#same thing happened to another store I wanted to work at a music store called FYE

[averagemrfox]

Everyday I miss Rag Shop

[crdteezv]

Untitled - Han

Paring: !childhood friends to lovers! , perv!han jisung  x afab! reader

Genre:  idol! Au, smut

Synopsis: You finally reunited with your childhood best friend after 10 years! But, you didn’t notice how much he changed since you last saw each other…

Warnings:  smut, rough sex, dub/non-con, somno, dirty talk, teasing, kissing, fingering, groping, use of sex toys, voyeurism, manhandling, overstimulation, unprotected sex 

Word Count: 2.5k words

A/n: This was requested by someone a long time ago and I decided to post it now. This does contain CNC (aka consensual non consent) & if that’s something you’re not comfortable with please DON’T READ THIS!!!

One late night, you and Jisung were in a convenience store. He was up late in the studio working on a song with Chan. On his way home, he thought he should stop by and grab some food.  You so happened to be there wanting the same thing. The aisles were really small and you had barely any room to walk around. You accidentally bump into him and he looks at you with a confused look. 

Then it hit him.

You both used to be childhood friends and practically grew up with each other. You were also neighbors at one point and used to hang out all the time. Sadly at the beginning of high school, you had to move away. You both lost contact with each other and haven’t spoken since then. 

“Hey, do you remember me? Han Jisung? We used to be neighbors and would hang out all the time.”

In that moment all the memories you shared with him came back. You were shocked, to say the least. Who would’ve thought you would reunite with Jisung in a convenience store of all places?

“OH MY GOD YES! I do remember you, Jising how have you been?”

He was so relieved that you remembered him. It's been over 10 years since you last saw each other. Even after all this time, he can still recall your beautiful smile.

“I’ve been good and I took your advice and focused on music! I am now a part of an Idol group. Thank you for always motivating me to become an Idol.”

“Aww of course! I still can’t believe you remember me telling you to go for it. That was such a long time ago. I was just a kid and would just be saying whatever really.”

"Well, how could I forget someone like you? You were my best friend - I was too shy to talk to anyone else."

Both of you shared a laugh. Jisung usually stuck to his close friends and found it difficult to make new ones. As he mentioned, you were his only true best friend.

“Well, I knew you would love pursuing a music career! I recently moved back here for school!”

♡♡♡♡

From that point on you and Jisung talked the whole night, he even walked you home. You exchanged numbers and would hang out when you both could. One thing led to another and he asked you officially on a date. You both knew you had feelings for each other. 

You and Jisung got into a relationship not too long ago after that. It’s only been about 5 months and still very fresh and new. Sadly, after dating for 2 months, he had to go on a tour with all the members. So the majority of your relationship was long-distance. You still were learning so much about each other at this point. 

However, people can change in the span of 10 years. Although Jisung was still the same kind-hearted and witty guy,  you knew something was different about him. 

Jisung became such a pervert for you and you didn’t even know it. 

It only took you guys reconnecting recently to realize how obsessed he was with you. Before you started dating, he would sometimes come over to your apartment late as a surprise. Given how often he was at your place, you had given him a spare key. 

One night he left the studio early and went straight to your place because he missed your company. He entered your apartment and kept calling out your name. He was confused when he didn’t hear you give a response back. He saw that your bedroom was opened a little bit and you were moaning out loud. He was taken aback by what he was seeing right now. He always would think of you in a sexual light but this was too much for him. 

Your legs were spread open as you used your dildo. You let your imagination go wild and imagine Jisung was the one pounding into you. You were so horny you even moaned out his name.

He felt so hard after seeing all the things you were doing to yourself. He also felt really bad because he knew he was not even supposed to be here right now. He just wanted to watch a movie with you like he always does before he goes home. Jisung always loved watching movies with you, especially the cheesy romance movies. You would both make fun of the actors and how bad their acting was.

Instead, he was outside of your room stroking his cock to your moans. 

He was imagining that he was making you feel this good. He tried to not make a noise so you didn’t suspect anything. It wouldn’t even matter anyway because you were too busy in your own world fucking yourself to the thought of him. He eventually came at the same time that you did. 

Jisung realized how perverted he was jerking himself outside of your room without you even knowing. He quickly cleaned up himself and left your place before you noticed. He never told you about that night.

There are a lot of things he doesn’t tell you.

Sometimes you would send him some scandalous photos of yourself to see if you look good. You would ask him so you can get a guy's perspective on it. 

However, he would secretly save them on his phone and beat off to them later. He always tells himself he will delete them and will never do it again. Yet, every time he is horny, he keeps on going back to those photos in his folder of you and gains so much gratification from it.

He was so obsessed with you that every little thing you did would turn him on. The way you put him in a trance from just your moans alone was insane. All he can think about is the first time he caught you getting off to him. 

Now ever since you have been dating, you guys see each other less since he recently went on tour.  All these nights you guys would spend without each other was so hard for him. It was so bad to the point that he would sometimes hide in the hotel bathroom and jerk off to your pics and videos he still had saved of you. 

This was so embarrassing for him and he already felt like shit doing all this behind your back. But, he was too far gone give a fuck about it now. He always thinks about how disgusted you’d probably feel if you ever found out about his secret collection of you. 

He just misses being with you in person instead of calling on FaceTime. It was getting frustrating for him and all he wanted to do is fuck you. 

However, tonight was his last straw and he couldn’t take it anymore. He has been back from touring for about a week now. He took some time to recover before seeing you. He knows the moment he sees you it's going to be over for him.

Unfortunately, he had to be in the studio tonight with Chan and Changbin making some new music. It really sucked because today you and him were supposed to hang out after he was done working. But at the last minute, Chan told him he needed his help on this song he was thinking of making. The whole time Han was thinking about your moans from all the times he would touch himself to you.

He kept on getting distracted and barely gave any help to Chan and Changbin.

“Hey Jisung, are you okay? You’re normally not this quiet.” Chan said.

Jisung knew that he wasn’t ok.

All he wanted to do was go to your apartment and fuck the shit out of you. He has been pent up for too long now. You and him only had sex a handful of times and you have been without each other for 3 months.

“Yeah, I'm just a little distracted right now. Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be much help tonight.”

“Hey, it’s ok! I know how tired you may feel after the tour so you can go home tonight. Have a good night!”

Jisung nodded his head and quickly left the studio. There was only one thing on his mind right now.

You.

He went straight to your place and opened the door with his key. He noticed you were asleep, lying on your side. Under the covers, you had your vibrator in your hands, and you were passed out on the bed.

That alone made him so hard. The thought of you using it and moaning out his name is driving him crazy. 

He started taking off his clothes leaving himself in just his boxers. He gets into bed with you, wrapping his arms around you. You were barely awake but you leaned back against him not even realizing he was there with you. 

He started grinding against you and became hard for you. He couldn’t hold back and started grunting out loud. At this point, you started to wake up. You felt afraid as the room was dark, making it hard for you to realize that it was Jisung. In your drowsy state, you half-awake, you thought he was an intruder.

You start to panic.

“Hey, who is there? Get the fuck off of me-”

You started hearing a buzzing sound. 

It was your vibrator and he started to push it against your clit to try and make you stop talking.

“Shh sweetie it’s me. I am sorry you just got me soo fucking hard and I can’t take it anymore.”

You were in a state of shock and disbelief. You have never seen Jisung like this before.

“Mhmm I know you’re but I already came and I am too tired to do it again. Can’t we just do it in the morning?”

If only it was that simple.

Jisung's patience was running thin and he decided to not hold back anymore.

He covered your mouth and whispered in your ear and said 

“I’m sorry baby, but tonight I am going to take what I want. And right now I need you to just let me fuck you.”

At this point, you were squirming around and yelling at him to stop it. You really weren’t in the mood for all this. He kept getting agitated and started putting his hand around your neck and began choking you. As he did that he started marking you and biting your neck and shoulders. With his other hand, he started to pump into his cock and get off to your cries and whimpers. 

“You're squirming so much for me baby and I think it's so cute. The more you struggle, the harder you’re gonna get me"

You couldn’t believe what Jisung was saying to you right now. Your perception of him completely changed now. You thought he was sweet-hearted and nice and not such a creep and pervert. 

He couldn’t take it anymore and started lowering his boxers and took out his cock. 

You can already feel the precum that was escaping him and how needy he was for you. He started slowly pushing it in you. You gasped out so loud even though he was covering your mouth. 

You forgot how big he was.

He also put his hands under your shirt and held onto them as he started pounding up into you. He also had the vibrator on your clit too.  He started leaving hickeys all over your neck. He didn’t care what he was doing at this point he was marking where he felt like it. 

You were still whining and crying from how hard he is fucking you and the vibrator on your clit wasn’t making it any better. 

“Stop making so much noise sweetie, I already feel bad as is.”

You started crying at this point because all you want for him is to stop but he just keeps on going. He says such sinful stuff in your ear that you don’t even know how to feel at this point.

He started laughing at you crying from his dick,

“Aww baby, are you crying from how hard I’m fucking you? You’re so pathetic can’t even take a couple of hard strokes.”

You didn’t know why but for some reason when he said that you started to tighten up around him. That alone made you feel wetter. 

He noticed it.

“Mhmm look at you becoming such a good girl for me. I knew deep down you secretly wanted this.”

You kept shaking your head, displaying that you were against this.

That just made him more hard and started fuck you harder and harder. You started to become so dizzy from all this stimulation. 

Jisung was at his breaking point.

 All this overstimulation started to become overwhelming for you. You wondered why he wasn't pulling out, as he usually does when you both are close. However, this time, he continues without stopping, still thrusting into you.

“ I am sorry but tonight, I have to finish inside you. I have been waiting for 3 fucking months. So how about you be good to me and take what I give you ok darling?”

At this point, you couldn’t take it anymore. 

He took his hand off your mouth as you both came at the same time. You didn’t give a fuck at this point you were practically screaming out his name as he pumps his load into you. Both your moans were so loud you wouldn’t be shocked if your neighbors heard you. 

Jisung fell back beside you and pulled you into him. He put you on his chest and wrapped his arms around you. He started kissing you all over and said

“Sweetie, I’m sorry for the way I acted out tonight. I just missed being with you these past 3 months. Especially being inside of you. Fuck I missed that soo much and having you moan out my name.”

You nuzzled into his chest and said “Yeah it's okay and I missed you so much too. Next time just tell me whenever you're in the mood. Tonight you really scared me. I hope you don’t act like this again.”

“Fine, I’ll never act out like that ever again and I am truly sorry if I hurt you.”

However, you both knew that wasn’t true and he would always come to take what he wants…

[winniethewife]

I laugh like me again, she laughs like you (Moon Knight System x F!reader)

Warnings: Presumed!dead character, Reader romantically involved with Jake, Marc and Steven are featured, Mother!reader, Single mom, Angst,

Words: 634

She would never expected to have to do this alone. Just as she thought she wouldn’t do many other things alone. Witnessing her Daughters first steps, Her daughters first doctors appointment, the first time she got really sick, the first time she made a friend, her first move, all the way to London. She wasn’t expecting to be alone for her child’s first…everything. And now as she drives down the street she looks at the little girl with dark curls and brown eyes sitting in her booster seat as she looked out the window eagerly.

“Celesia?” She called her daughter’s name and the little girl looked over at her, the gaze in the rearview mirror reminded her so much of the girl’s father.

