#nerdfest

[gryffinthechaosgremlin]

I need help choosing a Cosplay for Nerdfest!

[kristineknowlton]

TODAY!!! Come see Carter Cosplay at Nerd Fest!!! August 27th from 10am-4pm at the Holiday Inn Swedesboro!! There will be amazing guests, vendors, comics, toys and more!! There will also be a cosplay contest!!

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#jerseyshorecomicbookshow #comiccon #comics #guests #cosplay #toys #family #cartercosplay #kristineknowlton @jerseyshorecomicbookshows

[johnandrasjaqobis]

First friendship bracelet exchange ~

[neoyi]

My god, I could technically cosplay as Peppino Pizza Tower Spaghetti man for a con if I wanted to. His costume would be incredibly doable for since his clothing is stuff you can find in general retail. I just have to draw a mustache and look stressed out all the time, and I can do the latter easily.

[divorceconnoisseur]

There's a beat of silence where they just stare at each other. Eddie's face wavers for a second before he snorts, running his hand down his face. "What are we even doing here, man?"

Steve falters, the inanity of the situation hitting him. "I, uh, I think we're about to actually fistfight over-- over who a bunch of 14-year-olds think is cooler."

Eddie considers that briefly, tapping his fingers against his mouth before nodding. "Yeah, okay, I've heard of worst causes. Dukes up, Harrington, let's go!" Eddie pushes up his sleeves and waves his fists in the air cartoonishly as he starts to circle Steve.

Steve laughs, following Eddie as he goes like a compass drawn north. "Oh yeah, man? To the death, right?"

"Of course. Is there any other kind of fight?" Eddie says, overly serious, and abruptly tackles Steve.

They wrestle for a moment, and it's playful and stupid, but it still takes Steve an embarrassingly short amount of time to get Eddie in a headlock.

"This is just sad, man," Steve teases as Eddie struggles. "Those guns just for show, then?"

"Oh shit oh shit not the hair please, please have mercy O King Steve," Eddie laughs breathlessly.

Steve considers it-- Eddie seems to take as much care in his hair as Steve does, and real respects real-- and in that moment of hesitation, Eddie hooks his leg around Steve's and pulls.

Steve yelps as Eddie cackles, dragging them both down into the grass.

He hits the ground with a choked gasp, breath knocked out of him, and he squints up at the sky, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a grin.

He turns his head to say something to Eddie but loses his breath a second time for a very different reason.

Eddie's still giggling to himself in little fits, winding down, and there's a lightness to him at this moment that Steve's never seen, only heard described by the kids pre-Vecna. Laughter suits Eddie Munson, much better than terror or guilt or seriousness, and Steve's suddenly aware that he would do anything in this moment to keep that surprised look of happiness on his face a second longer.

Eddie catches his eyes and turns his head toward him. He's got grass stuck in his hair, and Steve doesn't think before he reaches over.

It's soft. Softer than he was expecting. He's careful not to catch any of Eddie's hair as he pulls out the grass and ends up lingering longer than he means to, setting a curl back to rights before realizing that this is, like, maybe a little weird.

He jerks back, and the back of his hand brushes Eddie's cheek, which is-- which is--

Warm. Soft, too, but with the rough start to stubble, and the feeling of it lingers against his hand like a brand.

Eddie's eyes, dark and impossibly wide, watch him, quiet for once. He wets his lips before speaking, and Steve's eyes catch on that, too, before darting back up to Eddie's. Which, god, what even was that? Why-- why is he--?

"A draw, then," Eddie says, turning over onto his stomach and kicking up his feet, and the weird atmosphere vanishes like it never was. "You are a worthier opponent than I realized, Steve Harrington."

"Oh yeah?" Steve says, relieved and disappointed. "Well, you're not so bad yourself."

Eddie clicks his tongue and fans himself. "You're too kind."

Steve looks away, tracking the clouds passing overhead. "No, really. I know I haven't exactly been, y'know, the world's best welcoming committee-"

"Was pretty convinced you hated my guts, yup." Eddie agrees, nodding.

"I don't. I never did. You're just--" Steve wracks his brain, trying to fit a word to the squirming feeling in his chest that Eddie inspires. "You're really good, y'know?"

"I... don't know, actually." Eddie's voice goes flat, and when Steve turns back to look at him, he's looking at Steve like he's a live snake, or something else dangerous and close to his vulnerable bits.

"You're good with the kids. Good for the kids, too. God, Will's really opened up since he joined your dumb nerdfest. You're good with and to the girls, too, and Jonathan, and Argyle, and probably anyone else that crosses your path. You are, patently, a good dude."

Eddie's mouth opens and closes, but Steve barrels on, feeling electric and more than a little crazy. "And, and it's just-- I don't know, I just--"

"Harrington, if you're about to tell me you think I'm a better man than you, I will lose it," Eddie interrupts regardless, voice high and reedy. "I know you're being, like, genuine and honest right now, but I will laugh in your goddamn face-"

"No, it's not that."

