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roadkillremi · 1 year

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Love Sucks Part 3

Randy Meeks X F!Gothic!Reader

Masterlist

Warning : Mentions Sex, Language, A threat is given

Summary : When a New Girl moves to Woodsboro Randy falls Head over heels for her. Despite her weird interests and odd habits the friend group accepts her.

"Do you think we can eat inside today?" You asked Tatum. Tatum looked over, "Why? Are you alright?".

"Yeah just bad sun burns and I don't wanna get worse." You smiled. Tatum nodded, she turned to Stu and Billy.

"Can we eat inside? Y/N has a sunburn."

"I guess." Stu shrugged. You smiled putting notebooks in your looker. Randy closed his locker, "I, uh... found this for you." He held a necklace in his hand. You gently picked it up observing it, it was a black pendant necklace with silver around it.

"It's beautiful... Thank you!" You hugged Randy. He hugged you back, "I'm glad you like it. I saw it and thought of you." You put it on letting it rest on your chest.

"Awh" Tatum gushed, Stu shook his head, "Come on let's get food.". You grabbed Randy's hand, "I love it..". Stu wrapped his arm around Tatum, "Did Randy actually give a girl a gift?!". Randy rolled his eyes, "I know! It's shocking." Tatum joked nudging Randy's shoulder. Randy huffed, "God forbid I give someone a gift! I just saw it okay?!". You smiled at him, "Well thank you.". Billy walked up to Stu, "Why aren't we outside?-".

"Y/N has a bad sunburn." Tatum said. Billy glared at you, "I have an umbrella in my locker.". You nodded, "They'll work I guess.". Billy went towards his locker, Tatum rolled her eyes.

"He is such a drama queen.".

You offered to work behind the counter at work. You started to stay in the dark and shadows more. You didn't go near the big store windows until the sun went down. Randy figured it was the sunburn and ignored it. He restocked the shelves while you rang up customers. Randy checked on you when the video store started closing.

"Hey, are you okay?"

You weakly looked at him, "Just.. hungry.".

"I have a granola bar if you want it."

"No, it's fine. I'll eat after work.". You smiled weakly at Randy. Randy leaned close to you, "Have you been sleeping?".

"As best as I can." You whispered. Randy nodded, "Well, go head home I'll lock up.". You nodded, "Thanks, Randy." You went to grab your book bag from the back. You punched your time card out and headed towards the front.

"Bye." Randy smiled. You smiled back, "Bye Randy.".

Randy watched you leave from the window. He sighed turning off the lights and locking the doors. Once he got home he flopped in bed staring at the phone. He waited for a call, for a sign to call. He read a comic book and watched part of a movie to pass time. He huffed out of annoyance and dialed your number waiting.

"Hello?" You picked up sounding more energetic.

"Hey, did you eat?"

"Yeah, thanks for checking in.."

"No problem."

"Did you need anything?" You asked softly. Randy sighed, "I.. just wanted to hear your voice.". Your laughed passed through the phone, "Well here it is! But Thank you for the necklace again. No one's ever really given me a gift in a while..".

"You're welcome. You deserve it.". Randy relaxed in his bed holding the phone close to his ear.

"Randy, shouldn't you be asleep?"

Randy grunted, "Yeah I'm trying."

"I can stay on the line if you want."

"I'd love to but my mom would kill me." Randy chuckled softly. You smiled, "Didn't think about that, Sorry.".

"I'd love to though. But Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Randy."

You hung up the phone putting it back on the receiver. You walked to your room to change into comfortable clothes. The phone rang throughout the house. You sighed walking to get the phone.

"Hello?" You asked leaning on one hip.

"Hi" an anonymous voice echoed through the other side. You looked at the number not seeing one, "Whose this?".

"I dont know, Whose this?" The voice chuckled. You huffed, "Well you got the wrong number, Sorry." You hung up. You sighed about to walk away from the phone again. It rang once more, you picked up, "Hello?".

"Hey again." The voice said.

"Why'd you call back?"

"You seemed, Lonely."

You looked around your surroundings, you carefully checked around the corner in the kitchen. You took a deep breath walking through the halls towards another house phone.

"Why'd you go silent?" The voice cooed.

"Nothing on my mind. Listen it's been great meeting you but I need to go."

"But we're having fun, Y/N..". You gripped the phone, "Listen Douchebag, you're making a huge mistake. I'd leave before you get hurt.".

"Oh really? Like how those people went missing when you moved in?! Now back away from that other phone or your dad will get it!"

"I have nothing to do with that." You said sternly slowly backing away from the phone. A knock on the door made you jump, you looked out the window to see your dad. You sighed, opening the door, the phone line hung up.

"Everything alright?" Your dad asked as he walked in.

"Yeah, just a guy called about the missing people...".

You went to school the next day, looking for Randy. He was leaving his history class as you found him.

"Randy!" You ran up to him, "Someone weird called me last night...". Randy looked down at you, "It's probably a prank call.".

"Yeah, but they knew I was alone and knew my name..". You whispered. Randy looked at you, "That is a bit weird..". You sighed, "I don't know, just freaked me out.". Randy kissed your cheek, "It's alright. It was maybe some jerks.". You nodded walking towards the fountain with Randy. You placed a hat on and tried to shade yourself from the sun.

"How's your sunburn?" Randy asked, sitting in his usual spot. You sat beside him, "A bit better.". Sidney and Tatum walked over, Sidney looked more anxious than usual.

"Did you guys receive a weird.. call last night?" Sidney asked while checking her surroundings. You looked at Randy then at her, "I did..". Sidney sat beside you, "What'd he say?..".

"He accused me of cashing the people to go missing. He knew I was alone."

She bit her lip, "Sidney it's not that big of a deal." Tatum added in.

"Yeah, Randy said it could've been a prank." You said trying to help. Sidney sighed, "It just seems odd.".

"It's some douche trying to scare you two." Tatum said. You shook your head, "He knew I was alone. He knew who I was. Doesn't make sense.".

"Maybe it the sunburn getting in your head." Tatum said. Randy leaned over to look at her, "Sun burns don't work like that.". Tatum rolled her eyes, "Listen it's gonna be okay. Stu lives like 5 minutes away from you.". You blinked, "I don't know how that's helpful.". Randy held in a laugh, "It's helpful cause Randy here can't protect a girl!" Tatum spat. Randy gave her a look, "How is this my fault?!".

"I don't know, you're the horror film geek."

You leaned towards Tatum slightly., "I'll be fine. Randy's right it was just some prank.". Tatum sighed, "If you say so.". Stu sat between you and Tatum and wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

"What's up, Dudettes!!" He smiled. You took his arm off your shoulder, "Nothing much... 'Dude'." Tatum answered. You leaned closer to Randy due to Stu getting close to you. Randy gently put his hand on your back.

"Listen I'm thinking of a party at my house next Friday. You in?". Stu asked looked at you.

"Whose all gonna be there?" You asked softly.

"Don't chicken out on me!" Stu laughed, he smiled getting close to you, "Beside Randy boy is gonna be there and you know what that means.". Stu put his finger into a circle shaped form of his other hands jokingly. Tatum hit Stus shoulder, "Come on, Man! Stop it!" Randy complained.

"I'm just trying to help these two virgins out!" Stu joked, motioning to the two of you.

"I'm not a virgin."

Everyone turned towards you, "No way!" Stu yelled. Tatum tilted her head at you, "Was it someone in Alaska or.." she mouthed Randy's name.

"It was some old fling, it's over." You said. You cleared your throat from the awkwardness. Stu blinked at you, "I mean you are hot so-".

"Stu!" Tatum yelled.

"What?! It was a compliment!" He whined. You looked over at Randy, he awkwardly sat there.

"You made it weird!" Tatum complained. You gently put your hand on Randy's knee and gave him a smile.

You were busy restocking one side of the store while Randy did the other. You two would make eye contact every now and then and smile.

"Do you have the Exorcist?" Billy asked. You looked at him, "I'm not sure, I can check in the system to see if it's here or checked out.". You said walking to the counter. He followed closely, you got to the counter typing in the password on the computer. Billy watched you closely, "So are you and Meeks dating?". You glanced over at him, "Uh, not really-".

"So you don't like him?"

"I didn't say that-"

"So you like him?-"

"Listen do you want the exorcist or not?" You fussed. Billy smirked, "Sorry just curious..".

"I like him. But I just met him." You started walking to the horror movie aisle as Billy followed.

"he seems like a nice guy. But I don't wanna-"

"Get hurt?" He interrupted.

"hurt him." You said handing him the Exorcist.

"And why would you hurt him?" Billy Whispered. You shook your head, "I don't need to justify anything to you. Now do you need anything else?".

"Got Psycho?" He asked. You grabbed it off the shelf handing it to him.

"That all?" You asked, he nodded walking towards the counter. You rang up his rentals watching him leave. Randy walked up to you standing beside you.

"What'd he do this time?"

"Nothing really. I just.. get a weird feeling from him." You whispered. Randy looked down at you, "Yeah I think we all do.". You put your elbow on the counter leaning onto it. Randy mocked your position, he looked at you.

"I was wondering.."

"About?" You asked looking over at him.

"If you wanted to come over to my place tonight. To watch a movie."

"Sure!" You smiled at him, he smiled back.

"we can watch the fog." He offered. You shrugged, "I'm thinking something more old school.".

"Like?"

"Night of the living dead. It's a classic. Or The Blob" You smiled. Randy nodded, "Good thing I already own those two at home then.". You shook your head, "Randy. Do you know where someone could buy a voice changer box?".

"No.." he said checking the returned cassettes. You sighed, "The guy that called me, it just.. didn't sit right. What if he's stalking me? You heard Sidney she got a call too!".

"I know but it could be just a prank. We can wait and see if he calls again." Randy said. You pulled yourself up to sit on the front desk.

"Still doesn't make sense. This town is so goddamn weird.". You mumbled. Randy nodded and put his arms on either side of you leaning towards you.

"I think everyone in this town is weird." He smiled. You leaned towards him, "That makes you weird.".

"I guess so." He said with a grin. You both locked eyes, his face went pink and he backed away. You grabbed his arm pulling him into a kiss.

"Was that okay?" You asked. He nodded, "Yeah. It was." He smiled.

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jxckyx3 · 1 year

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Hi!

There was a different prompt that was in this one, but I switched them out because it was smut and I wanted to give y'all some fluff instead since the last was smut.

😂

Anyways, here's the shot and I hope y'all enjoy!!

🍀💚🖤💚🍀

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Ship: Nogla harem

Top(s): Evan, Brian, Tyler, Jon & Marcel

Bottom: Nogla

AU: Team 6

Setting: GameStop

Type: Fluff

Warning ⚠️: The chapter you're about to read contains heavy swearing, name calling, mention of porn and other mentions or situations that may disturb, trigger or offend the viewer. Reader's discretion is advised.

__________________________________

Third pov -

"So this is what they did with the place..." Evan muttered, stopping in the sidewalk to look up at the big yellow sign atop the black brick building.

Tyler hummed, nodding his head as he admired the newly built in light fixtures and the unbelievably clean windows.

"Yeah...you'd expect a Dollar Tree, or something useful." He replied, earning a snort of agreement from Brian.

"Anything's more useful t'an a GameStop." He commented.

Jon hummed, crossing his arms as he tilted his head with a huff.

"Well I think we should give it a try." He reasoned. That earned him small sounds of disgust from the group, making him laugh at the grimaces on their faces.

"I agree. They might have a few cool things in there." Marcel added, shrugging his shoulders at his friends.

Thw guys never really liked game stores. Let alone GameStops. The only reason they'd even step foot into a shop like that was if they needed to buy a new controller, or a new mouse pad.

But even so, they preferred online gaming on their PCs and buying stuff straight from Amazon. So there really was no need to do much in a gaming store than to browse around or just make fun of how much the geeks running the store put into designing the place with themes and such.

But the group had been bored, and wanted to check out the new place. The building in which was now a GameStop, had been abandoned and run down for over five years. A few weeks back, they had seen construction men fixing up the place and that was enough to draw their curiosity.

But now seeing it was a GameStop, they could care less about what was inside. They've seen enough of them to know exactly what hid inside those four brick walls.

"What's there to try? The bitter taste of rubber in the air whenever walking into a new store?" Evan deadpanned. Brain laughed at that, finding it all too true.

"Well, just to look around y'know? It could have new comics, Funko pops... Pokemon cards?" Marcel said, smiling as the last word had Tyler glancing away from his phone and hesitating.

"I could get that Mewtwo I need...chances are that it isn't possible...but the percentage of that happening aren't exactly slim either—"

"Okay don't get all technical on us. We'll just go in the damn store, shit." Evan huffed, not wanting to hear another mouthful of nerd talk by the American.

The others laughed as they followed Evan into the small shop, finally moving away from the center of the sidewalk.

As promised, upon walking through the double glass doors the men were hit by a subtle taste of rubber mixed with a lemon air freshener.

It wasn't exactly welcoming, but it was better smelling than most nerd-shops.

"Looked smaller on the outside." Jon commented, glancing around at the shoulder level shelves and walls filled with posters and framed pictures. Similar to the kind you'd see at a movie theater.

"Got that right. This place is massive." Brian sighed, knowing his roommates were gonna be here for at least half an hour.

Everything was tempting. From the sealed comics that were placed in organized display boxes like vinyls, to the thick books of fantasy lore and other nerdy books lined on dark brown shelves in the corner of the store, to even the in-perfect-condition Funko pops that had a home on the large wall; all lined up on white metal shelves.

Brian found himself drawn to those. At least hoping he'd spot something he didn't already have. And considering the shop was new and opened just yesterday, his hopes were high.

Evan wandered around the shop in a bored state. He didn't really care for many of the things this shop held like his friends did. Tyler wanted his pokemon, Brian his Funko's, Marcel his books, and Jon his comics.

Evan found himself wandering away just as the others had. But he instead walked over to the keyboards.

It wasn't like he needed any, but it wouldn't hurt to buy a backup in case Jon accidentally spilled milkshake in his office again.

The Canadian chuckled lightly, mentally making fun of the mousepads that were placed next to the RGB boards. They were absolutely atrocious. They even had a Hulk mouse pad with his popped out pecs being a place to rest your wrist in-between.

In sorta reminded him of the Deadpool one that Brian had. But instead of his chest, it was his butt.

A click of a door caught Evans attention, looking to his left to see three boxes with legs stumbling out of the storage room next to the checkout.

Well, that would be ridiculous for boxes to have legs. So it made much more sense when the boxes were set down and a tall lanky man sighed loudly in relief.

Evan watched as he swiped the back of his hand over his forehead. As if wiping non-existent sweat as he panted to catch his breath.

He found himself starting, not being able to look away from the being. He would have thought the man looked like any typical nerd. According to his dress, this is.

He wore a pair of dark green skinny jeans that were cuffed at the bottom to expose his ankles and have room to show his Vans. He had a green plaid flannel that was wrapped securely around his waist, had a grey undershirt and a black graphic T.

Not to mention the large headphones that were clearly blasting into his ears and the thick framed glasses that rested on his nose.

Typical nerd. But it wasn't what he was wearing that grabbed his attention. It was his features.

He had curly dark hair that framed his pale face, big green doe eyes that were lined with dark long lashes and pink full lips that just looked so soft.

He was too pretty to be a nerd. Or in Evan's book, he was. Yet, he fit all the categories to be one.

He had tiny green cat ears on his headphones, he wore a Green lantern ring on his middle finger and he wore a necklace that had a small Pikachu pendent. Not to mention the dorky dinosaur on his shirt.

He was definitely a nerd. Although, a cute nerd.

"Why are you looking at the keyboards? You have like, two more at home." Brian asked, stepping over to Evan with a Minions Funko in hand. He didn't necessarily think it was cool, but it looked funny, so he grabbed it anyways.

The others moved to Evan as well, some of them curious and some of them also admiring the display of custom boards. Jon even found himself looking at a Friday the thirteenth themed mouse pad.

"I don'... keyboard...cute guy." Evan managed to come up with. Not really paying mind to his friends as he kept his eyes glued on the geek. Who was now, unloading the newly shipped boxes of items to set them in the display shelves.

Brian followed his gaze, hearing the words 'cute guy' and that was enough. His expression was one that matches Evans. Disbelief.

But in less than a second, it was soon to fall to a more mischievous grin.

"Well then...who's this little—"

"Before ya start Brian, you're in no position to flirt right now. You're wearing Crocs, you left you badass leather jacket at home, your sweats have a dirty stain on your thigh and you're holding a Minions figurine. Nothing about you is attractive right now bro." Jon pointed out, saving Brian before he made an absolute fool of himself.

"He's got a point. You're every creepy man that lurks in the depths of every child's nightmare." Marcel added. Brian cursed in defeat, knowing his friends were right.

He hadn't cared to get ready this morning because they were only gonna get to-go breakfast at McDonald's and then head straight back home. He hadn't even intended on getting out of the car, but Jon saw the new place and insisted that they take a look.

Now Brian regretted even entering the damn place looking like such a mess. Especially now that he knew it had a cute worker.

"Yeah bud. Nice try." Tyler muttered, patting Brian's shoulder as the Irishman moved to hide behind his group of friends.

"Maybe you should've listened when I told you to shower this morning." Marcel butted in, earning a glare from his European roommate.

"I was gonna shower after breakfast!" He hissed quietly, trying not to attract the attention of the employee.

Alas, it was still early in the morning and nobody was pumped enough to browse a new GameStop before breakfast. They were the only ones in the shop—excluding the cute guy and the cashier behind the counter— so of course, they had drawn the attention of the geek despite him wearing headphones.

He looked up and it felt as if all time had stopped as his beautiful green eyes landed on them, causing them all to flinch or tense.

He smiled sweetly—despite their messy state due to just throwing on random clothes and heading out the door that morning— and gave them a friendly wave before going back to what he was doing.

He hadn't even looked disgusted by the way they looked. I mean, half of them were either still wearing pajamas and the other half had mismatched clothes.

Yeah, they were attractive. But a handsome face and a well built body could only do you so much when dressed like a literal hobo.

"Welp...I'm in love." Marcel whispered, accepting his fate, earning hums in agreement.

Over the next few days, the guys had came to visit the GameStop. Of course, this time around they made sure to shower and look somewhat presentable.

They never spoke to the worker, as they were just too shy. Of course, they've never had trouble with men before and even less with women. But despite that, they couldn't bring themselves to actually talk to the beautiful man.

Instead, they just watched from afar and admired silently. Observing.

