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#an absolute mess of a man child that i would have let ghost me past the level of any self respect
andy-clutterbuck · 1 year
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Simon Casey | Teachers | requested by Anonymous
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80pairsofcrocs · 2 years
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baby scarab || 1
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masterlist - marvel masterlist - series masterlist
synopsis : in which a schizophrenic teenager could see a certain god
takes place after the Marvel series Moon Knight, may have spoilers?
pairings : steven grant x (platonic)reader, marc spector x (platonic)reader, khonshu x (platonic)reader
i will be using she/her pronouns
~~~
A/N : this is all over the place btw, also fun fact, i have schizophrenia so that's kind of what motivated me in writing this. i'm going off of what i experience. pls enjoy <3
also if you want to be in the taglist, please ask! its not a problem
TW : mental disorders, child abandonment, language, fighting(?) let me know if i missed anything.
~~~
some would say its freaky,
others would say its like a superpower, like seeing ghosts is cool right?
you would say its a bit of both
you had schizophrenia, a mental disorder you have had for the past couple years, causing you to have hallucinations such as seeing shadows nobody else can, or fire where theres not fire, and that had absolutely nothing to do with ghosts, and you were labeled delusional by many peers.
you didn't take offense to it, because you were delusional. in fact your disorganized thinking has gotten you in trouble.
not because you're stupid, no, but because of others at your school making fun of you for it, you think its ok to beat them up for it.
which only fueled it. it caused others happiness to see you in trouble.
it also causes you to get suspended a lot.
such as now.
you were heading up to your apartment that you stayed in alone, since your parents dumped you in the street when you were young, and going through too many foster homes was a pain so you chose to just get your own place to call a home.
you just worked at an average paying coffee shop near your school, which you had to walk to.
you could either pay rent on time or get a car, so you thought that some cardio each morning and evening wouldn't be too bad.
you got into the elevator and saw another... man.. as well. he was in a bird costume and he was staring- or you thought he was staring at you.
"'scuse me." you move your arm past the extremely tall man to press your floors button. the bird man looked down at you with its creepy mask, and you tried to ignore it until it touched your shoulder and gasped.
you jumped and stepped away from him, thinking he was just a weirdo messing with you.
you could sense the guy staring at you so you turned your head to him. "you need something?" you ask him, to which he shakes his head slowly.
you nod and look away, but turning back when you see that nothing was attaching his head to his body, also now noticing the huge scary stick with a cresent moon on it.
your eyes widen and your breath hitches, as soon as the elevator hit your floor, you get off and speed walk to your apartment. unlocking the door took 4 tries, but that's only because you just saw some sort of demon.
your breath quickens as you finally open the door and slam it shut behind you and lock it.
you lean back against the door and listen for anything, and after a couple minutes of that, you got up and threw your bag on the couch and took of your shoes.
~~~
it had been about an hour since you got home, and you were hungry so you got up off your bed after pausing your favorite show on your phone to go to the kitchen, tossing your phone on your bed.
when you stepped into the kitchen area, you got out y/f/f and y/f/d, only to hear a knock at your door.
you stiffen up and feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. turning you head to the door, you curse yourself for scratching out the peephole since you were paranoid that someone could see you from the other side.
even though you've tried to look through it and didn't see anything.
you slowly get a wooden bat from near the door, holding it so whoever was out there couldn't see it. putting on a brave face, you open the door to see just a normal man.
he had short wavy dark hair, he also had a smile on his face as he waved at you.
"'ello there." he greeted, you loosening your grip on your bat a little as you smile back.
"hey, can i help you?" you ask him. he nods and runs a hand through his hair.
"actually, id just like to introduce myself." he starts with his british accent. "im steven. uhm- steven grant, i live a couple doors down and i realized i know all my neighbors except you." he explains, using hand gestures while he speaks
"well, my names y/n. do you need anything else?" you ask as nicely as you can, starting to feel intimidated by the taller man.
he darts his eyes to your shiny door knob for a split second.
"uh- well, I-"
"ok cool, goodbye." you cut him off starting to shut your door when you see steven shake his head like a dog then stop the door with his hand, glaring at you all of a sudden.
you furrow your brows at this, and tighten your grip on the bat as you try and push the door closed when the man pushed it open, almost making you fall backwards, him immediately slamming it back closed after.
you hurry and swing your bat at the man, but he catches it in his hands before it could hit him. he yanks it from your grip and tosses it aside.
your breathing quickens, and you back away from him, looking around the room for anything to help you when you spot a vase you found at a thrift store.
'oh well, it was only 2 dollars..'
you pick it up and chuck it at the man who was getting closer to you, only for him to block it with his arm, still breaking and cutting his arm.
he looked offended, and looked at the small cut it made, before turning to you who starts running towards your room, hearing him chasing after you.
you of course, a 16 year old girl, is slower than an adult man so he catches up before you get halfway to your room.
he yanks on the back of your shirt and pulls you to him so that he has an arm wrapped around your flailing arms to keep them still and a hand covering your mouth to prevent you from screaming.
"calm down, kid." he orders, his british accent gone and turned into an american one, making you confused.
you try to kick him which results in him tightening his hold on you as a warning.
he takes a breath, you feel him shake his head from behind you. "you done? i just gotta ask you something" he tells you in a cocky tone.
"are you gonna be quiet?" he asks you, and when you nod frantically he takes the hand off your mouth and moves it to hold you better to not risk you running off.
you take a couple shaky breaths. "good." he starts. "now, are you one of them?" this made you confused more than anything.
"o-one of what?" you ask him quietly. you hear him scoff.
"don't play dumb with me, kid." he starts. "you know what? let me just see your arms." which made you even more confused.
before you could say anything, he turns you around and lifts up your sleeves and looks both your arms over before letting go and running a hand through his hair in defeat.
you back up as soon as he turned around to pace about your apartment. you stand there awkwardly, watching this stranger pace around and and start yelling at anything with a reflective surface.
"yes, i know she could see him!" you hear him yelling into a mirror you had hanging on one of your walls, the thing that made your stomach twist was the fact that the reflection wasnt matching the person.
"oh my god..-" you mutter to yourself, going to go sit on your couch, far enough away from 'steven', but close enough to make sure he doesn't do anything.
"no! you cant have control, i need to know why she-"
"marc" the man in the mirror makes eye contact with you and points in your direction.
he whips his head around at you and walks over to you, putting an arm on each side of you, caging you in between him and the couch you wish you could lean back more in.
"how are you doing that?" he asks lowly. you don't answer, which makes him mad.
he slams a hand down, making you jump. "i asked you a question and i expect an answer." he begins. "are you trying to unleash ammit again? huh? maybe a friend of harrow trying to get revenge?" he lists off making you tilt your head in confusion.
"what the fuck are you talking about?" you gain confidence, which makes the man furrowed his brows at you.
"you don't- shut up steven" he looks to the mirror, to which you look as well.
the guy in the mirror sees that you're looking at him, so he turns to you. "you can hear me, can't you? see me too?" he asks rhetorically. you nod slowly and take a deep breath.
the man in the mirror was the man at the door, but the guy who pushed his way in? you had no clue.
"marc, please let me talk to her properly!" he turns back to the guy still hovering over you. "you're scaring her!" he pleads, which makes the guy above you roll his eyes.
he jumps up and shakes his head again, this time looking back at you with a small smile.
"so. i take it you've met marc, eh?" he asks, sitting next to you instead of threatening you, yet you still lean back.
"what?" you are completely clueless.
"listen, i'll explain the best i can, is that alright?" he asks you carefully, and you nod.
"right! so i'm steven" he gestures to himself. "and that's marc" he points to the mirror, to see 'marc' shaking his head. "we are two people that live in the same body, do you get it?" he asks you, and you nod again.
"so it was y/n right?" another nod. "thats a nice name, i'm so sorry about marc by the way." he apologizes for marc.
you just stare at steven in shock, not knowing what to say. "whats ammit?" you eventually speak up, making steven hum in thought. "and all those other things he was talking about" you question.
steven chuckles breathily, and claps his hands together lightly. "well, marc would be better at explaining it than me, plus its getting late and i-"
"let me out steven"
"no"
you look between the two arguing, and smile slightly. "steven i wont hurt her just let me out. just for a minute." marc argues from the mirror.
steven sighs and rubs his hands down his face and looks to you. "is it alright if marc comes out for a minute?" he asks you, to which you hesitantly nod.
and another head shake later, a more stern expression takes over the once friendly face, signalling marc was back.
he smirks at you and helps you up by your hands all of a sudden, making you gasp.
"hey, kid i'm not gonna hurt ya, just let me show you something" he chuckles to himself.
"what are you-" before you can finish your sentence, he turn you around, back pressed against his chest and him holding your shoulders to keep you from moving too much.
you hear him chuckle again, moving you so that you're facing an open space in your home. you become confused again at why marc thought this was funny.
"khonshu" marc says as he tightens his grip on your shoulders.
you were about to just walk away when the bird demon phases through the wall, and starts walking towards you and marc.
your eyes widen and you try to get away from it, but marc prevented that and began walking you closer to the extremely tall bird, you still trying to get marc off you.
"nO-" you start to yell curses at the man holding you, hes just forcing you towards the bird with a smile on his face.
"so the little mortal can see me" a voice comes from the birds direction.
you stare up at the skeletal head which is tilted curiously in your direction, you frozen not knowing what to do.
"careful y/n, he can smell fear" marc whispers in your ear, making you jump and turn your head to him. he had taken his hands off you, just hovering behind you to block you from running.
"marc stop it! y/n! he cant smell fear he's just a dumb pigeon" you hear steven from the mirror.
"i chose the wrong day to get suspended." you mumble to yourself.
the death pigeon takes a small step closer to you, and you cant help but panic so you take you best shot and punch the bony beak as hard as you can.
your hand feels like its on fire as you hold it to your chest. the bird has turned away holding its beak and marc was staring at you in shock from behind you.
"oH MY GOD!" you shout. "i'm so sorry i-i didn't-"
you get cut off by marc laughing behind you, turning around you glare at him.
he sighs and shakes his head. "aw man, you got spunk, kid." he tells you. clutching you hand to your chest you turn back around to the bird, whos looking at you.
"'m sorry" you apologize to him. he grunts and looks to marc.
"can we keep it?" he asks marc, but stevens the one to answer from the mirror.
"shes not an 'it', khonshu."
"can it, worm"
"oh, i get it now" you say, all heads turning to you. "this isn't real" you deadpan. "i'm dreaming again" you try to convince yourself.
"what?" marc asks confused, giving you a look.
"mhmm. what time is it?" you frantically look around.
"its 8:12" steven says from the mirror making your eyes widen. "shit"
you speed walk to your bathroom to retrieve an orange pill bottle before taking two out and swallowing them dry in the middle of your living room.
the three just looking at you in confusion. "whats that for?" steven asks.
"look for yourself." you toss the bottle to marc, a rattling echoes through the room as you shuffle through your kitchen for some new food.
marc wanders into the kitchen area, khonshu looking at all the random stuff you had laying around. "you're schizophrenic?" he asks you, making you turn to him.
"no, they gave me the wrong bottle." you answer sarcastically, marc giving you a look. "yeah. its pretty severe and its probably why i can see your.. weird friend." you gesture to khonshu, whos poking the ceiling with his moon stick.
marc sighs. "if its so bad that you can see an egyptian god then how come your parents dont do anything about it?" he asks kind of rudely.
you look up at him and snatch your pills back from his hand. "i live alone. i dont know where my parents are." you say truthfully, the sympathetic look on marcs face being unseen as you turn back around to put the bottle on the counter.
"listen kid, you cant tell anyone about this alright?" marc gestures to everything around him. you shrug.
"whatever" you mutter, forgetting about the food and moving to pick up the broken pieces of the vase that are scattered across the floor.
you gather the jagged piece of dried clay and throw them away, ignoring the stares from the three beings in the room.
sitting down again on the couch, you put your head in your hands for a second before running them down your face and leaning back, staring at the wall as you feel the couch dip from beside you.
theres a quiet sigh. "would it be innapropriate to invite you over for supper?" thats stevens voice again. you look to him and shrug again. "is this an elaborate sceme to murder me?" you ask him seriously.
you see him internally panic. "oH- nononononono- i just noticed you didnt have much in your cupboards, thats all" he confesses, and you look over to your open cabinets and notice that you do in fact, have barely any food.
you crack your neck and nod to yourself. “only if you elaborate on all of.. this." you gesture to the murder bird and marc in the reflection of the mirror.
steven nods and smiles to you. "of course" he agrees and helps you up, leaving your apartment to go over to the messy one a few doors down.
that night you made a couple weird friends. they got even weirder after steven and marc took turns explaining how exactly they got into their situation.
and khonshu was giving you advice on how to kill your parents if you ever met them. he claimed that they 'were not worthy' and that you needed to break their windpipes.
you just assumed that it was because somebody other than marc and 'the worm' could see him.
but either way, its wasn't a bad day after all
~~~
A/N : okay this took longer than i wanted it to smh. hope you like it and i'm already thinking about turning this into a mini series.
if it gets enough likes i will bc i have ideas but it would also help if i got some requests for the next one??
either way, thanks for reading.
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respectthepetty · 1 year
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Another day, another ask, but this time, it's about what are some currently airing shows that you're watching and really enjoying and how would you describe what you like about them briefly?
For example, The Warp Effect: Wholesome and sex positive QL, with so much representation and topics brought up weekly. Nothing like what I was expecting - in the best way.
Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day @sliceduplife! I hope it was kind to you because my response is going to be just like me and my favorite characters - problematic and absolute basura!
