#Now fight (read: befriend) your way out of hell teenage boy!

[desultory-novice]

"Whoever said 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' left a lot of stuff out..."

[Name:] Noir Fontaine "...It's pronounced 'fawn-tan'"

[Reference Image:]

[[Tournament Asks Masterpost]]

[Notes on Personality:]

"My pronouns are he/some-kind -of-planet-invading hellspawn, I guess."

A kindhearted teen beneath the surface, growing up amidst humanity's depressive twilight hours on a hostile, frozen wasteland, plus a lifetime of tragedies no one his age should have to bear, has hardened Noir into a sarcastic, sassy little edgelord with a bitter tongue that's as sharp as his cursed sword, both of which he'll turn on anything he finds threatening with little provocation.

Noir's oodles and caboodles of twitchy paranoia combined with him having the approachability of a flea-ridden alley cat, makes breaking the thick ice to touch the heart of the scarred boy hiding beneath a task for only the most patient (or masochistic) of souls.

...And even then, he'll still sass you.

Likes: storytelling, games, the night sky, his siblings Dislikes: violence, crowds, touch, food, opening up

[Backstory and Lore:]

"...My life had way more talking plushies playing key roles than I'd have guessed."

Son of <L.D. Violet Level Access Only> and <L.D. Violet Level Access Only> Noir is a normal (?) human (?) teen from Shiver Star and Adeleine's older brother.

After the early death of his parents under very suspicious circumstances, Noir took over as sole guardian of his little sister, giving up the little-to-nothing he had to keep her safe and happy, including his own happiness, his health, and very nearly his sanity.

His preternaturally bad luck took a turn for the absolutely devastating when–while searching for a cheer-up gift for his little sister amongst some suspicious New World relics–he just so happened to acquire a psychic blade forged of Dark Matter.

As if it knew exactly who he was and exactly who he could go on to be, the Blade attached itself to him in a rather physical (:cough: and un-removable :cough:) manner and began slowly but surely corrupting him, body, mind, and soul.

Yet, he was able to use its destructive gifts to quietly rescue his sister Adeleine from Shiver Star's apocalyptic, dead-end environs and send her off into the endless possibilities waiting in the sea of stars, guaranteeing she, at least, would have a future.

The corruption devours him soon after.

In a 'verse close to that of the canon games, Noir loses his human body upon death along with (most) of his memories, and his captive soul is reforged by Zero as the eldritch entity's elite vanguard, a position which caused King Dedede to dub him "Blade."

In this form, the emotionless(?) Dark Matter drone would go on to adopt Gooey (in place of the sister he could not fully remember) and lead the invasion of Popstar for the collective, unaware it was the very planet Adeleine escaped to. She would not discover the one-eyed shadow monster was her brother till much, much later...

Noir dies a second time, in a duel against Popstar's hero, Kirby of the Stars, having remembered his human life too late to do anything about it. Noir would die for a third time after a disappointed Zero resurrects, tortures, and brainwashes him in order to force his participation in the second, penultimate invasion of Popstar.

Tragically, even after banishing Dark Matter from Popstar and destroying Zero, Noir's soul remains trapped in darkness.

...He would've liked to see his little sister and brother again...

In another 'verse, he and Adeleine swap fates and... :cough:

Favorite Dream Landers: Adeleine, Gooey, King Dedede, Kirby

---

[Notes on Potential (???) Interactions:]

If your OC has ANY ability to sense Dark Matter, is or ever was Dark Matter, or has a grudge against Dark Matter, Noir should set them off like a particularly obnoxious car alarm. He radiates Dark Matter energy, even when he's not doing anything.

If your OC is small, cute, and harmless (ie: reminds him of Adeleine or Gooey in any way) you may earn some begrudging care from the boy. He's got a terminal case of big-brother syndrome, after all.

If your OC has been through the horrors (and specifically NOT come out a better, healthier person for it) he will probably sympathize.

Address him as "Swordsman" and watch him twitch! It's fun!

[Etc:]

For this event, Noir is visually in his "last days as a living human" form, ie: purple-black patches of corrupted flesh and veins and monster hands beneath his gloves.

He's below average height and weight for his age, but being an Earth-human like Adeleine (and taller than her) generally winds up taller than most average Dream Land-type residents

As far as physical appearance goes, Noir is still 16 (the age he died at) but he spent a sizable period of time as Dark Matter and his true mental/emotional age is difficult to calculate.

Outside of the powers he picked up from the sword (teleportation, darkness control, memory-based matter re-creation, etc) Noir, owing to his heritage, has some mild powers all of his own (pre-cognition, cross-dimensional sight, etc) though he is untrained in the use of them and remains unaware they are "powers" at all.

---

PS: You can read more about Noir [HERE]

---

Well, I have done it. I have thrown my son to the Shark-Dees! XD Shall we see how The Boy Who Always Dies does at the @kirbyoctournament ?

[sheisjoeschateau]

"Oh, so we DO love Steve..." | PART I

Steve Harrington x Bauman!fem!reader enemies to lovers, heavy angst, hurt/comfort, upside down mayhem, S2-S4, post S4 universe hot-take, end-of-the-world / dystopian setting, ugly fights turned smut (...but with hella plot). 18+

WHEN THE UNEXPECTED NIECE OF MURRAY BAUMAN GETS THROWN IN THE MIX, THE GANG HAS NO IDEA JUST WHAT THEY'RE IN FOR. SCRATCH THAT - STEVE DOESN'T KNOW. YOU GET ALONG WITH EVERYONE WELL. YOU BANTER WITH THE ADULTS, WHO APPRECIATE YOUR HELP. THE KIDS LOVE AND WORSHIP YOU. YOU'RE HELPFUL ALL AROUND. BUT AS FAR AS STEVE IS CONCERNED, YOU'RE JUST NUISANCE. AFTER ALL, YOU'RE THE REASON HE LOST THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE AND MISSED OUT ON A LIFE THAT "COULD'VE BEEN." IF YOU HAD JUST KEPT YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF THE PICTURE... IF YOU HAD NEVER GONE WITH NANCY AND JONATHAN AFTER THEY LEFT YOUR WHACK-JOB UNCLE, MURRAY BAUMAN'S, BUNKER? HE WOULD BE HAPPY. SO F*CKING HAPPY. BUT HERE YOU WERE. YOU WERE BASICALLY THE COOLER (...AND SURE, MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE) FEMALE VERSION OF MURRAY BAUMAN. YOU WERE SARCASTIC, QUICK-WITTED, TOO SMART FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, AND APPARENTLY BUILT FOR THE WAR. SURE, YOU WEREN'T AS BRASH AS YOUR UNCLE. BUT IN STEVE'S EYES, YOU WERE SOMEHOW FAR MORE OBNOXIOUS. HE DOWNRIGHT HATED YOU. HE WILL FOREVER HATE YOU... BUT WILL HE?

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORK TO BE COPIED AND/OR REPOSTED ON HERE OR ANY OTHER PLATFORM, OR PUT INTO ANY AI PROGRAMS. THIS IS AN 18+ BLOG, MDNI.

An original fanfiction series, written by Misha St. James.

⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ SERIES MASTERLIST ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

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I did not proof-read this after Tumblr gave me hell trying to share. So pls excuse possible typos. hehe

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Let's just get to the point, shall we?

Once upon a time, a young boy named Will Byers went missing. Later, he was found in an alternate dimension by the world's #1 mom and a cynical cop turned hero. A girl with a shaved head had telekinetic superpowers, befriend's Will's four loyal friends along the way and helping them track down their missing party member. Then, whatever the hell was on the other side - whatever was in this...upside down...took back Eleven. She'd been missing ever since that dreadful winter.

Fast forward to now: you're sitting in your uncle's bunker, looking at his wild display of efforts.  Papers, files, whiteboards covered in multiple words, arrows, sketches - all in different colored markers. Murray Bauman was on a mission, and he would be damned if that grumpy, cynical smart-ass known as Jim Hopper honestly thought that he could dismantle his efforts.  Nice try, chum. Game on. Thankfully, you'd gone to school with Barbara Holland. That's whose parents had assigned the task of searching for her to your uncle. Murray was asking you tons of questions, and you were glad to help. It meant spending time with the only family member you cared for, despite his wackiness. You guys got each other. Bantered well. Got shit done. Honestly, it was also a great way of drinking safely and not with a bunch of rowdy teenagers at some stupid party. You got along just fine with everyone at school. But damn, they could all be annoying.  ...especially Steve fucking Harrington, who was now the topic of conversation. You know, given that his house is where Barbara was last seen. "It just isn't making sense," your uncle huffed, raking his hands through his oily dark hair.  You sipped on the glass of vodka that your uncle had poured you, hissing at the strong taste. Leaning across the coffee table, seated on his couch, you tried to connect the dots with him. "I'm telling you, someone in that group of teens knows what's up. Or at least has an idea." Your uncle swigged at his vodka, defeated but ruthlessly trying to piece together his clusterfuck of scattered evidence across his wall. "Well then, guess we better grill 'em."

And that's how you come into the picture. When Nancy and Jonathan came to seek out Murray. And when they arrive, they're surprised to see you. They recognize you from school. Jonathan took several classes with you. In fact, the two of you got along well at Hawkins High. No, you weren't close. But you both were cool. Nancy, on the other hand, didn't know anything about you. Just that you took political science with Barbara, and got straight A's across the board. You could've been class valedictorian. But you were not looking for any sort of title that demanded pressure or attention. At least not in high school. Career wise? Sure. Not here, though. Not Hawkins. "Your timeline is wrong," Nancy is saying, making you and Bauman freeze.  Nancy is telling you that the girl with the buzzed hair is not Russian. She is, in fact, from Hawkins lab. And her name is...Eleven? So they do know something. And something turns out to be everything.

Jonathan sits you both down to relay everything to you both. And woof, does it give you guys a headache. Strangely, though... it makes a whole lot more sense than some mundane explanation of sorts. Obviously though, that puts you all in a tough spot where you'll all need to put your heads together. So the two classmates of yours stay, sharing in chilled Smirnoff and having to endure the hilarity that ensues between you and your uncle. You and Murray both banter well with the two of them. Jonathan finds you to be hilarious. Nancy finds you intimidating. Very intimidating. You’re quick witted, darkly humored and independent. But there is a reserved, mysterious sort of feminine energy to you, despite your more masculine strengths and bluntness. Over glasses of stiff vodka, you all come to the conclusion on how to go about exposing the truth about Barbara Holland's disappearance: water it down.

At the end of the night, you're all winding down -- you and your uncle having convinced the two lovebirds to stay. But when you're telling them they can take your uncle's guest room while you take the couch, Jonathan's asking if he can take the couch. You blink. Huh? ...surely Nancy is not still with --

"Okay, I'm confused," your uncle's saying. "What's going on here? Lovers quarrel?"

You cock an eyebrow, leaning back into the loveseat.

But Jonathan and Nancy are then talking over each other with weird, flustered excuses...saying they're just friends.

You and your uncle bust out laughing. And then you're shrinking back in your seat, knowing what's coming: one of your Uncle Murray's lovebird witchdoctor speeches that he barrels into anytime that two delusional people have convinced themselves that they aren't in love. Or at the very least, not into each other. 

Uncle Murray is breaking them down, one at a time. He's reading Jonathan like an angsty teen novel, seeing right through him and his brooding, mysterious energy.  Trust issues, thanks to daddy issues. Yikes, that makes you sip some more drink.

And then he's onto Nancy, saying that she's harder to read. But he manages anyway.  It's the Bauman way.

He's telling her that she's likely like everyone else, "afraid of what would happen if you accepted yourself for you who you really are." He looks at you. "Am I in the right ballpark?"

You nod, swallowing the last drop of vodka in your cup. "That...and afraid of that might happen if she didn't retreat back to the safety of someone familiar."

Nancy looks bewildered. But more than that, she looks caught. 

"Name?" your uncle is prodding, snapping his fingers.  "Name."

You and Jonathan both say it. "Steve."

Uncle Murray's face is priceless. He feigns adoration, putting on a baby voice as he repeats the name. "Dawh. Steve. We like Steve."

"Yes," Nancy laughs nervously.  Eek, you think.

"But we don't love Steve..." Your uncle's words floor Nancy.

And when Nancy's saying something about still being with Steve, insisting that she loves him, you roll your eyes. Even scoffing, getting her attention. Maybe if the vodka weren't in your system, you wouldn't be so bold. But Jonathan's mopey look just gives you more confidence.

"Boom, ladies and gents," you say with a grin. "Second lie of the evening." "The hell was the first one?" Jonathan asks, blinking. "You guys being just friends." You and your uncle say something along the same lines, simultaneously. You both laugh together, clinking glasses. The two not lovebirds just squirm awkwardly in their seats. Finally, you sigh. "Look. You guys don't wanna give up the ghost? Be my guest. I'll happily keep my bed." You stand up, ready to turn in. But not until casting them one last work, pointing a finger. "But if I were you two? I'd cut the bullshit and just share the damn bed." Murray snorts, rising to stand as well. He stretches. "Welllllp. I'm turning in for the night." You begin mounting the stairs, hollering: "Better act fast, kiddos. At least before this poison in my system knocks me out cold. Don't worry, Nancy, I don't snore. So if you do choose me, you're safe." "But that's so lame," Murray adds to that wryly, heading off to his room. You both tell each other goodnight, leaving the two angsty teens to decide their fate. All you know is that Nancy ends up walking out and not coming back, at one point in the night.  Yeah, thought so. Breakfast the next morning is even more hilarious. You and your uncle ask every single question that drips with innuendo that you ever possibly could. And it's worth every fucking minute.

Murray's gonna need to keep that couch cleaned. To your surprise, Murray sends you off with Nancy and Jonathan, but given that you want to go and see it all for yourself you don't mind. You’re basically his little spy.  Most uncles send off their nieces and nephews with some good advice, maybe a packed lunchbox or snacks, and a warm hug. 

Yours, however, sends you off with a full bottle of vodka, a thick wad of cash and some fun sarcastic banter. But he headlocks you in for a hug, and you cackle. He really is a nutcase, and man you can't help but love him. He is so not the parental type. Yet somehow, he's practically raised you. And in your opinion, you're pretty well-prepared for the world. More than most, in Murray's opinion. So off you go with Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Buyers, and they both honestly enjoy your company. It helps them get past their umm...well...awkward new reality. That new reality that comes post-sex, after a long ass time of playing the tip-toe game. The sexual tension between them is hysterical to you. But you keep your thoughts to yourself for now. The vodka did most of the talking for you last night.

When you both arrive at wherever the hell your destination is, it's dark outside. And if you're being honest, it's pretty creepy. You're somewhere near the woods, and as you all walk closer you're beginning to see lights approaching you...along with a handful of shadowed figures. 

Fuck, you literally just got here.

But then, after a tense several moments... Nancy and Jonathan call out to them. You jump, startled at the fact that they do it so confidently. But the name that they call out suddenly makes it all make sense. "STEVE?" "NANCY...?" And that's how you became a crucial part of the most royal pain in the ass, King Steve's, life.

[p-artsypants]

Paint it Black (2) Observing

Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City's crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a correlation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself?

Ao3

"So?" Beast Boy asked, a grin on his features.

"I met him. He seems...strange. I wonder if there is something wrong with him."

"Of course there is!" Beast Boy shouted. "The kid's living a delusion! He's totally Schizophrenic! He’s 9th level crazy banana-pants bonkers!"

"Where's your degree in Psychology?" Cyborg asked.

Raven chimed in. "I couldn’t read his mind when I saw him. He's too...random?"

"Random? More like utterly out of control! He must have gotten brain damage or something!"

"Like you?" Raven quipped.

Beast Boy didn't skip a beat. "I don't doubt I have brain damage from all the fights I've been in, but there's no way you can compare us."

"I will agree and say that Black is very strange. I am concerned for him though." Starfire added.

"He told me he was homeless," said Raven. 

“I saw him take money from a drug dealer he took out.” Cyborg scratched his chin. “So he’s not panhandling.”  

“What do we do? Mention him to the police?” Starfire asked.

“Let’s just…keep an eye out for him. Maybe he’s a friendly neighborhood weirdo, or maybe he’s a problem.” 

—-

It continued like that for the weeks following. Each Titan would take turns performing patrol at night, while the usual super villains would crop up randomly in between. Nearly every night, for maybe only a few minutes, they would cross paths with the young man known as Black. Each time, they would try to weasel more information out of him, but more often than not, he left them with more questions. 

“Cyborg! Thank god! I need help!” A young man came running up to him. He looked rather roughed up and had a black eye. 

“What’s up, man?”

“I know we were wrong. My friends and I tried to shoplift from the Quick Mart, but then my buddy tried to actually mug a customer. It was so wrong and I know that but the dude went ape shit and just started beating the hell out of us! I’m the only one that got away! Please Cyborg, my brother’s back there and I think he’s gonna get killed.” 

“Alright alright, I got you man, take me there.” 

The young man ran back the way he came, Cyborg hot on his trail. The Quick Mart was just around the corner. The windows were plastered with posters and neon signs, so much so, the inside couldn’t be seen. 

“Wait here,” Cyborg demanded, and headed for the door. 

Whatever supervillain he was expecting to see, he didn’t see them. Instead, Black sat on the counter, nonchalantly eating a pint of ice cream. 

There were four unconscious young men on the ground, and the cashier was crying behind the counter. 

“Aww man,” Cyborg groaned, looking at the carnage. 

“Hey! Borgy-Boy! Want some Chunky Monkey?” Black held out his spoon.

“Man, what did you do?”

“Can you believe these Ding Dongs tried to mug me? I only have so much money to spend on food, and they’re trying to take it!”

Cyborg gave him a hard look. “What about all that money you’ve taken from the people you bust?”

“Hey!” Black pointed his spoon at him. “Most of that money went into the offering plate on Sunday!” 

Cyborg stared back in shock. “You go to church?”

“Sure! Free coffee, free music, free air conditioning and heat, it's a swell deal! I don’t really know what they’re talkin’ ‘bout, but that Jesus guy sounds like a real neat fella!”

Cyborg shook his head. Black had a talent for derailing situations quickly. “What did I tell you about beating people up?”

Black whined. “But mooooommmmm! They started it!” 

“I called the police,” the cashier finally sobbed out. “They’ll be here at any moment.”

“Whoops! Looks like I gotta vámonos!”

“Did you pay for the ice cream?” Cyborg asked sternly. 

“YeEEEeeeeEEEs!” Black sassed right back. 

“Good, then you’re ready to wait for the police with me.” 

Black’s attitude changed slightly then. He paled and his lips became taught. “Nah, I’m good.”

“What if I tell you you have to?”

Then Black’s face fell, a much darker, hateful gaze on his face. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to. Not anymore.” 

“Anymore?” Cyborg took a step toward him.

Black launched from the counter, springboarded off Cyborg’s shoulders and landed at the exit. “Bye Borgy-Boy! Love you!” And he was gone.

“Damnit!” Cyborg shouted to the ceiling. 

—-

“Okay, I think he’s a problem,” Cyborg announced without preamble. 

Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven all looked at him startled. 

“Who?”

“Black! Who else!? He beat up a bunch of shoplifters at the Quick Mart and then dipped when I told him to stay for the police. Why would he run if he had nothing to hide?”

Raven raised a brow. “So you want us to capture him? Take him down? Yeah, we all know what he’s doing is illegal, but he’s doing us a huge favor. We don’t have time to worry about the little guys.” 

“What if we were to just observe him more? Mayhaps this is a temporary thing?”

“Temporary insanity? I’d love to hear that argument.” Beast Boy chuckled. 

“Fine, another week or two of observation. Then we have to decide what we’re going to do about him.” 