They had learned the man's name as Daithi, or David. Frequently being called Nogla by the other employees and owner of the shop.

They hadn't heard him speak once. Usually giving short nods or shakes of his head whenever questioned about something. Or an occasional hum in response.

His job was to put away merchandise and organize the shelves. That much was obvious. And so far, he had done a pretty good job at it.

The shelves were neat, the merch was put on display beautifully and everything was easy to find. Wether it be a fandom or certain series of one.

He did his job well, that was for sure.

The guys refused to call their almost daily wandering-around-the-Gamestop, 'stalking'. It wasn't like they were following the guy home, trying to figure out his favorite things or even searching him up online.

They just simply liked the way he looked and the way he moved.

They find it adorable how he dances around the shop with his headphones on and the way he sways his hips to the unheard melody.

They love the way he looks like a literal nerd whenever the other employees brought in newly shipped merchandise and he ran towards them. Wanting to pick out anything good before the actual customers of the shop bought them off.

And let's not get started on how they find it hilarious how he's almost always in the Pokemon isle. Wether it be shuffling through the different kinds of cards of just messing with the Pokemon plushies.

Today was the same. Nogla was in the Pokemon isle, restacking the comics that had been tampered with by a couple of middle schoolers who were choosing a few.

Marcel had been the only one to come today. The guys only came in small groups or even one of them would show up a day. Just so that they didn't make it obvious they were stalking- observing, the man.

The shorter male did actually have a reason to come—other than the fact he wanted to admire Nogla.

He had broke his last mouse playing GTA with the guys last night. The mission had gotten very difficult and after ten times of retries the guys had gotten a bit heated.

It ended with a mouse being through thrown across the room, a water bottle being yeeted through a window and a hole the size of a fist being punctured into a desk.

And only one of those were done by Marcel himself.

So now here he is, back in the computer section like the last time he and the guys first saw Nogla.

He hadn't really been paying much mind to the worker. Seeing as he was still a tad bit angry from last night's recording session.

He walked around the corner of the shelves, moving to look on the other side. But he was so abruptly dragged out of his annoyed thoughts when he bumped into someone and the two came falling to the ground.

The thuds of books falling to the floor entered Marcel's ears as he groaned, rubbing his tailbone where it had made impact with the hard carpet floor.

"Ugh...fuck." A voice winced.

He looked up, finally seeing who he had crashed with. He was ready to curse them out. To yell at them and maybe, even throw a few punches if he was in the mood.

But he didn't, upon seeing Nogla.

The man was so much prettier up close. Blinking his green eyes in pain as he clumsily fixed his glasses. His headphones were knocked down from his ears to his shoulders, the legendary band Queen blasting through the black muffs and finally reaching Marcel's ears.

So that's what he had been listening to...

"Crap, 'm sorry. I should've been lookin' where I was goin'." He said apologetically when meeting Marcel's gaze.

For a second, the latter had to inhale deeply as he took in the strong Irish accent. Much like Brian's, but much richer.

He loved it.

"Ah, no you're cool dawg. I myself wasn't really paying attention either." He reassured, mentally thanking the Gods for not stuttering.

He sat up quickly, helping Nogla gather the thick novels before they stood up.

"Ye okay? It sounded like ya fell harder than me." Nogla chuckled nervously, taking the books Marcel handed to him.

Oh you have no idea how hard I fell for you, Marcel thought.

"No I'm fine." He smiled, glancing at the last books title before handing it over.

"Twilight. I like that one. Good story." He commented, hoping a little chit chat wouldn't hurt. Also, he questioned why a regular series of books would be in a GameStop.

It wasn't like there was games for the movies...were there?

"Ah- Ye know Twilight?" Nogla asked, tilting his head as a fond smile graced his lips. Marcel hummed, mentally thanking for all that is holy when the other turned his music down.

He hoped that meant he was down to talk further more.

"Yup. I didn't really get into it until my sister forced me to watch the first movie. But then I found myself watching the rest of them, and then soon I was just buying myself the whole damn series in books." Marcel sighed in embarrassment, earning a bubbly laugh from the Irishman.

"Well t'ats nice. We don't usually have men wandering over ta the love stories here. Usually women come by to buy the copies since it's cheeper than rentin' from the library." He explained, shifting the books in his arms.

"Pity. I love myself a good romance novel. My roommates hate when they find one laying around because then they get curious, read a paragraph, and then tease me about how sappy and cheesy it is." Marcel groaned, getting Vietnam-like flashbacks of the guys teasing him and making fun of him.

Nogla laughed again, and Marcel noted to himself that he could never get tired of hearing it.

"Well, t'ey aren't particularly wrong. Most romance novels are dramatized these days. But even then, I think it is te sappy emotion tat I like about 'em." He smiled. Marcel couldn't help but to smile back, feeling his cheeks burn up.

"Eh- sorry, I hadn't even been proper. My name's Nogla. Yours?" The taller broke the silence, sticking his hand out. Marcel refused to say 'oh I already know'.

"Marcel." He instead responded, taking hold and giving a gentle shake. Nogla's hands were soft and warm. He liked it.

"Well Marcel, would it be rude ta ask what ye're doing in a GameStop? Most people go ta the mall ta get video games or collectables." He said, raising a brow in curiosity.

"Not at all. Uh, but to be honest, it's cheaper here. Plus, it less crowded and doesn't smell like sweaty old people and rotten pizza." He explained. Half truth, but still wasn't a lie.

He preferred the GameStop over the mall or even the Walmart because not only was it cozy and had a nice feel, but also because it had Nogla.

"And I needed a new mouse. Threw my last one across the room and the thing shattered like glass." He admitted, glancing back to the mice that sat neatly on the shelves.

Nogla chuckled shifting his hips to the side with a knowing roll of his eyes.

"Videogame rage?" He asked. Now it was Marcel's turn to laugh, nodding in response.

"GTA with the boys never goes as planned. Especially when they're all as hot headed as I am." He sighed, earning a humm of agreement. And from the small huff that signified Nogla could relate, Marcel assumed he had been through his own rages for the game.

"A mission?" Nogla questioned.

"Yup." Marcel replied.

"How many retakes?" Nogla continued.

"More than I could count." Marcel huffed.

Nogla giggled at his words. And Marcel loved the way Nogla pushed his glasses up with his middle and ring finger. Finding it all too cute.

"Well if ye want I could help ya. I've done more missions alone t'an I could remember, so I probably did te one ye guys are on." He then offered.

Marcel froze at that, feeling that it was too good to be true.

"You want to hop into a lobby with a bunch of idiots and try to teach them common sense?" He asked hesitantly, earning a small laugh from the other.

"Sure why not? Got nothin' else ta do on the weekends. Wanna exchange phone numbers?"

It really was too good to be true...

"Sure!" Marcel exclaimed. A little more enthusiastic than he intended. Regardless, Nogla wasn't bothered by it. He smiled.

"Great! Uh, I'll just put t'ese away real quick then I'll give ya my digits." He excused, lifting up his stack of books.

"Oh, go ahead." Marcel smiled. Still a bit too happy as he fished his phone out of his pocket. Nogla shot him a quick smile before he was walking away towards the book shelves on the other side of the shop.

Marcel held in his excitement, only doing a series of victory punches once Nogla was out of sight.

A few days later, it seemed as if Marcel couldn't stop smiling.

Nogla had to work a few extra days over the next week because of how much attention the new shop was getting. He had been too tired to really game, so they rescheduled their session.

Despite that though, the two still stayed in touch. They called once a day and on the third, the guys were starting to question Marcel.

They assumed he was talking to an old friend that he had been reunited with or he had a new crush or girlfriend.

It didn't matter. Regardless, they wanted to know.

He gave them little to no input and didn't inform them on jack-shit about it. They were curious and the was no damn way he could just be so happy with whoever he was talking without at least telling him who it was.

Always laughing, joking around and even sometimes flirting.

They were happy for him of course, but it was irritating that he didn't tell them shit!

On the fourth day, only half a week since Nogla and Marcel exchanged numbers, the latter had gathered the guys around in the same lobby they started up from their last mission.

Since the last session, they needed time to cool off from the game and all games in general. So they hadn't played any video games other than maybe Clash on their phone.

They weren't entirely thrilled to be back in the same mission they had failed miserably on last time, but Marcel managed to convince them he had a game plan this time. Rather hsn just running in guns blazing.

Literally.

"So what's the deal. Why are ye so thrilled ta come back ta this one?" Brian asked, visually crossing his arms in the discord facetime.

Marcel hummed happily, ignoring the question just as he had done to the rest that were thrown his way.

"Ughh! Just tell us you fuck!" Tyler groaned, spinning in his chair lazily. Marcel laughed at that, shooting one last text to David before turning his attention to his friends.

"I got us a sixth player." He said finally. The guys all groaned or sighed in relief. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

"Okay, what's a sixth player gonna do? Make it easier?" Jon asked in question.

"Make it more chaotic, that's what it's gonna do." Evan muttered, earning hums of agreement from the rest. Marcel clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes at how stubborn his friends could be.

"No, it'll be helpful. He said he did lots of missions alone so I'm trusting his knowledge will help us." He explained, hoping he could get them all to see the bright side.

"Fine. I guess we could give it another try." Tyler said. Surprisingly, being the voice of reason despite being the one to throw his water bottle through the window.

"See! If Tyler agrees, you should all too." Marcel smiled, earning playful unheated glares from the discord.

A small bloop of a message in discord caught their attention, Marcel immediately opening it.

JerryCan#1- What's the code again? Sorry, I forgot :p

Marcel laughed at the username. He'd definitely need to ask Nogla the lore behind it.

"Wow, the dude can't even remember the code." Evan said jokingly.

"Shudd'up Evan." Marcel huffed without heat, earning the laughs of his friends.

BasicallyIDoWrk - it should be called Team 6. I renamed it since I'm adding you in

JerryCan#1 - oh Marcel you shouldn't have. I'm honoured =⁠_⁠=

BasicallyIDoWrk - shut up and get in here dipshit

JerryCan#1 - >:O

BasicallyIDoWrk - David.

JerryCan#1 - okay okay I'm coming >⁠.⁠<

Marcel chuckled lovingly as he leaned back in his chair, shaking his head at the texts. He just loved the little keyboard emojis Nogla made

"David? Isn't that the name of the guy at the GameStop?" Brian asked, staring at the profile that popped up in their discord. They were muted, but the guys could clearly see the texts Marcel shared with them in their group chat.

He must've added them there before adding them into the game.

"Psh, imagine if Marcel did manage to get him to play with us. He'd hate us the second he hopped in." Jon smiled, earning a few laughs.

"Not possible. Marcel doesn't have the balls to talk to him." Tyler retorted. They burst into even more laughter. Marcel just grinning as the added profile was unmuted and in popped another camera into the facetime.

"Hey Marcel! Sorry fer being a bit late. Te camera was fuckin' me over." Nogla's voice cut the group off, all going into a deafening silence as they looked up at the added screen.

The Irishman was fixing a few things on his desk, pushing his glasses up before looking up at waving at the rest.

"Naw it's cool. Tech issues are always a problem with these idiots." Marcel reassured him, gesturing around as if pointing to the guys in the other screens.

Nogla laughed at that. The sweet sound startling the guys back into reality.

"No! My last tech issue was because ye fucks were busy watchin' porn on every available device and got me a feckin' virus!" Brian defended himself, sitting up straight to do so.

"Hey, that was only Jon okay? I had no part in that." Evan stated calmly, rolling his eyes as he reached for the bag of chips on his desk.

"Hey! That was one time because I lost my phone! A man has his needs!" Jon exclaimed, looking more annoyed than embarrassed at this point.

"No that was three times. You did it on my computer too." Tyler pointed out, in agreement with Brian.

"Well maybe if ya didn't lock me outta my room, I wouldn't have ta jerk my dick in yours!" Jon huffed in defeat. Brian laughed at that.

"Ye deserved it fer eatin' all my edibles." He shot back, raising a brow at his screen.

"Well maybe ya should've shared. Or better yet, not leave your shit around." Jon muttered, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"It had my name on it, ye fuck." Brian stated.

"You know I don't care for that shit. If I see food, I eat it. You should all know this by now." He said in defense, nodding to himself as if it was common sense.

"See what I mean by 'idiots'?" Marcel suddenly asked, turning his gaze away from the other screens to look at Nogla.

The rest had completely forgotten he was there, having been invested in their own arguments.

Nogla snorted, closing his eyes and resting the back side of his hand over his mouth. As if holding in any more laughs from slipping.

He then eventually gave up and let out a small giggle, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Well I wouldn't say they were te brightest." He admitted shamelessly. Marcel and him laughed at the faked offense that washed over their faces, curses and profanities thrown Nogla's way as if they've known him for years.

"Shit, t'at was harder than I thought it'd be." Nogla sighed, stretching his arms over his head as the others groaned in agreement.

"But hey, at least nothin' was broken. No tech, no windows, no tables." He threw in, chuckling quietly as the guys all shot their eyes to Marcel's screen.

"Jesus Mar, how much did ya tell this guy?" Brian asked. Genuinely concerned.

Now that they knew Nogla was the one Marcel had been talking to over the past week, it was hard for them to know how much he had told him.

What if he told Nogla about them? What if he exposed their secrets and embarrassing moments?

"Nothing much." Marcel grinned devilishly, earning genuine glares that Nogla mistook for playful.

"At least nothing too horrible." Nogla chimed in, drawing back the attention again as he stood up.

It wasn't like the guys could help staring as he walked away from the camera to grab something. Having noticed that he was wearing black jogging shorts that were a little too short for their brains to process.

He then came back and sat back down, taking his glasses off and pulling his hair back with a headband.

As if he couldn't get any cuter, it had tiny cat ears just like his headphones.

"Well it's late, I should be gettin' ta bed before I go ruining my sleep schedule again. Hey- actually, I don't have work tomorrow. Wanna go get breakfast together?" He asked, his lively green eyes shooting back up to them with that equally as lively smile.

"Ah- us? You want to go hangout with us? In person? After all we've been through on this shitty game?" Tyler asked, confused as to how this adorable innocent man wanted to spend more time with them.

Nogla laughed at that, nodding his head as he reached down and pulled a small dog in his lap, petting behind it's ears.

"Mhm! Why not? Ye don't wanna?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"No, we do!" Evan said. A bit more immediate than intended.

"But are you sure you can handle us? I mean playing with us is one thing. Meeting up with us is another. We could possibly get you killed." He continued playfully. The guys went along, humming and nodding rapidly in agreement.

Nogla just smiled at that, looking around as of pondering over his options.

"Well then... It'll probably be te most satisfying death anyone had ever had." He laughed. The guys didn't know what to say to that, finding it sort of sweet. So instead of responding, they just laughed along.

"Alright. Goodnight David." Marcel sighed happily, feeling accomplished in himself.

"Night Mar. Night lads." Nogla called, waving and giving them one last smile before his screen cut off and the sound of him leaving the discord filled the room.

"Marcel, you suck." Brian then said, immediately earning a scoff of confusion.

"What do you mean?! I got the cute geek from the GameStop to play with us!" He huffed.

"Yeah, but you waited a whole week before telling us that." Tyler added into Brian's words, only earning more hums of agreement from the guys.

Marcel chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes.

Ungrateful little shits.

Well at least he got Nogla all to himself before throwing him into the hell of which is his roommates.

He glanced at the lobby name as the guys continued to bicker, reading the white bold letters.

Team 6. Sounded a lot better than Team 5, that's for sure. It had a nice ring to it. It felt more accurate. More natural.

It felt right.

"I'm gonna fuck him first. I call dibs."

Marcle flinched at that, coming back to his friends having heard those words from Brian.

"What?!" He shouted.

5239 words

__________________________________

Hi!

More dialogue than action, but hey. My phone was on the brink of dying, so here ya are!!

= v =

Anyway, I hoped you guys liked it and find yourself still coming back for more!!!

Stay healthy, stay safe, stay beautiful!!

Until next time my loves.

(⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)

🍀💚🖤💚🍀

- Jacky

__________________________________

Featured or mentioned characters:

Main -

Nogla - Nogla, David, Daithi

VanossGaming - Evan

BasicallyIDoWrk - Marcel, Mar

H2ODelirious - Jon

IAmWildcat- Tyler

Terroriser - Brian

#daithi de nogla #banana bus squad #bbs nogla #nogla #bbs fanart #bbs #bbs crew #bottomnogla #fanart #vanoss crew #noglaharem

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twatkcox · 20 hours

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[The Keihancarl Diaries: September 14, 2024]

Keihancarl here. The weather feels kind of unpredictable, as there’s the possibility of rainfall during the weekend. Well then, I’m heading to the SMX Convention Center for this year’s Manila International Book Fair, the sixth MIBF event I’ve attended since 2017. And of course, if the weather cooperates, there’s a chance I’ll get to visit Ayala Malls Manila Bay for the second time, as well as the Parqal Mall, both located in the nearby Aseana City.

xxxxxxxxxx

I’m going all-black for this weekend. Not that unusual, right? Well, I have to make sure to make the most out of this day so I really have to leave the house early. I'll probably have to deal with traffic along the way, but I guess it's pretty normal nowadays. Anyway, it was still sunny when I left, and (luckily) traffic was light along Commonwealth Avenue, well, except for North Fairview. I managed to reach North Avenue about an hour later.

On the way to North Avenue, I was having a hard time deciding between riding the MRT-3 to Taft (with a short jeepney/bus ride to SM Mall Of Asia) or taking the EDSA Bus Carousel all the way there (and save me the trouble of switching transport later). I ended up taking the MRT anyway.

I load up my Beep card and head inside the train. Looks like there's rain in the Ortigas area, but only for a bit. Well, the weather report says that there’ll be a chance of scattered rainfall throughout the day. I was hoping it wouldn’t rain in the Pasay and Parañaque areas, since I’m planning to visit a couple of malls at the Aseana City after the MIBF.

Reaching MRT Taft Station, I took a short bus ride (EDSA Carousel) to the Mall Of Asia Complex. Oh, and I happened to see the LRT-1 Gen 4 trains while passing by the overpass to the EDSA Bus Carousel. Would love to ride these new trains soon, well, probably on my 34th birthday.

I reached SMX about 10 minutes past twelve. As soon as I got inside, I decided to have a hotdog (on a stick) at one of the stands. Although I’m starting to get hungry, I don’t feel like having lunch just yet… well maybe later.

