corrodedcoughin · 2 years ago
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Hi sorry silly question but what does everyone do with the nice stickers they buy but don’t want to go to waste?
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stusbunker · 7 months ago
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Spotless: Pizzicato
Chapter Nineteen
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Featuring: Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean/Bela, Dean/Cas (unrequited)
Other characters: Miriam Talbot (OFC Bela's mother)
Word Count: 2567
Warnings, etc: Mutual pining, putting out other people's fires, and old baggage, unbeta'd
A/N: Castiel and Trouble's friendship is something I didn't realize she had been missing until he was in front of her. There are a couple of big truth bombs in this chapter and I hope I handled them respectfully. This is an AU and it is not indicative of this author's feelings on canon or any other fandom shipping practices.
Series Masterlist
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Posting on Dean’s instagram account was par for the course as the band’s publicist. You bothered to know what a hashtag was, for one. For another it also allowed you to check traffic on posts and actively moderate things to help the comment section look best for Dean’s image. Afterall, Dean trusted you, you weren’t going to leak anything or make him look like an idiot.
You were a goddamn professional and this wasn’t the hardest thing you’d done in the last year, but Jesus fuck were you pissed.
Dean hated tattoos. Really, he hated needles. He was black out drunk when he and Sam got their matching flaming pentagrams. He actually had a panic attack the next morning after realizing he let someone “sew ink” into his skin. By sheer force of will and through the bond of shared grief, you got him to go with you for Jo’s memorial tattoo on the tenth anniversary of her death. It was in your all-time top five ultimate Dean-Y/N memories.
And now it meant jack shit.
You edited and cropped the photos, sent two back to Bela to post on her account and then posted the lion’s share onto Dean’s, making him look like the diligent boyfriend while Bela was busy in the chair. You thanked Billie for taking care of “his girl” and made sure the shop was the location and tagged. You wanted to punch something, it looked so good. Then you sat back and let the interwebs do its job.
Okay, in actuality, you emailed about twenty different people, had a conference call with the tour management marketing team, scheduled radio station drop ins and followed up with Meg on the expected release of Dean’s photoshoot and interview. These days it may just end up online, but you hoped she was able to score him real physical print space.
It was just as you were winding down for the night, when your phone rang. It was past any reasonable business hours and you were already done with your skin care routine, but then you saw the caller id.
“Miriam! Hi!” You tried to sound pleasantly surprised.
“Don’t Miriam me, young lady. What is going on out there? Is it drugs? I thought we missed this stage when she quit acting for college. You’d tell me if this hoodlum was pressuring her into risky behavior wouldn’t you?”
Which was a lot to unpack right off the bat like that, luckily you had experience dealing with Bela’s mother.
“It’s just a tattoo. She’s not on drugs, I promise.”
“And what about this Dean? I knew they were seeing each other, but this seemed a bit more intimate— not exactly in the public eye.”
Oh, she was good.
“He’s not on drugs either. And—- he actually isn’t thrilled with tattoos. This might be all Bela, if I’m being honest.”
“Have you seen the things they’re saying? The things they’re calling her, Y/N?”
You rolled your eyes and heaved yourself out of bed, you needed your laptop if you were going to continue this conversation rationally. 
“Let me look into it— what site were you on?”
“Oh, I’m not sure. Olivette, one of the boardmember’s wives, told me she read about it online during dinner.”
You inhaled deeply and started your usual rotation of sites, you’d have to add some new tags to follow Bela’s buzz more closely going forward. 
“And you’re sure this wasn’t just bad blood from Olivia? I’m not finding much besides general surprise.”
“It’s Olivette. And yes, I’m certain. She wouldn’t make me worry without a reason.”
And then you realized what you were missing, it wasn’t just People or TMZ you had to worry about. You went to Hello!’s twitter and you found what had Miriam Talbot’s friend in a huff. 
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You started scanning the comments, gathering the most common complaints and judging their amount of influence via cursory glances. You did not know a lot of the news personalities or celebrity bloggers in the UK. You were going to have to meet with Bela and figure out a better approach going forward.
“Okay, Miriam, it’s almost eleven here. I know you probably called me as soon as you woke up, but consider me on the case. Alright? Bela’s fine and this is just a minor hiccup.”
“If you’re sure, Y/N, dear.”
You sighed. “Of course. I would warn you if there was anything to worry about. But please just let this run its course. You know how the tabloids are.”
“Unfortunately I do, that’s why I called. Please keep me updated if anything else comes up?”
“Will do. You have a good ni-day!”
“Goodnight dear— and thank you.”
You smiled at your lap. “Anytime.”
You let her hang up. Then you promptly pulled up your contacts list and warned Bela that her mother was sniffing about online and to call her at a decent hour. And finally, you spent the next four hours (or so) online until you had swam to the bottom of the cesspool and decided it wasn’t worth your time. At least not right then, not so exhausted.
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Three days passed since the snobby UK gossip rags’ judgment rained down and, as expected, it had already just about fizzled out. You sat in a cafe with a quad shot flat white, waiting for your lunch date to arrive. Not truly a date, though it wasn’t a meeting either.
It was a diplomatic mission.
Then you spotted him and your stomach swooped, feeling the loss of his presence in your life all over again.
“Hey, Cas.” You stood and held your arms open for a hug, which he accepted with a timid smile.
“It’s good to see you, Trouble,” his gravelly voice murmured in your ear. He still smelled the same.
You pulled back and looked him in the eye, searching for anything but the sincere blue reality in front of you. He held no grudges, not with you, without even discussing it you knew he was still your friend. 
You then punched him squarely in the shoulder. “That’s for ghosting us all for the last nine months, assbutt!”
He grunted, and rolled his eyes. “I can accept that.”
“Good. Because I missed you. We all miss you.”
He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in challenge.
“So— heard you have a kid, huh. That’s —- weird.”
Castiel exhaled and shook his head. “Who told you?”
“What? Nobody. I have eyes. And spend enough time online to draw some conclusions.”
“Kelly told you.”
“She didn’t have to. She’s amazing by the way— are you a thing now, now that you know he exists?”
Castiel looked affronted. “Me and Kelly? Oh, no. That was a teenage mistake. We were young. And we’ve both matured into vastly different people. But I respect her and I think— I hope I’ve earned her trust.”
“Tell me about him—- he’s what? Twenty-twenty one?”
“He’s twenty three and very talented. Kind, impossibly optimistic even.”
“Yikes, tough combo out here.”
“Tell me about it.”
You shared a look and he smiled at you like he knew what you were thinking about. Like you were reliving the same joke.
You blinked away the sting in your eyes.
“Go get your dark roast and get back over here, we’ve got things to discuss.”
His eyes softened, but Cas didn’t argue with you.
You sipped your drink and tried not to let all of the questions that had been building for months run away from you. He was back both too quickly and too slowly. You cleared your throat, the awkwardness you had been fighting back rushed to the surface.
“So— I presume there is more to you calling to get lunch. Not just asking about Jack and goading me about my latest tattoo?” Cas wasn’t one for small talk.
You nodded and swallowed around another perfect mouthful of milk and espresso.
Castiel’s face went through a journey when you didn’t quickly reply. “He doesn’t want to see me—- he made that quite clear.”
“And what about since everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know Dean’s called you. He might not have been big enough to actually apologize in a voicemail, but I know he wants to fix things— he misses you as his friend, too.”
“Then he should be able to suck up his pride and make the effort,” Cas snipped, the first sign of the lingering anger from his and Dean’s fight.
“I haven’t exactly seen much of your effort. Do you not want to fix things?--- And I’m not talking about coming back to the band— that ship has sailed. I’m talking about twenty years of friendships you just walked out on.”
Cas stared at his coffee, his eyebrow ring arched with his bitchy expression. He hated being corrected, you knew that. But this had gone on long enough.
“I’ve spoken with everyone but Dean,” Cas explained. “It’s not perfect, but it’s progress.”
“You never spoke to me,” you spat.
Cas’ eyes softened again. “I always knew where your loyalties lie, you took your time, too.”
“Wait— even SAM?!”
“Sam and I haven’t lost contact this whole time.”
You sucked in air. “Oh, he is so dead.”
“Y/N. It wasn’t like we were plotting or anything. He was worried about me, I was worried about Dean.”
“Yeah, but if Dean knew—”
“Ask Sam, but I don’t think he could hide anything from Dean if he wanted to.”
You knew he was right. Ever since Sam got sober, transparency had been something Sam put into his closest relationships anyway. Beside Dean being ruthless and stubborn, well, you supposed Cas was right. 
“Why do I feel like this band just doesn’t want me to be able to do my job?”
“Your position as group therapist is fairly tenuous. Especially with Pamela involved.”
“I meant my real job. If I had known you were on decent terms with, well, everyone but Dean, it would have made things a lot easier, young man.” You couldn’t help but smile now. Sure you were hurt, but the eggshells you had been stepping over for so long really only took up a single corner of the floor.
It was freeing.
“I never meant to cause you any distress.”
“That doesn’t make it go away, Cas.”
He bowed his head, but popped back up to meet your gaze. “I know. I apologize. I didn’t want you to think that I was done— with any of you.”
You pinched your eyes closed quickly and then reached over the table to squeeze his forearm. “Okay. So— you’ll come to Dean’s birthday party, then?”
Cas patted your hand with his left and sat back, breaking the contact and sat with the invitation for a heavy moment.
“What makes you think he’d want me there?”
You glared at him, all tattooed and handsome and absolutely clueless about how much his absence has affected Dean. Sure, Dean got to keep the band, but it wasn’t the same without Cas. Cas has had to start over entirely, become a dad and rebuild his career all without any of the support Dean has had around him through his own troubles.
“Look— I know you’re Mister Independent and I don’t want to set back any of the progress you’ve made without him needing you around. But he still looks for you whenever we all go out. And hanging out with Kevin, made it abundantly clear to him that you were available— you just weren’t interested.”
“Why do you always make it sound like we were an item?”
You rolled your eyes. “Look, we all know Dean has attachment issues. I’m not saying anything was kinky between you guys— that’s not my business. But, as friends, you guys deserve to at least get some answers— closure or forgiveness can come later, if you get there.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that to get me off your case?”
“Yes, really.”
You smirked and Cas’ smiled with his eyes, fidgeting his lip ring with his tongue.
Cas cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee before changing gears. “So, your friend Bela and, uh, Dean?”
You groaned and hid your eyes in your hand. When you looked up he was laughing at you.
“What?!”
“Stop— we both know what it’s all about.”
“Kevin seems to think Dean’s whipped.” Mischief continued to dance in Cas’ eyes.
“Well, it’s about time.”
“I told him, the only one who has had Dean whipped in over a decade is you.”
You choked on your spit, sputtering at Cas’ bluntness.
“They don’t know it’s for show do they?”
You inhaled deeply. “Sam knows. Dean and Bela have their own private agreement about it all. But, uh, yeah, you pretty much guessed right.”
Cas watched you thoughtfully, futzing with his lip ring with his top teeth now. 
“How are you holding up?”
“Me? I’m fine, why?”
Cas nudged your ankle under the table with his combat boot.
“As someone who was definitely in love with him for most of my life— I know the symptoms.”
You sighed and shivered at being seen and having your long held suspicions confirmed. You rubbed your upper arm, trying to fight the goosebumps. “I’m fine. Nothing has changed. He’s just been working on himself and that is— distracting.”
Cas hummed, head cocking to the side as if looking at you with a different angle would give him more insight.
“I mean it. He’s in therapy and everything. Sam and him are working out. He’s been insanely focused on the latest album—”
“He’s doing penance.”
“Maybe. But he wants to be better. It’s not just guilt. I don’t know how to explain it. But, you’ll see what I mean.”
Cas eyebrow popped up again.
“You will,” you insisted.
“You always were able to read me weren’t you?”
You chuckled at the back of your mouth, short and knowing. “Guess it comes with being stuck with each other for so long.”
“Shared trauma response,” Cas teased.
“Or that.”
You finished the last of your drink and looked around the cafe.
“So, where we going to eat? I think we’ve had enough heavy— sushi?”
“You buying?”
“Phantom Traveler is covering this as a business lunch.”
Cas stood and pushed in his chair. “Okay, well then, bring on the seafood.”
You stood and let Cas walk you outside, his hand on the small of your back until he could offer you his elbow on the sidewalk. You smiled up at him and pulled him tight to your side.
“I’m glad you’re back, Cas.”
“Well, we’ll see if everyone agrees with you, won’t we?”
The afternoon passed quickly, catching up and sharing memories that were now tinted with the grief of the last lost year. Things made more sense the longer you thought about how the band had been acting, especially way back at the Animal Shelter where Cas’ niece had been more than willing to put in her two cents. You texted Sam while you waited for your meals, warning him where you were and what you knew.
‘Have fun.’
His only response. Asshole.
But everything kept from you, kept from Dean, wouldn’t last forever. It couldn’t. Now you at least could control the narrative a bit more by being in on it all. Or most of it at least.
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Tagging:
@deans-spinster-witch
@mrswhozeewhatsis
@cosicas-cuquis
@fics-pics-andotherthings-i-like
@suckitands33
@ladysparkles78
@deans-baby-momma
@stoneyggirl2
@sassy-pelican
@leigh70
@globetrotter28
@winharry
@lastactiontricia
@rockhoochie
Chapter Twenty: Arpeggio
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monodipita · 3 years ago
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COPE (Yandere!Getou x Reader)
Word count: 1,914
Warnings: Yandere content warning, drug-related themes (curse used as a drug)
He couldn’t cope with the rejection. You wouldn’t see Getou again—maybe weeks or months would pass of constant no-contact with him, until suddenly, your phone rang with his name as the caller ID. “I want to see you again,” he said smoothly into the phone.
This was your chance to make things right. “Yes, I’d love to. Where would you like to meet?”
”How about the usual cafe? If you remember where that’s at. I know you'd like to play with the cats and kittens. They recently told me that Narnia gave birth to some kittens a few weeks ago, and that they're already attached to the customers that come in.” The cafe that you frequented with him when you were with him. “Of course.” You responded with a small, oblivious smile pressing into your lips and cheeks. Kittens were always fun. “I’ll see you there.”
This was exciting and anxiety-inducing, wrapped into one meeting. You couldn’t wait to see how he was doing, but you were also nervous to see how he was faring after… well, after you rejected him. Your friendship was far too valuable for a relationship to come in and possibly ruin that, and plus, you were dating someone now. You just couldn’t date your best friend. You couldn’t.
You threw on something casual and nice, and began to head that way, toward the cafe. It was a cutesy cafe for cats. You always dreaded coming to this place because of your allergies, but the cats and their cute presence always made it better when you were there. After taking the subway station and hailing a cab, you were staring down the face of the building. The sign read ‘OPEN’ in large, adorable paw-print letters. You looked in through the window, but there seemed to be no sign of Getou. Curious, you step inside.
The sound of the familiar bell jingling overhead you while you stepped through the door gave you a strong sense of nostalgia. A soft, homely sigh escaped your lips and a smile spread across them. It was so long since you two last came here. If you had the gall to come here by yourself, you would’ve.
”You must be [Y/N]! Welcome, we’ve been expecting you. Right this way, please!”
You hesitantly looked up to see a smaller woman speaking to you. You nodded at her words and followed her over to a table that was already set-up. Getou sat in the seat facing the wall, with his back away from you, but you could tell it was him. That jet black mane of his, and those large ears, were unmistakable characteristics… or just characteristics you happened to associate with him. “Getou?” You called his name sweetly to call his attention, bringing another smile to raise itself on your lips. You see him turn to face you.
He’s as handsome as ever. It’s hard not to swoon at the sight of him—he always had that about him where he was so devilishly handsome. And the smile on his face was equally charming as it spread from corner to corner of his cheeks. “[Y/N], it’s good to see you,” he was relieved. He turned before he stood completely and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in for a tight embrace. You kissed his cheek welcomingly before pulling away and staring up at him to absorb more of his features up close, marveling in his beauty. He was so gorgeous! To go with that beautiful personality of his, he was truly the perfect man!
You pulled away and went to take your seat. The woman who lead you here was long gone by that point to go aid people who wanted to play with the cats that all lounged in the center of the beautiful cafe. Meanwhile, your eyes looked to the drink that he sipped on. “Looks good,” you hummed.
“Thank you. I got it for you.” Getou stiffly responded. You raised a brow with surprise. “You did?” You took the drink off of the table and observed the top of the cup. “What’s in this?”
”It's your favorite.” Oh… he still remembered. That was so cute. It was months ago, yes, but you truly expected him not to remember or care about what your favorite drink was. It was a kind gesture, though. You took his offer to drink it and did so. It was nice, and it made you happy.
Silence overcame the both of you. You didn't mind, though. Your eyes wandered to those who played with the kittens, primarily children. It was an adorable sight. The cafe itself wasn't packed, but it was still enough to make an introvert uncomfortable. Moments had passed when you realized that you were far too caught up in enjoying the sights, and not a word had been uttered between you two. It must've been awkward for him, right?
“So, I…” you started.
“I was hoping you could reconsider everything. About our relationship.” Getou overrode whatever you had to say. You stared at him, baffled by his words. Reconsider what? Not being in a relationship with him? “Why is that?” You asked. Getou folded his hands over his lap. His head hung a bit while his eyes lingered on the drink on the table. ”I just don’t think that there’s anyone else in this world that is worthy of being in the position to be with you,” he responded, “I don’t think anyone can protect you like I can. Like I would be able to if it was necessary for me to.”
You sat back and absorbed this information. Your eyes looked everywhere before landing back on his, and to your surprise, he was staring right back at you, as if his gaze was on you the entire time. Why were you even considering this? You had a partner.
”Getou,” you quietly cooed. “It’s a bit too late for that, now.” You assumed a worried expression. “I’m… dating someone now—“
His expression remained unchanged. “Break up with them,” he said bluntly. Your eyes widened with shock. Did he not respect what you have and what you were, now that the two of you weren’t together? “What the hell, Getou?” You furrowed your brows. “You don’t mean that—“
“I do. Break up with them.” He interrupted you.
”Did you invite me here just to say this?” You narrowed your eyes. “This isn’t funny.”
”I didn’t realize I was saying something that solicited a humorous reaction,” He was being completely serious. How terrifying. "Umm, no," you folded your arms over your chest while you glared at him. "If this is all we're going to talk about, then I'm leaving." You checked him over for any signs of a reaction before you reached down to grab your belongings. "It was nice seeing you," you said. However, Getou grabbed your wrist and squeezed it firmly, making you look up at him with an exasperated expression. "Please don't do this." You say softly. "Not in front of all of these people. Not in front of these children."
Your eyes began to feel heavy. You were beginning to feel heavy, like the world was putting all of its weight on you.
"Then I'll make it easier for us both,"
Getou stood with you, making the both of you rise. Instant attention came your way, as it often did when someone did something out of the norm. Behavior that was introduced to humans as children, where they'd watch someone walk in and out of a room. As you were older, it didn't make you any less uncomfortable. You smiled worriedly and forced yourself to grab his hand, threading your fingers together while a smug grin rested over his expression. He reached into his wallet with his free hand to produce the yen necessary to tip off the waitress who would be attending to the table, and then he began his trek away from the area. You were forced to follow him out of the cafe and into the street.
At this rate, you were depending on him to keep yourself afloat. You found yourself leaning into him and clinging to him. His hand squeezed yours, and you looked over at him. "It's just like the old days," he spoke softly, a gleam in his eye, and a smile on his face. You felt the entire opposite. "I'm feeling unwell..." you meekly coo to him, "I need to go home."
"Then I'll call a cab for you. It's the least I can do, right?" He said cheerfully. "You are going through a lot right now."
"Thank you..." you gently moved away from him. He let your hand drift away from his. You stumbled to the side, nearly into someone else. Getou pulled you back to his side, just as the person spoke up to voice their concern. "Are they okay?" They asked Getou, referring to you. He looked down at you and wrapped his arm around your body. "Feeling unwell. I'm getting a taxi, don't worry."
