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steve0discusses · 3 years

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S4 Ep 39: Pharaoh Can Fly (Selectively)

Guys, they’re back

Best storyboarder is back, and the visual difference between last episode and this episode is like when your art teacher picks up your charcoal and just fixes everything wrong with your gesture drawings. It’s like...I mean look at this:

I just really love and appreciate how illustrative this storyboarder is. And I say just storyboarder because this had about the same budget as the last episode--there wasn’t that much actual animation as per usual. But, all of the scenes were drawn so well, like panels out of a good manga. They just...they always nail it when they’re at the helm and I don’t know why they’re on Yugioh, but bless this storyboarder.

Plot wise, everyone got pulled into the dragon by gooey tentacles that came out of it’s stomach, don’t think about it.

Meanwhile, all of the minibosses could communicate with them and beg for help, yes, even the same miniboss who may have dressed up like Pegasus and catfished Seto Kaiba.

(keep reading under the cut)

The whole process of getting absorbed into the Orichalcos demon was a whole lot of symbolism and it was...kinda gross. Also kinda sketch. Also, for Kaiba it is a neat little nod to S1 when he had a vision that his brother was absorbed into a dragon mass.

I don’t think that the makers of the show remember S1, but either they just really like goopy dragons, or it’s a coincidence or I dunno, on purpose? Probably a coincidence.

And like I made this joke and realized...what if they actually meant to make that parallel though? This is the America crossover season, and they have referenced America’s love of trickster rabbits before with Pegasus but do they know about Br’er rabbit in Japan? Do they know? It’s a pretty Americana Deep-cut, and I have no idea how common this folktale is outside of the states.

I see anime busting out absorbing goopy masses all the time so I’m gonna assume that there might be a Japanese folklore I don’t know about which uses a similar structure (although I’m also assuming it has an extremely different history and association ((which I won’t be going into because I don’t feel like putting a trigger warning on this recap)).)

And looking at Wikipedia, there’s people that think the original reference to moist, absorbing creatures could have even come from as far as India. Which is...fascinating to how it also developed in Africa, and then the Cherokee also made the same story independently and then it fused together here in the States to make it what was eventually made into a Disney movie that will never be released again--this is just a really old ass story, all in all, possibly like over a thousand years old.

And a FASCINATING google deep dive I won’t go into for obvious reasons but knock yourself out.

Also, lets get distracted for a sec and see how well this storyboarder drew a fitted jacket at that angle. Dear Lord, did they get reference for that or did their brain just already know that those folds would be there? You can even tell that Pharaoh has just a little bit of padding at his shoulders. Ugh. Guys this storyboarder is so freakin good at these little fitted jackets.

So, once Yugi and his friends are absorbed into the mass, where they should have died...and maybe some of them did, but I don’t know if I should add that to the Death Count because like...they could have held their breath in the amount of time they were stuck in there...maybe...Anyway, they are saved by being tossed into the figurative briar patch--by the souls all hanging out in the Leviathan’s stomach--which again makes me wonder...did they pull a folklore on us? Again, I have no idea.

Like a lot of the people in this dragon have been thorns in their side this entire season, they’ve all tried to kill them at one point--all the minibosses, Mai, Pegasus--but now they have decided to team up with Pharaoh (along with the rest of the human race) and offer whatever they can to free them from the grip of the gross dragon mass.

And like, the ending of the folk tale is that the thorny ass briar patch is also where the rabbit lives usually. It hurts everyone else, but the rabbit--the rabbit can deal with it. And likewise, Pharaoh is freakin dead. He’s at home here. He’s surrounded by spirit power, his friends and their friendship power, this is like his zone, and now he’s crazy powerful for it and will be for the rest of the episode.

And like Yami is a very trickster God (especially Season Zero Yami) so like...it does make sense that he would mirror a folk tale based on trickster Gods, even if it is by complete accident.

So Pharaoh imagines everyone’s tears as individual drops in a glass or something--it’s not a literal glass or anything--it’s just there because the only thing actually happening on screen was his hand hanging out of this dragon’s weird puss skin.

And he’s now a fully charged Sonic the Hedgehog and no longer needs Kaiba or Joey at all. Just gonna grab his God card demons and take charge of everything else from here on out.

By first exploding his buddies right the hell out of this lizard and across hundreds of feet of open ocean.

Joey decides to remind Kaiba that he lost the Battle City tournament.

Seto’s roast was actually in the show, PS. He is not super excited to be reminded that Yugi owns every card that he spent 2 seasons failing to get.

And then Pharaoh did something really, really...

...just really really wild.

OH OK.

YEAH JUST TAKE OFF.

GO AHEAD THERE’S NO REASON THIS WOULD BOTHER ME.

I mean he IS super powered right now but like...

Like...WTF?

4 SEASONS. 4 SEASONS I thought this guy was glued to Yugi like Peter Pan’s Shadow and apparently--he can bounce.

Can Pharaoh do this every time Yugi asks Tea out on a date and tries to instead make the ghost in his head do all the work now? Can Pharaoh just be like “NOPE” and then phase out of the house, leaving Yugi to actually do the hard stuff?

It really adds a level of complexity to their relationship if Yugi can get a room.

(If not a room for romance, but at the very least a room to poop in.)

OR has he been able to allow Yugi to wicked poop in peace this whole time, but the show just never felt like telling us because they felt like it wasn’t important (although it is crazy important)?

Either way I am just...floored at this character development.

Yami just let Yugi out of his sight for like...I want to say 8 full minutes. Just incredible amount of trust on Yami’s part. Incredible. Knowing Yugi’s track record, he should have died in those 8 minutes but...he was being babysat by both Kaiba and Joey.

So Yami summons the Gods and they shoot lasers--you kinda expect this sort of thing.

And this is...probably...the real reason why Dartz didn’t bother trying to attack Pharaoh 5,000 years ago.

I can still think it’s because of Bakura but like...this is probably the real reason. It felt pretty chump to just shoot a laser at the bastard. Pharaoh just had to be reminded that this is a thing he can just do. If he felt like it.

Which he never feels like doing, because he’s too busy watching Yugi’s every move, and getting distracted by High School shenanigans.

After this happens, the giant snake falls to the ocean, splitting into just sooooooo many ghosts.

Over 7.8 billion ghosts, if we’re to assume that this is most of the population on Earth.

(thinking the weird-o in the hat is probably a Duel Monsters card? The duel monsters were throwing themselves into the Leviathan at one point so this is probably like a dark magician boy or something...I just don’t get very attached to the monster cards so it was like...whatever. The cards die like constantly so who cares?)

It is a pretty set dressing. Like Christmas lights but...dead people.

We also find out that the lost family of our minibosses Alister and Raphael, have indeed spent the last many years inside the Leviathan stomach, which is pretty tragic. We get a bitter sweet conclusion to Alister and Raphael’s story--although it’s not a full on ending for either character. Their life still hella sucks, they are in therapy for basically forever.

Where is Gurimo?

I don’t know what sort of job or life these two are qualified to have now, but youknow...Marik’s boat probably has jobs available.

Hold up. Can we talk about the windows?

I know absolutely none of you care about this, but I do, not to be picky or condescending to an overworked art team, but because I just want to know what they were trying to aim for.

There’s an iron stained glass style windowpane thing going on and that’s what’s really getting me. Like...I know these guys were technologically advanced, but why did you use this WW2 background? What happened to Ancient Greece that you were doing before?

Like doing a super past with future tech is so cool to me--I love that sort of concept art. That’s going into like Black Panther stuff where you’re referencing the earliest stuff in Africa and then blending it with stuff beyond our science. But Atlantis is a real big shrug and a “listen we ran out of time and had to press print,” and it’s such a shame. It feels less cohesive than even when this show does Egypt.

And yo this show and how it draws ancient Egypt--I feel like I’ve already talked about that. I have a feeling I’m going to talk a lot more about it next season. I’ll get to it when we get to it. I’m hoping that they have more time and budget to actually DO Egypt for once. (I say knowing they won’t)

Like it’s one of those things where this isn’t a history show, like at all, and it’s very much a fantasy. I’m not going to be like those sewing people on youtube that get annoyed because their TV show doesn’t have handsewn stitching in their Victorian bodices they rented from the costume department from an LA discount warehouse. Because, yo, it’s TV, and I can stretch my own imagination because it’s acting. (although I confess, I watch every single one of those videos).

But...the potential, y’all...the potential.

Anyway, Dartz isn’t dead. He was just taking his toot sweet time getting down the steps of his Gazebo.

This is where things get very anime. I get this problem a lot with anime, I really do--and maybe it’s just me. But like...sometimes it feels like anime changes the rules during the boss fight.

That happens a lot, right? Where suddenly the final boss reveals something that like...should have been addressed way earlier? And he’s alive but you don’t get why?

Anyway, Pharaoh reacts by getting maybe way too attached to his newfound independence.

Which like...I can understand Tea forgetting that Yugi is one people that is two people all the time, but the writers as well?

And what’s kind of great about this scene is that Dartz does see Yugi as two people here. He doesn’t look at Yugi, he looks at both. When Pharaoh is like “Leave me, Yugi!” Dartz heard all of that.

Just kind of a neat thing that we finally have a dude that can just...see Pharaoh for what he is, but it probably won’t matter because there’s like only one more episode left of this season.

Anyway, Pharaoh and Dartz have a chat about where evil comes from...and like...it’s some Yugioh lore, all right.

So before the show decides to give us the Genesis on Yugioh and reveal where the evil of the Orichalcos comes from, or if all evil was created by Orichalcos itself (which is IMPLYING stuff about Orichalcos) the snake shuts him the hell up.

As it should. Leave that Pandora’s box freakin closed. That’s going into extended universe of Star Wars books territory (RIP.)

As an aside--pretty sure that Yugi is standing outside that tornado. Maybe it was just the editing of the episode but like...

Yo I’m pretty sure Yugi is just standing there. For the first time, it’s not his nuts getting roasted. Wow. Tables have turned so much since he was dead.

Anyway, here’s the link for new people so you can read these in order

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

There’s only one left! We can do it! We can finish this season in 2020! And actually get back to recapping Full Metal Alchemist! ~~Woooo~~

Oh man that movie better still be on Netflix or I’ll have to buy it lolol.

#Yugioh #ygo #Yu-Gi-Oh #Yami Yugi #Yugi Muto #Seto Kaiba #Joey Wheeler #Dartz #Alister #Raphael #Valon #Mai Valentine #My favorite storyboarder #who deserves to be listed as a character in the show #ep 39 #S4 #recap #photo recap #episode recap

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youremeimyou · 4 years

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Promise Me(pt.2)

Part 1 - Part 2

pairing: Park Jimin x reader (ft. Kim Taehyung) genre: Lots of angst, fluff and pure drama... word count: 5k warnings: alcohol consumption, sexual tension

Description: Y/N is Jimin’s longest and best friend. Certain feelings are caught and meanwhile, Jimin accidently sets Y/N up with his other best friend. But not before getting her to make him a promise.

A/N: First off, sorry cuz I know it’s been a long time since pt.1. But finally pt.2 is here, yayy! This one’s a bit more angsty but these two boys are both fluffballs so there are lots of cute stuff. (sighs)I just love Vmin so much, it was hard to do this justice. I hope I could and I hope you’ll like it. I’d love to know what you think. Enjoy!

It had almost been a month since the eventful Christmas. Taehyung was walking to the girl's dorm to spend some time with Y/N. This was his third time going without Jimin since he finally found the courage to go alone a few weeks ago, when he made up a stupid excuse for showing up at her door in the middle of the night.

Of course he was drunk that night. A few words may have slipped out of his mouth that made Y/N a blushing mess. But he never made a move on her in his drunken state and she appreciated that. Y/N took care of him, helped him sober up, let him sleep on her couch. So it became normal for him to drop by just to hang out since then.

After everything that went down on Christmas, Jimin only had one mission in mind: Avoid both of your best friends at all costs.

It was obviously hard considering one of them was a person he saw everyday since he was a kid and the other was his roommate. But he tried his best. It was starting to become tiring, feeling bothered and even heartbroken without understanding why and pretending to be okay so they wouldn't figure out. So he was more ghost than man over the course of last month.

It didn't go unnoticed by Y/N of course, she saw through his acts easily. Especially the times they would work on the musical. Normally doing anything with Jimin was fun for Y/N, even work and studying. And producing a musical normally would've been crazy fun. But Y/N could tell he was being distant. He wouldn't even come over much, saying there was still a lot of time to work on the project. All of that broke Y/N's heart to pieces.

There was a flower in Taehyung's hand that he picked up from the little winter garden at the coffee shop he'd been coming from. And he contemplated whether or not to give it to Y/N as he waited outside her room. But suddenly the door opened.

"Oh- Hey Tae! What're you doing here?"

"Uhh.. Hi. I just came by to ask you if you wanted to play some Mortal Kombat." he said, having trouble keeping eye contact.

"You mean you wanna get your ass kicked by the best player around? Sure." Y/N smirked. "I was just about to take out the trash so after that-"

Taehyung took it from her hands.

"I'll take it out and you get the game ready?" He made it sound like a question but started walking away to do as he said at the same time.

"Wait. What's that in your..?"

Taehyung looked back to see Y/N pointing at the flower in his hand, a funny expression on her face. He mentally face palmed.

"Oh this? Uhh it's just-" he sighed defeatedly and passed it to her. "It's for you." She was cringing and laughing but it still made his heart race as she took it to her nose.

"Thanks, it smells so nice."

After 15 rounds of K.O. -each with fatality- from Y/N, Taehyung gave up and put the controller down with a frown. Then he noticed the sketches on the coffee table.

"Oh, come on. You're good at music, acting and drawing? How's that fair for the rest of the world?" Taehyung protested.

"I'm merely mediocre at the first two and I suck at the last one. Admit it."

"No way! What were you drawing here?"

"Uh.. Jimin.."

Taehyung's eyes went wide. "Oh. Okay, sorry it just looks more like Bart Simpson than anything."

They both burst into laughter.

"I know. It's just- the professor wants the posters to also be original and made by us. So I wanted it to be a cool drawing of Jimin. You know, cause he's the lead." Her face dropped as she continued. "And also.. Jimin's been out of my reach lately. Which sucks.. So I thought maybe I could surprise him and make up for anything stupid I did to make him avoid me."

Taehyung could tell how important this was to her. He also was on Jimin's 'to avoid list'. An idea popped into his mind.

"Well, I can work on a poster for Jimin. Though, it'll be kinda hard to keep it from him. He always loves to snoop whenever I'm working on something."

Taehyung was a graphic design student that did illustrations for a comic book shop as part time gig. So he was more than qualified. But all of his equipment and designing programs were on his computer. And his wasn't a laptop but a desktop pc.

"You're just gonna have to distract him for me!" Taehyung said while looking like he presented the best idea ever.

"That is a brilliant idea. But our lovely Chim doesn't really talk to me novadays." Y/N's frown returned. She really had missed him.

"Come on, he can never resist you."

Now that was true. All three of them knew it. Even if it made Taehyung a bit upset, he just knew their relationship was something way bigger than anything else. And so, they made a deal and shook on it. Taehyung was gonna get free tickets to the musical in return for designing the poster.

Later that day, Taehyung texted Y/N saying he had an inspiration and that she needed to get Jimin out of the room to start working on it. So she quickly got ready and went over there.

She knocked on the door and heard both of the boys collectively say "Come in!" When she walked in she saw that Jimin really was trying to look at what Taehyung was doing on his computer. A curious little baby, she thought.

"Hey Chim. Whatcha doin'?"

The look on Jimin's face as he looked at her was confusing. Because it contained nervousness and edginess but also longing and relief. It gave hope to Y/N in thinking she wasn't the only one missing a best friend. Jimin walked over to her and when he noticed a strand of hair fall on her eyes, he gently put it back behind her ear.

"Nothing much. You?"

"Same. Wanna come over and work on some dance moves? I feel like I can't do any of 'em right. I really need you.."

She had no idea why she expressed that last part with so much emotion. But it made Jimin inhale sharply.

"Okay, sure."

"Great! Oh, you go ahead and I just gotta return Taehyung this uh.. pen I burrowed."