I decided to check some of the booths on the first floor, including Fully Booked, National Book Store, and the Precious Pages Group (including Black Ink Comics). I bought a copy of The Restaurant Of Many Orders (at 20 percent off) at the Fully Booked booth, and three bargain-priced manga books at the NBS booth.

Heading to the second level, I passed by a couple of booths, Komiket and Tankobonbon. I bought a couple of books at the Komiket booth.

This is the first time since 2019 that the MIBF occupied two floors of the SMX Convention Center, excluding Function Rooms 4 and 5 (which are closed). And yes, this is the first time that I actually had a large haul of books from the event.

National Book Store finally made a comeback to the MIBF for the first time since 2019. Tuttle Publishing, however, was not among the list of exhibitors. The latter is one of the exhibitors I always visited at most of the previous MIBF events. But at least I bought one of the publisher’s books (the manga version of The Restaurant Of Many Orders) at the Fully Booked booth.

It was already 2:00 in the afternoon, but there was a lot of time left so I decided to leave the event (and the Mall Of Asia Complex) to visit Ayala Malls Manila Bay. It’s been more than 4 years since I last visited that mall (exactly a month before the COVID lockdown), but I knew that it was doing well since then. Might as well visit Parqal Mall while I’m there.

It only took me 10 minutes to walk to Parqal Mall, which is actually a strip mall with a large roof above it. The area was breezy when I got there, not to mention that it is close to the bay. Since I didn't have anything to drink since leaving the house, I stopped by The Marketplace Supermarket to buy something to drink (it's just a bottle of C2) and consumed it along the way.

From the Parqal Mall, it took me less than 5 minutes to reach Ayala Malls Manila Bay. I visited several shops inside the mall, including Flying Tiger Copenhagen (probably the Danish version of the Japanese brand Daiso) and Biblio. There was an event by Foot Locker at the mall’s atrium.

I was getting hungry, considering that I didn’t have anything but a hotdog for lunch. I suppose it’s time for Pepper Lunch (after noticing it from the other side of the balcony). Besides, it’s already 3:00 PM and I’m only at the mall’s second level.

I decided on beef pepper rice, which is so far the only item I ordered at Pepper Lunch (I initially thought of trying their salmon pepper rice). I took a moment to write this post while waiting for the food to cool down a bit. The weight of the books I bought at the book fair adds up to the slight feeling of exhaustion, along with the crowd of people at the venue. It was also quite stuffy inside since the air conditioning unit was under maintenance, hence the portable air coolers.

I then continued checking the rest of the upper floors, as well as some of the shops. The Sun Garden on the fifth floor is already open, the last time I was there it was still closed. So far, I believe only Zus Coffee is open.

After checking the rest of the mall, I headed back to the Mall Of Asia Complex and passed by the Neo Chinatown area. It only took me less than fifteen minutes before I reached the SMX Convention Center, though I didn't bother checking the MIBF again. Anyway, it's time to visit the two malls in the complex, starting with the S’Maison Mall. I got inside the mall via the bridgeway from SMX.

I only checked the Fully Booked branch there, which had already relocated to the ground floor from the second floor. Nothing much, considering that I’ve already bought what I wanted at the MIBF. And yes, all of the books are 20 percent off. Also, I didn't bother checking the rest of the shops inside the mall.

I made my way to SM Mall Of Asia using the other bridgeway at the other end of S'Maison. Once I got there, I checked Decathlon first. After that, I immediately head to the esplanade.

Looks like a reclamation project has commenced near the MOA Eye. Some parts of the esplanade were cordoned off as well. Also, I’m not sure when these lamp posts were installed, but they sure brightened up the area.

From the esplanade, I made my way to the other side of the mall, the part near The Galeon. I then checked some of the shops inside.

Feeling parched, I decided to have a drink from ChaTraMue, at the MOA Food Hall. I ordered a plum red tea, with konjac jelly. The drink was kind of sour and salty at the same time, like kiamoy (dried sour plums/prunes covered by some orange powder). Is that how the drink is supposed to taste like?

I took a moment to check some of the shops. Nitori is opening soon, as well as a gashapon shop.

I then checked the Sky Park for a while, and Aperitif (cafe/restaurant) is now open. I decided to skip the Fully Booked x Kinokuniya branch at the mall due to time constraints.

Later on, I dropped by IKEA at the MOA Square. I was taking pics of some amazing displays, but the gamer’s room was the most awesome. And the kitchen.

And it’s time to go home. Unfortunately, there were no more UV Express vans to SM Fairview so I’ll have to find another way to get home. I could’ve probably taken the MRT-3 or the EDSA Bus Carousel to North Avenue, but getting a UV Express ride from Trinoma or SM North is quite a hassle, especially if I’ll have to line up for about 15 to 30 minutes. Instead, I took a jeep to the Taft Avenue-Buendia intersection and took the UV Express van from there. Traffic is mostly light, with slight traffic in North Fairview.

I got home before 11:00 PM. That was the first time I’d been out on a mall-hopping trip for more than 13 hours, and my hips and my left shoulder hurt so much from walking too much and my bag’s weight respectively. Despite this, I had a lot of fun at the event, and I’m quite pleased with this trip, even with some minor problems.

xxxxxxxxxx

It sure was a fun weekend, even though I ended up feeling worn out. My all-black outfit sure was kind of ordinary, but it was complimented well with my usual accessories (particularly the black fingerless gloves).

I’m planning another trip for my 34th birthday (it’s less than a month away). When or where it will happen will depend on the situation, but I’m really pushing for it to happen. Manila might be the obvious choice, but I’m considering Ortigas/Greenhills or Alabang as well (the latter two I’ve yet to revisit). Of course, I’m gonna wear all-black on that trip as well.

I suppose this is where I’ll end this post. Until next time! Ciao!

All pics are uploaded to my Instagram account, @kcox_105, and shared to my Threads account.

#going places #mall-hopping #Manila International Book Fair 2024 #MIBF 2024 #Mall Of Asia Complex #Aseana City #IKEA #all-black OOTD #awesome weekend

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billconrad · 7 months

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Social Media Eliminated Christmas Cards

Society is rapidly changing every day. Newspapers are no longer delivered; bank tellers are ancient history, and supermarket cashiers are being phased out. Remember typewriters? How about the milkman? Designer jeans?

Most changes are positive, like the astounding things we can do on our phones, but I miss past activities like reading the Sunday comics or going to the toy store. I used to ride my dirt bike everywhere without a helmet. That was completely normal. Now, it is rare to see a pedal dirt bike. They are all electric things, with riders using their phones and not looking at the road. These are noticeable changes, but there is a less obvious trend that I want to discuss.

In the ‘70s, when I was growing up, it was essential for families to send out a Christmas card. In our house, the process started in January with the search for the perfect picture. My mother had us pose at every opportunity, and by December, we had at least six family pictures to choose from. In 1974, we took an old-time Western photograph. I still have it hanging on my wall. In 1977, we took a group family vacation to Lake Mead, and the kids found a massive mud hole. We all got covered, and somebody took our family picture. We were on vacation in Germany in 1983, and my mother made some random man take our picture in front of a giant clock. He thought we were crazy, and my father was afraid he would steal our camera.

Besides the photograph, there had to be a letter. It contained all the events during the year, family status, and other news. My mother tried to make them entertaining and funny. This translated into trivializing my accomplishments, and I still have bad memories.

Around 1995, I became an adult and sent out my Christmas cards, which were generic store-bought things. Picture? Letter? No way. My laziness even made me skip a few years. Then I got married, and we proudly continued the tradition. Costco made this super easy. On their website, you can upload a picture that gets turned into tasteful Christmas cards. Order 20, and put them into the included envelopes. Done!

This year, we decided not to send them out. Why? All our friends are on Facebook. Did something happen? Take an excellent picture? Do you have an opinion? Did you see something online? Post it all to Facebook, and bam! My friends instantly know all about our lives, and we know everything about them.

What is going on? “My friends know about me, and sending out a card is redundant.” Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, plus I am saving the environment. But is this progress? In the good/bad category, canceling the tradition is a tie.

You’re the best -Bill

March 06, 2024

Hey, book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:

Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.

Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.

Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.

Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.

These books are available in softcover on Amazon and in eBook format everywhere.

#social networks #christmas card #growth #society

0 notes

surveysonfleek · 2 years

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1660.

Do you have mean comments that replay in your head and haunt you? i used to post travel vlogs on youtube and can still remember all the mean comments i received. there werent much but i remember them over the good ones!

Did you go Black Friday shopping this past Black Friday? i dont remember if i did last year. i most likely got sucked into an online shopping sale though

^If so, what was the best deal you got? i forgot

Have you ever seen a spirit? nope

Are you happy that the year is coming to an end? not really. time is going really fast

Have you ever bought a designer purse? i was gifted one. idk if/when ill buy one myself. id have to really love it

What color was your senior prom dress? black with some white

Would you ever consider a career in writing? haha never. im not a creative writer whatsoever

Have you ever purchased a YouTuber’s merch? If so, what did you buy? nope

Are you better at spelling or writing? spelling for sure

If someone signed you up for karate lessons, would you take them? nope

What was the last movie you watched? Would you recommend it to people? catwoman. definitely not lol, it was cringe but halle berry looked amazing in it

Do you update your Facebook relationship status when it changes? i havent changed it in 13 years lol

Do you want your own house someday? i already do! a second home is on the card next

Are you superstitious? sometimes but not really

When you go to McDonalds, what drink do you usually get? coke or frozen coke

Have you ever thought about your wedding? always, its happening soon

Would you rather see Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood in concert? tay

Growing up, did you see your cousins often? yes, i did

Where was your first job at? this kooky crystal store. funnily enough i wasnt into crystals then or now lol

Ever seen your parents make out? no lol

What’s your dream height and weight? im okay with my height rn but id love to weigh less

What do you do when your house loses power? check the electricity box

What piercing do you hate? haha i dont particularly ‘hate’ any

Were you raised in a religious house? yeah but not overly religious

Do your parents get mad when your on the computer for hours? haha no, only when i was a kid

Have you ever been asked for a nude picture? yes

What’s your favorite thing about your crush/bf/gf? everything

What’s the worst thing? when he sneezes. its way too loud

What song can bring you down? meh, nothing

What would you do if your parent hit you? id be in shock, i wasnt hit as a kid be either parents so itd be completely out of character if they ever did now while im an adult

Ever see yourself going to jail? no

Last song you sang? i forgot :(

Has the last person you kissed slept with more then 3 girls? nope lol

Ever been tested for any STDs? no

Do you think it’s weird when girls change in front of their bf/gf? haha why would that be weird?

Get a new camera or new phone? new phone! mine is still going strong though

Last person that saw you naked (can’t be yourself): my fiance

Ever kissed someone half-naked? yes

Is being sweaty nasty? yes ugh i hate waking up in the middle of the night sweaty

Are your parents embarrassing? nah, they never were tbh

Do you prefer dating a virgin? Or a guy who’s been around? -

Are you blond? no

Do you like bacon? i do but im really fussy with it. i hate american and canadian bacon. with aussie bacon, theres a few diff cuts. i dont like shortcut bacon

Do you have an annoying dog? no

What was the first comic book you ever had an obsession over? honestly the simpsons comics haha. my parents would never buy them for me so id always read them while i went grocery shopping with my mum as a kid. id finish the comic by the time she was done and would put it back on the shelves haha

What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? prob tiktok tbh

What color was your first phone? black

Was your first phone a flip phone? nope

If you’re a girl, have you ever had an embarrassing period story? hmm nothing on a public scale tbh

What was your worst experience in high school? i had a good high school experience tbh. my parents separated while i was in highschool so there’s that

#survey #surveys #quiz #bored #questions

0 notes

duskythesomething · 2 years

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omg the past two days were a blast i'll ramble in tags

#mrowr.txt #sunday we had the party!!#the pulled pork wasnt soft enough to pull apart but it was done-ish in time with moms help #she saved all my foodstuffs tbh #but it was good!#poor mom's stomach has been rioting for the past day though so idk what didnt sit well with her #but yesterday boyf and i got up early #he came over to cuddle before we had to be actually up #and we had breakfast #and went to the zoo!!!#we got to feed sea pancakes!!!!!!!!!#and i got video of pelicans yawning!!!!!#(some of my favorite things)#we got lunch there which was meh but afterwards we went to coldstone #and got super big yummy ice cream #and i got the kirby cup extra to keep!#and then checked out a cards/comic book store and i got new cards for the collections #and a candy/retro soda/gag foods store #got some soda and saltwater taffy and stuff #and then we went THRIFT SHOPPIN #i got the most PERFECT swimsuit ever like it was literally built around my body exactly #and a nice new rug and some comf sweaters for the winter #and we got a beanbag chair for 15$!!#not torn or deflated or dirty!#future house furniture goal tbh as long as the cats dont destroy it by then lmfao #after that we wandered the mall and i got another pusheen for the collection #finally the tiramisu ive been wanting!#we had dinner at red robin and that shit SLAPPED it was so good #and finally we went and saw my bestie at work so she could meet boyf and then headed home #it was a very long very busy very fun day tho

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sunshine-on-my-mind · 3 years

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New Venture

this is for @nakedrogers esme’s 2k writing challenge. (Congratulations on 2K!!!!)

one-shot (sfw)

pairing: Frank Adler x Reader

AU: Bookstore owner AU

Prompts: 13. “i told you not to read that.” ; 23. “i wish you did.”

Words: 1591

Warnings: no warnings as such. FLUFF!!!! Well Frank Adler being super cute is a warning in itself.

a/n: this is my first ever fic so hope you all like this, do reblog if you enjoy reading this. I chose Frank Adler for my first work because i love him so much.

i do not own the characters Frank and Mary. not my GIF.

PLEASE DO NOT COPY MY WORK OR POST IT ANYWHERE.

“I told you not to read that”, this was followed by Mary’s deep sigh. “Frank please just a little more”. Oh well, it’s the same old situation, Mary wants to read more books on mathematics but Frank thinks it’s enough for one day, she has been doing so since they opened the bookstore this morning. This is a new venture for both Frank and Mary, it has been a year since they opened a little bookstore. They were looking for a fresh start, and it was actually Mary who came up with the idea of a bookstore. Frank had a huge smile and that was a nod to this new venture. “That’s enough for today Mary, come help me” the bookstore was not so busy at this moment. Mary huffs, “why? Do you need help with calculating the money?” Frank won’t ever admit but he admires how snarky and sassy Mary can be at times, that kid is awesome. Frank decides it’s better to not reply and focuses on arranging the bookshelves.

The door chimes stating the arrival of people. Mary greets them. “Welcome!” The two women enter the bookstore. “Hey sweetie, do you know where the thriller section is?” Mary scrunches her nose a little, then points them towards the correct direction. Frank has arranged the bookshelves by now and he moves towards his little desk near the cash register. He sees that one of those women is eagerly going through the books in the thriller section and the other one, seems a little lost, seems out of her element. Should he go help her out? Ask her what she is looking for? He doesn’t want to be pushy but he wants to be helpful. While he is still making the decision Mary swoops in and asks

“Hi, what are you looking for?” The woman gives her a bright warm smile, a smile that will make others smile, just like Frank has smile on his face right now. “I’m just looking around, I’m basically accompanying my friend, thank you for asking, I- um I’m not much of a reader,” the woman said scratching her head a little, the little girl still looking at her, there is a sudden glint of joy in her eyes. “Well what about academic books? Do you like Math? We have quite a variety of books.” The woman is in awe of this child, she is not sure how to say that Math is definitely not her strongest area. She tries to formulate an answer when Frank approaches them. “Hey Mary why don’t you go help out the other customer, she looks quite engrossed in her search, maybe she could use some help? Go on.” Mary excuses herself, mentions where the books on academia are kept and proceeds to help the other customer. The woman doesn’t fail to notice that the little girl has quite a captivating and charming personality, her eyes seem to sparkle. Frank notices how this woman seems to be in awe of Mary, also how she is fidgeting a little with her purse. “So, not a reader?” she turns towards him. He is taller than her, and what magnificent blue eyes, one can really get lost in them, probably she got lost in them too because she is trying to fetch an answer but words don’t come out. “Not much into talking as well I guess?” She is broken out of her haze and almost babbles “um no, oh no I am sorry, yeah I am not much of a reader but I talk, I can talk a lot at times actually.” she smiles. That warm smile again. Frank smiles back, and then there is a minute of silence but it’s not awkward, it’s the good kind of silence where you are enjoying the moment.

“What about fiction or maybe non-fiction? Poetry, short stories? Do you like comics?” she laughs at this, he is really trying. “Well I have read a few comics and short stories. I mean I have tried to read books but I haven’t been able to finish most of them, wow definitely not a conversation one should have with a bookstore owner but yeah I guess I haven’t been able to connect with books, or maybe I am just dumb.” she shrugs a little. “Hey that’s alright, I too am not a huge bookworm but I do enjoy reading when I get time. But we all have our own interests.” she wants to say something but maybe she shouldn’t, what if he thinks it’s stupid? She doesn’t want to embarrass herself. He understands she wants to say something and nods his head as if to encourage her to go on. “Alright so there is something that I enjoy reading a lot. I love reading Fan fiction. It’s like I am already connected to the characters and thus reading more about them, exploring different storylines, the whole concept of ‘What if?’ intrigues me.” She realizes she doesn’t say this out loud often, she tries to read his expressions, well he is smiling and not in a mocking way so she continues. “You know there are so many talented Fanfic writers out there, some of the stories are extremely beautiful. So yeah as you said, we all have our own interests.” Frank is charmed by her, right now she has joy in her eyes, he hasn’t come across someone before who has shared this interest of reading fan fiction, she seems passionate about this, and it’s charming and beautiful. Yes she is beautiful. “That seems super interesting.” he hopes to see that warm smile again and there it is. He smiles back. “Well I am glad you think so, not many people do. It’s not that I tell many people about this interest of mine, still. By the way that girl, um Mary? she seems so amazing, not to sound corny but ‘there is something about Mary’, she is so charming!” he chuckles “Well I see what you did there, and yeah she is amazing, she is my niece and we both recently started this new venture of a bookstore, it was her idea”. Well a good idea indeed.