"Okay, I know this directly contradicts what I just said, but the speed with which you said that... Ouch."

"No," Steve shakes his head, frustrated. "I didn't mean it like that. It's-- it's not a competition."

Eddie's eyebrows leap up. "It's not? I invite you to remember what we've spent the last few weeks on."

"That was just an excuse," He snaps his mouth closed the second the words leave his mouth.

"Excuse?" Eddie repeats slowly.

"I just. I don't know, man. Maybe," he swallows. "Maybe I just couldn't handle the thought of you being good to me."

"... Why not?" Eddie asks, eyes focused on him, open, not judging, and god, this is exactly what Steve was worried about.

Eddie looks at him, and Steve--

Kisses him. Can't really do anything else but kiss him.

And when Eddie, after the longest moment of Steve's life, starts kissing him back? It's like the answer to a question he hadn't realized he'd been asking.

Turns out it's not the kids' attention he'd wanted-- or not just the kids' attention, anyway.

When Eddie pulls back, lips red and wet, eyes dark and focused just on him, Steve knows he's finally won it.

[strangersteddierthings]

What's Eight Plus Seven?

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five

Pizza order successfully placed, Steve dials Robin's number next. He doesn't need to talk long, just... hear her voice. Maybe get some verbal support.

"Buckley residence."

"Thank God it's you," Steve sighs in relief to hear Robin's voice on the other end. There was a little bit of dread that her mom might have answered and then he'd be stuck on the phone while she tried to chat with him.

"Whoa. Was hosting the nerdfest that bad?" Robin asks, laughter in her voice.

"Uhh," Steve starts, because he's eloquent like that.

"Oh no. Was is that bad? What happened?"

He feels a flood of warmth for Robin's immediate concern. "No, no, nerdfest was fine. I, uhh, mostly I'm calling because Eddie and I are gonna, like, hang out and talk and I just- I dunno. Wanted to hear your voice, first."

"Oh. Really? Well. Here's my voice. This is you hearing it."

He laughs at that. "Thanks. It's just, I think it's gonna be, like, a bathroom floor kind of conversation, except in my living room on a couch."

"Oh! I can be there in ten if you need me."

"Nah. This is just- me needing to hear your voice, and also a warning that I might have to crawl through your window and fall apart on your bed later. Just don't know how this is going to go."

"I'm here if you need me. Are you going to talk about Freshman First Day?"

"We, uhh, already did. Mostly. There's been apologies and now we're gonna talk. Get to know each other. Play 20 questions, I guess."

Robin laughs at that. "Alright. Ask him if he's ever going to get me the sandwich he owes me from back in November."

"What?"

"You know, his whole cafeteria speech thing? Stepped right on my ham and cheese. It did make him slip and almost brain himself, and he did apologize. Told me he owed me a new sandwich. I never got it. Ask for me."

"We'll see. Okay, I'm going to go but, thank you. Love you."

"Love you, too. Window will be ajar."

Steve hangs up, then opens the fridge. He debates grabbing them beers but opts for soda. Back in the living room Steve finds Eddie sitting like a normal person on the couch, one leg bouncing relentlessly. Even with his superficial knowledge of Eddie, he can tell he's nervous. Not nervous Eddie would be perched on the back of his couch, ruining the cushions with whatever junk is on the bottom of his shoes. Probably.

"Soda?" Steve offers, plopping himself on the other end of the couch, hand outstretched for Eddie to take the beverage.

"Thanks." The bouncing of Eddie's leg pauses for a moment while he's opening and chugging half the can in one swift motion, then the bouncing starts again.

"Hey, man, relax. You didn't seem nearly as nervous when you were trying to sneakily hang out earlier."

Eddie lets out a big sigh. "Yeah, well, I didn't know you hated me then."

"I don't hate you."

"Oh, shit, no. Not what- I meant, like, past tense. Hated as in, used to hate. Not present tense."

"Ah. Well, I don't think I 'hated as in used to hate' past, like, three months into my freshman year. This is going to be the most self-absorbed shit ever, but, like, once I became popular, I couldn't be bothered to hate you. Didn't have the time to put towards that."

"Oh, of that I've no doubt. That was absolutely the read everyone who tried to interact with you got."

Steve ducks his head to hide his own embarrassment by fiddling with the can in his hands. "I thought you wanted to do, like, 20 questions or something."

"Oh. Serious? You'll do it?"

"Yeah."

"Right then. What even are the rules for 20 questions? Is it 20 questions each, or in total asked?"

"I dunno, man. I don't think people actually keep track. I think we just ask questions until we're done with talking. I guess the rules are don't lie, and if you don't want to answer a question, then don't. Pass on it, or whatever."

