

Catch bees to pet them

Ramón has been voted most likely to:

Be obsessed with cowboys and the Wild West

Race to recalibrate the SmartBoard at school

Set up an elaborate rube goldberg machine to suprise a parent for their birthday

Have a space hyperfixation and want to be an astronaut

And Pomme has been voted most likely to:

Be a monster at PaintBall

Hyperfixate on Splatoon

Be very meticulous while coloring in a coloring book

Write a book

I think there's a pattern with that last one.

Leonarda

With 3/62 polls won, Leonarda has been voted most likely to:

Be obsessed with Power Rangers

Be into ice skating

Read every single Warrior cats books

I don't have anything funny to say here, It's hard to pay attention while listening to Ze Frank talk about coral kkkkkkkk

Empanada

With 2/62 polls won, Empanada has been voted most likely to:

Spend recess burying herself in woodchips and sleeping

Have Batik as a hobby

Oh hey, it's the first time Empanada's gone a full month without winning a poll about sweets!

Chunsik

Finally, our youngest has won a poll! With 1/62 polls won, Chunsik has been voted most likely to:

Be exempt from a Federation experiment because he politely declines it

What a polite kid!

...

...

That's it, right? That's all the eggs. All 11 eggs, all 62 polls for the month of March

...

Why does my clipboard say I'm missing two polls.....

...

Oh! Yes!

Juanaflippa & Bobby

In an absolutely unprecedented event, Juanaflippa AND Bobby have become our first ever dead eggs to win a canonical poll, with 1/62 win each! Juanaflippa has been voted most likely to:

Have a million allergies during the spring

And Bobby has been voted most likely to:

Get BANNED from playing Bulldog

It's still insane to me that you all managed to get these two a win. Bobby was going up against RICHARLYSON for void's sake. You all were fighting against the current on that one.

See you all soon!

[quack-quack-snacks]

Star Crossed - Chapter 2

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |

The Star Crossed Masterlist

My All Of Us Are Dead Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

Warnings: Zombies, gore, normal AOUAD things Word Count: 6,347

As you leaned your head back against the tree trunk, the rhythmic beat of your favorite song playing through your ears and the rest of the world canceled out, you didn’t notice the horde getting closer.

Su-hyeok was running down the hall after searching practically the entire school and still not finding you. Telling his friends he was going to go play basketball to spare himself some time to find and talk to you seemed like a good idea when the world wasn’t ending but now he was just even more lost with what he should do.

There was no way he wasn’t going to keep looking for you. No. He would rather die than leave you all alone in a zombie fucking apocalypse. Knowing you and how you shared a habit of listening to your music too loud at all times with Nam-ra, you wouldn’t hear the screams even if they were right next to your ears.

He was going to find you and keep you safe if it’s the last thing he did.

Everything seemed to be going wrong today; first, Hyeon-ju had been kidnapped by the science teacher and passed out in the middle of class; second, On-jo confesses to him on the stairway; then, he finds out his classmates have turned into blood thirsty, flesh eating monsters and he can’t seem to find you no matter where he looks.

So much for confessing on her birthday.

He had been planning the day for months.

He was going to take you to the roof - which he’d gained access to earlier that morning to put a set of picnic required items in a cooler - then he would stop you at the door after class and ask you to have lunch with him - just the two of you - which he was sure even if you were hesitant about he would be able to convince you that he didn’t care about how others saw him and you would give in.

After that, he would cover your eyes and walk you up the stairs, you would laugh that soft laugh of yours when he would purposely walk you in zig-zags and do 180s just for more time with you.

Then, he would finally lead you up to the roof where a bouquet of flowers would be resting against the wall in the corner. The two of you would eat and drink the foods he provided and he would ask you to skip the rest of the day with him to just sit on the roof and talk with each other. You would say yes, you could never say no to him and hating school was just a way to guarantee his win.

After a while, he would confess.

He would’ve already handed you the bouquet so instead he would give you your birthday present. It was a simple small heart shaped locket that he had put some dried, flattened flowers into; small ones so they could still be visible and not need to be squished down even more. The other side of the locket would be empty, if/when you accepted his confession, he was hoping you two would fill it with a photo of the two of you.

The present came with a card but he would’ve told you to open the present first. After you opened it and he placed it around your neck, his fingers lightly skimming your neck as he clicked the latch in place, he would tell you to open the card.

He drew the card himself, it was a photo of you holding a flower with the locket around your neck and a soft smile on your face. The inside was decorated with drawings of flowers that surrounded the neat handwriting which displayed his feelings like lyrics of a love song.

Just as you’d start to read it, he would start saying each word he’d written down, spending countless hours practicing the exact words he had written down in front of the mirror. In his head he would say it perfectly with no stutters or awkward pauses where he would have to try and remember the words but he was sure he would mess up in some way. You had that effect on him. You made him nervous and confident. You made him excited and calm. You made him laugh and cry.

God, he was so in love with you.

And now I might never get to tell her that.

He almost physically slapped himself at the thought, not being able to even think about the possibility of you not surviving.

He had one more stop where he thought to go, and that was the cherry blossom tree in the garden. It was where the two of you would meet for lunch on the days where he could convince you to hang out with him during school hours.