“Oh look at me where are my manners? Hi! I am Frank” Before she could say her name Mary calls out for Frank. The other customer has selected her books and she is waiting by the cash register to buy them. “Well I guess it’s time to go.” She seems sad, why? She is not someone who can talk with strangers but she was enjoying this conversation. She gets so awkward while talking to someone she doesn’t know but this was different, he made her feel comfortable, she liked talking to him, she wants to talk more, why couldn’t her friend take some more time? They move towards the cash register, “Oh I am Y/n” he repeats her name, wanted to see how it feels. Once done packing the books, her friend pays him the money. It’s time to go. Frank think about something quickly, say something, it seems like now or never. Come on they are about to leave, “Hey!” Frank runs towards them, “If you are looking for any particular book, you can call us to check the availability, or we can try to get it for you if not available. Here, take this card it has the store’s number and um- my number” he looks at Y/n with hopeful eyes. Is he trying to give her his number? He kinda seems out of her league, is there a chance he enjoyed talking to her too? Y/n gets this sudden surge of confidence, which is unusual for her, and decides to ask directly. “Are you trying to give me your number?” Frank is flustered, he is trying to come up with something when she says “I wish you did” and it’s accompanied with that beautiful warm smile. Frank cannot hold back the huge smile that forms automatically on his face. “I was, I uh- liked talking to you, and would like to know you more.” Well now they aren’t the only people smiling, the other two have smiles on their faces too due to this interaction, though there smiles are more like cheeky smirks. Y/n takes out her phone, saves his number and texts him standing right there. He checks his phone “Y/n: I would like to know you more too, looking forward to it” He nods signaling the chain of texts that will be exchanged soon. Y/n and her friend open the door to go out when Mary excitedly says “Come again!” Frank sees her smile once again, the one that he will be seeing a lot very soon. “I will.” Y/n says and her friend laughs, she waves and they wave back and with this they leave. Mary is looking at Frank who is still looking at the door. “See Frank, I told you, a bookstore will be a great new venture” she smirks.

#esmes2kwritingchallenge #frank adler #frank adler x reader #frank adler fluff #frank adler gifted #frank adler fanfiction #chris evans #chris evans fluff #chris evans imagine #chris evans x reader #oneshot #fluff #writing challenge #first fanfic

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barbenheimer-core · 3 years

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AUDERE EST FACERE !

하나. chanel : part four — 3k words

Wangja crossed the street with a bag of two steaming bowls of ramyeon and red ginseng, speeding up his pace to prevent the noodles from getting too soggy while he walked the path over to his shop where he had left Ahyeong at, sighing as he thought about the new addition to the cast.

When he had walked into his store last night, he was not expecting a stage to commence immediately upon entering the lounge.

Thank the writer (this was the first and last time he was going to say that) that their conversation and actions had already been written out, or else the shop owner would've been gawking at the new girl for the entirety of the stage.

He had been immensely startled back then; it was unusual for him to not know the timing and plot of every stage because he always made sure to check the comic that permanently resided in a small, hidden corner of his shop every single day.

But when he had browsed the comic as soon as Ahyeong had left, he had been bewildered at the sudden shift in the book's contents.

The cast page had been altered to feature four main characters instead of the original trio, and as he had turned the pages, he had noticed the new stages being inked with interactions that had never been present as of before.

To think that an already complicated web of troubling relationships had not been enough for the writer, they had proceeded to add a love square to the mix.

Wangja grimaced at his creator's choices in life. They had definitely been influenced by someone to do so if it had been so last minute.

But one thing was for sure; out of all the stories that the writer had put him in, this was by far the most interesting.

"Ahyeong-ah! I'm back!" he yelled into the air as he stepped in, his voice echoing in the shop.

The silence was his only response.

Confused, he stepped through the streamers that decorated the lounge's archway, eyes searching for the girl while he set the food down on the coffee table next to the abandoned copy of Shiver.

"Ahyeong, are you here-"

He stopped abruptly, gaze finding the peach cover of True Beauty toppled upside down on the floor in front of a shelf he swore no one would notice.

With dread in his mind, he picked it up, turning it around, only to be faced by the drawn version of the person he was looking for.

Oh no. She'd seen it.

If Gilyeong had to describe his sister at that moment, he would've said she looked like she'd risen from a grave in a zombie apocalypse movie.

She looked dead. Alive, yes, but dead.

Like someone had told her whole life was a lie.

When Ahyeong had arrived back home from wherever she had dashed off to during the morning, she had looked like she'd gone through the five stages of grief, questioned the meaning of life, and ran a marathon through the streets of Seoul by how hard she was breathing.

He had almost asked her if she was okay, but that would've come off as him being "concerned for his dear sister," as Eunjung had so uselessly put it, and he hated proving people right. And besides, Ahyeong was clearly not okay.

"Oye, grinch," he called out across the table after seeing her actions.

She looked as if she hadn't even heard him. No annoyed flinch, no irritated twitching of her eyebrow; no reaction at all. Just her mindlessly trying to eat soup with chopsticks.

Eunjung looked at her with an extreme amount of concern.

Gilyeong almost puked at the feeling of worry in his gut.

Ahyeong was functioning on auto-pilot, her consciousness having taken a backseat as the only thing that moved her was sheer muscle memory.

She couldn't even remember how she had come back to her house, however, the stinging in her legs informed her of how she had deserted the shop and ran all the way back home, much to Driver Kwon's horror.

Her head felt empty.

Being in a comic? As a bully? That had to be the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, or read, about herself.

It did not make sense. She was quite literally a model student, with a record as clean as glass. Being reduced to the likes of a bully? Impossible.

And then the derealisation came in.

This probably wasn't real after all. Maybe it was just one big practical joke blown out of proportion.

Yeah, that was it, she concluded as she finally became aware of her surroundings, dropping the chopsticks in her hands with a confused look and picking up a spoon to continue eating her soup, unaware of the small breath of relief from across the table.

That weird paralysis thing hadn't happened since the other day anyway, so she was probably going to be okay.

TURN.

What a fucking lie, you're kidding—

The doors to the house banged open, harshly knocking against the walls and startling the occupants of the dining room.

Song Hwayoung came inside the house, immediately making Eunjung receive her in a hurry and assist her with taking off her coat and setting her a pair of slippers.

Ahyeong was panicking. Why now? The universe was being unnecessarily cruel. Her body felt like a rock, cemented into the ground. The air got colder, the lights felt different, brighter somehow, as if someone was shining a spotlight down on her family, as if a grim situation was about to ensue.

Ahyeong almost got up to greet her mother, but sat back down after seeing the subtle shake of Gilyeong's head, who hastily looked down at his empty plate after Hwayoung came to sit at the head of the table.

Her mother looked like she had been trying to bottle up her anger the whole day, and the cap was finally about to burst.

Ahyeong felt unsettled at the sudden change in demeanor. Her mother had never gotten this furious before, ever. She attempted to stand, but she was glued to her seat and could only watch as Hwayoung glared daggers at Gilyeong.

She threw a stack of papers in front of Gilyeong, who shrunk into his seat when he saw its contents.

"What is this?" Hwayoung inquired, trying her best to appear calm.

The young boy mumbled a reply in a voice so small that it was barely audible.

Hwayoung flared her nostrils, "Say it louder!"

Both siblings flinched at the volume. "My report card," the youngest said shakily.

Why was her mum flipping over a simple report card? It's not like grades mattered—

"Even I know that it's a fucking report card. What I want to know is why your grades dropped to C's and D's and why the hell you're failing in math?"

Ahyeong's eyes widened, either involuntarily or of her own free will, she didn't know. Hwayoung cursing at her brother and raging over his academic report? That was quite literally the opposite of how her mother was. Hwayoung was supposed to be the sweetest person she'd ever known, understanding and supportive through every endeavor.

For a moment she considered if her mother had been replaced by a clone of a crueler version of her. With the bullshit that was happening to her right now, the theory did not even feel that far-fetched.

At Gilyeong's silence, Hwayoung scoffed, "All of this was happening and you didn't even bother telling me? I was in a phone call with your friend's mother who told me her son had scored first place but when she mentioned how you weren't even in the top ten do you know how humiliated I felt?"

She stood up abruptly, throwing her chair back, which was immediately caught by Eunjung, and scowled at the boy, not a single trace of warmth in her eyes that her daughter was familiar with, "What an embarrassment to the Song name. At least your sister fares better than you."

With that, she stalked away, heels clicking against the marble floors as she retreated to her room.

TURN .

Ahyeong got up as soon as she could control her movements, rushing over to Gilyeong whose eyes had become red and puffy as he sniffled.

She pulled him in between her arms, and he shook uncontrollably, Eunjung watching the ordeal with downtrodden eyes, wishing she could help.

This was far beyond what she thought would happen. No, that woman could not have been their mother.

As she put her brother to sleep that night, she came to a solution.

Stepping into the elevator to reach Cloud9 Officetel's terrace the next day, her resolve strengthened.

This nightmare was ending, one way or the other.

Jugyeong was quite possibly living the worst nightmare she'd ever had.

The world was too cruel. Beauty was only on the inside, they said. What a horrible lie.

She had been humiliated beyond measure. All she tried to do was convey her honest feelings to quite possibly the only person who had ever been genuinely kind to her. She would've been fine if Wang Hyunbin had simply rejected her and decided to stay as friends. But for him and Semi to destroy her pride and self-worth like that? Because of how she looked?

She felt her eyes burning with warm tears before they cascaded down her cheeks, the cold wind at the top of the building harshly biting at her skin and rattling her bones.

She shivered.

Cold, it was too cold. What a day to die.

Jugyeong's hands hovered over her phone's screen as she stared at her mother's contact. Would her family even mourn her? Good riddance, they would probably think.

But she had to tell someone, and even if her mother was harsh with her words, she still loved her. She had to tell her the reason why she was about to jump off of a building.

Just as her finger leaned down to press the call button, the door to the rooftop opened, and Jugyeong jumped in shock, turning around to see who had come in.

She did a double-take.

Was God personally consenting to her taking her own life? Because she was pretty sure he had sent down an angel to escort her soul into heaven.

Her glasses had been abandoned on the bench she'd been sitting on from when she had been trying to wipe her tears, so she couldn't really see the person properly, but even with bad eyesight, the stranger looked almost ethereal.

They were dressed in a black dress and heels, as if they had gone to a funeral, or were planning to go to one.

They stopped upon seeing Jugyeong's disheveled self.

Was God finally being kind to her in her final moments?

Mind in a haze and not thinking straight, Jugyeong broke down yet again.

Ahyeong was startled at the girl crying in front of her. She didn't think there was going to be someone else up there other than herself.

When she looked closer at the girl who was sobbing uncontrollably in front of her, she noticed who it was, immediately taking a few steps back on instinct.

Moon Gayoung? Why was she in a school uniform— oh.

You've got to be kidding me.

What luck she had, walking right into the girl this world literally revolved around.

She felt something pulling away at her in the back of her mind, sending warning bells down her spine, saying she wasn't supposed to be there. But why?

Ahyeong's heart almost burst out of her ribcage when Jugyeong threw herself at her, clutching almost painfully at her waist and sobbing into her dress.

She froze at the sudden contact, arms awkwardly hovering over the girl's shoulders.

Jugyeong had probably not recognized her yet, because there was no way she was hugging her future tormentor just like that.

"Th-thank y-y-you for c-coming," the girl said between choked breaths, "F-for being- for being here in my—" she struggled to say the words, "—my final moments."

Ahyeong stilled at that.

By the time her words had registered, she already knew what was happening.

This was the scene from the drama, she remembered, when Jugyeong had tried to kill herself because of the incident at school.

How ironic. Ahyeong almost laughed at her situation, they were here for the same fate for almost the same reason. Both didn't like the world that they lived in.

But for the Song girl, this was a test, really. A theory she came up with in the dead of the night.

The sensation of falling, that knee-jerk reaction, and the feeling of finally waking up from your dream. That was what she was hoping for. She wasn't here to die, she was here to go back to living her own life.

But the girl who clung to her was dead set on ending things, and frankly, that was a dreadful thought.

Ahyeong had no intention of leaving her as she was, be this a fictional world or not, Im Jugyeong was a human being who deserved a lot more than she got.

"Were you going to jump?"

Jugyeong's thoughts came to a halt as the Angel asked a question, the oddly familiar lilt of her voice bringing a strange mix of foreboding and warmth in her gut.

Still shaking, she only nodded against her shoulder.

"Why?"

"Because-" she sniffled, tightening her arms around them, "because everyone hates me," her voice faded at the end, and her wobbly knees gave in, making her sink into the hard floor and dragging the person along with her.

This time, the Angel wrapped her arms around her, rubbing soothing circles into her back.

"Jugyeong, things may seem horrible for you at the moment, and you have every right to be upset over what was said and done, but it is impossible to know answers to such questions when you're so overwhelmed."

The words cut through her haziness, her cries slowly stopping as what they said registered in Jugyeong's mind.

"You don't really want to die, do you?"

It felt weird, being told such things by a stranger.

Maybe deep down she had already known, but her despair had overtaken her senses and disregarded her common sense.

"Why were you really about to call your mother?"

Because she was hoping someone would stop her. To make sure someone really did care about her despite appearances.

The Angel patted her back, and slowly pulled away, only to firmly place their hands on Jugyeong's shoulders.

"Your family's waiting."

She didn't need to be told twice.

Maybe God was kinder than she thought.

It was getting dark now.

The cold evening air nipped at her skin as Ahyeong stood on the edge, heels digging into the concrete as she gazed down below.

What a hypocrite she was, telling all those things to Jugyeong.

She'd sent her home with a taxi after their ordeal, and Jugyeong had not even looked at her once through the whole thing.

She didn't know why.

The road was buzzing with activity, cars zooming past on asphalt, people walking home on the footpaths, vendors selling seasonal goods by the side.

It seemed to be a normal day.

She wondered how the rest of their day would go if her body suddenly flopped down there.

Gooseflesh rose on her arms. All of this was too real.

She slapped herself, the stinging spreading through her numb skin and making her wince in pain.

What was she doing? Was she really about to jump off a building just to test a theory out?

What if it failed? The pain in her cheek would pale in comparison to what would happen should she fall.

And the people waiting for her back home, thinking she was off paying her respects to an old friend. Gilyeong and Eunjung would be destroyed.

Ahyeong stepped back. No, she couldn't do this. She wasn't planning on dying today. Or anytime soon really.

She'd just have to get used to living here—

TURN.

Song Ahyeong stepped closer to the edge of the building, awaiting her doom.

What the fuck!? She didn't want to die, shit, shit, shit—

The LED screen behind her lit up in hues of pink and purple, colorful shadows falling on her dress that did nothing against the frigid wind.

Jung Seyeon's face graced the billboard in the distance, an ode from the people to celebrate the day he was born, and an apology for being the reason he died.

One more step and she would fall. No, no, one more step and she'd fall—

Ahyeong leaned forward closing her eyes for the last time.

NO!

And so, she fell backward.

Wait, backward?

TURN.

Ahyeong barely registered the iron grip on her wrist before it was tugged hard, her stiletto losing its balance and twisting her foot at an unnatural angle.

She widened her eyes as her vision blurred, surroundings moving too fast, and braced herself for the impact on the rough concrete.

It never came.

Instead, she fell on the person who had taken the liberty of pulling her back, and subsequently saving her. Groaning, she raised her head, squinting against the bright light of the advertisement.

"What a relief," Suho breathed out.

The ColorBeauty commercial cast the glow of its neon colors over their faces, and as the faint melody of Seyeon's voice filled the silence in the air, Song Ahyeong knew that somehow, she had fucked up.

masterlist

#true beauty #cha eunwoo #hwang inyeop #moon gayoung #lee suho #han seojun #im jugyeong #kang sujin #extraordinary you #lee suho x reader #lee suho x oc #korean drama #kdrama fanfic #kdrama imagine #kdrama scenarios #webtoon

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inactivefandomblog · 4 years

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Things I noticed when I re watched Birds of prey last night

Hi all, I watched BOP for the second time last night and I wanted to write down some of the things I noticed as I had seen @wordsoflittlewisdom , Idea credit goes to them on this one. I’m aware that some of these things are not exactly new discoveries and were blatantly obvious to others, but I have ADHD and a processing delay meaning that I don't always take in all the information the first time I watch a film. For example, I had no idea Renee was gay for ages, even though they tell us she had an ex girlfriend (I think I was too busy fan Girling that Ali Wong was in the film then though to hear that bit). I have to focus more on the overall plot when I watch things the first time, but the second time I was able to scan for little details and take in more things. Without further ado, here’s what I noticed.

“Do you know what a harlequin is? A harlequin's role is to serve. It's nothing without a master. No one gives two shits who we are, beyond that.”

-When Harley is talking about Harlequinns serving their master, she is not just talking about her relationship with the Joker, but about Canary letting Roman be her master. She is saying that she felt like she was nothing without the Joker. She is also implying that Dinah feels the same about Roman, and that she shouldn't because he doesn’t actually care about her like the Joker didn’t care about her.

-THATS WHY SHE ONLY HAS ONE SHOE IN THE CHASE SCENE!!!!! SHE USED IT TO PIN DOWN THE ACCELERATOR IN THE TRUCKKKKKK!!! MYSETERY SOLVED!! ... though.. she didn’t change her shoes to a full set between then and the police chase the next day/ later on the same day. Meaning she didn't go home after that...so did she just like wander around Gotham after committing a huge crime obviously tide to her XD of course she did, she’s Harley Fucking Quinn! Either that or she passed out somewhere from being very very drunk, hopefully her apartment and not just a street or something.

-BONUS: fanfic idea: DRUNK HARLEY HAS A FUNERAL FOR HER SHOE THAT GOT BLOWN UP IN THE ACE CHEMICALS EXPLSION, WITH BRUCE AND THE BEAVER. after she leaves the crime scene. That just seems like a thing drunk Harley would do, as I imagine she loved those shoes as they were awesome..so were her sequin socks.

-The first time I watched it I didn't realise that the fireworks weren’t actually there - because that was all in Harley's head and the film is from her pov - even though we are showed that when the police arrive there are none and it's just a regular explosion. Not until I was told this was the case and realised we were literally shown this later on.

-She goes from being a Harlequinn to Harley Quinn as she becomes emancipated.

-Roman just lets Zsas grab his arms and restrain him when he’s mad, switch energy much.....also they are defo gay for each other. Zsas was acting like a jealous boyfriend when he gave Dinah even an ounce of attention. He legit told her to come back later when he just started massaging Roman’s shoulders. Roman let's Zsas rub his shoulders and comfort him, Zsas wants to protect Roman...need I go on.

- Cass’ parents are yelling about how they don't want her if you listen to what they are saying, so they’re not just fighting, they’re fighting because they wish they never adopted her. She can hear them saying all this too. This made me feel even more sad for Cass than when I thought her parents were toxic to each other in my first watch through.