To begin, I'm actually going to tell you what I'm rewatching instead of currently watching:
Great Men Academy - Much like 3 Will Be Free and The Warp Effect, Great Men Academy isn't a BL, but it doesn't stop it from being queer af. It has a unicorn that grants wishes, a magical lake that requires nudity to activate, a ghost, a school sanctioned Hunger Games, body swapping, and an Elite level moment:
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If you don't get the Elite reference, know that this lead-paint-level-toxic hottie, Cruz, delivered the best line ever uttered in the series:
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¡No soy gay! Ni bi. Ni tri. ¡Soy futbolista! (I'm not gay! Not bi. Not tri. I'm a footballer!) <- I say "¡Soy futbolista!" all of the time when people ask about my sexuality without clarification and leave them in their confusion.
*moving on to your actual ask*
The Warp Effect - I came for Joy, the cinematographer who also did KinnPorsche, and Jojo, the director who does everything else I love, but stayed to see all the ways people could come... to an understanding about their sexuality. Also, it's very queer.
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My Beautiful Man 2 - I do not condone stalking, but when it comes to my idol and his devoted worshiper, I'm trying to invent new ways of stalking, so Hira can always be within a 100 yards of Kiyoi. They should be more red flags than California during fire season, yet they are wholesome and adorable.
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Well...in a very kinky way, kinda like these two wild kids from Secretary
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Never Let Me Go - It has a teenager becoming the CEO of his family's multi-million dollar company and another teenager being his bodyguard falling in love! How could I not love it?! It's outrageous! And somehow the most unrealistic thing about this plot is there being a genuine good guy who openly talks about bitcoins, and I LOVE HIM! I did not have falling in love with a man who enjoys "investing" on my BINGO card, but then again, look at my very good boy. LOOK AT HIM!
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Hit Bite Love - It's so messy. It has stepbrothers in love, open discussions about condom sizes and lubricant, Kinks-R-Us, a bi Burger looking for his King, and so much more. This past episode hid a pivotal scene behind a paywall due to the two characters having sex in the school's locker room, so half of the plot was missing in the edited version. It made NO SENSE, but I didn't care. Give me all the mess, but I draw the line at taking off your sock and putting it in someone's mouth. BAD BOY! VERY BAD BOY!
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The End of the World with You - Japanese BLs stress me out. They give me a lot of an anxiety, and I'm constantly preparing for someone to die or for one of them to be a murderer. Even in the "happiest" Japanese BLs, there always exist this undercurrent of malice..and I'm attracted to it. >insert Ritsu aka El Diablo<
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Moonlight Chicken - Eff "More than Friends, Less than Lovers!" That's child's play. Give me my HussyVille Gang Gang! Give me the "we've been breaking beds and each other's backs since day one, but I'm not even sure what his name is, and if I'm being honest, I don't really need to know" squad. Then, on top of that, it's EarthMix doing the devil's boogie?! I waited for over a year for this, and I don't say this often when it comes to men, but the anticipation was worth it.
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HIStory 5: Love in the Future - I will always show up to a Taiwanese BL. They are like Rihanna at the Super Bowl. They do the bare minimum but are still very entertaining, include all the fan favorites (domestic bliss, high heat, office romances, good side couples, marriage equality), and pop out with a few surprises. Others may be disappointed, but I am ALWAYS pleased.
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My School President - Did you read the list before this? There is a common underlying theme. Even if the show isn't messy, I'm going to find the mess and fixate on it, and it doesn't get stranger than Por's obsession with the chinchilla. GMM better get on merchandising this critter ASAP because there is a gold mine behind this, capitalizers.
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Bed Friend - It hasn't started yet, but I'll be watching it. It has a Blue Boy and Red Rascal BUT they are not who would normally be coded that way, which means they are clearly going to have to resolve the reasons why they changed their behavior to cover up their obvious colors. Who hurt our Red Rascal that he turned into a nun? Who harmed our Blue Boy to make him the slutty slut he is? I cannot wait to find out!
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Chains of Heart - One word: Papi. Wait, sorry. Let me try again: Poppy. The show has a plot, and I care about it, but...Poppy. He is playing a bad guy, which I got a glimpse of in Love Mechanics, so I'm hoping it means we get to see more of him, and I don't mean screen time, although I wouldn't be opposed to that either. Obviously, I have to be interested in the actual plot since he is a supporting character...but POPPY! mmmm, papi!
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kzesl · 2 years
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Saw The Black phone.
Spoilers and rambling ahead.
The basic premise is that a serial killer kidnaps children and then later kills them. The latest one of his victims receives help from the ghosts of the previous ones via a black phone.
It’s interesting in the sense that the monster of the movie is a human and the ghosts are the good guys.
Superb acting on all fronts.
Lovely sibling dynamics. Finney and Gwen are a team. They tease each other, but it is soft, none of that in the movies so prevalent thing when the siblings don’t get along. They love each other so much. She defends him against bullies and he’s not embarrassed or angry about it.
Gwen is a badass. She is strong and brave. She goes to her abusive father and initiates a conversation about a topic that has previously gotten her a beating (many beatings, most likely, because the one we saw wasn’t the first) because it might help her find her brother. She stands up for herself and her brother all the while swearing like a sailor. She is a psychic like her late mother (and brother? that one was a bit less clear). And her thank you daddy and I love you daddy, broke my heart because she is so scared of him and those are not the words children should ever say in fear.
Finney is also a badass, but in a different way. As one of the characters said, he gets up again and again and again, no matter how many times he falls. He is smart and shy and kind and I absolutely love his friendship with Robin who was possibly the biggest badass in that school (but he still died at the hands of the Grabber). Even he, who appeared to Finney like he could take the world on and win, even he couldn’t escape, couldn’t survive. Robin, who would have grown up to be a dangerous, violent and messed up, but probably still a good man, if he had been given a chance. Their friendship felt like it could have survived anything.
All the kids, all the victims, were badass, and that might be a bit unrealistic but let’s ignore that because it’s tragic that they had to be. That something like that happened to them. And they were all wonderfully different. We didn’t get to see much of them, but they didn’t feel one dimensional to me.
Mason Thames did such a good job as Finney. His eyes told so much. There’s a scene where he stands in the doorway as his father is beating his sister and his body language is tight and coiled and you can see the past in it (this is nothing new, they’ve been in this position before, there is no surprise no shock, those hits taken long time ago) and the present (the fury, the helplessness, the clenched fists) and the future (those eyes tell: rage festers and it’s dangerous to dismiss boys, they grow up to be men)
And then there is the way he looks at his captor. Vey well done.
The Grabber is monstrous. We don’t know much about him, and we honestly don’t need to. We get hints and that’s enough. He punishes naughty boys, and we can surmise that it comes from an old place, a personal one when he was a naughty boy, a tortured child himself. But this is not his origin story. Whatever happened to him to make him this way doesn’t really matter anymore, not when there are bodies of dead children in his basement, and their souls trapped where he kept them.
There are a few scenes that were scary, that made me flinch a bit, but the rest of it was more psychological. A little boy trapped in a room with no apparent way to escape and a bad man toying with him, waiting for him to make a mistake so he could have an excuse to kill him.
I enjoyed this movie. There were some things you just had to accept, like that all the kids were very competent and their fear and hopelessness weren’t shown much. You can always argue that it’s because they are dead, and indeed they are said not to remember much (not even their own names). Still, Finney accepted the presence of supernatural very quickly and rather calmly. That again can be attributed to the fact that his sister is a psychic.
(I honestly feel like I could write a fic for this movie. About after. Because I like the interpretation where Finney is a psychic as well, it’s just that his ability works a bit different than his sister’s.
I could write about him walking down the hallway of his school when suddenly there’s a phone ringing, newly wedged between the lockers and a door, black and disconnected and loud. And unseen by anyone else. Except for maybe Gwen, who unlike her brother doesn’t hear anything when she picks it up but she still dreams the words later.)
I’m going to stop now, because this is a bit too long already.
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kicksnscribs · 2 years
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I love looking through other peoples OCs for FFxv bc they’re all these cool, collected, elegant, beautiful, well put together bitches and i’m over here with my absolute bastard gremlin of a child lmao
case in point:
[Some Selections from the 16546343 outlines i have for this story]
*Somewhere out in the middle of the woods*
“Guys! There’s free dogs in the bushes!!” She pops up out of the bushes holding up a baby Hundlegs proudly. :D
“NEJRY PUT THAT DOWN AT ONCE!!!” Ignis hollers in concern.
<:(
****
“What’s the matter Mr. Scientia? You don’t want to partake in Prom’s delicious Nut Coating™?” She holds up the box of gluten free breading alternative and can’t even contain her laughter long enough to get the joke out.
Ignis is devastated 
“I believed in you, Nejry…”
“Please Don’t.” She laughs out, giving him a pat on the back in apology
****
“🎶Ta-cos, ta-cos, TAC🎶—-….can I be weird in peace without you clowns appearing out of nowhere FOR FIVE MINUTES???” How dare they interrupt her taco song???
****
“Oh dude, if you ever decide to get tits this bra is 🎶amazing🎶.” She says to Prompto during their conversation in the Pit before all hell breaks loose.
****
“I don’t know what that was but fifty percent of my bloodline is telling me I’m going to die first if we don’t get the fuck outta’ here!!” [Halloween episode.]
“I WISH I HAD SEVEN LEAGUE TALL BOOTS!” Said when trying to get the absolute FUCK out of the motel with the ghost car.
****
The group gets stuck in the middle of nowhere inside the Regalia while Daemons surround them menacingly. They were safe thanks to a teensy-weensy itty-bitty speck of a haven they managed to stall over.
“Gladio, get out and push.” Says Nejry through a mouthful of trail mix and laughing at the man's reflection in the rearview mirror.
The daemons seem to be playing ring-around-the-Rosie with their car. Much to their confusion.
“Yeah Gladdy-o, get out and push.” Prompto rolls over in his seat to flash a grin at the Shield.
“Fuck all of you, I ain’t going out there.” Gladio states firmly, struggling to keep Noct from drooling all over his shirt.
****
“I will not take criticism from someone who still needs to shop in the Children’s section…” Nejry says casually to a snarky Noctis as they wander through the store, nearby they hear Gladio choking on his pretzel. 
****
“Wait, is this going to be like last time?” Noct asks, pulling away from her to glare at her.
“What? No dude, I promise it won’t be like last time.” Nej responds truthfully.
*cue spongebob title card with the words “three days earlier” on it*)
    -
Nej and Noct are fishing alongside each other [bc Nej was bored and always wanted to learn how to fish anyway and Noct enjoys the non-backseat fishing company] and decides to mess with him. 
“Hey Noct, watch this:” she starts flailing around violently with her fishing rod, the line going everywhere until after a few minutes she reels in a fish much to Nocts utter shock. 
>:O “What the SHIT? Lemme try!”
Smash cut to her standing out on the bank laughing to herself and drinking a soda as Noct is in the middle of the lake flailing about like a lunatic. Ignis is standing by Nej on the shoreline, clearly aware of the woman’s intentions and yet strangely saying nothing to the Prince. Gladio walks up to them and sees Noct standing out in the middle of the lake like a dumbass.
He stares at him for a moment before turning to the others.
“…the fuck is he doing out there?”
“Nejry is apparently trying to teach Noctis a new fishing technique, but I believe that there are shenanigans afoot.” Nearby Nej lets out an affronted gasp.
“Ignis I would never.” Counters Nej who is doing her damndest to keep a straight face. She looks back to Noct who is looking very discouraged. “You got this Noct! Don’t sweat the technique! Do the call like I taught you!”
“Are you sure this will work?”
“It will trust me!” She assured him, the lie sliding smoothly past her lips. She gave him a double thumbs up to emphasize her point. Surely there was no way he would doubt her.l after the double thumbs up.
She could see Noct squint at her for a brief moment, and she feared that he might have seen through her ruse for the briefest of moments. Finally he bent forward, placing his arms on his hips [which was a feat considering he had to juggle a fishing pole] and rearing back his head he let out a great “KALOO-KAKOO!” To the Heavens above, scattering the birds and sending the mechanic and the Shield to ground in a fit of roaring laughter.
“Dear gods....” Ignis is so disappointed in Noct.
****
“Guys guess what!?” Noct comes sailing in from God knows where to tell them about the AssCreed festival happening in town. 
“We’re abandoning this quest to reclaim the throne and becoming a bubblegum pop band called ‘Noctis Caelum and the Caeluminettes’?” Nej not missing a beat.
“*deep breath of Calming* Nejry. I’m going to need you to take me seriously for about five minutes, please. :)” *insert the spongebob “boi” meme*
****
“MISTER IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS INTO A LANE AND STAY THERE I PROMISE YOU I'LL GO FERAL.” Road rage isn’t her thing but sometimes you gotta let an idiot have it...
“Ah I see you’re trying to pass me , let’s see if we can’t  make you regret the decision :)” *speeds up*
“NEJ, STOP TRYING TO KILL US!”
****
“SO WHEN THE NIGHT FAAAAALLLS MY LONELY HEART CAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLS!!” Nej and Prompto for obvious reasons.
“Must you two do this every time you are in the front seat?!??!?” - Ignis is so very tired...
“Must you always criticize my hobbies?” Prompto, fires back in mock hurt
“That’s just his way of saying that he wants an encore!” Nejry reaching for her phone
“NEJRY DON'T YOU DARE!”
****
“Hi-diddly ho, Bitch a ree nos!”
****
Nejry is having a tough day and goes to Ignis for assistance. “Ay can you cast Silence on me real quick? I gotta let some shit out.”
“Of course.” Ignis obliges. She signs “thank you” in sign language before walking off.
Noct and Ignis continue their conversation as usual while she is in the background primal screaming.
****
“Rations are low so I’ve devised the best way to make our meat last as long as possible”
“We’re going to combine all of it into one gigantic super patty named (this segment is in a speech balloon that completely obscures Ignis’ face) “EL BURGITO.” 
It is imperative that the camera pans back to show the campsite to emphasize just how loud she says this.
Ignis just fucking *stares* at her while she has this shit eating grin on her face.
****
“What’s the matter Noct?” Asks a concerned Nej when Noct is in a pouty mood and rests his head on her shoulder.
“Mmmnhm.” He responds pitifully, face covered by her shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“NO.”