"Alright... well... I hope you two feel better." They say and wave their hand goodbye to you as they stepped away. You watched, feeling much like Tom while he was drunk, your eyelids lazily blinking as a car pulled up into your peripheral. Oh good, your taxi. "Thank you so much, Getou. I don't know what's come over me..." you utter.
He helps you into the taxi. You utter your thanks and focus on seating yourself and strapping yourself in. Thinking on it now, having your significant other pick you up would've been the better option, but you trusted Getou enough to help you leave.
But to your surprise, Getou gets in the car. "W-what..?" You stir from your tired state and sober up a bit to glare at him. "What's going on?"
"Did you think that I was going to let you have a say in this?" He asked you. He held his hand out to your nose and waggled his fingers in a beckoning motion. "The curse did a good job, didn't it, [Y/N]? Now I don't have to see you put up a helpless fight. You can come out now, Kiri."
You only caught a glimpse of the mischievous blob of black that resembled Kiri before your world went black.
Your eyes opened. Groggily, you rise and scratch your head. "[N]?" You call for your significant other. There was no response. This was your home, right? "Doesn't it look cozy?" That answered your question. You could see Getou emerging from around the corner. "I made sure to copy it down to the smallest detail. Anything for you and the life that we could've had together, [Y/N]."
"Could've had..?"
"I've been pining for this exact moment. To be able to finally call you mine in a house that I'll no longer be alone in!" He made his way over to the bed you laid in. You started to move away from him. "No!" You shouted at him. "Get away from me!"
"Don't deny me this moment! I have spent months, months trying to get into this exact position!" Getou snapped at you. He clambered over your body and forced you to stare into his eyes. "You don't get a say in anything. We're going to live as we should've lived. I'll take [N]'s place as your beloved. We'll live happily together, you and I."
He couldn't cope with the rejection.
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i-can-even-burn-salad · 3 years ago
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The Wind Witch
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The Wind Witch by Susan Dexter
Ok, so I just looked it up, and this book is from 1994 and now I feel old.
I love it, and for probably 20 years I’ve considered this one of my absolute favorites. Might be silly, but once I saw the author was releasing the books from this series?? I kept checking back like once per month, hoping that it finally arrived, because they’ve been out of print for ages.
So, anyway, technically this is part 2 of a 3 book series (6 if you count the other 3 book series set in the same world), but it can be read standalone. The previous book - The Prince of Ill Luck - is the story of her grandparents, which is shortly skimmed over at the start.
Druyan had been married to a man much older than, on a farm in god-knows-where, with sheep and grain and the ocean nearby. She had been rather content with life, at least until pirates attacked and her husband got killed. Now she’s desperate; she’s sure her own family wouldn’t want to take her back in, and her husband’s family would marry her off to whoever they want to give the land to. If anyone finds out her husband is dead, that is. A childless widow only has to hold the estate and pay the taxes for a year and a day, then it’s hers. So that’s what she’s gonna do and no one will stop her.
Unfortunately, most of the men have been called into the war against the pirates, so all people left on the farm are her, the housekeeper, three children - and one of the pirates the men had captured before moving out to drive back the attack.
He’s Kellis, from a land across the sea. He’s a mage, he can have visions by looking into reflecting surfaces like water. He did not join the pirates too willingly, as his people had been attacked by them, too. But he had to find a way to leave his home, to sail across the ocean in search of the fabled city of mages.
Druyan strikes a deal with him: Help her hold the farm, work for her for a year and a day, then she’ll give him a horse and provisions to help him on the way. He doesn’t need her help for his travel, but he feels indebted to her because of the attack and agrees.
I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but it’s half about keeping the farm, half about defeating the pirates, and both of them will be heroes in their own way.
I’m having a hard time putting into words why I love this book so much. They’re both ordinary people, trying to be happy with whatever life throws at them, while being told what to do by just about everyone. And both have extraordinary skills, which are mistrusted by others. I love Druyan for being so resilient, for fighting for what she wants, after all her life everyone has told her that it doesn’t matter what she wants. I love Kellis for being so good and kind, trying to do his best, even if everyone distrusts him.
The story is written from both Druyan’s and Kellis’ point of view, with very few different ones sprinkled in.
Content warnings I would add: Violence (she gets hurt, too), animal death, death of side characters, misogyny, implied sex
[Image description of the cover: It shows the black silhouette of a woman riding a horse, in front of a full moon, over solid black grass. Inside the moon are the silhouettes of four horses in a circle, connected with a dotted line. They look like they are jumping over something. The background is cloudy sky in a gradient from orange at the top to pale blue at the horizon. At the top the cover reads: Book two of the Warhorse of Esdragon in a small, white, sans-serif font. Below is the title The Wind Witch, in large, white letters, and the starting letters T and W are decorated with swirls. At the bottom, inside the black grass, the author’s name is written in white, in a similar font. End ID.]
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Tagging: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi (There’s a lot of wool and spinning and weaving in there :p) @dont-touch-my-soup​
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bentbliley · 3 years ago
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i would just like to say that i’m a big fan of galactic man but there isn’t a lot of lore behind the toy(s) and since i’m probably the most knowledgeable person on the lore of galactic man who didn’t actually write the toy bios, i figured i’d compile my research into one place. i might also put an addendum w/ the short bts history of the original galactic man toy (which would also include a bit of tandy, radio shack, transformers, and transformers generations selects history) but for now, here’s my research into the lore of galactic man. if you just want the blurb of lore, scroll down until you see a bolder paragraph.
#long post #hyperfixation #fantasy firearms
ok so this is practically headcanon but there’s no canon so i’m just piecing together what i can from backs of boxes and 2 product catalog listings but here’s what i believe to be the story of galactic man.
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id: the original galactic man, a monotone cycloptic robot w/ a bulky chest, a red eye on a hexagon head, and a gun barrel for a left hand. end id.
so let’s start w/ galactic man, he’s a metallic humanoid who can manipulate parts of his body to become weaponry. his three weapon modes are handheld laser gun for assisting in one-on-one battles, vulcan base destroyer to keep evil enemies from conquering the universe, and anti aircraft gun for protecting his outpost on an alien planet.
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id: the back of galactic man’s box. the first galactic man logo is at the top and fades down from green to blue. a subtitle describes him as an “electronic space robot slash gun.” then 4 pictures of his 4 modes are shown. clockwise starting w/ top left, they are robot, hand gun, anti aircraft gun, and vulcan base destroyer. 5 bullet points under the pictures that describe the features of the toy. “twist and turn galactic man to create three menacing-looking galactic weapons,” ”anti-aircraft gun protect’s galactic man’s outpost from attacking invaders,” “vulcan base destroyer helps you keep your evil enemies from conquering the universe,” “handheld laser gun lets you battle one-on-one in thrilling space duels,” “exciting rapid-fire and long-beam sound effects with pulsating light for super galactic action.” end id
this product catalog tells us a little more about galactic man. not much but just enough. there’s a mystery as to whether he’s a man or machine implying that he is human sized and shrinks for the handgun mode and that other inhabitants of this universe don’t know either.
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id: black and white high contrast print ad for galactic man. only his robot mode can be seen. the text that’s important to this post: “is he a man or machine? twist and turn to create an anti-aircraft gun, vulcan base destroyer or laser gun. exciting sound effects. seven inches tall.” end id.
so w/ all this, we can tell pretty clearly that galactic man is in an outpost on an alien planet and that the aliens who are trying to attack the outpost are called vulcans.
now, i can hear you all asking “what about robocop?” so here’s robocop. he was sold in 2 colour schemes, red and silver and then grey. the back of the box says “team up with galactic man” and basically says this is galactic man, not the robot that we associate w/ the name. this in addition to the lack of any mentions of vulcans and the new logo make me believe this is a completely different galactic man unrelated to the vulcan fighting machine or man. there’s a chance he’s like, the second galactic man or galactic man is a group which explains the pallet swap. this galactic man was supposedly released around 1990, a full 5 years after the original hit radio shack shelves, so it kinda makes sense that they wouldn’t be connected.
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id: left: red and silver robocop galactic man holding a golden machine gun. right: grey robocop galactic man holding a yellow laser gun. end id
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id: the entire left half is robocop’s face w/ a bright red lit up visor. the top right corner has the second galactic man logo. the flavour text reads as follows: “team up with galactic man to defend the universe! he has three mighty weapons to choose from - laser gun, machine gun and light sword. press on if the eight buttons on his back for exciting sound effects!” end id
i did find two other galactic blank toys sold by radio shack that could be related but idk. gonna talk about them anyway.
the galactic walker is probably a knockoff of tomy’s starriors strazor runabout. the logo for the galactic walker is different from either of the galactic man logos, the box doesn’t mention vulcans by name, and it’s totally out of scale as the gold pilot is about the same size as diaclone pilots at the time. i don’t believe the galactic walker is related to either of the galactic mans but i also don’t know if it was released in 1985 or 1990 so it could have been intended to be part of either galactic man toy “lines.”
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id: galactic walker in dynatron mode which can best be described as a white robot sauropod w/ blue limbs and an orange cockpit face. end id.
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id: side of galactic walker box. six bullet points describe the toy and are as follows: “conquers the enemy four different ways,” “motor power creatures over the toughest terrains,” “durable plastic body,” “leads the fight against evil space monsters,” “provides hours of fun for children of all ages,” “quickly changes into new shape,” end id.
lastly, the galactic space pistol which has a fourth logo style and doesn’t mention vulcans BUT it was released alongside the original galactic man as seen in the full page the earlier print ad came from as seen below. again, neither the box nor the ad mention vulcans, it’s really just by association.
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id: blocky white sci-if pistol. missing battery cover on grip. end id.
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id: the full page of radio shack ads. end id.
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id: side of the galactic space pistol’s box. three bullet points reading: “defend your territory against the aliens,” “red and green pulsating lights flash in unison with the sound,” “rugged, milder design for hours of action.” end id.
so what have we learned today? that tandy really likes reusing the word galactic and they really don’t care because at the end of the day, mass market toys are just meant to take money out from parents’ wallets. the story, if any, is secondary and any comic, cartoon, or book made to go w/ the toys is purely advertising material and tandy didn’t care enough to actually make a story that could be easily found. but i think i can scrounge a quick summary of what the story might be, feel free to chime in w/ your own interpretations but mine is just a rearrangement of the bullet points on the boxes for reader digestibility.
so, galactic man is a mysterious robot who may be human or may just be a simple machine meant to protect the inhabitants of an outpost on an alien planet from the creatures known as vulcans. galactic man can change shape and size to turn into weaponry for the outposters. an anti-aircraft gun for protection from the vulcans’ aerial assault. a handheld pistol for limited space mono e mono (in the english misinterpretation, not the spanish translation). and lastly, a weapon designed specifically to take down vulcan bases of operation. a pistol is also available for the outposters for protection when galactic man isn’t available.
NOTE: i can’t tell what the outposters are. is it an apocalypse setting? are they colonisers? are they scientific researchers? hard to say. could be all three, who knows? do i really want a galactic man comic or cartoon or something? h*ll yes i do. will i write fan fic for galactic man? maybe nebulously in the future when i have time. i know for a fact i definitely want that gens selects galactic man just for my love of all this, i’m debatably the biggest galactic man fan so it’d be weird if i didn’t wanna get it at some point. it’s also the perfect intersection between my love of shapeshifting robot toys and 80s computers as the tandy that owned radio shack at the time is the same tandy that produced computers in the 80s.
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littlesparkyabdl · 4 years ago
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Adventures In The Little Hotel
It was a legend in this old town of Hollow, the legend of the haunted hotel atop the mountain peak.
The legends claimed those who dared enter would never want to leave or more so accurately were made to stay, with only one being able to leave to let the legend spread.
This brings us to our heros of this story, Kyle, Zack and Evan, Each of these boys were part of the supernatural investigation squad. Their goal was simple, prove the existence of the supernatural and become famous world wide. But will their goals be accomplished in this adventure, the only way to tell is to follow their tale.
First we venture to Evan, a pale boy who constantly surfs the web for any scoop he can find, eyes as blue as the sky and hair a sparkling brown. With his new scoop of the haunted hotel he quickly contacted his comrades to inform them of his discovery that was buried with the elders of the town, with only whispers ever being heard.
Next we’re brought to Zack, the tallest of the group with hair as black as the night and his grey eyes glistening with hope. Zack was constantly beaming with hope when searching for the supernatural, its one of the few thing he ever gained an interest in. He isn't the smartest of the group but if he weren't there the group would of given up a long time ago.
And finally we come to Kyle, a tanned boy who was short in stature but made up for it with his intelligence, his hair black with three grey streaks running down the side, his eyes a dull silver. He always would say he was just with the group to prove that the supernatural doesn't exist but in reality he completely believed in it.
With each of the boys contacted and rearing to go they decided to meet at their usual spot, a small cafe near the edge of the town, with each of the boys ordering a milkshake before they venture onto their quest. Kyle with the chocolate, Evan with the strawberry and Zack with the orange. With their drinks consumed they could begin their adventure, they begin making their way down the street through the dark wood path, trees guiding them to their destination.
“T-this place is awfully creepy, and we aren't even in the hotel yet” proclaimed Zack with a slight stutter, his pace slowing down slightly.
“Quit being a coward, This is surely going to be our scoop of the century!” responded Evan.
“For someone who’s supposed to be excited about ghosts you sure do scare easily Zack” said Kyle in a demeaning tone
“Me scared! As if!” responded Zack trying to be manly but failing as he trips on a crack in the path, falling face first into the ground with his baggy pants slowly falling down to reveal his Barney printed briefs.
Giggles were heard from the other two boys seeing the oldest of the group wearing such childish underwear, With Zack hurrying to his feat pulling his pants back up he said to the others in a flustered tone “I-its not like you two wear anything more mature!”
“compared to what you wear anything would be considered mature” Kyle remarked with more giggles coming from Evan
With the situation dying down they started to continue their way to the haunted hotel, they reach the bottom of the mountain and look to see what looks to be an endless staircase going up the mountain with the end barely in sight, the stairs were large and made of wood, able to break at any moment with being as old as they were. As they finish examining the stairs they start to venture forth and make their way up one step at a time, though if they paid more attention they would of noticed the bus that used the road to get to the top of the mountain, though it was hardly ever used.
Going up each step creeks and cracks were heard, with scuttering coming from the bushes lining the mountain. If you looked closely into the darkness you would see small critters scattering about with eyes seeming to glimmer through the lights that were laid out so sparse through the mountains stairs, just enough to see the steps but blinded to everything else.
10 minutes into the journey of the stairs the boys came to a stop needing a break, who knew it would be so difficult to get to the top. As they came to a stop Zack soon noticed his bladder calling for release.
“err… guys I haffa pee…” Zack said as he started to hold onto his crotch.
“heh, my next biggest scoop will be proving Zack to be a pants wetter” came Evan in a sly tone.
“everyone already knows that though, not much of a scoop If ya ask me.” came Kyle with a taunting tone.
“h-hey! I’m not the one that couldn’t stop wetting the bed until I was 10” Zack said in response while flustered.
“now that is a scoop worth reporting on” Evan said in a humours tone.
“y-you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about that!” Came Kyle in a whiney tone.
“technically I didn’t…” Zack responded with with slight guilt in his voice
“how about we have some fun, whoever pees them self first, gets to carry all of our stuff the rest of the way up the mountain and it gets reported in the paper. Of course it wont be all the way up as we should start walking up again soon otherwise we wont get there until morning ” said Evan in a taunting manner knowing full well both would accept.
As if on cue both the other boys said “your on!” and so their journey up the stairs continued after their 5 minute break.
As their journey continued up the stairs it wasn’t even 10 minutes before a whimper was heard coming from one of the boys. With both Evan and Zack looking back they saw what was happening, Kyles legs wobbled as he slowly fell to his knees his bladder giving out and a puddle forming. As this happened a storm came out of nowhere, thunder heard and lightning struck. All bets where off as Zack and Evan helped Kyle from his vulnerable position, the three boys hurried up the rest of the stairs though they seemed to reach the top quicker than they though they would, in fact had had it that it would of taking another 30 minutes to reach the hotel but they made it in 10.
As the boys quickly approached the door they took in the damp surroundings of the hotel, withered plants broken stone paths wooden fencing waiting to give way to the storm. It was a gloomy looking place though the lack of lighting didn’t help.
As they went to open the door it opened on its own, a light forming from the entrance as a ghastly man was waiting at the entrance. The man was pale and had a chill around him, he was dressed as a butler. He must be the caretaker of this old place the boys thought, though if they paid a little more attention they would realise that the light coming form inside the building wasn’t shown through the windows, it was as if it was and entrance to another world.
“welcome home young masters” came the voice of the strange looking man.
“home?” all the boys questioned in unison.
“it is how we greet all our guests at this hotel of ours, I shall be your guide tonight. I am the butler for the lord of this building” the man said now announcing himself as a butler for the estate.
Looking at the boys the man could smell a faint smell of urine coming from one of the boys, maybe two of them he thought.
“hurry inside before you catch a cold” the butler stated as he hurried them in. Little did they know this would be what sealed their fate for their future.
As the boys entered the building they quickly dropped their bags, and quickly dried off with the towels provided by the maids that seemed to appear from nowhere.
“quite the unexpected welcome, I thought this place was supposed to be haunted.” said Evan as he took in the surroundings.
“well the building was supposed to be abandoned” said Kyle taking note of the sudden his his surroundings also.
“who cares, we’re wet and still need a bath these towels will only do so much” said Zack not paying too much attention to anything as his hair poofed up from the rain.
“young masters we do have a shared bathing area available for use, its already filled with warm water. We will also bring a change of clothes for you lot to use. I’m sure our options will please you all.” said the butler as he started to guide them to the bathing area without giving it much thought.
As the boys were guided to the bathing area the maids took their bags and moved them into storage.
As the butler arrived at the bathing area with the boys he motioned to the changing area and said “your new clothes will be placed in here and your old ones will be washed thoroughly.”
Zack was the first to go charging in excited to get a warm bath, he was surprised that this place wasn’t scary in fact he found it rather relaxing.
“if I didn’t know better id think he was a kid with how he acts.” came Kyle with a sigh.
“he has the right idea though plus you do smell from your incident earlier…” came Evan wincing at the odour coming from his friend. “though it isn't as bad now that Zack went away…” Evan noted to himself.
“w-whatever! Lets just get in the bath” Kyle responded while turning as red as a tomato.
“well you probably wanna get changed first” Evan said with in a cocky tone with a smirk forming on his face.
“young masters if you would please hurry as you friend is probably getting lonely without you” the butler said with a sigh noticing that these boys are probably going to cause some trouble if their not disciplined.
The two boys joined Zack in the changing area, with Zack already down to his Barney briefs.
“What took you two so long” asked Zack as he attempted to cover the front of his briefs to avoid his friends from seeing a pee stain.
“i wouldn’t bother hiding your little accident, I can already smell it from here” came Evan in a sly tone as he started to strip from his fairly raggy clothes.
“w-when did you find out!” came Zack in a pouty tone stomping his foot a little, and putting his arms to the side forgetting about his current predicament.
“when you left to get changed first, the smell wasn’t as bad” said Evan in a teasing tone.
Kyle remained silent as he removed his shorts and vest revealing a light blue pair of briefs, though not as childish as Zack he got a few giggles from the boys and a few maids passing by the changing rooms, again the maids appearing from nowhere.
Both Zack and Kyle blushed as they heard the maids and tried to cover themselves with their hands, though this only made them look more childish than before.
As Evan stripped he was left in nothing but a paid a boxer briefs, they were snug against his body and fit him fairly well, they were black and made from a fairly stretchy material.
The boys in unison stripped of their underwear revealing their privates too each other, they hadn't bathed together since they were young so some changes had been made, well perhaps not for Zack he was still lacking in the growth department.
