#might even look for garage sales

[go-go-devil]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME 🎂🎁🎶

Normally I prefer posting my own find, but these twin gifts I received are simply too special for me not to show off!

Both of these bands have proven to be pretty damn hard to come by at any of the record stores and conventions I go to. H To He Who Am The Only One is probably my 2nd favorite Van Der Graaf Generator album behind Godbluff, and I'm glad I can finally listen to "House With No Door" and "Pioneers Over C" on something with much richer sound quality than my dinky laptop speakers

Gentlemen Take Polaroids by Japan... Great record. One of my all-time favs. But why the FUCK was it SO HARD TO FIND ANYWHERE????

I'm not just talking about searching for it at my local bumfuck joints, by now I've been to several of the most well-known record stores in every major American city I visited. For seven years now I've started asking the same question: "Do you have any albums by the band 'Japan?' They were a new wave group from the late 70's/early 80's." And the owners have ALWAYS never heard of them and ALWAYS don't have them (one exception being this weird compilation album of theirs I found in DC whom the owner also didn't know much about). My mother even had trouble ordering this one online. She told me she was only able to find a copy for sale in Hungary!

So my message to any Americans who see this is thus: Do ANY of you listen to or at least have heard of the band Japan? Are they honestly so obscure that only vinyl freaks like me have noticed their absence here? I need some closure on this T_T

[nelkcats]

Garage Sale

Well, when the Fentons decided to have a garage sale Danny didn't expect many to be interested. His parents were looking for a way to get money quickly to build more stuff, and he jokingly suggested they could sell some inventions, they took it seriously (Jazz made sure to remove all the lethal inventions, she tried with the ones that might be risky but then they wouldn't sell anything).

Danny knew his parents were strange yes, but he wasn't sure that justified millionaires in his backyard. Millionaires, he'd like to clarify, had never set foot in Amity Park before. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Bruce Wayne and his sons checking out the appliances. None of them seemed to be interested in the "ghosts" but they hadn't backed down from taking some things either.

So yes, Danny was suspicious. Of course he had made sure the inventions in the sale were safe (although unlike Jazz, he simply decided to make them safe, a few modifications here and there), but the fact that they looked genuinely interested made him uneasy.

Were the Waynes interested in hunting ghosts?

He decided to try something, he crossed eyes with one of them and let his green eyes show before looking away, the boy looked alarmed. He approached him and asked, but Danny feigned ignorance, commenting that all the inventions were green and maybe he had been confused by the reflection (to be fair, most of his parents' inventions were green because of the ecto).

For his part, Bruce had received an alert from Justice League Dark, it seemed they had detected a strange energy, similar to magic, so the bats set out to investigate. They didn't expect to find a garage sale in a house in the middle of nowhere (Amity Park wasn't even marked on the fucking map). Nor did they expect advanced technology or mad scientists.

Bruce decided to pretend he had stumbled into town as "Brucie Wayne" and buy a few things. He shuddered to see that many inventions worked with Lazarus water. Jason, who had strangely agreed to come along, was also upset about the son of the scientists.

Bruce questioned whether he had found a family of villains in the making.

[mixsethaddams]

Eddie forgets it’s Valentine’s Day until the literal moment he pulls into the parking lot outside of Steve’s job to pick him up after his shift. The big banner in the window offering their February 14th special offers nearly sent him into cardiac arrest.

It was too late now to flip it into reverse and speed to the nearest garage and buy the first box of candy he could find; Steve had spotted him through the window and was already waving at him. Eddie usually arrived a few minutes early but he got caught up staring through the window at the music store downtown. There was an acoustic guitar he was saving up for on display. It would take him almost a year to get there on his current budget, but he was determined. Now that Eddie thought about it, there was definitely some pink ribbon hanging in that window today. He cursed himself again, realising he must’ve seen a million other literal red flags throughout the day that he’d ignored.

“Think, Munson, think….” Eddie grumbled to himself, wringing his hands around the steering wheel with white knuckles.

Steve was walking towards the van now, and the small red gift bag in his hand killed any hope Eddie might have had that he’d forgotten too.

“Happy Valentine’s, Eds,” said Steve brightly as he hopped into the passenger seat, handing over the bag.

Eddie looked into it and found an assortment of a few of his favourite things. A heavy metal magazine, red twizzlers, a pack of smokes, even some new guitar strings. Ah shit, this was perfect. Eddie felt like hell.

“You don’t have the right guitar for those yet though,” Steve pointed out and sure enough, on closer inspection they were nylon acoustic strings and not the steel kind Eddie used for his electric guitar.

“That’s ok it’s not- Wait, yet?” asked Eddie.

Steve looked giddy as he handed over a piece of paper. It was a receipt of sale and Eddie gawped at it in silence for almost a full five minutes. Steve bought him the guitar he’s been staring at in the window. The note on the bottom said he could pick it up tomorrow.

“This is for-”

“Sure is”

“-that I’ve wanted for months-”

“Sure have”

“-is this for real?”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Yes Eddie it’s for real,” said Steve with a sigh. “You’ve been talking about that thing in your sleep, figured this might make you shut up about it,”

“I will never shut up about this,” said Eddie, still staring at the receipt.

Another moment passed and Steve very politely and gently cleared his throat. Eddie snapped back to reality. Steve’s eyes went wide as Eddie kicked into action. He pulled his jacket off his shoulders and threw it at him. He reached down and tugged his shoes off, threw them at Steve too. All the rings on his hands came next, then his belt, and the keys for the van hit Steve squarely in the chest with a light thud.

“Take it,” he mumbled, adding his socks to the growing pile on Steve’s lap. “All of it,”

Steve let out a confused laugh.

“Eddie what the hell are you doing?” he asked, incredulous.

“You can have the trailer too,” said Eddie, fishing candy wrappers from his pockets and deciding if they were Steve worthy. “Wayne will understand,”

Steve laughed properly now.

“What are you talking about, baby?”

“This!” shrieked Eddie, now halfway out of his t-shirt, waving around the receipt for the guitar. “I can’t compete with this! I can’t give you anything like this, so just-” Eddie’s voice got muffled as his shirt got stuck over his head. “-take everything,”

He flung the piece of clothing and Steve’s head and started to unzip his jeans.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” said Steve, shaking with laughter now as he grabbed Eddie’s wrist. “Put your clothes back on, this isn’t a competition,”

“You’re only saying that because you won,” said Eddie with narrowed eyes.

Steve began to hand Eddie back all the things that had been hurled at him over the last frantic few minutes.

“I don’t need anything from you,” said Steve softly. “Especially not week-old candy wrappers,”

Eddie snatched back his socks.

“I don’t….” He said, embarrassed. “I don’t have anything though…”

Steve chuckled.

“So you can buy me dinner instead,” he told Eddie, reaching over to squeeze his thigh. “Now hurry up and take the rest of your shit back so you can bring me home,”

Eddie nodded solemnly and took each item back as it was given to him. He slipped his t shirt back over his head and when he looked at Steve for the last of his rings, he was holding Eddie’s favourite skull ring between his fingers. It was the only one that was big enough to fit Steve. A plan formed quickly, so organically that Eddie was shocked it hadn’t occurred to him before right now. It…was perfect honestly. It wasn’t like he’d never thought about it before, it just never felt like a good time and… Oh yeah, this was definitely the excuse he needed to just do it

“How ‘bout you keep that one, at least?” suggested Eddie. “Make me feel like I’m not a total failure today,”

“You’re not a failure,” said Steve, rolling his eyes again. “But fine, yes, I’m keeping this one,”

Eddie smiled and held out his hand to take one of Steve’s.

“Well then allow me,” he said, taking the ring. Steve offered up his right hand, and Eddie promptly swatted it away. “Other one,”

Steve’s eyebrow raised higher as he hesitantly gave Eddie his left hand.

“Seriously?” asked Steve, suspicious and amused.

“Unless you’d prefer the right hand?”

“No, no, left works,” said Steve quickly, taking his hand back to wipe off any sweat onto his jeans.

Steve shook out his hand and quickly smoothed down his hair. He plucked a stray starburst wrapper from his shoulder and flicked it to the ground. He settled himself comfortably facing Eddie and placed his left hand in Eddie’s waiting palm.

Eddie slotted the ring onto Steve’s third finger and gave it a little pat once it rested snugly against his knuckle, before bringing it up to his mouth and kissing it. A tiny squeak escaped Steve’s mouth.

“How’s that?” asked Eddie with a smile.

“Just what I wanted,” said Steve, looking like he was on cloud nine, and leaning over to kiss him.

[bluecollarmcandtf]

Which one do you want?

Just off a quiet highway somewhere in the Midwest, you might see James advertising my new product. He used to own this car dealership with his wife, but she's long gone. James hasn't thought about her since I pulled out my pendulum and put him in a trance. He just spends his days standing on the side of the road holding up that sign like I told him to.

You can see I marked him at 40 bucks, which is well over what he's worth, but I like to keep him around to advertise and flag down potential customers. His abs are visible even in the rain, and the neon underwear I put him in is sure to catch every driver's eye.

If you pull into my dealership, I'd be happy to show you my selection you can choose from...

Tyler, here, used to be my brother-in-law, but my sister dumped him real fast after she found the guy was a cheater. Since, he wasn't family anymore, I had no reason not to hypnotize every thought out of his head.

She has no idea I did this to her ex, but it won't hurt to have Tyler out of the picture for good. I like to give him a little punch in the gut every time I pass. It's my form of ongoing payback. He only ever reacts with a stifled groan since his mind is mush, but it's still cathartic to see him in pain.

Tyler will probably go fast since he's so traditionally handsome, but the vengeful part of me hopes a more sadistic client will take him off my hands.

Next is Caesar. This guy used to work at the auto garage next door, but when I saw him I knew I had to have him. He put on a real tough guy act when I introduced myself, but a pudgy working man like him should act accordingly in my opinion.

After introducing his gaze to my pendulum, he practically fell into my arms. I had my fun warping Ceasar's personality to be more like that of a submissive dog, but even that got a bit old. Sure, I made him love and cuddle me like the perfect partner, but he tracked mud everywhere and he always seemed to stink.

I hope whoever pays for him doesn't mind always telling the oaf to hose himself down every once in awhile. I suppose they could just use Ceasar for the cheap manual labor and just forget about his hygiene entirely.

This is Mike. He's a real piece of trash. I caught him trying to steal one of my cars in the middle of the night. He sure was shocked when my army of hypnotized hunks ran out and apprehended him, per my command.

He might look mean, but trust me, Mike's been thoroughly hypnotized and broken in just like every other dude on this lot. He wouldn't be standing there holding that 'For Sale' sign all day if he weren't!

Now, I know that his lack of hair might be a turn off for a lot of folks, so I'm willing to go down on the price. 20 dollars is already pretty low, but I want to make sure you all can afford your own hypnotized hunk. It's not like it's too difficult for me to go out and find a couple more idiots to fill their place. Hell, if you really need it, I might sell you a guy for a dollar!

This boy in blue is Lt. O'Riley. I don't know what his full name is. I'm just going off what it says on his badge. Now, I know that hypnotizing an officer of the law is risky, but O'Riley was being a real pain in my neck, always poking his nose in my business.

I hypnotized his partner too.

I think that guy's name was Brooks or something, but he was real ugly. I would've never been able to sell his fat ass, so I had him hand over his police uniform and turned him into my handyman, who's meant to be neither seen nor heard. He wears an old pair of dirty coveralls now and takes care of all the maintenance work. He's probably off scrubbing my housing from top to bottom right now since it's the middle of the day.

You could do that to officer O'Riley too, if you want, or maybe you keep that precious uniform on him. It's up to you.

This last guy is Don, and I know what you're going to say! I'm a little light on product at the moment, but don't worry.

I'm planning on driving into town real soon and restocking. Maybe I'll grab a few more officers this time. The police department is right down the street from that Halloween store. I could grab a couple more cops and put them in some stupid costumes.

Customers love a themed product, right?

Anyways, Don here didn't do anything to piss me off. He actually stopped in after seeing the sign. He wanted to purchase one of my brainless studs and pimp him out to all his friends for cheap cash. I liked the idea, but Don was far too handsome to just walk off my lot.

I offered to give him a tutorial of my hypnosis, and the guy naively agreed. His car has been collecting dust in the back ever since, and he's been added into the lineup of hot men standing for sale.