“...do you want to trick Ignis into playing my horny music again and watch him spontaneously combust?”
“...yes 🥺”
“Come on then, let's go trick Ignis into playing my horny music again and watch him spontaneously combust...” she grabs his hand like a child and leads him off to go get her phone.
****
*When asked about having to travel with the Prince and his retainers by a starstruck Cissnei*
“Oh yes it is quite difficult to travel with four extremely attractive men.” She admits. “But I also know these assholes on a more personal level so any kind of attraction I may feel is struggling against the knowledge of their more personal...habits.” Prompto’s ears went a light shade of pink.
“... I said I was sorry for farting the last time we shared a bed” Prompto said in a quiet voice, staring down at his feet sheepishly.
****
“What do your tall bitch eyes see?” Came Nejry’s voice from the sea of wheat below.
“...wheat.” Gladiolus replies, staring out at the vast ocean of grainery, his head being the only one visible in the scene while Ignis is out there looking like a damn shark with his hair poking out.
****
“You think that an actual Maiden's Kiss, like from a girl, will work in a pinch?”
“Only one way to find out.” Gladio shoots Nej a cheeky grin.
“I absolutely will not put any part of my lips on any one of y’all as a damn toad...” she fires out.
“Aw...”
****
“Who’s better at navigating than me?!” Poor Prompto, not knowing what he just set himself up to.
“A map...” Ignis
“The stars...” Gladio
“A random dude off the street...” Noctis
“A candle...” Nejry
“Throwing a dart in a random direction and following where it lands...” Noctis 
“A piece of string...” Nejry
“A stray cat...” Ignis
“Moss...” Gladio 
“🎶The painted colors of the wiiiind...🎶” Nejry
Meanwhile Prompto’s got those realistic anime eyes on his face. “It just keeps going...” text next to him.
Honestly
I fucking love this dumb idiot i’ve created…
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unfoundhoney · 3 years
Text
a sister’s sacrifice ; part three ↠
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↠ platonic!c!sleepy bois inc x fem!reader , platonic!c!tubbo x fem!reader ; angst just angst
↠ masterlist
↠ part one ; part two ; part three ;
↠ @leafyturtle @basheverythingyesterday @terribletoothbat @bestioe @junoblad3 @machiebach @ok-honey
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when considering the deaths of the people on the dream smp server, yours is the hardest
schlatt was detested by all when he’d died
few people still truly cared for wilbur when he met his end; the man he once was was long gone by then
but you
you never changed
you were a constant for so many & immovably kind to the rest
selfless, giving, caring
even when you just wanted an escape, you came to the aid of your brothers
you gave the ultimate sacrifice & paid the price
everyone mourns you
when the battle is won & dream locked away indefinitely
once everyone has come down from the high of freeing themselves from dream’s reign, the server goes into a state of grieving
there’s no denying your death
they all saw the message in chat
you’re dead
those that were close to you took it hard
niki was narrowly stopped from burning down the bakery you encouraged her to open and helped build
eret put her emotions into work on a memorial in their museum for you
even under the egg’s control, bad & ant put the eggpire aside for you
of course, those who took it the hardest is your family
when ghostbur learns of your death, he’s distraught
he doesn’t quite know how to handle the information
he protects your home & only allows people to enter when he supervises them
tommy took a while to move past his anger & deal with the fact that you’re gone
tubbo ran off to start snowchester
he chose to distract himself rather than truly process his emotions, even if you’d always done your best to break that habit of his
now that you’re not around, who’s to stop him from letting himself be numb to it all?
techno is another one of your family members who chose to barely acknowledge your passing
he became somehow more monotonous & emotionless
and phil
...
there’s no word for a parent who loses a child
wilbur was gone & of course it messed phil up to be the one to take will’s last life but by that point his son was gone
but you
you’d always been such a genuinely good person
phil did so little for you as a father
he was so absent
he never apologized to you for that
he never told you how much he loves & appreciates you & everything you’ve done to keep their family together when he couldn’t be bothered
it’s a few hours after he received the news from ranboo that all the guilt for everything he had ever put you through hit him
he broke down in his kitchen while trying to distract himself by organizing his cupboards
but all he could think about was you
you & your never ending kindness & compassion
he was never a father to you
yet you never hated him
why couldn’t you have hated him?
it would hurt less to lose you if you hated him; it’s what he deserves
he’s unworthy of your love
but he can only dwell so long on you
you are given a proper funeral
you’re buried by the seashore, somewhere between l’manberg and tommy’s abandoned vacation homes in an open field
the sever members plant so many flowers, your gravesite becomes a flower field
but soon, life goes on
it will only hurt for longer to draw out the mourning period
it would do no good for anyone
besides, you wouldn’t want the server to be sad for your sake
techno supposes it’s for the best that you died
he does his best to move on, filling his days with resource gathering and upgrading his tools, weapons, and armor while trying to think through his emotions logically
as much as he liked you
as much as everyone liked you, you were too good
you were the best of them
fate is not kind to heroes
“hello!”
technoblade is not an easy man to sneak up on, let alone scare
the greeting itself isn’t want startles him
it’s turning toward the voice to lock eyes with you
you who is dead
techno is not proud of the sound he made when he saw you but you of all people wouldn’t make fun of him for it
he just stares at you, slowly realizing what’s happened
you look desaturated, the color drained from your clothes
your skin is grey & almost translucent
you’re a ghost
“y/n.”
“hello! who are you?”
techno tells no on one of your ghost form
he even keeps the rest of the server a secret from you
he leads you to your old home & leaves you there w/ ghostbur
he hopes your and ghostbur’s combined amnesia will keep you out of harm’s way i.e. the rest of the server
he visits you occasionally but mostly leaves you be
you live happily with ghostbur for a while
he is very glad to have you back
his memory is nearly as bad as yours, so the story of the server & what happened to you when you were alive is only given to you in bits & pieces that are near impossible to fit together
it was only a matter of time before someone came to visit your house
“...y/n?”
it’s tubbo who finds you first
or he finds your ghost
(tubbo) y/n! oh my god! you’re a ghost! you’ve come back!
(you) hello! *whispers* ghostbur, who is this?
(ghostbur, whispering obviously) that’s tubbo, one of your other brothers i’ve told you about
(you, whispering) oh, right
(tubbo) how long have you- oh, this is incredible! i have to tell tommy! he’s been so sad since you died; he’ll be so glad to see you!
tubbo messages tommy, who is skeptical but reluctantly comes to your house anyway
but there you are
your ghost anyway
which is good enough, honestly
(tommy) y/n!
you catch him in a hug easily, even if you’ve never met him before
(tommy) you’re alive!
(you) no i’m not. i’m a ghost!
techno happens to check in on you when tubbo & tommy are there
bad news for technoblade: you’d told them about techno leading you here
meaning: tommy knows techno hid you from him & everyone else
needless to say, he is not too happy about that
(tommy) you hid her! you kept her away from us!
(techno) tommy, you have to understand-
(tommy) i don’t have to understand shit! you hid her from us! you lied to us!
(techno) tommy-
(tommy) you kept her from everyone! you’re selfish and you’re a liar and you’re horrible and-
(techno) i did it to protect her! she’s been hurt enough protecting others; it’s our turn to protect her. the only way we can do that is by leaving her alone
(tommy) she’s my sister
(techno) your sister is dead, tommy. for once in her life, let her have peace
tommy gives up on techno & goes to you instead
(tommy) y/n! y/n, we can bring you back. we can revive you. well, dream can revive you but he’s in prison so he has to do what we say so we can bring you back. we can be a family again. don’t you want to come back?
(you) ...no
that
...
that isn’t what tommy was expecting
(tommy) what?
(you) if alive y/n comes back, i won’t exist anymore. and i’ve only just got here. i don’t want to go yet
(tommy) don’t you understand how much y/n means to me? y/n has to come back. she has to. she’s so important. not just to me but to, um... tubbo as well! right, tubbo? don’t you want y/n back?
tommy looks to tubbo for some backup but the shorter boy looks away
(tubbo) i think we need to let y/n go, tommy
the betrayal that fills tommy’s chest is soon gone as he locks eyes with techno
tommy knows techno is right
you’re too much of a good person
you’re too willing to sacrifice yourself for others
even as a ghost your kindness is blinding
this server will only drain you of everything you have yet again
he will drain you of everything you are
he’s just tried to convince you to cease to exist to bring back the former version of yourself
(you) i’m sorry. it’s just- i’ve heard there are these really pretty blue flowers in the swamp biome that i haven’t got to see yet-
(tommy) no. it’s fine. i’m sorry. i-... i should go.
tommy leaves your house & tubbo goes with him
even if tubbo caught on a bit sooner to techno’s reasoning, he’s still concerned at his friend’s sudden change in character
(tubbo) tommy... are you alright?
(tommy) ...i really want her back
(tubbo) i do, too. but she’s gone
(tommy) she doesn’t have to be
tubbo can’t argue with that
(tommy) but... maybe it’s for the best
(tubbo) really?
(tommy) yeah.
(tubbo) but just earlier you were telling me about your plan to get the revive book from dream
(tommy) techno’s right, tubbo. all everyone- myself included- has ever done to y/n is take. and she’s given everything
(tubbo) because she loved us
(tommy) as much as she loved us and as much as we loved her... the only thing we’ve ever brought her is pain. i think now... now is her time to rest.
(tubbo) ...that’s very pog champ of you, big man
tommy had planned to visit dream as many times as it took to get the revive book location off of him so he could revive you, but now he’s accepted that he needs to move on
he needs to move on from you & dream & everything dream has put him through
he decides to pay one last visit to dream, put him behind him, & never look back
he’s ready to start a new chapter in his life, one without dream
and the first one without you
but then he’s locked in the prison
two weeks pass
nearing three weeks & tommy still isn’t allowed out of dream’s cell
he’s irritated and annoyed and most of all he’s scared
but he can’t let dream know he’s still afraid of him, that’s why he pisses dream off enough to the point of being beat to death
tommy begs him to stop
but then he’s gone
everything is dark
black
empty
nothing
is this what death is?
conscious in absolute nothingness?
tommy’s feet feel the ground beneath him
his senses come back to him
it’s still dark but he feels as though he can see again
where is he?
heaven?
no, probably hell
or maybe neither?
both...?
what the hell happened?
the first thing to break the silence is the voice tommy has known since he was an infant
the voice of the person who raised him
the voice of the person who has always been there for him
the voice of the person who he has finally let go of
your voice
saying one simple word
“tommy?”
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mgsapphire · 3 years
Text
My K-drama recommendation master list Part 2
You can find part 1 here
Look, you gave us relatively new recommendations, what about ones older than 10 years? I'll give you my top 5
Princess Hours (2006) Is a modern Cinderella story. It's 24 episodes long. Available on Viki.
Personal Taste (2010) Honestly, problematic plot if you put your mind into it, but entertaining nonetheless. It's 16 episodes long, each one lasting a little over an hour, available on Viki.
Cinderella's Sister (2010) You hate every character, but there's still something that makes you watch it. Available on Viki.
Thank You (2007) was ahead of its time, it's about a single mother with a daughter who has an HIV+ diagnosis. 16 episodes long, each one lasting a little over an hour. Available on Viki.
Stairway to Heaven (2003) for a good melodrama.
What about romantic fantasies involving fantastic beings?
Guardian: The lonely and Great God(2016) A classic of the genre. It tells the story of a God who was once a man, and is being punished by immortality, unless he meets his bride, who just so happens to be a high schooler centuries later. Available on viki. 16 episodes long with 3 specials, all lasting about 75 minutes.
Hotel Del Luna (2019) it would be unfair to talk about Goblin, without talking about this other masterpiece about a being cursed into immortality and granted special availabilities along with it, but a curse is still a curse, and she must run a hotel meant for ghosts, where after centuries of being, meets a young man who is alive. Availability on Viki, 16 episodes long and each one lastz about 75 minutes.
Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020) You get to see Lee Dong Wook as another mystical being, and Kim Bum is his half brother. 16 episodes long and one special, each one lasting about 65 minutes. Available on Viki.
My roommate is a Gumiho (2021) what's up with gumihos? It's still airing. The title is self explanatory. Available on Viki and Qiyi.
Angel's last mission: Love (2019) is a cute and sad story about an angel who is about to ascend and a ballerina who has a cynical view of the world. Available on Viki. Each episode averages 30 minutes, with 32 episodes.
Doom at your service (2021) About to finish airing. It tells the story of a dying woman who wishes doom upon the world, and the doom who answers her plea. Available on viki, 16 episodes long, each one lasting about an hour.
The Scholar Who walks the night (2015) another Lee Joon Gi entry, but I swear all of his works are great, it's a period drama that tells the story of a scholar who is a vampire and the young bookseller he meets. It's 20 episodes long, each one lasting about an hour. Available on viki. Also, if you've liked Lee Soo Hyuk in Doom at Your Service, I advise you check this one out.
Tale of Arang (2012) two Lee Joon Gi entries in a row? Girl, you have to stop. Anyways, this one is another period piece of a magistrate who can see ghosts and the ghost of a young woman who doesn't remember her life, nor the cause of her death. Available on viki, it's 20 episodes long, each one lasting a little over an hour.
Look, those are fine or whatever, but I started as a K-pop fan, where can I see some idol dramas? Don't worry, I came prepared
Full House (2004) with Rain as the main character is the og idol drama in my opinion. Available on Viki. 16 episodes long, each one lasting about 73 minutes.
Imitation (2021) is currently airing, and it's literally an idol drama about idols. You can find a looot of idols too: Jeong Yun Ho and Park Seong Hwa from Ateez, Chani and Hwi Young from SF9, Park Ji Yeon from T-ara, Lim Na Young from I.O.I and Pristin, and although Jeong Ji So is not an idol, she is the main lead, and I absolutely love her, she's also in Doom at your service. Available on Viki.
Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog (2012) features Donghae from Super Junior, and if I'm going to recommend a Super Junior drama, I would rather recommend one featuring him over Siwon.