Eddie nods but he's still nervous, leg still bouncing. A look on his face so close to fear it makes Steve ache a little. He knows too well what far looks like on Eddie, experienced a week's worth of it.

Steve can start. Ease them into this. "Do you got a favorite color?"

Eddie shifts then. Turns sideways on the couch to lean against the armrest and face him. "Wait. One more rule. No mocking answers. You may laugh once at an answer."

"If you are about to tell me it's hot pink, I cannot follow that rule."

"It's not hot pink. Jesus. It's, uhh, brown, actually," Eddie says, rolling his can between his hands. "It used to be red but. I dunno. When I think of red, now, I think of the sky in the upside down and how that was almost the last thing I ever saw. I think of blood, and bleeding out."

And here he thought he was easing them into this with the most basic of questions. Eddie's already being vulnerable. "Follow up question, if you'll allow it. Why brown?"

"What's wrong with brown?"

"Nothing. Just thought you'd pick black or something," Steve gestures to all of Eddie.

At that, Eddie looks down at his mostly black outfit, the only part of it with any color is the DIO album art on his shirt, then back up. "Fair point. I guess brown just makes me think of home. The wooden porch, the paneling, brown dirt road that leads to the trailer. It's also, like, a good eye color. Exhibit A," He waves his hand in front of his face, batting his eyes exaggeratedly. It pulls a laugh from Steve.

"I can't argue that," Steve waves towards his face, where his own eyes have been described by many a girl as ranging from hazel to honey, but Steve just thinks of them as brown. "Your turn, man."

"You, tragically, had never heard of Ozzy before we met. What's your music of choice, and why is it the Top 40?"

"Like everybody didn't hear you singing along to I Wanna Dance With Somebody last week when it came on the radio at the Byers' Barbecue-"

"Whitney is a national treasure and I will not be slandered for knowing the words to any of her songs."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it was just the Top 40, but really I don't have a preference. I just let other people pick the music. And, uhh, with the multiple concussions I don't listen to as much music as I used to. The migraines are brutal. It's never the music that brings on the migraine but like, it never helps, y'know?"

Eddie is nodding. "I do know. Like when you get sick and vomit, you avoid the last thing you ate, even when it turns out to be the flu and not food poisoning. Like, you know it wasn't the mango milkshake that made you throw up, but you avoid the mango flavor anyway."

There's definitely a full story in that somewhere. Maybe Steve will ask about it later. "Kinda? I don't avoid music but I don't think I've put a record or cassette in the player in months. Anyway, my turn. How'd you learn to play the guitar?"

"Wayne. He started teaching me before I live with him. Just a few chords when we'd visit every so often when I was little. Really got to learn after he took me in. I was eleven, if memory serves."

"Am I allowed to ask about your parents?" Steve interrupts.

"Yeah. Speaking of parents," Eddie's nervous again, bouncing his leg.

"It's your turn. Ask."

"I know the high school reputation. Big house, no parents. I might have even snuck over a few times to sale here when I knew a party was happening. Rich kids will pay whatever price you name, y'know? So, guess the actual question is, what's the deal there, with your parents?"

Steve would laugh except he has no memory of ever seeing Eddie at his house prior to all the fuckery that's gone down. He was too in his own head to bother with other people back then. And the real kicker? He probably bought from Eddie, at his own house, with his supposed grudge and all. God, he was such a dick. "Yeah. Lots of business trips, for them. The used to ship me off to spend a month with my grandparents when I was little, so they could take those trips. Guess once I was old enough to watch after myself, those trips started to happen whenever, instead of just over summer."

"What, they left you here alone as a kid? Even during the school year?"

Eddie sounds so scandalized it'd be funny if it wasn't so sad. Steve says, "I wouldn't say kid. I was fourteen, so, like, a teenager. But, yeah, gone a lot. More and more with each passing year. I mean, they've been back, but like, for a day or two. Mom switching out what jewelry she wanted and dad bit by bit emptying his office." He pauses with a frown, remembering now the last time he did see his parents face to face. "It was about halfway through senior year. The last time they were here. They didn't even come to my graduation."

Eddie sucks in a breath and Steve can visibly see him hold back some choice words.

"Anyway, long sob story short, I'm still just a rich kid with absent parents. They don't charge me rent or anything, but I pay to keep the lights on."

"That just adds so many more questions to my list."

"Well, it's my turn now, so. What got you into Dungeons and Dragons?"

Eddie looks surprised, and then guilty. "I've always liked fantasy. And, uhh, my Freshman First Day, the DnD booth was set up in the cafeteria, an okayish looking dragon drawn on the poster taped to the booth's edge. And, uh, I approached..."

"No one told you to fuck off?"

"I didn't tell you to fuck off."