Y/N had one of her own pens in her hand and Jimin knew it. But he wasn't gonna dig on the subject. He just settled for rolling his eyes and saying "Fine.." as he walked out. Taehyung on the other hand was confused not remembering ever lending her a pen.

"Here Tae, thanks!" She shouted that so Jimin would hear and then whispered the next part.

"Whatever you do, just draw him dancing. Oh, and I want my pen back later."

Y/N knew her neighboors would complain about the noise she and Jimin were making while practising. But it didn't matter. With the way his body moved fluidly as he showed her his smooth and flawless moves and the way he held her hips to move her and teach her when she couldn't get it right.. Y/N didn't care one bit about the neighboors, no.

Every once in a while he would dance behind her to lead her through the choreography, all the while his breathy voice in her ear, panting and counting the steps. Needless to say she felt hot and bothered. So she suggested to take a break.

The chamomile sitting on the little table inside a glass of water caught Jimin's eye. He knew for a fact Y/N wasn't a flower person. Whenever he'd buy her some in the past, they'd always end up dead. He did have a guess in mind about who might've brought it here, though.

"I hope he won't get upset when it dies in like two days." He pointed to it with his head.

"I know he's your friend but sorry, that thing was a goner as soon as it was placed in my care."

"Well, sad. Cause coming from Taehyung, it's kinda a big gesture."

A frown formed on Y/N's brows, with the worry of making Taehyung upset. But flowers just didn't grow with her, nothing could be done.

"I'm afraid it wasn't the right gesture to pull on me."

"He doesn't know you like I do."

By this point, he was much closer to Y/N than he was at the beginning of the conversation. Y/N hadn't even realized him moving towards her. This rehersal had been nothing but tense so far.

"No one does, Chim."

They looked into each other's eyes as if it was a staring contest. Jimin would normally win those. But having her right in front of him, with drops of sweat falling from her face down to her collarbones and heat radiating off her skin, he felt a push like never before to get even closer so he had to step back as caution.

"Good job today, panda. These moves fit you so well."

"Thanks. And thanks for teaching me. Sorry for being such a burden-"

"Hey!" Jimin cut in and stepped towards her again to look her in the eyes once more. "You could never be a burden." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and left soon after.

The evening came pretty soon and Y/N was very exhausted after all the dancing around earlier. Jimin was a professional at it. His body and condition would rival any of the boys on soccer team. But Y/N wasn't fit like that. So she was getting ready to call it at a day. In fact, she was barely awake as she layed on the couch. She nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone went off loudly with notifications. Her brain immediately presumed to see 'Chimmy' on the screen but instead it was 'TaeTae'.

-Hey wanna come over real quick? Jimin went out.

-I mean to talk about the poster, I swear I’m not a perv.. u awake?? I really need opinions!

-Y/N, he'll be out prolly all night, this is our chance.

Out all night? Why would he be out all night? Y/N quickly called Jimin first before even opening the messages.

"Angel? What's up?"

"Hey Chim, where are you?"

"Uh.. on my way to the library. I have intel that there'll be a quiz on Theatre History tomorrow." He voiced the last part like those characters in spy movies.

"Oh. Why didn't you tell me? I took that class last year and still have my notes, I could come help you."

"I know but no need, lovely. You were already tired today. And Namjoon hyung's here to give me an intensive course."

He always managed to make a smiling fool out of Y/N with the endless, sweet nicknames. This time wasn't an exception.

"Anything up with you? If you need something I'm already outside I can-"

"No, I just wanted to check in on you, I'm about to go to sleep. Good luck and say hi to Joon."

"I will. Sweet dreams, angel."

She got up to walk to her bed but remembered Taehyung’s messages. Her body desperately craved sleep but Taehyung was right. It was a great opening with Jimin out of the room so she dragged her feet over there.

When Taehyung opened the door and saw a sleepy Y/N, his stomach started doing flips and somersaults. As a result, he was a stuttering mess.

“Hey, sorry if uh.. if I wake- woke you. Come on- come in! Come in.”

His hair was wet. There was a towel over his shoulders and he held a t-shirt over his chest. Fresh out of the shower. Y/N eyes traced the t-shirt down to where once she knew his tummy was from P.E. classes in high school. Tummy was no more, though. Those were qualified abs. Not overdone but just the right amount of them. Once she noticed she was staring, her eyes quickly changed direction. And when he noticed what she had been doing, he visibly blushed and audibly gulped.

“Oh.. When you didn’t write back, I thought you might’ve gone to sleep so I just hopped in the shower.” he explained as he quickly put on his shirt.

They went over to his computer to see the progress of the poster. Taehyung sat on the chair in front of the table and Y/N took a seat on Taehyung’s bed right next to it.

“Woah, Tae it looks incredible. I can’t believe you’re done so soon!”

“Done? No, I’m not done. There’re still a lot of details we should go through.”

As Taehyung mumbled the list of said details, Y/N couldn’t get her attention away from the poster. The elegancy and the delicacy of the move Jimin was pictured doing seemed so real, like an actual photo. But the colors and the environment looked so abstract.

“You’ve really captured the essence of Jimin and the way he loses himself to dance. Wow.”

“I’ve seen him perform enough times to familiarize with the demon that posesses him on stage.”

Thank you Mr. Demon, Y/N thought as she always did when seeing Jimin perform.

Taehyung then settled on his bed next to Y/N with a pen and paper on his hands to sketch. He was asking Y/N about the stuff he wanted to change or add and etc and showing her what it would roughly look like. And Y/N tried her best to give opinions but her eyes were slowly but surely closing, drifting into sweet slumber. And so she dozed off. Taehyung didn’t even notice until he also was pulled by sleep.

He thought about waking her up but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He watched her steadily breathing for a while before being taken by sleep himself.

A few hours later Jimin came back from the library and slowly got inside his room, guessing his roomate would be sleeping. What he never would’ve expected was seeing Y/N curled up next to him. Sleeping by his side.

That devastating feeling came back to sit on Jimin’s chest. She knew Jimin would be out for hours, maybe even until the morning. She called Jimin before coming here. Why? Why would she sneak in here without saying anything to him? Why would she keep this.. whatever it was a secret from him? They were clearly way closer than Jimin imagined.

His breath got stuck in his throat. He felt furious and heartbroken and he wanted to run away but stopped dead in his tracks. The thought of leaving them alone in here like this seemed inconceivable at that moment. So he walked over to his bed and plumped on it. Pulling the cover over his head he hoped it wasn’t real but when he got his head out again, the view was the same.

That’s when he saw Y/N twitching and grunting in discomfort. She was slowly gaining back consciousness. Her head was between her hands as she tried to wake up fully, realizing she fell asleep unintentionally. After miraculously managing to slip out of the bed without waking Taehyung up, she noticed Jimin sitting on his bed staring at her. She wobbly walked over to him. And even though Jimin was upset, he still felt worried, she didn’t look well.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“This crazy headache woke me up. I feel like vomiting.”

Jimin got up and went to check on her by instinct. “Let’s get you to a doctor.”

“No no. It’s just normal migraine stuff, Chim. It won’t pass unless I manage to go back to sleep. I should get back to my room.”

She started walking towards the door and decided to explain everything to Jimin in the morning when she’d be able to do it better. Jimin on the other hand couldn’t leave her alone when she was in this much pain. Putting everything aside for the time being, he pulled her back by her arm.

“Just come here, Y/N.”

He pulled her into the bed next to himself and gently turned her to face the other way. His hands travelled on her temples, eyes and forhead, slowly massaging the areas. He would place little kisses on the back of her head from time to time, too. She’d get these headaches every once in a while so Jimin had learned over time what he could do to make her feel better.

“It’ll be okay. Just close your eyes, try clearing your head and take deep breaths, baby.” he whispered in her ear.

Jimin’s arms were home. Warm, comfy and familiar. Even that headache couldn’t hold Y/N back from dozing off once more and sleeping soundly in his embrace. Jimin kept watching over her and only allowed himself to sleep when it seemed like all her pain was gone.

With the morning sun Y/N slowly came around from sleep. She felt the lack of a set of arms around her so she turned around to regain them as her eyes were still closed. They opened in disbelief when she couldn’t find the source. Her eyes looked around the room next but only to find that both Jimin and Taehyung were gone.

Y/N stayed in bed, trying to remember details of last night. She had accidently fallen asleep on Taehyung’s bed. She wondered what Jimin thought when he saw her like that. He did seem upset and she’d love to explain it to him but that terrible headache.. And how Jimin took care of her. Wasn’t new that he helped her but the atmosphere felt different at that moment. Despite being distant for a while before, he was being more intimate with her lately. A different kind of intimate. She really wanted to have a talk with him. She decided to text him but she saw the texts he had sent before on the screen.

-Y/N, I had to leave to get to class. If you're still not feeling okay, you have to go to the doctor. Let me know if you do. If not, bagels in the fridge and coffee's made.

-My keys are on the night stand you can leave them under the mat if you go out. But I'd love to have you there when I get back, angel.

There it was. An opportunity to have the talk. Jimin seemed to want to, as well. So decided on waiting there, it was a free day for her anyways.

Some time later sounds came from the door implicating someone coming in. Y/N thought it must've been Jimin. It was his taller counterpart.

"Oh, uh.. morning, Y/N."

"Hey, Tae. Did you have an early class?"

"No, it's my free day just like you. I just went out for a walk."

"In this cold?" Y/N teased, smiling.

"I was kinda hot headed so the cold helped."

His voice was even deeper than normal. And the features of his face were unusually hardened.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

He shot her a quick smile that didn't even reach his eyes. And anyone that knew Taehyung knew he was never insincere. That was against his nature.

"You can talk to me about anything." Y/N said as she handed him the cup of coffee she poured for him when he came in.

Taehyung stared at the mug. Then, at her strecthed out arm and lastly at her eyes, without saying a word or moving. He looked like he was thinking carefully about what he was gonna say next.

"I didn't wanna scare you away last night. I hope I wasn't but I apperantly have this habit of hugging things as I sleep so I'm sorry if-"

"Wha- No Tae and I wouldn't mind if you were either. You didn't scare me away. A headache woke me up."

"But when I woke up, I saw you over there." He pointed to Jimin's bed. Shit. Y/N worried about what Jimin thought of the situation last night but it didn't occur to her how Taehyung would take it. She sometimes forgot what Jimin told her about Taehyung's feelings. The last thing she'd want would be to break his heart.

"Jimin helped me. There's this massage thing he invented for when I get headaches. That's why we were-"

"I know it's not the first time I've seen you two like that but it's just-" Courage came to him all of a sudden so he took a step forward. "I thought I was being more.. open with you. And call me crazy if I'm wrong but it feels like we've become closer. Haven't we?"

They had been.Taehyung wasn't someone Y/N could easily disregard. And she knew she kept letting him in more and more over time. But she was just confused by Jimin all the time. Maybe she shouldn't have been, though. Jimin's been witnessing them getting closer but wasn't doing or saying anything about it, she thought. Guess he really was okay with it. Obviously he didn't want his relationship with Y/N to change into something.. else.

"You're not wrong, Tae. We have."

His eyes lit up and his mood got back up after hearing her say that. He didn't wanna rush things but he didn't want to do nothing either.

"Tonight, when you're hungry and when I'm also hungry we could- could we? Eat? Like outside- I know a great place."

Y/N couldn't help but smile seeing him stumble over his words.

"How are you this shy with the way you look is still beyond me." It was a sincere comment and she was pleasently surprised to be able to say it to his face. Taehyung still blushed like crazy, though. Then he took a deep breath and asked more confidently.

"Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Maybe she needed to move on from the limbo she was in, after all.

"Yeah.."

------

A ryhtmic knocking came from Y/N's door. She opened it and was met with a Jimin holding a lot of shopping bags.

"Chim! What's all that?"

"Well my quiz went amazingly, thanks for asking. So I thought we could celebrate. We're gonna make a cake!"

"I think you've gotten enough stuff to make ten cakes. And congrats."

"Ten cakes are even better. And thanks. But hey, I thought you’d be waiting for your man to get back at his room where he left you." Jimin teased with a smug smirk on his face. And Y/N’s mouth fell open a little in shock. But she quickly recovered and played along.

“Well my man took his time to come back. I can’t be kept in a cage, waiting forever for a guy.” They stared at each other until Jimin said “And scene..”

They were laughing as they carried the stuff inside and upon Jimin insisting, they started with the cake immediately. Twenty minutes in, they already created the biggest mess and didn't even get much done from fooling around. Jimin was in a good mood, dancing around, teasing Y/N and it all felt normal.

Y/N was making chocolate sauce and beckoned Jimin for a taste test. He came to her, sticking his head out from behind, over her shoulder and placing his hands on both sides of the stove, trapping her body with his own. Closer than close. He reached for the spoon and immediately closed his eyes after tasting, humming deeply.

"Mmhhmm.. my diligent panda, it tastes like paradise! Great job."

"Exaggerate away.."

"It does! Go ahead and taste for yourself."

Jimin took the spoon out of her hand and offered her some. He watched her as she tasted it. He was already staring at her lips and now they were covered in chocolate. There was some left on the corner of her mouth, too. Jimin felt that push again but this time he was already too close to not act on it.

He leaned forward and licked the chocolate away. Y/N just froze, not even being able to react.

"You had a little left.. on the corner right there."

When they finally broke apart Jimin got a bottle of wine out from one of the bags.

"I got this for when the cake is ready."

A while later there was some music they put in the background, only a few pieces were left of the two cakes that they made and the wine bottle had been emptied very quickly. It was still early into the evening but emotions, thoughts and feelings were already all over the place.

They were at their usual spot. On the floor in front of the couch with Y/N seated in the space between Jimin’s legs and Jimin’s arms wrapped up around her. Movements were sloppy due to alcohol. Jimin placed his head on her shoulder.

“I’m sleepy.” Y/N almost couldn’t understand what he said because of his mumbling.

“Are you now? I don’t ever remember you being an early bird.”

“What can I do? You’re so cozy.”

“Me? It’s probably the wine making you sle-”

“Nope, this much wouldn’t affect me. It’s all you, bear.”

Bear was a new one, she loved it.

“Oh!” Jimin hopped up and down where he was sitting. “I know your secret~” he sang. Y/N’s eyes went wide. Did Taehyung tell him about the date? And why was he taking it this excitedly?

“Umm.. I don’t know what you’re talki-”

“I saw it on Taehyung’s PC. I figured it was your idea. And the way you were sneaking around with him made much more sense.” He huffed as if in relief. Y/N was also relieved. He meant the poster, not the date. Good. She wanted to be the one to tell him.

“He did all the work. And you weren’t supposed to see until he felt like it was done completely!”

“My dude’s got talent. And I always snoop around, he knows that.”

They were giggling, Jimin put his head back down on her shoulder and closed his eyes. Y/N’s eyes went to the clock to see the time they agreed on meeting with Taehyung was getting close. She had to tell Jimin about it.

“I gotta jet soon, Chim.”

“No, you wouldn’t leave me.”

“But I have to get ready.”

Jimin got his head up suddenly in denial with a lovely pout.

“Where’re you going?”

“Out to dinner.” She paused to avert her eyes from him. “With Taehyung.”

Jimin had a rude awakening. “A date? An offical one?”

She just nodded. They didn’t speak for some time and just stared into space. But something happened in the silence. Jimin understood now. Up until that moment, what he knew was that Y/N was his person. Everyone around them knew it as well. But the void Jimin felt whenever this subject was brought up finally made sense to him. And he had promised himself that he’d tell her as soon as he knew. So that’s what he’d do.

“Don’t go.”

He spoke clearly and seriously.

“What?”

“Even though you complied back then, it was wrong of me to make you promise to not care about anyone the way you care about me.”

“Jimin, I could never-”

“We might be best and oldest friends but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone we open our hearts to. And especially you. You’ve given so much to me and I became comfortable on the recieving end. The reason I made you make that promise is because I knew I wanted to be the one you loved most but I was so dumb to not realize why until now.”

He moved his head closer and closer until their lips were so close that they even touched but only slightly.

“I know I’m so stupid. But I’m so in love with you, Y/N. I wanna kiss you so bad..” Y/N was sure her heart would jump right out of her chest at any second.