—

During Raven’s patrol, she got to have her own fun with a jewelry store break in. She passed by the roof just as the burglar’s broke through the window. 

Thinking that was all the action she was going to see on her patrol, she began to return home, only to be distracted by someone singing. 

Well, it was more like caterwauling. 

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!” 

It was a crime to be singing so poorly and so loudly so late at night. A crime to Raven, at least. All this required was a stern talking too. 

Raven followed the sour notes down a backstreet and into the warehouse district. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Raven drawled. 

Black was still singing at the top of his lungs, and sort of dancing down the alley. In both hands, he held cans of spray paint, and he was spraying the walls. 

Raven landed behind him. 

“I’M TRAPPED IN THIS BODY–CAN’T—GET OUT!!!”

“Vandalizing private property? Some hero you are.” 

“AH!” Black startled, whipped around and sprayed Raven in the face with red paint. 

Luckily she clenched her eyes shut so she wasn’t blinded. 

“Oh! Mrs. Magpie! I’m sorry, you startled me!” 

Raven tried to wipe the paint from her face. “So I noticed.” 

Black took out a rag from his pocket and started rubbing her face before she batted him away. 

He slunk back, defeated. “And to answer your question, I wasn’t trying to vandalize this wall. Someone else already did that. I was just trying to make it…less Hitler-y.” 

Raven looked at the wall. On half were some interesting black and red swirls, still wet, and the other half had about a dozen swastikas punctuated with profanity. 

“I see. You were covering it up.”

“Yeppers! Are you proud of me, Rae Rae?” 

The last thing she wanted to do was indulge this lunatic. “You know, if you talked to the owner, he’d probably give you some paint to cover the whole wall in an even coat.” 

He scoffed. “There’s no art in that!” 

“Oh, so now you’re an artist?”

“Am I not allowed to have a hobby?” 

She huffed. “Fair.” 

“I’ll take it more seriously. I’ll practice and make it really good! A series of pretty alleyways by me!” 

Raven was out of shits to give. “Fine. Go ahead. Wow me with your murals.” 

Black grinned gleefully and jumped. “You won’t regret it!” 

“See that I won’t.” 

“Oh,” he licked his thumb. “You have a little paint—“ 

She summoned a force field to stop him from getting any closer. “Don’t even think about it.” 

—-

Usually, Black had a tendency to seek out the Titans, or let his presence be known. So when Beast Boy found the young man digging through a dumpster, he quickly changed into a mouse to watch from afar. 

“In the deepest ocean, the bottom of the sea, your eyes, they turn me,” Black sang a tune Beast Boy swear he heard before, but couldn’t place it. 

Beast Boy scurried across the ground, coming closer. 

Black was bent over at the waist, his torso inside the dumpster, and his singing echoed with a metallic ring. “I get eaten by the worms and weird fishes. Picked over by the worms…and weird fishes.” 

Where had he heard that before? The radio? He was usually pretty hip with modern music.  

“Ah ha!” Black cried triumphantly as he emerged. He had a prize in his hand. 

Beast Boy eagerly waited to see what Black had found and was so excited about. 

Another watch. 

The young man cinched it on his wrist, so quickly, it looked like he’d done it a hundred times before. “You don’t have a battery, but that’s okay. I still love you.” 

A dead watch. What was so exciting about a dead watch?

Black then rubbed his stomach. “Hmm…me hungy!” And he turned and left the alley. 

Beast Boy waited until he rounded the corner to turn into a sparrow and followed him. 

Black skipped down the street, his tattered trench coat fluttering behind him. 

Coming down the street was a dog walker, a man with a husky. Black saw them and ran to them. “Ohhh! A puppy! What’s his name? Can I pet?!”

The man looked startled, but ultimately said, “uh sure. His name is Plinko.” 

“Hi puppy! Hi Plinko! Who’s a good boy?! Who would rip someone’s face off to protect his owner!? My name is Black. What’s your name?”

The man looked even more startled and started to tug his dog away. “Sorry, I have to go.” 

“Okie dokie then! Bye bye Plinko! Bye bye Plinko’s dad!” Black waved enthusiastically. Then he continued his merry way down the street. 

Beast Boy watched in fascination, and prepared to intervene if Black showed any kind of threat towards the man. Thankfully, he didn’t, just behaved oddly enough to frighten the man off. 

Black broke into a sprint, running at a wall. When he reached it, he used a fire escape to climb up the side of a building, then leapt onto a short roof. From there, he cartwheeled and flipped to the other edge and jumped over to the next roof. 

He was fast. Beast Boy had to morph into an Eagle to keep up with him. He was used to seeing kids parkour, and the hobby had become more popular over the years the more stunts of Robin’s had been captured on camera. But Beast Boy had never seen someone move like this. It was almost inhuman. Black flung himself across distances anyone else with self preservation would have avoided. He flipped and twisted as he went, ignoring laws of physics. 

Then, they were at the Quick Mart, and he strolled in like he hadn’t been performing gymnastics across the rooftops. 

Beast Boy quickly shifted into a fly and flew in before the door shut. This was kind of fun. He didn’t get to do stealth missions often. 

“Hi Laura!” Black chirped. 

“Oh. Hi Black.” The cashier looked nervous and swallowed thickly. 

“Got anything fresh? How old is the pizza? Is it all dried out like jerky?”

“I just put a new pie in,” she said with a sigh. 

“Then I want a slice! Not one with pepperoni’s though.” He shivered.

She gave him a solemn nod and cut him a slice of cheese pizza. 

“Hey chicky-poo, why are you nervous?” He asked as he grabbed a drink from the fridge. Just a water. 

“We’re not going to have any problems today, are we?” She asked sternly, but looked pale and nauseous.

“Problems? Me?! You know I’m here to solve problems, right?!” 

The cashier didn’t answer. 

Black placed his hands on his hips. “Is this about those shoplifters earlier this week? Did Borgy-Boy or the Popo give you a hard time?”

She took a shaky breath. “They were fine. I just…what you did to those boys.” 

He scoffed. “What's a couple broken fingers and fractured skulls among friends?”

“Um…I can’t imagine those guys think you’re friends…”

“Well, then they’re doodoo heads. How much for the water and the pizza? Ohh and this candy bar?”

“7.83.” 

“Oh. No candy bar then.” He pouted. 

“5.70.”

Black dug around in his pockets and took out some bills and coins. “Is that enough?”

“This is a button.” 

“Oh. How much is that worth?”

The cashier sighed and helped him count out the money on the counter. Beast Boy prepared to intervene if he didn’t have enough, but thankfully, he did. 

“And, you had a little extra, so you get a nickel back.” She handed him a coin. 

He grinned. “I think I like them! Most people don’t, but that’s okay. Not everyone has to agree!” 

“What?”

“Nickleback! They do the song from Shrek!”

“Honey, that’s Smash Mouth.”   

Black sighed. “I can’t count change and I can’t remember Nickleback’s discography. Is there anything I can do right?”

Break bones, apparently, thought Beast Boy. 

“Well, you do the crime fighting thing pretty well. Maybe once you get your memory back, you’ll be able to do other things.”

Black’s face soured. “No no, I’m going to learn new things, not remember old ones.” He took on a far off look. “I don’t want to remember the old things.”

“Oh…kay…” Laura said, leaning away from the counter. 

Black brightened considerably. “Thanks for the pizza! See you around Laura!” Then he looked to the wall, right at Beast Boy. “See you around, Jolly Green!” 

Beast Boy shifted back into a human, falling off the wall and startling Laura. “Duuuude! How did you know?!” 

“Come on, how often do you see a green fly?”

“Often?! How–!?” 

Black tsked. “You gotta be better than that, Beastie Boy! Ch-check, check it out! Wh-what what’s it all about!?” He started rapping Beastie Boy lyrics and he nonchalantly strolled out the door. 

Beast Boy stood still, staring open mouthed. 

“I had no idea you were there,” said Laura. “That kid is something else.” 

“Yeah, but what?”

—

Cyborg arrived from the lobby, the huge box with him full. He dumped out the contents, letters, on the table and started to sort. 

“What’s all that?” Asked Raven. 

“Mail. It’s been sitting out there for a while and I just can’t put it off anymore.” 

“Tired of all the condolence cards?”

“Very.” 

“Anything for me?” Beast Boy asked, peering over the table. 

“You can help me sort, and then you’ll know.” Cyborg threw a bunch of flyers away. “Man, I bet some of these are a month old. Hope none of it was time sensitive.” 

“Oooo what’s this?” Beast Boy picked up a thicker envelope with handwritten addresses on it. “It’s addressed to all of us.” 

“Who’s it from?” 

“Says, ‘Jim Baker.’ Never heard of ‘im.” 

“Probably fan mail. Maybe we saved him and never got his name. God forbid another condolence card.” 

“It’s thick. It feels like there’s something in it. Maybe money?” 

“If it’s money, we have to send it back,” Cyborg said sternly. “We can’t take it.” 

“Well then…maybe not money…” Beast Boy grinned, preparing to pocket the money anyway. He tore open the envelope, but instead of money, there was just an SD card and a note. 

‘Teen Titans,

This was left in my possession, but I think it’s meant for you.’ 

“H-hey Cy?” Beast Boy passed the envelope over to Cyborg. He scrutinized the note and then put the SD card into his arm to scan it for viruses. 

“Looks clean, but whatever is on it is slightly corrupted. The card doesn’t look like it was taken very good care of.” 

“May we see it?” Asked Starfire. 

“I can try to pull the file off.” He took the card over to the main computer and popped it in. “Oh, looks like multiple video files. Let’s see if they’ll load.” 

“Do you think someone has sent us a movie to watch? Shall I make the popped corn?”

“Something like that,” Raven answered, setting her book aside. “Don’t bother with the popcorn though.”

When the video started up, the picture was pixelated and grainy, the sound cut in and out. 

“Get—to work? —so old.” 

A face was in frame, black and white, and hard to make out. “It has to work. It’s the last chance I have.” 

“That is Robin’s voice!” Starfire shouted, standing to her feet.

“Really?” Beast Boy asked. “I can’t really tell.” 

“If you get caught, they’ll kill you.” The other person said. 

“Then I won’t get caught.” The camera shifted, showing more of the room, though it was grainy. The camera shook hard a few times and the picture became clearer. There was a young man, about Robin’s age, wearing a hospital gown. 

“Why are you messing with that thing?” He asked. 

“Secret,” said Robin’s voice. 

“Whatever dude, just don’t include me in this.” 

The camera turned, and they could see the nose down of the person Starfire thought was Robin. 

“That is Robin’s chin!” Starfire screamed. 

“Yeah, it is,” said Raven. 

“This is…not what I was prepared for. There’s twenty of us here,” Robin whispered. “Is that too much information? Crap.” 

And the video ended. 

“Play the next one!” Star demanded. 

Cyborg obeyed and played the next file. “I’ll set these up to play back to back.” 

The next video played, and it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. The camera was under a bed. They still couldn’t see Robin’s face. But his hand was on the ground. 

“There’s a red light.” He stated. “So, that’s good.” He breathed, a long, low exhale. Somewhere in an adjacent room, someone screamed. Robin took another shaking breath, then, to everyone’s surprise, he started to softly sing. “When I'm at the pearly gates, this'll be on my videotape, my videotape. Mephistopheles is just beneath…and he's reaching up to grab me.”

Starfire sat at the edge of her seat, holding a pillow to her chest. She had never heard Robin sing before. To everyone else, it was fine, but to her, his voice was perfect. Soft, gentle, and so so sad. 

“This is one for the good days and I have it all here in red, blue, green. Red, blue, green.” 

Robin’s song stopped suddenly as the scream came again, worse than before. He shifted closer to the camera, and continued his song as low as he could. “This is my way of saying goodbye. 'Cause I can't do it face to face. So I'm talking to you after it’s too late.” 

Starfire gasped. 

“No matter what happens now. You shouldn't be afraid, because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen.” 

And the video ended. 

A red exclamation mark displayed on the screen, determining that the video was corrupted. 

“NO!” Starfire shrieked. “Cyborg, you must recover those videos! It is the only clue we have to Robin! Please!” 

“Star, I’m going to try, but there’s no guarantees.”

“If you do not recover those videos, I shall never forgive you!” 

“Dude, he said he’s going to try!” Beast Boy yelled back. “We just…have to be patient.” 

Starfire fled the room, her cries loud enough to rattle the walls. 

“I’ll get to work,” Cyborg stated as he retrieved the disc and left. 

Raven and Beast Boy left shortly after, both lost in their thoughts.

[b0rista]

i keep seeing dad!levi on the tl and i cant stop thinking abt him as a dad😩 can i request drabble/hc/fic of levi and his s/o adopting gabi and falco🥰 no thoughts. just dad!levi brainrot go brrrrt

— ADOPTIVE FATHER! LEVI HEADCANONS + FALCO & GABI. ♡︎

AUTHOR'S NOTES: gn! reader.

never would you have ever expected to take in a pair of children as your own. better yet, never would you have ever expected him to. while you knew his soft side all too well, everyone has their limits.

gabi and falco moving in with you and levi likely just,, happened. a temporary housing for them, considering they had nowhere else to go. seeing as though imprisonment for a second time was a bit of a reach, it was a minor debate within headquarters regarding what to do with the two. through careful consideration, your lover made a decision.

what better way to supervise them than in our own home?

of course, the thought conflicted you. the enemy, living with you? sure, they were barely teenagers, but that didn't make them any less capable of murdering you in your slumber.

knowing levi, though, that would never be the case. the man was already the world’s most calculating insomniac, lord knows he’d never let either of those kids out of his sight. especially not around you. 

nevertheless, your guys’ experience living with the remaining warriors of marley would be far more different than either of you would ever think to realize. 

ACTUAL HEADCANONS BELOW: ⇩︎

to your surpise, falco’s quite literally the sweetest pre-teen to ever roam the earth. of course, you’d only assumed it was all an act. that was,, until you genuinely caught him attempting to befriend levi's horse one morning. he was outside holding a fistful of grass, holding it out to the thing as if it were some sort of a beast. eventually, you joined him, and you showed him just how to handle it. and while the boy seemed skeptical at first, you saw that glimmer in his eyes the moment the horse allowed him to pet its mane. from the window, levi only watched.

speaking of levi's horse, that thing absolutely despises gabi. you're not quite sure why, but it does. you've literally had to run out and claw her hair out from between its teeth before— she's scReaminG, you'Re screaming, even the horse is screaming.

"why does this keep happening to me?!"

"this has happened befoRe?"

whenever either of the two children curse, levi's quick to correct them. despite having quite the foul mouth himself, he doesn't hesitate whenever he has to toss out a blunt "language."

^ at first, they were bitter. with time, though, they stopped swearing.

a key moment in time that helped develop you and falco's relationship was one afternoon where he was helping you out with yard work. somehow, his little crush on gabi came up, and the two of you got to talking about it. after giving him some genuine, appropriate advice for a kid with a crush, he really did start looking at you differently.

as for levi and gabi, those two bonded over intense, hilarious training. he found her punching the air in his backyard, and decided to drop in with a few sarcastic pointers. somehow, it ended in him kicking the poor girl around like a rag doll— not violently, he never hurt her. instead, he fended off each and every attack she fired at him, leaving her absolutely exhausted. she was tired out, and he was perfectly fine. imagine gabi, laying on the ground, tired as shiT, and levi, gently nudging the toe of his boot into her side:

"you can fight, but you're messy. if you ever stand a chance at surviving this war you started, i suggest you clean up your act."

cue gabi, glaring.

"if you care so much, then help me become better."

and so he did 🥺🥺 the two bond over levi practically coaching her, and as the days merge into weeks, she grows to actually respect levi, and maybe even look up to him.

basically, while you and falco live your cottagecore lives and bond over horses and apple picking, levi and gabi beat the everliving shit out of eachother in the backyard. it's a great balance.

for the first couple of nights, eating at the dinner table with those two was disgustingly awkward. it was utter silence, nothing more. however, one night, falco dropped his fork, and when he bent down to get it, he looked underneath the table for a milliseconD— there levi was, leaned down, stArinG at him. it was both hilarious and terrifying altogether, and falco ended up screeching and knocking his head into the table, hard.

"I WAS GETTING A F O R K-"

"and? gRemlin."

it surprised all of you, hearing gabi laugh. a genuine, real laugh. eventually, that turned into a conversation. and after that, you had conversations during every dinner. the development process was cruel, but worth it.

the kids help you prepare breakfast in the morning while levi downs his fourth cup of tea at the table, and it's always cute. because of you, falco knows how to make scrambled eggs! and also because of you, gabi knows how to prank somebody using an uncooked noodle. literally, she just places a piece of it between her teeth, pretend to crack her nose, and crunch. she made falco scReAm, and levi just looked at you like 🤨 bitch, tf are u teaching her

now, this was around three months into supervising them. one night, they were sitting alongside you on the sofa, and you were reading them a story. while falco was into it, gabi thought it was silly— still, though, she listened. eventually, they passed the hell out on either side of you. you drifted off, as well. when you woke up, you'd woken up to levi, his head rested onto your lap while his knees prop him up from the floor. by the looks of it, he wanted to be included.

whenever either of them step out of line, they earn a swift flick to the forehead from levi. it's a daily thing. gabi says something stupid, flick. falco slacks off during chores, flick. one time, gabi tried flicking him back, and it just started a flick war. you were done with all three of them.

both gabi and falco love telling you about marley's technology. you'd never heard of such things, and to know that they exist? shit, the look on your face is priceless. they absolutely adore getting a reaction out of you, and they often butt heads over who gets to tell you what. when they do, cue the overly aggressive forehead flicks from levi.

while levi told you not to, you couldn't help yourself. you showed them just how cool it is to use ODM gear. of course, they lost their shit, because holy hell that looks fun. your boyfriend, of course, caught you swinging from tree to tree while the two children gawked at you, and he gave you a stern talking to. before he did, though, that motherfucker joined you in the trees. again, the kids lost it.

"loOKATTHEMFALCOLOOKLOOK-"

"i'MloOokinG-"

eventually, they just think you guys are the coolest people they've ever come across. which stirs up one heLL of an identity crisis for gabi, because,, lol aren't y'all devils or sum?

[amysteryspot]

Better With You - Thomas Shelby x Female Reader

Request: If you can could you please do one about Tommy having a sort of possessive claim over you (not in an abusive way of course) even though you’ve never looked at him in that way, and when Michael comes into the family again you two get close, which makes Tommy extremely jealous.

Requested by: Anonymous

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Thomas Shelby x Female Reader

Summary: Thomas has known (Y/N) for all of her life and loved her for most part of his, always disguising his claim on her as friendly protectiveness. What happens when Michael makes his way back into the family and starts to get a little too close to her for Tommy’s liking?

Warnings: swearing, mentions of war, mild smut (?).

Word Count: 3526

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this. Hope you all have fun reading it too. An especial thank to @the-friendly-editor​ for helping me edit this, it meant a lot to me. Tags are at the end of the post, if you want to be add send me a message. I would love to hear what you think of it, your feedback is always appreciated.

 Things you should consider before reading this:

1. I named the Shelby’s mother Anastasia because I felt like I needed to do that. Also, I know that there is a lot of discussion about Finn and the rest of the Shelbys having the same mother or not. I just assumed that they all have the same mother and she died a little after giving birth to Finn. It is not something groundbreaking for the fic but I wanted to clarify just in case.

2. The boys went to war right at the beginning of it; I just ignored the information given to us by “The Ballad of Tommy Shelby”.