The boys ventured into the bathing area from the changing room, steam filled the air from the heat of the bath and a sweet aroma filled the air. Each of the boys started to relax in the bath taking in the sweet scent almost going into a trance like state, that was until and even stronger aroma was starting to flow into the room.
Zack was the first one to get up, following the pleas of his nose he followed the scent until he was stopped by his friends.
“aren't you forgetting something Zack?” Kyle said while pointing to Zacks lower half.
“i have to agree going around like that wont look good for us yaknow, how will we get a scoop if people become creeped out by us!” Came Evan in an annoyed tone.
As if on cue Zack flared a bright red as he quickly grabbed a towel and covered himself up.
“heh… my bad” came Zack in a sheepish tone.
“young masters is everything alright, I heard a commotion?” Came the butler as he entered the changing area with their new clothes.
“someone forgot he was naked and tried to run all over the place” came Evan answering the butlers question.
The butler sighed as he glanced over the boys “it seems he isn’t the only one who forgot they weren’t wearing anything, ill have to fix this myself” he said too himself but loud enough for the boys to hear.
Kyle and Evan both blushed once they realised they were on full display.
“wait… how will you handle it?” came Kyle in a curious tone.
As soon as he asked Kyles arm was grabbed by the butler, he was put into a pair of power ranger training pants, a dinosaur tshirt and a blue set of shortalls. Kyle blushed as the butler handled him with such expertise as if he had done it before.
“lets see, hmm you’ll be next” the butler said as he grabbed Zack, also putting him into a pair of training pants though these were Barney themed just like his old briefs, he was surprised they came in his size but his surprise was cut short when he was put into a dinosaur onesie and a pair of overalls though these ones seemed to have buttons tailing the inseam of the leg.
“a-aren’t these a bit babyish…” asked Zack while blushing at his current attire.
“they suit you quite well and I’m certain you enjoy them” said the butler with a grin, “you two may of also noticed the padding built into your new undies, this is to prevent any further accidents while your at the manor” the butler said while moving over to Evan.
“i can dre-” Evan said before he got cut off by the butler grabbing him and putting him into a pair of sonic briefs.
“it seems your slightly more mature than the two piddle pants so I’m allowing you the privilege of normal undies, don’t mess it up” the butler said as he then put Evan into a pair of blue shorts and a t-shirt with a large star on the front.
Each of the boys were left blushing from their current experience, they hadn’t been dressed by someone since they were kids, not to mention the clothes they were wearing it made them look like children.
“this certainly wasn’t the scoop I was expecting…” Evan said to himself with a sigh before starting to giggle to himself.
“what’s so funny?” Zack and Kyle said in unison before they themselves started to laugh at themselves and each other.
This wasn’t how they were expecting the night to go, sure they expected someone to wet themselves but the change of clothes, the change of undies it was all completely unexpected to them. Once their laughter had died down they started making their way to the dining area, to their surprise the room was  huge, surely all these large sized rooms couldn’t fit on the first flow Evan thought to himself before the smell of food started to flood the room.
As if it were magic the tables were all set, red and white cloths draped over the tables with a golden trim, the silver cutlery was displayed at each seat and there was more tables that what they’d expect. You could fit at least 300 people in the dining area easily.
As the boys went to pick their own seat they were picked up by the maids, once again appearing out of nowhere and carried over too a set of plastic tables and chairs, they were clearly meant for children to sit at, the table was red and the seats came in a variety of colours.
“Hey! What are you doing!” shouted all the boys in unison, the maids lets out a ghastly giggle before saying in unison “children always eat here” it echoed through the room as a silence feel when they spoke, the boys sat in silence.
Zack remained still scared at their response, it was as if they were all one entity he though to himself.
Kyle simply thought they had rehearsed it the the thought of the undead did cross his mind.
Evan was simply mentally taking notes, he was almost positive this is what he was looking for though his mind thought process started to change once food was set onto their plastic tables.
The food laid out were varied from meats to vegetables and even fruits, the maids provided plastic plates for the boys as set good portions onto each of them, a nice chunk of broccoli, some carrots and peas. Then came the meat, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets with slices of ham to the side. The fruit was left in a bowl for the boys to help themselves too.
“this meal is awfully… healthy…” Zack said to himself, he normally ate burgers, fries and pizza. He certainly wasn’t the healthiest when it came to food but he still had a slim frame from all the ghost hunting he did.
“its seems better than what I get at home” said kyle, he wasn’t a healthy eater though it wasn’t by choice he just didn’t have the funds to buy healthy food, though thinking of fund a thought came into his head. “how are we going to pay for all this” Kyle said realising their money was in their old clothes.
“this is all on the house” came the familiar voice of the butler as he approached them from behind.
“the master and mistress of the estate shall be joining us tonight, you should count yourselves lucky you got a change of clothes. If you remained in your… how do I put it… rags, yes rags. You surely would have been punished. They have a very strict dress code for young masters such as yourselves” said the butler glancing over them all with a devilish smile.
As soon as the butler finished talking a rather well dressed couple entered the room, the lady was dressed in a dress that looked as if it were for royalty it had a golden trim along all the edges, her hair was long and blond with what seemed to be golden jewels tying it up. The man was dressed in a nice fitting black suit accompanied with a red tie. Then following them were multiple sets of young men dressed similarly to the first man though they were in a blue suit instead of black, they also had a bow tie instead of a regular tie.
“these must be the new boys I requested” said the Lady “you lot can call me mother, just like the rest of my boys do. We are all a family here do you understand” she said in a commanding voice.
The three boys just nodded knowing that if they messed up something bad would happen.
“I’m sure they will be warmly welcome into our family” said the man in black, “you can call me either sir, farther or daddy. do you boys understand?” asked the man in black sternly.
The boys once again nod in unison.
“i said do you understand! I expect you to steak when I speak to you” shouted the man in black
“yes daddy!” came Zack with a blush as he realised what he said.
“yes sir!” came both Kyle and Evan, both of them noticing that Zack said daddy the least mature of the options.
“good boys” the man in black said, grinning at Zacks response knowing he hit gold with this new set of boys.
With greeting finished the woman and the man in black head to their table, it was much larger than the rest and had two chairs that looked as if they were thrones. They are the first too sit down other than the boys as they were the first to arrive, and the babies of the house weren't expected to stand.
Once the Mistress and the Master have sat down the rest of the men follow their example and sit at the remaining tables.
“Henry, what’s being served today” asked the Mistress to the butler.
“today we will be serving smoked chicken with a vegetable soup and bread on the side mistress Helena” came the butler now known as Henry.
“how come none of us asked his name” came Zack while stuffing his face with the chicken dinosaurs.
“h-how can you be eating at a time like this!” came Kyle realising the trouble their in.
“if we don’t hurry we might be stuck at this estate for god knows how long, I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think this scoop is worth that!” Said Evan starting to realise they may be stuck here for more than one night.
“who cares they’ll probably let us go once we start some trouble” said Zack while pushing the rest of his food away until a slap came to his wrist by one of the maids, this quickly made him eat the rest of his food.
“we can talk about this later” said Kyle in an agitated tone, he knew something was fishy about these people but he didn’t know what yet.
“i agree though id prefer we get out of hear as soon as possible” said Evan before he started to eat his food
Helena and the man in black smirked as the boys ate the food, knowing it was finalising what they needed.
Once dinner was over each of the boys started to feel drowsy and it was starting to show.
“maids take the boys to their room” ordered Helena as she stood up and wiped her hands of the food.
Once ordered the maids did as told and picked up each of the boys, the maids seemed to have inhuman strength as normal maids wouldn’t be able to pick up boys that were this size, though perhaps not so for Kyle, he was both small and light as so not much strength would be needed for him. The maids walked up the stairs and went into a singular room decorated with blue walls with a cloud pattern on them, an extremely large bed big enough to fit 5 people, plushes covering one side of the room and what looked to be a changing table on the other side of the room.
Each of the boys were placed on the bed and is if on cue fell asleep instantly, though if they were awake they would notice that the hotels walls outside their room started to move, doors shifted and some vanished never to be seen again.
As the night grew longer and longer the boys started to awaken, though as they awoke each of them bent over noticing a crippling cramp in their stomachs as they went to leave the bed to find a bathroom bars shot up preventing them from escaping.
The shock from the bars sudden movement made Zack jump back distracting him from his stomach, as soon as that happened a foul smell filled the air and his overalls starting to grow in the back, a warm feeling spread across his backside the smell knocking the others dizzy. It was that dizziness that caused the other two boys to fall victim to their stomachs pleas.
each of the boys passed out from the smell not knowing if they would wake up again.
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peterspideyy · 4 years ago
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chapter 15 | never look back
series masterlist 
previous chapter ~ next chapter  
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————
“no. there’s gotta be another way.” thomas urged, walking to you all.
“like what? you’ve seen the building. she is our only way in.” gally replied.
she. teresa. when gally took peter, newt and thomas to the last city, he told them how the only way into wckd’s building, is her. sighing heavily, you don’t understand why your brother is getting upset with using teresa as our way in. she’s betrayed us.
“you really think she’s gonna help us?” thomas spat back.
“i don’t plan on asking for her permission-“
“am i missing something here,” brenda laughed, “this is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? same dick?”
gally chuckled, “i like her.”
“what’s going on?” brenda asked thomas. you looked down, unaware of the person sitting next to you, was about to erupt, any second.
“what you afraid your little girlfriend’s going to get hurt, hmm? this is obviously never been about rescuing minho.” peter shouted, looking at your brother. your eyes went wide at his sudden outburst, placing your hand on his, but he pushed it away.
“peter, what are you talking about?” thomas mumbled.
“peter.” you whispered, but he ignored you.
“teresa,” he stood up, “she’s the only reason, minho’s even missing in the first place, and now we finally have an opportunity to get him back, and you don’t want to because of, her?”
he walked forward, causing thomas to walk back.
“cause deep down inside you still care about her don’t you,” he whispered, hatred laced in his voice, “just admit it.”
“peter i-“
“don’t lie to me!” he screamed, shoving him against the wall roughly, making you jump at the sudden action, “don’t. lie. to. me!”
you rushed to your feet, placing your hands on his shoulder to calm him down. instantly, he dropped his arms to his side, his shoulders untensing, looking at your brother, “sorry.”
he turned around looking at everyone, before his eyes landed on you, “i’m sorry.”
before you could even reply, he walked away, gripping onto his arm, as he did so. your eyes watered, as you took in what happened. something has been off with him. the way he clings onto his right arm, all the time. the way he’s been getting…agitated. guilt started to overcome you, as you realised you should of been paying more attention, to the clear red flags.
thomas looked at you, “i’ll go and see him.”
“no,” you shook your head, whispering, “i’ll go.”
he nodded, as you followed where peter went, until you came to a roof. he was sat down on the edge, looking down as he fiddled with something. walking up to him, you sat down next to him.
“sorry about that. back there.” he mumbled.
“love, what’s going on?” you questioned.
he looked at you, “guess i can’t hide this anymore.”
you furrowed your brows, in confusion as he rolled his sleeve up to reveal, dark black veins, starting to pop up out of his skin. your face fell, and your throat started to close up, as you realised the one thing you wouldn’t have expected. he’s infected.
“no, no, no,” you shook your head, as your stomach started to do flips, “why didn’t you tell me?”
he smiled, “didn’t think it would make any difference. and i didn’t want you to worry. which is what you’re doing now.”
“peter, i only worry cause i love you. w-we can still fix this, though. we can get you the serum i-“
“we worry about minho first. not me.” he interrupted.
“no. peter-“
“y/n, he needs us. so if there is even a slightest chance that we can save him, we can get him out of there, then we have to take that. no matter what the cost.” he replied, before bringing his hand up to wipe away a tear which was falling down your cheek, which you didn’t even realise until the soft action.
“i will get you the serum, you hear me?”
he nodded, “okay. come ‘ere.”
he opened his arms up, making you shuffle closer to him. leaning your head on his chest, he rubbed your back, as you looked up at the last city, while you listened to his calm beating heart.
————
newt took the bag off teresa’s head, making her breath out heavily, as he walked back, sitting down next to thomas. she looked at everyone before freezing, eyes wide at the person who was supposed to be dead, all those years ago, “gally?”
“here’s how this is gonna go,” gally started, “we’re gonna ask you some questions, and you’re gonna tell us exactly what we need to know.”
she looked around, before landing on you, making you glance down.
“we’ll start of simple,” gally carried on, standing up and moving a chair in-front of her, “where’s minho?”
she shook her head, looking at thomas, “you guys don’t seriously think-“
“don’t look at him,” gally interrupted, “why are you looking at him? look at me. he’s not gonna help you.”
you scoffed, glancing at peter who was starring at teresa, harshly.
“now, we know you have minho in the building. where?” gally urged.
she looked down, “he’s with the other’s in holding. sub level three.”
“how many others?” newt inquired.
“28.”
you all looked at brenda.
“i can make that work.” she smiled, looking at jorge, who nodded.
“no,” teresa spoke, “you guys don’t understand, the whole levels restricted. you can’t get in without a thumb print id.”
“that’s why, you’re gonna come with us.” thomas mumbled.
“well, i don’t know,” gally titled his head, “we don’t necessarily need her.”
he stood up abruptly, walking over to a table, “not all of her.” he picked up a scalpel, walking back over to her, “we just need her finger.”
“gally, back off.” thomas warned.
“are you squeamish? i guarantee you she’s done a lot worse to minho.” gally said, pointing at her, making you roll your eyes. he’s right. she probably has done worse to minho. but, despite everything she’s done, she doesn’t deserve it.
“that’s not the plan,” thomas spoke, standing up; taking the scalpel out of his hands, “back off.”
“it won’t make a difference. do whatever you want to me. you still won’t get through the front door. the sensors will pick you up-“
“we know,” thomas interrupted, “we’re tagged. property wckd.”
he crouched down by her, looking up, “you’re gonna help us with that too.”
he gave her the scalpel, making her look at him, before she nodded.
————
you sat on the edge of the couch, your hand on the back on your neck, as you pressed a tissue to where your tracker was, but it was removed by teresa, just a couple of minutes ago. you were starring at nothing in particular on the concrete. you were just, thinking.
tonight, you were hopefully going to free minho. finally, see him, properly, after six months of not being with him, since you were taken. you couldn’t bare to think, of what wckd has done to him. all the pain. suffering. he’s had to deal with, is probably horrifying. so, the fact, your going to save him, from that devilish place made you glad, beyond words could explain.
your mind then progressed to peter. you have the get the serum. you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if he get’s worse. or turns into one of those, monsters. you hate. despise that the world has done this to him. he doesn’t deserve to be infected. he deserves to be immune. he deserves the world, but instead the world repays him like this.
“hey,” peter’s voice interrupted your thoughts, “this is for tonight.”
he placed a wckd’s guard uniform on the couch by you, before sitting next to you on the other side, placing his left hand on your thigh, stroking it gently. you looked at him, catching a glimpse of his arm, before freezing under his touch. it was getting worse, and bigger each second. he noticed this, frowning slightly.
“y/n-“
you cut him off, by placing your lips on his. you felt him stop at the sudden action, before relaxing. you deepend it, silently telling him, how you were going to get him the serum. as well as freeing minho. you started to cry slighty, as you poured numerous of emotions and feelings into the kiss. pulling back, you breathed out heavily, as you leant your forehead against his.
“what was that for?” he mumbled.
“can i not kiss my boyfriend?” you giggled.
“of course you can. but, it was just out of the blue.”
you sighed heavily, opening your eyes to see him already deeply looking at you, “i need you to understand, that i will get you that serum.”
“minho first, then serum.” he replied.
you nodded, “i know minho is our priority, but i-i…you will get that serum. no matter what. j-just seeing your arm, made me remember the maze. when i was trapped in there for the night. in that moment, all i could think about was you. i don’t want to loose you. i never want to loose you.”
he nodded, taking in your words, “you won’t loose me, okay? promise.”
unbenknowest to you, peter didn’t agree with risking the chance of not saving minho, over saving himself. he thinks minho is way more important, than him. and he knows if he says this to you, you won’t agree. so, he keeps you happy, by kissing you passionately, ignoring the pain soaring through his body, as he allowed himself to feel every bit of love he has towards you.
“i love you, peter.” you whispered.
“i love you too, y/n.”
————
a/n- so, are you all okay? ahah! i think a few of you guessed it, but i didn’t want to spoil anything, but yeah. do you think peter will get the serum as well as saving minho? we’ll find out soon :)
————
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hazbinextgeneration · 3 years ago
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Into the Casino Ch12
The trip back home wasn't anything he hadn't been expecting. She was quiet for the most part with only gazing out the window and him patting her arm in reassurance and smiling in glee. He had made good progress today. Found out a whole bunch of stuff for his curious mind to disect like a frog in class and exploit it when the time was right. But for now, he preferred to get home and get some greatly deserved rest. And that they did. But Amalfia still couldn't shake the....strange feelings she that was still bouncing around her skull. Mostly around one particular issue....Who was Lou? Now that question could easily be answered with 'He's your boss of course.' or 'He's the guy courting you.'. Or another number of things. The casino's owner. The one who helped her. Mr. Lou- But she wasn't interested in that. She still got a strange feeling whenever she stared into those red eyes. They held something behind that smile. She tried asking Cyber about him....buuut
"Eh- I don't think it's my place to really say. Everyone's past down here is personal to them. Why don't you ask him yourself? Ain't he supposed to be the one you're dating or something?" And her answer told her if she asked anyone else they would give the same answer or refuse...Frankly she did ask once or twice more about the topic, but he expertly dodged it and changed the topic back to her and asked her questions on her likes and interests. Not that she didn't appreciate he seemed to want to know about her but she barely knew anything about him. And this wasn't about to be another one sided romance with a man she barely knew. She wasn't about to be put through that thing again. Not if she could help it. But that idea was pushed back for now because after a few days of her normal routine of waking up by Cyber and working on whatever list Lou gave her for the day, she was surprised when one day when Lou came up and announced they were again going to that side shop he knew and getting her a new dress for her. She blinked and asked why. He chuckled. "The ball of course.~ You don't think I would let a beautiful young lady like yourself go in just any dress, did you? Oh no, no. My dear. Nothing but the best for the woman I ...adore.~" So once again she was whisked off into the car, down to the Black Market, and taken into that little clothes shop. But this time he introduced her to the small ladies who ran the place and beckoned her to be taken to the back...Well she wasn't to be taken back there by herself with two absolute strangers and gripped onto him as one tried to reach out to take her. Making Lou raise a brow and get to play the hero as he gently assured her and brought her into the back room himself. After explaining exactly what they were looking for, in Lou's words: "I want something resembling the radiance and grace of a peacock. I trust you ladies to work your magic with what I pay you." She blinked up at his request and rose a brow. A peacock? He wasn't going to ask her what she wanted in the dress? She didn't have to ask when she was ushered by the women and was made to pose out as they took measurements of around her midsection and chest, height, and strangely enough her arms. All the while she nervously glanced back between them and Lou who always gave a smile and those strange red eyes. And funnily enough, as soon as they were done it was time to go back home. All of that which took the amount of one hour to happen. He had no interest in stopping anywhere else it seemed, wanting to hurry and get her back home. In their hurry she didn't even notice Cyber had tagged along until she was back in the car. ...He was that much in a hurry huh? But once and a while-...The question and worries would still bounce around and cause her to sometimes space out in thought. But other than that, she didn't think about it once...That was until she was gathering dirty laundry to clean and when she picked up the very same dress Cyber had her squeeze into before that 'date' and wouldn't you know it? A small pink piece of paper slide out and she almost missed it if the golden shiny words written on it hadn't shimmered in the light and caught her eye as it landed by her hooves. Making her pause and blink at it. She slowly bent down and picked it up, bringing it too her face to read the small print. And those eyes lit up. This was-...This is the card Rita had handed to her. And the words were still neatly printed and bold enough for her to read the address and name of the club she owned. And an their conversation came rushing back to her. "W-Well he knows Mr. Charles-"
"Oh! Trust me. Those two know each other very well. They have past connections through their second businesses...Still do."