“But I won’t if you don’t want me to-”

Y/N quickly closed whatever little distance was left between their faces, not being able to take it any longer. Jimin was surprised but when he felt her trying to pull away, he held her and deepened the kiss. He slowly and gently pushed her down on the ground with his body on top of hers, lips still connected. Then linked one of his hands with hers while the other one was still placed on the back of her head, protecting it from bumping onto the ground earlier.

When they finally parted lips, both were panting. Y/N ran her hand through Jimin’s hair. Jimin was looking at her with fragile eyes.

“Does this mean you’re not going?”

“No, I only kissed you because there was some chocolate left on your lips and I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Jimin actually took it seriously for a moment. He let out a relieved sigh when he realized the corners of her mouth curving upwards in humour.

“I can’t believe it took you this long, Jimin.” Y/N complained.

“What do you mean? Wait- Did you already-”

“You finally figured out your feelings but you never had a clue about mine?”

Jimin was shocked. “Are you serious right now?”

“I’ve always loved you, idiot. And I’ve been pining after you for the longest time.”

“I’m sorry.” he quickly pecked her lips over and over and spoke in between kisses saying “I love you.”, “I’m an idiot.” and “I love you” again.

“It’s okay, Chim.” she softly tapped his chest, signaling to sit back up. And they were seated once more.

“What’re we gonna do about Tae?” She felt so worried about that. Feeling like she played him. He was an amazing person and a true friend to both of them. The thought of breaking his heart terrified her. It made Jimin upset too, they both cared about him.

“I don’t know.. But we’ll figure it out.”

He laughed bitterly. “You know what? Tae knew. He always told me to stop being an idiot with you. I should’ve listened. But yeah.. I know he’ll understand.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And whatever happens I’ll make it right with him. He’s my brother. Brothers might fight but they’re still brothers.”

She pinched the side of his arm. “No fighting over anyone! Not ever!”

“I meant that figuratively, angel.”

“Wait. Did you just quote High School Musical?” They both burst into laughter.

Then he smiled at her endearingly and pulled her into the tightest hug ever.

“Let’s just stay like this for a while.”

...

@world-moon @nopedopebts had requested to be tagged so here you go :)

A/N: I’m sorry for this long ass part. Thank you soo much if you bared with me and read it. I seriously hope you liked it because I struggled a lot with the ending, I hope it was good and satisfactory. I’d really like it if you guys let me know what you think and who would you have liked Y/N to end up with.

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ecto-american · 5 years

Text

Bidding War

Challenger name: @fabnamessuggestedbytumbler

The Challenge: This year at Amity Park's yearly charity event, the committee has planned a "date auction" with the City's most eligible bachelors. Somehow, they even manage to rope Phantom in- after all, a celebrity like him is sure to win a fortune for the charities.

Rating: T

Pairings: Implied Danny/Sam, implied Danny/Dash, implied Danny/Paulina, implied Danny/Tucker

Word Count: 3259

Warnings: None

Other Notes: This is for the Phantom Phic Phight contest and I’m so sorry this is unedited NONSENSE I’m just tired of nitpicking at it my APOLOGIES to fabnames oaisfh

“Danny, this is a terrible idea.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. It’s just a charity bachelor auction,” he repeated himself for what felt like the millionth time. He was looking in the mirror at himself in his old room. The halfa glanced over at his sister, who was sitting on his old bed. Her hair was already styled very formally, make-up done and dressed in a nice dark teal dress. “Do you know anything about tying bow-ties?” Jazz sighed.

“No,” she admitted. Danny shrugged and put the bowtie into an inner pocket of the tux. “Danny, you’re going to get seriously hurt. I don’t think you should do this.”

“Come on, Jazz, even Sam’s on board,” he argued. He studied his reflection. Jazz had cut his hair for him a few days ago, so it looked presentable, and it was styled neatly. Snow white hair was contrasting the black tux, and in a sense, he looked as he usually did when in his Phantom form. “And Vlad’s already agreed to help take precautionary measures. I’m not afraid of ghosts, why would I be afraid of a few fans?”

“Can you really trust Vlad though?” Jazz wondered. She stood up, going over to stand with him in front of the mirror. The graduate student was now just an inch shorter than her brother. She leaned in to check her eyeliner.

“Vlad’s…different now, I think,” Danny said slowly as his mind raced back to the memories of the past few years. “But if nothing else, I doubt he’d want me to ruin his big Christmas charity event.”

“Just, be on your toes,” Jazz told him. “I’ll keep a thermos in my purse.” Danny patted his tux.

“I got one too,” he replied confidently. “Do you have your Fenton lipstick?” She nodded. Danny beamed at her.

“I’ll see you there then,” he said, taking a deep sigh.

The Christmas Charity Party that Vlad had hosted ever since his first mayoral election. Every year, there was a publicity stunt done to raise money for charity. Well, multiple. Every year there was a gingerbread decorating contest, snowball fights, the usual. But then there was always the big event. And this year…

“Mr. Phantom, it’s so fantastic to see you here!” Lance Thunder chirped, holding a microphone up as a camera crew filmed the party. Just like every year. Danny smiled politely at him. He had barely stepped foot in the door when the reporter began bulldozing through the crowds towards him. “May I ask what made you decide to participate in the auction?” He desperately held his mic out to Danny as he finally came within two feet of him.

“It felt like a great opportunity to participate in the charity event,” he explained. “So when Mayor Masters asked for volunteers, of course I signed up.”

“And your girlfriend doesn’t mind?” Lance questioned. The cameraman had properly caught up and was rolling, and Danny shifted uncomfortably.

“I don’t have a partner at this current time,” Danny replied.

“What do you expect your winning bid number to be?” Lance wondered. Danny shrugged his shoulders.

“I hate to sound full of myself, but I hope for the sake of this event that it’s high,” Danny picked his words carefully. “I’m really hoping that we can raise a lot of money tonight. I’m also hoping that everybody stays safe.” Fuck was he saying hope too much? Christ, Fenton. Lance nodded.

“Of course, with the bachelors available, our news team is expecting this to be the best year for this Christmas Charity event,” Lance replied. Danny raised an eyebrow and gave a small noise of pretend interest.

“I really hope so,” he replied. Use! A! Word! Other! Than! Hope! “Uh, I need to check in and get my auction number. Have a good evening, Mr. Thunder.” Danny extended his hand out for a friendly handshake, which Lance eagerly took. The reporter began to direct his attention to somebody else.

Danny began to wade through the crowd with surprisingly less stares than he was fearing. He made his way to a table with a sign announcing the bachelor sign in, and he smiled happily at a friendly face. Sam’s bored mood seemed to cheer up as she saw her friend, and she broke into a grin.

“Hey, Danny,” she chirped. Her elbows were on the table, head resting on the back of her hands as she held a pen in her hand. Danny felt his heart warm.

Sam was dressed up for the event in black and dark purple, hair that had grown so much since their freshman year of high school so long ago neatly braided. She had grown a lot actually. Even though they attended different schools, Danny always believed that it made them closer still. He cherished what time they spent together when both were home from college on holiday break, like now. He had yet to really even properly spend time with her since he had gotten home, and he felt a dull, annoyed ache over that.

“Hey, Sam,” he replied as he got to the table. He put his hands down on it, leaning casually. “Boring night already?” She snorted in amusement.

“Yeah, a bit, but once all the bachelors are checked in, I’m free to come hang out with you,” she told him. Danny felt eyes on him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see a familiar face looking at him. Dash was staring at him with awe. Sam glanced over at Dash too. “You already need rescuing?” she teased. Danny flushed.

“Nah, I’m good,” he replied. He turned his attention back to her.

“Maybe I’ll just buy you at the auction and save you a bunch of trouble,” Sam teased before giving a nervous giggle. Danny felt himself give out an awkward chortle as well, his cheeks flushing green. “Sign in, clueless,” Sam continued, handing him the pen.

Danny smiled as he took the pen and signed his name next to his printed one on the form, and he got a pin. Bachelor Number 42. Danny had begged Vlad to put him as 42 on the list specifically for the number.

“Thanks,” he replied, and he put the pin on. Sam stood up, leaning forward to help him pin it on. Once it was pinned, she lightly patted it.

“Looking fly,” she grinned.

Danny smiled, saluting her with two fingers as he began to back up.

“Sam?” he spoke, and she raised an eyebrow curiously. “We really should hang out later. I miss you.” She burned red, but nodded in agreement, making the motion that she’d call him later.

Danny turned and took a few steps before realizing Dash was still staring at him. Dash had changed a lot since high school, since Danny had last talked to him outside of Facebook. The ex-bully had even delivered a proper apology that Danny never expected or believed he’d get. They weren’t really friends, but they were more friendly. Dash had become more friendly and nicer. Better to be around. They talked on and off on Facebook about the Packers.

Danny found himself giving an awkward wave before feeling an excited yet anxious stomach turn when the other took that as an invitation. He quickly came over to the halfa.

“Danny Phantom!” he quietly exclaimed, happily holding his hand out. Danny smiled, taking his hand. Dash gripped it tightly, his other hand happily clasping on his upper arm. “Dude! I can’t believe you’re in the auction! I’m totally bidding on you!” Danny’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. Somebody was super eager to bid on him? Already? And it was Dash?

“Oh, awesome!” Danny replied happily, gripping the handshake in return. He didn’t really feel uncomfortable by the touching. Dash was always super friendly to him, and it was...oddly nice to be around people who didn’t want to punch him. “I look forward to seeing if you win.” Dash beamed, and Danny smiled back.

“I can’t wait to go flying with you and have dinner!” What? Oh, right. The date Danny had promised on his application was going for a flight and having dinner. In that specific order. He had learned from Tucker to do that specific order to avoid having to make a trash can pit stop to throw up.

“Yeah, that’s what the app says, but we can always make adjustments if that’s too mushy,” Danny promised. Dash’s cheeks flushed a bit red, and he finally let go of Danny’s hand.

“Uh, actually,” he began, and Danny felt this odd spark of hope he hadn’t expected begin to flow through him. “I’m...I kinda like both. So I wouldn’t mind a date.” Dash quickly added, “But like, if that’s too weird for you, I-I-”

“Dude, it’s chill,” Danny held a hand up to stop him. “I swing both ways too. Lots of people do. Truth is, I don’t really care if I end up with a girl or a boy winning me. It’s all for charity.” Dash exhaled an intense sigh of relief.

“Cool,” Dash replied. “Because you’re just so cool, and I wanna get to hang out with you more, and I just,” the ex-bully began to ramble, and Danny patiently listened for a few moments. Dash soon stopped himself, and he flustered more. “Sorry for all that. I’m just excited. I’m actually getting auctioned off too.”

Danny glanced and noticed that, indeed, Dash had a bachelor pin on his tux jacket. Number 58.

“Oh dude, that’s great,” Danny spoke lightly. “If I had money, I’d def bid on you.” The words left his mouth before he could really process his own thoughts, and he was left lightly flushing green. Dash was staring at him in an awed, but excited, shock.

“Really?” he asked. Danny nodded, and he remembered a piece of advice Vlad had given him. Mingle as much as possible during the auction, to both help Phantom’s image by interacting with his fans, but to encourage people to bid on him. Vlad’s advice, only when it came to public image, had...annoyingly, failed to let Danny down yet, and so he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly.

“I need to go and socialize more,” he told him. “But it was great seeing you.” Dash was in a seemingly stunned silence, and he nodded as Danny quickly made his exit.

No sooner than he took a few steps that a familiar voice called out to him.

“Ghost boy!”

Danny turned to see Paulina eagerly going up to him, and despite being Phantom, he could feel Fenton’s heart skip. She looked beautiful, in a dress that complimented her perfectly with finely done make-up and hair mostly up. She smiled a dazzling smile at him, and he instantly felt weak.

“Hey Paulina,” he greeted her eagerly, and her eyes seemingly sparkled in excitement.

“You remembered me!” she said happily, and she clutched her hands together at her chest.

“Of course, I could never forget my biggest fan,” he replied. She stared at him for a moment before giving a light frown.

“Where’s your bow-tie?” she asked, pointing to his shirt. Danny flushed, putting his hand to his throat.

“Oh, I didn’t know how to tie one,” he admitted. Paulina hummed.

“Do you have it with you? I can tie it for you,” she offered.

“Oh, yeah!” Danny immediately began to pat himself down as he tried to remember which pocket his bow-tie was in. He soon produced it, and he handed it to her. She gestured for him to lean over a bit, and he did. She slipped the bow-tie around his neck and began to expertly tie it with practiced ease. “How have you been?”

“Great!” she replied warmly. “I’m on the dean’s list at my school, and I’m on track to graduate a semester early. How have you been?” He had forgotten that she too had gone to college. For chemistry, of all things. Danny had always been on Sam’s side in assuming that she did terribly in high school. Apparently, that’s just what she wanted her classmates to think.

“Good,” he gave the social answer. Truthfully, it really wasn’t, but when had his life ever been such a way? Not since the accident. He accidentally locked eyes with Paulina. She looked unusually serious.

“Danny, how have you been?” she asked, her voice more gentle about it. Danny felt a bit of a mental whiplash. She rarely called him Danny, and his voice got caught in his throat. He coughed awkwardly.

“It’s...been a bit rough,” he said slowly. She nodded understandingly. She finished tying the bowtie, and she carefully pressed his collar.

“You’ll get through it like you always do,” she told him confidently. “I believe in you. I always have, and I always will.” Danny felt his cheeks turn green as he stood up straight. This was going to be a trend, it seemed.

“Thank you,” he told her. “I hope you can graduate soon. I miss seeing you around Amity Park,” he told her honestly. Paulina laughed.

“I keep up with you on the news,” she confessed. “And I’ll be seeing you when I win the auction.” Danny nodded. A date with Paulina sounded magical, he couldn’t lie.

“I look forward to it if that’s the case,” he replied. He remembered what Vlad had told him. Socialize, and he reluctantly continued, “I’ll let you mingle with others. I hope to see you again soon.” Paulina nodded understandingly.

“I’ll see you at our date, Danny!” she replied confidently.

“Dude, you’re on fire.”

Finally, a voice he actually really wanted to hear. Tucker had found him, and he looked great in his tux. Instead of a white shirt, he had opted for a dark orange shirt underneath. It suited him perfectly.

“Hey!” Danny eagerly greeted him, and the two immediately fist bumped happily. “You look great! You should have signed up to be a bachelor.” Tucker chuckled, shrugging.

“Yeah, I regret it, but I was dating Mia at the time,” he reminded his friend. “She wouldn’t have been cool with it. In hindsight, probably a sign.” Danny just shrugged sympathetically.

“I’m just glad you’re here,” Danny told him. “I already ran into Sam, Dash, Paulina, and damn. That’s not even counting Lance Thunder. I know Harriet Chin’s around somewhere too.” Tucker gave a low whistle.

“Damn, that’s quite the roster,” he said.

“Honestly, it wasn’t so bad. Especially since I know there’s friendly faces like you here,” Danny commented. Tucker chuckled.

“Do I need to bid on you to free you from your torment?” Tucker teased. Danny laughed.

“I already joked to Sam that she should, but man, we’d probably have a lot of fun,” Danny admitted. Tucker snickered.

“Wait until my birthday so you can truly wine and dine me,” he joked. Danny felt his cheeks flush a bit, but he laughed again.

“Like how last Valentine’s day we just made ourselves each other’s Valentine’s?” Danny questioned. Tucker nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, and instead of going out to eat sushi like we planned, we ordered Domino’s and did nothing but play DOOMED and get sick on bread bites.”

“Dude, I’d rather do that with you than go out on a date anytime,” Danny told him. Tucker flushed a bit in return.

“Same,” he agreed. “I love hanging out with you more than I ever did Mia.” Danny made a noise of agreement.

“Yeah! And same with you, honestly!” he chattered on excitedly. “Dude, just buy me! They’re giving me a free food coupon, so we can just buy a bunch of pizza again and pig out!”

“Dude, I can make you take me out for free, but I’ll place my bets and see how I fare,” Tucker assured him. He lightly punched his shoulder playfully. “I’ll leave you to socialize. I’m gonna go see how Sam’s surviving.”