3. I probably forgot to warn you about something, I’m sorry.

 (Y/N) = Your Name | (Y/N/N) = Your Nickname | (Y/L/N) = Your Last Name | (Y/E/C) = Your Eye Color

If you asked Tommy how long he had known (Y/N) (Y/L/N), he wouldn’t know how to answer—fuck, it seemed like the woman had been in his life forever.

He remembered the day his mother had brought him to the (Y/L/N)’s house for them to meet the new baby. Four-year-old Tommy had complained all the way to their neighbor’s house, much to his older brother’s amusement, until their mother had given him a scolding. (Y/N)’s birth had been the talk of Watery Lane. They finally had a sweet little girl for the neighborhood to dote on.

With two sons, Anastasia was more than happy to welcome the little girl into their lives, not so secretly longing to have a daughter, and that was the reason for Tommy to be fussing over going to see the newborn—jealousy.

However, nothing could have prepared little Tommy for what was about to happen when his mother sat him down on the couch and Mrs. (Y/L/N) put the bundle of covers in his arms—his icy blue eyes stared down at baby (Y/N), who stopped crying instantly when she looked up at him with bright (Y/E/C) eyes of her own. From that moment on, Tommy knew that he would always love her.

And love her he did, since that day and throughout all of their lives. He would raise hell at home for his mother to bring him to the (Y/L/N)’s home so he could see (Y/N), and the three adults would all be astonished at how easily the baby would stop crying when she was in his arms. It wasn’t really a surprise that the first word she babbled was “Tom” or that when she started walking, on wobbly feet, it was Tommy she was seeking.

As they grew up, they grew closer, until it became almost impossible to have one without the other. When Ada was born, Tommy was worried about the possibility that (Y/N) would forget about him, that she would be too enchanted by having another girl around. Instead, as the time passed, he discovered that his little sister was one more reason for (Y/N) to spend more time at the Shelby home.

Even when he started messing around with the boys on the street, and she befriended other girls at school, they would still seek each other out whenever they could. They stuck together when their teenage years came, when Tommy started fooling around with girls from school and secretly scaring down most of the boys that showed any interest in (Y/N).

At least, he did until the day she came crying to him about not being good enough or pretty enough for anybody, not like the girls he would go out with, and breaking his heart; that certainly wasn’t what he had in mind when chasing down the boys. All he had wanted was to protect her, to make sure that she wouldn’t exchange him for some other boy. He wanted to ensure that she was his and his only.

That was actually the reason that led to their first kiss—her first kiss—(Y/N/N) had asked him, pleaded with him, through all the tears to just kiss her and get it done. Fifteen-year-old (Y/N) was sure that nobody would ever want her, and she wanted to experience it at least once. She told Tommy he was the only one she trusted with the task.

“It will mean nothing to you, Tom. You have kissed a million other girls already—I will just be another one for you—but it’s important to me. Please, Tom? Please, please.”

Her pleas had won him over, but (Y/N)’s words couldn’t have been further from the truth—the kiss had meant something for him. It had meant more than he predicted when he gave in to her begging, because the moment their lips touched, Tommy realized he was in love with his best friend and the worst part was that she didn’t had a fucking clue about it.

Then Tommy did what he did best; he pretended that it never happened, pushing it away and never talking to anyone about the kiss or his feelings. He stopped chasing down the boys who would show interest in (Y/N) and watched as she eventually started going out with some of them, laughing with him about how stupid she was to think that no one would ever like her.

When her first boyfriend got too handsy and she broke up with him—not before giving him a good left hook that left him with a very black eye, just like Tommy had taught her—(Y/N) had gone straight to the Shelby home, looking for comfort in his arms. Tommy pretended that the gnawing feeling in his chest was nothing but brotherly protectiveness instead of anger, jealousy and possessiveness—a destructive combination, especially on a Shelby boy.

(Y/N) had stayed with him that night, and the both of them slept together like they used to when they were kids. First thing in the morning the next day, right after he left her at her own house, he found her now ex-boyfriend and beat him up. Arthur and Freddie had to get him off of the guy, afraid of what he would end up doing if they didn’t stop him.

After that, Tommy had focused on channeling his frustrations into going out with every girl in town that wasn’t her. It wasn’t difficult, he was good looking and charming and he was very aware of it; that’s how he met Greta, and thought that he could get over his feelings for his best friend with her.

Greta’s parents were against their involvement at first, but he charmed them, so they started dating. His heart broke down when (Y/N) found out and showed genuine happiness for him having finally found somebody to settle down with.

Tommy’s plan was to end things between them. However, Greta fell ill and he didn’t have the heart to break up with her, so he stayed by her side until she passed. (Y/N) gave him support in the only way she knew how: by loving him.

Just not in the way he wanted her to.

When they thought that things would go back to normal, the War exploded and Tommy did the only thing he considered right in his eyes: he enlisted alongside his brothers. Their first fight had taken place on the night he told her he was leaving for France in two weeks. (Y/N) had hit and screamed at him until he was able to take a hold on her and then, then she cried in his arms the whole night, afraid that she would lose him forever.

They did the best they could with those two weeks. Once more, nothing could have prepared Tommy for (Y/N)’s appeal the night before he was shipping to France. She had come to him right after dinner. Her father was preparing himself to leave, too, and both of the (Y/L/N) women were enjoying whatever time they had left with him before he was gone.

As they both laid there in his bed, resting in each other’s arms and staring at the ceiling, (Y/N) made the decision that would seal his fate if he could survive the war.

“Make love to me.”

It wasn’t a question, nor a request—she was simply telling him to make love to her like this was the most logical thing in the world. His breath caught in his throat, preventing him from answering at first, and (Y/N/N) took that as a cue to reassure him.

“It will be like my first kiss, Tommy, just something I have to get over with. I want it to be you. I trust you. Let me give you at least one last good memory of me before you go.”

Again, he caved in, not needing much more convincing than the certainty in her eyes as she looked down at him, propped up on one elbow. Her hand rested unintentionally above his heart. Granting her wishes, he let himself dive into his own desires, touching her the way he had wanted since they had kissed for the first time.

He worked her body like a delicate instrument and pulled at her strings smoothly, engraving every beautiful sound that he coaxed out of her and the feel of her under his fingertips in his memory. When morning came, they were still a mess of limbs intertwined together, trying to hold on to a last thread of hope and imprint the last few hours on their memories.

In a way, (Y/N) was right. The boy that entered that train in 1914 wasn’t the same that got out of it in 1918. Yet, his love for her never faltered; it just became a tad more… dangerous.

Thomas lost count of how many letters they had exchanged during the past four years. He lost count of how many times he dreamt of her, of coming back home and telling her how he felt. However, any courage he had gathered vanished the moment he saw her waiting for him at the train station. He couldn’t condemn her to a life by his side, he had already taken enough from her.

Polly had told him in her letters how (Y/N/N) had helped her with the business, with the house, with Finn, and with any other thing she could. Especially after her mother, who had given up on life after Mr. (Y/L/N) was killed in combat, passed. A part of him felt guilty for not being there for her as much as she was for him when his mother passed and his father left.

“She’s a Shelby now.”

That’s what Polly had said when he asked her if (Y/N) had any remaining family.

Not much changed when they returned. (Y/N/N) still worked with them. She spent more time at the Shelby home and the gambling den than at her own place. The two of them still sought each other out, not talking much, but enjoying each other’s company. It was in those quiet moments with her that Tommy had a little peace.

Thomas drowned himself in work to forget it all, wanting to expand the business, unleashing his ambitions so long smothered by the war. They found the guns, in a strike of luck, he thought. Both Polly and (Y/N) advised him to let it go, but he just couldn’t. It was too good of an opportunity.

Campbell had come because of it, and with him, Grace. At the time, he didn’t know who she really was. He thought that the beautiful, blonde barmaid was just that: beautiful and innocent, everything he and his family were not. So he fooled himself, fell for her, and then she betrayed him and left for America.

Again, (Y/N) was there for him, and again, he found himself sinking into his love for her. The only good thing that came from all this mess was that the business was never better. He thought that it was time to start planning for an expansion, and with that came another thing that he hadn’t quite predicted—Michael.

He had planned to find Polly’s children for her. She had been suffering quite a lot lately. Even if people thought that his heart was as good as gone, he wanted his family to be okay. He wanted them to be happy.

Thomas found the boy and he came to Polly, making his way into the family and the business quickly. That included starting to get close to (Y/N) – too fucking close for his liking.

It was supposed to be natural, he knew that. (Y/N) kept the books at the shop. She was better with numbers than most of them, so it was natural that she would be the one to help Michael when he assumed the position of accounts clerk.

After they came back, he learned that (Y/N) had become very good at sneaking around without getting caught. It was rare to see her with any men whose last name wasn’t Shelby, or wasn’t closely related to the Peaky Blinders. That didn’t mean she didn’t have men swooning over her all the time, or that he was finally okay with that—much like when they were teenagers, he wanted to chase them all down—the only difference was now he was more deadly.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

It was Michael’s voice that brought him back to reality, and his gaze fell immediately on the boy. They were all gathered on the snug in the Garrison. (Y/N) was sitting between him and Michael, Tommy’s arm casually rested on her shoulders.

(Y/N) said, “Oh, no, you would totally get it... after a few more weeks.”

Everyone burst out laughing at her remark, but the only thing he could think about was the hand Michael rested on (Y/N)’s thigh. His own hand clenched around his glass before he downed the rest of its contents.

He didn’t notice Polly’s gaze on him. Despite what most people believed, Tommy had never been a good liar. He could get away with omitting information to people and redirecting the conversation, most of the time, but a direct confrontation was a completely different thing. Polly was always able to read him first, to know the things he wasn’t willing to share.

“Maybe we should just hire you instead of Michael, then.” He ignored the look (Y/N) gave him, taking another drag of his cigarette and looking away.

However, he couldn’t miss the lingering touches, or how (Y/N/N) leaned into Michael when he talked to her, and how she was just so comfortable with him. It made his blood boil.

When (Y/N/N) said she wanted to get home he offered to walk her, and was fairly surprised at how she didn’t say a word to him until they reached her front door.

Then she turned to face him, features painted with anger, and asked, “What the hell was that, Tom?”

He actually rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

(Y/N) huffed, turning around to unlock the door before entering the house, leaving it open for him to follow. She went straight to the dressing room, shedding her coat and throwing it at the table with her purse as he followed her closely.

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

She was taking her shoes off, and Tommy took advantage of the moment to let his eyes follow her movements. God, was he in love with that woman.

“I’m talking about your attitude with Michael at the Garrison. That was completely unnecessary,” She said.

“Someone had to put that boy in his place,” Tommy said.

(Y/N) turned to him then, and he would be worried with that look if he hadn’t been at the receiving end of her anger for so many years.

“Oh, please enlighten me, Thomas. What is his place?” (Y/N) asked.

“For fucks sake, (Y/N/N), he was all over you!”

She rolled her eyes. “He is a boy, Thomas, a boy. He’s family…”

Tommy never thought that what would make him snap would be hearing her say that Michael was family, but apparently it was.

“He’s family, huh?” Thomas said. “He is fucking family! Then he should know better and stay away from you.”

She stared at him for a moment, brow furrowed, as she seemed to put the puzzle together in her head. “Why would he stay away from me, Tom?”

He turned around to face away from her for a moment, rubbing a hand over his face. “No, no. You won’t make me feel guilty for that.”

“Make you feel guilty for what, Tommy?”

He recognized the hint of annoyance on her tone and couldn’t ignore it anymore, the alcohol giving him the courage that he had lost that day on the train station, as he turned around and shouted, “For loving you!”

She held her breath, eyes widening as she stared back at him.

Tommy continued, “Michael should stay away from you because you’re fucking mine and I love you.”

“Tommy, I’m not your property, and you know that I love you…”

“No, you don’t,” he interrupted her, making her look at him with confusion, “You don’t love me the way I love you. The way I’ve loved you since the fucking day you asked me to kiss you when you were fifteen!”

He saw her flinch before murmuring his name, trying to gain his attention but he couldn’t stop now. The truth was finally out there and he just had to go on with it, let it all out before he lost his mind.

“You said to me that it would mean nothing, that it would be just another kiss for me, but you were wrong,” Tommy said, his breaths short.

She looked bewildered, and Tommy held onto a strand of hope he didn’t even know still existed.

“That kiss meant fucking everything. From that day on, I’ve never seen you in the same way as before, because I realized I was in love with you and you didn’t feel the same. So I ignored these feelings while I saw you going out with boys, and I’ve thrown myself into fucking every girl that wasn’t you because I knew I couldn’t have you, not the way I wanted.”

Tommy didn’t notice that he was walking to her until they were just a breath apart.

“Then I found Greta, and I thought that I could forget you, but it only reminded me that you are the only one I want. I was going to break up with her, but she fell ill. You stayed by my side, and just when I thought that I would have a chance to tell you everything, the war happened and I just couldn’t. I couldn’t, because there was no way in hell that I was going to risk going to fight in France and die. I couldn’t leave you here to suffer because of me, either because you felt the same or not.”

“Tommy…” (Y/N)’s voice was all but a whisper.

He couldn’t resist anymore, his hands brought her to him, his eyes observing hers from up close, not giving her time to talk or he would lose his courage.

“I was ready to go there and die, and never let you know how I felt. But you had to give me hope that night before I was shipped off to that fucking hell. You had to…”He took a deep breath, his eyes closing for a brief second, a flood of memories making his heart race faster. “You had to give yourself to me. You had to give me a taste of what I thought I could never have, to make me want to survive the fucking war, to come back to you, and to let you know about all of these stupid feelings.”

Tommy couldn’t wait anymore. He did the one thing he had wanted to since he had returned from France—he kissed her. It wasn’t gentle or patient; no, it was urgent and filled with passion and he didn’t know how to stop, not when she wasn’t pushing him away. He devoured her as a man starved, teeth clashing and hands grabbing at anything they could touch. They were both out of breath when they finally parted.

“You said that you wanted to give me one last good memory and it was that memory that kept me alive during most of the nights when I was stuck in the fucking mud,” Thomas said.

(Y/N)’s fingers were clinging to him like her life depended on it, like she was afraid to lose him to the War again.

Tommy took the moment to let the words spill out. “The memory of you and the feeling of you under my fingers, and all around me, and the way you tasted.”

His lips brushed against hers, fingers clawing at the flesh of her hips like they had done the night before he left for France.

He backed her up against the wall, hands trailing down to the back of her thighs, picking her up and trapping her with his body.

Tommy looked straight to her eyes as he spoke again, “How you writhed under me, all the beautiful sounds you made, and I just wanted to come back to you and make some new memories.”

(Y/N) shivered at his words. She gave him just a brief second to observe the rise and fall of her chest and her expanded pupils before he felt her fingers at the back of his head, forcing him to really look at her as she said, “Then let’s work on those new memories.”

Their lips clashed again, and every doubt that he ever felt vanished for a moment. That night their bodies moved together like old acquaintances, skin sliding against skin, hands gripping at each other, lips kissing every patch of skin while chanting a sinful choir of moans and curses alongside their names.

When Tommy woke up the next day, (Y/N/N) in his arms, he realized that he was finally home.

Taglist: @captivatedbycillianmurphy, @internalmess3

[19eyebrows]

So after a lot of back and forth I finally took a look into Jujutsu Kaisen and yes, it definitely has it's charms like:

- amazing character design (especially Gojo and Sukuna)

- unique specialises

- power women who support each other

- lovely antagonists (i love Mahito and Sukuna)

But...

Somehow it doesn't stick with me. I guess the fast storytelling and lack of emotions and bonding between the characters and the reader and characters is something that bothers me.

I know a lot of people disagree but please if you do, explain where it gets deep and emotional.

Here some examples of what I mean:

- Yuujis is a teenager and his last family member dies... And he is sad for like 2 minutes before he runs off to fight a monster?? How is this in any kind normal for a teen who is now completely alone? And even afterwards he is just cool with it? Why not show his mourning more?

- he is also cool with the fact that he will be executed no matter what? With age of 16 or so? Hell no what? Why isn't he struggling with that fact? I get that you want to show a tough MC but that's just ridiculous.

- so when Yuuji dies because of Sukuna Megumi and Nobara are sad. Finally some emotions! BUT THEN THE SECOND YEARS CAME AND BE LIKE "AH SORRY FOR YOU BUT HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL THAT IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR STUPID MOURNING."

- then the boy Yuji befriended who got killed by Mahito. Great scene but why not giving their friendship more time to bloom so that it would hit even harder. I was not really sad that he was dead also again no afterstory for this boy as well

(- and something that just a very personal thing but where is Sukuna. I feel like after the deal with Yuuji he just stays silent. I really wish to see more of him in the future)

Seriously! Slow down! Gave us the characters some time to breath and really feel the story... Like Fullmetal Alchemist or Avatar have done it.

But does it get better? Is the manga somewhere worth reading? Help a fellow anime lover out here because I really want to like this show.

[bosspigeon]

maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me

Pairing: Gen, with Tina Poname & Male Detective Friendship Word Count: 2187 Summary: Tina Poname’s the new kid in a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere, and is learning the hard way that making new friends in a place like Wayhaven is easier said than done. Luckily, she’s got a can-do attitude and a forceful personality to help her befriend even the surliest of loners.

I just think Tina’s such a good character, and I loved trying to write from her point of view, and I love thinking about her friendship with the Detective. Especially with my boy, Arlo. I also read a bunch of articles trying to put together his infodump on the Satanic Panic fhdasjhgjskahg. Title, of course, taken from “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance. (I like to think I’m Funny)

Tina takes her lunch in the courtyard.

It’s overcast outside, looking like it might rain later, but the courtyard is nice enough, landscaped with flowering plants and rustic stone pathways, though it is kind of small. She’d rather sit inside, just in case it does start pouring, but every table in the cafeteria was full, and the ones that weren’t very quickly became full when she walked past with her lunch bag. She’s learned quickly that small towns like Wayhaven tend to be pretty… insular.

She’s trying not to let it get her down. She’s the new kid, and with time other students will warm up to her, but for now she feels like she’s the ugly duckling set adrift in a little pond, and all the other ducklings think she has the plague or something. The metaphor gets away from her a bit, but her head’s been a bit of a jumble since the last move. But that’s leading towards things she’d rather not think about, so she doesn’t. Simple as that.

Instead she looks around her, taking in the very pretty little courtyard, even if it’s washed in the moody tones of the grey sky overhead, made more moody still by the shade of a tall, gnarled old ash tree in the center. There are a few wooden picnic tables scattered about, all of them empty.

All of them but one.

Tina almost doesn’t see him at first. He’s hunched over at a table directly under the ash tree, his back to her. His long black hair hangs almost to the bottom of his shoulder blades in loose waves, and all she can think is that he’s never seen a boy with hair so pretty before. Every time she sees a boy with long hair, it’s always a frizzy mess, and whenever she brings up that they really shouldn’t use all-in-one shampoo, they get all annoyed with her.

She makes the decision to flounce right over, rounds the table, and wiggles into the bench across from him. “Your hair’s so pretty!” she chirps by way of greeting, unzipping her lunch bag and beaming at him. He looks up at her, and she’s a bit stricken when she sees his face properly. His dark brows are bold slashes scrunching over pale grey eyes lined in smeary black makeup that streaks down his freckled cheeks. He’s got a square jaw and a strong nose, but he still leans more into pretty territory than handsome, and she’s beginning to figure out that the uniform guidelines in the student handbook are taken as more suggestions than law, given that his lip, nose, and ears are pierced.

He doesn’t respond, squinting at her, his mouth twisting into a frown.

“I’m Tina!” she offers cheerily. “I like your makeup!”