So, please come by if you're interested in taking any of these guys on a test drive! Let me know which one sparks your interest!

No need to be nervous.....unless you're a handsome man yourself. Then I might just have to use my pendulum on you!

[frostbytemyrik]

Danny Phantom Required* Watching

*It isn't actually required. I know there are a ton of phans who have never even seen a single episode of the show, but it's a fun watch and I would recommend at least catching some.

Sorting the episodes into colors (with the first letter in parenthesis by the title for those who might be too colorblind to tell). Note that this is all just my objective opinion, and everyone is free to leave their own thoughts on this!

Green (G) - Introduction of an important character or major plot development, such as a new power for Danny or another major shift in the status quo. If you can only watch a few of the episodes, watch these.

Pink (P) - Introduction of a side character or minor plot development.

Red (R) - Introduction of a new character worth mentioning or other general status quo change, but the episode is generally considered to be...not great by most people. (But hey, nothing wrong with liking these episodes!) They'll be summarized at the bottom of each episode description for those who can't be bothered to watch them.

Blue (B) - Nothing important happens to the overall plot, but it's a fun episode that fleshes out the characters.

Season 1

Episode 1: Mystery Meat (R) - Establishes the show and its main characters: Danny, Sam, and Tucker, as well as a lot of other important characters such as the Fenton parents and Jazz, and minor recurring characters like Dash and the Lunch Lady. The writers are still getting their footing so the main trio is unfortunately among the flattest they get here.

Episode 2: Parental Bonding (P) - Introduction of Paulina and Dora, first look at Valerie, and most importantly, Danny's power to overshadow people. Fun episode in general, Tucker makes a weird comment at the start but this is one of Sam's absolute best episodes as a character. (Tucker and Sam actually getting to be fun characters instead of just "butt-monkey comic relief" and "selfish asshole" is rarer than I'd like, so I always like pointing out the episodes where they get some love.)

Episode 3: One of a Kind (G) - Introduction of Skulker, a recurring major antagonist, and his motivations.

Episode 4: Attack of the Killer Garage Sale (P) - Introduction of Technus, Ghost Master of Technology and Destroyer of Worlds, Manipulator of Machines, Lord of all Gadgetry, Wizard of Integrated Circuitry, Master of All Things Electronic and Beeping.

Episode 6: What You Want (P) - First appearance of Danny's Ghost Ray and introduction to Desiree and the Ghost Catcher (a Fenton device with an unfortunately rather...culturally insensitive name and design), explores Tucker and his relationship to Danny. I went back and forth between making this green and pink because I'm biased in my love for this episode, but it isn't necessary to comprehend later episodes. (If you can watch it, though, it's a lot of fun as we get to see how close Danny and Tucker are and how Tucker feels about Danny's powers.)

Episode 7: Bitter Reunions (G) - Formal introduction to main series antagonist, Vlad Masters, and his relationship with the Fentons and the ghosts of the Ghost Zone. (Antisemitism tw: Vlad has hired ghost hitmen that are vultures with Yiddish accents, hooked beaks, and fezzes. They thankfully don't show up anywhere else, as far as I can remember.)

Episode 8: Prisoners of Love (P) - Introduction to the Ghost Zone itself and Walker, a side antagonist. Shows Alicia, Danny and Jazz's maternal aunt who never appears again after this episode.

Episode 9: My Brother's Keeper (G) - Gives Jazz a focus and formally makes her a major player in the plot through a certain discovery she makes. Also introduces side antagonist Dr. Penelope Spectra.

Episode 10: Shades of Gray (G) - Valerie Gray, a background character from Episode 2, gets new motivations and becomes an important part of the series going forward.

Episode 11: Fanning the Flames (P) - Ember is introduced, and she hypnotizes the entire town to fall for her with her music. To keep Danny out of her hair, she makes him fall for Sam. Whether this episode is a Pink or a Red depends on whether or not that bothers you. (Racism tw: there's a sequence towards the end of the episode that shows people around the world watching Ember, and they're all very stereotyped appearances of Japanese, Eastern European, Arabian, and Indigenous Australian people. Thanks, Hartman.)

Episode 12: Teacher of the Year (B) - A fun episode with Technus. It does have some of that early 2000s "don't underestimate me because I'm a girl" stuff, but it's still a good episode with a lot of heart.

Episode 13: Fright Night (P) - Introduces Fright Knight. A Halloween special that has its ups and downs (eating underwear?) It's just really funny that an actual ghost, who has been to the maddeningly twisted and alien world of the afterlife, still can't scare anyone to save his life.

Episode 14: 13 (P) - It's a shame this isn't actually the 13th episode. Anyway, it introduces Johnny 13 and Kitty, while Tucker and Sam get to hang out without Danny while trying to solve Tucker's new run of bad luck and the fallout for his reputation.

Episode 15: Public Enemies (G) - Walker's back and he's making a major shift in the status quo: ghosts are confirmed to exist as he stages a major invasion of the town. Things don't go well for Danny, and the repercussions will be felt for well into the series. Also introduces Wulf, a ghost who looks like a werewolf, exclusively speaks Esperanto, and has the ability to tear the fabric of reality to create portals between Earth and the Ghost Zone. He's putting this power to use for Walker, but it's clearly not by choice...

Episode 17: Maternal Instinct (B) - Maddie notices her son is growing distant from her and tries to take him to a science symposium to bond with him, but disaster strikes and leaves them in the woods, with the only shelter available being...a cabin owned and occupied by none other than Vlad. Meanwhile, Jack tries to understand Jazz, who doesn't seem to want anything to do with him or ghost hunting. Lots of great character moments for the Fentons.

Episode 18: Life Lessons (B) - Danny and Valerie, arriving late to class because they both were out ghost hunting, get paired up in home economics class to raise a flour sack baby together. We get more insight into what Valerie's life is like after Shades of Gray, and she learns to get along with both Fenton and, temporarily, Phantom, after an excursion through Skulker's part of the Ghost Zone. As a B-plot, Tucker makes money babysitting other students' flour sacks while ignoring the one he has with Sam, and Sam tries not to get attached to the sack. It's not important to the plot AT ALL but I'd put this as a must-watch if I could. Alas, I made the rules and must follow them.

Episode 19: The Million Dollar Ghost (B) - A million dollars is placed on the head of the ghost boy, Public Ghost Enemy #1: Inviso-Bill, known to us in the audience as Danny Phantom.

Episode 20: Control Freaks (G) - The circus is in town! New villain Freakshow gets introduced, and he becomes important later. Kinda. Depending on how much you like a certain blue episode that comes on down the line. The trio go to this cool new goth circus, but there's a string of ghostly robberies in town and Danny has been acting strangely lately...

Season 2

Episode 1/21: Memory Blank (R) - Danny and Sam have a fight, Sam wishes she'd never met him, Desiree makes the wish come true and now Danny has no powers and neither he nor Tucker remember her at all. Sam gets him fried by the portal again to get his powers back, but this time with a new logo she designed slapped onto his chest. Really all that happens is Danny gets his logo. This can be skipped...if you wish. ;)

Episode 2/22: Doctor's Disorders (B) - There's a bug going around - literally - getting the kids at Casper High sick. Symptoms include sneezing, chills, coughing, congestion, and various ghost powers depending on the student. The only ones immune seem to be Danny (thanks to his ghost powers) and Tucker (wearing his new homemade cologne that smells awful in a different way to everyone). A new hospital opens up to treat them, but something fishy is definitely going on. ...But Tucker is afraid of hospitals. Great Tucker episode.

Episode 3/23: Pirate Radio (P) - Introduction to Youngblood, an occasional antagonist. A new radio program pops up, and every adult in town (and Jazz, who's 16 but sees herself as an adult) is enraptured by it and the one song that it plays on loop. Then one day, every single adult in town leaves behind a note that they're going on a cruise, and it's up to Danny to rally the teens of Amity Park to discover what's so fishy about the cruise and get their parents back.

Episode 4/24-5/25: Reign Storm (G) - The creepy castle in the Ghost Zone Danny accidentally freed Fright Knight from in Fright Night holds yet another secret: the coffin of the Ghost King, known as Pariah Dark, whose goal is to rule over the Ghost Zone and the human world with an iron fist. Vlad frees him hoping to snatch the powerful artifacts on him, but it backfires and now the King is free and follows the fleeing ghosts to Amity Park, which he promptly invades. Danny, Valerie, and various enemies including Vlad need to team up to seal King Pariah back within his sarcophagus and save both Amity Park and the Ghost Zone as a whole. Major status quo shifts happen here.

Episode 6/26: Identity Crisis (B) - Not my favorite episode, but I'm including it here because it was popular with the Phandom a decade ago. Danny gets tired of trying to balance his human and ghost lives, so splits himself in two using the Ghost Catcher that was introduced in Season 1 episode 6: What You Want. That also, unfortunately, divides his personality to two extremes; the human half ("Fun Danny") is lazy while the ghost half ("Super Danny") is an absolute ham of a superhero stereotype, and Tucker and Sam struggle to put their friend back together so he can stop Technus in a way only he can (and also because both halves are honestly really annoying them).

Episode 8/28-9/29: The Ultimate Enemy (G) - This is THE episode of all time. Maybe not the best episode, but it's great in its own right and, more importantly for this list, introduces another major status quo shift. It's also basically required viewing for the comic that came out last year (at time of writing), as that comic is a direct follow-up to this episode. Clockwork, a ghost that is essentially a deity of time, has a mission to eliminate the greatest threat to Earth and the Ghost Zone that has ever been before he comes into that role: a ghost named Danny Phantom. Danny comes face-to-face with a version of himself that caused a doomed future, and needs to fight to ensure that future never comes to pass.

Episode 10/30: The Fright Before Christmas (B) - The boy Danny Fenton, a Grinch to his core, finds the holiday season to be quite a chore. Into the Ghost Zone to blow off some steam, he accidentally causes a scene: the Ghost Writer's finished manuscript in ashes, and with Danny's indifference he clashes. He traps him in a book that warps space and time, and forces all events in his life to rhyme. You're in for a treat if you like all these rhymes, but if they annoy you, then don't waste your time. (This factoid may not matter to you, but this is where we learn of the Christmas Truce!)

Episode 11/31: Secret Weapons (R) - Jazz is overbearing, Danny doesn't like it, so Jazz decides to go to Vlad. The episode's latter half isn't bad, but it's R because Jazz's constant invasions of Danny's privacy and the repetitive thermos jokes grate on me. If you plan to skip, the thing that makes it a red episode is this: Vlad learns that Jazz is in-the-know.

Episode 12/32: Flirting With Disaster (G) - A lot of the more plot-relevant episodes in season 2 (and one in season 1) have been building romantic tension between Danny and Valerie, and here's where it comes to a head: they actually start dating! However, after some jealous stalking thorough investigating, Sam finds that there's someone pulling the strings, and manipulating their real feelings for each other to pull them together and get them out of the way... Valerie especially undergoes a lot of major character moments, and we learn a lot more about her as a person. One of my personal favorite episodes (and I don't just say that because I'm a Danny/Valerie truther) (the "engraved" ring and Sam being a stalker about it aren't great, but honestly I just try to ignore those parts. Yes, I know I'm biased).

Episode 17/37: Kindred Spirits (G) - While Danny's busy being an asshole to his friends leaving Sam and Tucker to take the blame for property damages during his fights, he finds a strange girl named Danielle (or "Dani") who claims to be his cousin and shares an eerie resemblance with him. The similarities go more than skin deep, as she quickly reveals that she's ALSO half ghost. Tucker and Sam warn Danny that there's something suspicious about the whole ordeal (in between being left behind to be blamed for collateral damage more times than I'm bothered to count right now), but when Danny winds up in trouble anyway, they still skip detention (that he got them in) to save him before it's too late. Danny's a dick, but despite that, it's still a good episode and we get introduced to Dani before her next appearance.

Episode 19/39-20/40: Reality Trip (B) - Freakshow gets the Reality Gauntlet: an off-brand Infinity Gauntlet that can warp reality to anything he desires. He gets Danny's secret revealed to the world, causing the government agency the Guys In White (from Million Dollar Ghost in season 1) to relentlessly pursue him. Luckily, thanks to knowledge Sam gained from a book on the gauntlet, the main trio manages to warp the gems to different parts of the United States, severely limiting Freakshow's power. Unluckily, Freakshow retaliates by kidnapping their parents and Jazz, forcing the three to go on a cross-country road trip to get the gems back to Freakshow and save their families while evading the law. No permanent shifts of the status quo, but one of my personal favorite episodes. It's a fun ride!