"Might've hurt less if you had," Steve hadn't even meant that to be insulting, or insinuating, but it doesn't land. He'd been aiming for teasing and missed the mark, given the way Eddie jerks back, like he's trying to put more distance between them. "Oh, shit, Eddie, I didn't mean- I was-"

The doorbell rings out and both jump, turning to the front door like it might bite them. The bell chimes again, and it's then Steve remembers he ordered pizza. Wordlessly Steve gets up and deals with that. Pays for the pizza and gives a tip, stops in the kitchen long enough to grab some napkins, then folds himself back onto the couch, placing the pizza box on the cushions between them.

The time away from the couch, less than three minutes in total, Steve thinks, was enough to calm Eddie again, since he starts the teasing, "greasy pizza box directly onto the cushions! That'll never come out you know."

Steve shrugs and grins, flipping the box open to grab a pizza slice. "That's a problem for Future Steve."

Eddie grabs his own slice, and they just eat their first slices in silence before Steve breaks that, "I really wasn't trying to- earlier, I was trying to joke. About Freshman First Day. Not, uh, not like, pick a fight. So, if you still want to talk, I think it's your turn to ask a question. Any question. A big question."

"Alright. A big one. Who is Christopher?"

"Okay. Uh, just, give me a moment. I'll answer and I'm gonna be real honest right now with you, so just let me get through this, ok?"

Eddie nods, reaching for a second slice of pizza.

Steve gathers his thoughts, and speaks. "Christopher was my cousin. His family lives in Washington, so I don't see them much. You know that 'shipped off to the grandparents' thing I told you about earlier? Christopher, and his younger siblings, Amber and Robert, also came out to visit.

"I think my grandparents loved to have us all there. My cousins were there for family time, and I was there to just... not be in my parent's way, I think, but the reason why doesn't matter. The important bit. Christopher was two years older than me, and I thought he was the coolest person in the world. I wanted to be just like him. That last summer we spent together, he told me all about the game of Dungeons and Dragons he'd played with his club at school.

"It made me want to play. I was a kid who loved fantasy, too. I had to pretend to leave that behind when I got into middle school; too afraid of disappointing my dad for still liking make believe. I didn't know at the time that making him proud was just something I'd never achieve.

"Anyway, Christopher introduced me to the game, told me the entire campaign they'd run at his school, and then sent me those books. He's the reason I was at the booth that day. If Christopher could play sports and be a nerd, maybe I could, too? But, uh, that didn't go how I planned in my head. And, then. Then," Steve stops here, a knot in his throat but his eyes dry. It's not that he doesn't still mourn the loss of Christopher, it's just that the tears have dried up long ago. "Christopher committed suicide, that year. Halfway through the school year. I think... I think even if I had joined your club, if you had let me take that flier, I would have dropped out after the funeral. I'd wanted to join so bad so that Christopher would be proud of me."

The room has lost focus, now. Steve is staring forward but he doesn't really see Eddie anymore. It's like he's fallen into his thoughts and nothing else exists anymore. "It's a bit fucked up, but being older than me, I think I looked for approval in him that I didn't find in my dad, or maybe I wanted to be him because his parents were so proud of everything he did and I wanted that. Approval. I- it's- I think I used to confuse the two. Approval and love. Maybe I still do? I dunno.

"I guess I just wrapped all that up, the need for approval, Christopher's suicide, my love for fantasy, and shoved it in the same bottle deep down that I kept my anger at you in," Steve blinks himself back into the present. Takes in Eddie's face, a mix of sad and fond, like he wants to wrap Steve in a hug. Steve would probably let him. "That wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry."

Eddie shakes his head no. "You don't have to apologize to me, Stevie. I get it. You wore your jockness that same way I wear The Freak. Like armor. You weren't wrong, earlier, when you said we were dumb kids who learned to lash out and hurt first, so we couldn't be hurt. I was fucking, no, I am still like that. I mean, I just lashed back out at you when all you did was point out how I'd acted to you."

"Yeah, well, life gives everyone a shit hand sometimes. I used to capitalize on that. Kick people when they were down. It's- it's humbling and, like, awful, to unpack that. I know I'm still working on it, but I didn't have to do it alone. Robin and Dustin have been there for me. Great. They call me on my bullshit and it's easier to take then, hearing it from people I know who care about me."

"Guess I better ask find someone to call me out then."

"Haven't you already?" Steve asks, gesturing to himself.

Eddie barks a laugh. "I- yeah, I guess. You sayin' you care, Harrington?"

"Of course I do, man. We wouldn't be doing this -talking about deep shit and getting pizza grease all over my couch- if I didn't."

He watches Eddie turn red, and hide behind his hair. "Could just be doing it for the kids."

"I could. Guess you'll have to trust I'm not. That I also want a do over."