~

Jake Lockley was a rascal, but he loved her, and for some reason she loved him back. Despite the complications, Despite Marc living his life how he wished, taking her Jake wherever that was, with whoever that was. She had managed to form a friendship with Marc, which didn’t make it any easier, because she started to care a whole lot, a bad habit of hers. At some point they moved in together, a lovely thing to have with Jake, an interesting time with Marc. So when Marc teamed up with Bushman, she had advised against it. It seemed like a really bad idea, it wasn’t that she just wanted to keep Jake with her, it wasn’t the fact that she would have to find another roommate, she was genuinely worried about Marc. So of course when Marc had already been too stubborn and had shipped off, It was time to get a positive pregnancy test, because the universe finds that shit funny.

~

“Yes Mommy?” Her daughter’s voice brought her back to the present.

“You ready for your first day at school?” She asked, trying to sound excited. The little girl nodded enthusiastically, giving her mom two thumbs up. Which she glanced in the mirror. “Remember baby, I can’t look at you when I’m driving so I need you to use your words.” She reminded the eager five year old.

“Right, Sorry Mommy. I am really excited! I can’t wait to make friends and learn things and-” The young girl continued to ramble, causing her mother to smile warmly. So many things reminded her of Jake, and Marc.

~

She sat tears streaming down her face as she read over the letter, all that was found of Marc Spector was some of his belongings in a bloodied temple in egypt, presumed dead, and seeing as everyone else on the expedition was dead that was a good assumption. But she was three months pregnant and currently trying to figure out what the hell she was going to do without her best friend and the father of her baby who, unfortunately in this case, inhabit the same body. She wasn’t sure how the hell she was supposed to do all this alone. Where to even start. But she didn’t have a choice now.

~

The whole day she kept checking her phone during work, just in case she missed a call from the school or a message from Celesia’s teacher, but there was nothing. At the end of the day she rushed to pick her up from school, and then they went to the store after. As the two of them puzzled over which kind of sweets to buy that week, she was surprised when a man ran into her.

“Oh, Sorry! That was entirely my fault there. So sorry.” The voice was too familiar, wrong accent, right voice.

“Jake?” She turned to look at the man, messy head of curls, Dark Brown eyes. The man looked confused. “Marc?’ She asked, maybe too hopeful.

“Sorry, Er I’m Steven, With a V.”

~

Masterlist

Taglist; : @silvernight-m @queerponcho @boredzillenial

A/N: Middle of the night angst? Happens more often than you think.

[starkwlkr]

thriller | mark webber

90s au

summerween series

Working the closing shift on Halloween night was the worst thing ever. Who would want to work on the spookiest night of the year? Working wasn’t Y/n’s original plan. She was already in her Wendy Torrance costume when she got a call from her manager saying she was needed last minute to close the store. She had no choice, she needed the money to get out of her crappy town.

She showed up still in costume, it was Halloween after all. When she got to the store, a small line of people were waiting outside. Why? Apparently everyone wanted to rent a horror movie at the same time. . .

“We’ve been waiting for an hour!” Some guy dressed as Dracula complained as Y/n started to unlock the door.

“I can make you wait more.” She replied with an eye roll. She let everyone in and walked to her spot behind the counter. Since it just her working she got to pick the music. She went through the CD rack until she found Bloody Kisses by Type O Negative.

As the music played, she went around the store turning on the orange and red string lights, helping customers and arranging tapes in their rightful place.

“Wendy, darling, light of my life!” She heard a familiar Australian accent. She turned to the voice and saw Mark.

“No costume? I’m afraid I’m going to have to kick you out, Webber.” Y/n joked, walking back to her usual spot behind the counter.

“I’m in costume! I’m dressed as the guy who’s going to take you out on a date.”

Y/n smirked. “Nice try. I have work.”

Mark was always a flirt with y/n. It was nothing new. Half of their friends thought they were dating.

“Dates can be wherever,” Mark watched as she helped a customer. “Could be fun.”

Y/n finished scanning the vhs tapes for the customer. “A date in my workplace on Halloween night sounds fun to you?” She gave back the customer their items in a bag and their change.

“Anywhere is fun with you.” Mark really knew how to make a girl blush.

Y/n sighed, having completely given up on saying no to Mark. “Fine. But you’ll have to wait until my shift is over.”

That’s shouldn’t be so hard. Of course every time a customer would leave, another would enter. It was like that for two hours. Mark was beginning to think their date would never happen.

“Thanks, happy halloween!” Y/n said to the last customer, shutting the front door and locking it. Finally! Her shift was done. She checked the clock on the wall. 11:56 PM. Not bad . . . “It’s still Halloween.” Y/n said to herself.

Somewhere in the store, Mark was looking at the slasher section. Friday the 13th, Halloween, Scream. . . He needed something new.

“Hey, find something interesting?” Y/n questioned as she took off her name tag and placed it in her pocket.

Mark shook his head. “We’ve seen them all multiple times. I don’t know how long I can watch Jamie Lee scream while she’s being chased by Michael.”

“Hey! Jamie Lee is my final girl for life.” Y/n said. “I think MTV is showing the thriller music video at 12.”

“You mean the music video that made you have nightmares and sleep with a night light for two years?” Mark chuckled.

“I was seven, that’s a perfectly reasonable.”

“Don’t come running into my arms when zombie MJ starts haunting your dreams again.” Mark added.

“As if!”

“Just you wait, sweetheart.”

[macclownn]

having visions again. blessed.

benson goes to prison (my fave au) and randy doesn't visit. he thinks about it, A LOT, but he's scared. scared of what benson thinks of him now, if he's mad, sad. keeps remembering the look on benson's face when he told him he'd called the cops.

he goes to college, makes friends, only calls his mom once a week now maybe. she still texts a lot.

he has a girlfriend for a while, no longer a virgin. hooks up with a girl after, just for fun. then a guy. several guys. too many of them look like benson, or act like benson. mullets and kinda mean and rough hands and "good boy".

after graduation he makes his way back home, has to for a while as much as he doesn't really want to. he doesn't want to fall back on old habits.

he does. of course he does.

his mom cooks for him, but he helps now. still looks after his sister too often, but she's older now too, it's not bad. he reconnects with lisa, she never really left town. they hang out, he stays the night sometimes. he works at a store for a while, maybe even a bar. he drives past what used to be burgers burgers burgers on his way to his shift. it's empty now. he goes to see miss beard, still babysits tessa every now and again. he drives past the school on the way.

he sees benson everywhere, in all of these places. listens to the music he played, wears his jacket.

it takes another year or so before he goes to visit. it's a whole deal, and he's sure benson knows he's asked to visit. but he goes, drives all the way there, sits and waits.

he holds his breath the whole time, sees families and friends of inamtes to each side of him, chatting or crying. he's not as nervous now, in general, but he's feeling something.

then they start walking in, and there's benson. his hair is cropped shorter, he's bigger physically, but in the jumpsuit, in this big place, he doesn't look it.

he still looks at randy the same, intense and deep and like he's just waiting, seeing him.

he doesn't know what to say, how to start. a quiet "hey, benson".

they talk, benson asks a lot of questions, how he's doing, if he's working, about college and girlfriends and his mom.

it gets easier, the more times he goes. eventually they're more relaxed, sort of friends, friendly. randy smiles more when he's there, benson even makes him laugh, a ridiculous, loud laugh, and when he stops benson is looking at him with this little smile. like they're ok.

he mentions one day, without thinking, that he's talking to this guy. and benson smirks and says "thought you weren't gay?" and it's funny. but. not really. it makes him a little embarrassed and he's not really sure what to say.

he does a lot of thinking when he leaves that day, goes home and lies in bed and maybe talks to the guy he's been talking to. about this sort-of thing he has with a friend. doesn't say too much.

he. maybe has a little thing. for benson. i mean, who actively looks for guys with mullets and pornstaches? him. not actively, maybe, but he notices now how often it's happened.

thinks about how he likes, even with girls now, to get shoved around a little. it's never more than a tug on his hair or a hand around his wrist, but that's mainly because he's always been too scared to ask for more.

he doesn't see benson for a couple of months. tries to... something. doesn't know whether he's supposed to get over it or accept it.

he hooks up with the guy he'd been talking to, for the first time asks someone to be a little rougher with him. they talk after. he's a nice guy actually. great. he's... not what he's looking for. but he thinks they weirdly make good friends.

he accepts it, in the end. can't deny it.

he goes to see benson and it's... it's weird all over again. but he can't help it, looks at benson, looks across his shoulders when he walks in, down his legs as he gets closer, at his arms when he sits.

benson comments on his absence, "you get bored of me, randy?" and he... he shakes his head. "no," quiet.

nothing can happen, benson is never getting out and the whole reason he's in here is because he wanted randy to LIVE. so he does, he lives.

but he goes to visit, when he can. smiles at benson smiling at him.

[blue-disco-lights]

✨ Weekly Tag Wednesday ✨

Thank you so much for tagging me - love this one! (i love them all actually) @jrooc

@stocious @michellemisfit @doshiart @mybrainismelted @mmmichyyy

@sgtmickeyslaughter @gallapiech @suzy-queued @spookygingerr @roryonic

Name and A03 handle: Julia, Blue_Disco_Lights

Current Location: my dining table - my work is hybrid, so this (suprisingly uncomfortable setup) is my desk twice a week.

Favourite picrew: I never really wore my space buns this high, maybe a bit lower… also the jewelry is a Chain Mickey homage obviously.

What's one thing you want in a picrew? I love a creative background and good sweater options. If left to my own devices, I’d be in a hoodie all the time, but it’s nice to spice things up!

Favourite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom? Hard to choose! it's a tie between some @galladrabbles and these @gallacrafts.

Why is it your favourite? I’ve been knitting since I was a kid but never really got beyond the scarf phase lol - and Season 1 Not-a-booty-call/“Whatever, see ya” Mickey wore that green scarf and I knew I had to recreate it. The t-shirt is me attempting to draw for the tomato theme and I just think it would be so funny if Ian actually wore this outside.

Did it come easily or was it hard to create? For the scarf, it was all about finding the right yarn and also that cute patch that just appeared out of nowhere at the craft store. Drawing is hard because i don't know how 😆

Last ao3 fic you commented on? It was either on Shame-proof written by @ms-moonlight-inn and @notherenewjersey or A Song Only You Can Hear by @suzy-queued - both so good!

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? I’m usually OK with WIPs taking a while, truly… but oh man, I’ll copy @jrooc's answer and say Things Beyond Mistake by grayola. What a STUNNING work and we’re left just aching for what happens for those two. My second is Elevator Music by gallavichsecurity- another beautifully written one that I hope will continue one day. 

Favourite trope or head cannon you like included in a fanfic? I love enemies to lovers, the slower the burn the better 🫠🔥 . I’ve yelled about loving road trip plots a lot, so I loved Highway of Hedonism  by @roryonic (w/ beautiful art by @gallapiech).

Least favourite? I’ve never gravitated to mpreg   

Secret or surprising kink or trope? Never even knew A/B/O was a thing until i got here - hello! Same goes for Whump - once it clicked that it was an actual genre, it was like oh wow, i think i’ve been into this my whole life lol.

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new? Er, shocked quite honestly. When I see that I actually have multiple things posted on AO3 I do wonder who that person is??

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line: There are so many hype people i want to thank in my writing journey - your amazing comments & reblogs really made me feel like a writer! (which was a little shocking - so please know they went a long way 💕) @gallawitchxx @energievie @creepkinginc @jrooc @michellemisfit @palepinkgoat @gillyp @suzy-queued @ian-galagher @sweetbee78 @francesrose3 - and special shout out to @mybrainismelted for being an amazing sounding board and co-conspirator on Gallavich Summer Camp among other things!

It's been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____? Hang out on Discord and Tumblr, and fall into one of the very many tabs I have open. Currently it’s You’ll Never See Us Again by @spoonfulstar - and omggggg.