Season 3

Episode 1/41: Eye for an Eye (R) - A prank war between Danny and Vlad ends in Vlad becoming mayor and passing a lot of horrible laws specifically to spite Danny. The laws are undone by the end of the episode, but Vlad stays mayor.

Episode 2/42: Infinite Realms (R) - In trying to map out the Ghost Zone, the main trio end up meeting Frostbite: leader of a realm in the Zone known as the Far Frozen, filled with spirits that take the form of peaceful, yeti-like monster folk who revere Danny as the chosen one who defeated Pariah Dark. Frostbite is also keeper of the Infi-Map: a map that can take the user anywhere in the Ghost Zone. Now for the bad news: Vlad is here, he wants world domination now for some reason, and he wants the map to help him do it. Vlad steals the map, the trio needs to get it back. It's not the worst episode, but Vlad's villain decay is...tragic. Tl;dr: Frostbite is the leader of a tribe of friendly yeti spirits and keeps the Infi-Map, which can take the user to any point in the ghost zone.

Episode 5/45: Forever Phantom (B) - One of the only actually fun filler episodes in season 3. Introduces us to Amorpho: a ghost with the power to shapeshift into anything and anyone, who uses their power to cause mayhem for attention. They bite off more than they can chew when they impersonate Danny Phantom, however, and a Fenton device gone awry locks both Amorpho and Danny into the form of Danny Phantom. Wacky hijinks abound.

Episode 6/46: Urban Jungle (G) - Haha green. Like plants. Anyway, Danny has been cold lately. No matter what he does or where he is, he's consistently freezing. It gets worse: while Danny's in this weakened state, a giant plant ghost named Undergrowth takes over Amity Park and possesses Sam. Unable to fight the constantly-regenerating Undergrowth or to keep himself from freezing, he flees into the Ghost Zone to seek Frostbite's aid.

Episode 9/49: Frightmare (B) - Danny wakes up one night to learn, to his horror, that Nocturne, the ghost of dreams, has put all of Amity Park into a deep sleep to feed on their energy. He enters the dreams of his friends to wake them and get their help taking Nocturne down. A good episode for people who ship Danny/Sam, and a GREAT episode for people like me who like to pretend that all the episodes I left off the season 3 list were just bad dreams.

Episode 10/50: Claw of the Wild (B) - The students of Casper High are ending summer with a camping trip in a foggy forest. All seems normal until, one by one, campers go missing. Danny, Tucker, and Sam go investigating and find their ally Wulf, who seems to know something about the disappearances...

Episode 11/51: D-Stabilized (G) - Regarded by most as the final good episode of Danny Phantom. Dani had been on her own in the world since we last left her, but over time, her form has been getting unstable, causing her to be slowly melting into a puddle of ectoplasm. She tries returning to Amity Park to get help, but is now being hunted down by Valerie, who Vlad commissioned so he could melt Dani down and study her remains to make a superior clone. (Valerie thinks he's just going to keep her contained for the safety of Amity Park; she isn't informed of the cloning.) Valerie turns Dani in to Vlad, but Danny manages to form a shaky alliance with Valerie to get Dani back, since Valerie knows that Dani is half human.

Episode 12/52-13:53: Phantom Planet (R) - The only reason this is here is because the comic continues from where this episode left off. If it didn't, I'd suggest ignoring it entirely. Rapid-fire summary: an asteroid is about to hit Earth, Vlad reveals himself to the world and demands unquestioning rule over Earth (and one trillion dollars or something) in exchange for turning the asteroid intangible. Vlad can't turn it intangible since it's made of Ectoranium, an anti-ghost substance we never hear of until now. Jack leaves Vlad in outer space. Danny gets every ghost he knows to help him turn Earth intangible, it works somehow, and Danny reveals his secret identity to the world. Statues of Danny are built all over the world, Sam and Danny start dating, and Tucker becomes mayor of Amity Park. A bunch of other stuff happens too but it's all stupid. Valerie gets thrown into a dumpster on live TV and that's her only appearance besides clapping for Danny at the end. I'm still mad. Don't watch Phantom Planet.

The Comics

Book 1: A Glitch in Time (G) - Danny's life is perfect: his secret identity is out, and the world accepts him not just as a part of it, but as its savior. His parents and former bullies fight on his side now, he's in a committed relationship with Sam, and Amity Park seems to be at peace. There's just one problem: his powers are getting weaker by the day. Unbeknownst to him, there's another problem in progress: Dan Phantom, the evil future Danny from The Ultimate Enemy, is released and fuses with Clockwork, causing present Danny and those near him to experience unstable glitches in time. Vlad returns to warn Danny of the threat of Dan, and they all team up to venture into the depths of the Ghost Zone to find a way to stop Dan and get Danny back to full strength. Meanwhile, Jazz and Valerie hold down the fort at Amity Park, holding Dan off for as long as they can while the trio and Vlad search for answers.

Book 2: To be continued in 2025!

Danny Phantom can be watched on Paramount Plus, but if you don't have a subscription, there may be DVDs at your local library! Other people may also have resources on how to watch the show, so feel free to ask around!

Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time can be found anywhere books are sold! Abrams Books Amazon Barnes and Noble Google Play Waterstones

[mrsshabana]

♡ 𝐌𝐲 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ♡

I decided to take pictures of my collection since so many people asked! This is everything I've collected over the past two years. I'll give links for items that are still easily available. Also, please excuse how terrible these photos look. It took me over 3 hours to get everything out and take these photos, I was pretty tired and I was trying to figure out how to do it. I decided it'd be easiest to separate everything by type. And for some categories, I separate Gyutaro and Daki. The majority of these items are official merchandise, but I will make a note for items that are not official. (∩｀-´)⊃━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

These are all of the large figures that I have! There was a new one that was recently released in Japan, and once I get it shipped I'll make a review about it. I got all of these figures from BigBadToyStore. Most of them are still available and a few are even on sale right now. I'd highly recommend their website! Out of all of these figures, I'd have to say the large one in the middle with Gyutaro using his blood demon art is my favorite.

𝐆𝐊 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

These are the garage kit figures that I own! None of these figures are official. The one on the right can be found super cheap on Amazon. I got this one from a good friend of mine. I'd say for how large it is it's definitely worth the price. The two on the left I got myself for my birthday. The one with the lantern even lights up, and it's definitely my favorite. You can still buy these, but only on eBay. The prices skyrocketed after I purchased mine, so I honestly can't recommend anyone buying them. They are just way too expensive now in my opinion. But here are the links anyway if you are still interested. Gyutaro lantern statue & Human Gyutaro and Ume

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

And here are the rest of the Gyutaro figures! I believe this is all of the ones that are currently released (except for the new one I mentioned earlier). A few of these are also available on BigBadToyStore. The one on the top left is one of my favorite items that I own. I've never seen him sold outside of Japan which sucks because he's absolutely adorable. The top middle one is really cool too because he comes with changeable arms and you can pose him in different ways - this one is also on sale on BigBadToyStore's website.

Here are the Daki/Ume figures! Most of these came in pairs with the Gyutaro figures so that's why I have a lot of these too. Again, most of these can be found on BigBadToyStore's website.

𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐬

Gyutaro plushies!! I don't know about you, but I am so obsessed with Gyutaro plushies. They make me so unexplainably happy. To be honest, all of them are my favorite haha. But if I had to choose, I'd say the teddy bear in the back. I also really love the Kitty Gyutaro on the left. The kitty Gyu, and the other Gyu doll on the right are not official. The one on the right was a gift from a close friend, it was custom made on Etsy. The Kitty Gyu was actually available on eBay (they are sold out now, but might restock later). I got mine elsewhere though. The human Gyu plush is also available on BigBadToyStore's website along with the Ume one. The little grabby Gyu's in the front right are some of my favorites too. I'll just clip them onto my laptop while I'm writing or drawing. I bought them from Amiami, they are out of stock now but I have seen them occasionally go on sale again.

And here are the Daki/Ume plushies! I got a few of them from AmiAmi with the Gyu ones, so they might come back up for sale eventually.

𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

Sorry for the terrible photo, I tried my best to fit all of these into one picture. I didn't include the demon gathering diorama because that thing is way too big. It's so hard to pick a favorite for these ones. I love the holiday ones and the world tour one the most. Surprisingly these aren't often available outside of Japan. I have seen a few come up on eBay but they are usually overpriced. There are a few ones that I wanted to talk about because they are unique. Like the acrylic stand of the actor who played Gyutaro in the live-action play. I thought it was really cool that they made a stand for that. Also, the one where Gyutaro is seen fighting Tengen, it's hard to see in the photo but it has a lot of components to it that make it look 3D!

𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬

I love love love the Gytutaro keychains! There's a lot here so I won't ramble too much about them. My favorites are the kitty one on the top row, and the 2nd and 3rd one on the bottom row. Like look how cute he looks on his stomach like that, I swear that's the cutest pose I've seen them make for him. The kitty Gyu keychain was actually the first Gyutaro item I've ever bought! You might be able to find some of these on Mercari or on eBay.

And here are the Daki/Ume ones!

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐬

I used to have an ita bag that I would fill with these pins! But it got really dirty, so if you have any you can recommend let me know 👀 Anyway here are the enamel pins. The only one that is still available is the large FiGPiN one. It's limited edition and they only made 1,000 of them. It was for an event in New York I think? Anyway, here is a link to where you can purchase one on eBay.

And here are the other pins. I don't have as many of these because they stopped fitting in my ita bag, but I'd totally get more if I had a large bag to fit them in.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

Ok so I had a ton of miscellaneous items, so this will be the biggest section. Some of my favorite items are here like the ring, necklace, and perfume. Apparently, the perfume is illegal to ship outside of Japan because it's flammable so I have no idea how I got it. But I got it as a gift in 2023. The ring is definitely one of my favorite items though, I've had it for a really long time now and I love the pattern on it. It's hard to see in the photo but one ring has a motif matching his spots and the other one matching his ribbons. If you want to see my full post on the ring and perfume I'll link them here. Ring & Perfume.

More miscellaneous items. The only one I'll comment on is that pink little box in the middle. It's a gachapon and it's actually functional too. It's the cutest little thing. I also really like the pens too, the little chibi drawings on the front are adorable.

These are just a bunch of random cloth items I have. My favorites are the Gyutaro tote bag and the Gyutaro underwear. Yes, I said underwear... yes it is official... I'll make a separate post about it another day 😭 On the right is some Tengen toilet paper, no that isn't official. It has a funny story behind it I promise. So one day my little brother asks me, "Which character from Demon Slayer do you want to eat shit?" I said Tengen of course, and months later he gave me this for my birthday. I freaking love my brother 😭

I had to make a separate photo for this one since it was so big. This is a towel with all of the upper moons on it. I really love the art for this and I think it's just so beautiful.

Shikishi boards! I love collecting these because they have official art of Gyutaro that we don't get to see anywhere else!

More shikishi boards! He looks so handsome, right? 🤭

Just some photos (idk why they sell these) and coasters from the Ufotable Cafe in Japan.

More miscellaneous stuff. The graded card in the middle was also a birthday present from my brother. 💚

A folder and some stickers!

Finally, these are the last things. These are large items so instead of taking photos of them I just made a collage. They are luncheon mats and mat cases from the Ufotable Cafe. There is also a double-sided pillow, I use this every day in my gaming chair to support my back!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

This is my entire collection! I may have forgot about one or two items but this is the majority of it. I also have shirts but maybe I will show those another day. (Maybe in a face reveal?) I hope you enjoyed seeing how my adhd brain hoards everything with Gyutaro on it.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to provide more links for these items as most of them sold out long ago. They are focusing on making merch for the Hantengu clones now, so Gyutaro item releases have slowed down a lot.