He frowns harder, almost snarling, with a bit of teeth showing, like he’s hoping to scare her away. Well, Tina Poname isn’t so easy to scare, and she’s determined not to spend lunch alone. She just smiles right back and starts rooting through her lunch bag, pulling out the neatly packed containers of healthy fruit and veggies and hard boiled eggs to find the yogurt-covered pretzels hidden at the bottom. She crunches on one while she eyes her new tablemate, who seems to have resigned himself to her delightful company and has turned his attention back to a notebook he’s doodling in while absently eating something she thinks is a kind of pretty little spring roll. It looks really good, and she’s a bit jealous.

He staunchly ignores her eyes on him, shifting a bit and tossing the hair hanging in his face over one shoulder, so she can properly see the black enamel inverted cross dangling from his ear. Without thinking, she leans across the table and flicks it.

He flinches away from her and glowers with such ire she’s surprised her clothes aren’t smouldering. She smiles sheepishly, but brushes off the surprise and barrels on. “I can’t imagine you’re too popular wearing those in a quiet little town like this,” she chimes in a teasing sing-song. “Wonder how many old die-hard religious types burst into flames at the sight of you?”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes so hard it gives Tina a headache. But she’s also more than a little pleased she’s gotten a reaction out of him.

She leans into it, figuring she’s found her in. “So, are you a Satanist or what? It’s cool if you are! Just think it must be hell in this place.” She can’t help but cackle at her own joke, slapping the tabletop and wheezing. When she recovers enough to notice, she catches him eyeballing her like he can’t quite figure out exactly what’s wrong with her. It’s a look she knows pretty well at this point.

“I’m not an anything,” he sighs, tapping his fingers on the wooden tabletop. His nails are painted black, but they’re chipping at the tips, and he’s wearing a few really cool rings, a couple of which looks like they might be antiques. “Besides that, the whole inverted cross being a symbol of Satanism is bullshit.” His voice is pretty deep, but not nearly as deep as she expected it to be, and softer besides, with a light, lilting burr to it. Regardless, Tina’s delighted to have gotten anything more than grunts and glares from him at all. She leans forward, crunching another pretzel. “Wait, really? What’s it mean, then?”

“It’s the cross of Saint Peter,” he almost bursts out, and then pinches his lips shut, like even he’s surprised he said anything. He looks at her warily, but she just waves at him to go on. He hesitates for another moment, before he continues haltingly, “When Peter the Apostle was supposedly executed under Nero, he’s said to have requested he be crucified upside-down, because he felt he wasn’t worthy to die the way Jesus did.” His broad, tight shoulders are loosening bit by bit the more he talks. “It’s a symbol of humility. It’s even used in the design for the papal cross, because the Pope is supposed to be the successor of Peter. And because of its mistaken associations with Satanism, now people like to claim the Pope is the antichrist.”

He rolls his eyes again and picks up another spring roll, gesturing at her with it before taking a bite and continuing while he chews. “I’m not sure exactly when people decided turning the cross upside-down suddenly makes it evil, but it can probably be traced back to the whole Satanic Panic debacle that kicked up in the 70s through the 90s. Anton LaVey—fuck that guy, by the way—published The Satanic Bible in ‘69, but most of it was pretty much plagiarized from a lot of other authors who philosophized about self-actualization and whatnot, including Ayn Rand—fuck her too—and then The Exorcist movie came out, and those things combined with the whole Manson cult thing earlier in the 60s and kicked off this sort of pop culture fascination with the occult and macabre. A lot of metal bands and other counter-culture music artists started using them in album art along with other bastardized religious imagery, and it turned into a whole thing with religious pearl-clutchers.”

Tina is astounded. Not just by the subject of the conversation (which is really cool, in kind of a weird way?) but with the way the boy  turns into a completely different person in the blink of an eye. Just a few minutes ago, he was all dour and moody and mean, looking as if he was a second away from biting her head off, and in the space of a few seconds, he’s morphed into someone totally different. His eyes are brighter and more expressive, he’s talking with his hands, and even the kind of monotone voice she’d heard from him before has changed. “Wow,” she says with no small amount of awe.

He seems to regain himself when she speaks, as if he’d forgotten he was talking to another person entirely. She watches him shrink, hunching his shoulders and looking down at the table, scooping up his pen and viciously scribbling a little spiral into the top corner of his notebook.

“No, seriously!” she blurts, standing up and bracing both hands on the table so she can lean into his space. “That’s really cool! How do you know all that?”

He gives her that same wary, hunted look from earlier, and she can’t help but pout. She wants to see what she saw just a second ago, when he looked like he was excited to talk about something. “Just stuff I picked up a while ago, and thought it was cool, I guess.” He shrugs and looks away, tugging at the spiked chain around his neck partially hidden under the crooked collar of his uniform shirt. “There’s this bookstore a couple towns over that kind of specializes in this stuff.” He lifts his hands and wiggles his fingers, mouth cocking in a wry almost-smile. “Plus, there’s always the magic of the internet.”

She laughs brightly, and it takes every ounce of her meager self-restraint not to reach out and try to physically drag that other boy out of him. “Oh, that sounds fun! We should go together sometime!”

He blinks at her, like she’s hit him over the head with her lunch bag. “Wh… what?”

She leans forward harder, until she’s essentially standing on her tip-toes and bouncing. “We should hang out! I’m sure if I ask really nice, my stepmom will drive us out there. It’ll be great!”

He keeps staring at her. She bounces a bit faster, hoping he doesn’t notice the pimple she couldn’t quite cover with foundation before she had to leave this morning. And if he does, she hopes he doesn’t say anything about it, because she doesn’t think trying to fight him will ingratiate her to him overmuch.

“I’ll buy lunch and everything,” she wheedles.

“I…” He looks away, eyebrows all scrunched again, but she can see him wavering. She wants to punch the air. Never doubt Tina Poname! “I guess? But why?”

Her smile falls a little at the genuine confusion in his voice, the way he’s not looking at her anymore, even to glare, the way he’s twisting one of his rings around his finger and almost hiding behind his thick, dark hair. She tilts her head and blinks at him. “Because I think you’re cool? Besides that, this town is kinda weird about new people? And you’re the only person who didn’t put a bag or book on every available seat when I walked by.”

“Mostly because I didn’t see you coming,” he mutters under his breath, and she barks out a laugh.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve ambushed potential friends,” she giggles. “Hasn’t failed me yet. Except when it has, but I don’t count those.”

He finally looks at her again, still kind of hidden behind a curtain of hair, but she thinks he’s actually smiling at her. He starts to open his mouth to say something, but flinches instead when the shrill ring of the bell indicating the end of lunch interrupts him. He swears under his breath and starts to gather up his things, and Tina starts shoveling pretzels into her mouth while pushing her untouched plastic containers back into her bag. She’s going to regret eating nothing but pretzels later, but at least they’re more filling than melon or carrot sticks.

“Hey wait!” she exclaims through a mouthful of pretzels as he begins to stand, almost tripping over the bench to block him in before he can leave. She’s staggered, suddenly, when he rises up to his full height and she’s looking very up at him. She’s been taller than most boys all her life, so this is a bit bizarre. He looks down at her with his brows raised, tucking his notebook into a satchel covered in patches and pins. “Wow, you’re tall,” she says astutely, swallowing her pretzels.

“Uh… yeah, I am,” he responds.

She shakes off her shock and backs up enough to let him out of his side of the table, but she blocks his path to the door still. Though she’s not sure she could stop him from going anywhere if he really wanted to get past her, with those long legs of his. “I forgot to ask! What’s your name?”

He hesitates again before he quietly says, “Arlo.”

She shoves a hand out at him, “Tina Poname, at your service!”

He grants her a shake with his big, ring-laden hand, obviously bemused, but he’s doing that maybe-smile again, so she thinks she’s done pretty well here. “Yeah. Nice to meet you.” He turns and walks a few long steps away, then pauses and turns back towards her, waiting for her scamper to his side.

“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” she says a little breathlessly, swinging her bag and turning to him with a sly little smile “since you’re the local here, what teachers will let me get away with eating in class?”

[dannyphannypack]

Crossover Fic Recs

Hey, saw your post for some fic recs! Unfortunately I can't continue the wonderful thread of reblogs because I wish to remain anonymous, but here have some cool crossovers that I didn't see get rec'd yet :D (you can either post this or add it to the reblogs, I don't mind either way)

Just Another Meteor Freak [500k words, complete] (and it's sequel, which is unfortunately incomplete) is a Smallville/DP crossover that's absolutely a fantastic read and I cannot recommend it enough, it's one of my faves! Brief synopsis: Danny goes to live with his aunt Martha Kent after his family dies (and for once Danny's family dying in a crossover fic doesn't have anything to do with TUE!), and misunderstandings of the good kind and mishaps ensue because of course Danny and Clark's hero complexes come into play. It's got hurt/comfort, fluff, angst, sibling-esque-bonding, and all sorts of cool stuff, including ghost king headcannons and new powers for Danny. It takes place mostly from a Smallville perspective, but Danny's woven in so seamlessly that you won't believe he wasn't in the original show to begin with. I read it for the first time after having not watched Smallville in years and I could still understand it though, so I think that if you haven't watched Smallville before you could still enjoy the fic a lot!

And like, honestly, I totally recommend other stuff by this author (jadedbluerose) too. She's got a Merlin/DP crossover that's pretty fantastic, but unfortunately she hasn't updated anything since 2014 :( still worth the read though!!

Spirited Away [70k, complete] is a Harry Potter/DP crossover, it's honestly THE MOST hilarious fic I've ever read. Synopsis: Danny is an unwilling student at Hogwarts, and the most chaotic Hufflepuff the world has ever seen. He claims he's been kidnapped but when no one listens to him, he raises all kinds of hell to try and get kicked out. And if that doesn't work, well, he can always sue them. 100% worth the read, it will definitely make you laugh.

Various Superphantom (Supernatural/DP) crossovers by sapphireswimming. Literally anything Superphantom found here? Totally the best. You can also check out Superphantom fics by surelysilly (whose fics are more on the darker end of the spectrum, and their prose style is kinda abstract rather than your traditional linear narrative) Vitaliciouscreations (they've got a oneshot collection that's pretty fun, as well as a oneshot that I wish they'd continue and a complete cute 13k-word penpal fic.)

How to befriend a ghost [80k, incomplete] is a HTTYD/DP crossover in which Danny gets stuck in the Viking era, and I originally started reading this for the Danny & Hiccup friendship because it's adorable and both of them see how similar they are to each other and find kinship in that. The dragon Danny gets (because this is a HTTYD crossover, this is inevitable!) really sneaks into your heart though, and I ABSOLUTELY adore Sparky as much as I adore Toothless. He's very lovable and complements Danny super well! Of course, it's not all friendship bonding and training dragons, the archipelago is Danny's home now (until he can find his way back to Amity Park/his own century) and he's going to protect it too when trouble arises, just like the dragons do. He even gets new powers along the way. This fic is pretty fun, there's a lot of switching perspectives and you really see the characters' voices come through in it, and you even get to see the dragons' POV, which is really interesting since you get to learn Sparky's backstory!

Den Mother [8k, ongoing] is a Young Justice/DP crossover that acknowledges the fact that Danny is by all rights a first-generation hero, and he's treated with the respect as such and gets to join the Justice League rather than the YJ team. Of course, he doesn't WANT to join the league at first, which is a different take than you'd expect, but he reluctantly agrees and is then given the same responsibilities as a Justice League member--that is, to teach the YJ something about teamwork or whatever. It's not very long right now, but the premise is so good! It has a lot of potential.

A Foreign Perspective [200k words, complete] is a DNAngel/DP crossover that I saw @scrollingdown call a fandom classic once and honestly agree, even though I don't think many people know/have read it. It's a cute friendship fic that focuses on Phantom (not Danny, but Phantom specifically) making his first friend, an older boy named Daisuke, who seems normal at first, but is slowly revealed to be a little more understanding of Danny's situation than he appears. Some comfort involved too since Danny deals with a little more with the idea of mourning/loss than in canon, seeing as Daisuke thinks he's a full ghost and therefore a teenager that died, and Danny learns to be a different kind of hero because of it. Really cool fic too since you don't need to know DNAngel at all to understand the fic, since it's told from DP's perspective, and you get to learn about Daisuke as Danny does. It's just super sweet and it's got some action here and there that makes it exciting, and it's really a fun read.

Other stuff by this author is worth the read too! They've got oneshots of a HP crossover and Ghost Whisperer crossover, and a sadly incomplete HTTYD crossover [100k words] that is still super super good and also deals with ideas about mourning and loss. Their non-crossover stuff is also pretty interesting (there's a Mute!Danny AU and Dash kinda-redemption oneshot I really liked).

Diversity [150k, ongoing] is another Ghost Whisperer/DP crossover, it's a found-family fic where Danny runs away from home after his family dies in the events post TUE. He ends up running into Melinda and she goes out of her way to help him. There's a couple underlying mysteries surrounding the ghosts that haunt this fic, and Melinda tries to understand Danny's past and ends up tangled in a conspiracy because Danny's hiding his ghostly alter-ego and also the GIW are involved at some point (and they are much more menacing here than in canon). It's totally a page-turner, and you can get as invested as Melinda in hoping Danny heals from his loss. Spellbound [150k, ongoing] is a HP/DP crossover by the same author! Danny accidentally gets trapped by Magical Britain and is bitter about it, but he's trying to make the best of it. The Wizards have no idea what to make of him, but he just wants to go home, and he makes a couple friends while he plots his escape. (It's actually been a while since I read that one, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I do remember feeling bad for Danny in this fic, poor boy's lonely and can't even interact with kids his own age because he's an unknown creature to the wizards. Good thing Danny's never been one to follow authority.)

A Visit to Paris [10k, complete] is a Miraculous Ladybug/DP crossover in which Danny is Akumatized... sort of. The results are hilarious: Danny's a troll, Hawkmoth is frustrated, the heroes aren't really sure what to make of it, and Danny and Adrien make a lot of puns. Oh, and Danny is the only one smart enough to fix Paris' villain problem (okay, so it might be slightly cracky). It reminds me very much of Spirited Away, which I mentioned earlier. It's got the same level of chaos that's for sure. All in all, it's a very, very fun read.

A Different Sort of House Call [50k, incomplete] is a House MD/DP crossover, it's been years since I read it but I've always considered it one of the fandom classics too? It was definitely one of the first things to pop to mind when I was trying to recall all the cool memorable crossovers to rec you, so this goes on the list too. It's Danny at the hospital with House, and the doctors are trying to diagnose him without knowing about his ghost half (and Danny's not exactly willing to tell them either). There's angst (especially since the author wrote this to follow Lab Rat by AnneriaWings), Vlad trying to be an ally (sorta?), and House being clever as usual. Sadly it's incomplete but it's still super good!!

Running Blind [20k, complete] is a CSI/DP crossover (it took me forever to find the link again since it wasn't listed as a crossover). It's super good, Danny runs away for reasons unknown (at the beginning of course) and gets caught up in a murder investigation and he suspects the culprit is supernatural so obviously he helps out. The CSI guys are both trying to protect him (thinking he was a target for the murderer) but also trying to uncover his past and the reasons he ran away. When you find out why he ran away, you might be awed like I was (especially when you realize how long it had been since he ran) or you might be unimpressed, but the aftermath and his family/friends finally catching up to him might make up for that. I kinda liked how Vlad was written here too.

Ghost Crimes and its sequels is a Criminal Minds/DP crossover. It's the first in a very long series (currently 500k+ words in total) that expands on the DP world and lore, and also involves a lot more murder, death, blood (and the other related gore-ish stuff), and overall realism. Like, Danny fights what is basically Jack the Ripper and its terrifying. It's kind of like a "dark and gritty" DP (but like, not unbearably or overwhelmingly dark and gritty), angst sprinkled here and there, along with darker themes and less light-hearted issues (mental health/trauma/depression/etc. and neglect/abuse and like, actual competent adults like social workers and stuff are a real thing in this fic). There's a lot going on but it's got its lighter nice moments too (Dani is there and gets to be a part of Danny's family, Val's in on the secret, among other things). Also some of the chapters are illustrated, it's great. Definitely check it out!

Okay that's a lot of fics so I'm gonna stop now. Have fun reading!!

[akaiaowl]

Happy Stranger Things Day!!

It’s been 4 years since Stranger Things was first premiered on Netflix! (already?) This series is very close to my heart, since it managed to inspire me after 3 long years of writer’s block. To commemorate that, I’ll be posting the epilogue to my first fanfic on AO3: Reality in Motion (also known as RiM by some in the ST fandom). Here goes the summary and first chapter:

Reality in Motion

Modern College AU.

It hurt her to listen to the ruthless voice in her head, but, as much as she hated to admit it, El knew it was probably right. It had happened countless times before. Well, actually two. Two times in which El found herself feeling funny and giddy and hopeful about someone, only to be disappointed. It always ended that way. She was destined to be alone and it was probably for the best.

AKA: Socially awkward Jane Ives' first semester in college. Also AKA: Not your typical nice-boy-meets-drunk-girl-at-a-party Mileven fic (because of all the angst and slowwwww burn, be warned).

Chapter 1: Changes

Wednesday 29th, November 2017

If there was something El Ives put her mind to, she was sure to accomplish it. Always.

Well, most of the times.

As a matter of fact, today was one of the few rare exceptions to that rule. This, since Will Byers, El’s best friend, had managed to convince the otherwise socially awkward El to finally come with him that weekend to some party at a friend’s house.

They were both currently seating on the beige colored carpet of her dorm room, supposedly trying to be productive by getting their History 102 assignment done before the due date.

“Pleeease El! I’m about to beg you, it’s almost Christmas break and, for once, I’d like for you to come meet my friends and not stay locked up here again like a loser”, Will had been pouting at his friend for over two hours.

“Hey, I happen to like being a loser”, said El feigning indignation and scowling at her skinny best friend.

Will managed to hold back his smile at his oldest friend’s antics and maintained a serious expression for the sake of getting his point across. They’d been friends since the age of twelve and both knew just how determined the other could be. Holding each other’s stares defiantly in a silent challenge, neither of them wanted to give in.

As she stubbornly stared into Will’s lively brown eyes, El suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. She had been having a few of those for a while now, especially whenever she thought back on their high school days on Hawkins High School. Actually, the biggest irony was thinking about how much she had looked forward to graduating and moving as far away as humanly possible from that hell hole she called hometown. Whereas, now, she couldn’t help feeling strangely homesick. As a matter of fact, lately, El was often ambushed by random flashbacks from her teenage years and usually found herself wishing she could somehow go back and do it all better.

She regretted everything, actually, except for her friendship with Will.

Their friendship was yet another reason El kept thinking back in nostalgia to her high school days: even though Will and her had managed to get accepted into their dream college together and even lived in neighboring dorm buildings, she felt him more distant than ever before. Worse than that, El was painfully aware that she was the reason of the increasing (figurative) distance in their friendship and she loathed herself for it. Now, more than ever, she hated herself for her apathetic and awkward personality. Why couldn’t she be a normal eighteen year old? Why couldn’t she just stop feeling so nervous around other people? Because of this she was finally managing to drive her best friend away, her partner in crime, after being the closest of friends for over half a decade.

For most of their first semester at college she had declined Will’s enthusiastic invitations to parties and any social events, preferring to skip them in favor of spending her afternoons in the solitude of her room either reading ahead or watching some movie or TV show. It was just easier that way, it seemed. El had never really been a social butterfly and she knew how much Will loved meeting and bonding with new people. So, she just figured that she could give him some space by making herself scarce.