... ..... ......?!
Charles KNEW Lou. And he knew enough it seemed about him to have an actual past and enough to hate him....He could answer all your questions, a small voice whispered to her and her eyes widened. She could find out exactly what he was like. What he did. WHo he was. Her body lighting up at the excitement of it all....Before it all came crashing down. She wasn't sure how Lou would feel about her leaving let alone going to one of his rivals and talking with a man who clearly made it clear they hated each other even if Lou's smile hid it very well. He would definately be against the idea if he didn't tell her no first....And that's when the idea came to her. She quickly tucked the card into her dress pocket and grabbed the laundry. She had a certain set of Rules to check. ***************************************************************************************************** The familiar clanking footsteps of Cyber's feet came down the hallway. Another day of waking up Fuzzy and getting her groggy self ready to go do whatever Lou decided to haul her around to do. He was certainly enjoying taking his time with this whole take over plan. He was acting most days as if there wasn't any plan and looking through schedules and taking care of the fools betting souls and watching the flow of new ones steadily come to him. It what made him the powerhouse he was...but if this whole scheme of using her magic worked...he just might become one of the new overlords. She saw the lust for power he always had when he made contracts or one a particularly hefty pile of souls to add to his ever growing power and collection. But it always increased by a large amount when he spoke of the many things he wanted to do with her magic once he figured out how to extract it from her. But she still thought the party was a stupid idea. Too many people could see her for what she really was and it could turn into a real problem. She has TRIED to explain it too him- "I don't think this is a good idea, Boss. What if someone sees her? The horn is a pretty dead give away." "Cyber, you underestimate me. 'Sides, no one really feels any energy off her correct?" "Well...no. She radiates about as much energy as the janitor. But those outbursts though, big crowds and curious demons has a high possibility of causing a trigger to that magic, and to be honest...That one thing I might not fully be able to save you from." "Oh, trust me. I rarely ever make mistakes. And I have thought long and hard about this choice. If someone does find out or Rita blabbers her mouth, then we'll get 'curious' people who might want to take a peak and id the decide they want my dear pet for themselves, then it could cause quite the problem. Especially if someone on a higher level of magic and power catches wind of her." His red eyes narrowed slightly as if the thought made him slightly angered. "I already put too much time and effort into this already to have any set backs, and the very last thing I need is her dead or falling into someone else's hands.....Keeping her a secret is key, but now that word must've already gone around by the few times we went out ...and Rita- It'd be wiser to let others see she's 'weak'. Let them think I'm only humoring another woman for amusement like Rita already thinks. Hiding her now would only cause suspicion." Dang it! She hated when he had good points. But right now she had to wake someone up. So it was quite a surprise to her when she opened the door to shake her awake and she wasn't laying on the bed. Which looked made like no one slept in it at all. And the room was empty as well...Cyber blinked...Where was- "Cyber!" She whirled around to find said unicorn all groomed and dressed, holding a peice of paper, and smiling. "Sorry if I wasted your time, but I decided to get up early today to get my list done." She lightly shook the paper. Cyber still paused studying her but relaxed with a smile. "Finally getting used to the work schedule, huh?" "Oh yeah! Im hoping to finish everything Lou wanted me to do by noon. I wanted to ask him something important, but I think I can only do it i-if everything's finished before then." "Oh..And how do you figure that?" "Im in charge of his schedules. He's supposed to be meeting with an important client from the black market today about trading good with him." She rose a brow and hummed. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess I better head back. He'll be needing me on the floor if you're already up." Amalfia nodded. "That's what he told me. He's waiting for you by the lounge, and don't worry about breakfast. I made sure the cook made you and him something." Her brow rose further as she hummed again and made her way past her. Oh she was up to something. It was clearly obvious and she wasn't trying to hide it. So that begs the question. What was it? ..Lou was pretty interested too when he was informed, but he merely chuckled and told her they would wait for noon and see what she intended on planning on asking him. In the meantime, the busy floor easily took up their time as Lou did the usually laugh and greeting. Encouraging some poor bloak to bet more than needed or speaking with a curious few people who looked interesting to him. Every once and a while they would catch sight of her quickly running past with something in her hands or going somewhere on the upper floors, but that was about it. LOu raising an amused brow everytime she did go past. Time pasted. And guess who finally showed up to talk with him. The dirty man was definately from the scummier side of the city but Lou still smiled, shook his hand, and offered to escort him to his office where he usually conducted business...the one with carniverous plants and a heavy duty door in case things went south or if he wanted to do 'extra' persuasion. And on the way up, there wasn't any signs of Fuzzy anywhere. Guess she was busy doing something. So they opened the office door, gestured for the man to enter, he did, and was about to go in themselves- "LOU!! W-Wait!!" He paused and looked up amused when a white blur came jogging down the hallway towards them both. He watched with a smile as she stopped and leaned over with a wheeze. Trying to catch her breath from darting all the way down from where ever she came from. "I-I...*sigh* f-finished e-everything." "Marvelous. This must've been your fastest time yet. Now you can have the rest of the day off yo relax." He opened the door more and was about to enter when a rather rough tug was received on his arm and he was actually turned around by the desperate looking unicorn and ..paused in shock for a brief moment. "W-Wait! I-..I n-need to ask you something.'' "Darling, Im always happy to answer your questions, but as you can see-" He gestured to the inside of his office. "I have a very important meeting t-" "I want you to let me go out somewhere on my break." She snapped interrupting him. Which was a..minor shock to him. She had never done something like that before during her stay...how long has it been now? Almost a full year. Time seemed to slip by when you were planning and had her do the same things everyday. Her face was determined and her hands were still wrapped around his arm in a tight grip-...He blinked and quickly recovered. Cyber having an almost confused look. "Now why in all hell would you want to do a thing like that? Demons out there would use you like a rag doll til you were nothing but broken pieces on the sidewalk-" "According to your employee policy,which I happened to have read the whole thing last night-" She interrupted him again making him pause. "- employees are permitted to leave to other places on t-their break but to be back before their break ends and as long as they report to you or your floor manager first, and since I have the rest of the day that means I just have to get back before nighttime. Which according to your own policy is eight thirty for most day staff including me." ....He opened his mouth- "I want to go out and I-..." She inhaled. "I w-want to visit Rita's." Silence. Cyber blinked, caught off guard by what just came out of her mouth and one look to Lou, told her he was definitely not prepared for something as bold as that. As he just paused and stared down to her with a blank expression...before that smile came back and he gave a huff of dry laughter. "Now why on earth would you even want to go to a place like that? A pure being such as yourself would be eaten alive there-" "She invited me." Technically that wasn't a lie. Rita did invite her to drop by sometime for a chat even if it was never a personally invitation. Lou how ever gave slight narrowed eyes with that smile at the now suspicious situation. But paused again when he felt something on his hand and one dart to it gave him an answer as she intertwined their fingers with one hand, small rose ring glimmering on it, and her face turned into one of pleading. "P-Please. ...D-Do it as a favor for me. A-And I promise I'll make it up to you later." .....Red eyes blinked back to her. Those purple eyes giving an honest look...and something jolted in him."....I" "HEY!!" They all turned to the impatient looking man waiting for him. "Are we conducting business or are you playing cutsie with the dame?" "Oh..Of course! This won't be but a moment!" He slowly turned back to her with a forced smile. Cyber could tell right away he was holding back the urge to just say no for sake of not being rude to her and ruin any progress he had made....But this was RITA they were talking about and Charles was there....Those two could easily ruin everything. But for some reason....This gal was dead set on going and by the sudden surprise and bold display they just witnessed, she wasn't about to take no easily....He could've just easily let Cyber take her but...his eyes side glanced back to the man. This guy claimed to have angelic weapons. Usually most if not all were instantly bought off the market usually by higher and the strongest demons to increase their own strength and to help prevent these things from being used on themselves. He had a chance to gain quite a few if this gentleman did hae some like he claimed and if this deal went right...Which means he NEEDED Cyber's backup......Which meant his brain had to bust into over drive and form a plan quickly....And this one involved the only other capable person he could trust at this moment. With a sharp inhale between clenched fangs, he turned back to her with a smile. "Very well....but on the condition. You don't go alone. Cyber and I are in a very important meeting so Disease will be accompanying you there and back...I would like you to stay close to him. If you agree, then you may go." She stared at him, before sighing and giving a smile with a nod of the head. "Y-Yes. Yes! Of course!" He hummed and turned to Cyber. "Get him immediately. Now." She didn't have to be told twice as she literally ran off without saying another word and he sighed- The further closing of her hand around him made him look back to her smiling face..and pause again. "T-Thank you. I-I know how you must feel about this, but I have to do it....I-It'd be rude to not show up." "...Yes. Not showing up when expected can be rude." They stayed like that for a few seconds, tensely waiting and while they were she slowly released her grip from his hand. He slowly flexed his squeezed fingers out, looking to them for just a moment, before putting his arms behind him back just in time to see Cyber rushing around the corner with a confused Disease in tow. He blinked as she pushed him forward and they stopped right in front of them. "Uh...You wanted me?" He sighed. "Yes. My darling here-" He nodded to her. "-wishes to visit..R-Rita." Disease blinked confused. "Myself and Cyber can't be spared and Midnight would probably...not do as good of a job as your could." He hated admitting this but Disease smirked up at his compliment anyways. "I need you to take her there and back. Do you understand what Im saying?" The snake man gave a salute and smile. "No problemo, Bosssss. Ssshould be there and back in no time!" Amalfia beemed and sighed in releif- "Hey! Are we doing business or not!?" She jumped and quickly began walking away from the door. "Ok. Thank you, Lou. Ill be back. Bye." She mumbled quickly as she scurried off. Disease was quick to make a move after her, but gagged and gave a tiny yelp when Lou grabbed the hood part of his hoodie and turned him around to face the bright red eyes that narrowed at him. "Listen good. Watch her every move carefully, and do NOT leave her alone with Rita or any of those workers." A grimace can over his features. "I don't need her findout out any information that could scare her off. Im counting on those abilities of yours, Disease. Do NOT let me down." Disease merely gave a thumbs up before wriggling out of his hold and dashing off in the direction she left. With a sigh he stood back straight up and rubbed his face. This wasn't what he wanted to get into right now, and one look to Cyber told him she was mentally saying the same thing he was. 'I don't like this'. But he didn't have time to think on it right now. With a forced smile he turned back to the scruffy looking man. "Now. Where were we?"
All characters except for Amalifa belongs to @palettepainter
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stereksecretsanta · 5 years ago
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Merry Christmas, @michicant123!
Read on AO3
*****
Gnome Sweet Gnome
“No.”
“No!?”
“This is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Ohohoho, really . This is ridiculous, but the fact that you have been turned into a younger version of yourself again isn’t?”
“ Stiles , I’m a werewolf. I have a higher body temperature, therefore I don’t exactly need to be ‘bundled’ up.”
“Nice of you to completely ignore the fact that you’ve managed to get yourself into this kind of predicament again . And besides, I’m not about to go around town and have the good people of Beacon Hills thinking that I’m some kind of a child abuser .”
Derek frowns, but begrudgingly relents to Stiles’ fretting.
As Stiles tightens his childhood snowflake scarf around the grumpy boy, he reflects upon how exactly he ended up in this situation.
An hour earlier...
“It’s going to be fine . Derek is staying behind with you--”
“ With me, Scott?” Stiles scoffs incredulously, as he flops onto his bed, paying little attention to the freshly printed research notes being crushed beneath his weight. “We both know that he’s going to be skulking around town, scaring the crap outta anyone that gives him a passing glance because he has no control over his glares.”
“Dude, you’re nuts. I’ve seen Derek be all not glare-y plenty of times, especially with you. Besides, he wanted to stay behind.”
Stiles rolls his eyes at those words, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know. Just take care of that feral wendigo as soon as you can, I’m still not over our Die Hard movie marathon being so rudely interrupted.”
Scott chuckles good naturedly, but the audio of the phone call turns patchy, breaking the warm laughter into staticy pieces.
“Hey, buddy, I think you guys are going through shitty service area.” Stiles raises his voice in an attempt to get his parting message through, “Stay safe, kick some feral wendigo ass, I’ll be-- we’ll be totally fine.”
A broken thank you and half of what Stiles assumes was going to be a loving and brotherly parting message is the last thing he hears when the line goes dead. He stares at his now silent phone, pouting childishly at the fact that him and Derek were the line of defense for Beacon Hills while Scott and the rest of his pack went off to go deal with a feral wendigo that tore its way through the neighboring town.
It drew dangerously close to Beacon Hills, but inevitably didn’t tread onto Scott’s territory. Unfortunately, the feral wendigo showed no signs in slowing its killing spree. And Scott, being the overly generous true Alpha he was, insisted upon hunting down the wendigo before any others were unnecessarily killed.
Fortunately, things in Beacon Hills were actually rather calm for once. As this thought flits across Stiles’ mind, he reaches his arm out to knock on the side of his wooden bedframe three times. He never expected to be of the superstitious type, but when you deal with the supernatural on a daily basis, it’s only natural for certain superstitions to follow.
Anyways, things in Beacon Hills are rather calm for once. College is out for Winter break, meaning that Scott and him have been participating in much needed gaming, binging, and general bro time. Albeit being back in Beacon Hills doesn’t permit much time to enjoy such things, as in between the gaming and the binging just this past week they’ve had to deal with a whole ensemble of supernatural creatures.
A bunyip with a rather terrible sense of direction, skeevy gnomes, and apparently dryads (which, honestly, Stiles shouldn’t have been all that surprised by their existence). Just to name a few.
“Who knows, maybe Derek will sniff out some havoc-wreaking, supernatural creature during his patrol.” Stiles mumbles to himself. “Just a small thing to help the time pass faster…”
The doorbell rings and Stiles sits up with a start. He looks at the time on his phone with a frown, it reads 3:24 pm. His dad is still at work, Derek is still on patrol (even if he was done or found something he would have helped himself to the graciously unlocked and slightly cracked open window and just invited himself in as usual), and Scott along with the rest of the pack were on the trail of the north-bound wendigo.
Carefully and cautiously, with years of supernaturally honed wariness, Stiles carefully peers out his window to take a surreptitious glance at whoever was on the doorstep… a kid? Before Stiles can even process what he’s looking at, the kid looks up directly at Stiles and locks eyes. Stiles stumbles backwards from the window in shock and trips over his gnome research notes that were neatly stacked on the floor.
“What the shit ?” Stiles hisses under his breath as his mind tries to make sense of the kid at the house’s doorstep. A ghoul? No, no, that doesn’t make sense, a ghoul wouldn’t politely knock. Scared child of a mysterious origin? That’s the most likely… those clothes are obnoxiously huge for such a small kid…
A young but irritated voice travels up through the cracked window, “Just open the damn door, Stiles.”
“Can’t you just use your werewolf powers to break the door dow-oh my God !?” Stiles rushes back over to the window and pulls it all the way open, he leans out and looks at the kid with disbelief, “No. Fucking. Way .”
Sure enough, standing on the front doorstep of Stiles’ home was a very displeased, ruffled, and tiny Derek Hale. There was something off-putting about seeing a young (what was he, seven!? ) child standing with crossed arms and a glare that would make anyone's skin crawl if not for the fact that the person delivering the glare was a child .
“ Yes way. Now, let me in . Unless you want your door to be accidentally turned into toothpicks.” The threats coming from such an adorable baby face, somehow made them seem simultaneously more and less intimidating.
Stiles splutters and quickly makes his way downstairs. He pulls open the front door after taking a couple steadying breaths to reveal some three odd feet of pure irritation.
“Wh-What even happened ?” Stiles quickly steps away from the doorway as the enraged child pushes his way into the Stilinski abode. “Wait a sec, are you even Derek? The Derek I know would have Nightcrawler-ed his way up into my room without a second thought… Oh crap, I’m going to die now, aren’t I?”
The child gives Stiles an unimpressed and a well-practiced glare. That alone makes the anxious feeling that was starting to creep up his spine back off quickly.
“Last time I checked, Nightcrawler teleports and werewolves do no such thing.” Derek frowns up at Stiles’ dumbstruck, and now relieved face.
“Oh thank god, you are Derek…” Stiles splutters once more as he attempts to make sense of the scene before him, “W-th-w-how…? I reiterate, what happened?”
Derek turns with a growl and starts to head up the stairs, comically stumbling on the clothes that are Derek’s size, roughly 20 years too soon. Stiles closes his eyes and shakes his head in an effort to see if this was just some sort of elaborate hallucination. But young Derek is still there when he reopens his eyes. So he closes the front door and moves to follow Derek up the stairs.
“Uh...Der…?” Stiles speaks hesitantly, keeping his distance from the angry child.
“What do you think happened, Stiles?” Derek snaps as he reaches the second landing.
“I literally have no idea, hence the question. I thought you were mellowing out in your old age, guess I was wrong.” Stiles leans against the banister, “Though to be fair, you being a child might be a contributing factor to your classic Derek Hale grumpiness™. But no matter what age you are, you have a knack for being the most frustrating person I’ve ever had to deal with.”
Stiles chuckles to himself and looks up at Derek, awaiting an equally scathing remark, only to find Derek’s wide, hazel eyes focused on the ground, his small lower lip quivering just the slightest bit. Stiles is taken aback by this amount of sincerity upon Derek’s face, it’s so uncharacteristic but he can’t help but feel absolutely awful about his jabs.
“Uh…” Stiles struggles to find the words, which is par for the course when dealing with Derek in regards to anything other than snark and sarcasm.
“You’re right,” Derek’s voice is soft and so young sounding, Stiles stills at this, “I shouldn’t have expected you to just automatically know what went wrong.”
“Derek I…” But whatever moment of sincerity that managed to exist between the two of them was quickly forgotten as Derek finally returned Stiles’ earlier snark with a comment of his own.
“But I assumed that as our resident researcher and navigator of the bestiary, that you would have a grasp on exactly what could have caused this without me having to hold your hand through everything.” Derek turns and walks to Stiles’ room, calling over his shoulder, “I guess you’re growing senile in your old age.”
“H-hey! You’re older than me!” Stiles follows.
“Not right now, I’m not. As you have made sure to point out.” Derek frowns at the papers strewn about the room, “How the hell do you find anything in this mess?”
“I’ve told you before, I have a system of organized chaos, step off.”
“Right…” Derek responds dubiously. With a roll of his eyes, he goes over to Stiles’ wardrobe and starts rifling through the contents.
“Why yes, Derek. Please, help yourself to my clothes.” Stiles sorts through his recent research notes, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You know, I realize that I may not be as buff as you when you’re all regular Derek sized, but I think my clothes will still be too big for you. Unless you decide to wear a pair of my boxers as shorts…”
He hears Derek grunt in affirmative as he grabs the gnome notes that he so unceremoniously kicked out of the carefully organized pile on his floor. As he shuffles the pages together, he flips through them gently. There’s pages on gnome diets, their underground culture, how to visit them, how to appease them, et cetera.
“So I’m going to have to admit my ignorance here. Other than that thing that you know who was trying to accomplish, I have no idea why or how this is happening…” Stiles turns to look at Derek, who is now wearing a pair of Stiles’ egg printed boxers and an incredibly loose, threadbare tank top that he didn’t even realize he still had. “You’re gonna have to give me something to work with… so I can… crack this case.”
Derek blinks, no appreciation for Stiles’ joke making abilities.
“Forget you, that was hilarious. Throw me a bone.” He stops with faux consideration, “I guess I should be the one throwing you a bone though.”
At the lack of a reaction, Stiles withers and pouts, slumping against his windowsill.
“Are you done?”