But if/when any new items come out I will be sure to share them! If you made it all the way through my collection, you're awesome! And I'd love to hear which thing was your favorite 💚 ✧( ु•⌄• )◞◟( •⌄• ू )✧

[harmonictechnicality]

my heart is my armor for @thefreakandthehair's Spicy Six Spring Challenge (mwah mwah!) | *ao3 link here*

Eddie doesn’t understand Steve’s sudden interest in having a garage sale. Everything that they own is junk disguised as furniture. None of it is worth looking at, let alone buying.

Besides, they don’t even have a garage. They’re still slumming it in this dingy duplex, too broke to afford decent cutlery.

“A garage sale with no garage is just false advertisement, babe.” Eddie flops onto his stomach, hears the boxsprings of their shitty mattress groan underneath him.

“We need to do some spring cleaning anyways.” Steve sinks his nails into Eddie’s hair, scratches at his roots the way Eddie likes it best. It’s all mindless now, physical affection. Five months ago, both of them would’ve been scared shitless to behave this way. Now, it’s easy.

Routine bliss.  

“Might as well make a few extra dollars out of it.” Steve adds.

Eddie scoffs. Flattens his face into the mattress, ignores the questionable dude smell. “What the fuck is spring cleaning anyways?”

“Just a thing. Always has been.”

“Hmph.”

Spring cleaning sounds like a tradition that rich assholes invented as an excuse to throw away the winter jackets they never even wore - never even took the tags off of. Eddie can just imagine a gaggle of housewives, swishing their wine and speaking in some fake transatlantic accent: ‘Oh sweet darling lambchop, it’s not wasteful. It’s simply a bit of spring cleaning.’

“I never agreed to do spring cleaning.” Eddie says.

“You never agree to do cleaning, period.”

“That’s not true. I did the laundry last month.”

Which isn’t a lie. Eddie did three (two) loads of laundry after Steve refused to go anywhere near it. Claims that the final straw was seeing some sort of mutated rodent emerging from their hamper.

“Oh that?” Eddie had fished his brain for a plausible explanation. “That was just a mouse or a rat or a… miniature possum. Something like that.” At the time, he phrased the whole thing like the weirdest multiple choice quiz - the most suitable answer being Something Like That. 

“Whatever.” Steve snorts, likely recalling that same night. He turns off the lamp, lets the dark bleed into the room, swallowing the light. 

They both inch into the middle of the bed, where it’s naturally starting to dip at the center. All of their belongings are used, including this mattress. If money weren’t an issue, they would invest in a new one.

Or not. Eddie kind of likes that it sags in the middle, where they always meet. Like it’s giving in, shaping itself around the weight of their relationship.

The thought makes him smile, a stupidly smitten grin at his stupidly pretty boyfriend.

“What?” Steve pokes a finger at the corner of Eddie’s mouth.

“Nothing.” He catches Steve’s finger, pretends to gnaw it off his hand till Steve laughs. Best fucking sound, even better in their bed. 

Christ, he’s so in love. Wants a megaphone to scream about how in love he is with Steve Harrington. Wants to call a local radio station and request the sappiest love songs imaginable. Wants to be able to just say it, then never stop saying it.

That feels colossal though. Like the playfulness will fizzle out or the blissful routine will rupture. 

So he just says it in other ways, like tonight. 

“Okay, fine. You win.” Which is a direct translation to those three important words, because Eddie hates losing. One of his top ten least favorite things in this world is losing. 

He folds Steve’s fingers into a fist, kisses over every knuckle. Looks up to see Steve blinking slowly, half-asleep. Looks happy. 

And damn, that makes it all worth it, right? Losing so Steve can win. That makes it tolerable, almost enjoyable, for a soft expression like that.

“I’ll do the non-garage garage sale.”

Steve yawns, nuzzles into his side of the pillow. “I knew you would.”

Eddie complains the entire time they clean. Makes the biggest fuss, stomps from room to room. Their place is small, sure. Yet somehow, they generate enough dust and dirt to fill multiple trash bags. Which means multiple trips to the dumpster.

Fuck Spring for making cleanliness a seasonal personality trait.

It’s late into the afternoon when they finally take a break. Both of them are pretty disgusting, so they sit on the front steps of the duplex.

“Quit scowling, you big baby.” Steve passes a glass of water to Eddie. Takes a long chug from his own glass, throwing his head back to get more down. 

No human being has the right to look this sexy without proper legal representation. But Steve wears dirt and sweat like an accessory. Makes the grime so damn rugged, utterly hot.

Yeah. Eddie finally can relate to all the women that drool over erotica novel covers. Fully gets the appeal.

“So, find anything worth selling?” Steve asks. 

“As a matter of fact, yeah. I did.”

Eddie reaches to his side and grabs a black binder: Steve’s baseball card collection. An extensive one at that. 

He smooths over the plastic cover, fluttering his lashes up at Steve, who seems to be seconds away from hulking out over the suggestion.

“Oh fuck that, man!” Steve yanks the binder from Eddie’s hand. “I’ve had those since I was a kid!”

“Which is exactly why it’s time to retire them. Give them a new home. One that’s not a brothel for cockroaches.”

Really, Eddie gets far too much pleasure out of this. Watching people squirm under the uncomfortable magnifying glass of his sense of humor.

Steve cracks his neck to one side and snarls.

Ha. Perfect. Eddie has dwindled him down to nonverbal replies. Just caveman actions that are equally as sexy as the dirt and sweat.

But Steve throws a curveball, too quick to catch. He slips into the house and returns with one of Eddie’s favorite cups. “And what about these, huh? What about your dorky Star Wars glasses?”

Okay, ouch. This game is not funny anymore. Totally bypassed Humor and went straight to Dire territory.

Han may have shot first, but Steve Harrington is aiming where it hurts. Cutting him deep (deeper than that very unlucky tauntaun…).

“These are collectibles, Steven. Collectibles!” Eddie exaggerates every syllable, first-grade teacher style. “I spent two years tracking down the complete Empire Strikes Back set. Still missing three from Return of the Jedi, but whatever. Progress is progress.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, these are valuable.” 

“Like, worth a lot of money?”

“No. You know what I mean…” Eddie stands. He carefully grabs the glass from Steve and holds it up to the sun. 

All the designs are just as vibrant as the day he found them. Him and Wayne had searched almost a dozen Burger Kings before he found this design - the scene on Endor. Eddie will never forget that day. 

“The memories.” He finally answers. “These are sentimental and shit.”

Steve hums, nodding. “They mean something to you.”

“Precisely.”

“Noted.” He takes the cup back inside. There’s silence for another minute before Steve lurks around the door, saying: 

“Then I guess we’ll have to sell one of your guitars instead.”

Oh shit.

Another direct hit to Eddie’s blackened heart. 

“You little fucker!” He chases Steve all around the kitchen and into their bedroom. Wrestles him down on their saggy bed, instantly dirtying up again.

They end up with a decent amount of items to sell that Saturday morning. Duplicate records and cassettes, a few kitchen gadgets from Steve’s grandma, and some trinkets that Robin kindly donated. A hodgepodge of treasures, that’s what Steve keeps saying.

He’s so proud of their three tables of junk. Hodgepodge treasures, whatever. Just keeps rearranging things and straightening them out. Concentrating so hard that his eyebrows crease together. Adorably focused. Eddie loves when he gets like this. If they weren’t in a conservative small town in broad daylight, he’d kiss Steve’s twisted-up lips, make him relax a little.

“I…” Eddie starts, quickly tripping on his own tongue. Stumbles over that dumb fucking word. Four letters should not hold the power of an entire emotion, goddamnit. 

He scoots out of his lawn chair, stretching upward. “I think I’ll go pester the lemonade stand across the street. Haggle the price down to a penny or something.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. “You get more bizarre every day, Munson.”

“So does the economy, Harrington.”

The lemonade stand is an immediate mistake. A little girl peers up at Eddie, eyes starting to swell with tears. Maybe the clouds are casting a big, scary shadow over him, making him look twice as evil.

Or maybe he severely underestimated how badass his look really is, who fucking knows.

He dives right into his haggling-monologue, when the girl points to his latest Iron Maiden patch on his vest. Asks in the thinnest voice who the ‘skeleton man’ is. 

And look, Eddie doesn’t mess around when it comes to educating this fine nation’s youth. So he answers honestly:

“Eddie the Head. A vessel for soul-sucking metal.”

The answer is probably what makes her run. But it’s definitely the voice that opens up the floodgates.

Anyways, he’s not just gonna let all this freshly-squeezed goodness go to waste. That would be a shame. A travesty, even.

So he helps himself to two full cups of lemonade. Makes a quick escape before the kid’s parents bring pitchforks.

Eddie sneaks up behind Steve, whispers nervously in his ear. “Well… there’s good news and there’s bad news.” 

“What did you do?” Steve doesn’t miss a beat. 

“I got the lemonade for free.” He hops up on the table, waves the proof around with a big, cheesy grin. Still no reaction from Steve, so what the hell? Might as well get all the information out there. 

“Bad news is, I made the pigtailed kid cry.”

“Dude!”

“It’s not my fault!” Eddie is suddenly very defensive. “She asked who this ‘skeleton man’ on my vest is and I couldn’t lie.”

“You lie about shit all the time.”

“Not about history, Steve! Get your head out of your perfectly-shaped ass.”

Steve puts his hand over Eddie’s mouth, gesturing to the nearby shoppers. Not that Eddie is overly concerned about what the elderly couple can hear from this distance. And he assumes that the suspender-wearing dude admiring the Barry Manilo record, would probably agree on his Ass Opinions.

However, Steve is shrinking further into his chair from Eddie’s commentary. Grunting something unintelligible but mostly likely explicit. 

“Here.” Eddie determines that the safest solution is to back down. Ease off until Steve’s complexion returns to normal colors. “You can have the lemonade that isn’t diluted with the tears of a child.”

Steve laughs into the cup and takes a long swig. Chases it with an exaggerated ‘aaah’ like all of those airbrushed models do in the commercials. 

Eddie is just so damn crazy about this guy. Would drink a thousand tear-soaked beverages for Steve if it meant getting to experience every day just like this. With a smile like that.

“How is it?” Steve asks. 

“Tastes like citrus and fear.” Eddie responds proudly with a wink.

There’s a pause before they both erupt into laughter. Steve slapping Eddie’s knee rather than his own. Eddie snorting like a sitcom dweeb. He’s laughing so hard that he almost misses Steve uttering the most incredible sentence:

“God, I love you.”

Says it just like that. Clear as water. Easier than oxygen. Like he has told Eddie that very phrase a thousand times before.

And Eddie… Eddie can’t locate a single word in his brain. His access to language is padlocked after hearing that. Experiencing that. 

All he can do is move. Move away from the table. Move behind the clothing rack full of used jackets. Move his arms outward, pulling Steve along with him.

He kisses Steve before he does something stupid like scream or flail around. If he’s going to open his big mouth, it’s going to be against Steve’s lips. Licking the drops of lemon clean off his mouth. Pushing his linen-soft hair back and holding it between his fingers.

They’re obscured by clothes and scarves, but it’s risky. Too risky to linger into a deeper kiss like Eddie craves to do. So he lets go of this moment and ducks into the house to catch his breath.

The rest of the day goes by at hyper speed, too fast to notice details. Not that anything could possibly top hearing Steve say what he said. It’s tattooed deep into everything Eddie hears, permanently inked in his mind. 

Once they head back inside, Steve flicks through the wad of cash, counting their profit. It’s not much, merely pocket change - but certainly more than either of them expected. Eddie chalks up the surprising amount to Steve's charm and short-shorts. The yummiest eye-candy of the whole damn neighborhood.

“We should save up for a trip.” Steve suggests.

Eddie raises his brows. “A trip?”

“A vacation. You know, get away from this shithole town for a weekend.” The more he talks, the more Steve’s face glows. Fucking shines with daydreams. “A change of scenery might be nice.”

Eddie holds back the urge to remind Steve that he’s the best scenery in the solar system. He already gushes too much, too often. It’s bound to scare Steve off at some point.

So he simply kisses Steve’s shoulder instead, agreeing with a soft hum. 

He starts to fall asleep while listening to Steve name all the places they should travel to. The last one he remembers is Boston.

“Boston would be fucking awesome, right?”

Eddie nods. Drifts off.

Thinks that anywhere with Steve Harrington would be fucking awesome.

Eddie heads up north for a couple of weeks to help Wayne move into his new place. Since Hawkins was previously sliced apart like pizza, Wayne wisely decided to retire early. Used his government hush-money in the most predictable way he could.