If you're tagged in this post and haven't made one of these yet - this is your official invite!

tagging in @lingy910y @deedala @heymrspatel @atthedugouts @wehangout

@lupeloto @sisitrip @sandrashaine @shippergirl121fic @stocious

@jessij1997 @sickness-health-all-that-shit @thisdivorce @sam-loves-seb @samantitheos

@mickeyheartian @mickeym4ndy @callivich @transsexual-dandelions @nymacron

@rororowyourboat18 @transmurderbug @bawlbrayker @i-think-you-mean-reduction @gallavichsuperfan

@runawaybrainsc @too-schoolforcool @darlingian @thepupperino @celestialmickey

@crossmydna @spacerockwriting @catgrassplantdad @look-i-love-u @silvanshadow

[tiannasfanfic]

Reunited (Part 1/4)

Eddie Munson x Reader (Fluff)

| Eddie & Steddie Masterlist | AO3 Link |

Summary: On a trip back to Hawkins, running to the grocery store for his Uncle Wayne results in an unexpected reunion for Eddie Munson and his long lost best friend from high school. As the friendship is rekindled through a series of late night phone calls, the two of you become closer than ever and long buried feelings come rushing back to the surface.

Rating: Explicit

Author Note: Afab reader, gender neutral pronouns. Rockstar/BestFriend!Eddie x SingleMom!Reader. Part 1 of 4. An AU where Henry Creel never happened. A slow burn romance with eventual smut, maybe some Hurt/Comfort for Reader.

CW: Talk of deadbeat dad’s; general discussion of life as a rock star; mention of hangovers (no details).

Word Count: 5,291

Is that who I think it is?”

Eddie Munson’s body tensed slightly at hearing the unexpected voice calling out to him.

While going outside always came with the chance of being spotted and recognized, that didn’t make it any more pleasant when it happened in the middle of the supermarket.

But right as he was bracing himself to be all smiles and cheer as he was swarmed by a fan on the bread aisle at Bradley’s Big Buy, it dawned on him that there had been something familiar about that voice.

Eddie slowly turned around. Instead of looking into the face of an overexcited fan he didn’t recognize, he found himself looking at you, a face he did very much recognize.

Despite all the years that had passed, seeing you made his heart skip several beats and stir butterflies up in his stomach.

“It is who I think it is!” you said, the curious expression on your face morphed into an excited smile.

Eddie’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words of greeting could come out, he found himself on the receiving end of a tackling bear hug.

His arms wrapped tightly around you as he staggered backwards at the force of your body hitting his. Since this inadvertently pulled you with him, it caused both of you to be thrown off balance. There was a brief moment where you teetered and spun while still in each other’s arms, but then you both got your footing back and didn’t fall over.

Once you both were steady, you pulled back a little to grin sheepishly at him.

“Sorry,” you said, eyes sparkling as you met his gaze. “I guess I got a little over excited.”

“No, it’s totally okay,” Eddie said quickly, grinning back at you. “I can’t fucking believe it, it’s really you!”

Your grin widened and you hugged him again, without the tackle this time. Eddie welcomed your tight embrace and squeezed you firmly to his chest.

Even though Eddie was back in Hawkins for the holidays, he never expected to see you on the trip. While the two of you had been best friends throughout most of high school, he hadn’t seen or talked to you in years. There hadn’t been a falling out, nor were the two of you upset at one another. It was just one of those things that could happen with friendships, even close friends like yourselves. Life had a way of making people grow apart sometimes and, unfortunately, this was one of those times.

Back in 1984 after you graduated and he didn’t, the separation of your daily lives naturally put some distance between you two. The distance then grew as you saw each other less and less thanks to the demands of school and work. Once everyone in the band was finally out of high school, Eddie and the other members of Corroded Coffin moved out to California to focus on a career in music. By that point, the two of you had been living your own lives and hadn’t spoken in quite a while.

It took a few years, but eventually the guys were discovered playing at a dingy bar in Los Angeles. They signed a record deal, put out an album and began opening at concerts for the more famous bands with the same label. This naturally progressed to more popularity, which led to bigger shows and more money.

While they still weren’t as big as they wanted to be yet, they were doing very well for themselves, and were making steady progress in the music industry.

But, every year, the guys always kept their schedules clear from mid-December to mid-January in order to come back home for the holidays.

“So, what’s a big rock star like you doing in a place like this?” you asked, gesturing around the bread and cereal aisle you both were standing on.

If there was one thing Eddie did not feel like right now, it was a rock star.

Instead, he felt like he was in high school, meeting you for the first time all over again. He felt every bit as nervous and giddy as he did when you parked yourself in the empty chair next to him at the Hellfire table without even asking.

He could still remember your reply when, while trying to save face in front of the other guys, he asked you what exactly you thought you were doing there.

“Sitting down, what does it look like?”

That ended up being your spot for the duration of your time in high school.

Despite everything wonderful that had happened to him since then, that afternoon was still one of the greatest days of his life, as far as Eddie was concerned.

“Just doing a little shopping for my uncle, restocking his fridge up after my visit,” me said, chuckling as he gestured to his shopping basket, then he took a step back to get a better look at you. “Forget about that though, how the fuck are you? It’s been, like, fucking forever!”

“It really has!” you said, laughing. “I’ve been good. How about you? How have things been?”

“I’ve been great!” Eddie said, grinning at you. “I’m living out in California now. The guys and I finally made it big!”

“I heard!” you smiled brightly, then it was your turn to look him over. “You look incredible, by the way. The magazine photos don’t do you any justice.”

Not expecting the sudden praise, Eddie felt his neck and cheeks heat up at your words. He looked down quickly and cleared his throat, taking a second to compose himself before meeting your gaze again.

“Yeah?” he said, then decided to play it cocky for now as he grinned at you. “Been keeping tabs on me, have you?”

While he expected you to play coy and deny it like most people would, instead you looked at him like he suddenly turned bright purple right before your very eyes.

“Are you kidding? Of course I have!” you said in dismay, then started laughing. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not every day a person can say their best friend is a rock star, you know.”

Eddie’s heart went wild at your words. A soft smile spread across his face, and he felt heat once again creep into his cheeks.

“I always figured you forgot about me at some point.” he said, a half grin on his face.

You looked at him with a baffled expression, then rapidly shook your head.

“Of course not,” you said, then smiled warmly. “I could never forget about you.”

Instead of blushing, Eddie found himself staring at you, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. You returned his gaze, smiling.

After a few seconds, the moment seemed to get a bit too intense for you both and you looked away from each other at the same time.

You cleared your throat before speaking again.

“Hey, listen, I gotta get this shopping done and get home, but I’d love to see you again while you’re in town,” you said, smiling at him. “Are you doing anything tomorrow evening? I can cook us dinner and we’ll hang out, just like old times.”

While the butterflies went wild in Eddie’s stomach at your invitation, he decided to cover his excitement by playing cocky again.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” he asked with a playful grin. “I wouldn’t want your husband getting all jealous that his wife is hanging out with a famous rock star.”

You laughed heartily at that, and he was reminded of how much he loved the sound of your laughter.

“Oh no, I’m not married,” you said, waving away his question with one hand. “It’s just me and my little man.”

At first, Eddie’s heart soared at your admission of being unmarried, but then he got confused.

“Little man?” he asked, tilting his head at you.

You visibly brightened at the question.

“Oh, you hadn’t heard?” you asked.

Eddie shook his head to indicate he hadn’t.

A big smile came to your face, but instead of answering his question, you reached into your bag and pulled out your wallet. You stepped closer and Eddie watched with curiosity as you opened it and flipped it open to the plastic photo holder all wallets had. Now that the shock of seeing you had passed, Eddie finally noticed how nice you smelled with you standing so close to him again. He couldn’t tell if it was your shampoo, soap or cologne, but it made his knees feel weak. Eddie forced himself to focus his attention on the wallet you were holding open for him to look at.

“This is Jesse,” you said, your voice filled with love as Eddie stared down at a photo.

It took a moment for his brain to reengage and process what he was seeing, but once he did, he couldn’t help but smile. It was a photo of you sitting in front of a Christmas tree holding a little boy on your lap. You both were wearing matching pajamas and had matching Santa hats, but while you were wearing your hat, the little boy was holding his with both hands and chewing on the fuzzy ball.

“Oh wow,” Eddie said, voice tinged with awe. “How old is he?”

“He’ll be two in June,” you said proudly. “So, a little over a year and a half now.”

Eddie studied the picture for a bit longer before looking back up at you with a smile. “He looks just like a mini version of your dad.”

You laughed and nodded at Eddie’s words, making him feel weak kneed all over again, so he lowered his gaze back to the photo.

“He’s definitely a character just like his grandpa,” you said, as you shook your head. “I guess that’s what I get for naming him after my dad, but I sure as fuck wasn’t about to name him after the sperm donor.”

Eddie looked up from the photo to you and tilted his head to the side. While he was curious, he also didn’t want to pry into a sore subject

“It sounds like there may be a story behind that one,” he said, leaving you an opening if you wanted to talk about it.

The topic didn’t seem to faze you though. You shrugged and looked up at him with an unbothered expression.

“It’s a tale as old as time, nothing too exciting,” you said. “My ex, Scott, split town when I was four months along. Last I heard, he was in Nebraska, shacked up with some older chick he found to be his sugar mama.”

Eddie blinked several times, his jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding?”

“Sadly, no,” you said, shaking your head. “And just a few days after our third anniversary too. Can you believe it?”

Eddie could not, in fact, believe it, and it took him a moment to think of a reply.

“Damn, that really fucking sucks,” he said. “Guess it’s true what they say. Sometimes you don’t ever really know a person.”

You nodded wisely, then smiled at him again.

“But enough about that dipshit,” you said. “What do you say? Dinner at my house tomorrow night?”

Once again, the butterflies flapped around in Eddie’s stomach at your invitation. But right as he was about to say yes, he remembered what was on the itinerary for tomorrow.

“Shit,” he said, then sighed. “I can’t. We’re leaving first thing in the morning to go back to LA.”

“Now that really fucking sucks,” you said, a twinge of sadness in your voice that made Eddie’s heart ache. “When will you be back in town?”

“Probably not until next Christmas unless something important comes up,” he said, sad about this fact for the first time ever, but then had a thought and he looked at you hopefully. “Maybe I could call you sometime though?”

You started beaming at him.

“I would love that!”

While you dug around in your bag looking for a pen, Eddie pulled a crumpled receipt from one of his pockets and smoothed it out as best he could.

“Call me at any time,” you said as you wrote your number down. “And I mean that. Between Jesse having weird hours and me battling insomnia, I’m usually up way late.”

“I can do that,” Eddie said, grinning. “My hours are usually weird and late, too.”

Rather than just write down your phone number, you also wrote down your address.

“Just in case something important ever comes up randomly and want to stop by,” you said, watching as he folded up the bit of paper and put it into his wallet with a soft smile on your face. “You’re always welcome over.”

Eddie blushed deeply, replaced his wallet back into his jeans, then pulled you in for one last hug.

The two of you stood there for a while, just quietly holding onto one another and enjoying the moment.

“I’m so glad I got to see you today,” you said softly, your head resting on his shoulder.

“Me too, sweetheart,” Eddie replied, turning his face towards you to kiss the side of your head. “Me too.”

When he felt a small shiver run through your body, Eddie feared he’d gone too far with the kiss. But when you pulled away a moment later, the smile on your face soothed his worries and made his heart skip a beat.

It was hard for him to watch as you pushed your basket down the aisle and away from him. But, despite that, he found himself unable to take his eyes off you. You looked back at him just in time to smile and wave right before you turned the corner.

Once you walked away from the aisle, you fully intended to finish your grocery shopping, but running into Eddie Munson had left you so giddy that you completely forgot a full third of what was on your list.