“Catch up with me later! I really wanna hang out with you!” Danny called out after him as Tucker passed him. Tucker flashed a peace sign in response, and Danny exhaled deeply.

People were so exhausting. How could Vlad do this all the time? Danny decided to just break for some food. His eyes scanned over the options as he approached. The buffet style options had a wide range of options, from fancy looking shrimp to chicken to salads. He picked up a plate and began to serve himself some food. It was time to take advantage of all the free food.

He picked up a few pieces of food, setting it on his plate. He grabbed a drink and settled into a chair to eat. There were so many people here. He only talked to those few, but people...really wanted their chance it seemed. And it made him feel terrible for only really wanting to be with one of them. He couldn’t help it. He truly hoped that they won.

The poor halfa didn’t even get to take a bite when he was distracted by a voice, but he didn’t mind. He flashed a happy smile to the one that was already on his mind, who stood before him with their own plate of food.

“Can I join you?”

“Of course.”

Danny stood before the crowd, trying to look cheerful and confident but it was very obvious that he was anxious and nervous. He could only pray that he could mask at least part of it. Vlad lightly patted Danny’s back encouragingly, and it oddly helped ease his anxiety. The billionaire was standing on the makeshift stage, mic in hand and a stapled packet of papers in the other with the bachelor’s information on it.

“Ladies and gentleman, this is Danny Phantom,” Vlad spoke, and he began to read from his paper. “He stands at 6’3’’, and he considers himself nerdy. He’s very interested in science, specifically astrophysics and engineering. In his spare time, when he’s not fighting ghosts, he enjoys playing video games, science fiction movies and astronomy. For your date with Danny Phantom, he has promised a one of a kind dating experience in a flight through town before you two have a nice dinner at the restaurant of your choice!”

The crowd was murmuring excitedly, and Danny felt a nervous bead of sweat begin to form. This was the most information Amity Park had ever really been given about him, and he could see Lance in the corner, taking intense notes. Other people seemed surprised at the listed hobbies of choice and interests.

“So, as part of tonight’s charity auction and due to Mr. Phantom’s popularity, I propose we begin the auction a little higher than normal, at $100,” Vlad said, and no sooner than he spoke, every hand in the audience shot up. Danny’s throat tightened.

“Oh, it looks like it’s going to be quite the contest,” Vlad lightly teased, and Danny glared at him briefly. “Do I hear $150?”

The entire bidding was a rapid blur. Danny’s head shot around as the bidding war went crazier than he could ever imagine. He began to space out.

“Anybody higher?” Vlad asked for the billionth time it seemed. “No? Going once.” Danny’s attention snapped back to reality as he scanned to see who was on the verge of winning him. “Going twice.” Danny’s chest tightened anxiously. “And sold to bidder number 113!”

Danny locked eyes with the winner, and they exchanged smiles. To his relief and joy, the person who won him was the one he had been wanting more than any other all night.

#danny phantom #jazz fenton #sam manson #dash baxter #paulina sanchez #tucker foley #chose your own ship adventure lmao #phics #my phics

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beetlesacquired · 6 years

Text

Klance Fanfic Rec List

I’ve currently got 118 Klance Ao3 links saved and I wanted to share some of my favorites so here ya go: (There’s a Shklance at the bottom btw)

He Who Fights Monsters by magisterpavis

Words: 64,888 Smut: yes Completed: yes

This is a really slow burn fic with a captivating plot and guys. Dragons. There’s so many dragons. This author is also one of my favorites btw I love them.

Summary: In a world where monstrous dragons terrorize humanity daily, the Garrison trains valiant Knights to slay the evil beasts and defend Earth. But when Knight cadet Lance Espinosa is kidnapped by a strange red dragon who kills its own kind, certain truths are revealed...and so are the true monsters.

Dirty Laundry by Anonymous

Words: 85,042 Smut: there’s a heated makeout scene or two but no actual smut Completed: yes

If you haven’t read this do you even ship Klance? It’s the fake dating fic to top all fake dating fics. It’s so sweet and feely you’ll cry buckets and it’s also incredibly funny. I’ve probably read it like 5 times. Kinda slow burn kinda not? Internalized homophobia and homophobia from family warnings.

Summary: "Two whole months of free laundry in exchange for two weeks of being my fake boyfriend. Deal?” Keith hesitated for a moment. Was this really worth it? Hardly. Lance was an asshole, and he wasn’t sure what fake dating would entail. But, free laundry was free laundry, right? “Alright, it’s a deal.” Or: Lance makes the mistake of telling his Mom he has a boyfriend coming home with him for Christmas. Keith makes the mistake of agreeing to be Lance's 'fake boyfriend'.

Ignorance is Bliss by YouAreInAComaWakeUp (Nikanaiko)

Words: 172,675 Smut: no Completed: yes

This is probably the number one most emotional fic I’m gonna list here. There’s ghosts guys and that means characters I hold dear to my heart are dead so warning there. Pretty sure I was sobbing through multiple chapters. Real slow burn, but the build up is so worth it especially with how amazing the plot is. I’ve got quotes from this fic hanging on my wall rn that’s how fantastic the writing is. Suicide and internalized homophobia warnings.

Summary:As it turns out, learning that your house is haunted makes the ghosts a lot more aggressive. Who knew? Ah, well. At least one of them is hot. And he's the less-evil one, too, so that's always a plus.

The Message by shipstiel

Words: 132,787 Smut: no Completed: yes

This is kinda a texting fic? So lots of bants and comedy, mostly Lance cracking jokes and Keith being done with his life. It’s a really cute fluffy thing. Depression, car crash, nightmares, and mentions of suicide warnings

Summary: (4:07) okay, but considr this, and hear me out here (4:08) so like, a photobooth u can do with ur pets like there’ll be lil costumes that u can dress them up in, and u can do liek, period costumes and shit with them (4:09) omg, can u imagine, u and ur cat/dog, and theyre in a lil 1800s dress and one of those lace umbrella things omg so cute(4:15) Why the FUCK are you texting me at four in the morning with this— Keith is texted by accident by some idiot one day, and honestly he's not even sure why he responds. Or why he keeps responding. Yet somehow he finds himself drawn in, and okay, so maybe this fool is mildly entertaining after all. Who would've thought.

True Love or Something by DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee

Words: 188,626 Smut: no Completed: kinda??

This is more of a collection of short stories based around Keith, Lance, and the gang than an actual plot filled fic and normally I don’t like that sort of thing, but I’m in love with this because it’s so funny and cute and despite it having 37 parts and counting, it doesn’t get boring or tedious at all. There’s a couple angsty parts especially regarding Keith’s Tragic Backstory but it’s all around just amazing.

Summary: “So that was…” “If you say painless I’m shoving you into another snowdrift.” “Okay, that’s fair. But you got a lollipop!” “That you stole from pediatrics.” “I’m a very good date.” Lance accidentally crashes into his new neighbor in front of their mailboxes and somehow ends the night with a very attractive (and slightly concussed) date.

Mistakes were made (Skinny band nerd takes it up the ass from the beefcake football captain) by Lynn1998

Words: 50,727 Smut: yes Completed: no Last Update: Jan 31 2017

I normally wouldn’t recommend unfinished fics, especially ones that haven’t been updated in over a year but I honestly just really like this one. The smut is top notch and there’s plot, fluff, and angst in there as well. I really like it.

Summary: Lance can't stand the captain of the football team…so why is he having sex with him?

I Swear to You by AlyxRae

Words: 123,991 Smut: no Completed: yes

Bodyguard AU!!! Altean Prince Lance with Galra Bodyguard Keith is literally my favorite thing ever I love it. This fic gave me whiplash with the amount of times everything went from nice and happy to death and destruction in a heart beat it’s crazy. Least to say, lots of angst.

Summary: With the destruction of their home planet, the remaining Galra are forced to take refuge with the kind Alteans. Much darker plans begin to take shape and a young Galra solider is made the bodyguard of the Altean Prince, with orders to kill him when the time is right. However, the charming prince manages to capture the Galra's heart and ends up being captivated by the solider in return.The prince and the bodyguard are thrown into perilous adventures, all the while trying to stay together and keep each other safe.

Shadow of the Past and Ghost of the Future by wittyy_name and Zizzani

Words: 75,120 (GoF) 83,198 (SoP) Smut: no Completed: no Last Update: Feb 22 2018

These two fics are mirror fics, which is so cool. Basically Lance gets sent one year into the future and future Lance gets sent back one year. SoP is from Lance’s POV while he’s in the future and GoF is from Keith’s POV while future Lance is in the past with him. I really love this fic and I’m always checking in for updates, which come in pairs (one for each fic). It doesn’t matter which order you read them btw.

Summary: (SoP) When Lance is thrown through time, he finds himself one year in the future, in place of the Lance that should be here.He finds his team to be remarkably familiar, yet distinctly different. They have more scars, a better grip on the whole saving the universe thing, and over a year’s worth of teamwork to bind them together. But the weirdest part? Keith seems to be a lot more touchy with him. Not that he’s complaining… much.The team must try and work out how to reverse the two Lance’s places and restore them to their original timelines. But despite the fact that they’re still his friends, Lance can’t help but feel a little out of place among a team that’s been through so much with a Lance that just isn’t him. And it doesn’t help that the team is on edge around him, refusing to tell him anything for fear of influencing and changing the past. Things get even more complicated when they have to rely on the team in the past to complete the switch, leaving Lance to little more than sit, wait, and attempt to fill in his future self’s shoes.

(GoF) When Lance is thrown through time, his future self from one year ahead is transported to the past in his place.This Lance is faster, stronger, and markedly more mature. Not only that, but he's distinctly more intuitive about his teammates and A LOT more touchy with Keith.The team must try and work out how to reverse the two Lance's places and restore them to their original timelines. Things only get more complicated when the Future Lance can't seem to remember where he was when the switch happened, and he refuses to reveal anything about his own time for fear of influencing the team's decisions.

The Hurricane In His Veins by magisterpavus

Words: 249,189 Smut: yes Completed: yes

So this is actually Shklance because I don’t have enough recs for this ship to make it it’s own post and this fic is honestly just really really good. It’s probably my favorite out of everything here. It’s a vampire AU and I love it so much. The plot is incredible (the author should publish a book tbh it’s that good I’d buy it), there are some really cute moments, and it’s goddamn hilarious. There’s the perfect combination of angst, smut, and fluff and I’ve read this about 10 times since I discovered it a couple months ago. I suggest it even if you don’t ship Shklance tbh it’s that good.

Summary: It’s the summer after high school graduation, and Lance, Hunk, and Pidge are spending three months together in Pidge’s sleepy California hometown, Rosewood, before they all go their separate ways in life. It’s supposed to be fun and relaxing, filled with long days at the beach and even longer nights playing video games; a last hurrah with Lance’s best friends.But when one of Pidge’s ridiculous cryptid searches leads the trio to a mysterious pair of vampires in the woods and the web of magic and murder that they’re entangled in, the summer gets a lot more complicated…and more dangerous than they could’ve imagined.

Like I said, I’ve got 118 bookmarks so if you guys wanna pop into my asks or messages and see if I’ve got something specific, please do!

#mine #klance fanfic #Klance fic recs #fic rec #rec list #Shklance fic recs #Shklance fanfic #Voltron #Klance fanfiction #Shklance fanfiction #voltron fanfic #klance rec list #shklance rec list

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theofficialstereklibrary · 6 years

Text

Top 18 Sterek Fics 2017

Hello, our lovely followers!

For the past two years, we’ve been giving you guys a list of our favorite fics that we read and we are back at it again! These are the fics that really stood out to us in 2017. (here are our faves from 2016 and 2015)

Like always, this fandom came through with so many good fics this past year and we hope to see more and more sterek fics posted even with the show done.

We wish you all the best in 2018 <3

Kass’:

There Are No Wolves In California by kitsunequeen (1/1 | 7,579 | G)

Hunter!Stiles accidentally hits a wolf with his car and can't bear to leave him in the road to die. It's not till he gets the wolf home that he sees its eyes glow red... ------- Even everyday roadkill is upsetting, but this thing… Moments ago it was probably a majestic beast, and now it’s a mangled pile of soon-to-be rotting flesh. He presses a shaking hand to the only part of its chest left intact, not even thinking about whether it'll give him rabies or some other awful disease.

He’s about to pull back when something even crazier happens.

He realizes the wolf is breathing.

We Have Potential by dragon_temeraire (2/2 | 10,196 | PG13)

Derek has finally been invited to the annual North American Werewolf Convention. The only problem? They’re expecting him to bring a significant other. He doesn’t actually have one, but everyone volunteers Stiles for the job.

A Royal Christmas Engagement by skoosiepants (1/1 | 25,865 | NC17)

Young omega Warden Lord Mieczysław Stilinski, given the royal request of marrying Crown Prince Derek Hale of Triskelion, predictably messes the whole entire thing up.

Or –

An arranged marriage, mistaken identity, a/b/o, accidental heat fic

Hale’s Modern Encyclopedia of Playing Cards (and Dating Humans) by thepsychicclam (1/1 | 49,698 | R)

Wolves don't date humans. And Derek's okay with that. He's got his Pack, his friends in the Pack network, and lacrosse. Plus, he plays cards with his grandma all the time. Stiles Stilinski definitely doesn't factor into his life - no matter how much of a crush Derek has on him.

But when bird creatures attack Derek, Stiles, and their friends in the Preserve, Stiles finds out about werewolves and things get pretty complicated. For Derek at least. And he thought school was his only problem, but now he's grounded and Stiles is hanging around way too much for Derek to ignore him any longer.

Slow Hands by aussiebee (1/1 | 8,489 | NC17)

Derek is suddenly made aware of Stiles in an entirely new and uncomfortable way; specifically, his hands. His wide, strong, clever and dextrous hands.

Derek is kinda screwed.

The Start of Our Forever by Cobrilee (1/1 | 20,546 | NC17)

Stiles is ready to get out of Beacon Hills and start his new life, free of the supernatural. A random discovery in an antique store in Denver proves you can never leave it all behind... and encourages him to find it again. What ensues is four and a half years of pining, self-discovery, personal growth, a whole hell of a lot of love, and a realization that nightmares can still become fairy tales (happily-ever-afters included).

In Which Laura Is Never Going To Let Derek Live This Down by Omimouse (1/1 | 1,587 | PG13)

Prompt: A soulmate fic where you’ve got “Help! Save me!” on your wrist. So you do the martial arts classes, and ROTC, and get a concealed carry permit, you are READY, you are SO up for this… and then one day you’re at a friend’s house, and someone comes pounding down the stairs laughing and ducks behind you and goes “Help! Save me!” and that’s how you find out your soulmate was escaping a tickle fight.

“Laura, for the love of god, stop laughing and get him off of me.”

Gnashing Teeth and Criminal Tongues (conspire against the odds) by LadySlytherin (1/1 | 14,269 | R)

When Stiles mouths off to the wrong set of witches, he finds himself unable to control his tongue around a certain alpha werewolf. As Stiles struggles with the lesson the witches want him to learn, he knows it's only a matter of time until the truth comes out. It always does.

This is Not (In Fact) Okay by rileywrites (1/1 | 3,062 | PG13)

Derek and Stiles end up partnered for a project, and Derek contents himself with being a part of Stiles' life. For a while. ... Derek meets Stiles in his political science class. It's a 200-level class, so he doesn't expect any seniors to be involved. He definitely doesn't expect the hotshot senior midfielder from the lacrosse team to be in the class, let alone sitting beside him.

Tine's:

pick it up if we're moving too slow by standinginanicedress (12/12 | 139,856 | NC17)

“…I want a dude who’s going to take me out on dates. And I want him to meet my dad in, like, a sweater vest and khakis and shake his hand and talk about sports with the guy. And I want him to have a car and an apartment – not like, nice ones? But ones, you know? He’s got a dog, too. He drives me around and buys me stuff and is nice to my dad and my friends but then, like,” he squeezes the basketball extra hard and is sure he feels some air being let out of it, “…he ties me up sometimes, too. Is that too much to ask for? Am I reaching for the stars?”