“All I need, son, is an empty mind and lake full of fish.” And that’s exactly what he gets. A one-story house near the top of Lake Michigan. Has one hell of a view too.

They head out to the private dock to chat and fish. Except Eddie isn’t too keen on jabbing sharp metal into a water-dweller’s mouth, so he keeps Wayne company on the dock. Lends an ear for all of his stories.

“Shame that Steve couldn’t make it.” Wayne waits to bring him up till they start packing up for the evening.

“Yeah. It is.” Eddie agrees. Misses him already. “Next time though.”

During his last weekend with Wayne, a package arrives on the front porch. It’s addressed to Eddie, which is strange. The only people that know he’s here are his boyfriend, his bandmates, and his boss. More than likely, Steve probably told their crew of demon-destroyers too, but still…

Why would anyone bother to send him a package if he’s driving back home in three days? Doesn’t add up.

He cuts into the cardboard, practically ruins the box. Inside, there’s an absurd amount of tissue paper. It’s stuffed in every corner, overflowing at the top, just a sea of noisy paper.

“Whatcha got there?” Wayne peers over his shoulder.

“Not sure yet.” Eddie sifts through the noise. Digging around more carefully now because he takes notice of the ‘Fragile’ labels on every side of the box.

He pulls out one of the overly-wrapped items, begins removing it from the tissue paper. After twirling through a few layers, he realizes exactly what it is. 

Glass. Colorful designs. Fits in the palm of his hand.

The Star Wars cups. The last three Star Wars cups that had been missing from Eddie’s collection. 

“No fucking way.”

“Watch it.” Wayne warns.

“It’s a warranted response, I promise.” Eddie hands the pristine Darth Vader glass over to Wayne.  “Look!”

Wayne examines it for a while before letting out a long whistle. “Well I’ll be damned. Haven’t you been looking for these since-”

“1983.” Eddie answers. He gently picks up each glass, thumbs over the artwork to feel the tiny ridges of paint. 

They’re in perfect condition too, more than perfect. No chips, no blemishes, no smudgy fingerprints (except for Eddie’s now). He has to place them back into the box because his hands are shaking with excitement. Smooths his palms against his jeans, head shaking in disbelief.

“That romantic asshole.” Eddie grumbles. “Couldn’t just wait to give me these once I get back home.”

Wayne cuts him a vicious side-eye, one that makes Eddie’s spine shiver. He's received this look many times throughout his childhood, even more in his teenage years. It’s Wayne’s signature stare before he calls Eddie out on his bullshit.

Apparently, it still has the same effect on him too. Works like witchcraft.

Wayne looks over the gifts, then back up at Eddie. His edge melts away, turns into something softer. Kinder.

“You know… some things can’t wait, son.”

With that, the tension in Eddie’s spine unravels. His chest inflates, warming up a few extra degrees. His whole body knows exactly what he needs to do - the thing that can’t wait another second.

The phone only rings through one time.

“This is Steve.” That voice. Hits like a homemade remedy.

“Hey, it’s Eddie.” His nails are tapping next to the phone speaker, rapid and impatient. “Listen, I just got your package and-”

“Oh, god.” Steve sounds pained all of a sudden. “Was it too much? Is it gonna be too difficult to transport back home? I know it would’ve just been easier to wait, except-”

“I love you.”

There it is. The words that can’t wait. The phrase that demands power.

“You… what?”

“I love you. Just, so much.” Eddie feels lighter, weight lifting from his lungs each time he says it. “And I couldn’t wait another second to tell you. So, yeah. Really, really in love with you, Steve.”

All Eddie can hear is Steve’s breath. Just as rapid as his nails tapping.

“Wow… um.” Steve clears his throat, but the sound comes out small. Strained.  “Do you mind if I call you right back?”

Not the response Eddie was expecting. “Oh. Uh.”

“Just - hold on a sec.”

And the line clicks dead.

After the third hour of organizing pans in the kitchen, the only room close enough to launch himself at the phone if it were to ring, Eddie accepts defeat. Retreats to the guest bedroom, contemplating what the fuck went wrong.

He groans into the bedspread, claws at his hair till it’s a fucking jungle. Frizzed out beyond repair, just like his nerves.

“That’s enough moping.” Wayne knocks at the door, creaking it open. “We’re going down to the lake.”

There’s no point in arguing with him. The man is the human embodiment of Stubborn - more so than Eddie, which speaks volumes.

Besides, moping in a different location won’t make him any less pathetic.

Wayne is a master in the art of distraction. Doesn’t waste any time before telling Eddie all about the local gossip he overhears downtown. He quickly transitions into asking Eddie questions about his job. Continues this pattern till the sun falls into the horizon. Not allowing Eddie’s mind the chance to jump to conclusions until they get back to the house. To the phone. 

The phone that’s still not ringing.

Wayne nudges Eddie’s arm. “Wanna give him a call?”

Yes. Desperately yes. 

“Maybe. Gonna go change first.”

Eddie opens the door to the guest bedroom, and his lungs slingshot out of his chest.

Steve is there. Sitting on the bed. Looking at him with that knockout smile and slightly tired eyes.

“Hi.” He sits up a little straighter. Gives Eddie the tiniest wave. 

“You’re… you-”

“Caught the first flight out here.” Steve cuts him off. “Had to.”

“How?”

“The vacation cash jar.”

No no no. 

Eddie’s throat feels swollen with that realization. Knows just how fucking much that potential trip to Boston meant to Steve. 

“But-”

“Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not, I’m not.” Eddie spits out. Needs to swallow this barrier of emotion in his throat so he can form an actual sentence, for christ’s sake. “Fuck. You just… have no idea how much I love you.”

Steve perks up even straighter, seems fully awake now. His smile creeps up to one side of his face, outright mischievous. He tilts his head to the side and holds an arm out, reaching for Eddie.

“Get over here and show me then.”

In one fluid motion, Eddie lands on the bed, draped in Steve’s arms. They kiss and cling to each other as if they might float off somewhere. It’s all too good, too delicious. Just can’t get enough of how Steve tastes, needs to savor it after not having him around for ten days. 

Being under the covers, kissing wildly, is becoming dangerous. And if Wayne weren’t in the room directly across from them, Eddie would have Steve in unspeakable positions by now. Steve tugs multiple times at the zipper on Eddie’s jeans. Causes physical damage to Eddie’s horny soul to pull Steve's hand away.

They stay like this instead. Leisure, molasses kisses. Knotted fingers and tangled legs. Closer than skin.

Steve lifts up onto his elbow, swipes Eddie’s bangs off of his forehead to make room for another place to kiss. “Can’t believe it took a few dorky cups to make you realize you were in love with me,” he says, lips still smushed in that spot before backing away.

Eddie flips onto his back with a heavy sigh. No way he can look at Steve’s face while admitting this outloud. “I’ve loved you since the day you fed me a curly fry that you had twisted around your pinky.”

“That was the moment?”

“That was the moment.”

He can hear the smile in Steve’s voice. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Never gonna dodge that ‘freak’ reputation, am I?”

“Not a chance.”

The sky is dusted with stars that night. Not the kind of night sky they ever get to see in Hawkins. Steve marvels at them, mentions that he’s never seen so many at once, not even through a window.

“We could go outside?” Eddie offers. “See even more, if you want.”

“Fuck that.” Steve burrows his nose into Eddie’s neck. “Too comfy.”

Eddie agrees with a laugh. “It’s a good bed, isn’t it?”

“Ours is better.”

It’s not, it’s really not. Their bed is rotting, the oldest relic of their home.

But it bends with them, forms to their bodies perfectly.

And since this bed has yet to learn their language, Eddie takes the lead.

“You’re right.” He curls himself around Steve. Leans in closer and Steve follows. “Ours is definitely better.”

Even miles away from home, they somehow always manage to meet in the middle.

[traveler-at-heart]

Shopping

Summary: Natasha hates shopping, but an incident might change her mind.

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Who knew saving the world was so much work.

Specifically, paperwork. 

Thor, unfamiliar with Earth’s customs and the bureaucracy of any organization, always had trouble filing his reports. You volunteered to spare him of endless hours sitting in front of a computer and to save Steve the frustration of trying to figure what the god meant when he wrote things like “the screams of our victims can be heard from Hell”

Only, you had been at it for almost three hours now. You stretch, feeling your back muscles strained.

Time for a snack break. 

Which you were doing, eating cereal and browsing through some emails. There’s a sale at your favorite store. Maybe, if you find the right outfit, you’ll agree to that blind date Tony’s been nagging you about. 

The day seems to be getting better, until Sam rushes past you, mumbling.

“Run, hide, anything”

“What?” you say, mouth full of cereal. He’s already gone. Five seconds later, Natasha storms in. “Oh, hey, Nat”

She glares and you gulp down the rest of your food. Against your better judgment, you smile again and ask her if she wants to go shopping. You can’t stop talking, she makes you that nervous. 

“I hate shopping”

You already know it and she tells you for good measure, before rolling her eyes and leaving the kitchen.

Right.

“Bucky, she’s alive,” Sam whispers as you walk back to your room. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She was pissed. Had an argument with Tony” Bucky barely opens his door.

“They always do” 

“Romanoff looked ready to kill him”

“She always does. And why are you hiding behind the door?” you look at Bucky.

“He ate all of Romanoff’s angry cookies” Sam replies.

“Terrible timing”

“Yeah” Bucky sighs, peaking around to see if Natasha is coming to kick his ass. Frankly, you wouldn’t stop her.

“Well, if you’re done gossiping, I have a shower to take”

“Where you going?”

“Shopping” you immediately shut down Sam’s curious tone. These boys are so nosy.

“Can I come?”

“Absolutely not. You always flirt with the girls and I can never get them to help me out”

“Oh, come on”

“Knock it off or I’m telling Nat you ate those cookies”

“No!” he sprints down to his room, while Bucky shuts the door so fast, you swear the wood cracks.

Ugh, it’s like living with teenagers. Thankfully, you have a plan. As you suspect, Natasha is going around the kitchen cabinets, mumbling something about “killing Barnes”

“Hey” you don’t expect her to respond or turn around, so you just place the package on the counter. “I know those man babies eat everything on sight, so I always have some saved in my room. Your favorites” 

Natasha stops her movements, but still won’t turn around. 

“Thanks” she finally says as you walk back to your room.

You wish it was enough to make her feel better. You also wish she trusted you enough to vent about what it is she’s so upset about. 

But with Natasha, there’s always been a wall. You don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse, because you find her so attractive, endearing and even cute. 

If you get close, then you’re sure it’s going to evolve from slight crush to full time pining.

That can’t happen.

These thoughts take up most of your shower time and as you get ready to leave, you only turn around once to check your hair.

There’s a surprise waiting for you at the garage. Someone sitting on the driver’s seat of your car.

Natasha looks up and smirks.

“I don’t let anyone else drive”

“Mind you, I’m more worried about how you broke into my car without the alarm blaring” you tsk as she takes the keys from your hand.

She shrugs her shoulders and to your surprise, guesses which mall you’re heading to.

“I notice things too”

“You’re talking about those cookies?”

“I guess”

“Well, you’re always welcome to get them from my room. Secret cabinet behind the mirror”

“Nice”

You chuckle and she actually looks like her mood is improving.

And you… you are approaching the pining stage at an alarming rate.

--

“So, what are you looking for?” she asks when you finally get to your favorite clothing store. Natasha looks completely out of place between the lighting and the bland pop music playing in the background.

When she turns around, she finds you putting some lingerie sets over your clothed body, evaluating the shape and color.

She’s thankful you’re too focused on your own reflection to catch her blushing madly. Now is not the best time to picture you wearing one of those sets.

“Oh, maybe something to go on a date” you reply, choosing the black lingerie.

That answer is enough to put her in a bad mood again. 

After a few minutes looking around, you sense that she’s starting to get impatient. Natasha shrugs her shoulders at every dress you show her. You might as well be holding a hot dog suit to get her approval.

“Alright, I’m going to the dressing room. Hold this” you give her your purse, to guarantee she won’t flee the minute you close the door.

“Don’t be long” she mumbles when you’ve barely taken your top off. Without thinking much about it, you peak through the door and smile mischievously.