While it normally annoyed you to have to make another trip to the store, this time you didn’t mind.

Out of all the friends you had lost contact with over the years, Eddie the one you thought of the most. While you’d had a thing for the man since day one of sophomore year when you saw him acting like a jackass in the lunchroom, you never acted on those feelings, but the two of you had gotten very close during those three years of high school, easily becoming best friends.

But when you graduated and he didn’t, the two of you went from seeing each other every day to only seeing each other on the weekends. Then a new job cut that out when you had to start working on those nights. After that, the rest, as they say, is history. Life carried you both away from each other on separate paths until it decided to bring you back together again in the present.

In all honesty, despite the fact Eddie seemed just as excited by the reunion as you were, you really didn’t expect to hear from him again. You knew meeting him at the grocery store was pure chance during the one time of year he got some downtime to come back home. Once he left Hawkins, you knew it was time for Eddie to be a rock star again, living a fast paced, jet setting life.

And that was why when your phone rang a little after 2am just four days later, you nearly had a heart attack.

Since you kept the handset of your cordless phone on low in case of late-night phone calls, you weren’t too worried about it waking Jesse up in the next room.

However, despite the fact you frequently told people it was perfectly alright to call you at all hours, they very rarely did unless it was an emergency. Late night calls were not something you were used to.

In your panic to answer the phone, you accidentally knocked it off your nightstand and onto the floor. By the time you managed to get a hold of it and sit back up, it was on the fifth ring.

“Hello?” you said, feeling nervous at the response you were about to get.

“Hey sweetheart!” came a familiar voice from the other end of the line. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Eddie!” you said, breathing a sigh of relief. “No, not at all! I just wasn’t expecting the phone to ring and my first thought was someone must be dead or dying.”

Eddie cackled with laughter, and you couldn’t help but join him.

“Nah, no Grim Reaper, just your favorite metalhead,” he said, and you could hear the grin in his voice.

That was what you called him back in high school after you bonded over your similar tastes in music. There weren’t too many metalhead’s back at Hawkins High in those days, but you once claimed he would always your favorite one no matter how many there were.

“I like that one much better anyways,” you said, grinning at the sudden trip down memory lane. “How’s life treating you out in California?”

“Good,” Eddie said, and you could hear him moving things around on his end of the phone call. “Busy, but good. We had to fly back out that way to New York right after we got home. Our manager sprang it on us last minute and we got stuck doing some appearances over the weekend. I just got home from the airport a bit ago.”

“Seriously?” you blinked a few times. “Wow. You know, that’s so freaky and weird when you get to thinking about it.”

“Why’s that, sweetheart?”

“Because of the distance,” you said, settling back into the pile of pillows on your bed. “Just a few days ago, we were standing right in front of each other. I could reach out and touch you, but now we’re almost on opposite sides of the country from each other. Hell, you’ve even been back and forth one more time across the nation since I last saw you.”

“Huh,” Eddie said, considering this for a moment before you heard him chuckle. “When you put it that way, it is pretty freaky and weird.”

He fell quiet for a moment, and you heard a few banging noises and grunting coming from his side of the phone.

“Sounds like you’re pretty busy over there,” you said.

“Just getting my luggage upstairs,” he said, sounding a bit out of breath now. “I literally just got home from the airport right before I called you.”

“And the first thing you did was call me?” you said, blinking in surprise. “Shouldn’t your girlfriend be the first person you call when you get home?”

“If I had one, sure,” Eddie said, and you heard him grunt as if he just lifted something heavy. “But since I don’t, the honor of first phone call goes to you. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” you said, grinning. “I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t about to have a crazed supermodel busting down my door thinking little ol’ hometown friend me is trying to steal her man.”

At that, Eddie cackled with laughter.

“Nah, don’t worry,” he said. “I tend to stay away from models these days. It would more likely be a porn star or stripper instead.”

“Now that’s even worse,” you said, playfully sighing with resignation. “That means I’m going to be drooling all over the place while getting my ass kicked. That’s just not fair at all.”

Now Eddie was really laughing hard, and you couldn’t help but smile at the sound. When he genuinely found something funny, he had that sort of laugh that sounded like it came from deep in his soul. It was amazing to listen to.

“Hey now, don’t sell yourself short,” he said, a playfully chiding tone in his voice, and you could hear him grinning. “You still look pretty fucking good to me.”

“Want me to let you in on a little secret?”

“Sure, sweetheart. What’s up?”

“There’s a huge difference between looking good and being in shape,” you said. “Trust me, those girls could kick my ass and I wouldn’t even care, cause they’d look so damn good doing it.”

Eddie’s laughter rang through the phone once again, which was broken off by a loud curse, followed by several loud, rapid bangs that gradually sounded like they were getting further away before stopping suddenly.

“Fuck,” he said, then started laughing again. “I just dropped my damn suitcases down the fucking stairs.”

“Were you trying to carry everything all at once?”

“Course I was.”

His laughter was soon joined by yours as he started picking his clothes up off the stairs.

The conversation flowed easily between you two, almost as if no time at all had passed. He asked about Jesse, and you talked at length about him. You asked about his trip to New York, and Eddie talked at length about that. The time really flew by once you started catching each other up on the last ten plus years that the two of you missed.

The sun was rising in Hawkins by the time you two finally got off the phone.

As nice as it was talking to him, you didn’t expect to hear from him again for a while, if ever.

Imagine your surprise when Eddie called you again the next night.

And the next night.

And the next three nights after that.

Then on the sixth night after that when Eddie called, he had big news to share.

“The opening band for White Zombie dropped out of their tour just three days before it starts, and our management scored us the gig!”

“Holy shit, Eddie, that awesome!” you exclaimed loudly, then clamped your hand over your mouth in horror, your gaze sweeping over to the baby monitor on your nightstand.

Eddie had been through this before when you’d gotten a little too excited and loud about something, so he stayed quiet while you listened for any noise coming from your sons’ room. When it became apparent you hadn’t woken Jesse up, you resumed the conversation in a much quieter tone of voice.

“Seriously, that’s fucking cool as hell, baby! I’m so proud of you!”

The slip up made you bite down on your lip and your cheeks burn a bright red. You didn’t mean to call him a pet name, but it happened sometimes when you were really tired or really excited about something and your true feelings were dangerously close to the surface.

Fortunately, if there was ever a time that Eddie caught exactly what it was you called him, he never commented on it. This time was no exception.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he replied, and you could hear him grinning. “I wanted to let you know just in case I don’t get to talk to you for a while. We start preparations for the tour tomorrow and then head out the day after. I figure it’s going to be pretty busy and hectic.”

“Jesus, that’s really short notice,” you said, wincing at the thought of just exactly how busy and hectic that was going to be. “Why’d the other band drop out anyway?”

“They broke up.”

You blinked a few times in surprise.

“They broke up?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Three days before a big tour like this starts and they broke up?”

“Yup.”

“Why in the fuck did they do that?”

“No idea,” Eddie said, chuckling. “Can’t say I really care either. They just handed us our biggest gig yet on a silver platter.”

Despite being warned by their management team about how much bigger this tour was going to be in comparison to the ones they’d been on so far, nothing could have prepared the members of Corroded Coffin for exactly how big. It had to be experienced to be believed.

And what an experience it was.

The next three months were a chaotic whirlwind consisting of being on the road in the tour bus, concerts, after parties, clubs, VIPs, hotel rooms and hangovers. Eddie would have lost track of which city they were in from one gig to the next had their manager not told him right before he went on stage each night.

By the time he finally walked back into his Los Angeles condo at the end of April, Eddie was elated by the whole experience, but exhausted and very glad to be home.

Despite the months that had passed, all of the debauchery that went on and the many women who passed through his bed, Eddie still remained single and unattached. And yet, despite that, there was only one person at the forefront of his mind when his plane finally landed at LAX.

Once he was back home and his bags had been brought inside by the driver, Eddie snatched up the handset of the cordless phone from its base and dialed the number he already knew by heart.

It was just a little after 5pm Los Angeles time, which made it just a little after 8pm Hawkins time. This was much earlier than Eddie had ever called you before and it took longer than normal for you to answer the phone.

“Hello?” you said after the seventh ring.

“Hey sweetheart!” Eddie said, then his brow furrowed a bit with worry as he continued on with what had become his customary greeting. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

That would probably seem like a ridiculous question to anybody else given what time it was, but given the hours you kept, there was no telling when you might have some free time to try and get a nap in.

“Nope, just forgot the phone in the other room,” you said with a chuckle, and now he could hear you sounded a little out of breath. “Hang on a second, let me get back to the living room real quick.”

“Alright, sweetheart,” he said.

Eddie started carrying his luggage upstairs, listening to the background noise change on your side of the call as you moved from one room to another. Sesame Street was playing in the background, but the volume soon lowered, then he heard you make a soft “oof” sound that indicated you had sat down.

“I’m going to try to put you on speakerphone,” you said then. “I’ve never done this before, so if I hang up on you, call me right back, okay?”

“Will do, sweetheart,” he said, chuckling.

There was a rustling sound, then you pressed one of the number buttons on the phone, resulting in its accompanying touch tone blasting into Eddie’s ear and making him wince. After a couple of beeps, the overall sound of the phone call changed.

“Eddie, are you still there?” you said, your voice sounding further away but still clear.

“I’m right here, sweetheart.”

“Awesome, I did it!” you exclaimed, then your voice changed to a tone that was softer and just very slightly higher pitched. “See, Jesse? I said mama would figure it out eventually!”

A burst of giggles from a tiny voice rang out from your side of the phone, accompanied shortly afterwards by a few exaggerated kissing sounds.

Eddie stopped in mid stride halfway down the hall to his bedroom and burst into a grin.

That was the most adorable thing he had ever heard on his life.

“I take it this is the little man?” he asked, resuming his stride.

“Yup! This is Jesse,” you said, then your voice changed to the higher pitched one from earlier. “Jesse, can you say hi to Eddie? Say, ‘Hi Eddie!’”

At this point, there was some soft babbling from your end of the line, but no discernible words. Eddie felt his grin soften as you listen to you repeat yourself a couple of times.

“Is he talking very much yet?” he asked.

Now in his bedroom, Eddie dropped his suitcases and duffel bags by the dresser, then flopped down onto his bed, stretching out on his back.

“Quite a bit, yeah,” you said, and then he heard the sound of what sounded like a tiny plastic hammer banging on a wooden block from your end of the call. “Still mostly babbles, especially when he’s happy.”

As if right on cue, a burst of excited babbling came from your end of the phone.

“Yay! You did it!” you exclaimed, and he heard you start clapping.

Eddie smiled up at his ceiling, trying to picture in his head what was going on in your living room right now.

“So, what have you two been up to today?” he asked, tucking one arm behind his head to prop it up a little.

“Not a whole lot, mainly just trying to hammer square pegs into round holes,” you said, your voice filled with humor.

“Oh?” Eddie asked, confused for a moment then realized you were talking about actual shapes. “Oh! And how’s that been going?”

“Not well, I’m afraid,” you admitted. “We actually had a small breakdown earlier when we just couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t work.”

“Aw, that’s never any fun” he said, and couldn’t help but pout at the idea of an unhappy Jesse. “Did everything work out okay?”

“Oh yes!” you said happily. “Once we decided to try the square pegs with the square holes, things started going much smoother.”

“That’s good,” Eddie said, smiling. “I’m glad to hear that, sweetheart.”

There was a pause in the conversation at that point, a small but comfortable silence, then you cleared your throat.

“Anyway!” you said, sounding slightly higher pitched, which made you clear your throat a second time. “How was the tour? Tell me all about it, Eddie!”

The smile on Eddie’s face turned into an excited grin.