Scott shakes his head, shuffling the cards and making piles out of them, likely by category. “There are no kinksters in Beacon Hills. We’ve been over this.”

To Make It Right by kitsunequeen (41/? | 121,147 | R)

In a society where the werewolves have been enslaved by the humans, Derek has had enough owners to know who the real monsters are. He's also had enough to know not to trust a word out of Stiles' mouth, no matter how nice an act he puts on.

The only thing that's kept Derek going for all these years is guilt. Now, though, he has a mission that might just allow him to set some of this right...

If only he can get away from Stiles.

-----

In which Derek's been abused all his life, Stiles just wants to show him he's not like his past owners, and they've both got a plan. The only question is, whose is more flawed?

And the Cold Pulls You Down by blacktofade (1/1 | 12,967 | NC17)

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Stiles asks Derek one night after he’s settled into bed, listening to the sound of Derek brushing his teeth in the bathroom.

“Ghosts?” Derek asks, voice muffled by toothbrush and paste as he stands in the doorway to stare at Stiles.

Or, the one where Stiles is 99.9% sure their house is haunted and no one believes him.

Seat Belts & Gravity by calrissian18 (1/1 | 22,411 | NC17)

People leave in Beacon Hills, give up on the town, the people, on life itself. And he and Derek are still here, six years later, still able to drink a beer and share space. It’s kind of remarkable in a really understated way.

Constantly on the Cusp by alisvolatpropiis (13/13 | 40,884 | NC17)

Stiles is gay, out and proud, and a Beacon Hills deputy. Derek is a firefighter and war veteran who thinks he's straight; or, Derek and Stiles have lots of semi-public hatesex on the road to Love.

Bruises and Hickies, Stitches and Scars by ElisAttack (12/12 | 89,808 | NC17)

“You’re my lawyer, Derek. What are you going to do, draft up a contract for yourself?”

Or the one where Stiles is a professional dominant, Derek is his lawyer, and their professional relationship suddenly becomes not so professional.

Also, faeries.

Start Small, Like Oak Trees by SmallBirds (1/1 | 24,234 | R)

The months following Allison's death have passed Stiles by in a haze of monotony. He sleepwalks through days that seem to lose their color, an unwilling passenger in a body he no longer trusts. Eventually, he thinks, he'll just fade away. He isn't sure anyone would notice. Then, during a spur of the moment grocery run, he stumbles upon Derek Hale attempting to console a lost child, and for the first time in recent memory the world doesn't seem so awful. He's not sure what he'd been expecting when he eventually convinces Derek to move into the Stilinski's spare bedroom, but a newfound passion for weeding and topsoil certainly isn't it.

Can't Take the Heat? by Ilovesocks_24 (15/15 | 55,425 | PG13)

“Hi, I’m Stiles, and what I have for you today is…”

“Stop, just stop.” Grumpy Eyebrows interrupted. “That is honestly the worst looking Pasta Primavera I have ever seen. I don’t even want to eat it, it looks so bad.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes. No one insulted his creamy bacon carbonara without even trying it. And no one insulted his creamy bacon carbonara after they tried it either.

“It’s actually a Creamy Bacon Carbonara, asshole,” Stiles snapped. “And for the record, it’s supposed to look like that.” Or the one where Stiles is a new sous chef at Full Moon Steakhouse and Derek is the Gordon Ramsay of all head chefs. So of course they fall in love.

Written in the Stars by Quixoticity (6/6 | 26,596 | R)

Derek Hale is a lucky guy. He's got a great family, good friends, and a fulfilling job as a tattoo artist.

He's also one of the twenty-five per cent of the population born with a soul mark.

He likes his life, but he's waiting for his soul-match. The odds of meeting them aren't great but hey, Derek's a lucky guy. He has faith.

He can't believe how good his luck really is when one day his soul-match wanders right into his studio, all long limbs and copper eyes. There's just one problem: Stiles is there to get his soul mark covered up. Permanently.

#recs #sterek #long post #2017 #top fics

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behindheremeraldeyes · 6 years

Text

Title: Whatever Happened to Christmas . Summary: It’s been some long, and exhausting months for Sakura, and Christmas didn’t seem to be helping her in any way. Her friends are worried about her, but she wouldn’t let them help her. Therefore, there was only one person who could, truly, help her. . A/N: It’s finally here, everyone!! God, I can’t tell you how excited I am for this! I’ve finally had time to let it all out in a SS fanfic, and you guys really can’t imagine how relieved I felt after this fic! This one, particularly, has become quite special for me, especially after everything that happened last year. It became my escape fic, and god, there’s so many personal things in this fic that I kinda feel exposed XD Still, I owed you that much after all your patience with me. This is my come back fic, and it’s christmas themed! I hope you guys enjoy it, and please, tell me your opinion! It’s really important! . . . The clock was almost hitting 11:50pm when she finally realized it was time to head home. She had already changed into her winter clothes, her lab coat already left in her office and her heels already clicking their way towards the exit of the hospital. Her chakra reservations were quite low after a 36 hours shift, and yet, there was a sad scowl plastered on her lips at the idea of leaving so soon. Exhaustion creeped under her skin, for sure, but nothing a cup of coffee and some minutes with her eyes closed wouldn’t fix.

Sakura didn’t want to leave, for sure. She didn’t want to leave the safety of her work place, to an empty house where she would have to worry about dinner for one, and do nothing productive for the rest of the evening. The pinkette wanted to stay and help her colleagues during one of the busiest nights of the year, and more than anything, she wanted to help people go home safely to their families.

She’s a doctor, and that’s her job. That was what she was trained to do.

But ironically, the same woman who trained her was the one sending her home that night. And all because, apparently, she was too young to be spending yet another holiday inside that hospital.

A sigh escaped her lips as she tried her best to think back to all the previous holidays, as if to mentally try to prove her master wrong. Sakura knew she had been spending a little longer at the hospital than most of her colleagues, but it was not like she considered it to be harming in any way. She’s a medic, after all. She’s used to the sleepless nights and the canceled plans, and more than anyone, the Godaime should understand those circumstances.

Through the years, Sakura has come to understand that there is no such thing as peaceful times in the hospital. Even if the war was just a ghost from the past now, and even if the Shinobi Alliance had, indeed, lowered the mortality numbers, they still lived under the ninja system, where battles happened constantly and wounds could be as fatal as ever if not treated quickly.

They were still humans, by the end of the day. They could still bleed to death because of a kunai wound, and they could still die because of stupid things such as getting wasted during the holidays.

War or no war, medic ninjas were needed around the village. However, according to her master, medical ninjas also needed a break during some time of the year to celebrate life and eat a bunch of junk food to fill their energy tanks. And if she was not going to realize that by herself, then Tsunade would use all her power and her loud threats to make sure her dear pupil would spend Christmas away from those white, sterilized hallways.

And so, after weeks of direct confrontations around the hallways and weeks of constant changes on the names of the doctors that would be spending Christmas on duty, the Godaime ended up using her last resort on her wisest student. By orders from the head medic in Konoha’s hospital, Haruno Sakura was forbidden to be anywhere near that building during December 25th, unless she was actually dying and in need of medical help. Her schedules were erased, other medics had promptly taken over her work, and even Shizune would be there to help cover for all the pinkette’s surgeries.

Spending such busy day without her around would be hard, but that was how things were going to be. Sakura was going to enjoy a holiday break, even if they had to force her to do so.

She was not going to waste another chance of celebrating her youth because of her workaholic tendencies.

Or at least that was what Tsunade thought before her tricky apprentice found a way to twist her master’s words.

Sakura was not, indeed, spending the 25th at the hospital, no. Tsunade had been clear about that, and she was not going to disrespect the Godaime’s orders in front of everyone else. She would be spending Christmas home, just like her master told her to.

But she didn't say anything about Christmas eve.

And even if it wasn’t what she wanted, leaving a bit before midnight would have to be enough for that year.

When she finally arrived at the hospital’s lobby, her eyes didn’t miss all the elegant clothes people were wearing while waiting for whoever was in need of medical help. All the decorations also helped create the whole christmasy atmosphere around the hospital, and if Sakura were to be honest, those lights and stars would be the closest thing of a place to celebrate she would get that night. No matter how many times her best friend had invited her over, the pinkette just didn’t feel like listening to Ino rambling about how she was missing the chances of hooking up with a hot guy during the holidays.

Honestly, Sakura was just tired of people telling her how to live her life. Of course, she was going to obey Tsunade because she is her boss, but that didn’t mean she would be going out to party and do stuff such as going out to bars or having fancy, family dinners. Her master had the power to end her working schedule, but she certainly couldn’t force her to behave like a normal person.

And that was going to have to be her win for the night.

Another defeated sight escaped her lips, as she ran her fingers through her pink locks. It was probably time for her to go home, she knew, but leaving was a lot harder than she had expected. She turned her emeralds around for one, final look and was surprised by the sight of the one who was probably designated to take care of her patients for the night.

Apparently, she was the only apprentice who had been forced to leave.

“ Shouldn’t you be out by now?” Shizune said, stopping in front of her with a pile of papers in hands. “ If she finds you here, well… I bet you know what will happen, Sakura.”

“ Yeah, yeah… I know.” She smiled, her eyes curiously trying to read whatever was written on those papers. “ She wasn’t happy when she saw my name on today’s shifts, so I probably shouldn’t be giving her more reasons to actually fire me.”

“ Oh, she wouldn’t do that… But I can assure you that it would be quite painful.” Both of the girls chuckled, even if they were really aware of what their master was capable of. “ Still, don’t be too hard on her. She just wants you to have fun.”

“ Well, I certainly will.” Sakura started, taking a look at the clock hanging near the reception’s desk. It was certainly time for her to leave, and Shizune had no time to waste that night. “ There are tons of medical articles waiting for me at home. It’s going to be insane.”

“ I bet it will. Have a good night, Sakura.”

“ You too, Shizune-senpai. And Merry Christmas.”

And with a small, kind nod, the two medics parted ways. While she was heading towards the monotony of her home, Shizune was about to spend her holidays tending the wounded and discussing cases with their master during the coffee break.

Life certainly wasn’t fair.

The winter breeze welcomed her small form as soon as she exited the building. Instinctively, the Haruno girl brought her coat closer in order to shield herself from the cold, and as she made her way towards her apartment, it was impossible not to allow her mind to drift back in time, to a past when everything was simpler and she would still have that same, bubbly energy to celebrate christmas with the people she loves.

So much has changed, she thought.

Back then, she would spend the night with her parents and early in the morning, after opening her presents, Sakura would rush through the streets of Konoha so she could meet her boys and wish them a merry christmas. They would all exchange presents while drinking a hot chocolate, and they would end up spending the entire day together, enjoying the free time offered to the genin teams during the holidays.

Those were good times, for sure. Those were happy times, when the future still promised better days for the four of them.

A future that promised to keep them all together.

Oh, what a delightful future that was. None of them could’ve ever predicted how different things would be in less than 10 years.

In less than 10 years, the members of the team 7 literally went to war and back. Hearts were broken, bonds damaged, and even if, eventually, they found their happy ending, some things just couldn’t be fixed anymore. The boys weren’t just boys anymore, and she certainly wasn’t a little girl anymore. They were all forced to grow up faster than normal people should, and even if Naruto was able to hold onto his dream, Sakura couldn’t say she had the same luck. Deep inside, perhaps, there was still something left from her younger version, but most of it— most of her was already long gone.

She no longer neglected her physical practice. Her social life was quickly replaced by her job and her love— oh, that beautiful and pure love she has always nourished for that raven haired boy… It was still there, for sure, but it certainly wasn’t the same. It was stronger, now. More responsible and concealed, especially since her emotional expectations in life were close to zero now. She no longer expected him to proclaim his undying love for her, in the same way she no longer expected to be one of the reasons for him to finally settle in the village.

Sakura was no longer a child, and she knew better than to raise her expectations just to see them all crumbling down around her. He wasn’t coming back anytime soon, and even when he did, there was no use in getting all excited since it wouldn’t take long before he left again. It was a harsh way of thinking, and many were the times when Naruto scolded her for that, but it was the only way she knew that would keep her heart from breaking after every damn goodbye.

And so, Haruno Sakura, the girl who used to spread joy and laughter around the village and who used to love everything about christmas, turned into a skeptical workaholic at the age of 18. While all of her friends were out having fun, there she was, walking around the lonely, illuminated streets of the village, protecting herself from the shivering breeze as she tried to get home to her hot tea and the paperwork she had managed to take from the hospital.

Growing up really sucks.

By the time she finally got home, the clock was already marking 18 minutes past midnight. It was officially christmas, and as she had expected— or not expected at all— Sakura feels nothing different. She left her purse on her dinner table and headed straight to the bathroom so she could take a nice, warm bath. The hot water ran down her muscles, soaking her pink hair and allowing her to finally let out a deep breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Sleep was far away from her thoughts even if she had just returned from a long shift, and at that moment, she decided she deserved to spend a little longer under the running waters.

It had been a while since she had last had those minutes to relax, and even if most times she didn’t really have time to miss them, not even the pinkette would be stupid enough not to enjoy those limited moments that had to be forced into her life by the people she loves. Her eyes closed at the warm sensation of the water running down her cheeks, and she didn’t know something as simple as water could leave her skin so sensitive, to the point it tickled.

It felt good and warm, and by the time she was finished with her bath, it was almost 1am. Sakura put on some comfortable, flannel pajamas, and even if it was cold outside, she didn’t bother drying up her short hair. The silence of her apartment and the few lights she had left on reminded her of the years neither Naruto nor Sasuke were around, and much like back then, the pinkette decided to take her mind away from that reality and focus on her responsibilities and a relaxing cup of tea. A chamomile one, her favorite.

With her bare feet against the wooden floor, the medic nin walked towards her small kitchen and started to boil some water that would be enough to fill at least three small cups. She rested one hand on the counter next to the oven, and scratched the back of her neck with the other, massaging the area near the junction with her shoulders. Sakura closed her eyes, and her mind started to wander through her memories again, but that time, she focused on the present instead of the past.

The images of a smiling Naruto filled her mind, as she tried to imagine how happy he probably was at that moment. That was the first time he was spending Christmas away from Konoha, and even if he had sent her a letter complaining about the heat wave of the desert, she knew he was having fun. That knucklehead accepted the Kazekage’s invitation to spend the holidays at Sunagakure, and he was complaining about the weather and the sand.

That idiot, she thought.

Still, it was not like she wasn’t happy for him. Gaara’s friendship is really important for the blonde, and having a chance to deepen that bond was something Naruto was really looking forward to.

He was certainly going to enjoy his holidays. And at that moment, she could only hope the third, original member of their team was also having a good time.

As it was expected from the Uchiha, no one knew where he was or what he was up to. It had been weeks since his last letter arrived for her, and apart from the usual ‘I'm alive, therefore I’m writing you a letter’ thing, the raven haired boy didn’t really disclose much information. Perhaps, she thought, as a smile decorated her face; that he wouldn’t tell her such things so she wouldn’t go after him.

Her smile quickly changed into a smirk, and she couldn’t help but mentally call him a bastard. It was not like she would simply abandon her life and go after him. Not anymore, at least.

A sigh escaped her throat at the thought. “ Sasuke-kun…”

The memories of the Uchiha have always been the ones to bring her more emotions. All the time they’ve spent together and all the things they’ve been through were enough to make her worry about him even if he’s one of the best ninjas the world has ever met. Especially during the holidays, she wonders how he’s doing or if he’s cold. She wonders if he found a place to stay, and if this place has people who are treating him well.

She wonders if, perhaps, he has found someone worthy of his heart. And if so, she wonders if he will be spending christmas with her.

It’s a stupid thought, for sure. She has no right to be jealous over him, and if anything, she should only be happy for the man who has always meant so much for her. His happiness is the most important thing, and more than anything, Sakura wished him a merry christmas, wherever and with whomever he was.

Unlike her, she just hoped Sasuke wouldn’t miss the chance of spending the holidays with his significant others.

And indeed, he wasn’t.

A knock on the door surprised her by the time boiling water was acting on the plants. At first, she thought she had heard things. Who on earth would be knocking on people’s doors at such wee hours of the dawn?