- (Trigger warning: mention of domestic abuse and child abuse)

Cass’ parents didn't want her and seemed to be very hostile, its not mentioned how Cass got her cast...but I realised that it could suggest that her parents broke her arm. Which would go on to suggest that they were abusing her physically as well as emotionally. Hence why she didn’t trust people, and was so hurt when Harley betrayed her. Because when she says that she though Harley was different, she meant that she thought she could trust Harley and that Harley wouldn’t hurt her.

-Margot’s real accent comes through when she tells Canary ‘I haven't told that to anyone’ when telling her she Broke up with Joker, as well as a few other times throughout the film.

-Cassandra is quiet and not talkative in her first scene because her throat was hurting because of the diamond. That's why she coughed to try and clear it . At that point in the film we hadn’t been shown that part but it was set after it happened so it makes sense when you re watch it.

-Cassandra’s jacket has a little middle finger logo on it, which I thought really suited her character.

- Cass has ‘asshole’ written on her cast, a drawing of a gun the word ‘fuck’, the word ‘magic’ - which is probably a reference at how she does some stuff that is similar to closeup magic and uses the same magicians technique of the art of misdirection - she also has what appears to be two playing cards, one with hearts and one with diamonds. Which is most probably a reference to Harley Quinn’s whole hearts and diamonds thing she has going. Didn’t comic book Harley also have a link to those specific playing cards too? or something like that?

EDIT: THEY ARE PLAYING CARDS!! I GOT A BETTER LOOK AT THE CAST IN THE COSTUMES VIDEO.

- TW: mentions of abuse and child abuse and trauma

The whole diamonds are a girls best friend is Harley going somewhere else mentally to cope with the trauma of being abused - we see her being spanked by a nun when was younger suggesting she was abused then too, and I think it is a part of her comic book story that she was but I don't know for sure - when it flashes and Guns appear that's reality trying to seep in. She's trying to focus on the diamond and block everything else out

-I spotted what looks like a mini mallet on the wall in her kitchen that could potentially be a meat tenderiser, and if that is the case then that is a fantabulous little Easter egg type thingy. The handle looks too long to be a pot, it has a diamond pattern on it and it is next to another tool for preparing meat...so now I'm just waiting on Margot Robbie,Cathy Yan or Ella Jay Basco to Reply to my tweet and confirm it.

-Helena speaking Chinese makes me laugh for some reason, I think its her facial expression.

- Kid Helena’s crayons when she's drawing the revenge pic are all perfectly spaced and placed like her stuff in her bathroom scene. Further evidence of her perfectionism/ her liking things a specific way.

- The towel in Helena’s hotel room on the bed (seen in mirror reflection) is in the shape of a little person.

- Canary sheds a tear when Roman harasses the lady on the table, I didn't notice that before because I looked away as the scene made me really uneasy.

- Harley screws the cap on the nail polish before putting it down even though there's someone at the door after them. This made me laugh because she thinks the police is after her but still takes time to do this, which is such a Harley thing. Like when she bent down to pick up the penny when that guy was gonna kill her.

- Roman has a shirt with his face printed on it.They did a good job of using the costumes and sets to show his egomaniacal trait.

- The look of acceptance of Harley's face when she realises that no one cares about, after the last person she thought cared about her (Doc) betrayed her, is heart-breaking.

-How was Renee not injured from getting launched out the window? Even if she didn't fall all the way to the ground and landed on the top of the entrance bit, she’d still be injured.

-WHERE DOES HUNTRESSS STORE ALLL THOSE ARROWWWSSSSS????? SHE FIRED SO MMAANNNNYYY! I DIDN’T SEE A QUIIIIVVVER OR ANYTHING. I guess she just stores them in sub space along with her hammer¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Also I think I figured out what the chain is for, at first I thought it was for the crossbow to attach to. Then I though not as she leaves the crossbow on the floor by itself in the funhouse fight scene, but then I think I saw it attached to it..so I think she can just disconnect it when need be. Plus it just looks cool.

-Alllssoo, she toooottallly checked out Dinah! HELENA IS DEFO GAYYYY! she has big useless lesbian vibes. They really knew who their target audience was when they made Helena look so stunning and badass. The producers really said ‘hello LGBTQ+ community’ (hopefully y’all know that tiktok audio or that wont make much sense) Also, if you don't believe me, I have a gif of her doing it on my blog. So there’s no denying it.

-Why were the lights on in the funhouse if it was abandoned?? Maybe its just more Harley vision? but the carousel was rotating too...

Anyway that's everything I noticed, thanks for reading if you made it this far, and even if you didn’t...you wont see this then but still. Thank y’all .

#harley quinn #birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #birds of gay #birds of prey #dc #movie #dinah lance #huntress #black canary #renee montoya #dinah x helena #cassandra cain #victor zsaz #roman sionis

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sevendeadlyvices · 3 years

Text

Poker Buddies AU: Max and Memories Notes

Something I compiled for @i-cant-thinkof-anything-new Poker Buddies AU they have going. Now I used the Poker Night wiki to get this and I thought this would be helpful for any Sam and Max or Poker Night at the Inventory Fans in general. That and I have my own Poker Night At The Inventory AU and headcannons that I need to work on too. The first information is generally Max’s poker strategy in Poker Night At The Inventory:

When it comes to reading the opponent's strategies, Max's will prove to be a big problem. Due to his lack of knowledge on the subject, his poker strategy seems non-existent. His choice of whether to call, raise, or fold tends to come out of nowhere. Sometimes, Max will or will not have a good hand, so he will be very hard to read. His strategies are completely random; he might bluff, be cautious, or be aggressive. Sometimes he will just keep on betting or keep on folding.

I would call Max an unpredictable poker player at times. There’s this tell he has that if his left hand quivers, he’s bluffing, but other than that, you’re on your own with him.

Next is his relationships with the characters of both Poker Nights:

Heavy: Max seems to have a good strong friendship with the Heavy, asking him about how his career is going and what kind of weapon he could recommend.

Strong Bad: Mostly casual, having the odd talk with Strong Bad when Max is compelled to tell some sort of story.

Tycho: His relationship with Tycho seems to be, again, a casual friendship. They share many of the same interests, although from time to time Max will be slightly put off by Tycho's odd behavior.

The Player: Max often thinks The Player plays too conservatively, especially when not calling a huge bet of Max's.

Sam: Max very much loves the big guy. Max is Sam's long-time partner, best friend, husband, and sidekick.

Brock Samson: Brock finds Max annoying like Claptrap, but also finds it much easier to ignore him, even when Max is physically attacking him. He also has some level of respect for the lagomorph for everything he and Sam overcame as members of the Freelance Police.

Claptrap: Much like Sam, Claptrap is a fan of Max for their games and comics. He seems closer to Max than Sam due to the fact that Max isn't as annoyed by him as Sam is. Max's love for violence makes the robot think he would fit in very well on Pandora. If Claptrap is knocked out before Sam, he will often sit next to Max for a while. Also, during a Showdown, Max will stand right next to Claptrap, wondering what the next card will be.

Ash Williams: Ash has considerable respect for Max and Sam's career and is otherwise "okay" with the lagomorph. However, Ash also displays a few moments of apprehension and even downright concern when Max' insanity acts up, usually in his theme eliminations.

GLaDOS: Max doesn't seem to mind the murderous AI as much as the other characters and occasionally joins in when she insults or annoys the other characters (primarily Sam).

This is from the wiki, so take this with a grain of salt.

And finally, with spoilers in the cut:

The Memories I would focus on for the Epic Texas Hold Em Matches! Note that it’s not all the conversations from both games, but here’s the ones I found so far that might be interesting to incorporate for the AU. I’ll bold the ones that would seem more angsty for the AU:

Max: I don't know a lot about card games, truth be told. But, I take it you're a little bit of a beginner, yes? Strong Bad: Are you talking to (pronounces it as moy) moi? Max: You betcha. You're as green as the bologna in Sam's mini-fridge. Strong Bad: (angrily) Shut up, Stitch. Max: (cheerily) It's OK. It just means you have to adopt a wanton strategy of wild deception. Strong Bad: Hmm... Not the woist idea I ever hoid. Max: (furrows brow) Get into their heads.

Max: You know what I love? Tycho: What's that? Max: Destroying wave after wave of the undead. Tycho: WORD UP! How do you roll? Max: With my trusty side arm of course. Tycho: I'm more of an auto-shotgun guy. Max: Oooh! Heavy: This is good weapon no? Max: Sam and I had to resign ourselves to pistols when our cleaning bill started going through the roof. Tycho: Yeah, its like ichor? Oxyclean ain't cuttin' it. Max: This pelt is dry clean only.

Tycho: Max, how'd you learn to play cards? Max: Funny you should ask! This one time, Sam and I were busting up a crime syndicate down in Atlantic City. A road job. Tycho: Indeed. Max: Yeah! So we're tailing this low level mafia bum for an hour and he pulls up outside a casino and before he can go in Sam says, "Well little buddy, we better nab this guy quicker than a Pittsburgh driver taking a left on a green in rush hour." I couldn't have agreed more. So I grab a tire iron out of the back seat, right, hop out of the Desoto, and pummel this guy like a piñata. Tycho: Yow! Max: Blindfold and all! Tycho: ...That doesn't really answer my question. Max: You asked me a question?

Tycho: Hey Max, how do you like being a freelance police officer? Max: It's the best. Tycho: I bet it is. Max: Oh, but that's not all I do. I'm also available for babysitting, bat mitzvahs and general shakedowns. You know anybody who needs work? Tycho: See, this why I think we get along. You're a Renaissance man. Max: You need anybody roughed up? Tycho: There's a bird at the pet store that's been giving me a little beak, yeah. Max: Oh ho, putting a wise acre in his place is my specialty!

Heavy: I will make hat from you, little bunny. Max: How 'bout I just sit on your head and shoot people? Heavy: (thinks about this) ...This is good idea.

Heavy: Tiny Heavy, who is your favorite to kill in war? Strong Bad: Hmm, in WAR? Probably those Green Helmets. You know, the guys who don't have any cool weapons or gimmicks, and come in a discount three-pack. Heavy: To kill spy is glorious thing! How about you, Max? You are killing type. Max: My favorite enemy? {gasps} That's like asking me to choose between my children! Heavy: {laughs heartily} You crack me up, little bunny!

Heavy: You look very familiar, bunny. Max: How closely do you follow the Manhattan crime blotter? Wait, you didn't go the Spiro Agnew School of the Arts, did you? Tycho: You attended? Didn't take you for the book learnin' type. Max: No, but Sam and I pinched their gym teacher in a black market jock strap ring in the 80's. I'd be surprised if any student didn't remember a dog choking out a large man with a unibrow.

Strong Bad: I don't trust you one bit, ra-bbit. Max: It's ok, I don't trust myself. Strong Bad: How do we know that you don't have a never ending stack of aces wherever you put your gun? Max: Well, you don't, but you're welcome to look!

Strong Bad: So... Max. You're like one of those (pronounces as poke mons) poke-mons, right? Max: (narrows eyes) My genus and phylum is a mystery to all mankind. Strong Bad: Because I'd love to see some prepubescent pointy-haired kid run in here and stick you inside of a baseball (laughs). (in a high pitched voice, with a smile) That would be hilarious. Max: Are you talking about the red-capped kidnapper who terrorized the fauna on the Upper West Side for months? Strong Bad: Maybe. Max: Because Sam, Flint, and I caught him trying to stuff a chimpanzee into his knapsack, and made him cry for his mommy.

Strong Bad: I wonder if this dump is haunted? Max: (cheerily) Ooh, I hope so. There's something about being able to terrorize a spectral being without it up and dying on you that (furrows eyebrows) I just love. Heavy: (sadly, lowers his head) I do not like ghost. Max: It's OK Mr. Weapons. I've got extensive experience with zombies and vampires. (points toward himself) I can handle a little ghost. Heavy: (with large eyes) You will take care of ghost for me? Max: (cheerily) You betcha. Heavy: (cheerily, nods his head) I like you, tiny rabbit.

(Brock) GLaDOS: Brock Samson is eliminated. Max: GERONIMO! (lands on Brock's head and starts to gnaw on it, to no effect) Die, die, die! Brock: (gets up) I'll be at the bar.

(Claptrap) GLaDOS: Claptrap is eliminated due to lack of funds. Max: Wet willy, wet willy! (sticks a finger in his mouth and inserts it into a hole in Claptrap's side) Claptrap: Hey! That's not my ear, it's my... (both are electrified and fall from chair)

(Ash) GLaDOS: Ashley Williams is eliminated. Ash gets up and reaches for his chainsaw, only to realize it's not there. Max is holding it, standing a foot or so behind him. Max: (grinning maliciously) Looking for something? (looks at Sam normally) Hey, check it out, Sam! I'm a tree surgeon! Sam: (whispering to Ash) He's not really a tree surgeon...! Ash looks worried. Max: (revs up chainsaw) Open wide and say "ah!" (chases Ash away)

#Sam and Max #Sam and Max AU #Poker Buddies AU #Poker Night At The Inventory #Poker Night 2 #Max #tycho brahe #strong bad #Heavy #Ash Williams #Brock Samson #Claptrap #just wanted to share some interesting things that would make your AU better #now I'm obsessed #but Jessica you have your own Poker AU to worry about #but I like this one a lot #I hope this is okay

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ramble-bloo · 3 years

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Named after the old school mechanical method of printing previously used in comics, Ben-Day Dots, Benday University is school for protagonists. Whether you have super powers, are destined to get them, or are cursed with super powered beings latching onto you specifically, this is the place for you to attend.

WHERE IS IT LOCATED

It doesn’t exist on this planet...or even in this dimension. It’s in it’s own little pocket that has gate keepers on watch 24/7 to make sure whoever enters the school is meant to be there. The entire location from afar can best be described as a giant floating continent.

WELL HOW IN THE FUCK DO YOU GET THERE THEN ROCKY?

Second ,the only way to enter the dimension from our world are specially designated Comic book stores. Not every store is a gate way of course but there are some that are scattered throughout the world. They have special markings to look out for.

The process of getting through the gate ain’t as simple as simply asking the person working behind the desk. First thing is you have to go to a store within the first hour of so of it opening (as this is often when there are little to no civilains around). Some stores are more lenient but that depends on how much business they get.

ALSO, if you’re a student of faculty member, you're given a card. That card is uniquely given to you and cannot be copied or borrowed by anyone else. This is something that is delivered to you upon you getting accepted into Benday.

And it’s not just any worker you gotta talk to. You have to go up front, and ask for a manager after while flashing the card to the person working. They then go fetch said manager for you (if they aren’t the manager themselves) and they ask what help you need.

You then state that you can’t find the comic you’re looking for and if they could check in the back for you. If they ask what comic specifically, you reach the step many new students practice in the mirror for. That being that you have to basically describe yourself but in the form of a comic.

The manager will then go to check but usher you along with them. From then on you are brought into the back where you got all your usual bookstore stuff before you walk a good distance in and the manager drops their civilian disguise and summons the door to Benday. The door comes with a cool special little card swiper. You just swipe it and the door unlocks. From then on you are waved on through and the door disappears to be summoned again for the next student.

Wherever the door spits you out at depends on the data on your card as it contains all sorts of stuff. It states your abilities, the genre you are in, your class schedule, etc.

WHATS BENDAY BUILT LIKE?

The location you’re spit out at really depends on two things, your genre and class schedule. Benday isn’t just a school on a giant floating continent. The continent is the campus itself. It’s divided into every genre for just about every class needed for whatever protagonist. To give a short list off the top of my head-there are zones for:

Superheroes (think along the lines of DC and Marvel)

Witchcraft (Little Witch Academia, Harry Potter, BASICALLY anything where you rely on spell castin’)

Fantasy (Welcome to dudgeon and dragons but for a grade)

Cartoons (Think of old school slapstick protags like Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes)

Horror Protags (you remember those bitches I mentioned in the beginning where I said they were cursed with super natural beings latching onto them...yeah they go here)

Magical (If you require a magical transformation with glitter and sparkles to get into your super hero costume, you go here)

Shonen (If you attend this zone, you are most likely op or are on your way to it and people hesitate pickin fights with you. This zone is almost constantly being rebuilt due to the destruction caused from students)

The list goes on and even then the zones break down into subcategories for all the different stuff that goes with them. The mention of genre on your card makes it a real time saver. If you’re in the superhero genre, you get spat out at the entrance of the superhero zone. There are def some crossovers because some classes students take are in completely different zones. Plus there’s extracurricular stuff that people can sign up for so there’s a transit system to make things easier.

In the center of Benday is the capital which holds the major events for the entire school. It’s home to assemblies, school fairs, other fancy school stuff that is escaping my tired brain. It’s also the starting point for every new student.

Benday also has a dorm system. They are located at the capital as well as it’s the most secure location. If anything happens, people are often evacuated to the center where it’s placed on lock down. It also saves more space in the other zones. Plus navigation is already hard enough.

You don’t have to stay at Benday, you can obviously live at home but many choose the independence and adventure of living on a floating continent in a different dimension over the mundane life of Earth.

WHAT’S THE CAMPUS LIFE LIKE?

There are shops and restaurants as well as little cool hang out spots for students to visit between classes. Each zone has their own unique locations but the capital tends to be the most popular spot as it has a mix of all sorts of flavors.

Of course there is a nurse’s office although it’s more like a fuckin hospital to make up for the capacity of everyone. That too is located at the capital but there’s a special transportation system for the injured that wastes no time at all to get them to safety.

Speaking of the transport system, it’s multiple trains. They each have alternating tracks so they never un into each other but they stop at every key location for a student. There are also flying buses for classes to hop into that gets them to the next location in no time.

HOW DO PEOPLE GET BACK HOME

There’s an exit located at the capital and every zone. It too is guarded but it’s not as tedious as the comic book store entrance. You just talk to some person and tell them you wanna go home and they summon up a door and you walk out of it. Of course, you’re gonna be spat out back at the store and often it’s during closing hours. The manager lets you out as they are closing shop and you can return to your boring mundane life again.

VISITORS?

Benday is very strict but they do allow for civilians to visit so long as they have close ties to students or faculty. And often, they are only allowed to be present in the capital. If they want to visit the zones, they need to be in the attendance of a student.

#lore #underdog defender #worldbuilding

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lovelyirony · 4 years

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Fic title meme : pulvis et umbra sumus (We Are Dust And Shadows)

On every single document, including the ones that show what actually happened to Howard and Maria Stark, Tony Stark is listed as dead among them.

He is not.