“Relax. If you’re a good girl I’ll get you something nice”

The redhead blushes furiously as you close the door again. You think it’s pointless to show her the dress, thinking she’ll just shrug and make a non committal hum. 

You’re on dress number three and think it’s the best one yet. 

“Shit” your smile is quickly replaced by a frown when you realize the zipper on the back is stuck. “Nat” you call frantically for her.

“What?”

“I’m stuck”

“What…?”

“Come here” you jump out of the dressing room and pull her inside, shutting the door behind you. “The zipper. Can you pull it down?”

“Y-yes”

“Ok, go” you move your wavy hair out of the way, expecting it to be over with one swift motion.

But Natasha’s touch is surprisingly soft and delicate. You feel her breath close to your neck. Fuck.

“Fuck” Natasha says and you snap back.

“What is it?”

“It’s really stuck” she sits on the little chair at the corner of the room and pulls you along. As she keeps trying to undo the zipper, your body gives in, sitting almost on her lap, your back to her front.

“Almost… there” she grunts, pulling so hard that you end up actually sitting on her lap, squealing at the force of her movements. “Sorry, sorry, I got you”

“I thought I was gonna die” you sigh, not moving away from arms that are circling your waist.

“Trained spy is scared of a little fabric?”

“Jerk” you stand up, but the dress is halfway down, limiting your movements. It falls completely to the ground, you stumble and turn, landing once again on Natasha’s lap, this time face to face.

Or rather… Breasts to face. She has her entire face on your lingerie clad breasts.

“Jesus, Nat, I’m sooo sorry…” your apology dies down when you feel strong arms pulling you closer. You look down and find emerald eyes, pupils dilated with lust and lips parted, waiting for permission to move forward.

There’s not much else to think about, so you place your hands on either side of her face and kiss her, desperate and fast. Natasha moans against your mouth, moving down to your neck and sucking until she leaves a mark. Her expert fingers are trying to unclasp your bra when...

“Everything ok in there?” a store clerk asks. You break apart, feeling frustrated and very much turned on.

“Yeah, I’m almost done here!” you shout, a little too out of breath.

“I think your friend left. She really hates shopping, huh?”

“Oh, I think I’ve managed to change her mind” you wink at Natasha before putting your clothes back on.

--

“Stop” Natasha says as you head back to the Compound, one hand on the wheel and the other hovering above your leg.

“I’m not…!”

“You’re staring”

“You’re a really good kisser”

The redhead blushes and you think you’re in love.

No turning back now.

“So… when’s your date?”

“I don’t know, when are you free?”

“But I thought...”

“Tony was insisting on setting me up. That was before I knew my not-so-secret crush wanted to have her way with me in a dressing room” 

For the first time ever, Natasha is speechless and you laugh.

“So how about tomorrow?” she finally asks as she parks your car.

“That works for me” you walk side by side and then smile. “See? Aren’t you glad you went shopping with me today? You got to pick the clothes you’ll rip off of me” 

Natasha stops walking, and she’s actually considering just taking you up to her room right now.

“Tomorrow” you promise, smiling as you peck her lips.

--

“Hey”

“Yes, Sam?” you still have a silly smile, walking back to your room.

“I just saw Natasha and she smiled at me. Do you think she’s ok?”

“Yes, Sam” you roll your eyes, but he keeps staring. “What?”

“What’s that thing on your neck?”

Fuck. You slap your hand over the hickey and rush to your room.

“None of your business”

“As long as you keep her happy!”

“Shut up, Wilson”

[mommyhelgayanderelover]

You're just looking at the stars with Optimus

Pairing: Optimus Prime x human reader

"I want to see Cybertron, Optimus."

You said it, fully expecting Prime to get the wrong idea. He'd say something about a future together or, at the very least, show her pictures. But neither of those things happened.

The mech looked serious. Listening.

"...I just picked up a telescope at a garage sale. An old one. Not very powerful. And it's got a great view of the night sky from the desert. And I thought you might be able to point it out to me."

"Okay. Tomorrow night."

And that was that.

***

The night came quickly. You prepared with a special kind of frenzy: checking the telescope's operation, watching videos on how to use the device.

When Optimus pulled up to the house at the end of the day, you were ready.

They drove in a strange, atmospheric silence. Optimus, contrary to usual, did not make any conversation. He was silent the whole way - silent even when he turned straight into the sands and drove and drove and drove.

"Here will be the most convenient viewing angle," squeaked the brakes quietly. Prime came to a stop.

You slowly stepped out of the cockpit and then looked up. A scattering of stars looked up at her impassively, glowing with a faint white fire.

The installation of the telescope went on in the same silence, and even when everything was ready, Eva did not hurry to speak first.

"If you look up and gaze for three hours, you'll see the constellation Centauri. Cybertron is located there."

You obediently looked up, finding the right constellation. Quietly she hummed.

"Which star is the right one?"

"The brightest."

You shrugged and walked over to the telescope nonetheless. Already looking through it, she found the constellation again. The focus was blurring and the stars were blurring along with it. At some point you stopped.

"Yes. That's Cybertron."

Through the faint telescope you could see a dot. It was indeed larger than the others. Its light was brighter and gave off a blue tint.

Then you understood.

"There are thousands of light years between our planets. Looking at Cybertron from Earth, I can see..."

"The past? Yes. The light and our memories are the only things that have preserved pre-war Cybertron."

You answered nothing, turning back to watching. Somewhere out there, in a distant past that remained only a measly dot in the sky of an equally distant planet, lived Orion Pax. There were other Cybertronians who had never known the ravages of war.

And how do you know, maybe at that very moment in the past, left in the night sky, someone else also stuck his head up, found a barely recognizable dot and thought about it?

You pulled away from the telescope, brushing away the obsession. For some reason, warm rivulets of tears ran down her cheeks.

"Thank you for showing me pre-war Cybertron, Optimus."

But he didn't say anything, only his lenses lightened a couple of shades.

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

Please do a no nut November with daddy larz please please please….

A/n: Sorry it's so short, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless <3 I wasn't gonna add to the NNN thing but I had to for Lars, Danish princess is so pretty <3

Warnings: Smut, hand job, public sex, if you think I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

Lars had heard about this stupid challenge through some friends. He tried to shut down the idea but his friends seemed pretty into it, thinking it would be fun to try. Seeing that his friends wanted to go through with it had him thinking it over.

He couldn’t get the idea of it out of his head and kept thinking about it his whole walk home. In theory it would be easy for him, his band was just getting started which was cool but they weren’t at the stage where people were throwing themselves at them or anything. He didn’t have a partner, not even someone he’d like to have as his partner. It would be easy, right?

As the month went on he kept the challenge in mind, checking in on his friends and how they were coming along. Sure enough by week two one of them failed, only fueling Lars’ ego with how easy this would be.

He was walking around his neighbourhood, thinking about this and that and the other thing when he noticed a garage sale. It was about noon, it was fairly busy as there were quite a few tables set up all filled with things. What caught his eye was the person he saw taking the money.

He swears he’s never laid his eyes on someone so beautiful. He came over, pretending to look around while he tried to think of something to say to start a conversation with you.

He couldn’t help but stare, eavesdropping on conversations just to hear your voice, your sweet laugh. Feeling someone’s eyes on you you glanced around before landing on Lars. His face flushed and he looked down, pretending to be uninterested.

You chuckled to yourself and went over to him. “Can I help you with something?” Lars just stared at you with a goofy grin.

“Uh, no, I’m just looking.” He replied after a long moment. “Um, why-why’re you getting rid of all this?” He asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

“I’m going to college soon and I don’t need all of this.” You explained.

The both of you kept talking and eventually exchanged numbers. Over the next week you kept talking and hanging out, getting closer and getting to know each other. Another of Lars’ friends was out but he didn’t care, he had a pretty girl under his arm.

It was the night before you were supposed to leave for college and Lars wanted to take you out for one last stress free night. “Promise to call every day?” He asked. You were sitting on the hood of his old run down car at the top of a hill looking over the city like a cheesy romance movie.

You chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I’ll call you every day.” You leaned your head on his shoulder. His arm was around you and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“And you won’t find someone else?” He asked, a hint of worry sticking in his voice. “Not even if they’re taller and handsomer?” You knew this was a genuine fear of his, that you’d find someone better. It was still early in your relationship but that didn’t mean you were still looking, didn’t mean you wouldn’t have to tease him a little either.

“Mh, maybe.” You could feel Lars tensing a bit and he looked down at you. “I might need a little...” You trailed your hand up his thigh to his crotch. “Extra incentive~” This was definitely not the time that Lars wanted to be reminded of the challenge he and his friends had taken part in.

“Um, well, I just-” He stopped himself when you squeezed him through his jeans. You palmed him through his clothes, listening for what made your favourite sounds leave him and when you found one you liked you kept with it.

Lars was squirming a bit, reaching for you while you played with him. There was a road not far away, people passed by every now and then.

Lars’ moans were getting louder and he knew he shouldn’t, there was only a week left in the challenge and you were leaving. He reached for your hand and shook his head. “I-I can’t.”

You raised a brow at him. “Why not?”

“I-it’s this stupid challenge my friends told me about, I can’t, you know, until the end of the month.” He looked up at you and you couldn’t stop staring at his pretty eyes, plush lips and flushed cheeks.

“That’s stupid.” You said bluntly and kissed him. His arms wrapped around you and he held you close. “If not tonight then when?” You asked, pulling away slightly.

You undid his jeans and pulled him out of his underwear. Lars stared in awe as you started stroking him. You wanted to go slow in case he wanted you to stop but his head fell back and he began to moan again.

“Fuck, go faster.” He groaned, glancing down at his leaky cock in your hand. You sped up your pace, once again looking for that perfect sound. “Fuck, fuck! Fuck, ‘m gonna-ngh-gonna cum.” You kept the same fast pace and watched intently for his pretty, red dick to explode all over him.

Just as his high rocked through his body a car pulled up beside you guys. You put yourself between him and the car and quickly shoved him back in his jeans.

The people in the car next to you knew what you’d done but didn’t say anything and let you both sulk back into Lars’ car.

[stupidsagestars]

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦! 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : food play [ ice cream ] , mentions of marks and scratches, inappropriate language, raw sex ( I might be missing some )

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: matsukawa works at the local ceX to earn some extra cash, he meets you, a girl who has a bunch of odd stuff she wants to trade and a great sense of humor. One thing leads to another and things get spicy.

-★ this is so cheesy but I love it

---★---★---★

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who's been working part-time at the cex near his college for the past month and god is it the worst. Everyday he's had to deal with sweaty, obnoxious people trying to trade their gross shit, and buy stupid things, he doesn't even get paid enough to deal with it all. Well anyway there's no point in complaining it's not like he wanted to quit, he needed any extra money he could get.

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who quietly curses when he hears the doors open. He doesn't bother lifting his head to look at who enters, he's way too tired for that, instead he's playing subway surfers on his phone, tapping his fingers on the counter.

He snaps his head up at the sound of something hitting the counter. Immediately he locks eyes with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen in his life.

"Hi!" You say giving him a small wave.

"Hi. Uh what's all this?" He says, slipping his phone in his pocket.

"Just some stuff I'd like to sell." You hum, looking around awkwardly.

"You're welcome to take me through it." He mumbles.

"Great! So we've got this uh, half broken ukele." You say, pulling out a completely broken piece of loose strings and peeling paint.

Matsukawa scoffs. "Are you serious?" He asks.

"Excuse me this is perfectly playable!" You say, frowning at him.

"Oh my god, you're actually being serious." He says looking at you with shock although he was secretly enjoying this alot.

"Look, I can play something."

You strum the ukele and shockingly the last intact string breaks.

"Great." He says sarcastically.

"Give me a break, I'm sure none of the shit here is super clean and fully working."

He sighs before standing up and emptying the box.

"Let's make this quick for both of us." He says slowly.

"why'd you work here anyway?" You ask trying to make small talk. You couldn't help but steal glances at him whilst he looked through the junk you bought in. He was so goddamn attractive, it made you feel hot and bothered just standing next to him.

"college." he mumbles.

You scoff before saying, "I can't believe you!'

𝐜𝐞𝐱 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who looks at you confused. "What?"

"A college student can't help another college student out??"

He can't help but chuckle at what you said.