It recently became a more popular place to go since it was the time of the year where the leaves fell and cherry blossom flowers and petals littered the ground to show a beautiful yet tragic sight. Ever since more people showed up, you’d told him you shouldn’t meet there anymore. He’d felt devastated when you told him that. He was sure you’d meant you never wanted to hang out with him again until you clarified that the two of you would just have to find another secret space where you could share your private lunch times.

Finally arriving and just barely missing a zombie that was running full speed toward him through a hallway that ran perpendicular to his. Luckily for him, although it made him feel sick to his stomach, the zombie with which he’d just escaped had found another target and was running toward it, completely forgetting Su-hyeok’s existence. As he exited the school doors and went into the garden area, he saw you sitting with your head lightly bobbing and gently hitting itself against the trunk of the tree you were resting against. Your headphones were in just as he’d predicted them to be and if he weren’t in a life or death situation, he would’ve wanted to stay right there and watch you for hours.

The sun shone through the leaves of the tree above you beautifully and landed on your cheeks and made you look heavenly. Your body was dressed in your normal uniform but somehow you made it look like it was being worn by a model down a runway.

He ran toward you and grabbed your hand, quickly pulling you up despite the way you flinched and smacked his arm in fright. He started running down the opposite way he came from, this time with you in tow and him grabbing onto your hand tightly, afraid if he let go he would lose you forever. Running through the halls, the two of you arrived at the glass bridge that connected the two buildings of the school. As you ran down, you passed Nam-ra who was also unaware of the situation going on around her because of her headphones. Yanking yourself free from Su-hyeok’s grip, you ran back to grab onto her hand and pull her with you before you reconnected yours and Su-hyeok’s hands as the three of you ran.

After seeing how the school’s gardener, who’d been trimming the bushes before shit went down, fell off his ladder and onto his garden shears before being pounced on by zombies, you noticed an opportunity with the ladder. Releasing the hands of both people who protested worriedly at the loss of contact, you rushed over to grab the ladder and prop it up against the wall so the three of you could climb it into what you knew was your homeroom class. At the beginning of the year you’d placed some small stickers in the corner and they’d been there ever since. Grabbing onto the ladder, you motioned for Su-hyeok to climb up it which he started to protest to until you grabbed him by his shirt and forced him to start climbing the first couple of steps, you did the same with Nam-ra who held a look of protest on her face but did not physically or verbally state it. After both of your friends had started climbing the ladder and Su-hyeok had managed to get the window open, you started climbing yourself until you felt a grip hold onto your shoe, trying to pull you back.

You turned back to see it was the gardener who’d only been killed a minute or two ago. It made your eyes widen before you used the ladder as support behind you and kicked him in the chest using your other foot. Once he’d fallen back, you wasted no time in climbing up the ladder, especially at your friends’ panicked yells of your name. As you reached the last few steps of the ladder and Su-hyeok grabbed onto your hands, you suddenly felt the stability of the ladder beneath you falling. Using the last bit of ground, you launched yourself into the air and grabbed ahold of the edge of the window with all your might. Su-hyeok and Nam-ra rushed to pull you in.

Once you’d made it safely inside and landed on your feet, Su-hyeok started frantically searching your body for any wounds, bite or not. After satisfying himself that you only had a few bruises that looked a couple days old, he pulled you into a tight hug with his head buried into the top of your head.

“This is why I always tell you to lower your music, dumbass,” he breathed in a whisper only meant for you while he held your shaking body. For the first few minutes of running, you didn’t even know why you were running until you finally took you headphones off and looked behind you and saw the two of you being chased by students with blood running down their chins while others were eating the flesh off the bones of other students who were screaming bloody murder.

It was quite a shock.

“Yeah. Like you would have predicted this. Mr. Big Psychic Guy,” you sarcastically retorted but your voice shook and he hugged you harder.

“It’s just like Train to Busan,” Cheong-san said as he looked at his friend holding you with mixed emotions. He wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing his best friend hugging the school bully’s little sister yet.

“Holy shit,” Dae-su exclaimed as he dropped to the floor while wiping the rest of his face from the fire extinguisher’s foam.

After a while when you’d calmed down a bit and gave an appreciative smile to Su-hyeok, you noticed the group searching around for a phone.

“See if it’s there,” Wu-jin told Joon-hyeong while they searched through people’s backpacks.

“It’s not here either,” Joon-yeong groaned.

As they started talking about how the zombies weren’t able to open doors, you started walking over to your own bag before Nam-ra tugged on your sleeve. Turning around, you gave her a smile and pulled her into a hug. The other kids were too worried with their own problems and searches to notice but Su-hyeok did and he smiled before going to look for a phone with the others.

After releasing Nam-ra, you placed your hands on her upper arms and gave a comforting squeeze before going over to your own bag. Pulling out your phone, you hesitated before speaking up.

“Uh… guys,” everyone looked up at you as soon as you spoke and you held your phone up for them to see. “Here.”

Cheong-san slowly came up to you and grabbed the phone from your extended hand with a slight nod of appreciation. The phone was already unlocked when he grabbed it and he immediately went to the call app to call 112.

Cheong-san brought the phone up to his head as he called.

“Hello? This is Hyosan High School! A ton of zombies showed up at lunch, and they’re eating people.”

You slapped your head in annoyance. “Idiot, they won’t believe you if you say zombies,” you whispered to him.

“Then what?” He questioned in an annoyed voice.

“They won’t believe you!” On-jo told him and slapped his arm lightly.