But in not calling in the accident on the abandoned road, Tony managed to find someone else to take his place and escaped.

Tony Stark is dead. A whole family funeral and everything. Obadiah pretends to cry. Tony is at the funeral with shitty dye in his hair and sunglasses that he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. Ha.

The funeral is closed casket. All their faces are rumored to be impossible to fix with make-up.

He makes new documents. Anthony Jarvis, from Boston. Airtight background. Likes puzzles. Scored damn high on the SAT, but not the perfect score.

(Killed him to answer some of those questions wrong, seriously.)

Anthony Jarvis goes to MIT and requests a single room. He gets one for one semester, and then the room next to his burns and destroys his as well. So he gets moved to Jim Rhodes’.

Jim becomes Rhodey, and he is the first friend of Anthony Jarvis, and nicknames him Tony.

He grins at that.

There are plenty of times that Tony wants to tell him. The thing about secrets is that they need to be shared. No one really wants a secret, nor do they want to keep it. But he keeps his mouth shut and asks if he wants to go for Thai food.

“This is the third time this week.”

“Not my fault it’s good! I’ll pay...”

“Sign me up.”

Tony and Rhodey gets Thai food. It’s good.

Rhodey lets him in on a secret that Tony had actually known about since his room assignment.

(You remember that guy’s room that caught on fire? Yeah, he swore that his microwave hadn’t been on, and nothing had been plugged in. He was right. But Tony needed an accident.)

In other circumstances, Rhodey would have ignored the offer that he had. He had had his heart set on Air Force. But there was something about the man who talked to him.

“It’s a place called Strategic-Homeland-something I can’t remember,” Rhodey says. “Point is, they’re a big deal and kind of shady, but not in the government shady kind of way. The only thing I can find out about them is that they’re an international company who need engineers, pilots, and basically anyone like you and me. I don’t know how I feel about it.”

Tony nods.

“You want me in on this?”

“I mean, you did tell me a couple of weeks ago that you weren’t sure what you wanted to do after graduation.”

(It was two weeks, three days, and fourteen hours ago. Not like he was counting.)

“...thanks. I’ll check it out with you.”

Anthony Jarvis shows up in a nice suit, stupid sunglasses, and impresses the higher-ups by diagnosing a problem with the engine that others had previously marked as “impossible.”

He’s hired on the spot, same as Rhodey.

Tony Jarvis gets his own keycard, finds an apartment in New York that’s within at least biking distance, and gets started on inventing some cute little toys for the spies in Research and Development.

He brings the laser-lipstick to life, poison-drop-earrings, spyglasses that actually work and have HD, and briefcases that use mirroring technology to change color.

“How did you do this?” Rhodey asks, eyes wide. “I swear this is unreal.”

“Aw,” Tony says. “You sap. I got some inspiration from some old comic book ads. I think I’m gonna try a ring decoder next, what do you think?”

“Almost makes me want to go on missions instead of flying them.”

Tony Jarvis is known for working odd yet long hours. He comes up with results. And he keeps his head down and minds his own business.

This is all to find out exactly who killed his parents. As much as his and Howard’s relationship was...interesting, he still wanted to know.

His desire to know the truth leads to somewhere he hadn’t thought was possible: Hydra.

His hands freeze as he looks at the paper file with thick, black lines all over. The information there was sparse. Howard, Maria, and Anthony Stark all died. It was ruled:

And there’s nothing there.

It wasn’t an accident. Sure he knew that, but there was something far more sinister at play. Why wasn’t it an accident?

He gets Alexander Pierce in his apartment with a man in the corner. His arm gleams in what little light from the lamps outside give off.

“Why are you searching for the Stark files?” He asks.

“Why didn’t you just schedule a meeting? I’m available tomorrow at three,” Tony jokes. “Who’s your friend here?”

“Someone you wouldn’t want to shake hands with,” Pierce answers. “You need to stop looking into this before you find yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Accidents will happen,” Pierce says. He gets up from the table, to the counter. Gets out a glass. And makes himself water. He smiles as he looks to the man in the corner. “Do you want any water, Winter Soldier?”

Winter Soldier remains impassive.

Tony stills.

“So, the legends are true. And Hydra is still around.”

“And if you aren’t careful, you won’t be,” Pierce says. “Don’t bring any of this up. Or this won’t be the last time you see Winter Soldier. I know your moves, Jarvis. Don’t think you can surprise me.”

They exit the apartment. Tony realizes that Pierce took his glass.

And he laughs.

Because this? Not according to plan, but god he’s gonna have fun with it.

It starts with telling Rhodey who he actually is.

It does not go as planned.

“So let me get this straight. I’ve known you for years and you just. Never told me?” Rhodey asks. “Why not?”

“To be completely fair, no one knows besides a man in Wisconsin, and he’s from Wisconsin,” Tony says. “Also I was drunk. Drunk me is a terrible person who would sell me for a buffalo nickel.”

“I’m still mad, even if that’s funny,” Rhodey says, trying not to smile. “So. Why tell me now? I’m assuming you need something.”

“I would like your help,” Tony says. “It is not required but I am toppling a secret organization living in SHIELD and I think if I get your help, I will most likely not get fired by the end of this. Fury likes you, he hates me.”

“False, he mildly tolerates you. You’ll be fine. Probably. Who else should we get to help?”

Tony had originally planned for no one.

But then there was Pepper Potts.

She had been deemed by the media as “crazy” for accusing Obadiah Stane, longtime-CEO of Stark Industries, as ordering a hit out on the Stark family.

She had been booted from the company--anticipated--and then Hydra had ordered a hit on her.

Slightly unexpected.

Point is, Rhodey brings her into the apartment and tells Tony casually that the grocery store had run out of his usual hummus brand, was the generic okay?

“That’s like asking if I’m okay with blue pens,” Tony curses. “Also, is that Pepper Potts? Why is she here? Did you run into her at the grocery store?”

“No, as I was coming back. Did you know that she has a hit out on her? Fun times.”

“Oh my god, will someone explain to me what’s going on here?!” Pepper seethes. “I was just trying to get my yogurt without anyone taking a picture of me and some random fucking guy had a knife thrown at me and then this guy took me to your house!”

She then rants for ten minutes about the “questionable design choices going on in this establishment, who honestly thinks shot glasses are a decoration?!”

“Are you done?” Tony asks. “Because if you want to help with a conspiracy plot, you need to be done.”

She is.

Pepper does not get a job with SHIELD. In fact, she mainly just decides to take care of the redecoration in Tony’s apartment.

“You will be paying me for this.”

“Why would I do that? You’re using my money to buy everything. You’re living here rent free for now.”

“Because I’m helping you make better life choices. I also want new shoes.”

What Pepper does is provide very valuable access to Stark Industries: she knows the ins and outs, what employees do and don’t do, and also is very helpful in telling Tony what he needs to do when he takes the company over.

“Who said I was going to take it over?”

“Me,” Pepper says. “Also because I reviewed every single old document and the company was specified to go to next-of-kin. You are. And you’re not dead.”

“My death certificate is literally framed,” Tony says, pointing to his graduation photo that Rhodey took. He had swapped out his official diploma with it as a joke. No one had seen it. He thought it was hilarious.

“Yeah, but they can do DNA testing,” Pepper says. “This is like the twenty-first century Anastasia except this time they don’t find you with metal detectors!”

“I don’t like that you know that story as well as you do,” Rhodey says. “But I’ll leave you a credit card for furniture and groceries. If you get rid of my drinks in the fridge I’m literally never forgiving you.”

“Noted, and I don’t need forgiveness,” Pepper says. “But they’ll stay there.”

So begins the plot.

Pierce doesn’t know three things, which is a lot of things not to know:

1.) Tony Jarvis is not Tony Jarvis.

2.) Rhodey actually likes Tony and most of the time him saying that he would “kill Tony in a variety of ways, starting with sporks and moving forward...” is mostly (mostly) a joke.

3.) Pepper Potts resides in their apartment and is having fun telling Tony she bought new silverware.

“Why did you buy new silverware! It was fine!”

“I recognized all of these forks and knives from restaurants. Why did you steal them from restaurants?”

“They can replace them!”

“Don’t. Anyways now your spoons match and you don’t have the shitty ones from different places. Also I painted the bathroom.”

“My landlord is gonna kill me.”

“I made her cookies and discovered that she likes going to concerts. You’ll be fine.”

(Pepper is a goddess. You can’t convince them otherwise.)

Pierce doesn’t know any of this, but he still holds a key piece of blackmail: Tony Jarvis shouldn’t know about Hydra, and he’ll do anything to make sure that he doesn’t lose his job.

Tony has been recording their conversations for weeks.

(Pierce thinks he doesn’t design things to get around the available technology. Pathetic.)

He also has bugged Pierce as well as his house, and figures out that Winter Soldier is going to be on assignment within the DC area in an effort to kill some higher-up on the foodchain that was SHIELD.

Well.

Tony has always wanted to go and see the cherry blossoms a little more up close.

Pepper, of course, doesn’t like that they left his boots on.

“This couch is new and red,” she says. “Take off his boots!”

“He is unconscious and probably won’t be in the next fifteen minutes,” Rhodey says. “We are not touching him and possibly shortening that fifteen minutes.”

Winter Soldier wakes up to three faces staring at him.

“Mission failed?” he asks, voice robotic.

“Nope, you just got a new one,” says the man on the right. He is wearing a t-shirt. Winter Soldier thinks that in this situation, a t-shirt is not the best option.

(Of course, he’s not supposed to think. But they don’t have to know that.”

“Can you take your shoes off?” says the woman in the middle. “Please. You’re getting germs on the couch.”

He’s confused.

“Who am I killing?”

“No one, yet,” says the man on the left. “Do you know who you are?”

“Winter Soldier.”

“No, like a name? I’m assuming you’ve had a name at some point.”

“Someone has called me Mr. Freeze before.”

The man on the left snorts. Man on the right taps his arm lightly.

“Well, um, okay then. How do you feel about the name...aw shit. I can’t think of a name for you when your mask is on. Can you take the mask off?”

He takes it off. It’s nicer to breathe.

The man in the t-shirt pauses.

“Okay. So your name is Bucky Barnes. Do you know that name?”

Something clicked. But he doesn’t know what.

“Sounds...familiar.”

“Cool! So that’s your name now, do me a favor and don’t google it. I’m Tony, this is Rhodey, and this is Pepper. If you don’t take your shoes off, you’re going to be scared of her.”

Newly-named-Bucky highly doubts that he will be scared of Pepper because she is built like a twig and she is wearing high heels.

(He is wrong about ten minutes later when she forcibly throws a fork at him.)

“Why am I here?” he asks. “Should I be checking back in with Handler Pierce?”

“No,” comes the consensus from everyone else in the room.

“Technically, he thinks you went rogue and went back to Russia. He’s organizing a team to go get you. We hired an actor to play you. It’s been entertaining. He got some plums. Do you like plums?”

“Why is that relevant?”

“It’s vapid and not interesting at all, Tony loves questions like that,” Rhodey says. “Now come on. We need to get you actual shirts. Also some body wash.”

Bucky Barnes learns how to be a person. He stares at himself in the mirror for an hour and smiles slightly when Pepper calls him “vain” and pushes him aside to grab her hairbrush.

He then learns that Hydra is trying to overtake SHIELD and they have a slight window with Pierce out.

This involves two things:

1.) Tony Stark coming back from the dead.

2.) SHIELD panicking that they didn’t know this secret and taking another look at the paperwork, in which case Hydra will be found out.

These are both easier than anticipated. Tony can act like a showman better than anyone, and has been carefully growing a goatee that is eerily reminiscent of his late father’s. Of course he’s had to switch it up.

The media is going crazy. SHIELD as well. They’re scrambling to find paperwork that proves that it happened, and they find that the “accident” was no accident. That Howard hadn’t been working for the “enemy” at the time.

The enemy was in the building, and they had blended in seamlessly.

This all happens on a Wednesday, by the way. Pepper has it marked on the calendar and everything. Rhodey made his coffee.

Bucky is busy slamming people into drywall and listening for any word from Rhodey, who is also slamming people into drywall.

“You know, you’d think we’d get something like a suit of armor for this,” Rhodey pants out, slamming another guy out of his way.

Bucky nods.

“Best I can offer is a grenade.”

“Where in the fuck did you get a grenade?!”

“Supply closet. Second floor. What, you didn’t check?”

“No sorry must’ve missed it--of course I didn’t fucking check the second floor closet!” Rhodey yells.

Bucky says he’s stressed. He should calm himself.

Rhodey chucks a particularly nasty Hydra agent out a window.

(Bucky thinks Rhodey is probably the coolest person he’ll ever meet.)

Tony is fashionably late to the take-down of the century. He’s already foiled a lot of plans, and taken a key-card for Project Insight to work.

He waltzes in and nearly gets hit by a mug.

“So, how’s the party going?” he yells over to Pepper. Pepper is still in her heels. She looks like a goddess still, as usual. It is a Wednesday, after all.

“As fine as it can be,” Pepper says. “We’ve met some resistance. With Pierce gone there’s little infrastructure. You got his plane delayed, correct?”

“Even better. Got it sent to London. Motherfucker is gonna be there for a while,” Tony says. “Also may or may not have said that he was a threat. SHIELD branch there will investigate, find out some questionable things in his file that he will swear up and down were never there.”

“Good,” Pepper says. She launches a stapler at someone’s head. “Do you think we’ll have time to pick up takeout for dinner?”

“Depends on whether or not Deputy Director Hill is Hydra.”

They see Maria Hill pass by in a blur, yelling as she jumps onto a man and sends him crashing down over a railing.

“Lovely, she isn’t!” Pepper cheers. “By the way, I was thinking about redoing our kitchen.”

“‘Our’ kitchen?” Tony says, ducking a bullet and drawing out his personal lipstick-laser, firing it with expert precision. “I told you the living situation was temporary.”

“Oh please, you have an extra room.”

“Which was an office!” Tony tells her.

“Like you can’t have your office at Stark Industries,” Pepper says. “I expect to hear how the reveal went over dinner. Also, please hire me back. I don’t wanna be your interior decorator for forever.”

“Neither do I, you like modern art. Disgusting.”

And so the fighting resumes.

It is done by five-thirty-two, with an official surrender from Pierce.

“Thank god, I already ordered Chinese and they said it’d be here at six,” Rhodey says.

They all sit on the red couch.

Shoes on.

Tony tips four hundred percent.

“So what are we doing tomorrow?” Rhodey asks.

“I am not moving for six hours,” Bucky answers. “Also maybe getting a library card.”

“This is the first thing you want out of the icebox? A library card?” Tony asks, laughing.

Pepper laughs.

“I have errands to run. You can come with me and we’ll swing by.”

“What are the errands?”

“Getting a kitchen mixer and also making sure that my plates match my napkins.”

“A travesty if it doesn’t happen,” Rhodey deadpans. “Pass the lo mein, Tony. You’re hogging it.”

“I had to fight on a Wednesday and run,” Tony says. “Today isn’t cardio day.”

“Literally hate it when you speak,” Rhodey says. “Absolutely abhor your language.”

They go to bed, although it’s more of laying on the floor.

Sure, Tony will have to deal with retaking a business that he knows a bit less about and Pepper will have to be trained (again) and also fight against being made CEO (but she won’t fight much). Rhodey will get a new job with SI because it’s not like Tony will let him work at SHIELD (Rhodey tries, Tony will get him fired at some point). Bucky just...he needs to get a bit more than a library card.

But that’s for tomorrow.

#BUCKLE IN BOYS WE GOT A LONGGGGGG ONE #bucky barnes #tony stark #rhodey #pepper potts #yes this took all day yes i didn't proofread it #but i love this so much #lovelyirony writes

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thetrashywritingwitch · 5 years

Text

Valentines Headcanons

Kirishima:

This boy’s definition of romance and romantic gestures come straight from TV and comic books, which obviously aren’t always realistic

He isn’t the most observant guy around and sometimes starts to zone out if something or someones doesn’t have his full, undivided attention

He’s never shared Valentine’s day with someone before, but as soon as he hears you talking about the date coming up he has a momentary internal freakout: oh, man! What am I gonna get ‘em?!

Desperate to make his first Valentine’s day memorable, he actually dedicates more time to making a list brainstorming ideas than he does studying, much to the detriment of his grades and Bakugou who whacks him on the head every time he fucks up a math problem during tutoring sessions

Because of his media exposure, he goes to all the very generic gifts first: flowers, chocolates, anything heart-shaped, a card from the store, etc. It always works in the shows, so why wouldn’t it work now? You’ll love ‘em!

However, while he’s in line at the store with his arms full, he overhears a conversation from some other customers: “no way am I buying this junk. It’s garbage. Nah, man, you gotta make something, personalize it, show ‘em that they’re more special than anything you can just easily buy in a store.”

He looks down at the stuff in his arms and groans: of course, this always works in the movies! They’re written to work! Duh! He stuffs everything back on the shelves before running around the store for brand new things

He’s literally working until the day before Valentine’s to get everything ready. His room is covered in scraps of paper, failed experiments, and a crushed stress ball he used his quirk on when he started to panic that he’d messed up everything and you’d hate it all

Surprising you first thing the next morning despite his exhaustion and messy bed head, he knocks on your dorm room door. “Happy Valentine’s Day, y/n! I just couldn’t wait, sorry. I hope you like your gifts...” and he shoves a bag in your general direction

He loves your gifts, of course, but waits with baited breath for your reaction to his... and every time you open a new thing, you give him and kiss with he melts to

“Kirishima! All your gifts...did you make all this?!” When he nods you just tackle him with a giant hug and it makes all the effort worth it

Bakugou:

This tsundere idiot thinks Valentines and most corporate-created holidays are pretty stupid. “They just want your damn money; suckers will do anything if a commercial tells them to do it.”

As a result, he hasn’t paid much attention to Valentine’s day. He knows what it entails and the typical gifts you’re supposed to buy...HOWEVER

He isn’t dumb enough to think getting you nothing is the right way to go. Plus, he is driven by one single thought 24/7: be the damn best at everything, and that includes being the best boyfriend

He’s no slacker when it comes to making sure you’re happy even if he fucks things up along the way. He’s learned a lot about patience and the give and take that comes with making a relationship work

Suited up with a plan to give you “the best damn Valentines of your entire life” he goes to the store with a list of everything he needs

Literally laughs at all the “dumb lazy guys” buying flowers and chocolates and jewelry

Only people who know him well and are around him often know that Bakugou is actually a good cook - and he secretly enjoys it

Romantic dinner with all of your favorites? Check. Suited up with a recipe for a cake he got from Sato? Check.