Her brows arched in confusion, and it wasn’t only until there was another knock that she decided to move. She checked the clock just to make sure she wasn’t insane or anything, and when she realized it was almost 1:30 in the morning, Sakura concluded that the person at her door was either from the hospital due to an emergency, or Ino trying to drag her towards her christmas party. If it was the later, then, perhaps, she could return to the hospital under Tsunade’s exception.

If not for her low levels of chakra, the Haruno girl would’ve sensed the enormous power coming from the other side of the door, and perhaps, her reaction would’ve been different by the time she opened the door. Her eyes widened, her lips parted, and she had to lean against the doorframe in order not to fall. She could barely feel her nose due to the cold breeze hitting her face, but at that moment, all she could think of was how much she had missed those deep, dark eyes of the raven haired boy.

That was certainly a christmas miracle.

“ Sasuke-kun… You’re back.”

“ Aah.” He nodded, his expression as peaceful as ever. His eyes roamed around her in the same way hers were memorizing all the changes he had suffered since the last time they met. He was still wearing that same black cloak, and his hair was still as spiked as ever, but the lines of his face were stronger and a lot more mature than before. His chin had more angles now, and his lips seemed softer as his face displayed a soft expression.

Uchiha Sasuke looked good as ever, and she wasn’t surprised by that at all.

Though, believing in Santa would've been a lot easier than believing he was actually standing there on her doorstep. And judging by the color of his nose, it was also possible to say he was cold.

“ D-Don’t just stay out there! Come on in! It’s freezing out here.” She said, stepping aside and giving him space to pass.

“ Thanks.” He muttered, entering her apartment and promptly removing his cloak. For many were the times he had been there to pay her a visit, some formalities were already left behind, and he certainly didn’t need an invitation to walk around and feel at home.

They both headed towards her living room, and he was the first to settle down on her couch. His eyes didn’t miss the mess of papers spread on her center table, and he would be lying if he said all that mess didn’t bother him. Not because of his cleaning mania, no, but mainly because of the time of the year.

Maybe, the info he had gotten wasn’t an overreaction, after all.

“ Tea?” She came from behind him, offering him a cup he promptly accepted. She didn’t add any sugar, for she knew his preferences, and even if he didn’t like chamomile, he could stand the taste of it if not sweetened like the way she drinks it.

Sakura, then, sat on the chair across from him, bringing her legs up so she sat with them crossed instead of how normal people should sit. An awkward silence settled in between them while they sipped their tea, and she patiently observed him with those big, emerald eyes of hers. As always, the Uchiha was a master with words.

“ So…” She started, sighing and deciding it was already too late for any small talk. “ What are you doing here, Sasuke? You don’t really want me to believe you’re here just because you’ve missed me.”

A smirk crossed his lips, as he was impressed by how direct his teammate has become. His eyes shifted from the papers to her green orbs, and she felt himself relax at the sight of the pink haired girl confidently looking at him. “ Hn, you don’t waste time, do you?”

“ Not when your teammate shows up at your apartment at 1am.”

“ Fair enough.”

“ Though I can start asking you about your journey and tell you all about Naruto’s newest attempt on learning fire ninjutsus.”

“ Tch, that Dobe…” He sighed, trying not to judge his best friend’s weird ideas. The Uchiha remembered the blonde writing something about that in one of his letters, but he never thought he would actually try something so stupid.

What a great Hokage he was going to be in the future.

But at that moment, the future of Konoha didn’t seem important. When he looked back at her, he realized her judging stare was still on him, and Sakura was still waiting for her answer. And by the look in her eyes, she wouldn’t simply accept a half lie such as his needs to refill his supplies.

She wanted the truth. And that was exactly what he was going to give her.

A sigh escaped his lips as his hand slowly moved to his pocket before fishing out a couple of crumpled papers and leaving them on her center table. He watched as her eyes widened in curiosity, and once she reached out and started reading whatever was written there, the Uchiha decided he could finally start talking now that he had given her the evidences that would prove the veracity of his words. “ You see, apparently, you’ve been doing some things that are leaving all these people worried, Sakura. I’ve received letters from your parents, Naruto, Ino, Kakashi and even from the Godaime.”

“ Are you serious? Why would they even do that?”

“ Hn, they are worried about you. ”

“ Why would they be? I’m fine. Just because I’m taking some extra-shifts at the hospital every now and then it doesn’t mean there’s actually something wrong.”

“ Are you sure about that? According to the letters, your extra shifts seem to be something important.”

“ Oh, not you too, Sasuke-kun! It’s just my job!”

“ I know… But by the way they all described it, you are not okay, Sakura. It seemed like you needed help."

“ Help?” She lifted an eyebrow in confusion while reading the words the Yamanaka girl had written him. Apart from the lack of formality, the blonde had written things such as ‘workaholic’, ‘exhausted' and ‘get back home and use your Uchiha magic on her’. Even if her friend, indeed, seemed to be concerned, Sakura couldn’t help but feel annoyed at all those overreacted assumptions. “ What the hell, that pig actually told you I’m suffering from Christmas Depression-shannarou!”

An uncomfortable silence settled around them after her words, and it was as if he was holding back something that was killing him inside. It’s true that by the way those people had described Sakura’s current situation, Sasuke expected things to be a lot worse than what they actually seemed to be. During his travels, he has seen people who are going through depression crises, and fortunately, the pinkette didn’t look like them at all.

Even if she did seem tired and she had certainly lost some weight, the Haruno girl, indeed, looked fine, and that was why the Uchiha pondered whether or not he should say what was on his mind. Maybe those people were overreacting. Maybe they were just plotting to bring him home so they could try to set them up. Maybe she didn’t really need him and anything he could do or say would be useless.

Still, as he kept looking at her house and the lack of Christmas decorations, Sasuke decided that perhaps there was more than his eyes could tell. And so, when she was trying to read Naruto’s messy handwriting, the Uchiha cleared his throat and took a deep breath. If there was really something wrong with her, he was going to find out. “ … Are you, Sakura?”

“ Uh?” She lifted her head, connecting their eyes as she looked at him with a confused expression. “ Am I what, Sasuke-kun?”

“ Are you suffering from Christmas Depression?”

Her eyes widened, her lips parted, and soon, her confused expression changed into an angry one. Her brows knitted downwards, and she glared at him after abandoning the papers back on the center table. “ Are you seriously asking me that, Sasuke?”

He felt shivers running down his spine, still, he didn’t back off. He simply nodded, not taking his eyes away from hers. “Aah.”

“ Of course not, Sasuke! Damn it, why can’t people just leave me alone?!”

“ Alone? What do you mean?”

“ Tch… I’m just trying to do my things, you know? But apparently, just because what I want to do isn’t considered to be normal for a girl of my age, then there’s something wrong with me!"

“ It’s not like that, Sakura.”

“ Yes, it is! Just because I didn’t want to go to Ino’s party or because I took some extra shifts at the hospital; people think there’s something wrong! Even you decided to come all the way back to the village during Christmas just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy! Gosh, this is so… This is so annoying!”

Her hands curled into fists, and perhaps, were her chakra reserves a little higher, her couch would have been destroyed by her irritation. Sakura was mad and tired, and apparently, not even she was aware of whatever was happening with her. It was evident that the pinkette was under a lot of stress and she was trying to cope it with more work and even a certain isolation he understood very well. She could not be aware of that, but she was avoiding her family, friends and even herself, seeking comfort in her professional obligations and not allowing herself time to realize how lonely she actually was, let alone decorate her apartment for the holidays.

Haruno Sakura was, indeed, lonely. And loneliness didn’t suit her at all.

Especially not during Christmas. Especially not when he was around.

His expression softened at the sight of the girl in front of him, and promptly, Sasuke started to think about something that could help her feel better. His mind took him back to their younger days, when the pinkette was nothing but a bubble of happiness around that time of the year. Sakura used to be the personification of Christmas itself. She would invite the whole team for the dinner her mother would prepare, and he remembered how her eyes would shine every time she would take her time watching the tree and all its ornaments.

Oh, yes… The Christmas Tree.

The most significant and beautiful thing about Christmas, or at least that was what he thought. He didn’t know exactly why, but Sasuke has always been fond of all that beautiful mess of ornaments and lights displayed around the green branches of the tree. Maybe it had something to do with Itachi and his own family celebrations, he didn’t really know. Still, every time his eyes saw that colorful mess, it was like a nostalgic and comfortable flutter took over his chest and made his lips curl up in something that could be considered a smile.

And perhaps that was what she needed, he thought.

Perhaps Sakura needed that one, simple moment of joy to remember how Christmas should feel, in the same it felt when she was a child.

She needed that, more than anyone at that moment. And the Uchiha— well— he needed a tree.

“ Sakura.” He started, firmly, and slowly, her eyes met his. She was paying attention, curiosity spread around her face at such sudden, confident tone. “ We need a Christmas Tree.”

Her expression turned blank after she listened to his words, and she didn't know for how long she was left spacing out, just trying to understand what he was talking about. “ What?”

“ A Christmas Tree.” He repeated, standing up and looking around her apartment. “ Do you have one?”

“…. Why would you need a Christmas Tree now, Sasuke?”

“ You didn’t decorate one this year. We’re doing it together now.”

The pinkette opened her mouth a couple of times as she tried her best to form the correct phrase for this situation. She blinked a couple of times more than necessary, and it wasn’t until she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the couch that she could finally come up with something. “ Are you high?”

“ What?”

“ Seriously… Did you eat some kind of mushroom around the woods lately that just left you… high?”

“ No… Why are you even asking me that?”

“ Because…” She stood up, placing both hands on her waist. “ I’m not sure you’re aware that you’re suggesting for us to find a Christmas tree and decorate it at 3 freaking am of Christmas day.”

“… So what? It’s not my fault you didn’t do it earlier.”

“ You… How dare yo—“

“ Do you have it or not, Sakura?”

His eyes were strongly connected to hers, and at that moment, she saw no sign of joke or opium intoxication in him. He meant every single word of his crazy idea, and he was not going to give up on that so easily. Of all the things the Uchiha has done in his life, showing up at her apartment and demanding to decorate a christmas tree was by far the most illogical one. It just didn’t make sense, and were Naruto telling her this story, she wouldn’t have believed a single word of it.

Uchiha Sasuke had certainly gone crazy. Or maybe it was all an illusion created by her own mind. Either way, Sakura was too tired to argue at that moment.

If he wanted a Christmas tree, she would give him one.

A defeated sigh escaped her lips, and after massaging the bridge between her eyes, the pinkette started to walk towards her front door. His eyes were glued on her, and she could feel as he observed as she left her apartment, her bare feet touching the cold floor outside. She disappeared from his sight, and after a couple of minutes, when Sasuke thought she had run away, the Haruno girl came back, a considerably big tree hanging on her shoulder, as she walked through her living room. She looked different now, as she easily placed that tree on the floor. It was as if a new fire had been lit inside her, and perhaps, that was a good start for the night.

That, or maybe she had really snapped after his great idea.

“ Why are you just standing there, Sasuke? You can bet your ass you’re gonna help me with this tree, and I don’t care if you have only one arm-shannarou!”

“ Hn.” He smirked at her glare, deciding not to push her any further after she actually showed up with a Christmas tree. He approached her, and watched as she tried to get rid of the small bushes that had gotten stuck on her clothes. “ So you did have a Christmas Tree.”

“ Tsunade-sama gave it to me the other day. I left it downstairs to see if anyone would take it, but apparently, no one even touched it.”

“ I really can’t imagine why.”

“ Tch, I can’t believe you’ve convinced me to do this…” She looked at his tall figure towering over her, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by his presence.

“ It will be fun, you’ll see.”

“ You better be right, Uchiha Sasuke.” She smirked at him, unconsciously licking her lips as if to plan her next steps. “ I’ll go get the ornaments and the lights. Make us some decent coffee because it will be a long, christmas night.”

“ Hn. It’s not like you have anything better to do.”

“ Fair enough.”

By the time the tree was fully decorated, the sun was starting to creep out from behind the Hokages’ monument. With the help of some shadow clones, both of them were able to finish everything without many problems. There was a comfortable silence around her living room, the lights of the tree being the only source of light in her apartment.

It was way too late to even check the clock, and even if normally they would try to keep some sort of decency around each other, neither of them seemed to care about that anymore, as Sakura was lazily laying on her couch, her forearms resting over her eyes, while Sasuke sat on the floor, with his back pressed against the front of the same couch and his arm resting over his knee. They were breathing in a peaceful rhythm, and due to the close distance they were from each other, it was possible for them to hear — and for the Uchiha to even feel— the air leaving the other’s lungs.

In the same way her breath tickled the back of his neck, his strong, musky scent invaded her nostrils, and even if normally that would leave them both a bit bothered, that kind of intimacy felt unusually comfortable at that moment.

And for being Haruno Sakura, intimacy usually came with words.

“ Sasuke-kun…” She started, laying over her right elbow so she could face the back of his head. Her hair was falling over her forehead, covering the yin seal, as her eyes softly observed the man in front of her. At some point during their Christmas activities, Sakura finally realized that she was actually spending some good, harmless time with him, and that was certainly enough to warm her heart. “ How was it like before the whole thing? Christmas at your place, I mean…”

His answer wasn’t immediate, as he brought back the memories of his childish days. There were really good ones that featured the brightest smiles of his family, and he didn’t need a lot of time to come up with the words they were both expecting to hear. “ Hn, it was great. My best family memories must be from Christmas, when I would help Itachi with all the decorations and we would fool around all day.”

A smile made its way to her lips at the image of a small Sasuke running around with his big brother, She didn’t know him well back then, but from the pictures she has seen around, it was easy to tell he had had a happy childhood while it lasted. “ And what about your parents? Did they like Christmas?”

“ My mother liked it a lot. She was the one to start all the decorations and prepare the banquet for us. She was always smiling during that time of the year, and I can’t recall a single Christmas without her cinnamon cookies.” He smiled at the memory of that delightful taste, and enjoyed the relaxing feeling that talking about his deceased family brought to his heart. Even if there was a time he couldn’t share a single memory without feeling the anger taking over his senses, now, the Uchiha felt good while sharing the simple things from his childhood. He liked to talk about them, but it was not like he would share such things with anyone, no.

It had to be someone special. Someone like Haruno Sakura.

“ And what about your dad? Not a fan of the holidays?”

“ My father was different… He liked Christmas, but he never really voiced his thoughts.”

“ Really can’t imagine anyone like that.” She teased, and she could see the smirk that grew on his lips.

“ Every year, he would spend time with us while we decorated the tree, then, eventually, he would tell my mom how everything was beautiful.” He turned his head to face her, his expression now changed in a certain curiosity as he somehow tried to solve a mystery from his past. “ By the end of the night, right after my mother sent us off to bed, I remember seeing my father joining her at the living room. He would sit on the couch next to her, but I never found out what they would do after that. Itachi would always pull me away before I could see anything.”

“ Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun. They were just trying to have a romantic time together. It’s Christmas, after all. It’s a good time for couples.” She chuckled at him, curling up closer to the edge of the couch. Her eyes were on him now, and she hadn’t noticed how close their faces were until she caught herself looking straight at his long eyelashes. His scent was still messing with her senses, and she suddenly felt her heart beating faster.

What on earth was going on? Could it be…

“ Aah… You’re probably right.” His eyes were on hers now, and at that moment, he saw how bright they were as they reflected the christmas lights from the tree. She smelled like soap, and for the first time that night, Sasuke managed to see a kind and loving expression on her face. It was similar to the one she used to wear when she was younger, but this time, it was deeper and more mature. It was possible to see the traces of the hardships she had to go through during her life, and if anything, all those stories hidden behind her exterior just made the pinkette a lot more captivating.

It made her even more beautiful.

And— oh, he really couldn’t hold back anymore.

“ Yeah… I am.”

After her whispered words, a new silence took over the apartment. Neither of them really knew who was the first to do it, but before any of them could tell, their lips were already pressed against each other in a soft, chaste kiss. It tasted like coffee and the sugar from the Christmas cookies she had gotten from her patients; and it felt warm like a fireplace. His back still remained pressed against the couch, and her elbows were holding her in place, as they didn’t feel like parting their loving connection.