"Hot" He says giving you a flirty look.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." You say rolling your eyes at him although your mind is buzzing at the comment, A HOT GUY JUST CALLED YOU HOT Y/N!!!!!!!!!

"Did you go to a garage sale before coming here? There's so much random shit in here."

"Of course I went to a garage sale dumbass, I'm 21 years old why the hell would I have a toy xylophone lying around?"

He pretends to act shocked, "that's really mean because I actually own two of those."

You playfully stick your tongue at him to which he smiles at you.

He takes a look at the many items spread out on the counter.

" Well out of all these many, many, many things I'll trade 3."

"Lovely." You say sticking your hand out for him to shake. He firmly grips your hand making you feel incredibly flustered but you play it off quite well.

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who is absolutely mesmerized by you. You were just so.. so attractive? Your humour matched with his perfectly, your voice was so, soothing, imagine having that moaning his name?? Imagine if he had you ride him on that same chair, he wouldn't even mind fucking you on the floor.

Why did you make him so horny, maybe it was because he hadn't fucked in a while, I mean this stupid store seemed to be repelling every girl away from him but what if he was attracted to you, like properly attracted?

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who's trying to find the keys to his dorm when he hears a familiar voice from behind me.

"ceX guy!" you say but quickly regret it feeling your face get hot.

You're extremely surprised to see him, you're initially looking for your best friend Kiyoko who you're sure lived on this floor.

He turns round to see a familiar face behind him.

"sex guy?? so that's your little nickname for me?" He smirks at your stunned face that looked like it wanted to jump out of the window.

"shut up." Is all you manage to come up with.

"Well, here we are at the same college, we're in the same building, same year, we really are the perfect pair!" He laughs, scratching hair as he slowly eyes you up and down taking in all of your curves.

"unfortunately not, you play toy xylophones, I'm a bit more advanced I play toy keyboards." You hum, smiling at him.

He puts his hand on his chest in shock. " I can't believe you! How could you??"

Mattsun loves the feeling you're giving him just by talking to you, he hasn't felt this alive in ages.

"well I'll see you around, oh and do you know anyone called Kiyoko and does she live on this floor??"

"Tanaka's girlfriend? She lives upstairs I think." He mumbles, trying to think of an excuse to spend some more time with you.

"And also.. I mean I know I've known you for about 1-2 hours but can I don't know, have a fun little sleep over with you. I left my keys at the store."

You can feel your heart about to explode and your eyes about to pop out of their sockets.

"You?? Mr Sex Guy?? Sleep over??" You ask and he shrugs his shoulders.

"We could make the best fort and also I'm currently Mr ceX guy not Sex Guy unless you wanted the latter of course." He says enjoying the flustered look on your face

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who ends up following you up to your dorm, throwing in some flirty comments throughout the journey.

"we are 2 adults. 2 sexy adults, 2 adults who should be no strangers to some very freaky sex which I think we should indulge in, it's human nature honey"

"Are you drunk?"

"no but I'm super horny, I bet you're super kinky." He retorts.

You kick him in the shins before opening the door to your dorm.

"Are you like the official advocator for sex?" You say.

"Just for you honey." He says letting the nickname roll of his tongue.

"This place is nice." He says, kicking off his trainers and taking a seat on the couch.

"Ice cream?" You ask him, walking over to the fridge.

"Ooh yes, what flavour??"

"Uhh I got either Mint, Strawberry and Rocky Road."

"Why not all 3?" He asks and you chuckle, coming back with a massive bowl of ice cream and two spoons. Mattsun's eyes immediately travel down to your ass, thinking about how fun it'd be to spank it till it's sore. He's definitely take a picture, your ass with his handprint clearly marked on it, damn would that be great.

"Hold." You tell him so you could get the remote to which he replies, " I've got slippery hands, I don't know if I can manage."

"Well if you don't you're licking it off the floor."

"I bet you'd love that."

"Maybe."

"Fuck. That makes me want to do it now."

"I'm not stopping you."

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who's never felt better sitting down with a girl who he's extremely attracted to and watching fallen angels. This. This is the sort of life he's been yearning for. The two of you weren't cuddling or sitting closely with each other yet somehow each others presence seemed comforting.

"this film's so confusing yet so good." You mutter, eyes glued to the screen whilst you licked the ice cream off the spoon.

Even though this was one of his favourite films Mattsun was only interested in you. Your pretty little face that had the most angelic smile he had ever seen.

He immediately turns red when you turn to notice him staring at you.

"Are you admiring me?"

"Yes."

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who can't control himself anymore and decides to move closer to you and kiss you. He was expecting to just give you a small peck on the lips but instead gets to indulge in a long sensual kiss.

You both are left to stare at each other breathless and drooling.

"Fuck." You breathe out.

"Well are we going to continue?" He says impatiently, biting his lip.

" I mean we might as well."

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who's got you spread on your bed completely naked, his tongue alone has made you cum twice. He's got the bowl of ice cream in his hands and he's giving you the most sensual look ever.

"if anything you're the kinky one." You say in gasps, still unable to talk properly after continuosly moaning his name for god knows how long.

You immediately moan from the sensation of the cold delight touching your stomach.

Mattsun licks it with ease, sticking his tongue at you before swallowing.

"d'you want some?"

You nod at him, eager to know what he would try next.

This time he scoops a handful of ice cream and smears it across your breasts.

"oh no! I made a mess." He says in a raspy voice letting his saliva fall down onto your breasts.

You can't help but moan loudly at the sight infront of you. He lazily swirls his hand in the mixture of ice cream and saliva and shoves it in your mouth.

"tastes good doesn't it?"

You nod, making sure to swallow everything.

He slips of his boxers finally making him fully naked and immediately pushes his girthy length inside of you.

"oh my god- why is your dick so big." You moan thoughtlessly, seriously shocked.

"I dunno, d'you like it? I mean I've already shoved it down your throat, I'd assume you were used to the size by-" He stops himself with a deep groan.

Your walls are sucking him deeper and deeper into your pussy, the thought of having to pull out was so so painful.

"Ugh honey you're pussy is addictive." He moans out as he continues to pound into you at a shocking speed.

Your moans are so addictive to him, the way your eyes roll back, it's all so sexy.

Mattsun being Mattsun though, he can't just fuck your pussy boringly not without the bowl of ice cream that was lying next to him. There's still some left and he doesn't want to waste food. He lets one hand rest on your hips and uses the other to pick up the bowl.

His hands can barely hold the damn thing properly because of how weak he feels, how weak you're making him feel. Your moans are shorter and even more ragged which tells him you're close. He lets the ice cream fall onto the floor, ignoring how the bowl shatters, as he pulls out and cums on the sheets. You cum straight after and you don't have the energy to say or do anything. Your legs are sore and your whole chest is decorated with scratch and bite marks.

𝐜𝐞𝐗 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫! 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐰𝐚 who has just enough energy to pull you under the covers with him before falling asleep.

--★---★

LIKE FOR A PART 2 WHICH IM HONESTLY SO TEMPTED TO DO, MAYBE LIKE A MORNING AFTER OR A FEW WEEKS? THIS WAS ACTUALLY SO FUN TO WRITE I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED , LIKES, REBLOGS AND FOLLOWS R APPRECIATED.

[the header is from Pinterest, credit to whoever made it!!]

[sreegs]

Knives!

if you're new to cooking you may be confused or even intimidated by cooking knives. the truth is, you don't need many. In fact, most people only really need two.

first, i wanna address a common concern with newbies (or some seasoned home chefs):

"Big knives feel dangerous"

they might look dangerous, and you should study up on proper knife safety in order to use them, but the thing is: when cutting on a cutting board, you need to use a knife larger than the object you're cutting. Two reasons

The knife has to be able to make a complete cut across the thing, so it needs to be larger

Larger knives are more stable than smaller knives

When your knife is smaller than the thing you're cutting, it requires more force to do its job. Applying more force while cutting increases the risk of your knife slipping while cutting, which causes it to go somewhere unexpected. That could be somewhere like your other hand.

Big knife = less force = more control.

back to the original topic:

What knives do I need?

Like I said, you only really need two. You may need more if and only if you do specific things more frequently than most other people. For example, there are these long thin knives called carving knives that are used for cutting very big pieces of meat into small pieces. If you buy large pieces of meat in bulk and cut them up yourself, then you'd want a carving knife to make that job easier. If you don't do that, then you don't need one.

First i'm going to go over the two most-used knives. Then I'm going to talk about cost and what to look for.

Chef's knife

A chef's knife is a large, heavy knife that has a curved blade of around 8 inches in length. the shape of this knife makes it a generalist, and can do all kinds of things from slicing to chopping to scoring and even paring, in a pinch.

If you cook, you will use your chef's knife in pretty much everything you make. No exaggeration. If the recipe requires you to cut a thing into smaller pieces, you'll use it.

Paring knife

A paring knife is suited to paring and peeling. Its blade is around 3 inches in length. You use this for small, hand-held jobs off the cutting board. Like this:

Paring is a different motion than what you use on a cutting board, where the knife stays in one place and the food moves into it. It's certainly a less frequent action than what you do with a chef's knife, but since you can also use a paring knife on the cutting board for really fine cutting of small things, it's worth having around.

So, that's it. I've been cooking for 20+ years and those are the two knives I use for easily 90+% of my cooking. I have a few special knives I rarely reach for but still use, but those two are my workhorses.

What kind of knives should I buy?

When buying knives you run into the common conundrum of capitalism: you can buy ten cheap knives over ten years that break or dull without being able to sharpen, or one expensive knife that will last ten years or more.

You should buy whatever you're comfortable with spending, as in the long run it's cheaper to cook for yourself than to buy prepared food. However, I would recommend spending more on knives since they're so important and frequently used.

Brand new: A good chef's knife will be in the $100-200 USD range. A good paring knife will be about $50 USD.

However, you can always look for these at thrift stores, garage sales, hand me-downs, and dont forget about sales and factory discounts.

A good knife will be forged, not stamped, and made of stainless steel. Not ceramic. Forged means the knife was created by pounding a piece of steel into a knife shape. Stamped means they had a big sheet of already flattened steel and they cut a knife shape out of it. Forged tends to be higher quality and more solid construction. Stamped is fast and cheap.

The measurement of grade of stainless steel is so fucking complicated I don't want to get into it in this post. But what you should avoid is knives that tout how long they stay sharp. That's a bad sign. Hard steel stays sharper longer, but takes way more effort to sharpen once it needs it. To the point where it's relatively impossible to re-sharpen at home in some cases. Soft steel dulls faster, but is very easy to maintain. Read reviews and keep an eye out for people mentioning the ease of sharpening.

If you're going to sharpen at home, it doesn't take much time, sharpening blocks are cheap, and you only do it about once every 1-3 months depending on how frequently you use your knives. I suggest using the sharpening stone method. If you don't want to sharpen at home, you can bring your knives to a sharpening service, which some kitchen supply stores will have. You're gonna have to research where it can be done for your area.

I know sharpening and knife safety are big topics, which is why I linked those videos above. You need visuals for that. It takes time to hone (ha) these skills so start slow when you're new. Feel free to shoot me an ask about kitchen knives if you have any questions!

[cerastes]

Top five wombs in Arknights??

5. Surtr

Surtr's womb is the perfect tutorial mode to get your feet (and various other limbs and apendages) wet. You'd normally think that one as feisty as Surtr would pose you great duress, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Her womb is in fact much like Jungle Hijinx, the first level of Donkey Kong Country: Smooth, simple, and holds your hand throughout, hoping you learn the tools of the trade so you can challenge bigger, meaner wombs. Surtr's lack of lore makes the whole trip, honestly, very simple and appealing to the novice, since you don't have to think about it too much and can experiment plenty, as long as you don't mind not receiving much of a challenge of your abilities in return. I rate Surtr's Training Mode out of ten. The only problem with Surtr is that sometimes her memories get scrambled, and she calls you names that aren't yours, and then she starts wondering why she's called out that name in particular, but then it goes nowhere because Hypergryph hasn't given her lore. It's just kinda awkward.

4. Ch'en

Now here's where the real Ark Knights: The Knights of Tomorrow really begins. Steel yourself to face some truly unsightly catacombs, as Ch'en's womb is much like a Floridan suburban garage sale: Dirty, cheap and colossal. However, hidden beneath those suitably hoggish beef curtains lies an obstacle course of ecstasy, sizzling with lore and development to truly give any cylinder out there a cavern that is as challenging to please as it is to fill. It is a relatively safe environment, but one that will demand you know your rotation, since the DPS check is rather steep, so be sure to meld properly.