At a Distance the Spring is Green (2021) is currently airing too, and only has four released episodes, but I've liked it so far. Featuring Park Ji Hoon, and Kwon Dun Bin. Also, I have a lot of opinions about this show. Available on Viki.
I was going to put an IU drama but, all her dramas are good, so go and watch them all, the woman has range.
Dream High (2011) is the king of idol dramas, in my opinion. It talksa about a high school for people who want to be idols. Another one with a long line up of idols, so let me start: Suzy, IU, Taecyeon, Nichkhun and Wooyoung from 2PM, Ham Eun Jung from T-ara. Leeteuk (SuJu and Chansung (2PM) make cameos. Similarly to Imitation, Kim Soo Hyun is not an idol, but he's the main lead. It's 16 episodes long, each one lasting about 65 minutes. Available on Viki.
Wow, quite a few, but they all seem rather popular, do you have some underrated gems? I'm going to have to go down memory lane, but I do
The Queen's Classroom (2013) This one feels like a fever dream, because I'm aware it exists, I watched it back when it first aired, but I can't find it anywhere now. It's based on a Japanese drama of the same name. It's about a strict but warm hearted teacher and her students' lives and struggles. 16 episodes long. DM me if you find anywhere to watch it.
1% of Something (2016) is a really cute drama, the chemistry is off the charts, and if you're looking for skinship, this one is the one for you, underrated arranged marriage kdrama, I'm telling you. It's 16 episodes long, averaging 45 minutes, and it's on Viki.
I'm not a Robot (2017) has a really cute plot, not underrated per se, but not hyped enough. It's 32 episodes long, each one averaging 30 minutes. Available on Viki.
Do you like Brahms? (2020) is a music themed kdrama, really cute and wholesome. If you like 2setviolin and watched their critique on their YouTube channel, let me tell you, the cast actually knows how to play violin and stuff, and there's an actual child prodigy in there. It got so much hate bc of that one yt video. It's 16 episode long, each one lasting about an hour. Available on Viki.
Solomon's Perjury (2016) a good reflection on youth and the pressure society has. 12 episodes long, lasting about 63 minutes each. Available on Viki.
The Greatest Love (2011) is a super entertaining TV show, and just supper funny and cute. 16 episodes long, each one lasting around 65 minutes. Available on Viki.
Two Cops (2017) if you like Kim Seon Ho, I think this was his TV acting debut. It's a hilarious action comedy TV show. 32 episodes long, lasting around 30 minutes. Available on viki.
Do you have any recommendations where time traveling or time is central to the story?
Alice (2020) look, I can't give you a full explanation because it's too mind bending. Let's leave it at detective meets his mother. Available on Viki.
Signal (2016) The premise is similar to that of the movie Frequency (2000) in which there's communication between the past and the present via technology. The plot is based on the real Hwaseong serial murders. Really interesting. Available on Netflix. If you like the premise of communicating with the past via technology Call (2020) is a Korean thriller movie available on Netflix.
Chicago Typewriter (2017) this one is about reincarnation but we get to see both timelines. Available on Netflix.
Tomorrow with you (2017) Time-traveling but make it ✨depressing ✨. The story of a man who time travels, and how that ability messes with his marriage. Available on Netflix.
What about historical dramas? I don't really watch those, but here are some I liked
The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012) is one of the few I've finished. It's really good, it follows the love story of a king. Available on viki. 20 episodes long, each one lasting about an hour.
Gunman in Joseon (2014) Am I recommending you this one because of Lee Joon Gi? Maybe. It has 22 episodes, each one lasting about an hour. Available on Viki.
The Crowned Clown (2019) a story of the Prince and the Pauper if I must give you a description that is relatable, but if you know the book titled Skogland, it's closer to that. It's 16 episodes long, each one lasting about 80 minutes. Available on Viki.
I'm a little ashamed to say this, but do you have any BL? I do, I do
To My Star (2021) is a story about an actor and a chef, and how they learn to cohabit after the actor is forced into hiding. You can watch either the movie version or the drama version, both available on viki.
Color Rush (2020) is a modern romance fantasy about people called Monos who can't see any color unless they meet their Probes, however this may turn dangerous as the Monos may experience obsessive behavior, so what happens when a young high schooler meets his probe?. You can either watch it on its drama or movie version. Both available on viki. By the way, if you're a long time deobi and was wandering what happened to Hwall, he's one of the main leads.
You Make Me Dance (2021) follows the story of a university dancer who is in debt and his debt collector. Available on viki in both versions. The movie is 107 minutes long.
Just Friends (2009) is a short film, but ahead of its time, if you can't tell by the year it was released on. It's a cute story about a man who visits his boyfriend in the military. I found it in dramacool.
That's all from me, if you have any specific genre or them you felt I didn't add in, do feel free to tell me.
340 notes · View notes
dancingamongstdust · 3 years
Text
Creepypasta Scenarios - First Meeting (Part 3)
I’ve opened requests now, if anybody is interested. Here’s the post:
Requests
Lost Silver
As stupid as it sounds, the game didn’t scare you.
It had started as a joke, something passed around your friend group after it had been discovered. The cartridge was just a janky version of a Pokémon game that was apparently spooky and so, everybody had taken turns messing around with it. They all said creepy things started happening but nothing too bad.
When it was your turn, you had been fully expecting something out of a horror movie. Instead, you had gotten a game that just had audio cut offs and weird notes warning you to stay out. It wasn’t all together scary.
You mentioned this to the next person you gave the game to in your friend group and they had laughed, saying it would probably ring true for them also.
But for some reason, your ally didn’t manifest.
Less than two days later, they practically threw the game at the rest of you and ran away sprouting things about curses. After that, the appeal of playing it kind of went away.
Nobody wanted to buy it and apparently throwing it out wasn’t a suggestion. So you ended up getting it.
Curiosity soon got the better of you and you booted up the game again, really sure that it would do something absolutely crazy but it never did. It ran like it always had with only that one file being completed.
So you deleted the file.
And nothing happened.
The next day, when you booted up the game, the file had simply returned as though you hadn’t deleted it in the first place. A similar thing occurred the next time. And the next.
Eventually you gave up and just started your own game. There, everything ran like it was meant to and you were beginning to think that your friends had all been imagining stuff. Maybe their paranoid got to them or something like that?
But eventually, the nightmares started. And they were bad.
You couldn’t remember exactly what happened during them. They were a swirling mess of games and glitches, horrible things spelled out in letters and blood covering everything. You would always wake up right when they seemed to be coming to a pivotal point. You’d find yourself dragged into a graveyard and then you’d wake up screaming
It was awful. You hardly got any sleep during them and they seemed to haunt you every night, keeping you up until the early hours of the morning.
But the worst only came when you didn’t wake up.
When you were dragged to the grave and looked down to see the ellipsis where the name should be. A punch to the gut that reminded you of what the game file was called. A confirmation of what was causing this dream.
You stared at it for ages before your eyes drifted up and you met his gaze. He was covered in blood, it leaked from every orifice and limb. It stained his dirty clothing even worse.
While you were staring, the world seemed to distort even though he didn’t. The game world melted away and your bedroom slowly reappeared.
It wasn’t until you saw car headlights move past your window – casting awful shadows across the room – that you realised you were no longer dreaming. He wasn’t a figment of your imagination.
The temperature in the room plummeted and you began to slowly reach for a weapon of some kind. He turned to look at what you were watching. His head tilted to the side and a glitch raced across his body before he vanished into thin air. Flicking on the lights didn’t show him hiding or cowering.
Perhaps your friends weren’t crazy after all.
Masky
“You know, if we had been a little more patient, none of this would have happened,” your sibling lectured. “We could be relaxing inside the car without having to worry about a bloody flash flood coming down from the sky.”
You shoved their back, forcing them to stumble a little as they went through the door. “Chances are the river’s going to burst its banks anyway. We would have been stuck in traffic for hours because the bridge is blocked off.”
“At least we would have been dry,” they muttered, running their fingers through their hair. “And not trapped inside an abandoned building.”
You rolled your eyes and made your way over the rubble to settle down on a camping chair. “Don’t even start. This place has been a hangout for my friends and I for ages. There’s never been a single problem bigger than a few spiders.”
“Till a landlord shows up,” they scoffed.
“Then we’ll move to the forest,” you joked. “I’m sure there’s a good bear cave we can use.”
“I’m going to be an only child,” they said, rolling their eyes. Still, they made their way over and sat. “How long do you think we have until the storm dies down?”
You relaxed back into the chair and smiled up at the asbestos-filled ceiling. “From the sound of it, a while.”
It wouldn’t have been the first time you had taken a nap in the building. You were scared of giant cockroaches coming to eat you once. You had gotten used to it since then but this time when you woke up, you were uneasy.
Glancing around, nothing was out of the ordinary. Your sibling was snoring in the chair next to you and outside the rain was pounding the roof.
You sat upright. Sometimes was definitely wrong.
Pulling your phone from your pocket, you got up from the chair and began walking as quietly as you could through the house. It had always been tiny and practically void of furniture, but the few rooms provided ample hiding spots.
Nothing but rubble was in most of the rooms but, in what you presumed had once been a bathroom, you found a person.
He had his back to you but when you pushed the door open to peer in, he spun around, his hand flying to his side. He was wearing a white mask, dark features etched onto it, and an orange jacket. A dark stain ran up the right side of it, emanating from under his hand. The oddness of his clothing made you immediately back away from the door, finger twitching on your cell phone in case you needed to call for help.
The two of you stared at each other in silence.
You were lost about what to say or do. The stain on his jacket was spreading and the more you stared at it, the more you became convinced it was blood. “Are you okay?” you finally managed to ask.
It took him a while to respond but then he nodded. The mask was unnerving you. You didn’t like not being able to see a person’s facial expressions.
“I don’t mean to pry or anything, but it really looks like you’re bleeding,” you said. “And quite badly. I can call for an ambulance or something although…” you turned your attention to the window behind his head. “I’m not sure they’ll be able to get anywhere with this weather.”
He stepped backward. “I’m fine,” he said, so soft you barely caught it. “I thought this place was abandoned.”
“It normally is,” you answered. “But we had to avoid the storm. I’m guessing that’s why you’re here also?”
“Yes,” he responded.
You waited or him to say something more, but all you got was silence. He had moved further away and now he had his back against the window. Part of you wanted to turn around and go back to your sibling but you were unsure about turning your back on the strange man.
The mask made you scared he could stab you or something.
Somebody calling your name made you turn your head on instinct. Your sibling must have woken up and realised you were missing.
Quickly, you turned back to the man, but he had disappeared. Rain spat through the now open window.
Nurse Ann
Everybody always warned you about exploring old buildings. They would yell about how many things could injure or kill you. Stray animals, drug addicts, old equipment, and all that. You had heard just about every warning imaginable. Ghosts were pretty commonly mentioned also.
But killer nurse was a new one.
“Come on, just give me a little more information,” you nagged. “I’m going there whether you’re with me or not so you may as well just tell me what you’ve heard.”
Your friend (and partner in crime for most ventures) groaned. “It’s not much. They just say that she guards the place and if you get too close, she’ll run you off with a chainsaw. Some people have died from injuries they got while there. Let’s just give this one a miss, alright?”
But you were not in agreement at all.
“Maybe she’s cute though,” you teased.
They didn’t find that funny and you didn’t push them to come with you. So later that evening, you snuck in by yourself.
The hospital was old with crumbling walls and smashed windows. It was hidden from the public by means of a tall barbed-wire fence and a substantial distance of open garden. Nothing too extreme for you and definitely worth the potential items you’d find inside. When hospitals went under, they often left tons of awesome stuff just scattered around.
You’d never sold anything you found in your abandoned building dives. They were more collectables than anything else but they meant quite a bit to you.
There weren’t any signs of crazy nurses as you approached the place. Nobody came running at you with a chainsaw at least. You didn’t even find evidence of squatters who could sometimes pose some danger.
After deciding it was safe enough, you lifted yourself through one of the windows and began to explore.
Honestly, it was creepy. Everything was way too old to be worth collecting and there were too many unidentifiable stains for your liking. The water damage was bad. It looked like the ceiling was there for aesthetics only and several rooms creaked too much for you to comfortably cross them.
And that was even without the awkward feeling of being watched.
You told yourself that it was just superstition but you couldn’t shake it. Every few seconds saw you looking over your shoulder in anticipation. It distracted you from keeping your eye on the path in front of you and the loud crack reached your ears too late.
The floor gave out and you fell through. Your shoulder hit some kind of metal object as you landed in the room below. Painful shocks ripped through your body and your head knocked against the floor with a heavy thud.
Stars danced in front of your vision and you raised your hand to the top of your head. Blood coated your hand when you lowered it to look.
Shit.
Shakily, you tried to pull yourself up but quickly found that your arm was too sore. Instead, you pulled your phone from your pocket and sent off the emergency text to your friend.
The world faded to black not long after that.
When you woke up next, you were in your room with a bandage wrapped around your head. You had felt like absolute crap but still gotten up to thank them for the save. They had nodded and warned you to be more careful, happy that you had been outside the hospital so they didn’t have to look for too long.
Before you could even think about how you had crawled there, they asked how you had managed to do your own stitches so nicely.
Puppeteer
Your camera was on 10% battery.
Grumbling, you shoved it into your bag and cursed your past self for forgetting to put it on charge. In order to get the best sunrise photos, you had found yourself waking up earlier and earlier. It was tiring but it was worth it… most of the time.
You just hoped that at least one of your pictures was usable but you could only check on them once you got home.
The streetlight above your head flickered as you walked past. It wasn’t unusual but when you were the only person awake for miles around, it was awfully creepy.
Putting your hands into your jacket pockets, you continued strolling back home. The neighborhood had never been dangerous and despite living in the area for your entire life, no incidents made you want to stop walking around at night.
Deciding that you wanted to take a precautionary shot, you headed for your neighbour’s house first. They had an arch covered in jasmine flowers that made for some perfectly safe photos and they never minded your presence.