“Did you happen to see the movie Train to Busan?” He asked the dispatcher and you just groaned and walked away.

Going over to sit on your desk, Su-hyeok came over to sit on Nam-ra’s which was beside you. Right as he was about to speak, all of the zombies started running in one direction.

“What?”

“Where are they going?”

“Why are they leaving?”

Everyone started speaking at once.

“They probably heard or saw someone,” you said quietly and reached into your bag to grab the pocket knife Gwi-nam gave you to put on your keychain.

“Better to always have one just in case of emergency. Just don’t get caught with it.” He’d told you as he gave you the knife along with a pepper spray that was your favorite color.

You’d kept them in your bag ever since.

Gyeong-su opened the door to look outside and Su-hyeok ran over to yank him back inside.

“What are you doing, moron? Close it!” He exclaimed and the boy complied immediately.

“Okay, fine. You scared me!” Su-hyeok slapped his back a few times to reassure himself and Gyeong-su that they were both fine.

On-jo walked over to Cheong-san with a desperate look on her face and she held her own hands to stop them from shaking. “And the police?”

Cheong-san hesitated before repeating back what the dispatcher told him. “He said they’ll come,” he sounded unsure.

“Did they believe you?” Gyeong-su asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice but you could tell it wasn’t aimed at Cheong-san. “What if they think it's a prank and decide not to come?”

“Well, then try again!” Na-yeon stood up abruptly and yelled. “And tell them to hurry up!” She yelled.

“Na-yeon,” you said in a monotone voice from your spot still sitting on your desk. She turned around to look at you and froze when she saw your blank stare. “Shut up, you’ll attract the zombies.”

Nobody could blame her for her reaction, you looked very intimidating. You were sitting on the table with your elbows supporting your body on your knees while you flicked your knife open and closed. She gulped then nodded and stopped talking. On-jo grabbed the phone from Cheong-san and called 112 again, this time with a different strategy.

“Hi. Hello, sir. Do you know Captain Nam So-ju from Rescue Team One?” She tried. You knew her father was a firefighter, having heard her talk about him as well as seen him pick her up from school in his uniform a few times.

There was a pause as the dispatcher talked on the other end of the line. The voice could be heard from him but it was too quiet to understand. “Captain Nam So-ju is my father. Please tell him to hurry over to my school.”

Su-hyeok and Gyeong-su both turned around when they heard her talking. “Who is she calling?” You could hear Gyeong-su ask but Su-hyeok just shrugged his shoulders.

“There's a fire.”

At that, everyone’s attention focused on On-jo and what she was saying.

“Hyosan High School, classroom 2-5. Hurry up. The fire is massive.”

With that, the call ended and she turned back to the rest of you. Cheong-san walked over to stand next to her and look out the window to the field where hundreds of students wandered, their souls now gone and replaced with emotionless, hungry beasts.

“No one’s coming?” Su-hyeok asked as he came up behind him. You decided you couldn’t just sit around anymore and you stood up to stand on the other side of Su-hyeok and look out the window.

As Cheong-san stayed silent, you noticed something over at the gate. It looked like a bus.

“Is that a bus?”

“I think something’s happening at the gate.”

You and Cheong-san spoke out at the same time.

Na-yeon, who had been having a panic attack and had her head in her hands for the past few minutes, stood up. “Let’s call the cops again. Get them to listen.”

On-jo looked at her with a worried expression. “I am, but they won’t pick up.”

Na-yeon breathed heavily and for a second you felt bad, feeling the need to comfort her, until she walked up to where Nam-ra was sitting with a face that arrogantly showed her blaming the situation on her.

“Hey,” she started but Nam-ra showed no reaction. “Do something. Tell Ms. Park to come and help.” Nam-ra still showed no reaction. “Do something!”

“Do what exactly?” Su-hyeok asked, absolutely done with her bullshit and how she seemed to place the blame on everyone around her.

“I don’t know. Anything!” She said desperately, her voice rising before she remembered your words and shot you an almost apologetic glance. She looked back at the girl who was still sitting, staying silent and listening to how she was being berated. “What have you done as class president?”

Min-ji grabbed onto her arm from behind her. “Stop it,” she pleaded but Na-yeon just yanked her arm away from her grip.

Nam-ra stood up and walked so she was standing directly in front of Na-yeon.

“Teacher’s office?” She asked with a hint of a mocking tone in her voice. “So you just want me to leave now?”

There was a moment of silence as the two girls glared at each other. “Well, if you’re offering.” Na-yeon said and you took a step forward before Su-hyeok placed his arm in front of you to stop you from going any further. He gave you a look and you knew almost exactly what he was saying.

Nam-ra can hold her own, she’s strong.

“You told me to do something,” Nam-ra started again. “Do you want me to leave?”

“Stop it, you two!” On-jo begged from her place in front of the window. You could see how she tried to slowly inch away from you ever so often and you just dug your nails into your palms to stop the hurt from building.

You liked On-jo. You really did. She seemed like such a good friend who, if you could get to know her and she could get to know you, the two of you would be good friends.

“She’s only saying that because you’re class president,” On-jo tried to defend Na-yeon’s words even though she didn’t really deserve it.

“Yeah. You are, right?” Dae-su asked and you just rolled your eyes as everyone started to know her as the class president and ask for her help only when the world was ending.