“It was so amazing!” he said. “I swear, sweetheart, I never would’ve dream-“

“Eggy!”

The call went quiet on both ends of the call save for the soft singing of Big Bird in the background on your side.

“Eddie,” you said. “Ed-E. Eddie!”

“Eggy! Egg-E! Eggy!” Jesse replied.

Eddie couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“It’s okay, I’ve been called a hell of a lot worse than Eggy before,” he said, chuckling, then he stopped and his face went blank when he realized what he said. “Sorry, sweetheart. I meant heck of a lot worse.”

“It’s okay,” you said, chuckling. “I really just watch the F bombs, but stuff like shit, hell and damn are okay.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Eddie said. “Put me in check though if I slip and start getting ru-“

“Shit hell damn!”

There was a moment of silence before both of you burst into laughter.

“Oh, he can say that but not Eddie, eh?” he said, a teasing and playful tone in his voice.

“Right?” you agreed through your laughter.

Closing his eyes, a smile came across Eddie’s face as he listened to you laugh. He didn’t realize how much he had missed it these past three months until now.

That three month stretch ended up being the longest he would go without talking to you.

With his schedule being what it was, Eddie never could guarantee when he would be able to call. Sometimes things would be relaxed enough that he could call several nights in a row, other times he would be so busy it might be a week or two before he had the chance to pick up the phone

Either way, it didn’t take him long to realize that you were the first person he thought of whenever he got some downtime.

And, after a while, it started to feel like Hawkins was further and further away every time he hung up the phone.

Eddie Munson Taglist: @eddie-swhore

Story Taglist: @ali-r3n

[redtsundere-writes]

hi! try this :) https://pin.it/7yDRk3alf

OOOOOOH I CAN COOK WITH THIS *puts on chef's hat*

Something small. 1367 words. I have no title lol.

“You have to live your life to the fullest, kiddo,” Kusakabe often told her that whenever they went to a mission together. As her mentor, he only wanted good things for her, specially since they worked in the same dangerous job. Even though she thought he was somewhat of a boring man, she really appreciated him.

“You have to come right now!” Utahime called her in the middle of the evening, as she was walking back home from a solo mission she just had.

“To where?” She wondered, maybe her best friend wanted to invite her to a party. It was Halloween after all.

“To Shibuya!”

On this spooky night, Shibuya transforms into a vibrant, pulsating carnival of chaos and color. The narrow streets, usually teeming with shoppers and commuters, are now a sea of people in costumes, each more outrageous and imaginative than the last. Neon lights, loud music and crazy energy. It would be a great night to party.

“Yeah, it would,” she thought disappointed when she arrived to the place to work. She didn't hate her job like most sorcerers do, but sometimes wished she had more time to relax. Hopping from one mission to another could be really stressful.

Apparently, almost every sorcerer was called to help in an emergency in Shibuya. Last time this happened was in Shinjuku, The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. So, this was about to be big again. She held her sword tightly as she ran to the place she was supposed to meet her mentor.

“Long time no see, kiddo,” Kusakabe greeted.

“I'm 21,” she answered with a quick grin tugging her cheek.

“You are still a kid for me,” he scrambled her hair. “How is the other kid, your little sister?”

She hadn't seen Miwa in a while, due to her living in a different city for sorcery school, but they called and texted every day to make sure she was fine. Once Utahime hung up, she called her little sis to check if she was going as well. Apparently, her and some of her classmates were on their way in a bullet train.

“She is fine, so excited to see Gojo sensei in action,” she joked. “And who is the big fella?” She pointed at the giant panda behind Kusakabe.

“I'm Panda,” the puppet answered.

“No shit.”

Panda and Kusakabe explained that around 7:00 pm a curtain with a four-hundred meter radius is cast around Shibuya. The center of the curtain is at the Tokyo Department Store. It only traps non-sorcerers, making it, so civilians can enter but not exit. There were several teams making sure that no more civilians entered.

“Shoko is here,” Kusakabe said as they were walking around the dome.

Sadly, she had seen Shoko more than your sister, since she constantly got injured at missions. She remembered the good old days when she looked upon Shoko. Always looking cool and hanging out with Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, special grade sorcerers, meanwhile she hanged out with Ino, the guy has been friend-zoning you for the longest time.

“Ino is here as well,” Kusakabe smirked, looking at her to get her reaction.

“So what?” She blushed intensely by thinking about him.

She doesn't remember when she started liking him. There was that day when Ino invited her to watch a movie after class, and he fell asleep on her shoulder. He looked so cute sleeping with this mask falling slowly on his face. She didn't move an inch just to make sure he had a good nap.

She really liked him a lot, but he didn't felt the same. Ino constantly talked about his failed dates, completely oblivious that she was interested in him. That was a clear sign what he wasn't interested in her in that way, but she just stopped caring. She was just happy to be in his life as his friend.

“What do you mean 'so what'? I can see in your cheeks you are excited to see him,” Kusakabe teased her.

“Do you like Ino?” Panda asked her, curious about the topic.

“No.”

“Yes.” Kusakabe and her answered at the same time.

“Ugh! Fine! Yes, alright?” She finally accepted with her tomato face.

“You are very pretty, I bet you have a shot.” Panda gave you a hopeless thumbs up.

“Thanks, Panda.”

Walking around the perimeter, they crossed paths with the Zenin's Team, which whom they had a casual conversation about the plan and continued their way. As they continue their path, Kusakabe smirked when he saw Nanami's Team for afar.

“Look, your boyfriend is coming,” Kusakabe teased her, nudging her on the side.

She gasped softly when she saw his disheveled brown hair, shiny black eyes and jolly smile, and he chatted along with Megumi Fushiguro. Her pounded hard against her chest as they got closer. It was funny how even though they saw each constantly due to work, she felt the same every time her eyes landed on him.

“Kusakabe's team,” Nanami mentioned as he saw the team walking up to them.

Ino whipped his head to lay his eyes on her, stop talking mid-conversation with Megumi. She looked as pretty and professional as always. He gulped as he took a quick look at her luscious hair, big breasts and swaying hips. That's the only thing he could do since he knew he didn't stand a chance with a girl like her.

“Your crush?” Megumi quickly figured from his abrupt change of behavior. Ino shushed him, blushing intensely. “That confirms it,” Megumi didn't care much about his discovery.

“She doesn't know and doesn't have to know. We are just friends,” Ino tried to hide his feelings towards her.

“Whatever you say,” Megumi shrugged.

Everybody greeted each other as they met mid-way. Nanami and Kusakabe, the leaders of their respective teams, exchanged information about the situation. Ino and her exchanged greetings, pretending they were definitely not checking each other out. The situation was painfully obvious to Panda and Megumi.

“How are you doing? I heard from Shoko that you were in a mission earlier,” Ino asked her as smiley as usual.

“I was but finished earlier,” she answered as honest as usual. “Wow, she is so cool!” Ino thought. “How have you been?" she asked back.

"I am fine, doing my best, you know,” he said, staying as humble as he could. “He is so cute goddamnit!” she thought. "I just wished I wasn't working in Halloween night," he pouted.

"Same," she answered, crossing her arms disappointed. Ino started imagining her in many costumes. She would look cute as a cat, sexy as a with and hot as a demon. He shook his head to get rid of his naughty ideas.

"Hey Ino, can I ask you something?" Panda got closer to him, tired of hearing the dumb lovey doveys talk.

"What's up?" Ino asked as Panda pulled him to the side for a private convo.

"Do you like big or small breasts?" Panda asked him curiously, whispering. Ino blushed intensely and gulped hard at the dangerous question.

"Well… I always liked big breasts," Ino said, while peeking at her, she looked confused at the random private meeting.

Ino realized he didn't just like big breasts, he liked HER big breasts. He liked HER more than anything, but he was so afraid that she didn't like him back. It was silly to be afraid of that when they were about to do one of the most dangerous in the world.

“Stop fooling around, we are moving," Nanami scolded both teams. Ino pulled away from Panda to say “see ya later” to her.

"Maybe after this, we could watch a horror movie to celebrate our victory," Ino proposed his idea.

"Sounds good, I haven't gone to the cinema in a long time," she said excited.

"I meant at my house," Ino clarified with a determined look. She smiled.

"Sure."

Both teams continued their ways. Ino and her looked back at each other and smiled embarrassed as they caught themselves checking each other again. After losing each other from their respective sights, they focused back on the dangerous mission ahead of them. "After this, I'll finally confess," they thought.

[angelf1re]

Undercover Care

as a young, broke senior in high school, you take up a babysitting gig, not knowing you’d be babysitting a mafia bosses sons.

As soon as you were in the office you felt out of place. It was a big office, and a very fancy one too. There was a huge window on the wall behind Phil’s desk and a bookshelf that took up the entire right wall. By the left wall there was a leather couch, a glass coffee table, and a very nice rug. You walked closer to the desk, subtly running your hand over it.

“Sandalwood…” you whispered, letting your hand fall to your side. “Please, have a seat.” Phil said, sitting down on the other side of the desk. You nod, sitting on one of the two chairs set in front of the desk. You took a small breath, bouncing your leg subtly. “Now, as you are working here now, there is going to be some ground rules.” Phil said, folding his hands together on top of the desk.

You nod. “That makes sense.” You said, trying not to sound rude. “First, don’t enter rooms without knocking or being invited in. My boys can be iffy about their space.” You hummed, sounded reasonable. “Two, if you make a mess, please make sure to clean it up.” You nod, makes sense.

“Three, no having friends over. Especially when you’re working.” Phil shifted in his seat, now leaning back. “Four, there is a list of names and numbers on the fridge, call any one of them if I am unavailable when something happens.” You nodded, crossing your legs. “Five, if I am not here, please don’t come into my office. Six, if you decide to stay here, even occasionally, don’t leave your room past 9:30. Seven, the boys usually go to bed around 8:00. Don’t disturb them while they get ready for bed.”

You frowned slightly. Why couldn’t you be out past 9:30 if you stayed the night? “That’s all the rules I have, please follow them.” You nodded. “Of course. It would be disrespectful not to.” Phil smiled slightly. “Now. Let’s go meet my boys.” Phil stood, waiting for you to do the same. You quickly did so, making sure you still looked at least somewhat professional. “Techno should be training in the backyard, so we’ll go to him after we meet Tommy and Wilbur.” Phil said, starting to walk towards the door.

You were quick to follow, not wanting to upset him on your first day. “Tommy is a bit of a…trouble maker. If he gives you too much trouble give me a call and I’ll sort him out.” Phil said, leading you towards a hallway full of rooms. “Techno is more mellow, but he can get a little…violent if provoked. Refrain from angering him.” Phil said, sounding very serious. You nodded, tensing up slightly.

“Wilbur isn’t around often, he’s already got his own place. When he is here he’ll most likely be playing music. If he offers to play for you, just accept. He holds grudges, especially over his music.” You nod along. Wilbur and Tommy didn’t seem too bad, it was Techno you were worried about. What if you accidentally angered him? What if he didn’t like you? What if he tried hurting you? You took gymnastics for a while, but that was years ago, and you doubt it would help you now.

And what about Tommy? What if he was so much worse than Phil was describing him as? You felt bad for thinking so badly of people you haven’t even met yet, but you couldn’t help it. “Ah, another thing. Tommy has a tendency to…eat anything that looks like candy. So if you have any medication that you would like to store here, make sure to keep it locked up or somewhere hidden.” Phil said, walking up to one of the doors on the wall.

You nodded, rubbing your arm slightly. Phil knocked gently in a small pattern, waiting for a response before he opened the door. You stood in the doorway as Phil walked in. You looked around the room, nothing bad, it was just a plain room painted red, posters here and there with multiple pictures of a blond and other people. There were multiple drawings and sketches scattered around the desk in the corner, some on the floor, and one or two pinned up on the wall.