After making your way there and getting a few photos, you were treated to the fright of your life when their began howling and barking. It wasn’t aimed at you but you didn’t like the noise regardless.
As you rounded the corner of the house, planning on racing back to your own home, you encountered the dog’s target.
A man – cloaked in the darkness and barely illuminated by the streetlight – opening one of the windows with ease. Irritated by the dog, he didn’t notice you until your finger twitched around the shutter of your camera. There was a flash.
His head snapped up and you screamed.
The man’s complexation was literally grey. He wasn’t just ill, he was the colour of storm clouds. Golden eyes with no pupils glared at you and froze you in place. Whatever he was, this man was the furthest thing from human.
Your scream woke your neighbors. The sound of movement began coming from inside the house.
He abandoned the window, stalking towards you. The air tingled like it was expecting a lightning storm. Golden tendrils grew from his fingertips and shot towards you. They had you pinned in an instant.
You struggled against them and opened your mouth to scream again but they wrapped around your head, forcing your jaw shut.
This was how you died… tears spilled down your cheeks at the realization. You were going to be an unsolved murder. All you hoped was you got a good picture of him.
Your neighbor’s front door opened and great dane let out an ear-splitting bark as he raced toward you.
The man, or creature, or monster, or whatever he was, released you to face the dog. He let it approach before vanishing into a cloud of smoke as its jaws reached him.
“What was that?” the timid voice brought you back into reality.
“It was trying to get into your house,” you said. “I screamed when I saw it and then it grabbed me.” Your voice changed to a whimper as reality hit you. You nearly died.
The small child of the house came over to hug your leg. “I’m sure Puppet didn’t mean to scare you,” she said. “He always comes to visit but he doesn’t like it when people make noise. You shouldn’t scream when you see him again.”
You made eye-contact with the parents and they wore expressions of horror at their daughter’s words.
“Puppet?” you asked in a small voice.
She nodded rapidly. “He says he stops by because he likes watching people. I think that he’s watching us all right now! But he can hide in the shadows too well.”
“I’m going to go and call the police,” somebody said.
You weren’t all too focused. The feeling of being watched grew heavier and you clutched tightly at the camera in your hands.
Slenderman
You couldn’t tell if they were being serious. You hoped that they were joking. They weren’t genuinely going to…
“No,” you stated.
The two younger children both turned to look at you simultaneously. Guilt flashed across their faces as though they weren’t aware you were listening. It was as though you were asked to babysit them because you didn’t pay attention. These two should have realised that by now.
“Do you think all the stories are true?” the boy asked. “I think that they are. One of my friends said she saw a huge dog in the forest and then it ran away after eating a whole cow!”
“No way!” his twin sister shouted. “Dogs don’t eat cows, so it can’t be true!”
You put on your best intimidating expression and crossed your arms. “I don’t care if they’re true or not. There is absolutely no chance that either of you are going to go running off into the woods with bears, wolves and all kinds of other creatures.”
The two children glanced at each other and bolted for the tree line before you could grab their shirts.
Thankfully your legs were longer even if they had a head start and you managed to catch up pretty quickly. Once you caught the boy and picked him up with ease, the girl dashed behind a tree.
“Can we please just leave?” you asked nicely. “If we forget about the forest adventure thing, I promise I won’t tell your parents and I’ll get you ice cream.”
The boy was trying his hardest to get out of your hold. You were starting to think babysitting didn’t pay enough.
“I don’t want ice cream,” the girl said. “I want to go and find a unicorn.”
She darted off into the forest and you let out a deep groan. Shifting the boy’s weight over your one hip, you started walking after her. If you wanted to give chase via running, you would have to put the kid down and trust him to follow or stay.
It was obvious that wasn’t happening.
It didn’t take you too long to find the girl. Mostly because she had stopped in the middle of a weird grove in the trees. She was just staring off into the dark shadows beyond it.
As you approached her, static popped in your ears. You shook your head in an effort to displace it but the closer you got, the louder it became.
The child in your arms whimpered, clutching his head.
You softly called her name and then it appeared. It was a man-like monster, standing just in the shadows of the trees. Easily over 7ft tall and insanely thin with no facial features. Your heart jumped into your throat and your stomach tied itself into a knot.
Without taking your eyes off it, you reached out a hand and fumbled around until you grabbed the girl’s shirt.
The static was getting louder and louder. You tried to shut it out as you started moving backwards, tugging the child along after you. She wasn’t willing to move her legs. She was entranced but whether by fear or magic, you couldn’t tell.
And then it was much closer.
You stumbled in fright, letting go of the girl’s shirt and landing on your ass. The boy fell on top of you but scrambled away and hide in the bushes within the blink of an eye. You sent a silent prayer to him to run back home to the other adults.
Once again, the creature was stationary but now the static was growing to such a volume that you could imagine your ears were starting to bleed.
You reached out for the girl again slowly, but something wrapped around your leg and yanked you into the air.
It took almost a full second for you to realise that the screaming ringing in your ears was you. Whatever was holding you tightened and whipped your body through the air. It was like your leg was being ripped away.
Then you were falling.
It was some feat of luck that you managed to twist your body, so you didn’t land on your head. You lay there for a while before something poking your back made you unbury your face.
The twins were staring at you with wide eyes and the monster was nowhere in sight.
“What was –“ you couldn’t finish.
“Slenderman,” they said in perfect sync.
Splendorman
Another stop…
You couldn’t help yourself. Every time you walked past one of the posters fluttering lightly in the wind you had to stop and stare at it.
A few days ago, your dog, your beautiful and sweet puppy, had disappeared from your house without a trace. The missing posters were depressing reminders that he wasn’t home. It hadn’t taken long for your mind to spiral into the negative thoughts about how close the road was.
Damn your coworkers. One of the had suggested the road in the first place and while they hadn’t intended anything malicious, it was definitely not helping your fears.
The dog had been with you through thick and through thin… if it was dead, you may as well have lost a close family member.
Hanging your head, you dragged your eyes away from the poster and kept walking.
People bumped into you, but it was your fault. You refused to look up in case another poster distracted you. Getting home before the sun set was your only focus now.
You had tried going out and searching in all the places where your dog once spent time to no avail. Always willing to try again, you chose to drop off your bags and head out later that evening when you ran out of distractions.
As you walked through the gates in front of your house, a gust of air gently messed up your hair. A gust of wind suspiciously similar to a laugh.
Your logical mind told you it came from the street, but something made you stop in your tracks.
The walls around your property towered. There’s no possibility that somebody could be in your garden. To try and scale one of the walls, they would have been in full view of your neighbours who would have undoubtedly called the cops.
“You’re sad,” the wind whispered before you could brush off your suspicion.
Spinning wildly, you searched around for the source. You backed up until your entrance gate was behind you. You could run down to the main street with ease if you could just get your fumbling fingers to unlock things.
“Don’t run,” the wind said, this time blowing from a separate direction. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to know why you’re upset.”
Is this what going insane was? Nobody around and the wind was talking to you. You had always feared losing your mind and now it was happening.
“I’m real,” the wind said. “I’m hiding because I’ll scare you if you see me.”
“I’m going mad,” you muttered, shaking your head. “If this is somebody pulling a prank on me I swear….”
The wind quietened for a bit and then it picked up again, ruffling your hair as it spoke. “If I show myself, it’ll prove that you’re not going crazy, but I don’t want to make it worse by frightening you… you’re so sad already.”
“I lost my best friend and people have been telling me he’s most likely dead,” you hissed. “Obviously I’m not in the best mood. Now I’m losing my fucking mind and talking to air.”
The atmosphere around you dropped, like it does moments before lightning strikes. You glanced at the sky in confusion. As expected, no clouds in sight.
You lowered your gaze and a 7ft tall creature covered in bright polka dots stood in front of your house.
Once you screamed, it disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” the wind said. “I knew I would scare you, but I had hoped it would show you that I’m not imaginary. I’m just trying to help.”
The gate finally opened behind you and you stumbled backwards through it, your heart sitting in your throat. A monster was in your house and it was probably going to kill you. Spinning on your heel, you took off full speed back towards the main street.
You were fully expecting it to give chase now that you hadn’t fallen for its claims of harmlessness but it didn’t.
Instead you reached the main road and only got a few strange looks because of how much you were shaking. Nothing followed you.
The wind picked up once more. “I’ll try and help,” it promised.
People walking around you should have heard it as well but none of them so much as blinked.
Ticci Toby
While you had been told that a noise limit for the forest existed, your laughter refused to cooperate. It rang through the trees and probably chased off all the animals nearby. A picnic out in a national forest was a fantastic way to reconcile with nature and to scare it all away.
With eleven people in your picnic party, chances of any creatures coming into view were already slim though so you didn’t worry too much.
“We didn’t bring nearly enough fruit,” you muttered as you dug in the basket.
“Excuse you, I brought a whole watermelon but you ate it,” somebody answered your grumble. “If you want fruit, it is spring. Go and forage for some berries.”
You snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m going to go out by myself in the middle of the one season where bears are irritable as fuck. I know I sometimes act a little impulsively, but I don’t exactly have a wish to die at the claws of a grumpy teddy.”
Your friend leaned towards you. “Is that so? What if we split into teams and made a bet? Loser has to take a dip in the river.”
“A bet?” you asked. “I’m interested.”
She grinned and snapped her fingers. “Okay, there are eleven people so I’m feeling groups of two with one impartial party as a judge. We should be fine if we make enough noise and stick within close vicinity to each other. See how many berries we can gather?”
Tipping out the picnic basket’s contents, you smirked and pushed it into her chest. “Oh, I hope you brought a swimming costume.”
Everybody teamed up with ease and grabbed one of the many containers lying on the blanket. You headed out with your partner and gave a wink to the other teams. All you needed was to find one good bush first and you had it won.
“We should split up,” your partner said. “Cover more ground.”
You nodded. “We meet up back here once we’ve found a good bush,” you agreed. “And we shout if we find any animals.”
Obviously, your plans hadn’t involved losing your footing almost directly after the two of you split.
Tumbling down the small hill, you tried your hardest to protect yourself from the bushes as you went through them. At some point, you lost your basket and by the time you had finally rolled to a stop, you had no idea where it was.
Grumbling, you stood up and started searching until something dark caught your eye. Thinking it was your basket, you made your way over.
The clearing you walked into housed a scene you could never have imagined.
A dead bear lay slumped against a tree, its fur being what had caught your eye earlier. A hatchet buried in its neck was spilling blood onto the floor around it. All that hardly compared to the man leaning against a tree.
“Oh my god!” you exclaimed. “Are you alright?”
His head immediately snapped up, allowing you to see that he was wearing a mouth guard and a pair of goggles. Blood seeped from between his fingers where they clutched against his chest, but he hardly noticed. A hatchet was hanging from his belt.
Suddenly, you were wishing you had kept your mouth shut.
He stared at you blankly for a while, an occasional twitch minorly affecting his body. Reaching up, he took off his mouthguard. “I can’t feel any pain,” he said. “So, I’m fine. Why are y-you out here? The hiking trail is far.” He struggled with one of the words, seeming to hiccup a little on it.
“I was searching for berries and I slipped down a hill,” you answered. “Are you sure you’re okay? It looks like you got into a fight with a bear. Your shirt is all bloody.”
“I did fight a bear,” he laughed, gesturing to it. “I won.”
Your eyes grew wider. “I think you should get to a hospital. What’s your name? I can call somebody for you and we’ll get you medical attention.”
“Toby,” he said. “That’s my name. What’s yours?”
You gave him your full name and pulled out your phone. “My friends are close by,” you said. “Don’t worry, they’ll be here to help soon.”
When you raised your attention from your phone, he had disappeared and so had the hatchet from the bear’s neck.
Trenderman
Work was hard. It made your feet ache, it made your back click and crack, and it felt like the problems would never end.
Would you give up working in the fashion industry? Not a chance.
Your boss walked past where you were calming down an irate customer over the phone and dropped the keys to the front of the building in front of you. “Close up for me,” she mouthed as she left.
Nodding, you moved them to the side of the desk where they couldn’t be lost.
Once you had finished calming the customer, you glanced around to check how many people were left in the room. Three still working and one in the process of leaving. You were technically going into overtime at this point, but you didn’t mind.
There was a reason you were promoted so quickly.
“We need to set up cameras!” one of the floor managers snapped, storming into the office. She marched straight over to your desk and glowered at you. “I put this request in a week ago.”
Scrolling through the documents, you quickly opened the file. “I see but it looks like it’s been bumped due to a shipment malfunction, I’ll flag it. What’s the problem?”
“Customers or members of staff are moving items around and throwing things out without warning. We need to catch the culprits!” she snapped.
“What has been thrown out?” you asked. “I’ll add it into the information.”
The woman started listing quicker than you could type. “I’ve found crocs, toeless thigh-high boots, bellbottomed jeans, coloured faux fur jackets, luminous lipstick, w-necks, and jeggings all in vast numbers in the trash can. Every time I put them out on shelves, they disappear again.”
It took everything in you not to snort. “I’ll mark this vital.”
She stalked off and you went back to inputting the shipping requirements. You were meant to be organising what was coming in for the latest line and subtly omitting anything that wouldn’t sell well enough.
Slowly but surely, your co-workers trickled out of the office after finishing off their daily tasks. You kept going, trying to make sure you could have a longer break the next day.
Finally, when the sun had already set, you relented and started getting ready to go home.
You sung as you finished packing up for the day. Being the last one in the building (thus having to lock up) made you a little more confident as you danced around getting everything together. You slung your bag over your shoulder and happily trotted over to the door.
It made you so happy that your boss entrusted you to be the last one around. She was so hyper-protective of company secrets that you were proud of yourself for winning her over.
Your talent with people was something you attributed to dealing with painful customers.
As you passed through the store-part of the business you stopped to rearrange a mannequin. Every morning when you came in, you always noticed something had been changed with this specific one. You figured you could move something small and see if it would be a good place to set up a hidden camera.