“So just be patient, okay?” Wu-jin jumped in and told her. Nam-ra looked over at the two of them and Wu-jin comically grabbed Dae-su’s chin and forced him to look the other way while he also did.

“So stupid,” she said, shaking her head slightly in annoyance. She shot you a look and saw you were feeling the exact same thing. Although she wouldn’t say it out loud, she was happy she had at least one person who seemed to be on her side. “Typical.”

“What’s typical?” On-jo asked and Nam-ra turned around to look at her, a sarcastic smile gracing her lips.

“Now that we are in this mess, I’m your class president?” She berated.

On-jo looked guilty at her words but she held eye-contact.

Trying to cut the tension, Su-hyeok started to mediate the situation. “We called the police, so I’m sure we’ll be fine soon.”

Na-yeon whined and jumped up and down a bit like a toddler not getting her way. “But no one’s coming!”

“Enough already. We’re all scared too!” Ji-min exclaimed, getting up from her seat and only just being stopped by Hyo-ryung and Min-ji.

“That’s why I’m telling them to call!” Na-yeon screamed back at her.

“Why don’t you do it, then?” Ji-min challenged.

“Ladies, ladies, can you just stop the whining?” Gyeong-su let out exasperatedly from his spot blocking the door. You rolled your eyes at the tone of his voice but decided not to say anything.

“Oh, now you’re butting in, shithead?” Na-yeon turned around to face him.

Okay, nevermind I’m not staying out of it.

You walked over to the two of them as Gyeong-su walked away from the door to stand in front of Na-yeon.

“What? Did you just call me a shithead? Call me a shitheaed, you shithead,” he exclaimed and Wu-jin along with Dae-su ran over to hold him back from starting a fight while Min-ji wrapped her arms around Na-yeon to do the same.

The boys holding onto Gyeong-su just told him to let it go and not listen to her while you stood a few feet away, waiting for the situation to go from bad to worse.

Su-hyeok pointed at the door while telling Gyeong-su to go back. “Hold the door. I said hold the door.”

Seeing the boys not moving, you decided to go over yourself and to hold the door when a familiar face came rushing in before closing the door behind him.

“Coach Kang,” you said.

The man’s eyes scanned the room with a suspicious look before he asked, “Are you guys okay?” A few of the students nod but most just stayed still. Kang let out a deep breath of relief before Gyeong-su ran up to him.

“What about you? You weren’t bitten?”

“No. Of course not. I’m- I’m all right,” there was something about the way he hesitated when saying he was fine that made you stand on guard and put your hand into your pocket where you stored your knife. “Hey, guys. Let’s block the door first.”

All of the students started helping push the desks in front of the door but you just stood back as you watched Kang and the way he moved, there was a slight stutter in his steps, like he was struggling for control over his body.

You started to think you were being paranoid until suddenly you heard I-sak say something to On-jo.

“On-jo, look,” she said and pointed to Coach Kang.

“What?” On-jo asked, still confused on what her friend was telling her.

“There. His arm.” She pointed right at a bite that was on his right arm and On-jo gasped.

“Coach Kang,” On-jo spoke softly. “Your arm.”

The coach just looked at them irritated. “What are you doing? Come help us!”

Knowing On-jo would have trouble with standing up against a teacher, you took the initiative to tell the others.

“Coach Kang, you have a bite on your arm!” You walked in front of the two girls and pushed them behind you while firmly gripping your knife in your pocket.

Everyone else backed away from the man as he stared at his own bite mark in shock.

“He said he wasn’t bitten,” Gyeong-su said in slight denial.

“No, no I, I wasn’t bitten,” he tried desperately to cover his arm where the bite mark was in an attempt to make it seem as if it wasn’t there. As if, if you couldn’t see it, it didn’t exist.

“It’s a bite mark,” On-jo told him.

“I said it isn’t. Don’t talk back to me. Okay?” He exclaimed, getting angrier by the second and you gently pushed the girls even further behind you.

“It looks like you were really bitten,” I-sak spoke up from behind you and you could hear the slight tremor in her voice.

“I wasn’t! How many times must I tell you?” Coach Kang yelled at her and took a step forward so you also took a step forward.

“You should go,” You told him in an strangely calm voice considering the situation.

“Then why the hell are you hiding it? Just show it to us!” I-sak spoke up again and Kang tried to step around you but you just pushed him back by his shoulders and he stumbled for a second before regaining his balance.

“Why… you little bitch. How dare you disrespect me!”

I-sak took a step forward and grabbed your arm to pull you back a bit. Her voice got more quiet as she spoke again. “I think you should leave right now.”

“What?”

“Get out of here immediately.”

“You want me to go out there?” He pointed toward the door where a few zombies walked past the window. “After all I did to get here? You want me to go back out?”

“You were bitten,” she said while breathing heavily in fear. “Come on, get out.” There was a moment of silence before she yelled, “I said get out now!”

“Cocksucker! How dare you yell at me like that?” He stared at her as he spoke and his face continuously got sweatier as the seconds passed. As he took a step forward, On-jo pulled I-sak back as you took a step forward to protect them. You were unknowing to the faces of the girls behind you as you were too busy protecting them but they were shocked. They thought you would be more like your brother who would only care about his own safety - along with yours, everyone knew how overprotective he was of you - but here you were, protecting them with your life. Coach Kang looked at you with annoyance but focused his attention on I-sak.