Eddie shoots him a big smile, dimples on full display, and Steve's happy to let go of his grudge if it means Eddie will smile at him like that more.

-

((Looks like there's going to be one more part. Thought this would be the last one but the boys wouldn't cooperate so next part.))

[madaboutmunson]

Title: Found what I’m looking for

written for ‘pin’ prompt by @steddiemicrofic

wc: #388| rated: T | cw: cursing, reference to alcohol

Note: I wrote this when I saw the prompt and when I went to look at how to post, I saw the master list and that someone had used this game in their story too. Apologies for that it wasn’t intentional 🤍

*****************************

"Aren't you a little old for pin the tail on the donkey?" Robin mockingly impersonates Steve from about two hours and many cups of punch earlier.

"Shut up! I'm gonna show you shitbirds how this is done, and no amount of you trying to psyche me out is going to make a difference," Steve said confidently, "I've got this."

"'Course you do, Steve,' Dustin said in patronising support as he helped spin a blindfolded Steve around and let him go.

With one sense shut off, Steve carefully utilises his others to understand where he is. He could hear the music from the stereo blaring, but it was so loud it was hard for that to give him a sense of direction. He listened a little more carefully and heard a crunch of popcorn that he knew for sure was Robin.

He turned until Robin was where she should be for him to be facing the picture on the back of the door.

Dustin's new campaign party, whatever that meant, had been a crowded affair. A bunch of people from this new club he was in and some other collection of nerds from camps or other clubs were here, too. Steve had offered up his house to prevent Mrs Henderson from getting involved.

But Steve had spotted one of the kids spike the punch, immediately confiscated it, and escaped the Nerdfest with Robin to the game's garage, which was abandoned in favour of dragons, Star Trek, and an Atari.

Steve heard a click of the door handle, "HEY! No cheating. You move that thing. Your ass is grass!"

With the extra direction information, Steve headed toward it and reached out a hand quickly to hit something hard. He smiled, having found the door.

Weird, he thought the poster was paper, but it felt like fabric. Fancy.

Steve trailed his fingers around the fabric to try and figure out where to pin the tail, much to the amusement of Dustin and Robin.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You won't be laughing so hard when I'm declared the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey king," Steve scoffed.

The laugh appeared from somewhere that made his stomach drop. Someone was right in front of him.

Steve quickly ripped off the blindfold and found his hand trailing over the t-shirt of a blushing but very smug-looking Eddie Munson.

[cosplaymutt]

My booth at CHS Nerdfest this past weekend. First time doing an outdoor booth, how did I do?

[fruitcoops]

hey ! any fics on Lily and Remus’ friendship? I love them so muchhh in sw dkdjsjjsjs

Love your fics! <3

Lots! You're always welcome to request something new, but I'll link my already-published ones below the cut:

Manicure (as the name implies)

Starboy (nerdfest galore, ft Regulus)

Call and Response (Harry's 1st words)

Persephone (Lily finding her wedding dress w/ Remus and Natalie)

Gossip (day-drinking and trashy TV)

Get His Ass (Creep hits on Lily + protective Remus)

Fear Pong (Coops and Jily social media fic)

Where's Your Buddy? (James vs. Remus for Lily's birthday-themed "who knows me better?" challenge)

Moonlilies (Remus and Lily talk after the Greyback footage is leaked; part of a larger series, can be read standalone)

Also, I know a bunch of links are still missing from the fluff masterlist! The entire list got unlinked in June, and I've been steadily redoing each one by digging through my archive since then. It's slow-going, but it's happening, and all masterlist fics can also be found on ao3 under fruitcoops <3

[shoezuki]

ok loosely ranking groups in honkai star rail according to if i think theyd be fun at parties

Masked Fools: phenomenal. they host absolute bangers. endless alcohol that will make you shitfaced so fast. all of em instantly act like youve been homies for years and mfers are constantly passing you the joint and for some reason someone always puts on fast and furious: tokyo drift no matter what. be careful tho you might wake up on another planet or in a broom closet on herta space station. also someone always dies at a masked fool party. without fail. someone gets dared to swallow a sword or jump out the ship. but like as long as its not u who cares

Punklordes: hardly host but as soon as they catch wind of a party they show up in droves and take over. drink everything and hoard the chips but if u cozy up to a hacker n complain that theres no drinks left theyll be like 'ok one sec' and use their phone to hack ur molecular structure and give u the best high of ur life. But when the parties done either they will do something great like inject a Pokemon Scarlet ROMhack straight into ur brain or trap u in a pool like the sims so be careful

Underworlders: frankly jus an all around good time. not usually anything crazy like its jus a bunch of dudes chilling shootin the shit having some beer. Oleg can throw back shots like nobodies business and luka will always challenge ppl to arm wrestles. dont arm wrestle him tho he has broken ppls bones. natasha is nearby at least

Silvermanes: those soldiers can absolutely give u a great fucking time. shit liquor but they will be losing their minds singing dancing and roughhousing.