Though you weren’t expecting it to suddenly grab your arm.
“You may be one of the few workers here with good taste, but I advise you don’t try and change my outfit,” it said. It didn’t have a mouth, but the words rang in your head, nevertheless.
You screamed and pulled away, tearing your arm from its grip. Shelves were knocked over and clothing was sent flying as you tried to escape.
The mannequin just watched you as you fumbled madly for the door.
The glass rattled in the frame from how hard you slammed it shut behind you. You sped off down the street, moving faster than you ever had before. You collapsed on your lawn by the time you reached the house, taking deep breaths.
Nothing had followed you. Everything was okay.
With shaking fingers, you dialed your boss’ number and told her you would be taking a sick day. There wasn’t a chance in hell you were going anywhere near there again.
Not to mention the mess you made… you were definitely getting fired.
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queenofhearts7378 · 3 years
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Constellations Ch. 1
@ladylynse This is all your fault :)
Next Chapter
Draco sat stiffly on the bench next to him. For all that Danny had joked and teased, Draco never really lost the tenseness in his shoulders around him. Everything about him, in the enormous shadow of the house they currently sat under, was controlled and measured in regards to Danny’s presence.
Danny however was sprawled on the ground playing with Spooky. His robes fanned out around him, picking up all sorts of grass and dirt on the expensive fabric. Danny had made his thoughts on robes very clear from the beginning of this summer; when the elder Malfoy’s had called in a very discreet tailor to dress Danny up like the wizard he very much was not. 
“To keep up appearances.” Lucius had said.
Danny would have told him exactly where to shove the robes if it hadn’t been for the sad look crossing Narcissa’s face in a flash, or the snidely pleading look Draco had shot him.
Honestly. How anyone could look both snide and pleading at the same time was beyond him.
“Mother is allowing me to spend next summer in America.”
Danny paused in trying to train Spooky to play dead. “With us?”
Draco shot him his patented exactly-how-much-of-an-idiot-are-you looks he usually reserved for the Gryffindors he whines about all the time. “Who else would I go to?”
“I don’t know. You could always have a long lost twin or something. Oh wait….”
Draco let out a huff, but the twitching of his mouth showed his amusement, “You aren’t as funny as you think you are.”
“Uhh, I’m hilarious thank you very much.”
They were silent once again. Danny slowly sat up, brushing grass and leaves off his robes. He looked at Draco, watching as his eyes constantly flit back and forth across the grounds. It had taken a while for Danny to get why he did this.
At first he thought Draco was watching for danger, which was fair. Danny would do the same thing sometimes, watching for ghosts during a calm week because he gets anxious when no one has attacked him for a while. (Which was a whole nother thing he was pointedly not thinking about.) But Draco didn’t do it when they were holed up in their room and Draco was explaining potions and wizard astronomy while Danny tried to explain video games and rocket ships.
Danny actually preferred when they were arguing in the bedroom, because he saw a passion burn in Draco that he usually buried deep down; bringing a spark of life into cool grey eyes that were so different from Danny’s, but still very much the same.
But right now they were hanging out in the gardens behind the manor, and Draco kept his eyes out for anyone who might catch him “acting unbefitting of a Malfoy”.
Danny had phased Lucius’s cane partly through the floor after that comment, causing the usually graceful man to trip and fall to the ground. Draco had looked flabbergasted, but Danny preferred that over the look of shame that had been on his face after they were caught goofing off in the greenhouse.
“Lucius is actually going to let you go?” Danny asked when it became clear that Draco was not going to say anything else. “What happened to all that ‘filthy muggles’ crap he was spouting about like, an hour ago?”
Draco tensed even more. “You wouldn’t understand-”
“If it’s the squib thing again-”
“To protect us.” Draco snapped. “There’s something happening this year. Something big. And Mother wants us as far away from it as possible. Your muggles have proven themselves capable of caring after a magical child, so it’s only reasonable I spend next summer with you, as you have spent with us.”
Danny stood up and faced Draco, looking down slightly as his brother was still sitting on the bench. He guessed that Draco knew exactly what who was coming. And Danny himself put the pieces together after various eavesdropping sessions on Lucius and Narcissa’s occasional fights. But he wasn’t going to bring it up here, what with the potential ears hiding in the bushes and shadows. Secrets and personal conversations had a nasty way of turning up in the elder Malfoys’ knowledge, and as much as he liked Narcissa, Lucius just reminded him too much of Vlad; they both played life like a game of chess and had no qualms over sacrificing pawns in their games.
Danny hated chess. Wizard chess included no matter how cool it looked.
“My family.” Danny corrected. “Not just muggles.”
“We’re your family.”
“Lucius and Narcissa are strangers.” Danny said flatly. “They may be the reason I’m here, in both ways, but I don’t really know them. Narcissa has made somewhat of an effort, but no matter how cool she’s being about this; she’s still not my mom. Lucius is definitely not my dad.”
“And me?”
To anyone else, Draco might have sounded antagonistic and challenging. But Danny had gotten to know his newfound twin over the past few months. He may be generally oblivious to most things, but he could see the doubt and insecurity in Draco’s eyes. Danny had not spent his summer trying to prove to Draco that his friendship wasn’t conditional just to lose it now.
Danny grinned, “Dude you became my friend when you pushed me into the pond trying to get the snitch. I think you’re family by now, and my parents are going to think so too. Family doesn’t begin or end in blood.”
Tucker would be rolling on the floor in hysterics if he ever found out Danny used a Supernatural quote like that.
But Draco just looked shocked and confused, in his own snobbish way. And considering that bloodlines seem to be a big deal to the wizarding upper class, that would seem a rather radical statement.
Oh he couldn’t wait for him to meet Sam in all her activist rage against classism.
Draco’s eyes flitted across the ground again. “I always wanted a sibling,” He let out in a rush.
He met Danny’s eyes, “Mother had grown up with a sister. Her cousins all had at least one sibling as well. She had hoped it to be the case when she had her own children.”
He dropped his gaze, glaring at the small flowers scattered at his feet, “But the Malfoy bloodline has been cursed to only bear one heir. Being twins did nothing to change that. It’s why you were born a squib and Father gave you away. If you had been born with magic….The curse would have taken one of us.”
“Screw the curse, I consider you my brother.”
Draco snapped his head up.
Danny just shrugged, a wry grin on his face. “Last I checked I was officially disowned and declared dead,” Ha. “And I don’t think I’ll be in the will anytime soon after what I did to Lucius's wine collection.”
“He’s still not pleased about that.”
“Narcissa thought it was funny. And” Danny grinned wider, “Being my brother means you get an overbearing sister named Jazz as well. Two siblings at absolutely no cost to you.”
He would say three, but he wasn’t quite ready to bring up the whole Dani business and he especially wasn’t about to drag her into this long lost twin mess while she was still trying to figure herself out away from the shadow of being his clone.
Do wizards even have clones? How would he even bring that up in conversation? Doesn’t matter, problem for future Danny.
“So bro-”
“Do not call me ‘bro’ ever again.”
“-brother, twin, male sibling.” Draco groaned, “I cannot wait to take you to a muggle mall for some jeans.”
The look of absolute horror on his face sent Danny laughing. He couldn’t wait for next summer.
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andy-clutterbuck · 1 year
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Teachers | 3x07
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80pairsofcrocs · 1 year
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I posted 1,131 times in 2022
That's 1,131 more posts than 2021!
1,000 posts created (88%)
131 posts reblogged (12%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@m4xedout
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@tea-sewing-and-yours-truly
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I tagged 158 of my posts in 2022
#x reader - 91 posts
#reader insert - 87 posts
#marc spector - 68 posts
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Longest Tag: 65 characters
#im thinking about the one time i sucked my hamster up in a vacuum
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
little spoon
hawks:Are you the big spoon or the little spoon? dabi:I'm a knife. y/n, from across the room:He's the little spoon.
643 notes - Posted April 22, 2022
#4
its vinegar
Five : hey, y/n can i get a sip of your water?
y/n : its not water.
Five : vodka, i like your style!
y/n : its vinegar.
Five : wh- wha-
y/n : its vinegar. pussy.
689 notes - Posted April 7, 2022
#3
baby scarab || 1
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masterlist - marvel masterlist - series masterlist
synopsis : in which a schizophrenic teenager could see a certain god
takes place after the Marvel series Moon Knight, may have spoilers?
pairings : steven grant x (platonic)reader, marc spector x (platonic)reader, khonshu x (platonic)reader
i will be using she/her pronouns
~~~
A/N : this is all over the place btw, also fun fact, i have schizophrenia so that's kind of what motivated me in writing this. i'm going off of what i experience. pls enjoy &lt;3
also if you want to be in the taglist, please ask! its not a problem
TW : mental disorders, child abandonment, language, fighting(?) let me know if i missed anything.
~~~
some would say its freaky,
others would say its like a superpower, like seeing ghosts is cool right?
you would say its a bit of both
you had schizophrenia, a mental disorder you have had for the past couple years, causing you to have hallucinations such as seeing shadows nobody else can, or fire where theres not fire, and that had absolutely nothing to do with ghosts, and you were labeled delusional by many peers.
you didn't take offense to it, because you were delusional. in fact your disorganized thinking has gotten you in trouble.
not because you're stupid, no, but because of others at your school making fun of you for it, you think its ok to beat them up for it.
which only fueled it. it caused others happiness to see you in trouble.
it also causes you to get suspended a lot.
such as now.
you were heading up to your apartment that you stayed in alone, since your parents dumped you in the street when you were young, and going through too many foster homes was a pain so you chose to just get your own place to call a home.
you just worked at an average paying coffee shop near your school, which you had to walk to.
you could either pay rent on time or get a car, so you thought that some cardio each morning and evening wouldn't be too bad.
you got into the elevator and saw another... man.. as well. he was in a bird costume and he was staring- or you thought he was staring at you.
"'scuse me." you move your arm past the extremely tall man to press your floors button. the bird man looked down at you with its creepy mask, and you tried to ignore it until it touched your shoulder and gasped.
you jumped and stepped away from him, thinking he was just a weirdo messing with you.
you could sense the guy staring at you so you turned your head to him. "you need something?" you ask him, to which he shakes his head slowly.
you nod and look away, but turning back when you see that nothing was attaching his head to his body, also now noticing the huge scary stick with a cresent moon on it.
your eyes widen and your breath hitches, as soon as the elevator hit your floor, you get off and speed walk to your apartment. unlocking the door took 4 tries, but that's only because you just saw some sort of demon.
your breath quickens as you finally open the door and slam it shut behind you and lock it.
See the full post
882 notes - Posted May 24, 2022
#2
good guy, bad guy
klaus : I really like this whole ‘good guy, bad guy’ thing you guys have going on.
five : It’s not an act, it’s just that I’m mean and y/n isn’t
974 notes - Posted April 9, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
baby scarab masterlist
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fanart!!
playlist!! - by @hutaos-gh0st
welcome to the baby scarab masterlist!! the chapters will be slow coming out but i'll try my best
chapters with the ( * ) indicate nsfw, but dont worry! if its not your cup of tea, they have nothing to do with the plot. they are just bonus chapters.
hope you enjoy <3
sausage
~~~
chapter 1
chapter 2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
chapter 10
chapter 11
chapter 12
chapter 13
chapter 14
chapter 15
chapter 16
chapter 17
chapter 18
chapter 19
chapter 20
chapter 21
chapter 22
See the full post
1,034 notes - Posted May 24, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
8 notes · View notes
restlessfandoming · 3 years
Text
“the president and the troublemaker” (part 8) (chilumi fic)
“Lumine is the student council president and Childe is the school’s number one troublemaker. They cross paths more than they’d like. Especially when Childe finds out Lumine’s big secret. Highschool AU à la Kaichou wa Maid-sama.”
[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7]
existence is a prison :’)
[Fic Masterlist] // [AO3 Link] // [Main AO3]
the president and the troublemaker (part 8)
Cross jab with your right arm. 
Lumine lunged towards her opponent with her right arm. 
Throwaway jab with your left.
As her opponent blocked her right arm, Lumine quickly threw her left arm out, forcing them to blink and react to the oncoming hit. 
Follow the momentum. 
Planting her left foot on the ground, she let the force of the punch swing her body around, then slammed her right foot into her opponent’s head.
And there you have a successful spinning heel kick. 
Lumine let the air relax out of her body as the man crumpled to the floor, and the bells rang. The crowd around swelled into cheers as the referee held her hand up, signaling her victory. Her amber eyes roamed around the arena, noting all the audience reactions: the nods of approval, the tilting heads of curiosity, the quick Internet searches on phones—who is this girl?
She was starting to gain attention here in Snezhnaya, as her win rate at the moment was at an astounding 100% thus far. She had quickly gained the nickname “Abyss Princess” due to Kaeya’s “innocent” portrayal of her in his promotions, juxtaposed with her destructive lethality in the ring. 
“You learn quick,” Childe said as Lumine walked into the locker room. “I only taught you that move once,” he added. “And yet you executed it perfectly.” 
“That’s Lumine for you,” Aether said, handing her a towel and a water bottle. “Great job, as always, sis.” She nodded as she gratefully chugged the water down (purposefully ignoring Childe.)
Kaeya sauntered into the room shortly after, clapping slowly while a grin pulled at his lips. “I come bearing good news.”
“Free dinner?” Lumine guessed. 
Aether nodded. “Seconded.”
“Even better.” Kaeya held up an official looking document. “Our little Lumine just got her first sponsor.”
Lumine almost dropped her water bottle. “No way!” She ran up to the blue haired captain. “Who is it?!”
Her manager looked down at the slip of paper in his hands. “A wealthy traveling merchant named Ivanovich.” 
Lumine turned towards Aether excitedly. “A sponsor!”
“A sponsor!” he echoed as the two shared a hug. 
“What does this mean now?” Lumine asked Kaeya. 
“It means we get to celebrate!” He gave her a closed eye smile. “How about a little vacation?”