The one thing he’s actually bad with is words of all things. So, he sort of...cheats a bit, in his mind anyway. He reads through a handful of Valentine’s cards, suffering through the cliche sappy messages written on the inside to help him string together something from his own head that doesn’t sound stupid

No matter what, though, he’s determined to make it all memorable and to show up everyone else with their dumb, store-bought gifts

When the Day arrives, he’s almost... hurt, in a way? Apparently, you thought he wasn’t going to get you anyway at all. “Well, you thought it was a dumb holiday, so what else was I supposed to think?”

Makes him realize that maybe, just maybe, he needs to think before he talks shit about every damn thing. But you should also know not to take him super seriously by now

You did get him something, at least. You aren’t the best cook, but you’re more creative than he is and he appreciates everything you give him

You love the cake and food he made you and every compliment you give made his ego grow ten sizes that day <3

Uraraka:

She’s a bit of a hopeless romantic and has always enjoyed watching romantic comedies and those types of movies. She always wanted to fall in love but gets horribly embarrassed anytime she even thinks about it

When she finally enters into a relationship, she’s worried that she isn’t good enough, will mess it up, or even that she can’t afford nice gifts or anything for you since she doesn’t have that much money

When Valentine’s day comes closer, she wants to prove how much she cares and appreciates you, but isn’t really sure how

Jewelry? too expensive. Fancy chocolate? too expensive! She isn’t the most creative or crafty person, either, so it starts to stress her out even though she knows you aren’t shallow enough to judge her on the quality of gift(s)

She ends up going to her friends for advice aka begging “PLEASE HELP I NEEEEED HELP!!” cue Ashido the queen of gifts to the rescue

She makes the suggestion of going to thrift stores or yard sales to find gift ideas and to write down everything she knows about you that you like: fav color, food, games, shows, anything to make it personal

The very next day, she manages to find a stuffed animal that smells like chocolate still with the tags on it! “one person’s breakup is another person’s treasure”

She also finds an empty glass jar and gets a brilliant idea. Borrowing some scissors and construction paper, she writes down everything she likes about you on the strips of paper and puts them into the Love Jar

“I know it’s not much... but I hope you like it anyway” her face is red and she’s practically floating as she gives you the gifts

You love the stuffed animal but it’s the Love Jar that steals the show. You go through about six strips of paper before you just start bawling. “This is...so sweet!!” and just smother her in affection for the rest of the day

Yaomomo:

Momo is, despite trying not to come off this way, a bit materialistic. She buys designer clothes, goes to eat at fancy restaurants, and doesn’t really have a problem spending a lot of money on her or other people

So for her, the main point of Valentine’s is to make it memorable in the only way she knows how: with extravagance

She has a detailed list of all your favorite spots and food and even things you dislike. There’s a plan in place at least a month in advance so she can make all the proper reservations

You always tell her that she doesn’t need to spend so much money on you, but she considers it “the bare minimum compensation for thanking you for being such a wonderful partner” and it always makes you blush

She makes a reservation at this very upscale restaurant where most of the patrons are older business men with clients but they have this one appetizer dish you love and this fancy dessert that you both can share. They also have a wide assortment of tea for her preferences

She rents a horsedrawn carriage for a ride around the park like Cinderella’s carriage

Flowers, chocolates, a new outfit, she goes ALL OUT spoiling you even if she knows you’ll get onto her later about it

“Momo...?! Wh- this is so much you didn’t have to do all this! I can’t compete...”

A little smooch on the cheek shuts you up. “We aren’t competing, dear. I offer what I have freely, not out of obligation to match it. We’re sharing experiences and making memories and that’s the most important thing”

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha imagines #bnha imagines blog #mha imagines #mha imagines blog #boku no hero x reader #my hero academia x reader #kirishima x reader #bakugou x reader #uraraka x reader #yaomomo x reader

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obscuralll · 4 years

Text

Guys idk this random emptiness suddenly hits me fucking thanks togashi and now i just want to be nostalgic about how i met hxh bc no lie hxh shaped me

I started reading hxh when i was 10 i checked the publishing date of my vol 01 comic and it was 2013 yeah i know it was very late but i live in indonesia what do you expect

My first impressions

Gon *h-holds gently*

Killua *hhh-h-holds gentlier* sqroonch a fucking living heart *😟😟😱s r e e c h*

Kurapimom

Leoridad

Die tonpa

Illumi is mine MINE he cute asf i repeat cute as fuck oh and he prob plays minecraft

Rihanna where’s the album why you’re with the zoldyck

The zoldyck radiates same energy as the kardashian don’t change my mind

Hisoka you stay AWAY from the bois ass

And i refuse to think about what happened at the heaven arena...

Chrollo pls adopt me

Then i stopped around greed island arc bc there were no new volumes in my local book store for like a year💀💀

But thank god the anime was started to air in animax... i remember watching hxh was my coping mechanism on my awkward transition from elementary to middle school lmao

But the anime was only until the end of greed island i deadass thought it was the fucking end gon and killua had finally find ging so now it just ends?? You know what??? F u c k ! (idk it was kite, and the new seasons aired like more or less a year after that)

THEN THE COMICS REEMERGED FROM NO WHERE ALL SUDDENLY... Now it’s 🐜 time

But damn togashi... Since when it got so depressing???

And that’s on post chimera ant voidness✨

Around that time (or should i call it... The Great Depression) my aunt went to japan and bought me hxh vol 19 and the special hand book idk i don’t really know the name bc it’s entirely in japanese and hunter alphabet (yeah the “minecraft enchantment table alpahabet” lmao)

This book made me feel like a real hunter lol i used to always carrying it everywhere even though i can’t understand a word

Yeah i also did the water divination thing and i was so confident that i’m a specialist... Good old days

I made a nen poster which were my drawings of nen principles and types ajshsgs

My parents were confused as hell lolll

And i bought the hunter license and Gon’s necklace thing i still have it until now just don’t know where hhh

Hxh was the first anime that made me UGLY SOBBING especially in the comic bc it just hits different... But for real how can such a chemistry being built between a blind girl and a monstrous being??? I could write an essay for this but for now: respect togashi ✊

Hxh left me with so many questions there will be unlimited story if you breakdown all the important characters

I really want to know illumi’s teenage life

Hisoka’s past

Phantom troupe past (i remember in one flashback they were passing-throwing a cassette and it was drawn like it has crucial role BUT IT’S NVR MENTIONED AGAIN bet togashi forgot lol)

The troupe’ members character backgrounds (how they met, their personal life out of the troupe activities)

Gon’s birth (i read it some where that it might be possible that he has no biological mother bc gon was actually from gi card or sumn?? I need to research)

Nanika origin (the most make sense theory is nanika is ai from dark continent that might be brought by zzig zoldyck)

Netero-ging or Pariston-ging encounter

At this point idk how many times i have rewatched and rereading hxh... But i prefer reading actually and i still bought the physical comic too... The latest vol in my house atm is 36 and i continue by reading online

I just... Want to read new hxh😔🥺

...

I was 10

And now i’m almost 17

I’ve never been this obsessed and being in a fandom this long, despite all the ✨tortures💫either from the story itself or the hiatus

I’m so mad...but

I really pray for togashi’s health

It just... hxh is not just a fiction for me... Idk it feels real an essay may not be enough for me to describe it... haha💀

I literally forgot why am i writing this... It’s supposed to fill the void now i am the v o i d 😔😔😔

#hxh #hunter x hunter #yoshihiro togashi #gon #killua #kurapika #leorio #hisoka #illumi #zoldyck family #phantom troupe #genei ryodan #ging #pariston #pariging #hisoillu #killugon #leopika

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stereksecretsanta · 4 years

Text

Merry Christmas, obsessedbutonline!

For @obsessedbutonline, who listed fluff, angst, and ‘Derek giving Stiles gift’ as a few ‘Likes’. I hope I did those items justice. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Friend!

Read On AO3

*****

The Gift

The gift. He supposed it all started with the gift. Or maybe Star Trek. Derek wasn’t sure. It was Stiles, after all. One day, the younger man had been debating the cuddle rating of a Tribble, before diving into an analysis of The Voyage Home being one of the worst movies in franchise history (except for the whales, of course), and the next thing Derek knew, he’d found himself discussing how Moby Dick was one of his favorite books. The random jumps from one topic to another hadn’t been anything new for Stiles, but that had also been the year they’d legitimately gotten ‘together’ after their contentious circling of each other’s orbits, so when Derek had opened an inelegantly wrapped early edition of the novel on that first Christmas as a couple, he’d been rendered speechless.

He couldn’t remember how long he’d stared at the leather-bound copy exactly, but he did recall feeling a bout of inadequacy. He thought he’d hid it well though. “Stiles – “ he’d started. “I wasn’t expecting…This is too much.”

Stiles had shrugged like it hadn’t been a big deal, an eager grin on his face. “Nah, it wasn’t too bad. A classmate mentioned a prof who needed an assistant to help translate some Latin verses, and I thought I’d check it out. When I went, I noticed a copy of Moby Dick in his office, and you’d mentioned it was one of your favorites, so I offered my translation services for free if he would sell the book for a discounted price.”

Of course, Stiles had remembered that weird detail from a throwaway conversation. And of course, he’d been resourceful in procuring it. That was just who Stiles was. Now, Derek, on the other hand… well, he’d felt completely out of his league when he’d pulled out the gift card he’d picked up a day earlier from a comic book store. He hadn’t even known if that was a store Stiles ever visited. He really sucked at gift-giving. “Sorry, I didn’t …”

Stiles had yanked it out of his hands before he’d even finished. “I love it. Thanks, Derek!” The younger man had beamed excitedly, clutching that cheap piece of plastic in his hands as if he’d just received some personal heirloom. There had been no uptick in the man’s heartrate, so there’d been no lie in those words, but that hadn’t stop Derek from feeling bad.

And it was then that he had resolved to do better, that he would be thoughtful and meticulous in his gift selection the next time Christmas rolled around. Stiles deserved as much.

But he’d mentioned he was bad at gift-giving, right? As in, monumentally bad. Because the next Christmas, when they’d settled down on his couch after an intimate holiday dinner he’d prepared for the two of them, Stiles had presented him with a charmingly wrinkled gift bag. And when he’d pulled out a lovingly restored and framed photograph of his family from before the fire, he’d not only felt a slight lump in his throat at the sentiment, he’d also felt remarkably small and completely lacking in comparison. It was a good thing they’d come to a mutual understanding that their birthdays would be a no-gift zone, because Derek wasn’t sure he could’ve handled double the inferiority complex this time of year.

“I found a copy of the photo from the digital archives of the town newspaper. It was for some fundraiser committee your mom chaired, I think. I saved a copy, and googled around for some pointers on how to increase the resolution so I could print out a decent version of it,” Stiles had explained.

Derek had nodded absently, his fingers lightly tracing the curve of his mother’s face under the cool glass. His whole family had stared back at him, carefree and unburdened in the moment that photo had been taken, eyes all shiny from a sunny afternoon picnic. “Yeah, I remember. It was a Pets in the Park fundraiser for the local animal shelter.” There had been an ache in the pit of his stomach at the reminder of everything he’d lost, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had once been. Now, it had been dulled by time, and tempered by the meaningful relationships he’d found, foremost of which was the one with the man beside him. “Thank you,” he’d said slowly, slightly surprised that his voice hadn’t cracked at the pool of emotion swirling within him.

“Anytime, big guy.” Stiles had leaned in, his weight and warmth freely offered as a source of silent strength.

But when he’d pulled out his gift for Stiles, he had had that sinking feeling of failing an important test. He hadn’t even had time to wrap it properly, opting to place a haphazard bow on it instead. “Sorry, I didn’t know …”

Stiles had grabbed the cellophane-covered box with a puzzled expression. “A bath set?” he’d asked slowly. “Is this your way of telling me I stink?”

There had been amusement in the younger man’s tone, devoid of upset or disappointment, but that hadn’t stopped Derek from feeling upset and disappointed in himself. After Stiles had gone through all the trouble of giving him such a personal and meaningful gift, he’d reciprocated with … soap. “Remember when you were on break during Thanksgiving,” he’d started to explain. “That necromancer problem we had?”

“Oh, damn, do I ever! We spent the whole night trying to wash zombie goo out of bodily crevices I never knew I had!” Then, realization had set in as those rich brown eyes widened. “This is perfect, Derek! Thank you!” And just like that, Stiles had fallen on him with his usual gracelessness, and proceeded to express his ‘gratitude’ properly.

That had been last year. But this time around, right before Stiles had returned to campus for his final two semesters of college, Derek had stumbled upon the ideal Christmas gift, while they were cleaning, of all things. They’d been packing up and storing some of Stiles’ stuff before the younger man headed back to school when they’d gotten diverted by some dusty, old boxes in the Sheriff’s attic. Somehow, in the way of procrastination, they’d ended up flipping through old photo albums when Stiles had paused to tell him about a picture of his mother.

“Oh, there’s the locket my dad helped me buy for Mother’s Day when I was eight,” Stiles had said as he’d pointed to a picture of Claudia Stilinski, vivacious and beaming brightly at the camera. Anyone could see where Stiles had gotten his smile. “I didn’t have the greatest taste in jewelry, so it doesn’t look like much, but she was so excited when she got it. She wore it all the time.”

“It’s nice that you have a memento to remember her by,” Derek had supplied.

Stiles’ shoulders had slumped a little at the comment. “Yeah, I think we accidentally sold it during a garage sale not long after she died. Dad wasn’t exactly in the best place, and he just wanted to get rid of the memories because they hurt so much back then. Lots of regret now. Who knows? It might’ve found another home, or it might be in a garbage dump somewhere.”

And that comment had led him down the winding, convoluted path to where he was now: standing in front of a teenage girl with bright blue hair and an eclectic ensemble of a loose plaid shirt, artfully ripped leggings, and combat boots.

“A hundred bucks,” the girl re-stated, her tone indicating that this wasn’t a negotiation.

“One hundred? The pawn shop owner said you only paid five dollars for it.” He could be stubborn too, though deep down, he knew he wasn’t really in a position of power in this situation, much as that rankled him.

Ms. Blue-hair shrugged. “So? If you want it that bad, then you should be willing to pay for it.”

She had him there. Three months of diligently interviewing the Stilinski neighbors, and following a trail of multiple goodwill and pawn shops had led him to that very locket hanging from the girl’s neck, that very locket Stiles had shown him in that old photo of his mother. He gave the teen what Stiles had laughingly termed his ‘murder-brow’ look and pulled out his wallet. Of course, he would pay, especially after all the work he’d put into tracking it down, and because this was for Stiles. He didn’t have to like being swindled like this though.

“That’s a nice jacket, by the way.”

Derek looked up from pulling out the cash and froze. He glared at the girl, hoping the intensity of his stare would deter whatever she was about to insinuate. It didn’t work.

“No,” he said flatly as she watched him expectantly.

“Okay, I guess we’re done here then. Nice meeting you.” And with that, she turned and started to walk away.

Derek ground his teeth together to keep from outright growling and fought hard to not wolf out. He hated being bested like this. Life would’ve been so much simpler if he could just take the damned piece of jewelry by force and run off with it. Stupid morals.

“Fine,” he conceded with a clenched jaw after she’d managed to walk several feet away.

She turned with a triumphant smile as he started to shrug off his leather jacket. When he held it out with the wad of cash, she unclasped the chain without any further objections and handed it over. “Pleasure doing business with you, sir.”

(***)

Stiles’ name flashed on his lock screen just as he was pulling up to his loft.

“Hey, you back already?” he answered as he shifted his car into park. His regular visits to Stanford notwithstanding, he’d been anticipating Stiles’ winter break for a while, and the timing couldn’t have worked out any better with him finding the locket when he had. “I was going to pick you up tonight after you’ve had a few hours with your dad.”

Several seconds of heavy breathing greeted his words, and almost instantly, he was on alert, muscles tensing and heartrate increasing. “Stiles?”

“Yeah, Derek, I’m here,” a familiar voice sounded through the phone. “Sorry, just had to get around Scott to check something out. But no, I’m not home yet. Got sidetracked on my way into town. Can you come to the preserve right now? The trail just off Parsons. We’ve got, um, a problem.”

Since his return to Beacon Hills, the supernatural activity in the area had decreased significantly, especially with a solid pack established in the area now, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t the occasional run-in with creatures bringing in death and mayhem. This sounded like one of those times. Shifting gears into reverse, he responded without hesitation, “On my way.”

The trip to the preserve was quick, the route having been travelled so many times that he could probably drive it eyes closed. After parking in the lot off Parsons, he picked up Stiles’ scent almost immediately, along with a few others of the pack, and had no problems tracking the source down a few hundred feet off a popular running path.

Not surprisingly, Scott noticed him first, looking up from a patch of tall grass and nodding in greeting as Derek silently approached. Stiles stood more out in the open, back turned and head down as he tapped busily on his phone. Once upon a time, his quiet ‘stalking’ would’ve caused a flailing of limbs and a high-pitched yelp from the younger man, but of the familiarity borne from the years of closeness, Stiles simply turned, smiled, and greeted him with a warm ‘hey’ as if he’d known he was there the whole time. And all things considered, he probably had.

They’d never been a couple for overt displays of affection, but the way Stiles unconsciously leaned toward him, trusting and open, worked just as well in telling Derek how the other man felt. He usually did the same, subtly breathing in the scent of his boyfriend and feeling more settled in his presence. They hadn’t seen each for a couple of weeks, and he’d missed having Stiles near.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking around for the rest of the pack. Their scents were fainter, which meant they had been here recently, but had likely wandered off or left altogether.

“It’s Christmastime in Beacon Hills, so the usual. Y’know, carolers, Santa parades, sleigh rides, tidings of comfort and joy, and oh yeah, witches.”

Derek had never been bothered by Stiles’ sarcasm, though he wouldn’t openly admit that if asked about their first encounters with each other, but now, he found the trait rather endearing. “So, we’re dealing with a witch. How bad?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I was driving back into town when I saw a kid running across the road. Freaked me out, and barely stopped in time. When I went to check on him, he was crying and said an old woman had tried to take him. At first, I thought it was an attempted kidnapping, but then, he said that there was a lot of screaming coming from her big bag, and he was scared of getting stuffed in there with all the other kid. For this town, that triggered alarm bells. Stuffing kids into bags and lugging them around is not your regular run-of-the-mill kidnapper MO. I called my dad, and he came out here with a few units, but is running interference on the supernatural front. He’d mentioned that this was the third attempted kidnapping this month, so the deputies are on high alert. They still think it’s a regular human predator, so they’re canvassing the other side of the preserve right now, which means we can do our own investigation here. I called Scott, and the others are now fanned out, doing a search to see if we can catch a scent.”