Herta Space Station: they are all kinda stuffy and theres a good chance itll be less a party and more some nerdfest where they talk bout research. but the alcohol and food is fucking endless. if astra drinks enough and arlan isnt around u can get her to buy you anything. also theres a good chance someone will grab the rating gun and theyll have a heated debate over what it means n ranks ppl by and theres a very good chance someone will get their head bashed in w the gun and thats a lot of fun

Architects: horrible. bunch of rich stuffy bastards 'networking' and politely insulting each other. they have the expensive alcohol and food but so expensive that it fucking sucks. at least you have endless champagne

Xianzhou Natives: they fucking suck. weed was created by yaoshi so its banned on the Xianzhou and thats so fucking lame. dudes are so stringent on making sure nothing is gonna 'induce mara' or some shit. 'oh no evidence of plagues author's influence is in these mikes hard lemonades we have to confiscate them' bunch of assholes.

[nostalgiacauseitstrendy]

Reader x Kabal- Say Uncle!

I wanted to write a way for the reader and Kabal to be in Liu Kang's new era. When Liu Kang is gathering Kombatants and Titans for the final battle, Liu Kang calls upon Y/n and Kabal. Y/n has a power similar to Raven (teen titans), is also niece to Johnny Cage (daughter of that rotten brother of his :) ). However- your mother was NOT from earthrealm, which Johnny will learn. Post-burn Kabal (but under different circumstances, kind of like how Kenshi was blinded under different circumstances).

Some fluff, some humor.

Warning: swearing, whats new- I cant write without it. Abuse, family member death.

Let us begin-----

You were sleeping comfortably with your husband. You were used to the lull and huff of his respirator throughout the night, his arm lazily draped over your waist.

You lived rather quietly- two former, reformed Black Dragon members. You managed to be able to stay in this last apartment for a while now, although you both know they'd somehow find you again. A brawl, relocation, the same song and dance. You both hoped eventually they would give up. After all, between you and Kabal, you managed to kick enough ass to walk away unscathed each time. If anything, you weren't worth their resources or time, it was all a matter of pride at this point.

Tonight was restless for some reason; you had a feeling something was off. You kept waking up on and off before nodding back. Had they found you again?

You heard whispering in the hallway and an hushed "SHHH!" The moonlight caught a few figures gliding through the hallway. You shifted up immediately.

Kabal did not even stir. For fuck's sake, if there was an intruder- you'd be dead. Well, not really. You could easily hold your own. It was just the principle of it all.

Within seconds you had a knife, formed from your own chaos magic, directly at the leading figure's throat.

"wHOOAH WOOAH. Y/n, its Uncle Johnny!"

"What the fuck are you doing! I could have killed you." You said lowly, "In seconds," The last words containing particular venom. "Also, how did you get in here?!"

Johnny flicked on the lights in the room, then gestured to the hallway. Following behind Johnny was a figure with glowing eyes, causing you to take a step aback. You take a quick look back at your husband, who still hadn't awoken. With an eyeroll, you shoved him awake.

"Shiiwhat..." with a quick glance of the situation, Kabal was up, hookswords in hand.

"Babe, babe...put it down. Its okay," you looked at Johnny, "I think."

The glowing-eyed figure was now in your room. You and Kabal shared a look of confusion before looking back at said figure.

"Forgive the intrusion, that was your uncle's idea. He swore you would be used to his...rudeness. We would not be here if the circumstances were not dire."

You and Kabal raised an eyebrow in unison.

"I am Liu Kang, the God of Fire and the Keeper of Time." You internally gestured for Liu Kang to continue on about what this was all about. Johnny, of course, was looking around the room, completely ignoring the conversation at hand. Typical, you internally muttered.

Liu Kang began to go on a spiel about how the timelines were in danger, which was never an intended outcome of the current timeline which he created, annnnndddd this timeline he created you contemporarily inhabited and it could be destroyed in mere hours.

"We need your help in the coming battle. You and your husband," Liu Kang looked at Kabal, in familiarity almost. Liu Kang gave you a similar look, as though he knew you already knew more than you were letting on. The silence was interrupted by Johnny, of course.

"Husband?! Since when did you marry crispy?"

"Call him that again and I'll have your head, family or not. Second, we eloped. Can't exactly have a ceremony when..." You dropped off. You didn't feel the need to explain your Black Dragon past. Johnny knew anyways, apparent from the sad look that graced his normally cheerful features.

"Also look at this nerdfest." Johnny gestured to you and Kabal's collection of movie posters, figurines, and comic books decorated the room. "You and crispy were definitely made for each other."

Within a second, a black hole appeared underneath Johnny, which with a yelp he fell through. You could feel Kabal's smile under his respirator.