“This is Y/n, your new babysitter. Don’t scare her away.” You heard Phil say, making you turn to look at him. “That’s not fair.” The blond on the bed whined, the same blond who had opened the door for you, although now he was wearing a soft looking blue sweater. You waved slightly when he noticed you looking at him. “Uh hi. You’re Tommy?” You asked, not entering the room. The blond nodded. “Well I hope we get along well, Tommy.” You said with a smile, trying to sound as friendly as possible. Tommy just hummed and looked down at the sketchbook in his lap. You frowned slightly. Did he already not like you…?

[izloveshorses]

Let Your Heart Be Light

holiday modern au, 1.7k. when anya gets to be the grump this time dmitry has to cheer her up <3

Anya huffed as she slammed the door behind her. She fumbled with her scarf, hat, gloves, coat, tripped from her boots, and left it all in a wet, dripping heap on the floor. 

She hadn’t called her boyfriend before coming over, but had let herself in his apartment anyway, since he’d given her a key and everything, so she made herself comfortable on his couch without saying a word. 

Minutes later, there was the noise of the lock turning and Dmitry was stomping his shoes dry. “Anya?” he called, perhaps confused by the sight of her coat in a heap at the door. “You here?” 

“In the living room,” she answered without much more elaboration. 

He made his way around the couch and he finally found her on her side with her head on the armrest. “Hey,” Dmitry’s smile melted her heart, just a little. On a good day he could put the sun to shame. His hair was disheveled from the walk home, cheeks flushed from the cold, his hoodie a little crooked, his smile moreso, smelling like snow and clove. “This is a surprise.” He settled on the couch behind her, their usual cuddle spot after a long day. She did her best to maintain her fowl mood she was determined to cling onto. But he was rather warm. Perhaps she could snuggle a little closer to him. “To what do I owe this occasion?”

Anya sighed. “I’ve officially broken up with Christmas.”

He snorted. “Oh no!”

“I’m serious. We’re so over. I’ve decided I hate the cold, and the music, and the crowds. Everyone is too cheerful.”

“What happened?”

She shrugged. “It was just a really bad day.”

“I don’t think one bad day warrants such extreme actions,” he reasoned, tone playful. Teasing was usually the trick that cheered her up, but she wasn’t in the mood right now. “Especially something you’ve adored since before I’ve known you.”

It was true. She was Hallmark Movie Crazy about the holiday season, always had been. She loved buying gifts for everyone, watching the Christmas classics, going ice skating in the park, baking for her neighbors. Basically every cliche you could think of, Anya participated in. She never understood why anyone could be grumpy at this time of year. Until today. 

Dmitry’s fingers dug into her side in an attempt to tickle, another trick that normally lightened her mood, but she smacked his hand away. “Watch it, Sudayev.” 

“Sorry,” he said, but he was still laughing. “But seriously. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Anya took a deep breath. “Nothing big, but like— you know how when all the little things just add up? And make the day terrible? And you feel like a toddler about to dissolve into a tantrum?” 

“Yeah. That’s always rough.”

“Right. Like— I spilled my coffee and didn’t have time to change or buy a new one, so there goes five bucks.”

“Oof.”

“And then I was late getting to work anyway, which is never a good way to start the day. And we had all these meetings so I didn’t get to finish my work before I had to leave, and the printer was broken, and my lunch box leaked, and someone sent me a rude email again—”

“Was it that one guy from sales?”

“Yeah, the same guy.”

“I hate him. Want me to fight him for you?”

“I might fight him if he writes ‘as previously stated’ one more time.”

That made Dmitry laugh. His cheek was cold against her neck, but his body was so irresistibly warm she wondered if his mere presence would lull her to sleep. “Geez. You can’t catch a break.”

“And then! My usual metro line was down again, so I had to take a bus, but there was so much traffic from holiday shoppers that it took twice as long to get uptown, and I lost a glove, and at that point I didn’t even want to go to the store and cook dinner anymore.”

Dmitry was rubbing soothing circles on her shoulder. “And then you came here.”

“Because I didn’t want to go home to my empty apartment and get all mad again.”

“Did you want me to cheer you up?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. I just kinda feel like eating in and watching TV.”

“Fair.” He was quiet for a minute. He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping away, and Anya assumed the conversation was over. Maybe she might actually fall asleep. Until, “I know what will make you feel better. Come on,” Dmitry stood abruptly, stretching, and she was immediately annoyed by the lack of his warm body against her back. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Somewhere fun.”

Anya refused to get up. “If it involves going out there again,” she pointed to the door, “you’re going to have to pay me.”

“You’ll love it.”

“No.” 

Dmitry sat again, now at her feet, still trying. “They opened the Tuileries winter market today. They’re selling warm drinks and everything. Don’t you want to go see the pretty lights? Do something a little Christmas-y?”

Anya knew she was being stubborn. That was the thing— stubbornness wasn’t exactly a pleasant trait, but, unlike others who suffered from this gene, she was aware of the flaw. Her self awareness made this at least a little more tolerable. And, frankly, she earned the right to not want to get up from this old couch after such a day. Even if she knew she was being difficult to her very lovely and very patient boyfriend. “Christmas lights can’t erase today. I’m forever jaded.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

She sat up, really looking at him, trying to figure out the angle he was playing. “I thought you hated that kind of stuff.”

“Hate’s a strong word. I’m no Scrooge.”

It wasn’t like he was never cheerful, but Dmitry wasn’t exactly the jolly type, either. Anya was usually the one dragging him to holiday events. He happily joined her, of course, but she could tell he only played along just for her sake. Anya jumped at any chance to celebrate the season, from a themed party at their favorite bar to her grandmother’s Christmas dinner to shopping in the holiday section at the bookstore. Dmitry would choose to stay comfortable at home with just the two of them any day. Not that that was a bad thing, of course. So this behavior— him being the one to actively search for a not-cheap Christmas activity in town to participate in— was rather suspicious. “But you always say they overcharge.”

“They do, but,” he bent down and kissed her cheek, “you like these things. And I like you. And I hate seeing you so glum more than I hate spending money.”

That made her smile. “How romantic.” 

He mirrored her, kissing her nose. “Come on, Anya. It’ll be good for you to do something cheery and out of your usual routine. If you’re too tired and cold after an hour, we can come back here, and I’ll make us dinner and some boozy hot chocolates, I promise. Scout’s honor.”

“You weren’t a scout.”

He just tilted his head, playfully and patiently exasperated. 

“Fine.” His grin widened, but she held up a finger. “You get one hour. And I get to complain about the snow and the commute as much as I want.”

He kissed her then. “That’s my girl.”

They bundled up and braved the December weather, and as promised, Anya grumbled the whole way, and to her frustration Dmitry only smiled and gave her a spare pair of gloves and zipped her coat up to her chin. The ride to the park wasn’t very long so they arrived just as the sun was setting. Dmitry paid for their steaming cups of mulled wine without a fuss and they made their way through the gate, weaving through vendors and children running around, until they found a path of twinkling string lights to walk through. 

With Dmitry’s hand in hers and a warm beverage in the other, it wasn’t so bad. The snowfall was less icy and bitter and more fluffy and sweet, Anya admitted to herself, and the lights were rather pretty. It was hard to focus on the frustrations of her day when there were so many delighted smiles walking around and the cheerful carols in the air. Dmitry was rambling mindlessly about his own day at work, talking about the technicalities of this new recipe he got to try, how maybe the head chef might let him take the lead on a dish for a critic tomorrow. And then he would whisper something funny against her cheek, earning a laugh, and. Okay. Maybe today wasn’t all bad. 

“Could you take our picture?” he asked one stranger, offering his phone, just before they were about to step under a canopy of lights. 

Anya raised her eyebrows up at him, surprised. He grinned as he adjusted his beanie, like he knew he was behaving a bit strange. But they posed and smiled, and when he kissed her cheek she laughed, and they carried on with their walk. 

“You’re being a little gross today,” she commented, earning a laugh from him. 

“Just trying to cheer you up.” 

She tilted her head up at him. 

“Is it working?” 

She shrugged. “Maybe.” 

He turned to face her. Checking. Showing his hand. His smile was still playful, but his eyes shifted into something softer, something a little more serious. “You ready to head back?” 

She looked around, taking in the scene around them. “In a few more minutes.” 

His eyes searched hers for a minute, studying, making sure. “Okay.” His hands ran up and down her arms as if to warm her up. Always taking care of her, subconsciously or not. “I just hate to see you and your favorite holiday in a fight after just one lousy day.” 

She ducked her head. “I think we’re on good terms now,” she admitted, meeting his eye again. “Thanks to you.” 

The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Good.” 

She stood on her toes to kiss him and he met her halfway, his nose cold against her cheek, all smiles and snow and clove and cinnamon. 

Not a bad day. Maybe even a good one.

[itsnamjoonssi]

Lines and scenes from my aot shitty convenience store au

“Excuse me, where can I find the witch hazel—“

“Erwin, get it away from me.” Levi said, moving away from the woman slightly, looking at her the same way a distrustful cat would eye a threat.

…

“Um. Excuse me, where can I find the witch hazel?”

Connie gave the customer a funny look before snorting.

“Uh, right over there by the cauldrons and the unicorn hair.”

…

“And please, for the love of god, SELL SOMETHING!“ Erwin boomed, his eyebrows thunderous and large.

…

“You’re not very smart are you?” The asshole questioned smugly, before turning to walk away. Eren was halfway over the counter with his hand gripping the customers hair before Mikasa could grab him.

…

“Does anyone want to tell me why The Thong Song is playing throughout my store?” Pixis demanded with a plastic smile donning his wrinkled face.

“Mr. Pixis knows The Thong Song?” You whispered to a stoic Mike.

“I bet it’s his go-to for karaoke.” He deadpanned.

“Compared to the soft-core Christian porn music that blasts through this shithole every other day, The Thong Song is a GD blessing.” Levi cut in, storming through with a mop and rag.

…

Levi pressed against you in the cleaning closet, his eyes softer than usual.

“Why didn’t you call for me? I would’ve handled it.” He murmured, his hand coming to rest on the door just above your shoulder.

“They were just being assholes, I was already stressed before they came in, this wasn’t them.” You sniffled, crossing your arms and tucking your chin into your chest.

“… Still.”

…

“No, a little higher Jean!” You called up, watching Jean and Marco hang up a new banner, replacing an older one that advertised a sale ending today.

“L-like this?” Marco asked, holding his side up to match Jean’s. You held a thumbs up before turning around and almost bumping into a short, stout man with his arms crossed.

“How do you think taking down that sign at this time of day will affect our sales?”

“Uh.”

“Because if I were a customer I wouldn’t—“

“Hold that thought.” You interrupted while holding up a hand, he paused, you lowered your hand before turning around and walking away. You heard a sputter behind you and rolled your eyes as the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the empty store.

…

“Why do you keep buying ding dongs, Y/n?”

“Ding dongs are the food of the gods.”

-

“All this stores income comes from your eating fucking ding dongs everyday, L/n.”

“Damn straight. This place would be in gone if it wasn’t for me.”

…

You watched in amusement as one after another your coworkers slipped and fell onto their asses, a startled yelp or curse falling from their lips. Or a full on scream from Jean, his kind-hearted love Marco trying to hold in a laugh but releasing it as he, too, fell victim to the wet floor. Eren cackled with a crazed look in his eye as Jean stumbled to his feet, holding Marco up as well.

You sat perched on the counter next to Hanji, stuffing a ding dong into your mouth.

“You’d think they’d learn their lesson.” You mumbled.