“No luck yet,” Scott added as he strode over to join them. “Just a whole bunch of the usual smells, and with the people that use the running trails, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific one. We’re not exactly sure what we’re looking for.”

“I think I have a lead though.” Stiles held out his phone to show an etching of a stooped crone with a large sack. “We might have an Icelandic witch in the area, one that kidnaps and eats children, but I’m not a hundred percent. I hope I’m not right because … well, children! But she’s supposed to be active around Christmas. I need to double-check some books at my house to make sure though.”

Derek nodded, not surprised that Stiles had pretty much figured it out already. As human as Stiles was, he was arguably one of the pack’s most valuable assets, and truth be told, Derek felt quite proud of the other man’s quick wit and life-saving accomplishments. “So, you need to go home then?”

Stiles made a sound of agreement as he tucked his phone away and gave him an apologetic look. No words were needed to communicate how sorry he was that their reunion wasn’t what they’d planned.

“Okay, call us with any info,” Scott chimed in. “Derek and I will probably be more useful if we keep scouting the area. This is children we’re talking about. I don’t want anymore of them put in danger.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Alpha leader, sir,” Stiles replied jokingly, giving his friend a mock salute.

The years had matured Scott somewhat, enough that the erstwhile werewolf took his role and responsibilities somewhat seriously now. And for this, Derek was grateful.

Scott gave Stiles a shove to get him on his way, before shaking his head with a laugh and started to move back to the tall grass he’d been searching through earlier. “Go, you idiot.”

Stiles responded with the very mature gesture of sticking out his tongue. Then, Derek felt the younger man’s arm wrap lightly around his waist and pull him close for a quick kiss. The motion was casual, natural, and one that Derek returned without thought. “Sorry, not what we’d planned when I got back, huh? Let’s catch this witch fast so we can start our Christmas cuddle session, ‘kay?”

Derek raised an eyebrow at the comment. His boyfriend sure did have a way with words sometimes. “Christmas cuddle?”

“Hey, it is what it is.” Stiles shrugged innocently as he started to move away.

“I’m not calling it that.”

“Suit yourself, Sourwolf, but I’ve officially labelled it, and you can’t take that away from me,” Stiles said as he walked backwards toward the nearby trail. Derek half-expected him to trip on some invisible rock in the next few seconds. “Gonna say it all I want!”

He rolled his eyes as the younger man’s antics. “Go.”

“Christmas cuddle! Oh, and far be it for me to complain about seeing you in that t-shirt, but you do know it’s winter, right? We may live in California, and you may have some super-awesome internal wolfy furnace going, but I’m cold just looking at you. Where’s your jacket?”

“Go!” While he didn’t feel the chill as acutely, he didn’t need to be reminded about his fleecing by a greedy, blue-haired teenager.

After Stiles wave his acknowledgement and jogged out of sight, Derek turned back to join Scott. Their relationship may have started out roughly, but they’d fallen into a companionable pattern over the last few years. It was likely because of everything Scott had been through and his maturation, but Derek guessed part of it may have been out of respect for both their relationships with Stiles. Without much preamble, they quickly sectioned off their respective search zones, and fanned out into the thicker parts of the preserve. Derek had grown up here, had run and played amongst the trees and foliage so often that walking through it now stirred a sense of homecoming. Still, sometimes, there were things here that could still surprise him. Like the odd whiff of fear and panic he caught a few minutes after he’d split off from Scott. It was faint, probably non-existent for the newer wolves, but it was there, so out of place with the earthy scent of moss and soil. He started to follow it, his senses sharpening as he homed in on the potential prey. He hadn’t made much progress before he heard a howl off in the distance, and his entire body tensed, ready for action.

They’d found something!

Once he pinpointed the source, he was off, dashing through branches and over roots with a surety of stride that had been acquired from a lifetime of running these woods. He didn’t get very far though. He heard it first, a loud symphony of disembodied laughter all around him. Before he could stop and confront whatever it was, he caught a flutter of movement in his periphery, and then, he was flying, thrown through the air by an impact harder than anything in recent memory. He was out cold before he even landed.

(***)

He wasn’t unconscious for long. At least, he didn’t think he was, given that generations of werewolf evolution had refined his healing abilities to the point where he shouldn’t be. But however long it was, it was enough to find himself strapped to a board – or a crude table, perhaps – staring up at the flickering shadows of a stone ceiling. Or a cave? He honestly hated losing time like this and waking up in unexpected places, which, given who he was and where he lived, was an actual occupational hazard.

A whimper somewhere to his left drew his attention just then, and he tilted his head at an uncomfortable angle to take better stock of where he was, and with whom. Just within his field of vision, he could barely make out a small figure sat huddled inside a primitively constructed cage no higher than his hip. A wood fire burned beneath a big vat just a few feet away, thoroughly heating up whatever was inside if the bubbling sound was any indication.

“Hey,” he said quietly, if a little hoarsely, hoping the hunched figure would shift enough into the firelight for him to make out who it was.

The figure shuffled over, and Derek could see the tear-streaked face of a boy, probably no more than eight or nine years old. Stiles had said there’d been attempted kidnappings. It looked like one had succeeded.

“H-hello? You’re awake.”

“Yeah, I am.” He wasn’t good with children, barring the few cousins he’d played with when he was younger, yet that had been different. They’d been family. He knew this kid was scared, could hear it in the tremor of his voice and smell it in the dankness of the air, but he wasn’t sure what he could say to help with that. “I’m Derek. What’s your name?”

“A-Andy.”

“Well, Andy, if you give me a minute, we can get out of here and I’ll take you back to your parents.” He tried to sound reassuring, though he wasn’t sure it worked as well as he’d intended when he was tugging and testing the thick ropes tied around his chest, waist, and legs. They were tight, but he managed to slide a hand free enough to shift and start slicing away at the restraints with his claw.

“Just Mom,” the boy said quietly. “Dad left.”

“Okay, we’re going to find your mom then. I’m sure she’s really missing you right now.” He figured that keeping a calm tone and easy conversation going was as good a plan as any while he worked on the ropes.

Andy shuffled a little in his cage, his face dipping down again into the shadows cast by the nearby fire. “She’s working. She’s always working. She promised I’d get to see Dad, but she couldn’t take me, so I went to find him myself.”

Which might explain why the boy hadn’t been reported missing yet. There was some give to the rope by his right hip, so he tilted his head and tried to look over at the boy and hoped he properly projected the sincerity of his words. “That doesn’t mean she’s not missing you, Andy. I know she’s probably very worried. She – “

The stench assaulted him first, sour and rancid, before he felt the whole space shake with a reverberating thud. Andy quickly scooted back into the corner of his cage with a scared squeak, leaving Derek to turn and search out the source in the dim light. An old woman came into view near the foot of his table, posture bent and face haggard, each of her steps sending tiny shockwaves through the cave. Her long, gray hair hung in a greasy, unkempt mess, framing a crooked nose and a gap-toothed, mirthless grin. She resembled the picture Stiles had shown him on his phone, but the younger man had neglected to mention one thing. She was a fucking giant!

The whole cave suddenly felt cramped, and her looming presence caused his heartrate to spike. He worked faster on his ropes.

“Good dog. You’re too old and gristly for my liking, but if my lads want a pet, a pet they will get,” she said in a voice deeper than he’d expected. She patted his stomach dismissively as she passed, and he fought hard not cry out at the jarring, painful contact. “Now, where’s my little snack? Little boy for a little snack. Little boy snack.” She cackled at her own wit.

He heard Andy whimper again as the old, giant crone ambled her way over to the cage, and he wanted to tell the boy to be brave, to hold on because he was almost through his rope. Yet, as he was about to do just that, he caught the scent of metal and electricity in the air. It cut through the myriad of other unpleasant smells like an olfactory beacon, clear and crisp and a harbinger of something – or someone – familiar. He couldn’t help but smile a little at the arrival of the calvary, even as Andy shrieked when the witch pulled him roughly from the cage and shuffled over to the boiling pot.

Then, several things happened at once. First, voices that sounded like the disembodied laughter he’d heard earlier came from somewhere outside. This time, however, they were shouting out in distress, intermingled with the familiar voices of his pack. The cries gave the witch pause for a split second, just as he cut through the last of his restraints and pulled free. After that, he was up and leaping through the air, aiming to get Andy free of the old woman’s clutches and away from the fire. And he managed just that, wrapping his arms around the boy as he clawed at the large hand that held him. But he underestimated the reaction speed of the crone, and barely managed to turn his body to shield Andy before her other hand swatted his side. He landed with bone-cracking impact against the boiling pot, adrenalin enhancing his movements as he rolled quickly to avoid landing on the fire or getting splattered by the hot liquid in the toppling vat. He was pretty sure he’d probably cracked a few ribs, but they were already healing. Andy seemed none the worse for wear when he looked down, unhurt and safe in his arms still.

“My boys! What are they doing to my boys?” the witch wailed.

Derek tensed briefly, thinking the giantess would take her surprise and anger out on him. He readied himself for a fight, but instead, she turned and marched the other way, he and Andy seemingly forgotten. He eased himself up with a barely suppressed groan, and let the small body pressed against his chest slide down to his lap. He could hear the pack outside, the growls of the wolves and the foreign-sounding chants from Stiles, and he knew that they had it handled.

“You okay?” he asked as he gave Andy a good once-over.

The boy simply nodded, his whole body still trembling. Then, without a word, he leaned forward and hugged Derek as if his life depended on it. Not sure how else to respond, Derek hugged the child back.

That was how Stiles found them a few minutes later when he stumbled clumsily into the cave. After some coaxing, they both managed to talk Andy into finally letting go. Scott took it from there, coming in to take the boy away to find the Sheriff, who had been called to the area when Stiles had triangulated Derek’s location. Stiles waited a moment after Scott had left before he turned and threw himself into Derek’s arms.

“Oh, thank every deity I just prayed to you’re okay. Had me worried.”

Derek squeezed the warm, lithe body clinging to him like an octopus, and bent down to briefly nuzzle his partner’s neck. He breathed in the fortifying scent that was simply Stiles and used it to ground himself after the crazy events that had just happened. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m fine.”

“I know. You’re one tough son of a bitch, but the uncertainty always gets me.” Stiles pulled away and gave him a look with those ridiculously wide Bambi-like eyes that made Derek’s insides go warm. “And of course, you would go all superhero and save a child while we saved you. With the way the boy was holding on to you, I thought you’d replaced me with a cuter, newer model.”

Derek quirked up his lip into a lopsided, half-smile. “Never,” he returned easily. “If I did, I would at least try to get a good trade-in price for you.”

“Smartass.” As his comeback, Stiles smacked his arm with the back of his hand. He then slipped said hand into Derek’s, intertwined their fingers, and started walking out of the cave. “See if I ever send baddies back through an intercontinental gate for you again.”

“So, she wasn’t a witch?” Derek asked as he followed Stiles’ lead out of the cave

“Oh, no, she was a witch. The giantess witch, Gryla, and her sons, the Yule Lads. I don’t know how they got here, but I was working off of some quick and dirty research, so the best I could do was track down caves in the area, which is what the literature says she tends to favor, and find a spell to send her back to her native Iceland.”

Derek silently listened as Stiles explained what had happened, both grateful and proud – and not for the first or last time either – at the quick wit and resourcefulness of the guy he got to call his. They eventually emerged from the cave, and he immediately felt lighter the moment he could smell the fresh earth and foliage again. The sun was beginning to set, creating lengthening shadows of the redwoods and the oaks that stood like sentinels around them. And with that came a distinct chill in the air. He felt Stiles shiver at the lower temperature, and wished he’d had his jacket around to offer the other man. The jacket that he’d exchanged for …

With his free hand, he reached into his jeans pocket where he’d tucked the locket earlier, and –

Shit!

Without another thought, he turned and sprinted back into the cave. He quickly scanned the area and did not see the locket anywhere. His eyes then fell on the overturned pot and the still-burning embers of the woodfire. A dash of panic began to taint his actions, but he didn’t stop to quell it. Instead, he rushed over to the dying fire and started digging through the ashes. His hands burned and healed almost simultaneously as he dug desperately through the charred wood, an odd combination of frustration and helplessness clouding his judgement.

“Derek?”

He heard Stiles, but didn’t answer, mainly because his fingers wrapped around a clump of metal just then. He looked down at what used to be Stiles’ mother’s locket, the piece now misshapen by the heat and bearing no resemblance to what it used to be. He dropped the thing, both dejected and angry. This was supposed to be the year. This was supposed to be the Christmas where he would show Stiles how much the younger man meant to him by putting the care and thought into his gift that Stiles had always put into his. But everything… everything had been for nothing.

“Derek? What’s wrong? You okay?” Stiles approached and knelt beside him, looking ready to join him in whatever he was searching for.

He brushed the soot and ash off his hands, shook his head, and stood up. “Nothing. I’m good. Just thought I dropped something but I was wrong. C’mon, let’s go home.”

Puzzled, Stiles stood too, though he didn’t pry, and together, they made their way out of the cave once more, but not before Derek threw one last, longing glance at the pile of ashes.

(***)

“Oh, my god, I’m so stuffed,” Stiles said as he plopped down on the couch and rubbed his belly. “I might have to be rolled off to bed later because there’s no way I’m standing up.”

Derek smiled softly at the younger man’s dramatics, and joined him on the sofa. Christmas dinner had been an intimate one again between just the two of them, with Derek doing most of the preparation, while Stiles had ‘helped’. He didn’t mind though. He enjoyed their time together. The way they fit together, their ease with each other … it had all been hard-won, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. The younger man had chatted animatedly throughout the meal and Derek had let him go on, wanting to prolong the whole thing because, if he was being honest, he was dreading what would happen afterwards: their gift exchange.

“Merry Christmas, Derek,” Stiles said, as if reading his thoughts. He reached over to the end table and grabbed an unevenly wrapped gift.

Derek stared at the thing for a moment, just knowing deep down it would be a typical Stiles present, all special and personal. Why did Stiles even stay with him? He must come across as an unthoughtful, unappreciative jerk. Slowly, he unwrapped the gift, and revealed a collage of artfully arranged photographs. There were trees and flowers and butterflies dancing on sunbeams across open trails. They were beautiful, more so in that Derek recognized where they had been taken: the preserve.

“You sometimes talk about how you grew up in the preserve,” Stiles explained. “How it’s a second home to you, and how you have all those memories with your family there. I know the memories are special, so I went and took some pictures during summer break. I hope these help you remember all those good times.”

Derek blinked away the prickling he felt in his eyes. Stiles may have assumed he was touched by the gift, which was fine. He didn’t need to know what Derek was really feeling. He didn’t need to know that in that moment, he thought Stiles really deserved so much better than him.

“Thank you. It’s perfect,” he choked out. “I – “ He didn’t know how to continue. What else could he say? “My present isn’t –“

He stopped. Stiles looked at him expectantly. Not finding the right words, he leaned over to the coffee table and grabbed the last-minute gift bag he’d filled the day before. “Here.”

He looked away while Stiles eagerly dug into the bag. He knew what was in there, and he didn’t need to see the lackluster reaction the younger man would have at the assortment of Reese’s candies he’d find.

“Oh, this is awesome, Derek!” Stiles exclaimed excitedly. “Holy shit, there’s a half pound peanut butter cup in here! Hello, Heaven!”

Derek felt Stiles’ arms wrap around him in gratitude, but he couldn’t find it in himself to return the gesture. The younger man seemed to notice and pulled back. “Derek?”

He turned and took in Stiles’ questioning gaze. He couldn’t do this. They complemented each other so well in everything, but somehow, in this, they were completely mismatched. “Doesn’t it bother you?” he asked in earnest.

“What?”

“My gifts. Doesn’t it bother you that my gifts are so … so bad. Yours are always so … so perfect.” It felt good to get that off his chest.

Stiles gawked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. “Huh? But I think your gifts are perfect. And that’s not a lie. You can tell, right?”

True, Derek hadn’t heard any change in the other man’s heartrate to indicate otherwise, but no one could like his choice of gifts that much. “I just ... I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you, how much I care about you, the same way to do for me, especially with the gifts you give me. But I can’t seem to do that.” This was uncharted territory for him, this admission. He wasn’t used to revealing his insecurities like this. Yet, this was Stiles he was talking to, he reminded himself. Stiles, who never had any shame in revealing his every failure and weakness, and who gave his trust without fear of being hurt. Derek owed him the same. “I found your mother’s locket,” he finally said. “The one from the album you showed me. I found it, and was going to give it to you, but I lost it when we fought that witch last week. I’m sorry.”

He stared at the coffee table. He stared at the discard wrapping paper of the collage he’d just received. He started at everything but Stiles.

And then, “That’s what you were worried about? Not being able to show me you loved me?” Stiles’ tone was incredulous, and it was enough for Derek to turn his attention to the younger man again. “You’re an idiot, Derek,” Stiles continued. “For the record, your presents are awesome. But that’s not the point. You drive three hours each way to visit me on campus every other weekend. You cook Christmas dinner for us every year. You help me pack for college each fall. You drop everything and meet me in a forest, no questions asked, when I call. You even spent all night picking zombie guts out of my hair. If that doesn’t say ‘love’, I don’t know what does!”

To put an exclamation to his point, Stiles pulled him in for a long, lingering kiss. “I love you, Derek Hale, and I know you love me. You don’t need to give me things to show me that. You show me every day in the things you do. And that’s more than enough.”

Derek looked at the man sitting beside him, stunned and at a loss. “I –“

“It’s more than enough,” Stiles re-stated firmly. “Now, stop your self-flagellation, and show me how much you appreciate my gift by kissing me.”

Stiles pulled him in again, and this time, Derek did put everything he had into that kiss because the weight of those heartfelt words were slowly sinking in. He loved Stiles. And Stiles … Stiles knew that. He groaned in appreciation at the true gift he’d been given as he pushed the younger man down onto his back, bracing his weight on his arms as he ground their hips together. Fuck it, he felt like he’d really won the lottery in finding Stiles … because Stiles was right, he realized as he deepened their kiss, tasting and teasing the smart, sarcastic, and silly man beneath him.

This … This was more than enough.

#obsessedbutonline #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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