However (and she’d never admit it out loud), as Will started spending less and less time with her and his invitations became rare occurrences, El began feeling terribly lonely (which was weird). She usually cherished her alone time, often glad she wasn’t out there fake smiling and making small talk, getting emotionally drained after overthinking and worrying over every tiny detail of her social interactions. Nonetheless, now, it just felt like a very different kind of loneliness.

El felt lonely in a bad way, a way she hadn’t felt for quite a long time: the kind of lonely she used to feel before meeting Joyce Byers and befriending her son, Will.

Finally, after glaring at Will some more, El lowered her gaze in defeat. Mostly because she missed spending more time with him, and also because she was a bit curious about going to a college party.

“Ok. Fine, I’ll go. BUT I’ll only stay until a reasonable hour and you better not be dragging me up there so I can be your designated driver”, answered El with an annoyed huff, hurling one of her fluffy pillows on Will’s general direction and feeling quite annoyed (mostly at her pathetic, abnormal self).

Her friend easily managed to catch the pillow midair and offered El a sympathetic smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. She knew he was worried about her spending so much time by herself – the fact that she had no roommate made it easier for her to just hide away for hours on end without any excuse.

“I’m only doing this for your own good El, you know I look out for you and it’s about time you start having a normal college experience and, you know, getting to know people. After all, the semester is almost over”.

--….--…--…---

Friday 1st, December 2017

El bit her lip as she stared at her reflection on the mirror critically. Was her top too revealing? Was her midsection looking gross and bloated? Should she put any make up on? Was her hair ok? Were jeans and sneakers too casual for the party?

Man, I badly needed a School of Life 101 crash course, El thought with a groan.

It was always on times like this that El really wished she had a roommate or a best friend who could actually give advice on these kinds of things. It was also on times like these that El regretted not learning about this stuff back on high school. Finally, after examining her reflection some more, she decided to change her sneakers in favor of her black leather boots and apply some lipstick to her dry lips.

Feeling quite nervous, she turned her phone screen on and was surprised to see several messages from Will.

8:02 pm U excited yet for your first college party?

8:03 pm Totally getting drunk as skunks 2nite.

8:46 pm Waiting for the guys, we’re coming to pick u up

9:29 pm On our way, expect a call in 15

9:44 pm Almost there

9:59 pm Ok, let’s go

*3 missed calls from MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD*

10:03 pm Pick up the phone

10:11 pm We’re waiting downstairs

10:27 pm What the hell u doing? We’ve been here for ages

El was surprised to find out how long she had taken to get ready, her nervousness was really not helping. As quickly as possible, she grabbed her tiny purse and keys and made her way out. At that very moment, her phone screen lit up and the contact name Will had programmed for himself popped up.

*incoming call from MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WORLD*

Smiling, El answered.

“I’m sorry, I completely lost track of time, that’s all. I’m almost there”, she said breathlessly while making her way down the flight of stairs.

“No problem El, just making sure you were still up for it”, answered Will sympathetically.

“Wait. So did I actually have an option?” replied El only half joking.

She really was terribly nervous, like she always was whenever she had to face a new social situation.

Will laughed at her lame attempt at making a joke and was silent for a bit, maybe trying to empathize with his best friend’s nervousness.

El could hear Will’s friends talking loudly on the background:

“We need to hurry if we want to get wasted before the night ends, that’s kind of the point of tonight”, a loud male voice whined pathetically.

“Hey, I’m actually enjoying watching this show”, another male voice answered in fake annoyance.

“Booooooring”, someone else interjected.

“You’re too lame Wheeler”, the first voice teased.

The conversation on the background grew faint as El realized Will must have walked away from his friends to talk to her privately.

“Everything will be fine and you’ll have fun, you’ll see. If you feel uncomfortable or something you have us”, finally whispered Will before hanging up.

El had really tried to avoid meeting Will’s friends for a while now, feeling resentment and jealousy towards them because her best friend spent most of his time with them now and talked all the time about how fun and loyal they were.

It actually made sense that they spent time together since they were all taking science related careers and had most of their classes together – Will was an engineer major, like Lucas, while Dustin and Mike were physics majors.

It was silly, she knew.

Calm down El, it’s going to be ok, Will’s friends are probably as nice as him.

Finally, El got to her building’s common area. She saw four guys sprawled comfortably all over the beige couches, two of them were fighting over the remote and the other two were trying to watch whatever show was on TV.

They didn’t notice her presence until she started timidly approaching Will, who was gazing at the screen with mild interest. He was the first one of the group to notice her and his face was instantly filled with a broad smile.

“You’re finally here!” he exclaimed, startling everyone.

“Guys, this is El”, Will said loudly. Then, pointing at each of the guys next to him, he introduced them, “These are Lucas, Dustin and Mike”.

“Thanks for waiting”, El managed to smile at them without making eye contact. She hoped they didn’t notice her nervousness.

“No problem”, said the smallest one of them, Dustin, “honestly, we were all dying to finally meet you”.

“Yeah, we had a bet going on about Will’s friend being imaginary”, laughed Lucas.

Upon hearing that last comment, El snorted while trying to contain a laugh and turned to look at Will with amusement. Her friend merely shrugged.

“See how you make me look bad El?”

“Oh, it was only for the sake of making the bet more interesting”, answered El with a laugh, “it would have been no fun without the mystery, now would it?”

The guys smiled, amused, and the air significantly relaxed. She felt a tiny bit more comfortable, and the voice in her head repeating her own doubts and fears in a loop grew quiet for the first time that night.

“So, who won the bet?” asked Will, looking at his friends.

“Me”, said the tallest boy, Mike, smiling.

He was the only one who hadn’t spoken up yet, but she recognized his voice from her phone call with Will – he was the one who claimed to be enjoying the TV show while they waited for her to arrive.

Overcome by curiosity, El risked a glance up at him and was surprised to find him already looking at her, matching her interest. They made eye contact.

“So thank you for being real, I guess”, he said smiling kindly at her.

She quickly averted her gaze, not knowing what to do or how to respond, and tried to keep her upcoming blush from actually showing on her face. It wasn’t even a compliment, why was she reacting like this?

Social awkwardness truly sucked.

There was a short moment of silence, which was (thankfully) quickly broken by Lucas.

“Ok, let’s get going”, said Lucas enthusiastically as he strode to the nearest exit.

--….--…--…---

Saturday 2nd, December 2017

She’d drank too much, too soon.

Of course, the fact that Will kept refilling her red solo cup with mysterious mixes of liquor didn’t help at all. But she wasn’t complaining at all. All things considered, El found the whole experience quite interesting. Actually, she was pleased to realize that the alcohol numbed that voice that constantly reminded her of all her insecurities and flaws. She found this quite liberating.

She felt like she could do anything. Be anyone she wanted.

Will’s friends had left them to join a game of beer pong not so long ago, which had also helped El feel a whole lot more relaxed. Up until then, she had been too scared of acting like a weirdo around the guys and so she had barely talked.

For the first time in a long time, no worries or guilt lurked El’s mind.

As time went by, the music surrounding her stopped being too loud and the vibration of the bass on the floor actually made her lively in a way she had scarcely felt before. Before she knew it, her foot was tapping the floor to the beat of the unknown song. She tried to pay attention to whatever Will was saying (maybe a funny story about someone in one of his classes? What was that about a teacher?), but words kept jumbling around making it hard for her to understand anything at all.

My thought process is screwed up, El thought.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that that was the funniest, wittiest thing she had ever come up with, so she giggled uncontrollably.

Will smiled affectionately at the giggling girl beside him. He had really tried to be a good friend that night, staying with her the whole time – probably suspecting that if she got to feel too awkward, she’d escape the party.

“I loooooove you so much Willy Will”, said El hugging her friend, “do you know that?”

El’s ears suddenly caught onto a tune, alerting her of something.

Something quite urgent.

Do you recall, not long ago We would walk on the sidewalk? Innocent, remember? All we did was care for each other

“BYERS!!!! COME ON!” she exclaimed giddily, standing up clumsily and dragging her skinny best friend to the middle of the room, “IT’S OUR JAM!”

But the night was warm We were bold and young All around, the wind blows We would only hold on to let go

Will could only smile at her random behavior. He had never been a good dancer and he had not drank nearly as much as El had, so he just sort of awkwardly tried shuffling his feet and swaying his body to the catchy song.

“BLOW A KISS FIRE A GUN, WHEN YOU NEED SOMEONE TO LEAN ON”, El was screaming while swaying her hips wildly, her eyes were closed, “BLOW A KISS FIRE A GUN, ALL WE NEED IS SMEBODY TO LEAN ON”.

Will tried his hardest to keep up with El’s moves, but she was like a woman possessed, jumping around and twirling in every direction. It seemed that all those months of pent up energy – probably gathered after all those afternoons of voluntary isolation – were finally finding an outlet. After a couple of songs and happy to see his friend finally having fun, Will decided his job there was done.

“El. El! EL!!” he screamed to get her attention.

She faced him, smiling wildly. Her face shiny with sweat from the exertion and the warmth in the room. Will couldn’t help mirroring her grin.

“I just can’t keep up with you!” he said teasing her, “I’m gonna go find the guys”.

El stuck out her tongue at him and waved goodbye.

“YOU’RE SUCH A KID ELEVEN!” Will exclaimed as he headed to the other room, where he last saw his friends heading to.

--….--…--…---

Her feet were killing her.

El made her way to the nearest sitting space she could find, a couch on the left side of the room. She sat down for a minute in the crowded couch, slowly trying to move her toes so she didn’t feel them cramping anymore. She was currently sandwiched uncomfortably between a sleeping guy and a couple making out. She tried to ignore the snores and the sounds the couple were making.

She hadn’t seen Will or any of his friends for at least a couple of hours and she was not about to go wandering off looking for them. Will was probably drunk by now, maybe talking to the cute guy from their History 102 class that he always rambled on about. El smiled fondly, remembering how much of a hopeless romantic her best friend was.

She tried laying back on the couch and closing her tired eyes, but everything was too hot and her feet hurt too much. It was way too uncomfortable.

El glanced hopefully at the glass doors that led into the balcony. With any luck, there wouldn’t be anyone out there smoking.

She hated the smell of tobacco. It reminded her of him.

El shut her eyes tightly, desperately trying to chase away the memories that begged to be replayed on her mind, and massaged her throbbing temples. She tried to take a deep, calming breath and relax somehow, but the air felt too moist and everything smelled like alcohol and sweat. Suddenly, she was too aware of the extremely loud music and the annoying presence of the people around her. And there were too many people. Too many unfamiliar faces. Frustrated, El opened her eyes slowly, glancing around at the room full of strangers.

Dejection filled her thoroughly, tonight had been great so far and she just happened to ruin it by opening a door she had closed more than five years ago. She’d promised it would never haunt her, never hurt her again. But it was always there, lurking. It was always him, never allowing her to escape his choking grip.

Without even thinking about it, she had started walking on the opposite direction of the balcony, towards the main door of the house. As she stepped outside of the house, she couldn’t help noticing the wide brown door was ajar. El moved forward taking slow, deliberate steps, knowing her balance was far from being the most stable.

She glanced around quickly.

Sighing in relief at the fact that she had apparently managed to escape the smokers, El leaned on the nearest wall and stared off into the darkened streets and houses. Her body still felt light, but most the energy she had at the beginning of the night had ebbed away by now, leaving her exhausted. Soon enough, she noticed that the volume of the music and the noise from the house was once again bearable for her. However, without the loud (loud! loud!) music infecting her thoughts, she was left at the mercy of the familiar cold voice in her head: it was her own voice, but ruthless and emotionless, and it never tired of always repeating everything she didn’t want to hear.

She wondered what time it was, she was too lazy to get her phone out and check the time. Her fuzzy brain was making everything a lot harder.

“You ok?” a familiar voiced questioned.

El found herself staring up into the freckle-covered face of one of Will’s friends.

“Just tired and hot”, she replied, “it’s like a freaking oven in there”.

He just chuckled.

“Why are you out here?” she suddenly asked.

“Oh, just getting some air to clear my head”, the tall guy answered shrugging, “I am the lucky soul who gets to be the designated driver for tonight”.

El smiled in amusement.

His name is Mike, El suddenly remembered, her scattered, hazy thoughts becoming a tiny bit clearer.

“You know, I was convinced the only reason Will invited me here was so I’d have the honor of being the DD”.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a while, both staring off and busy with their own thoughts.

“Will is worried about you”, Mike stated after a while.

“I know”, El answered sadly, “it’s just hard for me, you know?”

Mike furrowed his brow in confusion.

“No matter how hard I try, it’s hard for me to feel comfortable or relaxed or even normal around new people or in new places”, she explained almost in a whisper.

“It’s ok to feel that way”, he said like it was the most natural thing in the world, his gaze showing empathy.

El snorted, fully aware that no, it was not okay to be such an introverted freak. She was not stupid. She knew it was a limitation, something that held her back from experiences and people and things she really wanted. She was all too aware that it was what isolated her from everyone and ultimately stood like a solid barrier, shielding her even from the ones she deeply cared about.

“I felt very lonely coming here at first”, Mike confessed smiling crookedly in her direction, “I consider myself a lucky guy, having Dustin as a roommate and meeting Lucas and Will on my first week here”.

“Will is an amazing friend”, El answered smiling, “and all of you seem like pretty cool guys”, she added honestly.

Mike blushed a bit and lowered his gaze, focusing on his wristwatch.

Who even owns a wristwatch these days?, wondered El with amusement as she glanced at him with the corner of her eye.

“Hey, it’s barely 1 am, how do you feel about going for a drive and coming back to pick up our friends’ drunken asses?” suddenly asked Mike.

Full story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12840366/chapters/29318523

[lizz-revs]

Higurashi When They Cry - Onikakushi

This game is a sound novel. This means, you don’t choose anything and just read. Imagine a book with sounds.

Story

The main character is a teenage boy, whose name is Keiichi Maebara. He changes schools after his family (his father is an artist and his mother helps him) decides to move to Hinamizawa. At first, he isn’t really into this idea because Hinamizawa is more like a village and he grew up in towns. However, his opinion quickly changes as he befriends four girls, Mion Sonozaki, Rena Ryuugu, Satoko Houjou and Rika Furude, and is accepted as a member of their club. This club is rather weird though: They are playing games every day after school and the loser is penalized. These penalties are a bit over the board though e.g. they are really embarrassing or dangerous. Anyway, Keiichi is really happy about having new friends because he wasn’t close with anyone before and he starts enjoying his everyday life. However, Hinamizawa isn’t a normal village and soon Keiichi starts to realize that is has a dark past. Having that knowledge is dangerous, as he soon understands, but it’s too late…

The Characters

Keiichi Maebara

He is a (quite perverted) teenage boy, who wasn’t close to anyone before meeting his current friends. He is very grateful to everyone of them, since his life became more enjoyable and fun because of the games. He doesn’t like to study very much and often gets in some kind of embarrassing situations. Since he isn’t that good at the games at first, he is often forced to participate in the penalties. However, he loves his friends and doesn’t want to distrust anyone of them, even when the events take a turn for the worse. In addition, he doesn’t seem to be close to his family because he never tells his parents what’s going on, but rather tries to solve everything by himself.

Mion Sonozaki

She is the class representative and seems to be the oldest of their class. Mion is also the leader of the club and takes care of everyone (and the penalties). She seems to be much of a tomboy and addresses herself often as a male, but surprisingly has a girly side to her as she enjoys cooking and doing chores. However, the protagonist often doesn’t treat her as a girl.

Rena Ryuugu

She is very close to Keiichi and he spends most of his time with her, since they walk to school and back together every day (Mion walks with them too, but only a part of the way). Rena wants to protect the protagonist and often takes care of him. She is also way more mature than Keiichi and knows, when to ask for help. However, she has also a weird obsession with things that she calls “kyute” (not always a synonym for cute) and, if she sees something “kyute” she always wants to “take it home” and is willing to go through hardships for that.

Satoko Houjou

One of the youngest pupils in class and the best friend of Rika. She loves to play (sometimes dangerous) pranks on people and always fights with the protagonist. Both Satoko and Keiichi seem to provoke each other every day and I suppose Satoko is the reason, why Keiichi’s life is not in any way boring.

Rika Furude

Rika is also really young. She is the shrine maiden and the last of the Furude clan. While she seems weak, she isn’t because of her charms. She knows, how to manipulate people into doing what she wants and nobody suspects her of being evil, even though she sometimes just tends to use people for her goals. However, she is also a very sweet and cute girl and is the epitome of ‘kyute’, when she sulks or smiles brightly, so Rena almost always wants to “take her home”.

My Opinion

You’re missing something, if you haven’t read this novel yet. The anime seems to be good as well, however it hasn’t enough episodes to cover everything from the novels and these novels are so well-written that it’s a pity, if you don’t read them, instead or additionally to watching the anime.

The writing is in fact so good that you start feeling like you’re the main character at some point: It starts off with a gruesome scene, then you’re suddenly in a school, where everything seems to be normal. Of course, at first you’re suspicious of everything. You’re waiting for the shock, the horror and the events of the prologue. However, nothing happens.

Keiichi is happy that he found his new friends. He spends time with them. Their activities may be strange, but still feel normal. Their bonds deepen. Time passes.

After reading for a few hours, you start to relax. You’re reading about Keiichi’s friendship with the girls, maybe laugh a bit about their stupid games. You start to forget about the prologue and unconsciously or consciously pick a favorite from the girls. Maybe you even start to imagine possible romance options in the game and squeal at some scenes that show that Keiichi favors your choice of girl as well and…

Suddenly you're confronted with those horrible events again - like the main character, you're not prepared for it, but it's there. Your life is over, you’re not happy anymore - Yes, you knew about it, since the prologue, you knew that it would happen at some point, but you chose to not think about it. Not now, not, while everyone is so happy and everything is nice and ‘kyuute’ and…

Well, and it goes on in this manner: You start to cope with the things that happened and start to acknowledge the main characters plans and think that everything shall work out and…

And you’re just questioning everything. You aren’t smarter than the characters, hell, you don’t even know, what happened and why. And, after thinking about the story for a long time, (or just because you’re so curious…), you go on to the next chapter because you simply want to know the truth or at least get a few more hints, the review of which I shall provide

Here

(I’m not sure if I need to add that, but for me this series are clear 10/10)

[reifromrfa]

RFA guys + Minor Trio play Until Dawn with MC

written with @rainydayswriter

So lucky to have met this girl and to have written this with her!!! I had so much fun writing these hcs that I was literally laughing out loud alone :)) Check out her blog too!!! :D She’s brilliant! Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it! :)

Yoosung

This poor boy, how you convinced him to play a horror game is beyond anyone

All the lights stay ON whether it’s the middle of the day or not

But he really enjoys this game and tries to make the best decisions and tries to save everyone

Specially the wolf (makes you Google how to save it)

Gushes about the graphics half the time

Horrified that there’s even a choice to harm animals

Screams his head off when the wendigo first makes its appearance

And also screams when the flamethrower guy appears in the mines

Practically THROWS the controller at every scare, you’ll have to play through some high-tension spots for him

What is he more afraid of: gore or needles? BOTH, apparently ;;;

He answers Dr Hill’s tests truthfully so the game is 1000x scarier for him now ;;;

Explores the most, probably to stall but also finds most of the clues and totems

Unfortunately he gets a little too curious about every single item, and ends up getting Mike’s fingers caught in the bear trap

Makes you decide what to do because he can’t watch

You decide to just hack off Mike’s fingers

Yoosung flees for the bathroom

He couldn’t save everyone and he feels really really bad about it; you have to console him when he accidentally kills Chris and Ashley gets upset

“Yoosung, you can just replay it later-”

“NO, they deserve to be together now!!”