Neither of them knew how long it had passed until they slowly broke away. Their faces remained just a couple of inches apart, and as their hot breath tickled their warm lips, both Sasuke and Sakura allowed a soft smile to take over their expressions.

That kiss felt indescribably good. It felt relieving, as if it was something that should’ve happened a long time before. Their hearts were beating as one at that moment, and for sure, the pinkette could feel the tension disappearing with every breath she took.

God— how good that felt. After months of complete, emotional stagnation, Sakura could finally feel something. Tears threatened to stream down her face at that moment, as she felt her cheeks growing even warmer than before at the simple thought of a simple kiss bringing back a rush of emotions to her heart. She had been feeling so lonely lately that she had feared she would never feel things the way she used to feel.

Even if she had repeatedly told everyone she was fine, the pinkette, more than anyone, knew that wasn't completely true. She didn’t know exactly what was happening to her, but there was something that wasn’t right, and it weighed like a heavy rock. She had managed to put it aside for a while, but when Christmas came, she saw herself all alone and with nothing left of the girl who used to love that time of the year so much.

She hated feeling like that. She hated feeling nothing, and she feared never feeling anything again.

Perhaps, she really was going through Christmas Depression, as Ino had said. Perhaps, she really needed help.

And at that moment, he was giving her everything she needed.

He was giving her the best Christmas present she could’ve asked for.

“ Thank you, Sasuke-kun…” She said, biting her lower lips as she held back her tears. She was looking deep into her eyes, and felt her heart skipping a beat when she found the softest expression taking over his dark irises. He knew exactly what she meant with those words, and more than anything, he was happy to have been able to help.

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was happy. Happy to have helped her, happy to be home and certainly happy to have kissed her lips. Not ignoring those letters had been a great decision, and now, more than ever, he was happy to be home, with her.

It felt comfortable and even relaxing after spending the whole Christmas night decorating a tree.

It felt familiar, even if neither of them had ever shared a moment like that before. Sure, it brought back memories and made them think about the infinite ‘what if’s of their lives, but it certainly didn’t feel regretful or depressing at all. It was a different kind of Christmas for the ninjas, and not even during their innocent days had they felt so at peace during the holidays.

That was definitely a different and nostalgic Christmas for both of them. A really good one, nonetheless.

“ Aah… Merry Christmas, Sakura.”

“ Yeah… Merry Christmas, Sasuke-kun.”

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #ssfanfic #myssfics

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trinitykitten · 4 years

Text

BNHA Ideas. Angsty and Gay.

Okay! These are some BNHA Au’s and little ‘skits’ I came up with and have had for a while. I have two more that are far more thought out. I don’t really plan on writing out any of these so feel free to use the ideas! I’d love to see them come to life! I’ll post the other two if people want them.

*Bakugo and Uraraka fighting*

Tsuyu to Todoroki: Unstoppable force meet immovable object.

Midoriya: Both of you stand down now.

*Uraraka and Bakugo grudgingly comply*

Todoroki to Tsuyu: Unstoppable force, immovable object. Meet undeniable order.

———

Angsty one:

Midoriya records the stories of all his classmates and friends.

And a lot of there deaths.

Yeaaahhhhh fucking morbid, but hey. He’s preserving their memory.

Also even better if he becomes a villain.

———

Animatic:

Girls/Girls/Boys

Tsuyu Ochako Izuku

I think this one explains itself.

———

YUTS Midoriya plays a prank on Endeavour he calls the “Christmas Carol” prank.

He gets Hino to be past, Nana present, and Rei future. Christmas Day Endeavour gets a special visit. Todoroki is informed, probably after he notices his father panicking, that this is a Christmas present from the ghosts and Midoriya.

OKAY BUT HOW DID NO ONE MAKE THIS YET ITS TO PERFECT.

———

Kohei Horikoshi as a BNHA character.

Quirk: Guiding flame

His quirk allows him to manipulate the world and people around him as if he were writing them in a story. Limitations are that the “rewrites” have to already be possible and he can not change the past no matter how much he may want to.

Horikoshi seems to like fire quirks a lot so I put a nod to that in naming his would be quirk.

———

1-A fights for Deku’s love but Shinsou pops up and joins in.

They set up a tournament style thing with trivia and obstacle courses. Eventually they all just start arguing over the results and how it’s unfair and doesn’t mean anything.

Then Deku, who has been trying to get there attention this whole time, is told to decide who gets to be his boyfriend/girlfriend and he just yells “IM AROMATIC YOU IGNORAMUSES.”

They are all shocked the precious bean called them dumb but more saddened by the knowledge they never had a chance to begin with.

———

“Todoroki you bitch get back here!”

Uraraka “W-was that??? DID DEKU JUST CALL TODOROKI A BITCH??”

Todoroki running for his life “Can we PLEASE focus on calming him down?!??!!??”

Uraraka “If even Deku is cursing you out you probably don’t deserve being saved from his wrath.”

Bakugou hiding under a couch “Bitch your on your own try not to fucking die.”

———

Soulmarks AU:

People are connected with soulmarks which are pictures of animals like bunnies or deer and such. To differentiate between different ‘Clans’ all people within a group have the same animal with the same colors. It is possible to be apart of several groups though it’s extremely rare to be connected to more than three groups. Groups consist of ‘Watchers’ and ‘Followers’. Watchers take care of their followers physical and mental health and followers are extremely loyal and protective of their watchers.

Watchers are not necessarily stronger or older than their followers but they are often empathetic, or have leadership qualities. Many clans stay together or stay in touch most of their lives. Some even work together as heroes or in gangs.

———

Todo, Deku, Uraraka, Iida, and Bakusquad are hanging out in the dorms. Bakugo went to bed at 8:30 like the nerd he is.

Ashido: Hey Mido, why does Bakugo seem to hate you so much? What happened?

Deku: Oh I think it’s mostly because I dumped him.

Denki: Wait, WHAT.

Uraraka: You dumped HIM?

Todo: You dated him?

*Iida, Ashido, and Hanata in shook silence*

Kirishima: Dude you need to explain a bit more than that.

Deku: *eyes shining with manic glee* Middle school was fun.

Kirishima: Maybe be a little more specific?

*Text from Baku* : I sense a disturbance.

Everyone starts freaking out while Deku just starts texting back : I was wondering, does your dislike of me have anything to do with getting absolutely overthrown in middle school?

Baku: Fuck you. No. I’m not that petty I just wanna destroy the competition.

Deku: I’m competition? I’m flattered!

Baku: Whatever nerd. When you gunna ask out IcyHot?

Deku: When you gunna stop hitting Kiri and just ask him out?

Baku: NIGHT BITCH.

———

Trans!Bakugo

His parents are fashion designers in canon so to add a bit to that they make more androgynous cloths and things like sports wear including some top of the line sports bras and jackets.

———

Midoriya attempts to get Aizawa off coffee onto hot chocolate instead. (With help from Mic and Midnight)

He starts bringing coffee to Aizawa in the mornings at the dorms because ‘I made to much and figured you want some’ he just keeps doing this until it’s expected. He also slowly starts changing what he brings to be more hot chocolate than not. Mic and Midnight help this along by swapping Aizawa’s own coffee out with a mixture Midoriya made of coco powder and coffee grounds.

Eventually after like three months he walks up to Aizawa in the teacher dorms and hands him a big hot chocolate with wiped cream and says “here’s your coffee.” In deadpan while the other teachers giggle in the background.

Aizawa who immediately figures out what’s happened just takes it and says thanks. Making Mic start laughing like a maniac.

———

Midoriya

Quirk: Split.

It lets him ‘split’ himself creating clones of himself that represent different sides of himself. This includes ‘Sunshine boy’ ‘Deku’ ‘Villain’ ‘Hero’ and ‘Nerd’.

‘Sunshine Boy’ or Midori is the child like caring side that gets the other sides to get along.

Deku is the depressed one that, after meeting his new friends at UA starts to basically turn into Amajiki.

Villain who goes by Midoriya is like Monoma and is kinda crazy. He’s also the second smartest of the group.

Hero responds to Izuku and ‘HELP ME’ (hehe jokes) he’s the super determined one that runs at danger without realizing to save anyone. He’s kinda an idiot.

Nerd likes to be called Izu and is the smartest and the one that generally keeps the others in check. He is analysis and knows everything there is to know about every hero and villain he is aware of. Which is basically all of them.

They sometimes only come out a few at a time which lets the others influence change their personalities slightly.

An example being if only Deku and villain ‘came out’ they would be really chill. Deku just being a bit shyer than Midoriya usually would be and Villain having a shorter fuse.

- Villain (Midoriya)

Is a huge dork and would rather cause wide spread inconvenience and petty theft of snacks rather than actually hurting anyone due to the efforts of Midori and his therapist. Midori is pretty much the only one he listens to and is the one who first got through to the big old tsundere.

———

Deku does a flip off the roof and starts haunting Bakugo to make sure he becomes the number one hero. That his punishment. Atone you don’t have a choice.

Everyone else can see Deku when he wants to be seen, he chooses to let Bakugo see him most of the time. Turns out broccoli boi had a quirk. That quirk is called haunt. It lets him hang around some and keep track of his mother and the Bakugous because they where the only people he really knew and cared about when he was alive. He hangs out with his mom some times when he can but mostly he sticks to watching Bakugo and his new friends.

When Bakugo gets kidnapped he’s pretty sure Deku will just float around and watch to see how it goes like normal but instead he flips out. He wasn’t teleported with Bakugo cause he flitted off to help Kota, this lead to him not being able to get through the portal in time. So he makes himself known and basically drags Aizawa and All Might to where he is. He goes to Bakugo ahead of the heroes and frets and fusses about his precious Kacchan severely confusing the villains because “Why can’t I hit this kid?!??”. Deku had been becoming more protective of the class but after that basically decides 1A is now his adopted family and devotes himself to keeping them out of trouble.

———

Deku is a mob boss but runs it really well and takes care of his employees. Then on the side he’s taking out super villains and dealing with media drama. He’s got different people running different things; Todoroki, Bakugou, Uraraka, Iida, and Tsu help take care of organization, distribution, security, and resources. While the rest of the class has slightly lower and more specialized roles but are still in charge of their respective programs. Some by themselves while others work in groups of two or three.

1A are all apart of ‘security team A’

Most of them have other jobs they do within the mob but some, like Bakugo work full time in the security team. The A team work as bodyguards for the ones in charge while in public and they all work together to take out strong villains and especially villain organizations.

So there working on taking out the Eight precepts of death and they decide they’re gunna need some outside help with it. So Izuku, being the all knowing people person that he is in this Au calls Aizawa up on his phone and asks if he wants to help destroy a villain organization. Aizawa thinks it’s sketchy as fuck but he goes anyway and is extremely confused when this LITERAL CHILD. Yes a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BOY. Just walks up like “Hello my name is Midoriya Izuku.” And Aizawa is even more confused because This is apparently the guy that owns most of the fucking city. Izuku is having none of the “your a literal child how are you CEO of so many businesses” and he just replies with “When you own the mob the mob does things for you.” And turns around to walk down the street towards where Bakugo and Todoroki are waiting with a tinted window car and fully decked in suit tie and so many god damn weapons it’s ridiculous you can’t actually see any of them. So of course Aizawa is n o t getting in the car with a bunch of shady fifteen year olds that may or may not be affiliated with the mob. “Alright what do you want from me.”

Izuku explains Eri’s situation and somehow convinces Aizawa to help and he eventually just kinda joins the mob as an unofficial babysitter for all of them.

———

The “Midoriya saved us from low key pedophile villains” club

It’s just Bakugou, Kota, and Eri.

———

Let her go

Post BakuDeku

Baku sad cause Deku is either dead or a villain.

———

Symphony of... Delay idea

In an exercise both classes are apart of everyone gets into pairs of two, trying to last as long as possible against the rest of the two classes. It’s basically a giant man hunt in one of the bigger training areas. However, to make it more fair on the pairs that have to run away and defend themselves, the classes where given two weeks to prepare a strategy and gear. Todoroki and Midoriya of course team up and come to the brilliant conclusion they’re going to become a dark souls boss and totally screw everyone over.

They recruit Mei to make them extra warm winter outfits that still let them fight. Then they get to work on making Todoroki’s ice more precise with Mido boosting it. They also ask Recovery girl about the energy gummies she has after checking they could bring snacks. After asking Aizawa if he had any suggestions as to where they could practice a particularly large and blatantly obvious “Move” they where trying to perfect Aizawa got them a pass to one of the training grounds that weren’t being used at the moment. Aizawa was (though he’d never admit it) kinda exited to see this play out. It was going to be hilarious.

The day of reckoning. Todo and Mido went last. Everyone was given breaks in between each persons turn which lasted from a minute to ten minutes each. Though the breaks weren’t particularly short, they had been doing this all day and where getting tiered by then. A couple people where cocky due to the last pair seeming distracted earlier. Someone had seen the two arguing and it made it even easier to doubt them.

That was a mistake.

Todoroki and Midoriya’s plan included this:

- Act like they’re not working together properly.

- Go in to the area as far away from the starting point as possible.

- Midoriya boosts Todo’s ice and they frost the entire area.

- Ice palace.

- Todoroki sitting on a throne in the main hall with Midoriya on a balcony behind him playing the Boss Music which consists of different boosts he can use on Todoroki the ice king : New Dark souls boss.

- Midoriya of course snacking on energy gummies and using offensive music against anyone who gets to close to his perch.

Chaos ensues.

———

Midoriya, Shinsou, and Todoroki’s spirit animal: Scotty Sire

Mido: Mister Glassman

Toshi: awkward

Todo: Notice me

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horrible-monstrosity · 7 years

Text

So apparently Punchline's writer was also behind 999/Zero Escape... my, how the mighty have fallen. Speaking of Higurashi On A Boat, I also can't help but feel like this is trying to be some bootleg Higurashi. Harem cast but isn't a harem, a yearly urban-legends-y deathcount paired with a much shorter time loop, the death of someone near and dear to our protagonist like a day before some massive massacre... problem is, it fucking sucks. Even Umineko was better than this shi... well, no, I shouldn't say that, everything's better than Umineko. The only thing worse than Umineko is Pokemon Special

Thinking about it, the... just the narrative flow and basic construction of this show are completely fucked up. When Yuuta starts skipping days, what even happens? We never see him "fall asleep" or "wake up", so the cat's attempt at an explanation doesn't make any sense... I can see him being "unstuck in time" working with the other "rules" cat laid out about quantum ghost time-travel physics defiance and shit, but it just... happens. For no reason, except maybe fuck you.

lol they finally remembered yuuta even existed it took them this fucking long good job guys i can really tell why he cares about all of you aside from you being generic cute gril characters and him having a permanent astral ghost boner for your fuckin panties r e a l l y

Okay, so whoever bodysnatched Yuuta left the room but ghost-yuuta... doesn't even try to get back in there or anything... just hangs there, watching his "friends" who don't fucking care that he's missed out on both this and the Christmas party and that they haven't seen him in over a week. These are the people he's so fucking determined to save the world over. good so why the fuck was there a livestream

Oh and this whole time Yoota could have just fucking gone back in time to get his body back........ none of what all just happened really mattered.................. okaaaayyyyy......................... And then he just takes over his own body again and completes the time loop. What? WHAT? Why, after everything you've just been through, would you just *do* that? You know it's just going to leave past-ghost-you farting around uselessly while you accomplish... entirely nothing, apparently. Seriously, what did future-self-possessing Yoo accomplish? He runs around in a dumbass supersuit, tries to fight baddies but is too fucking stupid to just go flip some skirts to get his panty-powerup, and... that's it I guess. If he was interacting with the other inhabitants as himself that would explain why they didn't give a fuck that he wasn't there, but there's no indication of that, and ghost-Yoo still doesn't seem to think anyone should have noticed he was missing. And also, you know, why seal off his own room and then livestream it? And why did he never try to team up with his ghost self? Couldn't have hurt to have just a little bit more help or at least tell himself what the fuck was going on? Since, you know, he literally was just in that position? FUCKING WHY ANY OF THIS? WHY? AUUUUUUGUHUGHGHGHHHHHHHHH