“Or maybe observe the fact that their coworkers fell in the exact same spot.” Mike chimed in from behind the two of you.

“Or maybe the fucking wet floor sign.” Levi sighed.

…

“He worries me.” You said with a nervous laugh as you stared in Eren’s direction. He seemed a little tense as he wiped down the counter.

“At least the brat is cleaning the counter for once.” Levi retorted, standing close enough to you that you felt his ribs against yours.

…

“I’ll call your manager!” The woman hissed. You laughed.

“No, I’ll call my manager. LEVI!”

…..

(Many of these things have happened to me while working at a retail store 💀 I have to cope somehow so I wrote a fic)

[wooahaeproductions]

A Poem a Day (svt smau)-sixteen: Little Lies

Summary: When Mingyu literally falls head over heels for someone, he has no idea what to do. What happens when he gets help (and a little meddling) from his friends? it definitely won't be boring, that's for sure.

Pairing (for the chapter): Lee Jihoon x Gender Neutral Reader

Genre (for the chapter): comedy, angst, college au

Word Count: 729

Warnings (for the chapter): uncovering of lies and deception, mentions of food

Rating (for the chapter): PG

You were running late, so Jihoon was definitely at the ice cream shop before you. You rushed through the door of the shop, the smell of ice cream cones filled your senses as you looked for Jihoon. You found him towards the middle of the store at a table with sheet music and papers spread across it.

“Hey, Ji,” you greeted, parking yourself in the empty chair across from him and setting your bag on the floor next to you.

“Y/N, hey,” Jihoon said, looking up from some of the sheet music.

“Sorry I’m late, I couldn’t find my notebook. Of course it was in my bookbag already…” you trailed off.

Jihoon laughed at you, somehow finding your antics funny and very similar to that of his best friend’s. “It’s okay, I didn’t know what ice cream you would want so I didn’t get you anything,” he said.

“You didn’t get anything either?” you asked, noticing he didn’t have any

“No, I wanted to wait for you,” he stated.

You smiled and shook your head. While he knew your coffee order, you found it interesting that he didn’t know what ice cream you would have liked. “Well I go get us some then,” you announced, getting up and walking to the counter up front.

You ordered two small cups of ice cream from the cashier, one for you and one for Jihoon. You stuck a plastic spoon in each one from the receptacle by the cash register and walked back to the small table. Jihoon looked up as you placed the cup of ice cream in front of him.

“Vanilla…how’d you know that would be my favorite?” he mused.

“Well, you tend to like simple and classic things, very no nonsense, so I thought I’d take a chance and get you vanilla,” you reasoned. He grinned, picking up the spoon and eating a mouthful of the cold treat.

You sat back down, setting your own cup on the table in front of you. You had finally settled on Gold Medal Ribbon, a mixture of vanilla and chocolate ice cream with a caramel swirl because there were too many flavors that sounded good to you.

“Okay,” you said, the spoon sticking out of your mouth backwards after you had taken a bite. You pulled a few of your notebooks out of your bag.“So we just have the last few lines of the lyrics to finish and we are done,” you recapped, taking the spoon out of your mouth and sticking it back in the cup.

“Yup, and I did come up with a few options while I was waiting for you,” Jihoon said, flipping through his own notes to get to the correct page. You two spent a few minutes reading what he had down, crossing out options with your pens, and coming up with what could be better.

“I’ll be right back, I need to use the restroom,” he said and you nodded. He snuck off to the bathroom in the back of the shop while you kept working. You were writing out more lyrics that came to mind when another customer in the ice cream shop knocked into your table, sending one of Jihoon’s notebooks falling to the floor.

“Sorry,” they said and you leaned over to pick up the notebook. As you grabbed it, you noticed the words on the page that was sprawled open on the floor. ‘I used to ask myself, was I right? Falling in love with you at first sight.’

You were confused. Weren’t those the same words of the poem that Mingyu sent you when he first messaged you? Why did Jihoon have them in his notebook, written in his handwriting and not Mingyu’s? There was only one explanation and your heart sank at the thought.

“Y/N?” Jihoon was staring at you, standing at the edge of the table after coming back from the bathroom. It looked like he must have called you multiple times and you hadn’t heard him.

“I um…I need to go,” you said abruptly, nearly flinging all your stuff back into your bag and leaving your melting ice cream on the table. You rushed out of the shop, leaving Jihoon stunned. His eyes flitted to the notebook on the floor and he let out a string of expletives.

How could they do this to you?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN | MASTERLIST | CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A/N: Oop 🤭

Taglist: @wonwooslibrary @wonwoosbookshelf @starlitmark @shuadotcom @tbzhub @the-boy-meets-evil @kimsohn @miriamxsworld

Please send an ask to be added to the taglist! ✌️

[wsdalt]

Okay let me see what I can think of. Unfortunately everything in my brain not already in your dms is either not allowed to say for another few days orrrrrrr the Yakuza games' hostess club mini game. But you wanted entertaining so mini game it is. I have no amazing insights about it for you, but I can summarise!

So Cabaret Club Czar as it's called officially appears in 2 games - 0 (a prequel game set in the 1980s, during the heights of the Japanese bubble economy), and Kiwami 2 (a remake of the 2nd game using the same engine as yakuza 0, though I cant remember if the remakes or 0 came first). In it you are tasked with running a Cabaret Club! Which is technically not a hostess club but in my head it's the hostess club mini game so sue me. It's... I'm not good on Japanese culture, but it's like an early form of a hostess club, the partway point between a cabaret (hug big shows where the ladies on staff could be hired to provide conversation at the booths) and a hostess club (where you have a conversation over drinks with an on-staff lady). Being music and maybe a singer but not a big show on the stage. I think. Look I'm running from a video game series and wikipedia here. I am not reliable there.

What I am more reliable on is the mini game! it is probably my favourite game that can be played quickly. Unfortunately it is a mini game inside a Yakuza game, and I do NOT get on with real time action combat. So I have to get my housemate to clear the games for me so I can play a mode with no plot and just do the club. Unfortunately when he got a new playstation he didnt transfer his saves, and so I cannot play. Sad :( currently he is replaying 0 so I can play the first form again (yay!) though I doubt he'll do me the second as well :( not anytime soon at least.

So the game itself. Its... surprisingly complicated and massively sports anime in vibes. You always start off with 1 platinum ranked girl and 2 brozen ranked girls. Now, there are 4 ranks (5 in 2) - bronze, silver, gold, platinum (and in 2 only, diamond, but that's also a plot rank). It is a failing club. You are mistaken for manager material and put to work running the place! You must defeat the other clubs, who have all sold out their souls and the true meaning of the clubs for cash-dollar and many of whom are implied to be abusing the girls working for them, in battle! By earning the most money in a single night (you can repeat if you fail but failure, shock horror, loses you money. And makes your girls sad. And you lose fans. Which we will consider shortly).

Now theres a whole host of things to balance which affect your earnings.

Easiest to explain are fans. You earn fans either slowly by just playing through shifts, or else by partnering with local businesses. This either is done by befriending store owners or paying shops large amounts of money. Simple.

Then there is the evening itself. During the evening men will come to your club, and you must match them to girls on shift - while rosters are pretty big, its I think 8 girls to a shift max, and 6 tables. You do not start with enough girls to fill all the tables, meaning at first sometimes you have to turn people away. You get money by people being there and buying drinks. You get more money if the girl's stats match what they want (with richer clients demanding higher stats). You get even more money if theres a popup requesting assistance and you get it right (something like bringing another drink, which will be indicated by a hand signal and you need to remember which hand signal is which thing). You will get less money if the guy and girl get into a fight and you do not resolve it (only happens if it's a poor matchup, stepping in to defend the girl is usually the right answer).

Now, your ladies. Basics and shared with all of them are stats. They have 4 aesthetics (cute, funny, sexy, beauty) which are fixed (for everyone but platinum+ but even their bases are fixed), skills (stamina, skill, party, love, talk) which increase as xp increases. XP increases in line with how much money they specifically have made you. Stamina is important as working will tire them out, and a tired hostess cannot work! And will be miserable making her clients miserable. Look after the ladies and they look after you. The rest is stuff the clients have preferences on. Match up to avoid trouble and get more cash.

Now how to get more hostesses? Welp. Theres various ways. Basic recruiting is a little different in each game (0 you just ask people on the street or get them for achievement points, 2 you put out job ads). Then theres people who join you as substory rewards (help them and they help you), and your platiniums. You start with one platinium, and get more by defeating other clubs. They are the stars of your and other clubs, generally being mistreated somehow or needing to adjust schedules in ways their bosses dont like, though not always. They're your rewards for completing each level.

Why are diamonds so special? Well first of all you can dress them up, changing their aesthetic stats and with enough number crunching maxing them out on all four! They also have the best stats. And they have plotlines!

Yup, not only does the mini game have a plot, the platinum ladies do too.

These are explored via training session, in which you usually do dating sim style multiple choice dialogue helping them practice talk to people, their job, in a usually mentory way (regardless of if you're playing Majima in 0 or Kiryu in 2, you are an elder brother or dad figure more than date potential for these girls - that's for *other* minigames), or you take them to other mini games like karaoke. Depending how well you do at these depends how much stat increases they get, which are real helpful as they're not tied to xp. What's that good? Because theres a level cap of course! (You also get side stories with each platinium, unlocked by doing enough training. Once you finish their plots, no more traininf).

And this is too long already but there is your crash course in the yakuza cabaret club mini game from a more mechanical perspective! I hope I have entertained for at least 30 seconds. <3 (this took me half an hour and we didnt even get into any of the ladies... I guess ask sometime and I can start on them, the actual good bit. Though I do love like... cafe running speed game plus princess maker gameplay very very much)

~ Factorial

this is very interesting thank you for sharing \o/!!!

sorry I don’t really have it in me to like… add anything as a response. But I enjoyed it \o/!!!

[psioniciris]

Creepy Cases of Casper High (Hunters, Dragons, and Damsels In Distress!)

Hello hello my cherished readers! Sorry its been so long since I shared my last case report. Just been busy with life and doing research in general to make sure I've got my facts straight. Anywho, to anyone who is just joining us now here's a bit of a refresher. Last time I shared a case with you guys we were discussing Casper High's very first major ghost sighting of a huge monster made of meat! Feel free to check out the full details of the case by following the link down below!

The official second sighting looks like it might have been more of a one off thing along with the third but I decided to include them anyway since I feel like all of them are important if we want to get a better picture of just how haunted this town is. It happened to Mikey in the library. He went to use one of the computer's in the school library to work on an assignment and ran into someone he didn't realize at the time was a ghost who turned around and attacked him! Luckily Mikey wasn't hurt, just gagged and hung upside-down by some kind of energy net that vanished into thin air a few seconds later.

According to Mikey once he calmed down enough to remember exactly what the ghost said to him, he referred to himself as Skulker. This might only be a code name though so I'll have to look into this further for another article.

Moving onto the third ghost sighting at Casper High this one is pretty incredible if you as me! Why? Because it was the first close up sighting of Danny Phantom himself and an honest to goodness dragon! A ghost dragon! That can only mean one thing folks, dragons are real is now confirmed! I mean think about it. How could there be a ghost of a dragon if there was never a living one at some point flying around?

But moving on...

Before I dive into our next story I'd like to preface this by saying most of these are based entirely on witness accounts that vary a lot in levels of detail which is totally understandable when you think about it. It's kinda hard to pay attention to the specifics when you're running for your life from a huge gout of green flames from the maw of a ghost dragon! Moving onto the case report itself the first reported sighting of this dragon was apparently at the Amity Park Mall in the Abyss clothing store.