“You little… Get over here. Come here,” He seemed to be getting angrier and everyone was on edge. “Now!” I-sak continued to remain still. “You won’t come? Hey.” He started advancing forward and Su-hyeok rushed forward to push you back as Dae-su went to push Kang back but was held back by Wu-jin.

“Get the fuck back,” you yelled at him as he tried to get around you and Su-hyeok tried to pull you back.

“You know, you have been getting on my nerves. How dare you not listen to me. I am your teacher and I demand respect!” He yelled at you.

“Respect is earned motherfucker. I won’t respect you until you show me you deserve it,” you told him and he looked positively fuming.

“You will respect me!” He took a step forward as you were yanked back by Su-hyeok who was pulled back by On-jo who looked at the two of you with a weird gleam in her eyes. Suddenly, his nose started bleeding and he turned away as he wiped it away.

Before you could stop her, On-jo ran from behind you and hit the man over the head with a backpack.

He turned around with a silent anger. Cheong-san pulled On-jo behind him as Kang started walking toward her. “You fucking bitch,” he spoke, raising his hand like he was going to slap her before falling flat on his face.

“I think he really was bitten,” Gyeong-su said stupidly and you just looked at him with an exasperated look. “Guys, we should get out of here as soon as possible.”

Kang twitched on the ground and you tried to pull away from Su-hyeok to go toward him and prepare to stab him but Su-hyeok wrapped his arms around your waist and shoulders and you couldn’t move no matter how you squirmed.

“Hey. Hey! He’s turning!”

The coach’s bones cracked and crunched as he rolled around on the floor and turned from one type of monster to another.

“Get him out of here! Hurry!” Na-yeon yelled as she shut her eyes closed tightly and covered her ears. For once you agreed with her and couldn’t find it in you to tell her to shut up. “Hurry! Throw him out!”

The coach had finally fully turned and started crawling toward Min-ji before standing up and lunging at her completely, latching his teeth onto her cheek and not letting go until he was pulled off by Dae-su who tried desperately to save his friend as she screamed in agony.

Dae-su threw Kang into the drawers on the wall of the class room and he rolled around while readjusting his bones.

Still struggling against Su-hyeok’s grip, you started thrashing around but he held strong.

“Dae-su… I can’t…” Min-ji started and you felt tears well up in your eyes as you thrashed harder. You never really knew the girl but she didn’t deserve this, that’s for sure. “I don’t want to die…”

The zombified coach stood up and Su-hyeok gently tossed you to the side as he lunged straight for the two of you. He swiftly dodged the attacks of the man as everyone screamed. Disorientated from the lack of hold of his arms, it took you a minute to regain your balance and try to help the best you can and yet before you could Su-hyeok was holding you back again. Cheong-san quickly picked up a desk and used it to slam Kang into the wall, gathering the help of Gyeong-su who helped hold him there.

As Min-ji kept begging for help, Na-yeon scurried to the pile of desks and chairs and started pulling them away from the door so she could get out.

For once, not a bad idea.

You were worried when you saw Min-ji get up to walk after her and gasped when Na-yeon kicked her back so she fell to the floor. There, she started having the same experience as the previous person on the floor as her nose started bleeding and her bones started to crack. Her eyese went red as she reached for Dae-su before she fell to the ground. She suddenly jumped up and lunged at Dae-su but was apprehended quickly by him as he begged her to stop, nearly crying at the loss of his friend.

“We gotta go,” Su-hyeok exclaimed as he continued to hold you back. You’d started hitting him and only were released when you kicked his shin a little too hard and he fell to the floor for a moment. You ran over to where Cheong-san and Gyeong-su were holding the zombified Coach Kang and helped push the desk into him while hurriedly reaching into your pocket.

Everyone started chasing after Na-yeon who had gotten the door opened and was running out. On-jo, Su-hyeok, and the three of you pushing the table into the man against the wall were the last ones in the classroom and you exclaimed a small noise of victory as you’d finally gotten the knife out of your pocket and opened it.

Curse you Gwi-nam, why’d you have to give me a complicated one?

Stabbing the knife into the head of the coach, he dropped dead but before you could indulge in your victory you were getting pulled out of the classroom, you knife forgotten behind in the skull of your previous P.E. teacher.

Su-hyeok shut the doors behind him and the group moved together down the hall toward the stairs until everyone stopped and you ran into Cheong-san’s back. Before you could even realise what was going on, Su-hyeok ran up to the front and did a flying kick into one of the zombies. Not allowing yourself to be useless and let a man of all people show you up, you ran up to the front as well and threw, kicked, and punched the zombies as much as you could, keeping them away from the group while simultaneously making sure you yourself were safe. You allowed yourself to check on Su-hyeok every other second to make sure he was also okay until a zombie somehow had gotten past the two of you and started sprinting towards the group. Running as fast as you could, you tackled the zombie right before it was able to get to Na-yeon who had been crawling backwards after falling to the ground when the zombies first arrived. Another zombie ran toward you and you had to fend off the two of them by yourself, unable to gain assistance from Su-hyeok who was also in a sticky predicament himself.

“Well shit. I never thought I would die from a zombie apocalypse but I guess here we are,” you thought to yourself as you felt your arms get tired and the mouth of the zombie who was on top of you get closer to your arm.