3. Ptilopsis

Now here's where real Clitoris Centurions and Ballsack Berserkers congregate to test their vim and vigor to the utmost limits, journeymen need not apply! Access to this sacrosanct marriage of flesh and technology is restricted only to top Doctors with many an expedition into the moist depths of carnal communion, with various victories in the damp, soggy sauna of star-struck sensation, with a black belt in hand-to-gland combat. If you wish to mash pissers with Ptilopsis, you must prepare accordingly, as a myriad of challenges lies between your weasel and her nest.

(Pictured above: A valiant Doctor perishes trying to reach Ptilopsis' Sector G)

If you have confidence in your muscles, the desire to test your brawn and brain to the ultimate limit, and won't get turned off from doing the horizontal mambo with a woman named Joyce, then Ptilopsis' womb is a place you cannot skip.

2. Skadi

You completed your training in the Sarkaz Stretch.

You navigated your way through the Pig Park.

You even managed to avoid an Owl Obituary. Respect!

But nothing, not even these accolades, can prepare you for the Abyssal Armageddon.

Be fooled not, valiant swashbuckler, for behind those gentle eyes and that gentle disposition lies the musculature that decimated a living god. What makes you think you can challenge it?

But, at the same time... Did not Mankind look upon the Everest and proclaim climbing it naught but a hobby? The heart of Mankind is with you. Love guides your meat, and justice gives it strength. For all of humankind's sake, you must reach the depths of this crevasse, and inscribe upon it your kin's redemption with letters of fire.

A test of pure, raw resilience where the very fiber of your being will be tested to the utmost limit: In but one quiver of pleasure, you might simply be crushed. A test of pure fundamentals, a battlefield that is a creepy as it is wet, a hunting ground for the unsuited, and the grave of the unsung.

Dare you milk the tightfisted brass with one who bested a God?

(HINT: The Tiger Drop, which negates all damage, may well be your only recourse. I hope your timing is impeccable, as a frame lost is a life lost. Yours.)

1. ?????????

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[maridotnet]

according to @bugaboooooooooo , the French don't have garage sales, so for my non American friends who may not have heard the term, it's an event where people bring all the stuff they don't want (old furniture, dishes, knick knacks, and clothes, mostly) out into their yard or garage (they're also called yard sales or rummage sales, depending on the region) and sell them cheaply to neighbors. they're often held on the first Saturday of the month, so you might find some good stuff if you're driving around looking! (Adrien, as a sheltered rich kid, probably wouldn't know what it was even if he was from Paris, Texas)

[kisskiss-slashslash]

Could we maybe see Brahms x a reader who has a porcelain doll of a young girl that’s actually haunted? I think it’d be a really cool pov!

Also, hope you don’t mind that I’m an anon, scared I’ll get made fun of for sending this ask if I ask using my acc lol-

Aww don't worry, we've all been there

This may have ended up being a bit rambly but I hope you enjoy it :)

Brahms with an s/o who owns a real haunted doll

When you came into Brahms‘ life, you didn‘t even notice anything off in the house. Mostly because you came with baggage of your own. It was a lovely porcelain doll you had bought at a garage sale many years ago. You had named her Lizzy, because she looked like a Lizzy to you. You felt like it wasn‘t just a childlike whim that made you give her that name, but a feeling deep in your chest that this was her name, whether you liked it or not, so might as well go with it. You had brought her with you because the very same part of you was convinced that abandoning her would be the same as abandoning an actual child; an act of cruelty that would almost defy description.

Strange thing always happened around Lizzy. So when these strange things just kept happening at the Heelshire estate, you naturally assumed that your doll was the culprit. When you heard about the origins of Brahms the doll, you came to the further conclusion that Brahms was just as lively as Lizzy, also possessed by the spirit of a child who had been taken from the world way too soon.

You often had Brahms and Lizzy sit together, joking that they could be best friends. But whenever you turned your back, Lizzy would be closer to you and Brahms would be nowhere to be seen.

So clearly, Lizzy and Brahms didn‘t like each other.

You would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and find Lizzy next to you in bed, pressed against your body like a frightened child seeking comfort in their parents‘ bed, and her face wet like she had been crying.

Most of the time, you would doze off again and upon waking up, would find Lizzy tossed onto a nearby chair, as if someone really wanted to shatter her on the floor but had stopped themself just in time and tossed her into the nearest soft surface instead. After incidents like this, Lizzy tended to radiate sadness and fear for a while, another feeling she was causing deep within the very core of your being.

At some point though, when you woke up yet again with Lizzy cradled in your arms, you said loudly and clearly:„Brahms, please, stop bullying Lizzy. She is just a little girl.“

You, of course, had no way to prove that whatever entity was possessing your beloved doll was a little girl, but it sure behaved like one.

There was the sound of movement in the wall, and a little boy‘s voice replied:„You are supposed to be taking care of me. Not her.“

You got curious. The voice absolutely came from the wall. You looked over to the door, knowing that Brahms‘ room was nearby and that you had tucked in the doll you assumed contained his ghost hours ago.

But ghosts didn‘t speak so clearly; they whispered hoarsely and so quietly that one could barely hear it. Lizzy sometimes spoke to you, but so softly that most of the time you can‘t figure out if you really heard or just imagined it.

„I can take care of both of you“, you promised. You had a feeling…

It had never been the same with Brahms‘ doll. He had never felt like anything other than a doll. Sure he had moved when you turned your back, but he didn‘t radiate anything, no feelings.

„Won‘t you come out?“

Months passed, and now that Brahms had revealed himself to you, you found your way into a new kind of normalcy.

He evidently still didn‘t particularly like Lizzy, but he loved you enough to tolerate her. He even seemed to find her antics quite interesting at times.

One day he came running to you, Lizzy in his arms. „Lizzy just talked to me!“ „Yeah, she does that sometimes. What did she say?“

He looked down onto Lizzy‘s soft porcelain face. „She said ‚Thank you for being so nice to them‘.“

You smiled. Seeing these two, doll with the little girl inside it and the man behind the other doll finally get along warmed your heart.

[lamponellatempesta]

JWCT COUNTDOWN

DAY 5: Roadtrips

For this prompt, I've decided to write the first encounter and trip of Ben with his red Jeep (thanks @gingericywolf for putting this headcanon in my head) I hope you will enjoy it!

(Countdown gently created by @campbenji)

"Hey wait wait!" Ben said, late, as he ran towards the bus, "One more second please!" His pleadings were not heard, and the bus resumed its run to the school, with the boy staring at him as he vanished at the intersection, without him on board. Ben cursed, running for the next stop was useless and he couldn’t miss another day of school, he had already lost enough, the only option he had left was to continue on foot so, reluctantly, he started.

He decided to vent his frustration by hitting a rock along the way. "For once I do a late night, This is the result. On foot. Because some stupid driver doesn’t want to wait for someone who’s practically yelling at him. Of course. Pfft. If I only had a car I wouldn’t have these problems, am I late? No problem! I’d go with the car and I wouldn’t have to run after a stupid bus!" he said, hitting the rock harder while talking to himself on the way. He’d got his driving licence for a few months now, but his mom wouldn’t get him a car because she said he had to earn it, work it out with the money he was earning from his summer job at mantah corp island and the delivery job he did on the weekends during the school year; He didn’t make a lot of money, but he was saving it to get the car he wanted. He wasn’t too pretentious, it didn’t need to be new or luxury like Kenji’s, he just needed it to work.

He looked through the cars he saw parked along the street to see what he might like, even though he already knew it; a jeep had always been one of his dreams since he had driven one for work on mantah island, he had literally fallen in love with that kind of car and he would have really wanted to have one of his own so he could go around camping, be in nature on his own and facing roads not easily passable would have been a thousand times easier with a Jeep than with any other type vehicle. He’d been looking at car ads for months, hoping to find one in vain. Those who owned one apparently held tight on them and envied those he saw in the driveways and sighed.

He had almost arrived at school, when he noticed one in particular in a parking lot; it was not very well put, the red color had some rust and some scratches, the right mirror was broken and the front bumper almost seemed to come off, the wheels were a little flat. Ben scrunched his nose, "Who is owning such a beautiful car in this condition?! I understand that you may have lived it to the fullest, but at least some care!! If I had it it wouldn’t be in this condition-" the boy interrupted his complaining on the owner of the car when he noticed the most important detail, onw he had not noticed at the first glance; the jeep was for sale and at a price he could afford. It was a golden opportunity. He couldn’t miss it. He looked at the school on the horizon and the jeep again.

The choice was not difficult.

Not even an hour later Ben was in his "new" jeep and was taking her for a ride to see how she behaved on the road, "Please don’t explode, you’re doing well! Just a little bit more and we’re home and I’ll starting to give you a nice setup." Ben said as he squeezed the steering wheel all happy; finally he had a car! And it wasn’t an ordinary car, it was the car of his dreams, a jeep! And it was also red! He couldn’t wish for anything better! He had to find a name for it.

Luck was with him and he managed to bring the car to their garage, where it made a bad noise and died suddenly. Ben sighed; he would have a long morning ahead of him, but it would be worth it.

The boy did not even notice the hours spent in that garage replacing, cleaning and fixing the various pieces of the jeep, following old video tutorials made by Brooklynn on her channel, until his mother found him, "Benjamin!!!"

Ben was cleaning the interiors and slammed his head against the roof. "Owww! What?! Oh... mum! Hi! Eheh.. hellooo," Ben said while trying to look cool behind the wheel.

"What is this?! And You should be at school!"

"Uuumh, that’s..uh.. well.. my new car??"

"And you couldn’t pick it up after school?!" She retorted, with Ben getting out of the vehicle.

"I couldn’t miss this opportunity mom! Look how beautiful she is! It was a unique opportunity I couldn’t let go! Look!" And Ben started to go around the car dragging his mother with him to show her all the changes and improvements he had already made, while his mother was not so convinced of the result, but smiled anyway, proud of her son, "You’ve done a really good job, Benjamin, I guess you are skipping school today. Only for today, though!"

Ben smiled all excited and made jumped of joy, "Accompany me to try it out!! Come on!" He said jumping to the driver’s seat without leaving his mother time to respond. She sighed and then climbed into the passenger seat, "Are you sure... sure it's safe?"

"Of course! I checked everything Brooklynn said to check in the video! I’m 90, maybe 85%, sure!" Ben exclaimed all excited as he turned it on, with some difficulties, as the engine made some not so reassuring sounds and Mrs Pincus grabbed the handle for the passenger, which detached and remained in her hand; she turned to look at Ben who giggled nervously as he got out of the garage. He was ready for his first official ride in his jeep!

He decided to make her go around the neighboring blocks, honestly even he didn’t trust her to go long distances yet but heck it was so nice to feel independent, the feeling of the rough skin of the steering wheel under the fingers and the distorted radio sounds, he should have changed it but he didn’t care, he was happy. He already dreamed of future roadtrips.

"Everyone has to see my new ride! Mom, isn’t it great!? I love her!"

"Don’t get distracted!!" And he took a corner a little too wide because of the worn tires that had no grip on the asphalt "Need to change them yeah. Eheh." "Benjamin, you are a crazy child!" She said with a nervous laugh and smiled, "You want to go get some take away, you won’t even have had lunch focused how you were." Ben still had a smile on his face, "You’re right, I’m hungry... Take away! Let’s go Jolene!" And he turned steering wheel, which again made some uninviting noises, "Ooops. Sorry,"

Mrs Pincus held to her seat and then looked at him, "Jolene? You gave her a name?"

Ben blinked, he hadn’t even noticed, he unconsciously had already chosen the name, and it was great. "Of course! Every car must have a name!"

"It’s a nice name, but be more careful and don’t strain it too much!"

"I’ll treat her like a princess mom don’t worry!" And the two continued on their journey to fast food and continued to talk and laugh among themselves.

He felt happy, this was the first of many trips with Jolene, and he could only reward himself with some food.

Later he sent some photos to the campfam groupchat while eating his reward sitting on the hood of the jeep,

"We will make many trips together, Jolene. And you will be the best jeep of all. I assure you."