Restarts the game and still falls for the same jumpscares

What a (lovable) dork

After finishing up the game, he will need to watch no less than four romcoms to calm down

Throw in plenty of cuddles and praising his bravery and he’ll be so happy

Zen

Mike is his favorite character: buff hero on a mission to save his girlfriend, befriends a wolf, kicks Wendigo ass? He’s so there

All those innuendos at the beginning of the game?? He’s wiggling his brows at you the whole time

“A romantic getaway in the mountains sounds nice, huh babe~?”

“Yeah Zen nothing like a crazy flamethrower murderer to set the mood.”

Definitely gets Jess to take off all her clothes and gets flustered when you tease him about it

That part where Matt climbs the fire tower and leaves the axe? You can bet Zen is swearing profusely at the screen

High key makes fun of the horror-movie acting

Pauses the game to debate almost every decision

Sorry Josh, he’s saving Ashley no ifs ands or buts

Protects your precious eyes from any gore (almost smacks you in the face with the controller in his hurry)

The first Wendigo scares the hell out of him and he lets out the most high-pitched screech

I didn’t know you had such a ladylike scream, Hyun~

Tries to save everyone because he’s ZEN THE KNIGHT

Not a big fan of Emily because she’s such a bully but still saves her because he wouldn’t kill anyone just because they were mean

Sucks at quick time events, though, and probably curses the entire time

Both of you are yelling when someone’s getting chased, there is arm slapping involved

Manages to kill off a few people, including Emily

But of course he saves Ashley and Chris, Sam, Mike and Jess

Jaehee

Isn’t much of a gamer to begin with, but is willing to play with you for moral support

So done with all of these kids already, where are their parents, why are they on an isolated mountain after two girls died due to a prank they played??

Almost as jumpy as Yoosung, and tries to play it off but at one point spills her coffee all over the couch

“Why do you enjoy this?!”

She can’t understand who would willingly put themselves in stressful situations for fun?

Surprisingly sarcastic at times, as a defense tactic against the fear

If one more person mentions the butterfly effect

“Worst fear? Bad Zen fanfiction.” Jumin in a cat suit

Criticizes the characters ruthlessly

Sam running around in a towel -- “How is she still alive and not freezing to death?”

Doesn’t want anyone to die, but you swear she smirked when the revenge plot was revealed

“This story is so cliche-wait what the hell is that thing?!”

MUTE TERROR as the wendigo screams at your character

Needs to take frequent breaks to calm her poor heart

Clinging to you for dear life

Jaehee please I can’t feel my arm

How can any of these kids be sane???

Sam is her favorite character. Takes a bath for hours and then saves everyone at the end. If you end up killing her, Jaehee will be salty af

Jumin

At first glance you wouldn’t expect him to be the type to play video games, but he owns a Gray Station and a ZetBox so

The lodge in the mountains looks nice and he considers investing in a ski resort

But comments on Josh’s poor planning skills and says he’s a terrible host ;;;

Jumin honey it’s just a game ;;;

You’ve seen his attempts at taking pictures. The parts where you’re supposed to keep the controller still? Better snatch that controller from him and set it on the table or you’re DEAD.

He’s so focused when he plays, and he manages to keep a straight face through most of the game. Hardly even flinches

How

Unfortunately, he isn’t too keen on lingering or searching each and every room, so he misses unobvious clues and totems

But will definitely replay the game until it says he’s completed it 100%

Refuses to read any walkthroughs or accept Seven’s “help”

Jumin no you can’t skip work for this

Ashley or Josh? That decision was tough since it made him think about you and V

He saves Ashley but you can see it bothered him

How can a game make me feel such things?

This guy may be cold and calculating to other people, but he’s fiercely loyal and protective so he tries to save as many characters as he can and you find yourself more attracted to him

When he learns about Josh and the whole revenge thing, he still fights to save Josh because that’s just what friends do and he understands how Josh was going through a tough time because of his sisters

Finds himself addicted to these types of games and buys similar games for you two to play

Saeyoung

LOLOL a game where he can decide the fate of 8 teenagers? LOLOLOL

Turns all the lights off for ~atmosphere~ and yells at tense moments to try and scare you

Guesses who the Psycho is right away

Laughs at all the lame puns and jokes

Won’t stop quoting the game for days (“Hello, friends and fans!” “Ugh, unfollow.” “It’s mammoth!” “You know what else is mammoth, MC? Me.” wiggles eyebrows suggestively)

Fear: cockroaches

Jokingly shoves the controller into your hands at the worst moments

Makes THE MOST RANDOM decisions ever: “I wonder what will happen if I FOLLOW JESS’S VOICE?”

“Saeyoung you know that isn’t Jess!”

“So are you saying I shouldn’t open the trapdoor? The one right here?”

Good luck prying him away at any point, he’s not leaving till he’s found all the clues and unlocks as many endings as possible

Not above trying to distract you when it’s your turn to play

“Saeyoung if you poke me one more time-”

Chris gets beheaded by the wendigo

“FA;DFKLDJS SAEYOUNG!”

He’d just laugh ;;; Seriously this man :)))

Sam’s “Don’t move” parts?

HE POKES YOU

AND SAM DIES

“OH MY GOD SAEYOUNG CHOI”

“MC, it’s just a game, we can always replay it~”

Just like you keep replaying my route~

Never playing this with him ever again ;;; He’s more stressful than the game ;;;;

V

Never really had much interest in video games, but if you want to play it he���ll be right there beside you

He’ll get surprised at jumpscares but wouldn’t make a sound

He’ll immediately hold you when you get scared or scream though

Makes all the righteous choices and even though Emily’s such a horrible person, still makes it a point to save her

Protect this man

What do you fear most? Gore. This cutie apparently hates gore and he closes his eyes when Matt dies coz he tried to save Emily

That photo with the scarecrow? He felt calm looking at it, probably because he usually went on hiking trips alone for his photography thing

This guy is good with the “don’t move” scenes too, since he’s used to staying still when taking photos

Sucks at quick time events though ;;; He panics too easily and misses the buttons but thank God you learned about this early on in the game ;;;

Same as Jumin, he has a hard time choosing between Ashley and Josh

“I would give my life instead, why can’t that be an option?”

But he also chooses to save Ashley and also feels bad about it afterwards

Ashley or Chris? You already know this man will choose to kill himself than hurt the people he loves

And then he finds out that it was all a revenge scheme by Josh and he’s so surprised because how can someone do that to their friends?

He’s on the edge of his seat during Emily’s trip down the mines part

Super invested in the mystery aspect, ends up talking and theorizing through some cutscenes

V there are Wendigos PAY ATTENTION

Will make you look for all the clues and totems because he’s so invested in this game and really wants to save everyone

And he feels terrible when the flamethrower guy dies even though there was really no way to save him

When he finds out what really happens to the twins, oh my God, he’s so done with this game

Why would you make Hannah eat her sister??? And how come nobody searched the mines? Surely someone must have known about it?

If horny teenagers can find this mine in the middle of a snowstorm HOW COME THE SEARCH PARTIES WEREN’T ABLE TO SAVE THEM???

Surprisingly saves everyone except Matt because he was so stubborn about trying to save Emily

Saeran

Let’s face it, this guy would probably kill all the characters

You see his face change when he sees the twins in the beginning of the game though, and he totally chooses the option to let go and fall together instead of letting the other twin die alone

Hates the other characters because they were mean to the twins

Yup, he kills all of them

Except Sam, Chris and Josh because they weren’t involved in the prank

And also, the wolf

Fair enough, you roll with it

He decided he would save Chris but when he finds out Chris likes Ashley, chooses to shoot himself

Marry him

Then he finds out Josh tried to get revenge for his sisters

Is now super determined to save him

Unlike Saeyoung he’s kind of impatient but he reads through the stuff

Still shoots Emily because she was such a bitch

Kills Mike as well, because he was seriously a jerk to Hannah but everyone sees him as the hero --not Saeran though, so bye bye Mike

Matt finds Jessica and he’s considerate of her and chooses to hide instead, saving both of them

It wasn’t really his intention since he wanted to kill everyone, but you kiss his cheek saying how cool he is and he blushes

So upset when he finds out Hannah became a wendigo because how could she eat her sister? That’s really really messed up

And when he finds Hannah’s diary in the mines? You hug him because he goes silent and stares at the screen blankly

Saves Sam as well and he never plays the game again ;A;

Next time you’re playing Tekken

Vanderwood

Ha? What’s this game you want to play?

Pretends he’s bored with the game but deep down he’s LOVING it

Kills the quicktime events

“This is so easy.”

Gets so annoyed like wtf is wrong with these kids??? Why are they so horny???

He doesn’t always make the right decisions though and ends up killing a few characters

Swears a lot

Devastated when the wolf dies but he wouldn’t show it

So when you gently squeeze his arm and tell him it’s alright, you see him purse his lips

He’s crying inside

Oh it was all an elaborate prank by Josh?

FUCK YOU JOSH YOU DEAD

Wendigos are after him? Has no problem staying still and doesn’t miss a shot during Mike’s chapter

Hates Dr. Hill’s character because he felt like someone was probing into his brain and he doesn’t like it

Chris and Ashley are his OTP so he definitely saves those two

He finishes the game and tells you he’s done playing it, but you’ll catch him playing it late into the night when he can’t sleep, trying to get all collectibles and save everyone

[gvbejvmes]

Drabble: Johnny the Vampire Slayer

Title: Johnny the Vampire Slayer Alternate Title: Johnny the Vampire Layer Rating: PG-13 Genre: BtVS AU Relationships: Gabriel James/Jonathan Michaels, Gabriel James & Georgiana James Spoilers: A reimaging of season 1 of Buffy with parts of season 2 thrown in Trigger warnings: General vampire blood and gore. The general age difference between a vampire and the Slayer, but no underage. Notes: Will I write more in this particular AU? You betcha.

1632

A loud laugh erupted from Gabriel as he threw an arm around his brother. The tavern was packed with patrons and Gabriel and Elijah were probably the loudest two in the entire establishment. They’d just gotten back from a successful hunting trip and their excitement was contagious. There’s a large group around them listening to the outlandish story Gabriel was telling. At some point he’d acquired a large breasted woman who was perched on his knee as he spoke. The attention was addicting and Gabriel found himself adding more and more to the story while his brother kept refilling his glass of ale. 

“I gotta take a piss.” He all but pushed the woman off his lap before stumbling outside into the cold night air. He’d just finished pissing and was tucking himself back into his breeches when he heard: “Gabriel Anthony, is that you?” And that voice? He fucking knew that voice, but it couldn’t be possible. She’d died a fortnight prior to the hunting trip. He’d buried her body himself. 

It took everything in him not to turn around. He wasn’t foolish. He’d been raised on tales of the little people, and banshees. If someone dead was talking to you, it wasn’t a good idea to turn around. You weren’t going to like what you see. 

“Gabriel Anthony, I’ve been lookin’ for you. Ain’t you gonna give your baby sister a kiss hello? I haven’t seen you for a month. The least you can do is turn around and look at me.” And the voice. It sounded just like Georgiana, but it couldn’t be her; it couldn’t.

A laced glove settled onto his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but to lean into her touch. He’d missed her, but even as drunk as he was, it couldn’t be her. Still, when she pushed at his shoulder to turn him around, he let himself be turned. “Look at you, Gabriel Anthony. You’re the picture of a perfect mess. Drunk as a skunk, too, I presume.” And it was Georgiana’s voice. Her face. Her mannerisms. Everything about her was his sister - except for her eyes. There was something off about her eyes. Usually so warm and full of life, they looked as dead as she was supposed to be. 

“I have to go now, Georgiana.” Gabriel said before stumbling out of the grasp of the creature that looked like his sister. “Elijah’s waitin’ for me inside, and if I don’t keep an eye on him he’ll wind up buying some lady’s company. He needs me ta look after him.” 

Georgiana grabbed his hand. “He don’t need you, Gabriel Anthony. I need you though.” She promised, and before Gabriel could do or say anything else, her fangs sunk into his neck.

1910

A laugh bubbled up from Briel’s lips as he crawled across the bed to where his wife lay, blonde hair splayed against the pillow. They’d only been in Romania a couple of weeks, but Briiel was in love with the country. He knew they couldn’t stay in town for too much longer, but that didn’t stop Briel from wanting to stay. The people were welcoming, the wine was strong, and the people tasted delicious. It was everything a vampire could ask for. 

“You shoulda gone out with us, Nancy. We danced with the locals, and there was an orgy. Then we killed everyone. You would have loved it.” He nuzzled at the bite mark he’d bestowed upon her nearly fifty years prior. “Why’d you have to stay in and play with the bellboy anyway?” He asked in a whine.

His wife laughed as she ran sharp nails through his hair. “You’re too easily amused, Briel.” She chastised, pushing him away from her. “Can you dispose of his body? I’m tired now.”

Before he could say anything, the door to their room swung upon. “Briel, we have to go.” Georgiana looked wild-eyed. “Derrick is collecting the carriage. Don’t take anything. We have to leave right now.”

It was instinct to listen to his sister. They’d been joined at the hip for over 300 years. If his sister said it was time to go, it was time to go. He was already pulling his boots back on to leave when Nancy’s voice echoed through the room. “No. We’re staying.”

And Briel froze. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t used to his wife and sister fighting, but it was the first time they had fought over something that could be considered life or death. 

“What do you mean, no?” And Georgiana was furious he could see it in her face. “I’m the matriarch of this family. When I say leave, we leave.”

Nancy slinked out of the bed, naked as the day she was born. “And I’m Briel’s wife. If I say we’re staying, then we’re staying.” She drawled out.

It was going to dissolve into a physical altercation, Briel could feel it in his bones. “Georgiana, go.” He instructed. “Nancy and I will leave later. Just go.”

His sister looked torn, but if she had to choose between saving her life and saving her brother, he knew she would choose herself. That’s what happens when you didn’t have a soul. “You know the plan, Briel. You know how to find us again.” And with a quick kiss to his forehead, his sister was gone. 

Not even an hour later, their room was swarmed by the leftover members of the clan he, Georgie, and Derrick had visited. Everything happened so quickly. One minute he was in bed with Nancy and the next she was nothing but ash next to him. Then there was Romanian being spoken and when all the smoke cleared Briel was still undead, but… he had a soul. A very human soul in the body of someone who had killed so many for so long. It was the fitting punishment for the monster who had killed the clan leader’s daughter.

1992

Most days Gabriel didn’t leave his house. He spent his days sleeping, and his nights painting or reading. Sometimes he went out, but feeding wasn’t as fun as it had been when he had no soul. Sure, there were vampire worshipers he could feed off, but letting someone know what he was? After Romania, he didn’t like people knowing that he was a vampire. 

So, yeah. He didn’t tend to go out, but he didn’t need to go out. Somehow he’d accidentally befriended a teenaged Latino boy who ran errands for him. Occasionally he got Gabriel out of the house, but most days, he just brought the animal blood from his brother’s butcher shop or art supplies that Gabriel asked for. He supposed they were friends - as strange as that sounded.

“Yo, Gabe. You still sleeping?” Cesar’s voice echoed through the large house. “I know it’s only three, but I also know you’ve gotten sucked into daytime TV lately.”

He couldn’t help but to grin at the teen as he slunk into the kitchen. “You’re just bitter you already missed General Hospital.” He pointed out, causing the boy to jump.

“Don’t do that!” He whined. “I got stuff from the shop, including that gross cereal you like to mix into your blood. I also picked up more cat food for your damn cats. I thought cats were supposed to stay away from dead things.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Just because it happened in a movie doesn’t mean it’s real life.” He remembers the day they met clearly. It had been the day his older sister, the Slayer at the time, had died protecting Cesar. And Gabriel, well, he’d been in the area at the time and he’d in turn rescued Cesar and brought the body back to the family. After that, the family made sure Gabriel was taken care of since according to them, he was the only vampire worth saving. The only problem was that the family still kept in touch with Rocio’s Watcher. 

“You smell like Andrew.” He knew Cesar hated when he did that, but sometimes that was the only way to get him to talk.

“A new slayer was called.” He admitted as he hopped up on the counter, watching as Gabe moved around the kitchen making them tea. “The one that replaced Rocio didn’t last long.” He tugged at the hem of his sleeve. “What do you know about a prophecy-”

He didn’t let him finish. “About a vampire with a soul and the male slayer? How their love will keep the Hell Mouth from opening and prevent the apocalypse?” He couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. “It’s a load of bullshit. Slayers are always female.”

Cesar was quiet for a very long moment. “The new Slayer’s name is Jonathan.” 

The tea kettle fell from Gabriel’s hands with a loud crash.

-

He likes watching him. Not in a creepy way, more in a general way. He likes the way Johnny moves. How he’s methodical. He plans out his attacks before dispatching vampires. Gabriel has seen Slayers before, and he’s different. It’s not like he’s dancing. He doesn’t toy with his victims. It’s more like he plots out what he’s going to do five moves before he does it. There’s something about it that’s mesmerizing.

Gabriel packed up and moved from Los Angeles to New York because of a prophecy. And yet, he never planned to actually speak to Johnny. His plan was to stay in the shadows. If Johnny needed help, he’d help him, but he never actually wanted to be seen. Their fates may have been tied together, but he wasn’t about to let a prophecy rule his life. And then Johnny miscalculated.

One minute the teenager had the upper hand, and the next it looked like he was going to be somebody’s dinner. He’s on the ground within seconds, staking Johnny’s would be killer before he even had time to think about it. “Are you okay?” He asked as he pulled Johnny to his feet.

“I definitely had him.” The blue-eyed teen announced as he pulled away from Gabriel.

A smile twisted onto Gabriel’s face as he leaned against the wall of the alley they were currently in, and took out a cigarette. “Oh, I’m sure you did.” He drawled out as he lit up and took a drag. “But it doesn’t hurt to have a friend.”

Johnny looked like he was trying to figure him out. “Thanks for the assist, but I don’t need anymore friends.” He called out before leaving Gabriel alone in the alley. 

“That’s what you think.” 

-

The next time he talks to him, they’re in a cemetery. And Johnny’s outnumbered. Once again, his body reacts before his brain can sort things through. He’s back-to-back with the Slayer as a group of vampires surround them. “If you were trying to test whether or not I’m a figment of your imagination, hey guess what, you passed.” He all but hissed out.

He knew Johnny had to be rolling his eyes. “Yes, because I planned to be ambushed.” And though he can still feel Johnny’s tension, it isn’t quite as strong as it had been before he appeared. “Good thing you’re stalking me.”

Gabriel was bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting for the first vampire to attack. “You call it stalking; I call it being your guardian angel.” He sassed back. “At the rate you’re going, you need one.” 

It was quiet, but he knew the Slayer was calculating their odds. “Let’s split it even. You take those five. I’ll take these eight.” And then - they were off.

A part of him couldn’t help but to be reminded of his sister. She was the last person he’d tag-teamed killing with. It had been decades since the last time he saw her. She wasn’t a fan of his soul, and he wasn’t a fan of her murdering hundreds for sport. Still, they had worked together well, but he and Johnny? They worked together better. 

It was silent as they moved about each other, taking out the vampires surrounding them - helping to cover the other. A part of Gabriel almost felt like they were reading each other’s minds, but he knew better. They just worked together well.

By the time they were done, they were both breathing heavy - Johnny because he needed to and Gabriel because his lungs were filled with vampire dust that he needed to get out of his dead lungs. “Who are you?” Johnny finally managed out.

“I told you.” Gabe coughed up more ash. “I’m your guardian angel.”

The teenager was staring at him. “You’re not human.” It wasn’t a question.

“Nope.” Gabe made sure to pop the ‘p.’ “I have a soul though; you can hurt my feelings.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Why are you following me?” He asked, sounding defensive. 