Suddenly, the zombie was struck by something hard in the head and then smacked again so it fell to the floor. You looked up to see Cheong-san was the one who saved you and Gyeong-su ran up to Su-hyeok with a window - the same weapon you now knew Cheong-san used - to help him out. The ones holding the windows ran toward the small herd of zombies and used them as a barricade to hold them off while Dae-su had grabbed a whole classroom door.

“Hey! Get out of the way!” He screamed at the boys and started running toward the herd, swinging the door horizontally and using it as a larger barricade.

Running toward the boys, you slammed into the door as well to push and help them move the zombies backward. The girls looked slightly ashamed that they hesitated to follow after your example.

Turning the corner, the zombies were stuck at the top of the stairs of the floor you were on.

“Girls, upstairs!” Wu-jin screamed at you all and you just rolled your eyes as you forcefully grabbed the back of his shirt and pushed him toward the stairs.

“You first, dumbass!” You retaliated and he wasn’t sure what to say. The rest of the girls sprinted up the stairs as you pushed as hard as you could and were able to successfully knock all the zombies down the small flight of stairs before grabbing two random hands and dragging them toward the stairs as you forced them to go up. Making sure everyone was able to go up the stairs, you almost groaned in annoyance as you saw Su-hyeok, once again, practically sacrificing himself and kicking the zombies. As he fell over, you grabbed his hand and pulled him up before sprinting up the stairs before the zombies could regain control. You couldn’t see it with your eyes focused on the stairs in front of you and how you avoided the miscellaneous zombies as you dragged Su-hyeok behind you, but he was watching you in awe as he had never fully realized the full capacity of your strength.

As you were right behind Wu-jin who had stopped to push back a few zombies with the window piece he had, he got pushed toward the stairs as you started fighting the zombies expertly, avoiding their mouths while keeping the upper hand. Su-hyeok ignored the way you’d yelled at him to follow the others and started helping you kick the zombies back down before grabbing your arm to pull you up the stairs.

As a zombie launched itself at you while you climbed, it attached itself to your foot and you fell over, just barely being able to kick its face away from your ankle where it was aiming to bite you. Cheong-san had seen how you were down and how Su-hyeok had fallen with you.

“Su-hyeok!” He screamed in concern.

Said boy looked up at him before looking back at you and how you kicked the beast away. “Go to the science lab! Now!” He yelled back at him and Cheong-san hesitated before complying. Su-hyeok pulled you up and kicked another zombie away from the two of you before it breached the area where you considered yourself to be relatively safe. The two of you ran hand in hand up the stairs where you saw Su-hyeok’s friends being cornered between two hoardes of zombies. Before you could think to help in anyway, you were tackled from behind, your grip on Su-hyeok’s hands being pulled harshly away.

Su-hyeok’s eyes widened exponentially when he saw how you got attacked and was able to use his quick thinking to pull the monster off just before its teeth could latch onto your neck. Now only worried about your safety as he saw the group run into a classroom that the outside was still covered by zombies with, he grabbed your hand once more, pulling you up and silently apologizing when he heard you wince before pulling you into a room a few doors down from the science room.

The art room.

Ducking down before the zombies in the room could see you and both of you covering your mouths with your hands to quiet your panting, you ducked behind some very well placed desks and filing cabinets on wheels.

After a while of just sitting down and your breathing calming down, Su-hyeok pointed over to where the windows were. You shot him a hesitant glance but knew it was the both of your guys best shots at surviving and making it out of this blood stained room.

Just as Su-hyeok started to move, the speakers started squealing and you both covered your ears from how loud it was. Suddenly, the familiar voice of your teacher Ms. Park filled the classroom as well as the halls.

“Students and teachers of Hyosan High School. I'm Park Sun-hwa, the English teacher. Something strange is happening throughout the school. Some students are attacking others indiscriminately, so please flee and find a safe place. If any student or faculty hears this and is able to, please call the police and the fire department. Students, hide somewhere safe until help arrives. If you can get out of the school, please get out,” her voice started to shake and you felt horrible. This must be terrible for her too. “I'll say it again. Some students are…” She let out a few shaky breaths and Su-hyeok grabbed your hand with a firm but gentle grip, squeezing slightly to reassure you.

“Hey, everyone…” She started again, her voice becoming less professional and now more caring and loving like the teacher you’d come to know. “You're okay, right? You're not hurt? I don't know what's going on in here or how this whole thing happened, but... Still, find a safe place and hide. I… I'm sorry… I can't help.” She started sobbing and despite keeping your face emotionless you could feel a single tear fall down your cheek. “Don't get hurt, okay? Please, let's stay alive and meet again. Okay?”

Let’s meet again.

~~~

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |

~~~

Taglist!

@multifandom-lover01

Lmk if you want to be added or removed!

[salemssimblr]

SIMS 4 CREATE -A-CULTIST CHALLENGE

Roll up, roll up, Baaph needs followers!!

I've been heavily inspired by a lot of the challenges I've seen floating around simblr, so I wanted to make this one in conjunction with my Cult of the Lamb obsession/render set.

The rules are simple, roll the dice indicated to build your cultist! I like to use google's dice roller and roll each die individually to avoid repeats!

& if you don't want to use the dice roll challenge guidelines, feel free to make a follower from your own imagination/inspo! The only real rule is to have funI

I've made a .PSD template (download here!) file for you to make a 'card' of your follower! I'll reblog all of them so please tag me! & after a while I want to make a master post of all of them together! (& if you can't use .pds there's a BLANK VERSION HERE!)