"Where did you send him?" Liu Kang asked with what seemed like a slight smile.

"Oh, just downstairs. I hate our downstairs neighbors, they can have him." As if on cue, you heard a screech from your downstairs neighbors.

--

You, Kabal, Liu Kang, and a now dazed Johnny sat at your kitchen table, explaining what the coming battle would ensue.

Johnny stared at you with anger in his eyes, you returning the glare.

"What's wrong with you?" You questioned, annoyed.

"Oh I don't know, my niece consistently cuts me out of her life. I didn't even know she was married, she's a former criminal and-"

Kabal was about to defend you, but you put your hand down in front of him, to gesture that you had this handled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you mean the Johnny that didn't know me the first half of my life and left me with his abusive, piece of shit brother."

"I-"

"Oh, and where were you when mom died? I was four!"

Johnny sat silently.

"Kabal helped me go figure that out on our own. We ended up in some strange place, like some entirely different realm...which I guess is where mom's from. That's...thats where Kabal got his injuries, and I've never forgiven myself for that." You stammered, "I don't know what the hell that thing was that attacked us..."

Kabal snapped out of what seemed like a disturbing memory, "Hey hey hey-that wasn't your fault." He grabbed your hand and began to rub your knuckles in reassurance.

"So...your mother was involved in all...this business?" Johnny gestured to Liu Kang.

"Yeah. Its why I have powers and you don't." You smirked slyly.

"Its okay, I got the good looks." Johnny put his hand on his chin.

You actually laughed. Sometimes you actually missed interacting with your uncle. He was definitely a character.

Kabal interrupted the tender moment by stating, "We want to help, but if we come out, the Black Dragon might find us again..."

Johnny smirked, "You've got nothing to worry about on the end."

"What do you mean?" you crooked your head in curiosity.

"Why do you think I'm broke?"

"Your acting in Ninja Mime 4, for one..." Kabal snickered.

With a glare at Kabal, "I paid the Black Dragon off so they'd stay off your backs. Let me tell you, it was one hell of a ransom...."

"Uncle Johnny, I-"

"Shush shush shush, 'uncle' is all I needed to hear. Consider it a late wedding gift. Maybe you two can have a proper wedding after all this mess, given we survive."

--

You stifled a sob. With a little financial aid (hell, you and Kabal weren't making Black Dragon wages anymore) from your uncle, you were walking down the aisle. It was a small ceremony, but lavish no less because of your uncle (he wouldn't have it any other way). You were finally having the wedding you dreamed of having. As you walked down the aisle to Kabal, he took his respirator off for the moment. Prior to the wedding, you insisted that it wasn't an issue- but he said that he wanted to kiss his bride.

You could see tears in Kabal eyes as you walked towards him. You were a sight to see after all, your flowing gown cascading down from your hips, your dress accentuated your body in all the right places. A close friend of yours named Sonya helped make sure you picked out the perfect dress.

Uncle Johnny had one condition however, annoying as it might be. He got to officiate. And speaking of Sonya, you noticed his eyes never left your maid of honor. You dismissed the thought as you reached your husband. Surprisingly, Johnny was on his best behavior. After exchanging your vows, you locked lips with your husband in your little happily ever after.

For the ceremony, you invited all your battle comrades. After all, you didn't have many friends of your own living on the run. Your uncle Johnny kept trying to woo your maid of honor, Kabal got in a drunken nerd argument with Smoke, and Mileena and Tanya were enjoying eachothers company, slow dancing on the floor.

Aren't you glad you said Uncle?

Bonus! Some fun intros:

Liu Kang: "I am glad, much like one of your past timelines, you chose to reform."

Kabal: "I am so tired of this kryptic, Marvel multiverse bullshit."

--

Liu Kang: "I am sorry that you have become burned yet again."

Kabal: "Again? Do you have it out for me or something when you made this timeline?"

--

Johnny: "Since your my nephew in law, I want to apologize for calling you crispy."

Kabal: "You should be apologizing for Ninja Mime 4."

[squibbles-gubwee]

Shinigami worked very hard on her data collection. @tmnt-fandom-family-reunion (cabin 3)

"EEE OH GAWD YES TELL ME EVERYTHING!! Is he a zombie via parasitic worms? Fungi?? Oh my gosh is he MAGIC based like necromancy??? Tell me everything, how often does he eat, is radiant damage super effective against him?? I LOVE your outfit-"

"Psst....!"

"I stole the hoverboard from my sister's display. Let's blow this nerdfest."

Leo may be a bit salty because his simblings joked about using him as a science fair project as well-

@eyesoftheholder @tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

[loud-trash-arcade]

Welcome to the nerdfest that is my blog

[johnandrasjaqobis]

SDCC friendship bracelets continue

because I must have some for cosplay

[mike-the-switch]

Loving the Fallout series on Amazon so damn much 🥰. I'm basically doing the Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme at every single scene 😅.