Stiles nods silently.
“Okay, so I was on patrol, as we agreed.”
“Mm-hm?”
“And while I was on patrol, I…” Derek hesitates before continuing carefully. “Noticed something strange, and next thing I know, I’m suddenly in the body of my six year old self again.”
Stiles stares at Derek as he says this, his body language is strangely guarded and Stiles frowns. “I personally think you look closer to seven or eight, but that’s beside the point. Derek, that is possibly the least helpful thing you could have told me. Could you give me a place, smell, or description to work with? Literally anything helpful at all?”
“City park. Near the library.” Derek grits out the words as if the confession of that helpful information was physically painful.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Stiles stands and moves to his whiteboard, he spins it around to reveal a map of Beacon Hills. “Okay…” He pores over the map and sees that a sealed entrance to the old subway is located near the back of the library.
“Was this near the Eastern or Western part of the park?”
“Uh… east.”
“Hm…” Sure enough, the underground entrance meets up with about where Derek reticently described. He starts to mentally list the various supernatural creatures that like to make their home in the underground area. “So… why didn’t you just help yourself into my room as you usually do? You never answered.” Stiles says conversationally.
“I...I couldn’t.”
“What was that?”
“I said, I couldn’t.”
Stiles turns away from the board to gawk at Derek. “What do you mean, you couldn’t ? Derek, do you not have your werewolfiness right now?”
“No. I mean I don’t not have it. But I don’t have the fine-tuned control that my adult body does.” Derek looks down at his small palms, “If I try to use my werewolf abilities in anyway, I have no way of gauging the strength behind my actions right now.”
“Exactly how strong can a werewolf child be?” Stiles laughs weakly.
“Let me put it this way. I tried to run here on my hands and feet, because that’s usually faster for me. Rather than running, I accidentally destroyed part of the asphalt on the ground.” Derek slumps onto the ground, “I can’t control it right now.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Stiles turns back to the board and writes down a list of the underground dwelling creatures. “Did you catch a whiff of any of these before this happened to you?”
“I...might have noticed a gnome.”
“Oh man, really? I don’t want to have to deal with them again so soon.” Stiles goes over to his freshly organized pile of gnome notes, he flips through them to the sections on how to visit and appease them. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid to piss them off?”
“Your confidence in me is astounding.”
“You haven’t given me much to work with, can you blame me?”
Derek levels him with a classic glare and stare. “I didn’t do anything to piss them off.”
“You sure you didn’t accidentally kick a gnome puppy or something? Destroy any gnome gardens?” Stiles grins, “Did you kill Gnomeo and Juliet?”
“Alright, clearly you’re not going to help. I’ll wait until everyone else is back.” Derek moves to leave the room.
“Wait wait wait, sorry. This is just… ridiculous.” Stiles flips through his notes to the visitation pages. There are illustrations of jewel toned beetles amongst the steps of how to enter a gnome’s underground city. “Hm? You know I was initially joking about stepping on gnome stuff but…” Stiles takes a closer look at the descriptions under the beetles. “Do you remember maybe accidentally stepping on this ?”
He turns the book towards Derek and points at the emerald beetle illustration. Beneath it reads the words “ used to shrink non-gnome creatures into a size that allows visitation into a gnome city, typically used for land negotiations and trading ”.
Derek’s eyes widen in recognition, but he quickly shrugs, floundering slightly, “M-maybe, I’m not sure.”
“ Dude , you should have said something sooner, Jesus.”
“Don’t call me dude.” Derek huffs and averts his gaze. But there’s gotta be something more to this.
Stiles rolls his eyes, “Whatever, c’mon we need to get you back to the gnome-man lands, they have these ruby beetles to reverse the effect of the emerald beetles.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, I’m not having you leave the house dressed in my boxers and a tank top that looks like it’s going to fall apart any second.”
“Stiles, it doesn’t matter.”
“What, are you gonna just walk there, while holding a bag of your adult clothing? Hoping that not a single concerned citizen stops you along the way?”
“I can use the woods.” Derek speaks with finality.
“Well the entrance to Gnome Town is in the basement of the library, which you will have to walk through to reach.” Stiles crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow defiantly, “You wanna try that again?”
“I can break into the library.”
“It’s freezing outside, and there will be plenty of patrons in the library today.” Stiles moves to his closet, “Try again, buddy.”
Derek’s cheeks redden with indignation, “And what are you exactly trying to suggest?”
With a grin, Stiles pulls down a cardboard box from the top shelf of his closet. He opens it to reveal child-sized clothing. He tosses a random graphic tee at Derek’s dumbfounded face and rummages deeper into the box. He plucks his matching snowflake patterned hat and scarf from the side of the box and digs some more. He withdraws some blue striped sweats aaand… from the depths of the box he unearths a bright red and tree-patterned winter sweater.
He holds all the items aloft with a huge grin splitting his face.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope! Bundle up sourwolf! Don’t worry, I’ll turn away.”
Stiles lays the clothes on the bed and turns around with a smirk. He hears Derek mumbling curses under his breath, but he also hears the shifting of fabric. Stiles’ eyes rove his closet and he frowns thoughtfully. He doesn’t have any kid shoes that his father deemed important enough to keep for future use. He then recalls a pair of yellow rain boots that sat long forgotten in the garage.
Derek grits out an “I’m done” and Stiles turns around to see little Derek bundled up in his old clothing. And if he were to be asked candidly, Stiles would have said that Derek looked absolutely adorable. Thankfully no one was there to question him.
“Hey, what about the hat and scarf?”
“What about shoes ?”
“Thank you for reminding me! C’mon.” Stiles grabs the hat and scarf from his bed. He also grabs the adult Derek clothes that were carefully folded on the edge of his bed and flies down the stairs.
Derek follows and forces out a small, “Thank you. I can actually walk without tripping over myself now.”
“Aww, you’re welcome. Glad to be of service.” Stiles puts the clothes on the kitchen table and opens the door leading into the garage. Sure enough, the pair of yellow rain boots are still there under the rake and years of debris. He shakes various bug carcasses out of the boots and presents them to Derek with a flourish.
“Your shoes, my liege.”
“Shut up.” But Derek takes the shoes and pulls them on. “ Now can we go?”
“Tsk tsk, you gotta put the hat and scarf on.”
“No.”
“No!?”
“This is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Ohohoho, really . This is ridiculous, but the fact that you have been turned into a younger version of yourself again isn’t?”
“ Stiles , I’m a werewolf. I have a higher body temperature, therefore I don’t exactly need to be ‘bundled’ up.”
“Nice of you to completely ignore the fact that you’ve managed to get yourself into this kind of predicament again . And besides, I’m not about to go around town and have the good people of Beacon Hills thinking that I’m some kind of a child abuser .”
Stiles pulls on the hat and holds the scarf out to Derek. He relents and lets Stiles wind the scarf around his neck, eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
“There we go, that wasn’t that hard, was it?”
“Whatever, can we go sometime today?”
“Yeah yeah, lemme grab my keys and wallet.” Stiles grabs those as well as a plastic bag for Derek’s clothes.
The drive across town to the library is awkward.
Stiles knows that Derek is still omitting something about his encounter earlier, and he’s pretty sure that Derek knows that he knows. He frets at a few stoplights, trying to find the right words to figure out why Derek was being so cagey about this whole encounter.
Stiles thought that they were past this pettiness, they’ve worked together for many years at this point, and he even tentatively considered them to be friends. But this evasiveness and unwillingness to be open about things was just like the early days of their… well, it wasn’t even an acquaintanceship, they barely tolerated each other.
“I can hear you thinking.”
“Well I wasn’t aware that this beetle granted you mind reading powers, unless you had mind reading powers as a kid and lost that ability with age.”
“No, I mean…” Derek sighs and looks out the side window. He twists his fingers into the fabric of the sweater. “I know that I’ve been weirdly unspecific about this whole thing.”
“Ha! Yeah, you think?” Stiles scoffs.
“It’s because I wanted to make sure that you weren’t affected.”
“Affected? By a beetle that you accidentally stepped on on the other side of town?” Stiles snorts, “Derek, c’mon. I thought we were past this.”
“We are , it’s just... I didn’t step on the beetle on accident.” He trails off into whisper at the end of the sentence, but Stiles heard clear enough.
“What do you mean it wasn’t on accident?” Stiles blinks, trying to make sense of the new information, “Your super sniffer should have told you that that beetle was magical, right? You should’ve known that stepping on some random magical being would have had some sort of consequence!”
“I knew that it was something.” Derek slumps in his seat and grumbles.
“ Something ? Derek, just tell me, stop this omission bullshit.” Stiles says with irritation.
“It smelled like one of the nogitsune’s flies to me. Which worried me.” Derek huffs, “There you go.”
Stiles stills at that. Even with what Derek just said, he still notices the strange amount of apprehension around the words. “And?”
“And what else? Do you want me to tell you how it made me worried about you? How scared I was about you getting hurt again? What do you want me to say, Stiles?” Derek’s voice raises in volume and he turns towards Stiles full bodily.
Stiles swallows the lump in his throat and pulls over to park. He blinks and shakes his head, trying to process what Derek just said. He turns his head towards Derek. Derek’s face is red and blotchy, his eyes are huge and have tears beading at the corners. His lower lip is quivering as his eyebrows stay aggressively furrowed.
“Well!?” A couple of the tears escape and stream down his round cheeks.
Combined with the teary eyed child in his car and his brain’s gears finally working, Stiles is astonished by his revelation.
“Oh my god, you care about me.”
“Wh-w- YES ! I thought that was obvious!” Derek responds emphatically.
“No, you really care about me. Scott said that you wanted to stay behind, and that you’re not ‘glarey’ around me.” Stiles rests his forehead against his steering wheel, “Oh sweet Jesus.”
“Stiles, I’m so sorry.” Derek speaks carefully, “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I’m sorry for putting you in an awkward position.”
Derek sighs, “Now that I know, I can work on getting over you. I’d like if we could still be friends, despite this.”
“Oh my god, you’re so dumb.” Stiles takes a shuddering breath, “Did I say at any moment, that I didn’t feel the same?” Derek’s eyes widen at this. Stiles continues speaking and mumbling his thoughts under his breath, “I’m going to kill Scott. There’s probably not even a real feral wendigo is there?”
He stops suddenly, and grabs the plastic bag of clothes as well as a single chocolate gold coin from his cup holder. “Nope, I’m not having this conversation with you while you look like a third grader. C’mon.”
Derek blinks as Stiles owlishly, and hastily wipes the drying tears from his face. Stiles slides out of the car and goes around to open the door for Derek. Derek hops down and meekly tugs at the edge of the sweater, Stiles locks the car and holds out his free hand. Derek looks up at Stiles and smiles tentatively.
This isn’t exactly how Stiles imagined holding hands with Derek this holiday season, but it was still nice in a strange way.
The two of them enter the library and nod at the employees at the circulation desk. Stiles guides Derek through the stacks to the back of the building to the once carefully sealed door leading to the basement. He nudges the door open with his hip after making sure there were no onlookers, and the two of them descend into the dark depths of the library.
They carefully navigate the dark and dusty stacks of the basement and find the sealed entrance to the old subway platform. Or at least that’s how it appeared, Derek and Stiles pass through the disguised archway and enter a warmly lit platform. Standing before them were four gnome guards wearing what looked like armor made out of reptilian skin seated around a small table playing some sort of card game.
The gnomes look up from the table at the sound of Stiles and Derek entering the vestibule.
"Ey wouldja look at dis, dose humans are back." The gnome seated facing them calls out.
"Aye, I see dem." Says the gnome to his left.
"Dat were one seems to 'ave used an emerald beetle. But he didn't pass through here, right?" Says the one to his right. The fourth gnome nods silently in agreement.
The first gnome stands and grins with broken teeth, "Dey prolly need demselves a ruby beetle, amiright?"
Stiles takes this moment to speak, "Yes, yes that's why we're here. It seems as though an emerald beetle wandered off, and my friend here stepped on it."
"A were shoulda been able to whiff out oneuva our beetles." The left one speaks with an incredulous tone.
"Yes, he did, but he mistook it for another kinda magic. Easy mistake to make. Now could we get one of those ruby beetles to go, or is it dine-in only?"
"Stiles..." Derek hisses under his breath, his hand tightening around Stiles' infinitesimally.
The first gnome steps around the table and waddles towards them. "Sure sure, dats an easy mistake. But mistakes come at a price..." The gnome grins and holds out an empty palm.
"Show me the beetle first."
"Show me whatcha gon' give me for da beetle."
Stiles pulls the chocolate gold coin and a pair of clear red plastic dice from his pocket, while simultaneously the gnome buries his hand into his pocket and withdraws a closed fist.
“This is so dumb.” Derek whispers to Stiles.
“Shut up .” Stiles whispers back.
The gnome to the right pipes up, “On dee count a three…”
Stiles maintains eye contact with the first gnome as the right gnome counts down, “One… two… three !”
In the leather covered palm of the gnome lay a glittering and bright red beetle. In Stiles’ hand lay the chocolate gold coin and the red dice from the Scott’s game of Aggravation that he happened to have stowed away in his pocket.
The gnome’s eyes glitter at the sight of Stiles’ offering. “Dose are some lovely lookin’ dice you’ve got dere, you sure you wanna part with such a lovely item?”
Stiles falters, but quickly nods, “Oh I know, I will miss them so much. They’re really so lovely, aren’t they, Derek?” Derek nods dumbly, “Now then, if I give you these beloved dice, and my golden coin here, will that be enough for the ruby beetle?”
The main gnome turns back to the other three and they snicker conspiratorially. “Ye, take the damned beetle. Gimme dose dice already!”
Stiles gives the gnomes a withering smile as they trade. The gnomes cackle with glee as the main gnome returns to the table with his spoils.
“Let’s get outta here, Derek…” Stiles leads the two of them back into the library basement, the echoes of the gnomes cackling and the clattering of sound of the dice upon the table follows them.
Derek steps out of the bathroom sheepishly holding the plastic bag of clothes out to Stiles. “I think my shoes should be around the back of the building still…”
“Dude, why didn’t you tell me to go grab them while you were doing your beetle mumbo jumbo, presto change-o?”
Derek reflexively responds with a “Don’t call me dude.” But then he coughs awkwardly, “I… I didn’t want you too far away.”
“Aww… you’re such a sap.” Stiles takes the plastic bag from Derek’s outstretched hand, and takes the now empty hand into his opposite one.
“Let’s go get your shoes. I’m pretty sure the cafe has a no shoes, no shirt, no service policy.”
“Cafe?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not waiting a moment longer to take you out on a date. If you’ll have me of course.” Stiles hesitates for a split second as Derek’s silence draws out. “Der?”
Derek blinks, but a gentle, sincere smile works its way across his face. “Of course.”
Stiles returns the smile with a sincere one of his own. A mischievous glint enters his eyes, “By the way… did I mention what an adorable kid you made?”
“ Stiles …”
“ So cute. I should’ve taken pictures when I had the chance!”
“Nevermind, this was a terrible idea. I’m going home.”
“Wait, Derek!”
“This is a library, Stiles. Please keep your voice down.”
“ Derek… ”
“Nope. Stop following me.”
“C’mon, lemme treat you.”
“ No .”
“But baby it’s cold outside!”
“I’m done here.”
35 notes · View notes
eldritchsurveys · 4 years ago
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888.
5k Survey XV
701. What is your favorite mixed drink? >> Sazerac, Dark and Stormy, Bloody María, and probably some others that I’m forgetting just because I haven’t had the opportunity to make or order a mixed drink in ages. 702. When answering these questions are you often pulled in different directions, as if committing to one answer eliminates the possibility for all others? >> I feel like I only partially understand what you mean. Not well enough to answer this question. 703. Chicken Marsala, Pasta Primavera, Veal Cutlet Parmesan or Linguini with Clam Sauce? >> No thanks. 704. If you were alone in your friend’s house/room/apartment would you look in their drawers and notebooks? >> Probably not. 705. What would you really like to do but you don’t because you are afraid of getting caught? >> I can’t think of anything right now.
706. Of the following, which word best describes you: responsible, spontaneous, tactful, uninhibited: >> I guess the one most likely to describe me on a given day is “responsible”. 707. Which band would you most likely check out? - The Smiths (indi-pop 80’s-90’s), The Lords of Acid (acid/house/dance 90’s), Front 242 (80’s-90’s industrial/dance) >> I kind of like The Smiths (I like solo Morrissey more). I’ve listened to a bit of Front 242 back in the day, and I remember Lords of Acid but I’m not interested in listening to them right now. 708. How can one put an end to procrastination, as a bad habit? >> I think that would depend on why someone is procrastinating, because finding the root of the habit is the first step in figuring out what to do about it. Trying to blunt-force treat procrastination itself generally doesn’t work out well for most people (or, at best, works temporarily but at great stress to the person). 709. What feature would you want on your car that is not currently offered? >> --- 710. What kind of poetry speaks to you? >> The kind I can comprehend. 711. What is your favorite store that is open 24 hours? >> I don’t have a favourite store, let alone one with that specific criterion. 712. Do you find that sleep is just so much sleepier when you are supposed to be doing something else? >> I don’t find myself in that situation often enough to say. 713. Do you also find that the books you chose are so much more luscious when you have a stack of actual assignments that you Should be reading? >> --- 714. If you have had the chance to compare the original 5000 Question Survey to this edited version, what is your opinion? >> I haven’t had the chance to do that. 715. What’s the most creative answer you can think of for ‘what is black and white and red all over’? >> I don’t have a particularly creative answer to it. I’ve always heard “a newspaper” as the answer to this riddle. 716. Why do people slow down on the highway when they pass a cop car pulling someone else over? >> Either to rubberneck or out of sudden awareness of their own speeding. 717. Are they afraid that the cop will STOP pulling over whoever he is pulling over and pull them over instead? >> I mean, maybe. I don’t know, I’ve never been in this situation so I can’t imagine what it’s like. 718. It’s daddy’s birthday. What do you get him? >> --- 719. What’s your 5,000 question survey nickname? Look at the word next to the 2nd letter of your first name A anything but B bubalicious C captivating D deadly E erotic F funky G greasy H heaps of I indie J jelly K kinetic L lasher M Mr. (or Mrs.) N neglected O ogre-like P parading Q quacking R Rico S stinky T the one and only U uber V Velcro W wishing for X x-tra Y yearning for Z zoobalee Now take the first letter of your last name. A aardvarks B baboo C creme pie D drag queen E eggbert F flex G god H hell I Isabelle J juice K kisses L lightning M mannish boys N nice O octopi P porcupines Q q-bert R rainbows S suave T tushy U underwear V valor W weenie X xtc Y yohimbe Z zipper Put the two words together for your nickname. >> Ogre-like drag queen. 720. You know that shaky feeling that you get when it’s all coming to a climax, and everyone involved is breaking into the good kind of cold sweat, working as individuals and at the same time as a single force of energy, and it all meshes together, and for a brief moment, you’re holding your breath and tingling all over, and after it’s done you’re on an explosive and dizzying high for the rest of the night? What does that feeling come from? >> *withering stare* 721. How many of your teachers can you imagine drinking or doing drugs on the weekends? >> --- 722. Do you like Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass? >> I haven’t read either one. 723. Write a question and answer it here. >> No. 724. Who is your favorite playwright? >> I don’t have one. 725. What movie has come out recently that you couldn’t have less interest in? >> I don’t know what’s come out recently. There’s been a few movies that have been released to on-demand, I think, but I don’t think I’ve seen any of them. And I certainly don’t remember what they are right now. 726. What would the worst movie ever be about? >> --- 727. Do you like truffles? >> I like some things with truffles in them, or truffle oil, or whatever. Do you like Turkish delight? >> I don’t know. 728. Can you tell the difference between a transvestite and a real woman? >> I don’t go around trying to clock trans people. Period. 729. What’s funnier, plants or fire extinguishers? >> What. 730. For question 720 did you write down sex? >> I was pretty sure that’s how I was expected to answer, and I didn’t feel like playing along. You pervert, I was thinking of musical theater. >> Yeah, I was also pretty sure that I was expected to think of sex and it would turn out that you were describing something completely different. I’ve encountered this situation before, lol. 731. Which is better, leopard print or plaid? >> Plaid. 732. What would you consider ordinary? >> *shrug*  733. What is out of the ordinary? >> *extraordinary shrug* 734. Do you ever watch COPS? >> No. 735. Is there always room for j - e - l - l - o? >> Sigh. 736. If you had your own TV show, what kind of show would you make it? >> I don’t want a tv show, though. 737. Do you know how heavy things like airplanes stay in the air? >> I don’t know how it works offhand, no. I could always look it up if I needed that information. 738. When do you act the most dramatic? >> I’m not sure. 739. Are you one of those people who have, “see photo id,” written on the back of their credit cards? >> No, but Sparrow is. I don’t think I did anything to my card, actually -- didn’t sign it, didn’t write anything. 740. It’s mom’s birthday. What do you get her? >> --- 741. What celebrity has pretty much disappeared leaving you wondering 'where are they now’? >> I haven’t wondered that about anyone. 742. Would you get angry if you and your girl/boyfriend saw the preview for a movie and talked about seeing it together and then they saw it with one of their friends while you were busy? >> No. I would be disappointed and feel a bit betrayed if they had expressed interest in seeing it with me beforehand and then seemingly just... changed their mind without even telling me. Sad, but not angry. I’d definitely ask them about it afterwards, to find out what their thought process was.