The fonts needed for the PSD are Distillery Display and Eczar Regular (linked for download!)

Feel free to include as much or as little backstory as you like with your cultist! They can be a cult elder, a disciple, a spouse, or a dissenter! It's all up to you!

If you're familiar with the game and this is enough info for you, go forth and create a follower! I can't wait to indoctrinate them! 😈🤣

If you're not, I've included more info below!

For those unfamiliar with the game, the objective is to build a cult to gain strength and power to release the god that's saved you from death.

Each new follower has a form (usually a monster or animal, but for this I've chosen animals), a color (ranging from normal neutrals to highlighter-bright colors), and a few traits that can be anything from zealous to coprophiliac.

They can be leveled up to become disciples. You can marry multiple at a time (but they'll get jealous). They can dissent and you have to throw them in jail.

It's a delight.

Here's an example of these cuties in game:

I tried to include the animals I knew I'd seen CC floating around for, but I'm also so intrigued to see what yall will come up with!

If you want more info for this challenge, there's a lot of useful information here!

Have fun!! Love y'all!

[the-common-cowgirl]

Greater of Two Evils - Part 4

Summary: Reader makes a decision and goes home only to be met with a new type of monster.

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Dark! Modern Aemond x Reader

Warnings: DD;DNE, Manipulation, PTSD elements, talks of abortion, pro-life/pro-choice debate, cursing

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: This chapter is HEAVY. I apologize in advance. It’s uncomfortable, however, essential to this fic. Sorry in advance!

Masterlist

The apartment felt cold when you arose from your disturbed slumber. With an aching body, you had pulled yourself from the bed and searched the rooms for a sign of life; There was none. Aemond must have left, which meant this was your chance to slip out of his apartment and go back to your shared apartment with your brother without an immediate objection from Aemond. Or maybe, you’d just catch a flight or train and get out of Drone completely; go back home to your parents. The enticing idea danced around your mind for quite some time. You stared at the hardwood floors in contemplation.

Would he chase me all the way home?

Would he ruin my family?

Would he ruin my brother?

You found, rather unregretfully, each of your prior fears were becoming less prevalent in the wake of understanding that you were in true danger. Dorne wasn’t safe for you; not with your brother and not with Aemond. At least in the Riverlands, your father and mother could protect you. Save you from your brother’s wrath; and Aemond’s. 

Your eyes lit up with a newfound vigor and you set to work bagging up what little belongings you brought, calling an uber to your location and buying plane tickets for Riverrun. You were out of that apartment before Aemond could return and although it was lost on you, there was a vase of 8 red roses with a card that simply read “Stay” on the counter in the kitchen. You hadn’t noticed it…unfortunately.

Your plane landed late into the night and you were grateful your father was still waiting for you at the airport. His arms were spread wide, his smile genuine as he embraced you in a warm hug. You missed this, you missed genuine kindness from men; however, the last few years living with your brother and the last month or so knowing Aemond had left you a bit scarred, marred with trepidation, making you pull from the hug quicker than you’d like. Your father noticed, you could tell by the sideways smile that had appeared on his face.

“Hey dad,” you offered a tired smile while taking a step back and grasping the straps of your bookbag. 

Your father reached around you and took the bookbag from your trembling hands. “Traveling light, my little trout?” He put a hand on your back and the contact made a phantom wave of chills go through you, making you grimace as you began to walk out of the airport and toward the small parking lot of this two terminal airport. 

“Yeah, just wanted to see you guys while we were on break.” You forgot how cold it could get this far North and wrapped your arms around yourself.

“Weird time to have a break in University.” He commented but didn’t pursue. “How’s your brother, we never hear from him anymore.”

Your eyebrows furrowed and you continued to look at the ground as you walked, “What? I thought he was sending some money each month and-”

“Your mom told him to stop that a few years back, made her feel greedy. No, after he quit sending money, we hadn’t heard from him. I guess he’s real busy down there in Dorne?”

You nodded, trying to understand why your brother would lie about something so small as sending money each month to help your parents pay the bills.

“Don’t mention it to your mom. Makes her upset. I was just wondering-”

You nodded again as you two reached the car. You hopped in the passenger’s side as your father started the vehicle. “So he’s not even talking to you guys anymore?”

Your father shrugged, as he backed out of the parking space. “Nope. Your mother thinks he’s just busy is all.”

Your father had always been a terrible liar and you just caught a hint that he didn’t necessarily believe what your mom did. You wouldn’t push the issue yet.

“How are you guys doing on your bills if I might ask?”

Your father rolled his eyes, “That’s nothing that should concern you.”

“I’m an adult, I can handle it-”

“Hey, I was talking to Mrs. Tully the other day,” he changed the subject, “And she said that there will be an opening for an Early Education Teacher at the start of the next school year if that’s something you’re interested in?”

Your heart dropped, you hadn’t told him your brother forced you to change majors. Your dream of being a teacher for littles crushed. You swallow your self pity and lie to your father, “Thanks dad, I’ll talk to her.”

The drive home is filled with more small talk, mainly your father telling you the gossip of small town life. Who married who, who’s cheating who, and who died. You remind yourself that this is why you took a chance on Sunspear and moved in with your brother but then again, the gnawing feeling of ‘I brought this upon myself’ creeps back up into your throat and you have to remind yourself that you’re a victim and you are not the bad person or persons here.