* * *
Wow.
Lumine audibly gasped as she stood atop the hill overlooking the beach before her. 
Being from a poor family, she and Aether never got to travel much; it was the first time either of them had been to the beach (or really vacationed for that matter) and it did not disappoint. 
The glowing sun reflected brilliantly off the vivid blue waves, the water lapping at the fine, white sand with various stations of colorful towels and umbrellas set up throughout the shore. Lumine smiled as she saw families running along the sand, playing volleyball, and children joyfully splashing in the water. 
“So this is the beach,” Aether said in wonderment beside her. 
Lumine nodded as the two of them both breathed in deep, taking in the scent of salty waves and warm summer air. “It’s more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined,” she whispered.
“Is this your first time at the beach?” Kaeya asked the two of them. After the twins nodded, he smiled, and continued, “Well, I hope you two truly enjoy yourselves then.” 
“I can’t remember the last time we could just relax like this,” Aether said as the trio made their way towards the beach house they were renting for the weekend. 
Since she could remember, her whole life (Aether’s too) had been jam-packed with work or school obligations; it would be nice to get away from everything, even if just for a few days. 
She let out a yawn as she opened the door to the house. “Let the relaxation begin...” She froze in the doorway as her eyes landed on Childe laying on the couch. “...now.”
The orange-haired troublemaker opened his eyes slightly, then sat up and stretched. “Took you guys long enough. I’ve been waiting all morning.” 
Lumine hadn’t moved an inch. “...Why is Childe here?”
“Well, I had to invite your coach, didn’t I?” Kaeya answered. “I hope that’s alright.”
“Is there a problem, Lumi?” Aether asked, concerned. 
Ever since the rooftop incident, Lumine had found herself...restless around Childe. After she had gotten home from studying at his place, she thought about it—really thought about it—and neither of them had mentioned the fact that he had kissed her. 
Had it been a figment of her imagination? Was he just messing with her? 
Romance wasn’t something she knew. She could read textbook after textbook, fight opponent after opponent, but love? She was completely in the dark. 
And it wasn’t something she could casually discuss with Aether or her friends. Her friends knew nothing about her and Childe, and she was sure Aether would murder Childe on the spot if he knew anything romantic was happening between the delinquent and his beloved twin sister. As far as he knew, Childe and Lumine got along well as coach and student, and were friends as a result of that.  
Like at the hospital, she got flustered around Childe. She absolutely hated it, because she couldn’t figure out how or why—she couldn’t control it. And she especially hated it because Childe seemed to relish in the fact that she seemed so affected by him. 
The simplest things he would do—the slightest glance in her direction, a brush of the hands—sent her heart into a frenzy.
Do..Do I love him back?
Her throat went dry at that prospect. 
I don’t know. 
She didn’t know. 
So, she had hoped that the trip would bring her some clarity after time away from Childe, and hoped that upon her return, things would go back to normal. 
But here he stood in front of her. 
“Lumi, is everything okay?” Aether repeated. 
Lumine cleared her throat. “Yup, everything is fine.” She rushed towards the stairs. “I’ll be in my room.” And with that, she disappeared into the closest bedroom she could find, slamming the door shut. 
We’re just friends, she told herself. He is your friend, and your coach. 
She clenched her fists. It was most obviously a joke, right? Why else would he have done it, and not mention it ever again?
Lumine let out a maddening laugh. Yes, that’s exactly it. It’s just another scheme of his to cause trouble for me. 
She looked out her window, at the sparkling sea just lengths away. Well, she wasn’t going to be bothered by it, or him, any longer. Not when she was on vacation at least. 
She rifled through her duffle bag, pulling out a bikini, and slipping it on. It was simple, black, only decorated with minimal frills, but it was quite revealing (especially compared to her normal attire). It definitely wouldn’t have been Lumine’s first choice of swimwear, but it was one of the cheapest swimsuits she could find on short notice. 
She took a deep breath in, already imagining how relaxing the cool beach waves would feel on her skin. Excited, she yanked her door open quickly—
Only to find Childe standing there, his hand outstretched as if he were about to open the door himself. 
Lumine’s face fell. “What do you want?”
“I was just coming to check on you,” he said with a smile. Then his eyes trailed down to her attire, and his face fell as well. “What are you doing?”
Lumine crossed her arms. “Obviously about to go swimming.”
“In that?” he asked lowly.
Feeling the heat crawl up her back, she shook her head. Not going to let him affect me. “Yup. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She started to push past him. 
He reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. 
“Childe, what are you—”
He pulled her towards him, and then wrapped his arms around her waist, pinning her back against his chest. She felt a sharp twinge on her shoulder. 
...
He was biting her. He was biting her. 
Lumine gasped, and struggled out of his hold. When she finally broke free, she whipped around, her hand rubbing her shoulder. Childe’s blue eyes glinted at her as he used the back of his hand to wipe at his lips. 
“What the hell are you doing?!” Lumine hissed. Her thumb traced over the ridges left behind by his teeth. 
“You know, if you wear that,” Childe said simply, eyeing her swimsuit, “everyone’s going to ask about that bite mark on your shoulder.” An innocent smile. “You don’t really want that, now do you?” 
Her jaw fell open and she ran back into her room, checking her shoulder in the mirror. Sure enough, the area he had bitten down on was blemished red, and only grew more and more noticeable as the seconds ticked by.
She turned towards Childe, who was leaning on the doorframe, her eyes bewildered. “Why would you—”
Aether and Kaeya’s voices travelled up the staircase. There were people coming. And she had a kiss mark for all the world to see. 
She quickly grabbed a t-shirt from the clothes she had just changed out of, and yanked it over her head as her brother and her manager walked by. 
Aether stopped, looking at her curiously. His eyes flickered to Childe as well. “Are you guys going swimming?”
“Yes!” Lumine answered quickly, shuffling out the door. Hopefully, the faster she got away, the less chance there was for Aether to realize something had happened. 
“...In your t-shirt?” Aether asked. 
Lumine shrugged, doing her best to act nonchalant. “I got a little cold.” She started running down the stairs. “Catch you guys later!” 
WIthout looking back, she ran until she had reached the shore of the beach, then let out a long sigh of relief at finally being alone. 
What in the absolute hell is wrong with Childe? 
Her fingers ghosted over the bite mark once again, a fire burning in her core. Why had he done that? Wasn’t that something only lovers did to each other?
Lovers…
!!!
Lumine swore her head exploded, and was sure the rising steam would be visible from miles away. 
She stomped down the shoreline, heels digging into the shifty sands, desperately trying to distract her thoughts. 
Miraculously, her thoughts drowned out as she approached a bustling crowd gathering before her. The noise was instantly familiar—the cheers, whoops, and gasps of an ongoing fight. Raising an eyebrow, she made her way through the people, until she was at the front line. 
In the middle of the crowd, there was a large open space with three different circles—indicated by lines drawn in the sand—and within each circle were two people wrestling. Nearby each of the circles, a tall lifeguard chair stood, where a referee sat overlooking their respective match below. 
Lumine turned to a stranger next to her, and asked what was going on. 
“Oh, it’s the weekly beach wrestling competition!” they answered happily. 
“A competition?” Lumine pondered for a second. An image of a free food voucher flashed in her mind. “...Are there any prizes?” 
“Eh, most people just like to do it for fun,” the stranger said. “But if you win, you get all the earnings from entry fees!”
At the mention of money, Lumine instantly perked up. Not to mention tossing people around in the sand sounded like the perfect way to blow off some steam. “Where do you sign up?” 
They looked at her curiously. “Right over there.” They gestured to a table set up underneath a makeshift awning. “But I should warn you: it’s usually an...all male competition, dear.” 
Lumine was already waking away, stretching out her arms. Wrestling, huh? Not too different from what I do regularly, right?
As she passed the brawling rings, she took note of every competitor’s strengths, their statures—any information that would help her win in the near future. The stranger was right: there was no other female in sight, except as spectators.
And when Lumine walked over to sign up, there was a mix of reactions from those all around. Scrutiny, disbelief, doubt and arrogance—there’s no way she’s going to get far, right?
A smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. 
Let’s prove them wrong. 
* * *
Where did she go?
Childe squinted down the shore, eyes searching for that blonde head of hair. After Lumine had dashed out of the house, he decided to wait briefly before going after her. Of course he knew she was freaked out over what happened, but it had to be done. 
One look at her attire, and his blood boiled over the thought of guys looking her up and down, innocence the furthest thing from their minds. 
She was probably out there, kicking up a storm on the sandy shoreline, her head rattling with confusion at his actions. She was so endearingly naive about the intricacies of romance, as evidenced by her reaction to his confession of love, to which they had yet to discuss. 
He wasn’t going to push it; he could always see the gears turning in her head when he showed any romantic interest towards her, and too much stimulation would probably overload her circuits. Not to mention the fact she would run away when confronting her feelings. But they would need to talk about it, eventually.
God, she was going to be the death of him. 
He couldn’t quite put a finger on when he had realized he was actually in love with this short, tempered blonde, but when he did, it only made complete sense.
He wasn’t a stranger to romance. He knew he had the looks and the demeanor that just made girls gravitate to him, but he had never found interest in anyone. He just wanted to fight and train, train and fight—anything to get stronger and stronger. 
But then that night. 
Every so often, he would visit those illegal fighting rings, his interest only piqued for potential worthy opponents. Alberich’s ring was far out of the way, and he visited it rarely. 
That night was the first time he had seen Outlander in the ring. 
They had immediately grabbed his attention: the mask definitely showed they were hiding something. And that always made for an interesting fighter. They then proceeded to absolutely obliterate their opponent in the ring. An even more interesting fighter. 
After the match, Childe made his way around the back, hoping to speak to this Outlander character. And the rest was history. 
It had been the most enjoyable time of his life watching Lumine swap from the diligent student council president, to the powerful, bloodthirsty Outlander. Everything else she did—the way she carried herself, her resilience, her stubbornness, how her face softened when she was thanking him—everything else just pulled at his heart like nothing else ever had. 
He really couldn’t bear to stay away. 
Childe sighed, continuing his walk down the beach. 
And he really couldn’t control himself around her. 
A group of boys around his age jogged past him. He caught a few words they were saying as they passed: “hot,” “blonde,” “fighter.” 
His jaw clenched, and he followed them closely as the sinking feeling grew in his gut. 
The boys disappeared into a large, boisterous crowd, and Childe peered over the heads of spectators watching a wrestling match before them. 
A flash of amber eyes and that gray t-shirt she had thrown on earlier; it was exactly as he suspected. Somewhere, somehow, even at the beach on vacation, Lumine was in the middle of a fight. 
She was winning, but sloppily. Obviously, she was still affected by earlier. Sloppy moves would lead to defeat, and more importantly, injuries. 
Time to step in.
Perhaps this was also a way to get through to her. A common tongue they both spoke. 
He made his way over to the sign-up, paid his entrance fee, and stood before the printed brackets. He traced Lumine’s name, looking over the line of opponents he would need to beat to get to her.
He walked over to the queue of fighters. He started stretching his limbs, feeling the heat of the battle pool in his muscles. 
Get ready, Lumine. 
The crowd burst into cheers as Lumine pinned her opponent to the ground. As she stood, Childe saw her glowing grin split across her face. He smiled to himself as well.
Here I come.
* * *
[part 9]
207 notes · View notes
everythingsinred · 3 years
Text
Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 6)
Last time, we talked about Natsume's growing crush on Mikan. As the festival continues, his feelings will only grow. Today we'll discuss how these new feelings will affect him, and particularly how they have the potential to create tension in his friendship with Ruka.
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Chapter Twenty-One
Mikan is guilty for not having already gone to Iinchou’s haunted house in the latent ability class area. So they end up going together. Although Mikan is easily distracted and wants to try everything in the latent area, Natsume is strict on going straight to the destination with no tangents.
Iinchou lets them in right away without having to wait in the hour-long line. Mikan puts on airs about being a country girl and, just like she’s unafraid of bugs, she’s also not afraid of ghosts. Except she totally is.
Ruka and Natsume don’t seem particularly scared of the haunted house so far, but Mikan is, and she clings to Ruka, desperate not to be left behind, even if it means she hurts him with her grasp.
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The person who posted these TokyoPop scans forgot a couple pages so for the longest time the beginning of the chapter was so confusing to me...
Natsume looks behind to see them and is jealous, yet again. Just like with Tsubasa, Natsume is unhappy with his fate to be the bad guy in general. He goes out of his way to look bad to protect people and as a result will not be the one clung to. It’s different from Tsubasa though, because this isn’t some nameless middle schooler that Natsume can take his anger out on: this is his best friend, somebody he’s never felt anything but affection for. Natsume doesn’t want to hurt Ruka; he’s just sad that the situation is so messed up.
Lucky for Ruka, Natsume gives up before there can even be a competition.
It’s for the best this way, after all. For Ruka to be happy, for Mikan to be with somebody kind who deserves her, and even for him, because maybe this way Mikan won’t be used against him like everybody else he cares about.
Natsume makes this decision without talking to anybody and before anyone can even figure out that there’s a choice to be made in the first place.
Then they run into a crawling hag and nobody’s immune to the terror that being chased after by that demon brings. All three of them run for it, but they end up in a new spooky room, which freaks Mikan out so much she screams and faints, foaming at the mouth, causing Natsume to fall and twist his ankle and for Ruka’s rabbit to run off. He chases after it, leaving Natsume and Mikan alone. Iinchou breaks whatever causes the electricity to run in the building and now they’re trapped alone in the dark, unable to get out.
Mikan tries to figure out a way for them to escape, but climbing the wall is out of the question since Natsume’s ankle is twisted. He suggests that he blow up the wall, but Mikan is adamantly against that idea because the latent students worked hard to make the mansion. Natsume acquiesces. That’s fine. He doesn’t mind spending more time with her. It just means she’ll have to stay in the dark for longer.