... I will say though that I did like one thing: Given what spoilers I've already heard, I can appreciate the reveal that Yuuta's a gril because that's kinda hotbeing played all casual-like like it's just some character issue when it's really a lead-in to the body-swap thing later on... Yeah, okay, it works. You did one thing right. .......So when he did that "clam somethingorother" attack that one time was he referring to his own vagina or

... NO, NO, JUST KIDDING, THE POST ISN'T OVER YET, I STILL GOTTA FUCKIJG COMPLAIN! EVEN THIS IS SHIT Fucking FIRST OFF, and I expect I'm going to compain about this a loooooooot more later on when they try to explain this, but whAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, BODY-SWAPPING? That sure has nothing to do with anything that's happened so far! Well like almost, maybe, with the possession thing, but apparently the only other foreshadowing was... juice-tan's eyelashes changing when she goes super-cyan. okay Secondly, we have the whole external story that Yuuta is actually Yuu and robot girl didn't mention that because succ my fatt robo cocc, but what the fuck does Yuuta think he's doing?? Everyone else has some sob story about why they ended up at the apartment building, but for Yuu we have absolutely nothing to go on! Was he kicked out of his house for being a fuckin faggot?? What is happening?? And what the fuck did robot girl mean "Yuuta's undeniably female lolbiology"? Did he robo-science scan him when he showed up at the door when he applied for a room? It's another thing that would make sense (a background check but with robo-science) but there's no mention of any... reason. Aside from that, how has he been living all this time anyway? Has he seriously never seen a pair of panties this entire time living with a bunch of qt grils, even with incidents like the laundry-scattering crash-into-hello that left Juice-tan fondling his shorts? (I mean, at least we know what underwear he wears... that's worth a scene... noitisn't) It would've been a much better use in general of all the dead air in this first half of the show to show more of him interacting with his housemates, make them seem like actual friends we should actually care about and believe he actually cares about, so why not set up this reveal a bit more to begin with too? Show him maybe acting antsy about physical contact with the others, or about being seen changing/bathing etc. Have him enter a conversation about menstruation and accidentally reveal he knows a bit more than he should (we've already had that dumb as shit scene where the girls thought robot girl was gregnant and no-periods-period was broken so there's no excuse not to at least mention it). Unless swapping a male soul into a female body causes that to not happen anymore, I mean, but you'd have to indicate that, otherwise now that they've broken the magical spell of pretending the monthly blood cummies don't exist you're going to end up wondering how the girls never found a suspiciously blood-stained pair of shorts in his laundry, not even once. ... Or maybe that's just me. ... But anyway, even though Yuuta keeps his housemates as arms length over a couple of odd things they warmly accept him as one of his own and form a bond. See? There, foreshadowing and character development all at the same time, I did it. Yay.

Oh hey, here's a foreshadow: Have Yuuta accidentally discover he can possess Juice-tan because the soul-swap thing should mean they have good resonance, because one of them is literally the other one or whteverthefuc. Better yet, have it happen instead of christmas cake that one time he actually used his panty powers to fight, so you can avoid whtever awkward power mechanics are required to let ccake go super-cyan.

... I don't have much faith this show is gonna be able to pull itself out of the pit in the second half.

#anime bitching

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cheezlogerratum · 7 years

Text

The Grand Slam

Eddie Baxter is dreaming right about now, about what is up in the air. He's sleeping right now, 8PM, a little strange for a boy at 16. It's a Thursday night, too, on the eve of Christmas Eve, and his mother is even deeper in slumber than he, also kinda strange. At night the house becomes a decoy of something quiet. Everyone in this neighborhood is asleep. You could only describe this place in the night as a ghost town where the ghouls' mortal forms haven't passed on yet, so a neighborhood of lingering presence, and that's all we know.

Christmas Eve! And it's a Friday, and school is still in session for some twisted reason. Cars line up the side of Golden Lantern, starting and stopping into kids and jaywalkers hustling to class. Eddie is taking the sidewalk, surrounded front and back by parties of twos and threes, and they're walking so, so mercilessly slow, and he can't brush past without the chance of falling into the street... but he's feeling reasonably groggy today, so he takes the chance with little regard. "...uled by an intergalactic government run by John Travol..." And now the pace picks up. The crossguard gives her usual double-take of the traffic and steps into the street with her whistle and reflective octagon with a handle, and with this comes the definitive feeling of death to kick off the day...

Eddie catches himself dozing off in Gov and eyes the room he's in and swears he wasn't here a second ago. He spots Samir up in the front writing on the board and wonders, "what the fuck". Samir stops writing at the other end of the board, strikes a pose, and walks back to his desk buddied up beside Eddie. "What were we talking about?" Again with the what the fuck, and now Eddie's foot is bouncing.

"I don't even know."

"Why're you so tired? Didn't you go to bed at like 9?"

"... I dunno."

It's lunch now, and Eddie downs some mac 'n cheese as kids pour in from entrances and stairwells on all sides of the cafeteria. He's looking around at the noise and eventually makes off to the parking lot. He looks over at the front office to see ungodly amounts of kids faking stomach flus and parents faking scheduled dentist appointments to enjoy Xmas Eve how it ought to be enjoyed, and the quasi-nurses figure they don't get paid enough for this and play along with their schemes, almost in spite. Eddie does a 360 peering through windshields and fences and walks out the back gate, and the air feels crisp further down the hill.

The score is 3-1 and Eddie's attention fades to the doorbell, followed by a rhythmic knock. Eddie goes AFK, opens the front door, and whaddya know... "I brought it over is that alright?" Samir plops his G3 in the kitchen before helping himself to a drink: OJ, extra pulp. Samir looks up from his glass and Eddie's gone. "... Eeeddiee!"

"WAIT."

Samir follows the voice upstairs and finds Eddie utterly glued. He reclines on Eddie's bed and watches... which turns out to be the worst seat in the house. He gets up and half-sits on the hamper. He's only getting an angular view of the screen, but he's tired of moving around and settles the best he can, and waits.

Come night time as the cul-de-sac settles back into ghost-mode, Ms. Baxter, or as some still mistakenly refer to her as Mrs. Baxter, opens the garage door. Both the boys' stomachs sink with a shot of adrenaline, and the mechanical hum whizzes on for what might as well be days. Samir's body flips through fight or flight and, as always, chooses flight and unplugs his Mac mid-game, his player model disappears just as quickly as he does. He somehow miraculously escapes parental confrontation and lugs the computer and himself back home under the lights strung on trees on the sides of the streets. Eddie, bracing for impact, scrambles to shut down the system. Once it obeys, he rips open his backpack and finds some vague scholarly-looking notes he took half-lucid in class to give off the appearance of hardwork. The front door sounds up to Eddie's room at the same time visceral taps of high-heels walk into the house, shutting the door. Holy shit. Holy shit.

It turns out, luck of the draw perhaps, that Ms. Baxter never checked in on Eddie. In fact, this was almost worse, not only because he couldn't sleep due to Xmas Eve jitters, but also in anticipation of a motherly barge-in that never ever came. Thank God? And his mind wouldn't shut up, so Eddie logs back on and sees what's new in the news. Not much else other than a church shooting in Oregon... "and a happy new year!" He thinks, followed by a tinge of shame. Eddie connects to a Quake III server, where he's "auto-balanced" onto Red Team, alone, against two players on Blue. He spawns and picks up a shotgun, and out of fucking nowhere gets fragged. Now he's just pissed, so he logs off and walks downstairs to the eerie serenity of the Christmas tree, fake mind you. It takes him a minute or two of rumination to realize there are no presents under the tree... Oh mother. Eddie, desperate for slumber at this point, nukes some milk in the microwave. He tries chugging but never succeeds, so he takes his time sipping his warm milk looking up at the gray sky out the window. A nimbus of gray parts and reveals what Eddie thinks is an airplane but is really venus twinkling through the smog, which he later realizes on the fence of consciousness and slumber.

Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano blasts Eddie back into reality, a song he always seems to forget plays on repeat on the radio almost all Christmas Day every damn year... but he's not complaining, necessarily. Eddie's body gravitates to his Gateway and logs in almost by autopilot. His mind drifting off around his room and out the door while his fingers check his e-mail and clicks around some images he found online a while back... what the... when did this...? Eddie doesn't even wanna know and just goes downstairs for Christmas time and... jesus christ. No presents, no relatives, no mother. He peeks around some corners and employs some half-assed investigation tactics such as leaning in a little bit towards a mug in the sink and considering how ajar a door is than usual in hopes of a lead revealing itself, but his mind comes back to his mother once his body starts climbing the stairs towards her room. What is going on? Why can't I be somewhere else? He asks. The sheets on her side of the bed are dog-eared and the lamp is still on, not illuminating much now. Eddie gets that supernatural feeling of being in your parents' bedroom, which he finds exhilerating, actually. The closet's open, the bathroom's open, a drawer's open, and her purse isn't where it should be. Eddie's heart starts pounding, but it'll take him a few minutes to catch on to that.

Eddie's out on the sidewalk again and it's something like 90 degrees outside. His legs just sorta follow the path and adjust to the divets as he attends to matters in his mind which seem to be foggy. He's thinking and doesn't even know it. There's not a single soul out on the street except the occasional sudan racing either to their family, the hospital, or worse, work. He looks up for a moment and notices the white, searing glare of the ocean, and if he looks long enough he sees tiny individual glares appearing and disappearing at once, and he's okay. He's looking off to his right as he passes houses with families post-gift exchange hanging out inside. After ten minutes or so, Eddie just so happens to witness the moment when a little kid unwraps a Dreamcast, nearly ripping apart the whole package itself. Eddie couldn't see the kid's parents, probably behind the tree, undoubtedly real mind you, but he imagined how happy they were. Eddie's now nearing an intersection and notices the absence of clouds aboveohshit... is that...? That's his Mom. She's at the light oh fuck. Is she on the phone? Eddie turns around and brisk-walks up the hill... he thinks he saw her crying... he doesn't know necessarily why he's walking back to the house but he can't help it. Why does this happen, Eddie thought. His Mom's car catches up to his periphery and vanishes over the hill, but it's like she's waiting there. Why do I do this, Eddie thought. I don't know, Eddie.

Eddie's almost home now and he hasn't looked up the entire way. He knows what's about to come but can't calm down no matter how much he convinces himself he can do it. Only four houses away and he just wants to explode so his body can stop flipping out. Now he's three houses away and starts to breathe-in breathe-out, since he figures he's been walking for a good half-hour but probably because he can't keep it in any longer. Two houses left and he's feeling primal and lightheaded at this point. One house to go and a car skids past him. He looks behind him and around a truck parked on the street and sees his Mom heeding no speed bump in sight. Eddie doesn't know if he's releived or even more afraid. One thing's for sure, he's gotta take a shit.

In Eddie's absence from cyberspace, he received an e-mail from [email protected]. It reads:

Merry Christmas ed man!!!! i'm missing you buddy.. i'd love to see you today if you can? i also need to give you your gift i think you'll like it! let me know where you want to eat and i'll be free around 11:30ish. love you eddie, we're so proud of you! :)

Jeffery M. Baxter Marketing, FirstContact Fax: (949) 555-1448

A new species of fear took over Eddie, but it was much less menacing than the kind he felt at home. It was subdued somewhere in his body, but he responded quickly and left for the Denny's down by Doheny Beach.

The place was literally overflowing, so much so you couldn't even see the framed print of Java Dreams on the wall nor hear Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree blasting throughout the joint. Luckily, using a combination of tippy-toes and craned neck to look above the line, Eddie spotted his father sitting over in the back corner of the restaurant by the kitchen. Making any progress down the aisle whilst dodging waiters balancing pounds of various slams and specials on their fingers was a feat worth mentioning, and mentioned it was, "Aaaand HE'S SAFE!" with the umpire pose and all. Eddie chuckled a little and sat in the booth holding off the eye contact for as long as he could, which ended up being barely two seconds. His Dad started, "... Well!? What's this? Doesn't look like Christmas to me!"

"Heh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay it's okay. Well how goes it? You walk?"

"Yeah."

"That's a nice walk. Good to see ya, buddy... OH! Why didn't you remind me?"

His father pulled out a gift from what seemed like thin air and gave it to Eddie. He didn't realize how weak his hands felt until he started unwrapping it. A few trembles later and there it was, a framed photograph of Eddie and Jeffery in a bowling alley two or so years ago. Eddie didn't know what he was feeling or even thinking, he just kept looking at it with the tape hanging off the sides of the frame.

"Remember that?"

"Uh huh."

"Found that one a few weeks ago in one of the boxes in storage and thought you'd get a kick out of it."

"Yeah yeah, for sure. Thank you."

"Yeah no problem!"

"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything."

"Nah I don't need anything, don't worry about it!"

"Okay, thanks Dad."

And everything was wrong. His father started up again, "I gotta use the can, but-"

"Hey there! What can I start you guys off with?"

"Well there you go! I'll have a Coke to drink and... can we order now?"

"Absolutely!"

"Okay I'll get the uhh Grand Slam, eggs overeasy, and how about you Eddie?"

"Uh I'll just get the same I think."

"Two Grand Slams and two Cokes, is that all for you guys?"

"That does it!"

"If you need anything else just holler!"

"Well, ma'am, if you don't mind I'd rather hoot!"

He laughs back and forth at Eddie and the waitress who's laughing along with him, Eddie smiles a bit. Jeffery's still laughing, "Alright I'll be right back." The noise in the place came back to Eddie as he realized they were playing Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer through the speakers. Eddie doesn't know what to do. All he can do is feel his fingers which are still holding onto the picture frame as his legs bring him out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk.

Mom still isn't home, and Eddie supposes Samir's Xmas festivities are wrapping up right about now, so he heads on over. By the time he arrives the sky is orange and gently shining through windows and rooms of neighboring houses, which feels weirdly comforting. Samir's family has one of those fancy melodic doorbells, which was almost immediately answered by a tall man with a hell of a beard. He eyes Eddie for a second then turns to the mass of chatter coming from the entire house, "SAMIR!" Somehow Eddie heard Samir's footsteps stomping through the house and could make out exactly where he was. Eddie thanked the man and Samir took over door duty to sneak his buddy inside. Eddie took a look around and saw dozens of relatives talking around and watching movies and cooking dinner and playing cards and taking pictures and cracking jokes and... "Oh man". Samir's room upstairs was filled with six or seven cousins all chatting and drinking and paying no attention to Eddie much at all.

"So what do you wanna do?"

"Let's go down there!"

"Nononono we can't you'll get kicked out, we could play something up here if you want."

"No one would even notice me?"

"C'mon dude I don't wanna get in trouble."

"... I don't even have my computer."

"You can use my sister's probably."

"... Alright... alright. I gotta go to the bathroom though."

"NO I don't trust you, I'm coming with."

Eddie just wanted another look. Now there was music and dancing and kids running around and babies around their Mom's shoulders trying to process what's even happening, and he felt okay. Eddie bent over with elbows on knees while on the toilet and looked down at the tile floor and ruminated towards the indented corners. A knock on the door snatched Eddie from his head and got him wiping, washing, and proceeded to open the door to yet another tall man, wider this time. It wasn't until this man spoke that Eddie recognized this man was Samir's father, "What are you doing Eddie?"

"I just needed to-"

"You need to go."

"I didn't-"

"Please."

Eddie hesitated for a second then sprinted into Samir's closet spilling some beers in the process, "HEY WHAT THE oh" and Samir's father came in and grabbed Eddie from his hidey-hole and pulled him out of the room, leading him with an armpit grip down the stairs, and out the house, people staring and everything. Now the sky was really fading, and Eddie, feeling that fizzy bodily sort of sadness all around, picked himself up and walked home, never looking up.

The house was as it was except everything seemed to have a buzzing fog around it. Eddie logged onto his computer and booted up Quake to find servers full again, and he played through the night until he conked out drooling into the keys and kicked from the server. He woke up in his bed for a second all disgruntled and lost. Eddie's body shuffled around under the sheets until it hit the right spot then fell deeper into sleep, eventually noticing waves coming up ahead of him and the silhouette of Catalina blocking the last of the Sun.

#big

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