743. How many people do you think will finish this whooooooole survey? >> Might just be me and Elizabeth (Elisabeth?). I’m not even sure I finished it any of the other times I tried to take it. I might have, but it would have been a long fuckin time ago. 744. Have you ever written a message, sealed it in a bottle and thrown it into a river/lake ocean? >> No. That’s just littering at this point. 745. If you haven’t would you want to? >> ^ 746. If you ever did what would you write? >> --- 747. What do you wish you could always be protected from? >> Abuse and alienation. Little too late for that, though. 748. What small thing annoys you so much it should be a crime? >> Loudness should be a fucking crime. I don’t even care anymore. 749. Would you rather watch a video of fish in a tank, or the Yule log on TV? >> I like the Yule log, it’s pretty. 750. Is it better to be loved or feared? >> I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had much of either.
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crystallized-iron · 5 years ago
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Bite Me - Chapter One
Please read the tags on the Masterlist! Masterlist
***** ***** *****
It was a cold evening. Tiny flakes glistened in his gelled-back dark hair. His boots crunched in the piled snow. Every now and then he would glance around, making sure he wasn’t being followed by anyone his father knew, and was satisfied with the lack of familiar faces. If his father knew he had skipped designing something useful to instead go to a club, the man would kill him.
He came to his destination and took out his ID for the bouncer to see. The bouncer looked him over before handing it back and allowing him inside. Tony flashed him a grin and slipped the ID back into his pocket before going into the building.
There was still a chill around the door, but the temperature further in increased to something more comfortable.
Tony quickly found Rhodey and Pepper at the bar, simply enjoying each other’s company. Rhodey had been his first friend in college and his roommate. Tony ran over to him, making his presence known by wrapping his arms around Rhodey’s waist from behind and then resting his head on the other man’s shoulders. “Hey, honeybear.”
“You’re lucky I wasn’t holding my drink,” Rhodey told him, “or you’d be buying me a new one.”
“Oh, like I can’t afford a drink or two,” Tony said with a dramatic sigh before smiling at Pepper, Rhodey’s girlfriend since their sophomore year at college. It had taken Tony nearly five months to get Rhodey to finally ask the amazing redhead out in the beginning. “Hiya, Pep.”
Pepper returned his smile, getting her own hug from him before he took a seat beside Rhodey. “I see you were able to sneak out. What did you tell Howard this time?”
Tony rolled his eyes. “He thinks I’m still sulking in my room after the last argument.”
“Well, glad you could come out,” said Rhodey.
“As long as I don’t get caught.” His smile faltered for a moment before he had it up again, though now a little more forced. “So what’s new with you guys? He get you a ring yet, Pep?”
Pepper laughed. “I wish. No, he isn’t sure if he wants marriage yet.”
“Seriously?” Tony raised an eyebrow at Rhodey. “You better move fast, someone else might sweep her off her feet.”
Rhodey shook his head. “Weddings are expensive though.”
“If you need to have a fancy schmancy wedding, I can pay for it,” Tony assured him. “But you don’t need something that extravagant to show off your love. You guys can just head to the courthouse. Oh, and be sure to take me along, I don’t want to miss it.”
“He is right, you know,” Pepper spoke up with a smile to her boyfriend. “I wouldn’t mind a courthouse wedding.”
“That’s not even a wedding,” Rhodey argued. “Just the legal stuff.”
“So become mister and missus first, and have the wedding at a later date,” Tony suggested just as the bartender came up.
“You guys,” Rhodey sighed while Tony ordered a beer.
Pepper kissed his cheek. “Relax. I’ll be right back, boys,” she told them, hopping off the stool. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”
“Whatever you say, Pep,” Tony called after her. He watched her head to the restroom and once she was out of sight, he spun on his stool and faced Rhodey, tilting his head with a raise of his brows. “Sooo…”
“So.”
“Did you get it?”
Rhodey gave him a single nod. “Not taking it out here, though. This really is not the place for it.”
Grinning, Tony leaned closer to him. “But you got it. That’s the first step. Excited for you, man.” He patted his buddy’s back. “Hope she says yes to spending the rest of her life with you.”
“Do you think there’s a chance she’ll say no?” Rhodey wondered, his voice lowered as unnecessary nerves began to creep up.
“There’s always a slight chance,” Tony answered him. “Bit of advice, don’t do one of those big engagement event things.”
“Wasn’t even considering that. That’s for guys with way too much time on their hands.”
“Right, and then the show was so big that the girl is pretty much forced into saying yes unless she wants to look like a bitch to the world.”
“Yeah. I will never do that to Pepper. You, though -”
“Am never getting married,” Tony stopped him.
“Never say never, Tones. I know that if you did meet someone, your old man wouldn’t approve, but -”
“Forget approval, I’d probably get fucking disowned and fired on the spot.”
Rhodey gave his friend a sympathetic look. “Sorry your dad’s so old school.”
“Yeah.” Tony glanced at the countertop, finally noticing the beer in front of him. “Did anyone touch this?”
“Only the guy behind the bar,” Rhodey assured. “I would have seen if anyone tried something.”
“Thanks.” He took the glass and held it to his lips as he turned to look the other patrons over. Everyone was having a good time, either dancing or just hanging out, but then his eyes fell onto one of the hottest men he had ever seen. All he could do was stare as his hand slowly lowered.
Rhodey followed his gaze, seeing the man leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. Dark long hair hung around the stranger’s shoulders, pale skin appearing almost sickly against black leather.
Rhodey didn’t think Tony had such a type, but then again he never really saw Tony date anyone before. “You gonna go introduce yourself? Looks like he’s alone.”
“Are you kidding? The guy’s probably taken.”
“Never know if you don’t try, Tones,” Rhodey reminded him.
“Using my own words against me.”
“Of course. Go on, go talk to ‘im.”
“It’s not that easy,” Tony muttered, turning his attention back to the counter.
“Tony,” Rhodey began but stopped as Pepper rejoined them. “Hey, can you help him?”
“What’s going on now?” she asked with a peek at Tony.
“Tony’s got his eyes on someone but won’t go and talk to him.”
“Again?” Turning to Tony, she said, “Want one of us to go with you?”
“No,” he replied, finally sipping at his beer.
“Want us to talk to him for you?”
“Definitely no.”
“Well, you’re never going to get anyone if you never talk to them.”
“And that’s fine,” Tony told them. “I don’t need anyone.”
“But you want to have someone someday, right? Better learn how to talk to attractive people, Tones,” Rhodey teased.
Tony rolled his eyes with a sigh before looking down at his hands. He did want a relationship, but it was better in the long run if he kept his distance rather than giving his father another reason to get pissed off at him. If he were more attracted to women, he might feel more at ease with the idea of dating. But the thing was, he was gay, and if Howard ever found out, Tony would most likely be disowned. Losing that tie to his father might not be so horrible given the chaotic nature of their relationship already, but he also risked losing his job at Stark Industries, and that was something he didn’t want to give up.
He was a top designer and the opportunity to see his designs coming to life was something he was not ready to lose, even if it meant never finding love. There was maybe a chance for romance in the far future if he outlived his father and maybe took over the company as soon as the dirt settled, but would it be too late then?
Tony had been so caught up in his head that he didn’t notice the man he had been staring at before had moved until he looked up. The attractive stranger was gone. It was for the best; Tony didn’t need that kind of temptation.
“Hey there,” a deep voice behind him purred, and Tony turned to see him standing so close with a smirk on his lips.
Rhodey and Pepper stared at the stranger while Tony tried to get his brain to work, because, Fuck this guy is hot! “Uh, hey.”
“I caught you watching me,” the man explained as he stepped further into Tony’s space. “Are you interested in something?”
Tony’s brain seemed to short circuit while he stared at the handsome stranger’s lips. He was just so gorgeous and, wait, did he ask Tony a question? He managed to get his brain to function enough to say, “I… in something?”
“Yes?” He placed a hand on Tony’s arm, making him go still, face coloring with warmth as his heart began to race. “Maybe if your friends allow it, we could find an empty room somewhere.”
Tony gulped. Was this happening? Was this really happening?
It took some incredible effort to look away from the beautiful stranger’s face so Tony could turn to his friends. Rhodey raised a brow at him while Pepper mouthed ‘go, go’ with a shoo of her hand.
After taking a breath, hoping to calm his heart but failing, Tony turned back to the man. “Um, sure, okay.”
With a grin, the man’s hand slid from Tony’s arm to his hand, so cold to the touch that Tony involuntarily shuddered at the contact. “Great.”
Tony was led away from the bar, through the sea of dancing bodies moving to the rhythmic beat. His heart pounded in his chest. Something good was happening for once. He had a moment to just be himself with someone. It wasn’t for anything longlasting, but it was still something, and the excitement of that alone sped his heart up even more.
The man found them an empty room easily enough and pulled Tony inside, claiming his lips right then in a hurried kiss. A moan escaped Tony as he shivered from the chill of the stranger’s flesh against his own heated skin.
“Your lips are cold,” he pointed out in a breathy murmur when his partner pulled away.
The man looked at him a moment before his lips turned up in a smile. “It’s cold outside.”
“But - mm…” Tony hummed as the stranger’s hand slipped under his coat and up his shirt, cool against hot.
“But what?” The man’s mouth went to Tony’s throat, planting gentle kisses along it.
Tony gasped when the kissing turned to sucking a bruise onto the side of his neck, his fingers grasping the man’s shirt. “W-when did you… get inside?”
“You really want to focus on temperature?” his partner asked, laughter in his voice.
“Sorry, but…” There were more cold kisses printed on his skin. “It’s ju-just that… that you could, you could be sick.” It became increasingly difficult to concentrate on important thoughts when those amazing lips were on him. “So...ugh, a-are you… are you sick?”
The man lifted his head so he could look into Tony’s eyes. “You’re that concerned about a stranger?”
Tony couldn’t respond at first, getting lost in the icy blue stare. “I…” He remembered to breathe, taking a couple breaths to try to calm himself down. “Yes, because… w-well, your skin, and you’re so… so cold.”
There was a pause as the man’s eyes seemed to glisten in the light and soon there was a more thoughtful smile on his lips. “What’s your name?”
“Mine?” A series of blurry thoughts flew through Tony’s mind before he could answer. “It’s… i-it’s Tony.”
“Tony… I like that. Short for Anthony, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Well, Tony, I’m -” there was a short hesitation that he dissipated with a small shake of his head - “Bucky.”
“Bucky.”
“Yes.” He let go of Tony then, the sudden lack of physical contact making something ache inside of Tony as Bucky backed away toward the door. “And I’m not going to do it to you.”
“Wait, wait!” He ruined it. He asked too many questions and fucking ruined it! “D-don’t go, please! I’m sorry! I didn’t know I wasn’t -”
“Hey, no.” Bucky covered Tony’s mouth with his hand before he started rambling again. “Stop. You’re not in trouble.” He kissed Tony on the forehead after seeing the tears filling the other’s eyes. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Tony wanted to ask what he meant, trying to pull the hand away; when Bucky did, it was to give Tony another kiss, sliding his tongue inside which, like the rest of Bucky, felt so frigid. But Tony didn’t want to ask anymore, didn’t want to ruin it. He kissed him back in desperation, and when Bucky pulled away again, Tony tried to follow, but he was met with Bucky’s hand on his chest instead to keep distance between them. Looking up at Bucky’s face, Tony was shocked to see the pained expression.
What happened between them that would cause that reaction?
“I won’t hurt you,” Bucky said again.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” Tony whispered, trying to argue. “Please don’t leave, please!”
But Bucky took a step back, his hand like a barrier between them. “If we continue, I will hurt you.”
Tony disagreed, was about to voice it but suddenly the hand was gone. Bucky was gone out the door, and Tony was alone. The room felt too large, too empty, and his breath quickened. His time was up and all he got were a few desperate kisses. It wasn’t fair!
The tears began to trickle down as he fell to his knees. Why did he leave? What did I do? Hands covered his eyes as the tears kept coming. It hurt. It hurt so much. What did I do?
Why did it hit him so hard?
He gave himself time to calm down, wiping the tear tracks on his cheeks, and hoping there would be no more before he went back out to his friends. After finding them in the same spot, he made a quick glance around the room - no sign of Bucky. It was as though he simply disappeared.
With a sigh, he walked back to Rhodey and Pepper. She noticed him first, and he must have looked crushed because she quickly pulled him into a hug.
“Tones, what happened?” Rhodey asked.
“Uh, didn’t , d-didn’t work out,” Tony replied, cursing his shaky voice.
“Why not?” Pepper asked, caressing his head with her fingers. “We thought -”
“I-I talked too much, I guess.”
Rhodey put his arms around them, the two of them keeping Tony enveloped in a loving embrace. “Sorry, man.”
“It’s fine… It’s fine… I’ll just forget about him. Not try again.”
“Tony, it’s okay,” Pepper tried to tell him. “That guy doesn’t know what he’s missing, just walking out on you like that.”
“Please just stop.”
Pepper held onto him even when Rhodey let go, the two sharing a concerned look for their friend.
It was rare for Tony to get so close to a glimpse of what happiness could be like in his life, but now the reality was back in full force and he hated it.
===== ===== =====
Next Chapter
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misas-biggest-fan · 6 years ago
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some detailed thoughts on an LABB movie w a ‘read more’ bc i have A Lot To Say
i want it to be a movie bc i love movies
im also open to the concept of a mini series but a full tv show might be a challenging stretch
animated or live action would both be incredible and both have their unique pros and cons
the whole thing is DISTINCTLY LA
busy streets and palm trees and the Hollywood sign and the shiny, overly false glamour of everything
would really contrast well with Rue Ryuzaki’s disturbing fake-ness
like he’s just as fake as the whole city, that both he and Hollywood have on this costume to hide tragedy and hideous deeds
i want it to have the glitz and glam and extravagance of the recent gatsby movie (which i adore, dont come for me)
if bahz luhrmann doesn’t direct i will RIOT id die for bahz luhrmann he’s Good and he has the same energy and chaotic attitude of beyond birthday himself
i want beyond to have a scene like the one where Nick realizes who Gatsby is and Gatsby turns around with the champagne flute and the fireworks go off in slow motion as he smiles that’s my favorite shot in all of cinematic history no joke
it’s HIGHLY STYLIZED. i want bright colors and weird aesthetic choices
I also want some shockingly beautiful frames of LA and surprisingly sophisicated shots of Beyonds face lit up in different neon colors or something
Indie enough to be weird and fun but pop enough to be easily digestible
it opens with mello writing his book (like moulin rouge!! a;lsdjfk)
his burn scars are just healing and he knows he’ll die soon so he has to write down all his important memories, leave something behind
he wants to write down something important to him, something that he can leave for Near, something that might put his own life and actions into context
something that might help other people understand who he was more
so of course, he thinks of beyond
who he respects and admires and pities
who has such a similar and yet different story from Mello’s own
so maybe in understanding beyond and understanding how mello feels about beyond
people will understand mello
near will understand mello
so mello gets to work detailing this story his incredible mentor L once told him, describing this beautiful memory he has of meeting with and talking to L and how L told him about Beyond
(in this scene, you don’t SEE L. you just get an idea of what he looks like, flashes and shots, so that the audience can know L well enough to still wonder about the identity Rue Ryuzaki throughout the movie)
and then of course, we dive into the story
Beyond is OVER THE TOP. he’s more than unsettling, he’s downright terrifying. but he’s still somehow intriguing and even charming at times, like he can turn the smoulder on and off at will. 
Hes a disaster nb, a fabulous hodgepodge of discarded gender roles and impressive makeup skills
Him practicing his evil laugh and trying so desperately to be this comic villain didjdjdje hes such a loser i love him that scene NEEDS to make an appearance
he and naomi’s chemistry is incredible to watch on screen because beyond dominates any scene he’s in unless naomi is there to challenge him because her acting is also so powerful that when they’re on screen together, it’s like you can’t tear your eyes away from this insane car wreck that is their relationship
and NAOMI
a;lksdfj;dlkfj naomi misora <3 <3 <3 <3 ok im ready
so naomi is also a powerful presence on screen, even though she’s not crawling on the ground or eating with her hands or you know whatever ridiculous garbage beyond is doing
more time is spent on her
her disastrous relationship with raye
her feelings over her suspension from the FBI
and really play up the whole jessica jones thing she’s got going on
i want black leather for DAYS
I want “gritty LA detective who’s on suspension from the FBI because she doesn’t play by the rules” or whatever except it’s a twist because not only is she not a man, like this trope usually calls for, but it turns out she was suspended because of her tenderness and humanity instead of her brutality
she still needs to have MULTIPLE fight scenes, a few with beyond and maybe even a few with other attackers, who she absolutely mops the floor with
but then she and beyond have a scene where they fight against someone together
he’s not a good fighter. she mostly has to save his butt every time but he’s just happy to be there and probably keeps saying stuff like ‘wow misora you’re amazing!’ and she’s like ‘?!?! ryuzaki you loser?1?! run?!?’
and of course, there’s enough twists and changes from the book to keep everyone on their toes, but GOOD changes
like maybe we go back to mello a few times and he has more of his own subplot where his relationship to near is revealed more fully, that he wants near to understand him and he wants to reach out to near emotionally in this way
contrast mello’s story with beyond’s so when we learn beyond’s full story at the end, he and mello are revealed to be foils of each other
we get shots of wammy’s house and we see a and beyond interact and we see beyond’s life-destroying grief over a’s death
we get contrasting shots of wammy’s with mello and near and we’re allowed to hope that maybe they can be happier
A and beyond become something of a subplot leading up to as death but you dont entirely realize who beyond is until the big reveal at the end
maybe beyond does some more unsettling things that are just as creepy and in-character but are a terrible surprise for those who’ve already read the book!! i can’t imagine what other horrific thing he could do to scare naomi, but there’s got to be something
i’m rly into bday massacre bc i love naomi and beyond’s rly twisted relationship so i’d love to see more of him being in awe of her, more of them connecting, more of beyond opening up to her even. maybe she tells him a little bit about her suspension. just a little.
also if we could like clean up some of the plot holes in this joint pls and thank you
id even be ok if it’s insinuated that he self-sabotaged a little, on a conscious level or not, bc i feel like that wouldn’t be tooooooo ooc i mean, he’s a hot mess. most of this is just a really twisted cry for help anyway, at least in my interpretation. he wants people to realize he’s suffering. he just… can’t do it in a normal or healthy way :/
beyond pls a;lkdfj
Anyway. Theres also a boppin soundtrack
Fire is a big motif. Maybe make a connection between wildfires in CA and beyond using this case to self-destruct
A little more closure at the end. Thats part of the drive behind my bday massacre fanfic rn is that i feel like he and naomi never got any real closure on the traumatizing, like, week or two they spent together
I also want more closure on naomi as a character arc. I want her to dump rayes sorry butt and i want her to have had some sort of real internal change. None of this “she picks up her life where she left off and never thinks abt beyond again”
Of course, L is revealed and has his glorious little spill down the concrete subway stairs. Its What He Deserves :)
And of course we have to make the obvious contrast between both beyond and mello having survived serious burn injuries its just another thing that makes them such interestingly comparable characters
If Naomi visits Beyond in prison to say goodbye, i wouldnt be opposed. If they made my fanfiction into a movie i wouldnt be opposed
Mello prints out his book in the mafia hideout, his arms folded and waiting as paper after paper comes out, just begging any of these mafia dudes to mock him for liking to write. None of them do. Its a funny moment tho
He debates sending it to near, feeling so awkward and prideful, but he finally does it, leaving instructions for it to reach near after his death.