“Boredom? Because no one should go hunting alone?” Gabriel suggested with a light shrug.

The Slayer didn’t seem convinced. “And does my guardian angel have a name?”

He smirked. “Nope.”

-

“You’re a VAMPIRE?” Johnny is swinging at him, and Gabriel is blocking each punch as they come his way. If he really wanted to hurt him, he’d have a stake out. No, this is one pissed off teenage boy. He wants to hit him because he knows Gabriel can take it. “Briel. Part of the Scourge of Europe.”

He couldn’t help the wince as he continued blocking Johnny’s punches. “No one has called me Briel in 70 years.” Gabriel all but hissed out as he pinned Johnny against the wall. “And you never asked. You knew I wasn’t human, but you didn’t ask.”

There was a sense of trust. Prophecy be damned, he knew in his soul that Johnny wouldn’t stake him. Even as pissed off as he currently was, he wasn’t going to stake him. That was the only reason why he let Johnny reverse their positions and pin him against the wall.

“You purposely didn’t tell me what you were. You had to act all mysterious and leave me guessing.” And he was so close to him. His lips were right there. He only needed to move and they’d be touching, but… he was an old man and Johnny was just so young compared to him - barely even legal. Regardless, when Johnny leaned in, he didn’t stop him until… 

“Get the fuck away from my brother, Slayer.” He’s not sure who was more surprised - Johnny or himself.

Gabriel slipped out of Johnny’s grasp and towards the creature that once upon a time had been his sister. “Georgie?” And she was with a group of ten vampires. Glancing over his shoulder, Johnny looked confused, but Gabriel could tell he was already calculating their odds. He had a habit of that.

His sister’s lips curled up. “Briel.” She greeted with a curt nod. “Come along. The Master wants to see you.” Now, that was a name he hadn’t heard in awhile. The Master was the vampire who had made Georgie into the monster she became. And if Gabe had to bet the prophecy had to be about him. He had to be the one trying to end the world. 

He turned and looked back at Johnny. “Be seeing you.” It was the last time Gabe would see him alive.

-

He’s too late. The prophecy was already happening, and Gabriel was too late. Leaving with Georgie had been a trap. He was locked away while The Master lured Johnny into a trap. There were only two options - let Johnny die or kill his captors. He never once thought he’d have to stake his own sister. And yet… he did it for him -- for Johnny. Except… he was too late.

When he gets to the place the Master had lured Johnny to, he’s laying face down in a pool of water. He doesn’t know where the Master is, but he knows two things for sure. The first was that the Master was definitely gone, and the second was that Johnny no longer had a heartbeat. “Fuck that.” He was in the pool of water pulling Johnny out before he could even think about what he was doing.

Sure, he wasn’t exactly a living creature, but he had the basic functions. And it wasn’t like he’d ever needed to do mouth to mouth before, but he theoretically knew how it worked. Once Johnny was on the ground, he pushed his head back and pressed his lips against his. He wasn’t even sure if he was even doing it correctly until Johnny pushed him away. 

With a sigh of relief, Gabriel sat back on his haunches as Johnny turned his head to the side and coughed up the water. He was alive again. Thank fuck. He was alive. 

For the first time in his unlife, Gabriel was actually happy for the damn fucking prophecy. He pulled Johnny against him, and they sat that in the old crypt.

“I have to kill him.” Johnny rasped out.

Gabriel nodded. “We will.” He promised. “But for now, just sit here and hold my hand.”

And there were things to do. The Master needed to be taken care of. Johnny was supposed to be at his Prom and yet... the Slayer and his vampire sat in a crypt holding hands until his Watcher arrived.

[sterekgala-blog]

A rec list will be posted every day with a few of our favorite Sterek holiday fics, and a masterpost of all our rec lists will be posted on the 31st. Requests are always welcomed!

New Year’s Countdown Rec List #12

Sweeter Than a Cherry Pie by kitsunequeen || 5k

When Cora asks Stiles to be her pretend boyfriend for a New Year's family dinner, he figures he can do a friend a favor. When he hooks up with an incredible guy, Derek, the night before, only to wake up alone in the morning, he supposes he can handle that too. But when he shows up at Cora's house and Derek turns out to be her brother, well... that's a bit of a bigger problem.

Soooooooo much misunderstanding and my heart feaking loves it!

on the right track by HalfFizzbin || 1.5k

Stiles is stuck on a broken-down train instead of dancing with Lydia at a swanky New Year's Eve party, which sucks. OR DOES IT?

(Basic premise blatantly ripped off from Boy Meets World 3x10, “Train of Fools.”)

I love boy meets world too much not to rec this loveliness

Imagine Me And You by callunavulgari || 16k

“My name,” the kid tells Derek, sounding amused. “It’s Stiles. I figure if I’m going to wrestle a complete stranger for a pumpkin the least I can do is offer my name afterwards.”

“Stiles,” Derek tries, testing the way the name sits on his tongue. “I’m Derek.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathes, like he’s testing the weight of the name too. He grins, bright and blinding, which Derek guesses means that he likes the sound of it. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but since we almost got to second base a minute ago, I’d say we’re past that point.”

This is a cute fic and it includes a bunch of different holiday events like halloween and christmas and new years and all that awesomeness

New Year’s Eve by bibliosexual || 2.5k

Really cute tumblr fic about our fav dorks in the HP universe during the most wonderful time of the year

Jingle Bells by BansheeLydia || 5k

They were the exact opposite of each other. Derek hated Stiles’ loudness, his confidence, his vocabulary, the way he moved his hands when he talked, his stupid jokes and his smirk and his insistence that modern was the way forward, trampling over anything traditional about bookstores. Stiles hated Derek’s arrogance, his quiet disdain, his snobbish, stubborn, stick-in-the-mud attitude that he was right and his way was better, he hated his refusal to even acknowledge that Stiles’ bookstore worked for a lot of people, and he hated how attractive Derek was because sometimes it made him hard to focus on how much he loathed Derek’s scowl.

Stiles and Derek are rival bookstore owners, but that might change when Stiles finds Derek alone on Christmas Eve.

RIVAL BOOKSTORE OWNERS!!!! DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY IDEA HOW AWESOME THIS TROPE IS?!?!? I NEED MORE OF THIS RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!!!

New Year’s Kiss by AJ2000 || 1.5k

I may have squealed while reading the fluffiness that is this tumblr fic

But In Case I Stand One Little Chance by mikkimouse || 8.5k

Stiles's Jeep breaks down in the middle of the snowstorm. He's rescued by his high school crush, and as the cherry on top, is trapped in a cabin with said crush until the roads clear.

Fuck his life.

I wish I had Stiles’ luck to be honest XD

Five Times Derek and Stiles Wanted the Same Book (And One Time There Were Two Copies) by mikkimouse || 3k

"Hey!" Stiles yanked the book back, but the other guy had a firm grip on it. "What are you--"

He trailed off when he set eyes on the leather-clad god with a glare that could strip paint off a car who also had hold of the book.

Stiles gulped, but he didn't let go. "Hey, dude, I had it first."

Those powerful black eyebrows bent down further. "Like hell you did."

This is honestly one of my favs, it’s just so adorable

Snow Place Like Home by blacktofade || 2k

In which there are snowball fights, werewolf snowmen, and itchy ugly sweaters from Stiles' grandma.

This is literally just too cute

Let it snow! Let it snow! (but please let it stop eventually) by relenafanel || 20k

Stiles grew up with his bedroom window overlooking Derek's bedroom, so when he returns home for the holidays he's surprised to find a stranger in his nerdy neighbour's bedroom.

Only, he's not much of a stranger.

It is Derek Hale, the guy who is going to be his new step brother, if the rumours are true.

Perfect mix of so many tropes!

Red Against the Snow by Ember || 35k

Little Red Riding Hood isn’t just one story. People are mistaken about that. Hell, Grimm wasn’t even original about it. The first guy to publish it was actually Charles Perrault, a french writer who wrote shit for the Louis XIV’s court. And damn, there was nothing subtle about it. Stiles is trapped for the holidays in the cabin of a strange man/hermit named Derek. A strangely friendly wolf befriends Stiles during his stay. It's up to the teenager to find out why Derek has secluded himself from society, what the feelings he's beginning to have means, and what the connection between the mysterious man and the mysterious black wolf is.

I love this story so damn much I can’t even put it into words it’s just such a masterpiece

Bet On It by IDreamOnlyOfYou (lauren3210) || 8k

Stiles is an RN and Derek the attending trauma surgeon at Beacon Hills Hospital. They're constantly arguing, much to the amusement of their colleagues, who ultimately decide to take bets on when the sexual tension will finally explode. The only question is, who will win the jackpot?

Or

5 times one of the guys try to push Derek and Stiles together, and the time they worked it out all on their own.

I love it when the only people in the entire fic that don’t notice Stiles and Derek are totally in love are Stiles and Derek XD

Cupboard Love by mklutz || 32k

He’s carefully balancing the sandwiches and the two biggest tupperware containers he could find that both had functioning lids when the front door opens and he almost drops everything right there in front of the stupid fountain.

If that’s Derek Hale, he’s definitely not a mountain man.

This is probably one of the darlings of the sterek fandom and it has every right to be, everyone should read this absolute perfection

Thirteen Days of Christmas by Ark || 6k

Derek is looking at Stiles like a little help here? and also like he hasn't seen Stiles since the summer and can't stop himself from looking. Derek's very good at looking. Has always been good at that.

What does he think of Stiles's new, scruffier hairstyle, the way he's finally filled out all the lanky with the freshman 15? Can he see the lines of Stiles's new tattoo snaking along his collarbone, showing at the seam of his t-shirt? Can he smell that Stiles isn't a virgin anymore? Can that be sniffed?

Stiles comes back from college and Derek is all hot and bothered by his new found sexiness ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

until the clock strikes midnight again by decideophobia || 5k

Derek stumbles upon a test then, towards the end of the magazine, and before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s reading out loud, “Are you good in bed?”

Stiles drops his pen.

FIREFIGHTER!DEREK AND NURSE!STILES!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH

1|| 2|| 3|| 4|| 5|| 6|| 7|| 8|| 9|| 10|| 11|| 12|| 13|| 14|| 15

Submit in your favorite winter fics here so they can claim a spot on our countdown list! Any winter fics, old or new, are welcomed!!!

[junker-town]

SB Nation reviews: ADOM, a 25-year-old hard-as-hell computer game

Art from ADOM.de, by Krzysztof Dycha

Style 9.5

Content 10

Overall 10

I have a new friend. His name is Sammy, and he is is a Hurthling. Sammy has had a rough life. His miserable parents tormented him throughout his childhood. But eventually he escaped their clutches and trained to become an assassin.

Was he planning to one day train his dagger against his cruel parents? He didn’t say. But then, he didn’t say much.

I met Sammy at the entrance to the Drakalor Chain, a mysterious mountain range that seemed to be the centre of an invasion of otherworldly powers. Monsters thought long-extinct overflowed its passes. The orc clans, contained for generations, were on the warpath. There were even reports of ogre armies arrayed for battle. Like many adventurers, Sammy was drawn to investigate.

Entering the pass, Sammy’s first stop was a village named Terinyo, where he was asked to find a missing carpenter. Sammy sought him out in a dungeon to the southeast, where he battled through a horde of goblins ... and then died of acute blood poisoning when bitten by a viper.

Art from ADOM.de, by Krzysztof Dycha

I have been playing Ancient Domains of Mystery, better known as ADOM, for more than 20 years. It took me 13 to close the Chaos Gate and end the invasion successfully, and I’ve long-since lost count of how many heroes died in the process. ADOM likes to kill you, and it does this a lot. As far as I can tell, there are hundreds of ways to die. You can execute yourself, for instance, with a bouncing magic missile. You can be crushed by your own backpack when an annis hag curses your bracers of lifting. You can starve to death in the wilderness. You can be electrocuted by a lightning lizard, or sacrificed to a teleporting pixie’s god, or straight-up beaten to death by an angry troll (all trolls are angry).

You can also, assuming you haven’t found a spider corpse to give you resistance, die of acute blood poisoning.

Since ADOM is a roguelike, when you die, your character is erased. No coming back, no recording saves. Gone. (Farewell, Sammy. I barely knew ye.) This is what makes the game both so difficult to beat and so compelling. Once you get past the very early game, when progress is in large part determined by luck, each death will (slowly) teach you how to navigate deeper and deeper into the Caverns of Chaos, where you will eventually stem the infernal invasion threatening the realm. Or die. Probably you’ll die.

But if you don’t, you may find strength beyond your wildest dreams. My most recent winner, Orodreth, was a high elven duelist who became a paragon of virtue (much like myself) and befriended the Cat Lord. The rewards for doing so let him shred even the more formidable opponents with ease. Before that, I won with a beastfighter who specialises in hand-to-hand combat (with a boomerang or two thrown in, mostly for style). I reckon that now, with two decades of experience, I can probably win somewhere between 10-20 percent of the time on a random character.

ADOM has changed a lot in those 20 years. For most of its existence, it was an ASCII-only game, which meant it looked like this:

The orange @ is my character, the grey B a giant bat that is trying (unsuccessfully) to fight me. I love everything about this look, from the hashtag corridors to the one-square monsters. I’ve learned to be terrified of brown “&”s (GREATER MOLOCH), capital-“D” dragons, and black-“L” emperor liches. I’ve learned to look out for yellow-“d” blink dogs, which grant the important intrinsic of teleport control when eaten. And I’ve recently learned to be on the alert for the glowing green cloak Venom Mantle, denoted by a sickly green “]”. Venom Mantle grants, among other things, acid immunity. Very handy.

Modern ADOM now looks very different. A few years ago, the game’s creator, Thomas Biskup, led a successful crowdfunding campaign to reboot development, and part of that campaign included modernising the graphics to be more welcoming to new players. Now that same fight against a giant bat looks like, well, a fight against a giant bat:

For me, ‘tile mode’ loses rather a lot of the game’s charm, but that’s probably because I grew up playing the ASCII version, and therefore tiles annihilate all of my familiarity with the game. But the rest of the new content is fantastic — Thomas and his co-developers have pumped new locations, quests, baddies and items into an already deep world, breathing new life into the ADOM community. (They’ve currently paused development in ADOM itself to work on the sequel.)

Style 9.5

As I mentioned earlier, ADOM is a roguelike, which is a type of game mostly associated with the player character dying a lot. Roguelikes are also associated with procedurally generated content, which means that significant parts of the game are randomised each time you start. Almost every dungeon is reset with each game (the extremely weird infinite dungeon gets randomised during play, which makes it a fun challenge to deep-dive). The pool of special items varies as well, which means that you never know what character build you’re going to end up with.

ADOM contains enough secrets that I haven’t managed to exhaust them in all the time I’ve been playing. Some say that the path to becoming a Chaos God begins in the Drakalor Chain, for instance. Others rumours suggest that the legendary Trident of the Red Rooster can be found somewhere deep in the mountains. Let’s not even get into where one might find the Scroll of Omnipotence (I think I came close, once, but had to retreat). The story might be on the shallow end, but, really, you’re here to explore and kick ass. Plot mostly gets in the way.

Art from ADOM.de, by Krzysztof Dycha

Meanwhile, each class of characters plays wildly differently from the next. I favour duelists, which are powerful and very fast melee fighters who are mostly useless at range or with magic. This makes them vulnerable to enemies you really don’t want to fight at close quarters, which vastly changes your approach to, for instance, an ultimate doppelgänger. A wizard, on the other hand, would simply fry said doppelgänger with an acid bolt (or whatever else), but would have a significantly more annoying time against a diamond golem, which are immune to most forms of magic.

ADOM has 22 playable classes, from farmer to mindcrafter. (These are wildly unbalanced, as they should be. It turns out it’s easier to save the world when you’re a powerful elementalist than if you’re a traveling merchant who likes to sell scrolls.) You can pick among twelve races — I like hurthlings and elves — which all have their own unique traits and styles. If you play as a troll, be prepared for hunger to be a constant problem, and to run like hell from any monster with an aging attack (trolls die young). If you’re a Mist Elf, born during the song of creation, you may be less stressed out about encountering a ghost lord.

With essentially infinite build variety and style, you can keep playing ADOM for decades and still want to come back for more. Trust me, I know.

Content 10

When ADOM came out, it was ‘postcardware.’ If you enjoyed the game, Thomas asked you to send him a postcard from wherever in the world you happened to be. I never got around to this, because teenage boys are the most inconsiderate people in the world. Thomas, if you read this, I don’t know if this post makes up for the lack of postcard, but thank you from London for keeping me entertained for so long.

Ancient Domains of Mystery is available on Steam (there’s also a free-to-play version with fewer features).

Overall 10

[rainydayswriter]

RFA + Minor Trio Play Until Dawn

A collab I did with @reifromrfa! Truly a wonderful person and writer! If you enjoy Mystic Messenger (or just laughing in general) you should definitely check out Rei’s blog! I had so much fun doing this, so much laughter and keyboard smashes went into these, so I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Yoosung

This poor boy, how you convinced him to play a horror game is beyond anyone

All the lights stay ON whether it’s the middle of the day or not

But he really enjoys this game and tries to make the best decisions and tries to save everyone

Specially the wolf (makes you Google how to save it)

Gushes about the graphics half the time

Horrified that there’s even a choice to harm animals

Screams his head off when the wendigo first makes its appearance

And also screams when the flamethrower guy appears in the mines

Practically THROWS the controller at every scare, you’ll have to play through some high-tension spots for him

What is he more afraid of: gore or needles? BOTH, apparently ;;;

He answers Dr Hill’s tests truthfully so the game is 1000x scarier for him now ;;;

Explores the most, probably to stall but also finds most of the clues and totems

Unfortunately he gets a little too curious about every single item, and ends up getting Mike’s fingers caught in the bear trap

Makes you decide what to do because he can’t watch

You decide to just hack off Mike’s fingers

Yoosung flees for the bathroom

He couldn’t save everyone and he feels really really bad about it; you have to console him when he accidentally kills Chris and Ashley gets upset

“Yoosung, you can just replay it later-”

“NO, they deserve to be together now!!”

Restarts the game and still falls for the same jumpscares

What a (lovable) dork

After finishing up the game, he will need to watch no less than four romcoms to calm down

Throw in plenty of cuddles and praising his bravery and he’ll be so happy

Zen

Mike is his favorite character: buff hero on a mission to save his girlfriend, befriends a wolf, kicks Wendigo ass? He’s so there

All those innuendos at the beginning of the game?? He’s wiggling his brows at you the whole time

“A romantic getaway in the mountains sounds nice, huh babe~?”

“Yeah Zen nothing like a crazy flamethrower murderer to set the mood.”

Definitely gets Jess to take off all her clothes and gets flustered when you tease him about it 

That part where Matt climbs the fire tower and leaves the axe? You can bet Zen is swearing profusely at the screen

High key makes fun of the horror-movie acting

Pauses the game to debate almost every decision 

Sorry Josh, he’s saving Ashley no ifs ands or buts

Protects your precious eyes from any gore (almost smacks you in the face with the controller in his hurry)

The first Wendigo scares the hell out of him and he lets out the most high-pitched screech 

I didn’t know you had such a ladylike scream, Hyun~

Tries to save everyone because he’s ZEN THE KNIGHT

Not a big fan of Emily because she’s such a bully but still saves her because he wouldn’t kill anyone just because they were mean

Sucks at quick time events, though, and probably curses the entire time

Both of you are yelling when someone’s getting chased, there is arm slapping involved

Manages to kill off a few people, including Emily

But of course he saves Ashley and Chris, Sam, Mike and Jess

Jaehee

Isn’t much of a gamer to begin with, but is willing to play with you for moral support

So done with all of these kids already, where are their parents, why are they on an isolated mountain after two girls died due to a prank they played??