It's just a wall to wall Fallout game nerdfest and I AM SO HERE FOR IT 😅.

[thepoisonroom]

for anyone wondering what i meant by the "scav bothers me" copypasta

scav is this and this

scav bothers me was posted on facebook when i was an undergrad by my then-girlfriend's TA and was this:

"SCAV bothers me. I'm fine with nerds having fun in an overindulgent nerdfest. What really bothers me is the amount of importance this university puts on such a meaningless endeavor. People pretend like this is some celebration of creativity and intellectual originality. No. Wake up. You are not doing anything more significant than those weird geeks with Japanese fetishes who show up at anime conventions in droves having paid hundreds of dollars to create the most accurate Chun Li costume.

When you are at a rich private school that gentrified an entire community of low-income African Americans and eradicated an entire culture of jazz and arts under the name of urban renewal, when that school is currently celebrating a swanky new art center that purports to engage a variety of cultures while cutting its trauma program so that all the gunshot victims in the South Side die on the ambulance ride to Northwestern, you have an obligation to do something meaningful and relevant. UChicago not only is an Ivory Tower and a sheltered and privileged bubble; it celebrates being one. There is a reason this school has so many Nobel laureates and yet very little social relevance.

You want to do something creative? While I was at Harvard I saw student-produced theater that had incredible depth, social relevance and insight, and thoughtful creativity. Your student performances at Logan fall far short of that standard. Start there. Instead of bashing Harvard students for not being intellectual enough, why don't you realize that you need some proper training from real performing artists, people who understand humanity with more breadth and nuance?

You want to do something intellectual? Why not start some conversations about our real world, instead of indulging yourselves in weird abstract geekery that has zero social impact? You bash Harvard for having grade inflation, and you think your Core is oh-so-profound because everyone has to read works by Durkheim, but the average quality of talks, panels, and classroom discussions I've seen here is far lower than that at Harvard, intellectually as well as in social relevance. The real world doesn't exist in an abstraction. The real world is complicated and doesn't quite fit neatly into intellectual arguments, broad or specific. Producing t-shirts that ask "That's all well and good in practice, but how does it work in theory?" is not helpful.

So I guess the real reason SCAV bothers me so much is that it's emblematic of the whole self-indulgent, self-congratulating University of Chicago culture that is completely unaware of its privilege and so detached from reality. You have been given such blessings and resources that many students around the world can only dream of having. There are so many talented teenagers I have met working with under-resourced school districts that would probably look at your scavenger hunt and see the same thing we see when we look at Wall St -- an immense waste of talent and money.

When I host Harvard information sessions, I often talk about the kind of holistic growth that is possible only because you are surrounded by talented individuals and Harvard will give them the resources to do cool stuff -- student research, projects at international NGOs, student activism, student performing arts, student debates, etc etc. A few months ago, an elderly tired-looking woman raised her hand and asked me why I was talking about students having fun and wasting time instead of focusing on academics. I told her that the level of academics at Harvard is top-notch, but academics is just a given -- it's a baseline on which we build more multifaceted, impactful things. I told her it's not a waste of time, because think about it: if we want to solve the massive incarceration problem in the U.S., do you want your policies designed by a social scientist who assiduously studied the problem on paper, or do you want someone who did study the theory but also went to volunteer at a prison rehabilitation program? I cannot say the same thing about the University of Chicago; we do in fact waste ridiculous amounts of time and resources doing crap like SCAV and meaningless academic discussions that don't involve real applicable solutions to real world problems. I told the lady that if you want to solely focus on academics, you should go to the University of Chicago.

People criticize Harvard for graduating so many bankers, traders, and consultants. But I've seen a surprising number of people use those starting jobs as opportunities to learn more about the private sector so that they can create their own companies or do more impactful stuff in the public or non-profit sectors, and statistics from surveys on Harvard alumni back me up. There is a reason Harvard graduates so many CEOs, leaders, and politicians; and it is not just because of pedigree and exclusive elite circles.

I am not saying Harvard graduates are altruistic world-changers. They are self-aggrandizing people who seek personal glory and bullshit about visions while comfortably residing in their privileged sheltered worlds. But at least they have those visions. At least they want to make some sort of impact, and at least they pretend to care about our larger society while pursuing their own successes. When have nerds ever changed our society (outside of the natural sciences) by purely focusing on abstract academic problems? For all the transformative theories that the social scientists at UChicago have come up with, why does this school have far less policy impact than Harvard does? How many new disruptive innovative companies or social projects do we ever see coming out of UChicago? This place has talent and resources. Why are we wasting them on SCAV when we can use that time to do much more meaningful things? Why are we ignoring our social responsibility?"