In the end, naomi and beyond are revealed to be dead at the same time as near receives the package from his dear mello
Naomi and beyond were doomed, and so were beyond and a, but now… near has mellos last love letter to him, cryptically begging him to try to understand. And so theres hope that although the rest of these relationships were doomed, maybe near can still have one piece of mello and be happy
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rheesus · 6 years ago
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corpse party! — richie tozier (two)
pairing: richie tozier x reader
warnings: panic attacks, mentions of murder, gore, horror, occult and paranormal happenings
— part two of ?
( see part one )
i wont do all 5 chapters since chapter one is entirely based on seiko and naomi who are beverly and eleven sooo yeah! if you want to know what would happen to them and you don’t know the story of corpse party well, watch a gameplay or something laksjshddh 
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something soft and wet had landed on y/n's cheek as she laid unaware of her surroundings. whatever was running down her face like tear drops seemed to have woken the class representative up. her e/c eyes batted opened and met to the view of a ceiling that had a clear whole through both the top of the building and the floor between that and the floor she laid on, next to that was a broken light fixture, flickering intensely with its last life.
"so, you're one of the new victims, huh?" an unfamiliar make voice echoed from behind her. the voice alone sent a wave of chills throughout her entire body as she turned and let out a ear piercing scream, she scrambled away, looking up at a boy no older than 17 - the lower part of his body seemed to sway like flames but his whole being had a blue ethereal glow to it.
from out in the hallway she could easily hear two voices calling her name in worry; richie and ms byers. if not for the boy in front of her, she would've smiled at this revealation. the boy's eyes seemed to wander in the direction of their voices and he gave a bittersweet smile.
"wow, stuck in the same space with not one, but two people you know? you're lucky." 
"w-w-" 
"that luck wont last long, i mean - look what happened to me!" the boy had laughed but not in a way that emitted happiness or amusement. his eyes now wandered to the floor, where a pile of bones and some ripped clothing laid.
“what do you mean?” the teen girl boldly said, though her thoughts didn’t match her tone. the ghost just shrugged. 
“you’ve been dragged here against your will. it looks like an abandoned school but it’s hell. you’ll either die horribly or eventually, you’ll kill your friends and die horribly. no matter what, it’s just pain twenty-four fuckin seven.”
 y/n had gulped down her fear in hopes to ask more before something came barrelling through the door and the ghost had fled at the sight and sound.
richie tozier and their beloved ms. byers. 
the first thing that happened upon seeing each other was the tears and smiles of relief before ms byers wrapped the class rep in a tight embrace, richie had squatted down next to her. his grin only widened when she turned to playfully glare at him.
"of all our friends i could be stuck with and i get stuck with you?" the boy rolled his eyes and ms byers had chuckled.
“if you ask me, richie was more worried out of—”
“anyways, it’s good you’re alive.” richie cut the lady off, smiling and ignoring the way his cheeks warmed up. y/n had smiled too, hugging ms. byers again. their happiness was, however, short-lived. the building had started to shake violently and a loud scream rang out through the building — one of filled with the pain and suffering. and who it belonged to was a familiar person to the three.
eleven hopper. 
the very thought that one of her classmates and friends were in danger made y/n’s stomach churn and her mind to run wild with negative thoughts. soon those thoughts became to overwhelming to the point where the teen girl couldn’t help but lose her breath. ms. byers could sense her distress and cupped her face in her hands, 
“y/n, focus on me. it was probably nothing,” she gave an encouraging smile, “probably the wind.”
“but you heard it, right? that was el. our el.” ms byers sighed. richie looked around the wrecked classroom, chewing on his lip nervously.
“ms byers, stay here with y/n and i’ll go look for eleven—”
“no! you stay here with y/n where it’s safe and i will find eleven.”
“stop it! no!” the two looked back at the h/c, her breathing was still erratic but she persisted in talking, “you can’t leave, i just found both of you.”
the kindly teacher had done nothing but give a genuine, sweet smile, “you’ll be fine. i’ll bring eleven back here safe and sound. promise.”
not allowing y/n or richie to protest, ms. byers had left the classroom. the two students stared at the door for what felt like hours. y/n had moved her head towards the corpse of the boy she had talked to. near his the bones of what used to be his hand was nearly touching a card of some sort. she crawled to it and took it into her possession. in fine black print were the words.
derry boys high school
steve harrington 
d.o.b.: 16 april 1996
grade 12 
y/n had let out a shaky breath before stashing the id card in her jacket pocket. she looked back to the door ms. byers had left from and mumbled words of hope under her breath.
please, be okay.
joyce byers had found herself in a classroom worse off than the one she left richie and y/n. one half of it was collapsed in, leaving nothing but a black abyss. she would’ve gone up the stairs but she could hear a wicked voice giggle in her head, “unwise to go upstairs, teacher.”
and so she stayed on the same floor. she had taken five steps in before a blue boy had appeared before her, a bored expression across his face. his mullet was a mess and he glowed. 
“teacher! you stopped cowering with the two in the other classroom, huh?”
she looked at the boy in annoyance. what did he mean by cowering? joyce bit her tongue and gulped, “i heard one of my student’s scream and i’ve set out to find her.”
“i see... regrettably,” he spoke lowly, “that won’t be possible. this school exists in a nexus where multiple dimensions overlap. it’s a single closed space in a sea of closed spaces. in other words, even though you may be in the same school as your screaming student, you and her occupy different dimensions... which means you two can never meet.”
“if one of you should die, perhaps your body... or spirit may move from one space to another... you can find a way of traversing the planes freely as they do,” ms. byers didn’t know why but the way the boy spoke the word they, sent a chill running down her back. the blue boy continued to talk to her, “consider this fair warning: even if you should find the exact spot from which your student’s screams emanated... she herself may not be there and if she’s not there’s not a thing you can do about.”
the boy spoke smugly but there was no indication in his expression that he meant to be. joyce’s eyes were filling up with tears of desperation, “but i heard her scream!”
“it is true other children have arrived here not long ago and by all appearances seem to be your students,” the boy shrugged, “but as i explained, time and space is fragmented here and it doesn’t behave like you assume — you say you heard a scream. that may have taken place a few minutes ago or perhaps in another space hours previous or maybe an echo from the future, who’s to say. or maybe with the phenomenon as it is; it’s possible two closed spaces can have some influence on each other.”
the young woman had clenched her teeth. this young boy was doing her head in. all she wanted was to find eleven and verify her safety, “it doesn’t matter! i can’t go on and ignore an antagonising scream like that! step aside!”
she charged at him and he disappeared. ms. byers had missed the glowering expression he gave her. she had looked around the room for any clues or hints that her student was near but to no avail. as she went to leave the classroom, a supernatural force pull her back in, slamming the door fast. materialising in front of her was the same boy she had just talked to except her glowed red with nothing but malice and hate in his lifeless eyes.
“step aside?! why don’t you fuck off!” his voice was now no longer monotone, but angry at her. the ground had started to shake once again. too focused on the earthquake, ms byers had failed to notice the shelf filled with cutting supplies slowly falling towards her body. the shelf itself was too heavy with the combined force of wat was pushing it down and so it caused her to topple too.
she felt the bones in her back all crack at once and her skin was being sliced. was it the scissors or the scalpels or the glass that was worse? she couldn’t tell it was all too painful to bear. the angry teen started to talk again, “in all the world, the most vile and untrustworthy are you schoolteachers. all you give a shit about is your own well-being! you’re not worried about your students! you’re just worried about being held responsible if something should happen to them!”
joyce couldn’t worry about his rant, only how much the weight was hurt her, “youre all the same... every single one of you! and i won’t be taken in by your lies!”
this caught her attention. taken in by lies? 
“when you see a problem among your kids, you just keep your distance because you sure wouldn’t want to get involved! have to keep up appearances, right? you just pick out the problem children and chip away at them until they drop out or get expelled! you’re not disciplining them — you’re just raging at them! there’s no teacher ever that’s actually cared about their students!” 
with what little energy she had, ms byers spoke up bravely, “-you’re... you’re wrong.” 
this angered him more and the weight on her back grew more heavier, she let out a yelp of pain as he continued raging, “all of your students are destined to starve to death here if they don’t succumb to this hellhole and kill everyone! it’s the only possible outcome. they’ll all die meaningless deaths like me! and they won’t be thinking of you when they take their final breaths i’ll even pass on a message as they die so — any last words?”
the woman used her energy to glare up at him menacingly, “d...don’t touch those children.”
the teen boy snorted than laughed maniacally like she’d said the most wicked joke, “come again.”
“spare my students... please don’t hurt them.” for some reason this angered him more and more, “please! i beg of you don’t harm a hair on their... goddamn... heads.”
her voice faded out but her thoughts didn’t. 
please please be safe, my sweet students.
  richie had finally stopped looking at the door to turn and look at y/n. minutes had passed and no sign of eleven or ms byers could be seen. y/n suddenly stood up, legs wobbling slightly but nonetheless she bravely stood, walking to the door.
“we have to go find ms. byers.” she mumbled. she soundly drained and tired.
“no way, ms. byers said stay here so—”
“we have to go find ms. byers!” her tone caused richie to flinch, “i just have a bad feeling... we gotta go search for ms. byers.” 
the boy sighed and shook his head.
“fucks sake, fine. but we leave a note for her. do you have pen and paper?” y/n produced a pen but shook her head without any paper. richie messily written a note on the teachers desk and sighed again, “alright lets get the fuck out of here.”
this was so long holy fuck-
anyways i finished writing this at 1am and i’ve scared myself writing so congrats! here’s chapter two! and if you want to be apart of the tag list, i ask or just like the post i made abt it or if i forgot you please tell me oksejhdhdhd
taglist — @dovageidys @the-internet-is-a-scary-place @schwankyblock @musicalsandbooks 
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pkmntrainergreyze · 6 years ago
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You. Alone (Gerard Way Imagine)
Continuation of this imagine: https://urietarded-boyd.tumblr.com/post/163861624236/there-might-be-something-across-the-booth-gerard
Warning ⚠: This short story includes stalking and kidnapping. If you find those topics sensitive I highly suggest you skip this oneshot
The more he inched closer to peak into (Y/n)'s window, the more fogged up the glass became.
Gerard's glove-less hands trembled as the cold began forming icecaps in his nails. The poor clothing decisions sprang more evident when he realized the neighbors could see his black plastered form in a cherry rooftop, but right now, he couldn't care less. 
The red haired boy's nostrils flared in her scent, he was diving through her silky (h/c) locks. Though truth be told, his delusions is far from the cold, damp reality.
Mindlessly, he began drawing the figure inside, gaze barely faltering on his muse. She has his mother's eyes.
Meanwhile, (Y/n) indulged herself in the snacks that scattered her bed. Netflix was turned on and filtered in the (genre) section. She lived in a world so unaware, a blessing for the man outside and a curse in her near future.
Who cares if Frank called dibs on her on seventh grade?
He wouldn't take care of her like he would.
He thought to scoot closer, to add details to the sketch's lashes. But as soon as he left a toe out a loud squeak echoed.
She blinked to his direction.
His dark chocolate pupils blew moon-sized. He scurried to flatten his back down to hide, breathing heavily. He hoped to God she hadn't seen a glimpse of him.
For a boy out in a -7° December night with nothing but his skeleton printed jacket and pajamas, he sure felt bubbly lukewarm inside at the thought of (Y/n) thinking about him, in the dead of the night— no, the objective is to NOT to be seen! Damn it Gerard!
With that, the windows bursted open, with a perplexed girl bobbing her head out. She seemed agitated while she looked outside.
Nothing.
"Geez" She pouted and shrugged the weight off her chest.
One cannot simply flop to their bed knowing the slightest chance of having a stalker outside. So she retreated back to her windows and sealed it shut, and draped the red curtains like how they end a show.
But it was far from over.
The stage was set, and the microphone had never looked so lonely in her life. Yet she couldn't seem to inch closer to accompany it. Her feet seem to stub if she tried to move closer.
Instead, she stepped back and sat to the farthest seat, scoffing and cursing at the obstacles preventing her access to the front row.
A brunette was beside her, crunching tacos. The scent was so spread out she could sniff the fresh vegetables without effort. She felt something light fell on her foot. Something very green. She was about to turn and scold whoever ruined the mood. Who would put so much lettuce on their tacos?!
Oh, hello Tyler Joseph.
He's the singer of twentyonepilots, and also one of Miss Flack's students. He's not the most favorite, but he couldn't be categorized as a teacher's pet either. He attend the same music class, and when he does he's silently taking notes in the corner. They talk sometimes, but for the most part her cousin Josh is around to start the conversation. Without the dandelion-coloured boy, the topic would solely be about music sheets, his parents at school, or his brothers.
Which happens once a month.
She shut her mouth tight. Tyler seemed obscure from her exasperation however, as he continued to chew rather loudly. She cleared her throat and he looked at her with a inquirer's nod.
She paused for a moment, eyes glued on the chipped food as she spoke "Aren't you supposed to cover Twist And Shout after Pierce The Veil?"
Tyler squeaked and jumped. A landslide of taco chunks fell to the ground. Some of condiments fell on (Y/n)'s shoes as well. The two gawked, it took quite a while before an explosion of apologies bursted from Tyler's mouth.
She inevitably facepalmed.
"Imsosorry!!!"
"It's fine Tyler" She forgave him once again "a little vegetable wouldn't hurt anyone"
She never mentioned an as I told you, she haven't noticed that she had it in her to be so patient.
He stared at his own unstained pair of shoes, avoiding eye contact.
(Wasn't the saying supposed to be water?)
"Are you here to watch Frank's band?" Once Tyler asked the question, a mental image of the guitarist jumping around resurfaced inside her head. She nodded, with a Cheshire grin.
"Hell yeah!–well, and yours too"
He nodded back and chewed his taco slowly, eyes roaming around the gymnasium.
"Also, where's Josh? I saw Miss Flack's trying to find him to set up the drum kit"
"Probably with Brendon" He rolled his eyes and snarled "having a good time"
At a split second, she saw Tyler's right eye twitch. This time he devoured his food rather harsher, and rather than his usual soothing voice she received quite a feral bark. She decided it's best not to push him further.
As the silence resumes, his dinner did the same. She boredly stared at the stage, both nervous and excited about her friend's performance as if it was her own. Both have mutual feelings about that microphone, yet one had it more repressed than the other.
They just sat, undisturbed.
Well, until Mark— Tyler's best friend— rushed over with an unlaced shoe flying out, nearly hitting (Y/n).
Like any other calm, a storm arises. Mark entered, his shoe flying out like a stray bullet. As she looked down she noticed the last of his blue shoes were unlaced. If he had been a little more careful then the chances of her landing on Dream world would be very thin. He stood there, unapologetic, agitated.
"Josh has been gone for 13 minutes Tyler!" He yelled, forcefully grabbing Tyler's shoulder and shaking it, making it seem like a seizure than a wake-up call. Tyler can be heard muttering questions, too bad Mark's roars outnumbered his "Where the heck is he?!"
In the midst of a misunderstanding and choking noises, the faintest sound of bells and chimes resonated from your pocket. Her cellphone kept vibrating, screaming for her to take it. When she did fished it out, Mark managed to stop himself from committing a murder.
She pointed to her phone, then the backdoor. Mark sheepishly told her to continue after nodding in understanding. Tyler took it as an opportunity to strip himself a breath. (Y/n) walked out of the door, leaning her back
Maybe she should have helped Tyler regain his breathing, get to know Mark better, and stayed safe in general.
She tapped twice and saw the caller's ID. The string of numbers did not belong to he contacts, nor her history of blocked spam numbers. She furrowed her eyebrows in irritation. Great, another one of those you won a hundred thousand dollars, just give us your address, credit card and other bullshit!
As she tapped the green phone icon, she schemed a way to deal with the... transaction.
Once she slid her fingers to answer the phone, there was no turning back.
"Hello?" She tried to hide her groan, she really did to play safe in case it was her mom, but the guttering sound reached her throat.
"Good evening (Y/n)!" The voice chirped. Gerard? Hmm, when did she gave him her number. Well, he is Frank's friend after all. Doesn't change the fact it feels strange to hear his voice on the phone...
"Um, is this Gerard?" She chuckled and the voice didn't return the happy echoes. 
"I have Josh with me"
The voice dropped dead. And there it was again, the feeling of being watched. Her laughter came to a stop. Her paranoia was toggled on. She gasped slightly.
"If you want to get him, go to the boiler room"
You furrowed your eyebrows. Can't Tyler do that instead? He is the one that should be looking for him in the first place.
"I'll call Ty—"
"No"
(Y/n) turned perplexed. She mimicked his word without breath.
"I want you"
"You. Alone"
Click.
The call was over.
Her breath hitched and body rigid. She clinged to her phone, uneasy. Hell, kind of conversation was that? It sounded psychotic, but she has no evidence to make it valid. It's just small talk. Small talk that made her feel uncomfortable. Strange, it's not like the quiet young raven haired artist gave a death threat.
But it doesn't seem harmless either.
She sighed, shaking. Where was the boiler room again? Beside the janitor's closet? No, that's class 304.
She shook her head. It's probably under the gym.
Her footsteps echoed throughout the hall. It was noiseless. As she furthered down the boiler, sweat balled down her forehead. She isn't even feeling the heat just yet, making her sweat cold, fear induced.
It's just Gerard. He's harmless.
Right?
Dang it. The hell is Josh doing on the boiler room with Gerard anyways? Why does she have to fetch him? He's a grown man with two feet.
Fuck, did he sprain an ankle again—
Boiler Room.
The words were carved in metal, or painted wood. She stood in front of it, reluctantly opening the door.
There stood a sable haired boy, wearing a red bandana and a lustrous leather jacket. It was just him.
Gerard alone.
"Where's Josh?" She held the doorknob firmly. One foot in the boiler room and one foot out the door. Gerard stared at her eyes, too long for her taste. When she was about to snap him he broke out of the trance himself. He fumbled to reach a tablet behind him and passed it to her.
Her heart dropped to the floor along with her jaw.
A man she hoped wasn't her cousin was tied down. She was all too familiar to figure out it was one of the school's student chairs. If it was possible to gawk even further she would have a heart attack after seeing Josh's figure tattered in bruises and knife deep cuts. He was stained in brown, dried blood from oxidation.
If Tyler was here, he would say he'd rather have Josh ignore him for a week than see him like this.
"W-was it you?!" She looked at Gerard, eyes wide and awoken by the bitterest truth of what was in front of her. A monster.
Gerard gazed back, stoic. She could feel the remorse-less Gerard felt without fitting his shoes— and she was utterly digusted. She want to vomit at his leather jacket, or alternatively, lunge forward and choke him for this sick prank.