The victim guilt doesn’t seem to leave you, even when you pull into your childhood driveway. 

Stepping through the threshold of the house, it smells like chocolate oatmeal cookies and home; you feel tension leave your body and finally smile.

Your mom comes around the corner with oven mitts on and you laugh, rushing to embrace her. “Oh my darling,” she says into your hair, “I’ve missed you so much.”

And that’s how the reunion goes, late into the night, catching up at the kitchen table, eating cookies when all three of you should be sleeping. It feels good to be home but you are awaiting the inevitable and it happens an hour in.

“I know you’re not on break,” your mom starts. She could never be fooled, even when you and your brother were kids, lying about who hit who first; it was always you…even when it wasn’t. Okay, maybe it was only you that couldn’t fool her. “Why are you here in the middle of the semester?”

You looked down to your cup of tea, it had gone cold with very little left in the mug. Could you really tell them, did you have a choice?

“Does it have something to do with that gash on your head? Or the wrapping around your wrist?”

You nodded, sighing a shaking breath. “That’s part of it.” Your voice was small, like when you were a kid taking your brother’s punishment.

“What’s the other part?” Her voice was stern and soft, coaxing the truth you could never hide from her, out.

“I-um- I-” How could you tell them? How could you explain to them that you’re pregnant? How would they react? Your body shook with anticipation and anxiety.

Your father put his hand on your back and you felt cold chills again. “It’s okay, it's okay to tell us.”

No it isn’t. You two will not understand. How could you understand? Is it not enough to have lived it but now I have to recount what fucking happened to me? I have to speak out loud the atrocities sinned against me by my own brother and a fucking demon of a human when I myself, havent even come to terms that I’ve been wronged? How can you understand when I don’t even understand?!

And so, the root of your pain fell out of your mouth without your brain deciphering your words, “I’m pregnant.”

Your father sighed deeply, your mother sat back in her chair, you continued staring at the little bit of tea left in the bottom of your mug; hoping the little bit of residue left from the tea bag would tell you something uplifting or helpful like the ancient art of tea leaves reading. Then the irony donned on you and you almost laughed.

Here I am, looking for comfort in my tea instead of my own parents. I had to leave Dorne for tea?

“Well,” your mother spoke up, “who’s the father?”

You nearly laughed again, “Someone you don’t know.”

“Is he willing to help you with-”

“I don’t want to keep it.”

Your mother scoffed, “You don’t have a choice in that now do you?”

Your eyes lifted from the cold cup to your mother’s eyes, warm and inviting; deceitful. “I do, actually.”

“Oh you do?” Maybe in Dorne but not in the Riverlands-”

“Then I’m not staying here, I’m going back to Dorne. I just wanted to let you guys know before I-”

“Before you murdered my grandchild?”

Your father scolds your mother for being so harsh with a hand lifted from the table, her name and shaking his head and there you are again, feeling like you brought this on yourself.

Why did I even come here?

“Does your brother know,” your father asks, breaking you from your trance of self-loathing.

You shook your head; unable to speak. Staring down at the tea again.

“What’s your plan? Drop out of school and move here? You could work at the elementary school as an aide until you finish your degree here?” Your father’s voice is kinder than your mother’s but not any less incessant.

“I don’t- I think I’m done. I can’t afford it.”

Your mother shifts into the table, closer to you and suddenly you feel put off by this proximity. “Well, that’s fine. You can get a job here, we will help pay for medical expenses and the baby’s care. If-” she starts, grabbing one of your hands with both of hers, they’re warm. “If you don’t want this baby after you give birth- that’s fine. I’ll accept full legal guardianship, no questions asked. But please, don’t rob us of a grandchild. Don’t be this person. You always loved kids, that’s why you went into early education.” She pauses, looking across the table to your father with tears in her eyes. “But give yourself the chance to look at your baby and make that decision.”

You chuckle, a tear falling from your eyes. “Yeah mom, but what if the eyes looking back at me are his?”

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Witchy Bites

Starting Charm Casting

Charm casting, aka curio casting, is the divination practice of tossing small objects into a defined area and diving meaning from where and how they land. Like most self-directed systems, it can be a little wild getting started. Here's how you can get going quickly and then build up and out.

To start, collect some charm objects, 3-10 is a great beginning range.

Assign each charm one meaning to start.

Make your reading area somewhat contained so the charms don't fly.

Then assign your reading area 2-4 spaces.

Start there. The charms always mean one thing, and they always mean it in relation to where they land.

So if you have a shoe that means travel, and your two areas are yes/no, then that's very simple and easy to be getting on with.

Getting Advanced

Complexity comes from more charms, more areas, different orientations of the charms altering meaning, and relating the charms within areas to each other. Just build up til you find your happy place. Some ideas for increasing complexity:

Casting charms repeatedly to test landing orientations, then interpreting the charm's meaning depending on how it lands, like a reversed tarot card.

Choosing a selection of charms for each reading, either with a set number or casting one for each position, like a Tarot spread.

Tarot suit meanings for areas in a center quad box with yes/no endzones on either side.

Assigning unique personas (gods, monsters, devils, pop, ancestors) to charms, allowing you to interpet them as having a conversation with the other charms, or use their charm for spirit messages from the.

Assigning entirely different meanings to one charm in different orientations.

Hope this helps someone!