There was a sale on the entire discontinued line of Fleecy-T blouses and somehow or another a customer wound up possessed and transformed in front of the very eyes of the acting manager on call at the time. Paulina said she sorta remembers being there that day too but was too excited about managing to guy the very last shirt they had left in her size to really pay attention to what happened when she left the store.

The second sighting of the same dragon was on campus that night at Casper High where it destroyed the girls bathroom (although this wasn't discovered until later the next day by the janitor cleaning up the mess left by the first dance of the school year) then flew off to the football field where our next two witnesses, Dash and Tiffanie, saw Danny Phantom rescuing Paulina. My guess is he saved Paulina from the dragon at some point when the bathroom was wrecked which would explain why she was out cold at the time. The dragon was then defeated by our local ghost hero and the rest as they say is history! I also wonder how they replaced that whole row of bleachers...?

To end things off, I found out there was another ghost sighting the same night by Tucker Foley and the DJ in charge of the school dance's music. Tucker didn't tell me much apart from that he was really taken aback when this ghost girl just floated up to him, insisting on enjoying the last dance with him. As for the DJ, he noticed them while getting ready to pack up his gear once the last song finished and noticed the girl Tucker was dancing with looked out of place in her get-up, aka a medieval styled gown not to mention her feet were literally gliding across the dance floor. Well, assuming they had been ever touching the ground to begin with!

Tucker tells me she was surprisingly mellow and sweet but at the time his nerves were a bit frazzled from trying to help his best friend Danny Fenton keep his parents from getting too talkative about certain happenings at school. The rest of their little waltz is a bit of blur though so Tucker couldn't tell me any more than that. As for why Danny's parents were chaperoning the dance I'll leave that to your imagination since I doubt it's a very fond memory for the poor guy.

But there you have it! I really wanted to make up for my long absence here's three Creepy Cases of Casper High all rolled up into one! And now that puts our total of ghost encounters so far at 4! First was the meat ghost, second was this ghost hunter guy Skulker, third was the dragon, and fourth was this mysterious ghost girl who according to Tucker's description of her might have been nobility or maybe even a princess! Not only that but she bears a striking similarity to the ghost dragon as far as their color aesthetic so could the two of them be connected somehow? Looks like that is yet another case for me to take a closer look into for a future post!

[brenninthetaylorverse]

I know most of you probably forgot about it but I haven't and I want to keep my promises so guess what! I'm bearing my soul to you people and today I'll finally be giving all the details of my album, melodramatic.

@dandelions-fly-in-summer-skies I'm gonna @ you in some more of my music like new songs because this is not my best work lol

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album cover:

*the original image isn't mine, I literally got it off the internet and I never plan on releasing this, making an album cover and all of this is for fun*

tracklist:

1. the movement

2. crying in my bed at 3 am on a rainy tuesday

3. gospel

4. places i’ve seen before

5. people lie.

6. take another breath

7. long pause

8. my dreams aren’t real but my demons are

9. honey take your meds

10. is my family ashamed of me?

11. drama queen

the three songs (I had a few that has the same number so I get to choose on those lol PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE MY WRITING)

1. my dreams aren't real but my demons are

Sitting in my room on a regular day, wasting my life away. I think blue light is seeping into my brain. I don’t do anything anymore. I don’t even see my friends. And my room is dirty, I wish my Mom was here to bug me to clean it. And he said “You’ll be fine on your own.” Oh, but he was so wrong. 

My dreams aren’t real. Sitting here wishing I had some kinda physical appeal, even looking in the mirror hurts. What can you do when you're stuck in a body that doesn’t even love you? How did the brain name itself and why is the brain so mean? And why is there a man dressed in all black outside my window, but only on Thursday nights? Because my dreams aren’t real, but my demons are. Getting into college, becoming famous, that’ll never happen but I can count on my sleep paralysis demon to be there when I need him. And it’s so sad because I’ve never hated myself more than I do now and they don’t care.

I can’t help but mope around, waiting for some big circus to roll into town. Maybe then I wouldn’t be the only clown. I get up on big stages, hoping every time will be different, but instead I get booed off. I’m not proud of my past and I hope this version of me doesn’t last. They say all I do is sing about the negative but what do they want me to do? Sing about rainbows and unicorns? I never will because I sing about what I feel.

Cause man, my dreams aren’t real. I can wish all I want for a big fancy house but come on, that’ll never happen. Cleverly hidden lyrics on the back of a cereal box. Whenever I’m at the doctor's office for the 7th time this month, all I do is stare at the clocks. I take 20 medicines a day and nothing can keep my demons away.

2. is my family ashamed of me (I am not suicidal I just want to preface)

They used to call me the good kid. They said to make sure I remember them when I get famous. They wanted some of my success. They wanted me to be somebody. And I can’t imagine dying without being famous. I want people other than my hometown to know my name. I want to be someone. Make a name. Get out of this town. And yet I’d be leaving behind everything I’ve ever known, till eventually I drown. In other words, in the fight for the crown. I’d come back and leave, do it all again and still not know where I want to be. 36, a crazy woman with a broken dream. Do I want that to describe me? 

What happens when you give all the time and never get anything back? Do you run out of gifts? Of things to give? All the birthdays, all the christmases. All the lost time yet I was there. Do they hear the whispers about me? The grocery store, the gas station, in the eyes of the people who saw me grow up. I was gonna do great things but sitting here, I got one question. Is my family ashamed of me?

Would all the problems be fixed if I wasn’t born. If I never existed. Would they be happier, nicer, richer? What would it be? Give me a genie and I’ll waste my wishes and give me all the money in the world and I’ll be gone. Is my family ashamed of me? And it’s not my fault, I’ve been thinking ‘bout death. Can’t help but question this whole big thing, said no when you proposed with your dollar tree ring. I can never ask for help, I’m embarrassed when I see someone I know in public. And I hate driving slow, but I love having somewhere to go.

3. drama queen (this song has a few taylor references, whoever can point them all out gets a cookie)

I wish that you could go and unsay all those things you said that day. I wish I could undo all my actions and the reckless driving I did on the way. I know I’m partly to blame, I know that you always curse when you say my name. I think I know everything, but I’m just a dumb teenage girl trying to make her way. Do you think when I showed up to your party that was when I ruined everything? Do you think that my Mom is too pushy and she needs to stay in her lane? And why did you run away when I said those three words? All you had to do was stay. 

I know you say I’m a drama queen. I know you say I think I know everything. But I thought you cared. I thought you liked it when I did that dare. I thought you were gonna comfort me when I cried, but you left me. If I died, would you attend my wake? Would you care if I threw it all away for the sake of our relationship? What if your future was in the bend, would you leave me then? Are you waiting for the moment to strike when it hurts the worst then leave my life speeding, while I’m forced to slowly follow the hearse? 

I convinced myself that you were a brick wall and I was the sledgehammer. Breaking you down and fixing you back up but like usual, I was wrong. You are my David, I am Michelangelo. You wanted the world and I wanted you, we are not equal. I wanted you so bad that suddenly, I didn’t want you at all. What happens when you’ve been fighting for years but suddenly you lose sight of what you’re fighting for? 

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so that's that. also I put most of my lyrics in paragraphs so if you don't read it all, I don't mind lol. enjoy my friends.

[browzerhistory]

🖋 for an oc you don't get to talk about as much!!

taking this as an excuse to talk about an oc set i've not actually posted about before: the complex >:) putting this under the cut bc it got long lol

so (in its Final Forme) it is/would be a webcomic, centering around five tenants of the same run-down apartment building: kris, markus, marina, alaska, and jaime. all of them moved in because of the ridiculously low rent prices for this particular building despite the relative closeness to the center of the city. after moving in, though, they realize something's very weird - nobody but them actually lives there, and none of them have ever seen the landlord.

each has things they're running from: kris bears a curse placed on him by his old friend group (and a repressed gender crisis); markus is a twice-orphaned ex-musician trying to keep up with his college's expectations; marina struggles with delusions and possible visions of the future getting tangled together; alaska has to come to terms with a worsening disability that keeps her from doing what she loves; and jaime has to contend with a returning eating disorder (and a demon possession but that happens later).

they inevitably end up getting forced closer together as the apartment building shifts and warps around them as if trying to keep them in, and all of their issues manifest in ways that are harder and harder to ignore.

another important character who isn't technically part of the main cast (as he doesn't live there) is jaime's estranged twin sister, havoc. he shows up shortly after jaime gets possessed because the demon answers one of his calls (because it thinks it should) and he's immediately suspicious. he acts as a set of fresh eyes for the other residents when he points out all the messed up stuff that's going on in the building that they've gotten used to.

and for a breakdown of each character (because i am Insane):

kris is a half-demon with one functioning eye, a bum leg, and a cracked-off horn. all are consequences of a curse his old 'friends' put on him while they were screwing around with Old Magic. he moved across the country to get away from them, but the curse is degenerative, and eats away more of his health every day. for now, he's working by day as a store clerk and by night as a bouncer at a club, neither of which pay well and both of which grate on his mental health. his dream is to work with animals in a rehab setting, but there's no world where he has the money or time to get into that. in the meantime, he tries to keep a good social life. he roller skates. he tries to talk with markus, who he has a crush on. he commiserates with alaska about chronic illness.

markus, similarly, moved across the country to get where he is. his birth parents both died before he was five, and his adoptive mother passed away when he was 16 due to complications from cancer treatment. he aged out of the foster system and joined a band that ended up breaking up when he was about twenty due to interpersonal conflicts. as a last-ditch effort to turn his life around, he applied for a scholarship to a music college on the coast and made it in. he can play guitar, drums, and a bit of piano; he sings, and he's got a good sense of rhythm, but he doesn't like the restrictions of college and the professional music scene. he likes singing and playing for the sake of it.

marina, in contrast to the others so far, had a relatively normal childhood. she'd wanted to be a florist when she was young, but that didn't end up working out (money troubles). she dropped out of college due to worsening symptoms of an unknown mental illness. the only truly unique and unexplainable thing that she deals with are the visions of the future, fleeting inclinations, which become more intense and more accurate the older she gets. at first, she brushes them off, but then, she pulls the fire alarm moments before a poorly-grounded wire in her old apartment shorts, and the ceiling begins to cave in under sudden flame. she brakes hard before driving over a bridge that collapses under the next car that drives over it. she's not sure what to do with this power, but she tries her best to escape it.

alaska is probably the most normal. she has no curse, no strange power, no exceptionally sad backstory. she's just unlucky. she works as a landscaper, has since she graduated high school, and she really loves it. she loves the physicality of it, getting her hands muddy; she loves working on a project and seeing things change because of her as she works. but she gets into a car accident, one that crushes her right leg under a crumpled car door. her femur is shattered, and despite her and the doctors' best efforts, she ends up needing a hip replacement, and travels with a wheelchair for six months afterwards. since then, chronic pain follows her and makes it increasingly difficult to keep doing what she loves.

jaime is probably the most comedic character. on her own, she's an instagram 'self-improvement' influencer who generally posts 'living alone in x city' content, alongside product sponsorships. however, she falls back into food-restrictive habits that plagued her in her teenage years (but more in the 'thinfluencer' sphere with shitty diet pills and weird juice mixes). in pursuit of what she thinks is a niche diet cleanse, she ends up summoning a demon and binding it to her body. the demon basically goes 'damn bitch you live like this??' and she realizes how messed up her eating habits are. she also starts trying to make amends with havoc, her sister, whom she had a falling-out with when the two graduated high school.

havoc is a mechanic and somewhat of a punk rocker. he plays drums for a tiny indie band on weekends and fixes cars and motorcycles on weekdays. he doesn't have many friends, but prefers it that way, and secretly really wishes he and jaime could get along again.

ok jesus christ this got long. i'm going to bed GOODNITE