Yet the opposite can be said for him. The ugly emotions that broke her made her the most beautiful woman to walk on earth. Oh, he was having a good time.
"Y-You..." Both words and emotions piled up in her throat, asking permission to slip out. When she did, the invisible hand that choked her finally left her be "Y-You psychopath!"
"Well I'd consider you a fool if you didn't notice" Gerard scoffed, amused.
(Y/n)'s nose scrunched at this, unable to comprehend how the man before her made it sound like antisocial personality disorder is okay.
Gerard folded his arms and raised his chin, snickering faintly.
(Y/n) looked back at the tablet, hands shaking "Josh, is that you?"
Josh moved, mumbling words similar to white noise. "(Y/n)?"
She froze in disbelief.
"You're a smart girl, you know what I'm about to say next"
There are multiple possibilities, and the obvious one is the one who desperately cleave to be wrong. She shook her head, groaning on the mental pain he had caused her.
But what else does her stalker want from her?
He stared at her, with patient eyes that dared to command her to say something.
Out of both fear and naivety, she did.
"You... want me to date you" She sobbed "for Josh to be free?"
Gerard sighed, staring at the ground. This time, instead of her own impulse, she felt his disappointment.
But why? What's with the sudden shift in the atmosphere?
"You flatter yourself too much"
What?
He chuckled "Ahh, just kidding. Yes. That's correct"
With that, the shift came to be consumed by the side she wished hadn't won.
Despair.
This 'man' just played with her emotions like strings in a puppet.
She can't remove her eyes on the tablet. It was the exact opposite of love at first sight— the deranged brother of it.
It's twisted. Too catatonic and too callous.
"Soooo..." He drags in, making (Y/n) jump. He bobbed his head in her shoulder and peaks in to see the light in those (e/c) eyes drain "what's it gonna be?"
Neither.
Josh has been with her since thick and thin. The man whom she wished was her brother instead of a cousin that visits her every weekend will die.
The boy that knows her darkest secrets.
"I'm..."
The brother who continues to support her.
"I'm yours"
The man that tried to get rid of Gerard Arthur Way last night.
Gerard grinned, so wide he might as well cut off his cheeks. He rushed towards her, pulling her tighter. He finally breathed into her scent. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
Is the same man she saved with her decision.
He can finally make up for the time his family did not appreciate him. All the support he didn't got. All the jealousy he built up after hearing his mother shower his brother with compliments.
His dream just became a reality.
But it costed (Y/n)'s sanity.
This isn't what her parents have taught her about love. This isn't her mom's bed time stories or the Disney princess collection CDs her dad brought home. Love is mature. It's about trust and the feeling of security and lasts for what her classmates do not believe in; forever.
And most especially, it's not a choice.
She can't just go and say from the bottom of your heart that she'll love this monstrosity for the rest of her life.
That is ill
But if going out with a man like him is what people think makes up the definition of love.
Then they don't believe in love.
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trade-windss-blog · 5 years ago
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5 Top Fashion Trends for Working Women
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So let’s talk about us working ladies! While we all love to feel empowered from working, we also want to look fashionable as well. Feeling confident in the work place keeps us all motivated and wanting to do our best. In todays day and age, looking presentable at a job is a must; it is what sets us from everyone else around us. These are some of our favorite trends that are taking center stage in the working world this year!
1. Blazer and Biker Shorts
Biker shorts have come into trend in all fields of fashion: the workout world, the working world, and in the world of leisure wear. These shorts will keep you both comfortable and breezy on hot days, especially paired with a blazer. While this trend may have been seen to be inappropriate in the work environment years ago, women are now adding these fun shorts to every part of their life. This look will help you stand out in a drab office and catch everyone’s attention! You can also add fun accessories to the look like a hat or fanny pack!
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Shop Similar Looks:
https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/1129728/ATM_Anthony_Thomas_Melillo/ribbed-stretch-micro-modal-shorts
https://www.zara.com/us/en/blazer-with-flap-pockets-p07831703.html?v1=24575006&gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpWzXh80TIeGtM5QxckVkoP8uhGN2u3CEAcP4Hauk-p-M5RqZ3fLwdhoCO7EQAvD_BwE
2. Statement Sleeves
Adding a bold top to any outfit is sure to make it a hit; you can dress up any old boring outfit with some statement sleeves! While this trend may seem daunting to try out, it displays both confidence and self assurance which are two attributes that are important to exhibit in the working world!
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Shop These Looks:
https://www.shopbop.com/limits-top-keepsake/vp/v=1/1583783106.htm
https://www.ammaranyc.com/products/cady
3. Animal Print
All types of animal print are trending in the fashion world today, especially snake skin, cheetah, and zebra. These prints are sure to add a fun twist to any boring work outfit. These patterns can be incorporated into an outfit in numerous ways: accessories and clothing pieces!
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Shop Similar Looks:
https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=470850002&CAWELAID=120280880002742136&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=59544516397&CATCI=pla-531501976218&tid=gppl000013&kwid=1&ap=7&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpacTqCmUSQQspS4lpMYaN3WWruZcPutQWpGzOH9707wFnCfAYTvawRoCACkQAvD_BwE#pdp-page-content
https://www.express.com/clothing/women/mid-rise-leopard-denim-mini-skirt/pro/08218278/color/Leopard/?rx_channel=search&channel=search&merchantId=41548191&programId=103302247&affiliateId=101184100&gclsrc=aw.ds&&mrkgcl=638&mrkgadid=3334455428&CID=SEM_Goo-PLA-W-Pse-Qualified-Retail-93-000-Skirts-US-Product-NA&SearchID=Goo-PLA-W-Pse-Qualified-Retail-93-000-Skirts-US-Product-NA&product_id=18929102&adpos=1o1&creative=340384942748&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpUgeQU-Zhtzz-7xx12I8-R6R3OJmgOY9bLcRtP90rCm8g1fkaLkn3hoCxcMQAvD_BwE
https://www.missguidedus.com/pink-co-ord-double-breasted-oversized-blazer-10154897
Another fun way to incorporate animal print into your life is through your nails! If you are not comfortable with wearing an animal print clothing item or accessory to work, animal print nails are a subtle way to try out this trend. These black cheetah print ones are perfect!
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4. Pastel Suites
Pastel colors are a perfect edition to any typical suite style! Most people tend to stick to neutral colors: black, grey, and navy for work. However, by adding a fun color into your typical working wardrobe, you are sure to spice up your office life. These colors will brighten up everyones day and add a sense of fun and creativity to your work environment!
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Shop Similar Looks:
http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=*2nGiS3mv0Y&mid=24449&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.net-a-porter.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Fproduct%2F991214&u1=4184906281
http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=*2nGiS3mv0Y&mid=24449&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.net-a-porter.com%2Fproduct%2F991216&u1=4184906637
http://us.boohoo.com/FZZ90745-106-22.html?istCompanyId=01d65556-4f22-4399-8cd4-462178316f86&istFeedId=28674ef0-6e01-441e-8b37-02671375abe1&istItemId=wamtqilri&istBid=t&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpWa155ydf_s7YEQ5E8Ac2RBZ-EdSILadltDJ8MKJNrZF8xGY6aiiXxoC8VwQAvD_BwE
This fun scrunchie is also great to add to a more neutral outfit! It will add a subtle hint of color without being over the top.
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5. Trousers with Sneakers
This new trend may be seen as casual and unprofessional, however; with the right statement sneaker, you can make this look work appropriate! The biggest perk to this trend is the comfort! Wearing sneakers all day don't only keep your feet comfortable but you also look cute and stylish at the same time! Who wouldn't want to try this trend out!
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Shop Similar Styles:
http://www.pjatr.com/t/8-10217-73861-123806?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samedelman.com%2Fen-US%2FProduct%2FEC0201620-3018551%2FSam%2BEdelman%2FBlack_Ivory%2BFabric%2FMeena%2BSneaker.aspx&website=157930&sid=.Mzg5Mi0xMTUy.6b6bf8fc-d335-11e9-b266-2545b608cba3
https://us.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-sneakers-in-white-with-chunky-sole/prd/12404769?&channelref=product+search&mk=abc&currencyid=2&ppcadref=1722959417%7C70573377059%7Caud-797485906532:pla-651792036905%26browseCountry%3DUS&affid=14174&_cclid=Google_CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpe2Ynwb85DLYE5GezlQHwrt3pVPaV_NBA1NP1h6TpvNS0i3tywzXXhoCKhMQAvD_BwE&channelref=product+search&mk=abc&ppcadref=1722959417|70573377059|aud-797485906532:pla-651792036905&gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpe2Ynwb85DLYE5GezlQHwrt3pVPaV_NBA1NP1h6TpvNS0i3tywzXXhoCKhMQAvD_BwE
Overall, these trends offer both a sense of fun and excitement into your working wardrobe! They will be sure to help keep you motivated and may even cause for you to enjoy getting ready in the morning! I don't know about you but we are all so excited to try these trends out in our lives! How do you all feel? Would you try these looks out in your work environment as well?!
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majingojira · 6 years ago
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Monsters of the 20th Century
I had this odd notion.  A (brief) analysis of the origin of various supernatural creatures, as I wondered what ‘new’ monsters/supernatural beings had been created in the 20th century (roughly).   I’ve completed some of the research, and I’d like to share it with you all.  I’m also gonna tag @tyrantisterror because he is one of the more knowledgable people about monsters I know about on tumblr and I’m sure he can correct me a bunch in this!
1. Frankenstein - 1817 - The oldest literary monster and outgrowth of the concept of the Homunculus and Golem as an artificial being.  So pervasive is its reach, western ideas of Tulpa are tainted by it (every time you read about a tulpa ‘going out of control’, that is the influence of Frankenstein). 
2. Dinosaurs - The Dragons of the age of science entered pop culture in 1854 at the latest with the opening of the Crystal Palace Park.  Other prehistoric animals had captured people’s imagination before, and they didn’t start to enter fiction until 1864 (”Journey to the Center of the Earth”) and a short story by C. J. Cutliffe Hyne had an ancient crocodilian in his story “The Lizard” (1898).  Ann early Lost World style adventure, “A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder” by James De Mille in 1888 has the first true dinosaurs in them.  There, Antarctica has a warm spot where prehistoric monsters and a death cult lurk.  In 1901, Frank Mackenzie Savile’s “Beyond the Great South Wall” had a Carnivorous Brontosaurs worshiped by Mayan remnants.  “Panic in Paris” by Jules Lermina had dinosaurs attack a city, but it was published first in France so few saw it.  Finally, we have Conan Doyle in 1912 with “The Lost World” which solidified dinosaurs as a thing in fiction. 
3. The Evolved Man/Mutants - After “The Origin of Species” is published, it wasn’t long until Evolved Men or Mutants started showing up in fiction. “The Coming Race” and (1871), “The Great Romance” (1881).   They are generally big-headed and often have ESP of some sort.  In “Media: A Tale of the Future” (1891), they can control electricity too. It wasn’t until 1928 (”The Metal Man” by Jack Williamson) that Radiation was thrown in as a cause for Mutation.  Cosmic Rays would follow in “The Man Who Evolved” by Edmond Hamilton (1931).  After that, we have “Gladiator” by Philip Gordon Wylie (1930) where we have an engineered “Evolved Man”, and “Odd John” by Olaf Stapeldon which grants us the term “Homo superior” followed by “Slan” by A.E. van Vogt which has Evolved Humans as a persecuted minority.   And with that, everything that makes the X-Men what they are is collected.
3. Man-Eating Tree - First reported in 1874, the idea of man-eating plants grew since then to encompase many monsters, but started as Folklore about ‘Darkest Africa” (Madagascar) in the New York World.  They’d print anything back then.
4. Hyde - While it is tempting to link him to Freudian Psychology, Freud did not publish his work regarding things like the Id until much later (he didn’t even coin “Psychoanalysis” until 1896).  What is springs from, I currently cannot say without more research. 
4. Robot - Though there were automata since the days of the Greeks (Talos), the first Robot in modern fiction is from “The Future Eve” by Auguste Villiers de I’lsle Adam (1886).  THough the term Robot is not invented until 1920 with “Rossum’s Universal Robots.”  They definitely offshoot from Frankenstein, but with a more mechanical bent.  
5. The Grey Alien - The modern idea of an Alien has it’s first antecedents in the 1800s.  Specifically with the essay “Man of the Year 1,000,000″ by H. G. Wells (1892-1893). He speculates what humans will evolve into, and basically invites the Gray by accident.  It wouldn’t achieve it’s alien attachments until much later.
6. Morlocks - With the Evolved Man, there is also the ‘Devolved Man’.  That is what the Morlocks are. They are, as the name implies, tied to Well’s “The Time Machine” (1895), and the word has become a catch-all for subterranean monster-men, be they Mole People, CHUDs, or straight up Demons (’GvsE’). 
7. The Martians & Their War Machines - The First Alien Invader, and the first Mecha can be traced to “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells, 1897.  Not much more to say as far as I’m aware.
8. The Mummy - The 1800s saw an Egyptian craze in England, leading to some really nasty habits (google “Mummy Powder” if you need ipecac).  1827 saw “The Mummy!: Or, a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century” which is more a bit of futurism with an ancient protagonist.  Though “Lost in the Pyramid” (1868) by Louisa May Alcott predates it, it is overshadowed by Conan Doyle’s horror story “Lot No. 249″ (1892) which has the classically animated mummy going out and killing people under control of another.  The former is a “Curse” story rather than a monster.
9. Cordyceps - Everyone these days knows the Cordyceps fungus as a great source for making zombies, and I’m lumping that fungus in with these other monsters because, well, fungus’ that take over humans is a monster of the 20th century.  Best known for Toho’s film adaptation “Matango” (1963), it is inspired by a short story from 1907 by William Hope Hodgson called “The Voice in the Night”.  There, the poor victim doesn’t realize they’ve completely become a fungus monster, acting as a warning for those near the island.    
10. Aerofauna - Conan Doyle strikes again with “The Horror of the Heights” (1912).  A pretty tight little horror story of a whole ecosystem high above our heads in the clouds.  Many a sky tentacle owes its existence to this one.
11. Lich - Possibly derived from Kosechi the Deathless of Russian folklore, the idea of undead sorcerers became a staple of the works of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smyth, dating back to 1929.  Though Gary Gigax coined the idea together for D&D and based it on Gardner Fox’s “The Sword of the Sorcerer (1969)
12. Bigfoot and The Loch Ness Monster - I lump these cryptids together, because (thanks to a ton of research by Daren Naish, Daniel Loxton,  Donald R. Prothero, and others) we can trace them back to the same source: King Kong (1933).  The idea of prehistoric animals being out in the world in hidden places goes back to Conan Doyle’s “Lost World” (1912), but Kong made it widely popular.  And between the giant ape and the Brontosaurus attack (and the timing of sightings picking up), we can blame Kong for this.
13. The Great Old Ones - Lovecraft’s primary contribution to fiction first appear in “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926) and expand upon from here.  As near as I can tell, he made a LOT of monsters.  These include “Ancient Aliens” & Shoggoths (1936 - “At the Mountains of Madness”), Gillmen (1931 - ”The Shadow over Innsmouth”), & The Colour Out of Space (1927).  14. The Thing - The Ultimate Shapeshifter.  It first appears in 1938′s “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, Jr.  Though Campbell's square-jawed heroes literally tear the Thing to bits, it reached its zenith of horror in adaptation.  I can think of no earlier shapeshifting humanoids of such variety at an earlier time, or of such fecundity. 
15. The Amazons - The Amazons do indeed come from Ancient Greece, but it was a way for the Greeks to rag on Women.  It wasn’t until later that women co-opted the image of the Amazons as a source of empowerment, and that was codified in 1942 with one character: Wonder Woman. She helped spark the Amazons further into the culture, or at least, Amazon women who have superpowers (as they did in those early stories).  From there, we get a more recent direct descendant that was part of the reason I started this list: Slayers from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
16. The Hobbit - Though ideas of ‘Wee Folk” are part of worldwide Folklore, Tolkien took them out of the realm of Faerie, and made them... idyllic middle-class Englishmen with his 1937 book of the same name.  With the Lord of the Rings following in 1954-1955.  His works also gave us other monsters and supernatural beings: Orcs, Ents, & Balrogs. 
17. Gremlins - An Evolution of the wee folk once again, this time adapted for the mechanical era and of a more malicious bent. It became slang in the 1920s, with the earliest print source being from 1929.   They were popularized by Roald Dahl in”The Gremlins” (1942).  Later they were used to vex Bugs Bunny (1943′s “Falling Hare”), and then they got their own movies in the 1980s.  The rest is history.  
18. Triffids - There are a LOT of fictional plants out there, and a lot of carnivorous ones, but the Triffids were the first to be extremely active in their pursuit of prey.  From 1952′s “Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham, the story is a keen example of the ‘Cozy Apocalypse’ common in British Fiction, sort of like the whole ‘schoolboys on a desert island make well of it’ thing that “Lord of the Flies” railed against. This paved the way for everything from Audrey II to Biollante.
19. Kaiju - 1954.  You know what this is.  Between Primordial Gods and Modern Technology, the Kaiju are born.  The difference between a Kaiju and a Giant Monster is a complex nuanced one, sort of like what makes film noir. But, in general, if the story has Anti-War, Anti-Nationalist, and/or Anti-Corporate Greed leanings, it’s probably a Kaiju movie.  If not, then it probably isn’t.
20. The Body Snatchers - Another horror of 1954 from the novel “The Body Snatchers” (1955), which includes aspects that the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” did not.  Like that the Duplicates only last 5 years and basically exist to wipe out sentient beings with each planet they infest.  Clearly drawing from the idea of the Doppelganger, these Pod People have evolved into a new form.
21. The Blob - That 1958 movie has one catchy theme song.  The whole thing was inspired by an instance of “Star Jelly” in Pennsylvania, circa 1950.  It was tempting to shift this under the Shoggoth, but I think they are distinct enough.
22. Gargoyles - Longtime architectural embellishments, they did not become their own “Being” until 1971 with “The Living Gargoyle” published in Nightmare #6.  The TV Movie “Gargoyles” came soon after in 1972, firmly establishing the monster.  Though it was likely perfected in the TV Series “Gargoyles” (1994). 
23. D&D - From 1973 Through 1977, D&D was formulated and many of its key monsters were invented.  Partly as mechanics ways to screw with players and keep things lively.  This brought us Rust Monsters (1973), Mindflayer (1974), Beholder (1975), and the Gelatinous Cube (1977). 
24. The Xenomorph - Parasitoid breeding is applied to humans to wonderfully horrible effect in the 1979 film “Alien”.  It became iconic as soon as it appeared. 
25. Slasher - The first slasher film is often considered to be ‘Psycho’ (though the Universal Mummy films beyond the first prototype the formula).  The idea of an undead revenant coming back to kill rather randomly started in the film “The Fog” (1980), but was codified by Jason Voorhees in either 1984 or 1986.   I am no expert on this one, though, so I am not fully certain.
26. The Dream Killer - Freddy Krueger first appeared as a killer in dreams in 1981, but there were other dream killers before him.  They could only kill with extreme fear, though.  Freddy got physical!  I think.  Again, more research is needed.
27. Chupacabras - This is another cryptid inspired by a movie.  In this case, “Species” (1995). No, really.  This is what it comes from.   I know a lot of these are really short down the line, but the research for this one is thorough and concise! 
28. Slender Man - The Boogieman for the Internet Age.  An icon of Creepypastas and emblem of them.
Needs More Research: The Crow/Heroic Longer-Term Revenants, Immortals as a “Group” (might go to Gulliver's Travels, but I’m trying to track Highlander here) are also on the list, but they are proving extremely difficult to research, so I thought I’d post what I have at the moment.  Shinigami might also be on the list since they are syncretic adoption of the Grim Reaper into something more.
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