Almost as jumpy as Yoosung, and tries to play it off but at one point spills her coffee all over the couch

“Why do you enjoy this?!”

She can’t understand who would willingly put themselves in stressful situations for fun?

Surprisingly sarcastic at times, as a defense tactic against the fear

If one more person mentions the butterfly effect

“Worst fear? Bad Zen fanfiction.” Jumin in a cat suit 

Criticizes the characters ruthlessly 

Sam running around in a towel -- “How is she still alive and not freezing to death?”

Doesn’t want anyone to die, but you swear she smirked when the revenge plot was revealed

“This story is so cliche-wait what the hell is that thing?!”

MUTE TERROR as the wendigo screams at your character

Needs to take frequent breaks to calm her poor heart

Clinging to you for dear life

Jaehee please I can’t feel my arm

How can any of these kids be sane???

Sam is her favorite character. Takes a bath for hours and then saves everyone at the end. If you end up killing her, Jaehee will be salty af

Jumin

At first glance you wouldn’t expect him to be the type to play video games, but he owns a Gray Station and a ZetBox so

The lodge in the mountains looks nice and he considers investing in a ski resort

But comments on Josh’s poor planning skills and says he’s a terrible host ;;; 

Jumin honey it’s just a game ;;; 

You’ve seen his attempts at taking pictures. The parts where you’re supposed to keep the controller still? Better snatch that controller from him and set it on the table or you’re DEAD.

He’s so focused when he plays, and he manages to keep a straight face through most of the game. Hardly even flinches

How

Unfortunately, he isn’t too keen on lingering or searching each and every room, so he misses unobvious clues and totems

But will definitely replay the game until it says he’s completed it 100%

Refuses to read any walkthroughs or accept Seven’s “help”

Jumin no you can’t skip work for this 

Ashley or Josh? That decision was tough since it made him think about you and V 

He saves Ashley but you can see it bothered him

How can a game make me feel such things?

This guy may be cold and calculating to other people, but he’s fiercely loyal and protective so he tries to save as many characters as he can and you find yourself more attracted to him

When he learns about Josh and the whole revenge thing, he still fights to save Josh because that’s just what friends do and he understands how Josh was going through a tough time because of his sisters

Finds himself addicted to these types of games and buys similar games for you two to play

Saeyoung

LOLOL a game where he can decide the fate of 8 teenagers? LOLOLOL 

Turns all the lights off for ~atmosphere~ and yells at tense moments to try and scare you

Guesses who the Psycho is right away

Laughs at all the lame puns and jokes 

Won’t stop quoting the game for days (“Hello, friends and fans!” “Ugh, unfollow.” “It’s mammoth!” “You know what else is mammoth, MC? Me.” wiggles eyebrows suggestively)

Fear: cockroaches

Jokingly shoves the controller into your hands at the worst moments

Makes THE MOST RANDOM decisions ever: “I wonder what will happen if I FOLLOW JESS’S VOICE?”

“Saeyoung you know that isn’t Jess!”

“So are you saying I shouldn’t open the trapdoor? The one right here?”

Good luck prying him away at any point, he’s not leaving till he’s found all the clues and unlocks as many endings as possible

Not above trying to distract you when it’s your turn to play

“Saeyoung if you poke me one more time-”

Chris gets beheaded by the wendigo

“FA;DFKLDJS SAEYOUNG!”

He’d just laugh ;;; Seriously this man :)))

Sam’s “Don’t move” parts?

HE POKES YOU

AND SAM DIES

“OH MY GOD SAEYOUNG CHOI”

“MC, it’s just a game, we can always replay it~”

Just like you keep replaying my route~ 

Never playing this with him ever again ;;; He’s more stressful than the game ;;;;

V

Never really had much interest in video games, but if you want to play it he’ll be right there beside you

He’ll get surprised at jumpscares but wouldn’t make a sound

He’ll immediately hold you when you get scared or scream though

Makes all the righteous choices and even though Emily’s such a horrible person, still makes it a point to save her

Protect this man

What do you fear most? Gore. This cutie apparently hates gore and he closes his eyes when Matt dies coz he tried to save Emily

That photo with the scarecrow? He felt calm looking at it, probably because he usually went on hiking trips alone for his photography thing

This guy is good with the “don’t move” scenes too, since he’s used to staying still when taking photos

Sucks at quick time events though ;;; He panics too easily and misses the buttons but thank God you learned about this early on in the game ;;;

Same as Jumin, he has a hard time choosing between Ashley and Josh

“I would give my life instead, why can’t that be an option?” 

But he also chooses to save Ashley and also feels bad about it afterwards 

Ashley or Chris? You already know this man will choose to kill himself than hurt the people he loves

And then he finds out that it was all a revenge scheme by Josh and he’s so surprised because how can someone do that to their friends?

He’s on the edge of his seat during Emily’s trip down the mines part

Super invested in the mystery aspect, ends up talking and theorizing through some cutscenes 

V there are Wendigos PAY ATTENTION

Will make you look for all the clues and totems because he’s so invested in this game and really wants to save everyone

And he feels terrible when the flamethrower guy dies even though there was really no way to save him 

When he finds out what really happens to the twins, oh my God, he’s so done with this game

Why would you make Hannah eat her sister??? And how come nobody searched the mines? Surely someone must have known about it?

If horny teenagers can find this mine in the middle of a snowstorm HOW COME THE SEARCH PARTIES WEREN’T ABLE TO SAVE THEM???

Surprisingly saves everyone except Matt because he was so stubborn about trying to save Emily

Saeran

Let’s face it, this guy would probably kill all the characters

You see his face change when he sees the twins in the beginning of the game though, and he totally chooses the option to let go and fall together instead of letting the other twin die alone

Hates the other characters because they were mean to the twins

Yup, he kills all of them

Except Sam, Chris and Josh because they weren’t involved in the prank

And also, the wolf 

Fair enough, you roll with it

He decided he would save Chris but when he finds out Chris likes Ashley, chooses to shoot himself

Marry him

Then he finds out Josh tried to get revenge for his sisters

Is now super determined to save him

Unlike Saeyoung he’s kind of impatient but he reads through the stuff

Still shoots Emily because she was such a bitch

Kills Mike as well, because he was seriously a jerk to Hannah but everyone sees him as the hero --not Saeran though, so bye bye Mike

Matt finds Jessica and he’s considerate of her and chooses to hide instead, saving both of them

It wasn’t really his intention since he wanted to kill everyone, but you kiss his cheek saying how cool he is and he blushes

So upset when he finds out Hannah became a wendigo because how could she eat her sister? That’s really really messed up

And when he finds Hannah’s diary in the mines? You hug him because he goes silent and stares at the screen blankly

Saves Sam as well and he never plays the game again ;A;

Next time you’re playing Tekken

Vanderwood

Ha? What’s this game you want to play?

Pretends he’s bored with the game but deep down he’s LOVING it

Kills the quicktime events

“This is so easy.”

Gets so annoyed like wtf is wrong with these kids??? Why are they so horny???

He doesn’t always make the right decisions though and ends up killing a few characters

Swears a lot

Devastated when the wolf dies but he wouldn’t show it

So when you gently squeeze his arm and tell him it’s alright, you see him purse his lips

He’s crying inside

Oh it was all an elaborate prank by Josh?

FUCK YOU JOSH YOU DEAD 

Wendigos are after him? Has no problem staying still and doesn’t miss a shot during Mike’s chapter 

Hates Dr. Hill’s character because he felt like someone was probing into his brain and he doesn’t like it

Chris and Ashley are his OTP so he definitely saves those two

He finishes the game and tells you he’s done playing it, but you’ll catch him playing it late into the night when he can’t sleep, trying to get all collectibles and save everyone

[abby4545]

Host with the Most.

Well this could be fun after all.

It was probably going to be the coolest yet worst experience ever.

“Hopefully the family is nice and all…”

You shrugged the thought of the trip off again, and continued to fold the t-shirt’s in front of you. The school trip was about a whole month long, you only thought it was appropriate to pack your favorite shirts.

“Dinner is ready, get down here or you’ll have it cold!”

“Mom, can you calm down for about a minute and a half,”

A mumbled Jesus left your mouth, before laying the shirt in the suitcase and standing, making your way down the stairs.

“You couldn’t have waited maybe a little longer Mom, I was in the middle of packing my bag..”

She rolled her eyes, the table was set, and her mitt-covered gloves were pulling a dish out of the oven.

“You’re excited, yes?”

“Nervous, more like it…”

Her eyes traveled over to you, “Nervous, for what reason?”

“I don’t want to say anything wrong, Mom. Sure I’ve been learning the language for how long, but like-...that’s their native tongue, what if I mess up?”

That earned you a head shake, “Sit down, silly. You won’t mess up, you’ve been doing it for years…”

Stuffing your hands in your pocket, you decided against fighting with her, and took your seat.

“What if the host family is mean? Or they don’t have any kids?”

“Honey, stop worrying.”

“Mom, don’t tell me what to do,”

Well, your mom for sure wasn’t wrong in telling you to stop. It would eventually be alright and you’d be on your way to the airport from Portland, Oregan, USA...to Japan. There were about three seniors from your class, one of them being a relatively close friend of yours. Madison was that girl that anyone and everyone could befriend.

She took her seat in front of you, leaving a random passenger to sit on the left of you.

“How long does it take to get there again?” You asked.

Maddie shrugged, “Beats me, I’ll be sleeping.”

“For like 14 some hours? Madison are you kidding me?”

The brunette snickered slightly, “Does this look like the face of someone who’s kiddin’?”

The one stop would be in Canada, near the Toronto airport, something like that.

“Why the hell couldn’t she have sat by me…”

The woman next to you was older and looked like she’d rather have been dead then sitting on a plane next to a teenager.

“Maybe there will be cute boys at the school we go to…”

But then you remembered the many rules you had to read, and document that you understood...so many signatures...so many.

“I mean come on, how strict will they be? I could probably make out with someone and get away with it, a one time thing you know…”

All the while you were drifting off to sleep, head against the window. The clouds were large and puffy, kinda like you were already dreaming. Maybe that’s why you fell asleep so easily. Sooner than it seemed, you were being shaken.

“Hey, wake up, it’s at the first stop,”

You body groggily wanted nothing more than to shove the hand away.

“Fine, I won’t wait for you,” Madison’s voice rang out, making you stand, and grab your carry-on.

“You know-...you could be a bit nicer, you ass.”

Madison giggled, “I could be,”

“You should,”

“But I won’t.”

Sighing ever so slightly, you both trudged out of the plane and into the airport, following the ‘designated plane assitant’ that the school had sent with the group. It was only 2:45 in the afternoon, which meant 9 or so hours left in this god awful flight.

After about an hour of walking around the airport, and wasting time, the group gathered back around the gate, and soon were being filed into the plane once more.

“Time couldn’t go any slower…”

“Maybe if you’d stop being so nervous, time would go faster..”

“Shut up, I’m not nervous!”

Mindless sleep, thank god for mindless sleep.

The last 9 hours were a blur, of sleep...messy hair, and the child in the back crying endlessly. Nothing could have gone faster than time in that moment, hearing the voice over the speaker.

“We will be landing in approximately 15 minutes,”

Then was repeated in the now native tongue.

You couldn’t quite shake yourself awake until someone’s face poked between the chair and wall.

“Hey-...you, wake up. You didn’t want me sleeping, don’t be a bitch,”

You whined slightly, only finding Maddie’s joke half-amusing .

“Maddie, I don’t get why I’m friends with you sometimes,” Sitting up, you fix your hair and straightened your shirt before looking out the window.

“Are you ready for a month of Japan?”

“Maddie, I’ve been waiting for this since 8th grade, of course I am.”

Madison, however, barely passed the class, and managed to get picked for the trip.

“Cute boys. Cute girls, right?”

“No stop that, get it out of your head, you’ve got rules. Rule number 25 was that, ‘Under no circumstance was any romantic relationship permitted between host kids and students.’

Bummer.

You had a month to ignore cute boys?

Highly doubt it.

Cute girls too?

Wouldn’t happen.

Again, with being filed out of the aircraft, and being stuck behind Maddie. This airport was cramped and crowded, just as they had said. You didn’t mind, no, but  it would take some getting used to. Now, for you, at least...this is when the scary part came. The host families would be picking up their respective student, and taking them home.

Bags?

Check.

Bookbag.

Check.

It always seemed to Madison’s voice snapping you out of things,

“Hey, I’ve got to go...quit spacing and find your host family,”

You nodded, and assumed that all the hosts were near each other. You were searching, when you spotted a younger kid..hopefully around your age holding a piece of paper with your last name on it.

You being the dork you are, raised you hand as you neared him.

“That’s me,” You then said, pointing to the paper.

“Ah yes..nice to finally meet you..”

Remember that thing about cute boys?

Yeah, you really wish they didn’t have rules now, don’t you?

“Ask for his name, idiot. Don’t just stand there all wide-eyed.”

“So your name is?” You spoke loud enough for him to hear over the larger crowds of people.

“George...or well-...here it’s Joji...but like same thing,”

He smiled, and you couldn’t help but take in his features. The dark hair fell just perfectly above his eyes, and the way his nose scrunched slightly.

“Anyways, it’s really cool to like-...have someone in the house my age, you know?”

You nodded and shifted in place. Not that you were uncomfortable with him, but his parents were behind him, and seemed to be waiting for you and him.

“It’s late, my parents have the room and stuff set up for you-..” His larger hand held out to your bag.

“Let me carry something for you?”

“I’ve got it, George...really,” “Call me Joji, and here-..” The brunette took the larger suitcase from you, then the duffle bag.

Well, you could see yourself getting along with this kid. He seemed a bit socially awkward, but it might pass. After getting your stuff in the trunk, Joji held the door open for you, before closing and clamoring in on the other side.  He was explaining something to you about his parents not really wanting to speak much English-.. “Joji, I can speak some Japanese, you know?”

You felt rather nervous all the sudden.

“Really now…? Then you won’t have a problem, now will you?”

Joji’s eyes were on you for a bit longer than needed, and he finally turned and looked out his own window.

“How old are you?”

“18,” He spoke quietly, “You?”

“17..I’m graduating a bit early for my age, but it works…”

The male nodded at you, eyes still out the window, and a few more minutes of silence went by.

“How’s school work here in Japan..?”

That made him turn to look at you again, and he shrugged.

“I mean-...we have to wear a uniform, but it’s not bad I guess…”

“I’m going to stand out aren’t I, Joji?”

“Like a sore thumb,” He grinned.

Earning an eyeroll from you, he still was able to laugh about it probably too much.

“I’m kidding, like-..yeah, you will, but you’re gonna stick with me. Go to my classes yadda yadda,”

You took the time to ask him a few other questions, like what classes he took, and if they were super hard.

“I-...I’m just bad a reading a lot of Japanese, and it’s kinda making me nervous for school..”

“Don’t sweat it,” Joji nodded, “I’ll be allowed to help you, right? Eh, I’ll help anyways.”

Another round of silence, before they were parking the car in a driveway, Joji simply getting out and getting your door again.

“Anyways-..here we are...don’t be nervous, okay? You’ll be fine.”

You couldn’t help but shrug off the uneasiness. It was just something you would always have, being now that you were in another country and didn’t have anybody around.

“Just slip your shoes off before you even step in, okay?”

Joji had grabbed the bag once again, and led you to the front door, “I’ll come back and get your other things,”

Slipping your own sneakers off, you picked them up and followed the male in front of you. Something else you, rather creepily took note of, his how tall he was. He couldn’t have been more than a few inches taller than you. The house was small, though cozy. Just perfect, in your opinion. The kid led you and your bags to a room, where the bed was neatly made, and seeming like the one you had at home.  

“I believe the school uniform is in the closet,” Joji nodded, and was quickly ducking his head low to leave the room, which he in fact did, closing the door and leaving you to yourself.

The room itself was nice. A light blue...reminding you of the color a child’s room would be painted. Sitting your backpack on the bed, you took a breath in and relaxed.

You were here.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and before you could answer really, a crack was opened, and Joji’s mother was speaking softly, you were able to understand most of what she whispered.

“Goodnight, darling. Joji will wake you in the morning,”

That wasn’t so bad, it could have been worse...you really just were making yourself worry about being unable to understand them.

The pale blue walls were fading with the natural light, and the curtains were now only letting in the dim streetlights, the only thing you decided to use as light. Changing into something more comfortable to sleep, thoughts of the day had filled your mind. The bed was soft, and rather light, almost making your eyes droop with jet-lag and whatever else made you just want to close them.

“You have no reason to worry. School will be just fine-..”

Wrong. As if when you just fell asleep, you felt a hand on your shoulder, shaking gently.

“Hey...time to wake up, sleepy head..we’ve got school.”

Begrudgingly, you sat yourself up to look at Joji, whom was in khaki's and a polo with some sort of logo on the top right pocket.

“I’m dead tired...this sucks ass..”

He chuckled and let himself stand next to the door, flicking the light on about your heads.

“You’ll adapt to it..I’m sure,”

Throwing your legs over the edge of the bed, you went and looked into the closet for the outfit they got ahead of time for you. Taking one look at the outfit you knew it wasn’t your cup of tea. The pants were crisp, and seemingly too untouched, making your skin crawl with a thousand little pricks. Walking to the school was a whole different ball game, in which you didn’t mind one bit. Joji kept his arm around your shoulder, in fear of:

“You might get lost, and I’d be fucking castrated,”

“Joji, I could easily just ask-..”

“No, no no. I would actually get killed by my parents,”

Or when you would bump into someone on the street, and Joji would snort as you got some distasteful words thrown your way. His laugh was heavenly.

Rule 25:

‘Under no circumstance are any romantic relationship permitted between host kids and students.’

Pushing the idea of actually listening aside for the moment, you decided to move closer as he motioned towards the building which was more than evident to be the school. His hand was in yours, ever so lightly swinging as you neared. Joji looked around, as a few boys called out his name,

“Hey Joj, who you have there? They’re pretty cute,”

“Jojii, my man, you scored it with this one.”

They probably were assuming that you couldn’t understand, being that you in fact, looked so foreign to this place. Your hair was light, and your eyes a light shade as well. You truly did stand out, a bit too much.

“They speak any Japanese?”

“Yeah, Joji, do you think they understand us?”

Joji’s hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing at the skin slightly. He was uncomfortable. So were you, and decided to respond back in the native tongue.

“Yeah, boys...I understand..”

They suddenly looked at the kid, who was still holding your hand, and became rather discomforted with this themselves. It was really just like any other school, and you weren’t surprised with that, the only thing being different is now this one was filled with the kids from the program from your school. You let the backpack shift on your shoulders as Joji kept leading you through the halls. If felt like they were all staring at you. That same nervous feeling bubbling back up into your mind, and body, as a few girls eyed you, then turned to whisper to one another. The hand in yours finally intertwining their fingers, giving reassuring squeeze.

“Calm...you’re just fine, and if anyone has a problem with you, I’ll handle it.”

Joji was finally pulling open a classroom door, and let you in first.

You waited, before he told you to sit next to him, and breathe.

But it just wasn’t that easy.

Fidgety and almost whining, you waited for the teacher to show up.

Joji was however talking, and carrying on his normal day, compared to you.

Though it did get easier for you, as the day went on, and finally you were walking hand in hand, back to Joji’s house.

“How did you feel about it?”

You shrugged and looked his way.

“It could be better, hopefully I won’t be like this the whole trip,”

Joji smiled ever so slightly, “I’ll make sure you have fun,”