She is very clingy when she’s scared, and although he complains he doesn’t really make any moves to get her off. I mean, why would he? This is exactly what he wanted, though he did only get it because he was the only person around that she could cling to. There’s a moment where he spooks her, perhaps so she would hug him more, but then she whines for him to stop scaring her and the panels are quite sparkly. Natsume is distressed about his new crush and the effect it has on him. Really her whining and puppy-dog eyes are not any less powerful on Natsume than they are on Ruka. He’s just better at hiding it.
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He looks at her softly and then has a moment where he looks almost peeved to have felt so fond at all... but it won't last. These days he has more affection for her than irritation.
Mikan tries apologizing about getting angry with him at Anna’s cafe, but he pretends like he has no idea what she’s talking about. To me, this cements that Natsume wants to look bad to her in particular. He doesn’t really want her to figure out that he’s kind deep down or that he’s selfless 99% of the time. He doesn’t want her to think he cares at all because it’s best for him to continue being the same jerk he has been for the past twenty chapters. He’s okay with her hating him, because that way she won’t become the new Ruka, used by the academy as a pawn to get him to jump through more hoops.
She tries to make him smile and that’s another big deal. Most people think Natsume is cool for being so unaffected. His fans think he’s the man, a tough guy who frowns all the time. Even Ruka’s approach to this issue was to stop smiling too.
Mikan’s approach is to tell jokes.
Of course, it doesn’t work, and the jokes aren’t any good, but Mikan is trying something nobody else has done: instead of looking up to him or going down to his level of misery, Mikan’s trying to lift him up. She wants him to smile and be happy and that sets her apart. She’s immature and childish and that brings out the childishness in him too. And like I mentioned a while ago, childishness in Natsume is a good thing. With her, he can bicker and argue and tease like he used to before he came to the academy. She has no idea what he’s going through and her mood changes so quickly she can’t even stay mad or upset. She’s just a joyful and loud girl who rubs off on everyone she meets and Natsume is far from being an exception.
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He can just mess around like a kid for once. He doesn't have to be serious around her all the time.
Thus, the next important thing in regards to analyzing their relationship is that the last page of the chapter has him teasing her and then smiling at her reaction. We’ve only seen Natsume smile twice before: with Youichi for a brief moment, and then with Ruka on the cover for Chapter Sixteen (Natsume's evil smile when Mikan gets bullied by middle schoolers doesn't count as a real smile). This officially adds Mikan to the incredibly short list of people who can make Natsume smile. She’s angry with him, arguing, but being able to let go of all his darkness and just tease a girl and have her act with such strong emotions is enough to make him happy. And that’s what this is: Natsume is happy.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The musical creates some tension between Natsume and Ruka, as expected, because liking the same girl can make rifts between friends. On the other hand, this isn’t your typical love triangle. Usually in love triangles, the two guys are already positioned against each other. Though Natsume and Ruka may be opposites in many ways, they are not rivals at all. They love each other, and that love is not at all damaged by the conflict of falling for the same girl; it just becomes tense between them.
In fact, the beginning of the chapter has some Class B pals eagerly going backstage to find Ruka before the somatic ability class musical. When they find him, Natsume is the only one to not laugh at or tease him, and seems to be the only one really concerned with Ruka’s feelings about being cast as Snow White.
When the sticky ball incident occurs, there’s a lot more damage done than there is in the anime. In the anime, some cast and crew get stuck, but ultimately nobody was in any real danger of being hurt. In the manga, there were potentially catastrophic consequences for the blast and a lot of equipment got damaged in the process. A somatic child playing one of the seven dwarves is about to be hit by a stagelight when Natsume rushes to get him out of the way, resulting in them getting stuck together. If Natsume hadn’t stepped in, that kid could have gotten really injured, at least.
As a result of Natsume’s heroism, Narumi suggests that he dress up as a forest friend. When Natsume refuses, the child is to be kicked out of the play, and the seven dwarves will be changed to six. Natsume sees the kid pout and with absolutely no more need for convincing he goes to get changed into a cat outfit.
This is noteworthy because the cat outfit is humiliating (not that Natsume hasn’t worn similar things in official art… just saying) and it’s something he truly does not want to do, but he does it, even though he doesn’t even know the kid. It’s some random somatic kid, not Ruka or Youichi or even Mikan, and yet he goes out of his way to do something truly selfless so that the kid can perform what he’s practiced. Natsume is kind in quiet ways, and not just with the people he cares about. Like with Anna, Natsume puts the needs of someone he isn’t close to in front of his own reputation.
Now, Natsume is in a horrible mood, embarrassed to be seen in the costume, and Ruka is confused why he’d even bother, until he sees the smile on the little kid and everything snaps into place for him. Mikan is a very intuitive and emotional girl who can sense things about all sorts of people, but when it comes to Natsume, nobody knows him better than Ruka, who can tell right away the motives for any of his actions.
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I work at a restaurant and kids Natsume's age will be like, "I don't want a kids' menu" and act all grown up and then see how big the adult portions are, so they end up eating the Cub Pancake anyway LMAO. Do you want extra whipped cream and chocolate chips, Natsume?
Onto the actual NatsuMikan portion of this analysis, at long last, Mikan is overjoyed to see how adorable he is in his costume and she is the only one who won’t hold back from saying so because she’s not scared of him. I’ve seen someone complaining that Natsume says “Don’t call men cute,” but I always found that line funny because Natsume is a literal ten-year-old boy… He is not a man at all. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect a kid to say, especially one who wants to be a grown-up as soon as possible, which makes the line endearing to me, but that’s my personal feelings about it. (Like the above caption, I find it very amusing when little kids pretend they're all grown up.)
Anyway, Natsume is as much an idiot as he is in the anime, volunteering Mikan to be the prince, even using one of his three wishes to make it happen. This is all motivated by his feelings of humiliation, and he’s taking it out on her, arguing that he doesn’t want to wear the outfit for no reason so the show has to go on no matter the cost--but this will bite him in the ass sooner rather than later.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The chapter begins and Mikan is very nervous about playing the prince, particularly about looking the part as she is very uncomfortable with her hair down.
This is actually the first time we see Natsume’s feelings about it, but he’ll only make it more clear in about ten more chapters. Here, Mikan wonders if she should put her hair back up and Natsume snaps, “No!” before walking away in a huff. It’s a small scene, and it’s even told through tiny text, but it’s enough to let any reader paying attention know that Natsume also thinks Mikan looks cute with her hair down. Yes, he’s embarrassed to have said anything, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t say it.
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Don't worry about him, he's just in a bad mood.
Natsume mainly observes, and nothing noteworthy happens. He eventually goes and gives his line and his aura alone is threatening enough to discourage anyone from laughing or “aww”ing.
The next important moment is when Mikan sees the stage direction to kiss the princess directly on the lips. Narumi says it’s because he’s trying to make up for the loss of sizzle due to the accident, but knowing him, there’s probably more to it. Naru likes stirring the pot and causing drama, although I can hardly tell what his motives are half the time. Truly, I believe he is the most mysterious character in the whole story.
Natsume does not allow this to happen, so he throws something at Mikan’s head--some random box thing--and Hotaru shuts off the lights.
Natsume does something kind of selfish here. He didn’t want them to kiss, so he stopped it. The fact that he grabbed the first thing he saw meant it was a sudden choice to chuck it. I wonder if he had any intentions of just toughing it out and dealing with it, but eventually jealousy won out and he did the selfish thing.
When I say selfish, I don’t mean “bad”. I just mean that for once Natsume is acting based on what he wants, rather than what will make somebody else happy. When it comes to this kid in particular, I actually want him to do selfish things more often, because he very rarely does. He’s been selfless and heroic enough for one day, having saved a kid from getting injured and then wearing that embarrassing costume. He’s allowed to have done this one thing for selfish reasons.
It’s not like it was a bad thing to do either. It would have only benefited Narumi, and possibly the somatic class to have a spicy musical kiss, but it wouldn’t have been good for Ruka or Mikan. Having their first kiss under such conditions, especially when Mikan was just doing the class a favor by acting in the play to begin with, would have been sad. Natsume essentially saved her from the consequences of his own actions, because it would have been his fault if they’d had no choice but to go through with it.
Moreover, like I said earlier, Ruka can simply tell what Natsume’s motives are from a single look. It’s more obvious in the anime, of course, but I still think manga!Ruka is aware that Natsume intervened. He knows Natsume better than anybody, and he’s too smart to think that box came out of nowhere.
This is just the beginning of a long-standing tension between them, one that they will dance around and pretend isn’t happening for quite a while before actually addressing it properly. For now, they have undiscussed feelings and jealousies that will go unchecked and unresolved for some time, building an even deeper divide between them. After all, Natsume and Ruka have enough of a gap on account of Natsume’s missions and his general feelings of not being able to fit in with anybody. This only broadens the gap.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The dance will be very fun to analyze from Mikan’s perspective, but we’re not nearly finished with Natsume’s, so that will have to wait.
For now, we’ll discuss Natsume’s softening, which Permy points out bitterly on account of being surrounded by closet fans. Previously, she says, they were terrified of him, and why wouldn’t they be? We talked ad nauseam about Natsume’s first thirteen chapters of misery and coldness. He was a scary and unkind guy, definitely unapproachable. Even his admirers in Class B were scared of him, equal parts affection and terror. In a very short time, Natsume has softened and it’s obvious. He even dressed as a cat for the somatic musical! His reputation for being cold and dangerous is softening and the girls who used to fear him are now flocking to him to ask if he’s willing to accept their last dance proposals.
But with all this talk about romance and dancing, Mikan feels left out and can’t relate. Her frustrations only grow when some girls start gossiping about her and she ends up taking it out on Natsume, saying she would never ever wanna dance with Natsume for the last dance. He brushes this off, but he still pouts, obviously affected and a little hurt. Their relationship was on the rise, after all. They were starting to hang out more and were bickering often, something Natsume doesn’t make a habit of doing with most people. But just because Natsume is feeling more fondness for her, that doesn't mean she feels the same way.
He expects this in some way, of course, because it's partially his intention. He expects that she would only tolerate him after everything that happened with them, but that doesn't mean he likes the feeling of rejection.
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They're so cute when they pout!
Having a crush is bad enough, but hearing that girl shout that she’d never wanna go out with you is even harder, even if you were maybe purposefully making her angry with you to try and protect her. It would be a tough emotion to bear, especially for a kid unversed in romance. He proceeds to be just as huffy as her.
And as twisted as it is, I’m happy for him.
Natsume was cold and mean and difficult to talk to before he fell for Mikan. Now he’s way more approachable and expressive, willing on occasion to show an emotion that isn’t rage, like hurt or grumpiness or amusement. He can now sit at his desk and pout, something he wasn’t doing before, like a kid throwing a fit.
At the actual dance, Natsume is still hurt, still pouting. It doesn’t help that Mikan glares at him upon spotting him. It’s interesting to see how much this affects him. One girl said something harsh in the heat of the moment and he is taking it so personally. Of course, he gets hurt or angered by many things. Upperclassmen bully him and call him a murderer and he simply uses his alice on them to shut them up. He keeps his face straight, moves on, and forgets it. Naturally, the hurt and resentment sit there in his gut to torment him, because he’s a kid and they’re awful things for anyone to hear, but he’s not acting like that here. Here, he’s grumpy and pouty. His feelings are hurt but they don’t come with urges to punish like being called a murderer does.
And it’s obvious he has no genuine hard feelings because Natsume then shoves Ruka onto Mikan, since Ruka was being transparent about his gaze. He goes on to dance with someone else, anyone else, because Mikan made it clear that she too would rather dance with anyone else, just as long as it wasn’t him. He’s clearly still in a bad mood, though.
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He's so used to not getting what he wants that he will do all of Ruka's work for him, so that Ruka can get what he wants.
Later, when Mikan and Natsume are singletons in the middle of the dance floor, they notice each other. Here would be a perfect opportunity to dance, but she made it clear she hated the idea, and he’s not about to embarrass himself to ask. Hence, he huffs again, pouting because there’s no way he’ll ask her to dance once she’s said such harsh things. They stand in silence for just a moment, until he finds some other girl to dance with and leaves Mikan all alone.
They’re both grumpy over the way they’re being treated by the other. Natsume is being immature and petty with his feelings, almost childish (heehee it's all I want for him!). With all the dark and depressing divide between Mikan’s academy life of fun and laughs and Natsume’s life of secret missions and physical abuse, he’s somehow found a way to wedge himself into hers. He’s taking something so minor so seriously. He’s been on the front lines, used his alice to hurt enemies and been hurt by enemies and dangerous ability types alike. He is literally dying and he’s aware of it! But he’s still pouting because the girl he likes was a little mean to him.
But the dance with the girl obviously wasn’t much fun, because Mikan quickly finds him again, away from the party, along a secluded path by some trees. He’s in a pouty mood and obviously needs some time alone with his thoughts.
It shows that he’s done some thinking because he doesn’t even mention her angry words from earlier.
Instead, he just calls the whole festival stupid.
We’re reminded here of a scene from way before they liked each other, when the festival was first announced. Then, she also found him playing with a dog, all on his own, using anger to mask his feelings of hurt. He said the same thing back then, that the whole thing was stupid and it was dumb to get all worked up about it. He’s doing it again now, but it’s a little different this time. Their relationship has changed, improved. They actually care about each other now, and although Natsume starts off just talking through his anger, he eventually turns honest.
The truth is that these periods of childishness will always have to end. It’s just an extended version of the dodgeball game. No matter how much emotion he puts into these experiences, they will be overshadowed by his real life. Now matter how much fun he has, he will always have to stop smiling and go kill himself on Persona’s orders. And even more honestly, the more fun he has, the harder it will be on the people he has fun with. It’s not enough for the ESP and Persona that Natsume completes his missions and does all his work; they find pleasure and relief in his constant misery. The second he cares about something, they use it against him. His joy is never meant to last and will always have consequences for the people he loves.
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I hate tumblr's 10 image limit. I hate it. I despise it. I abhor it. I cannot come up with a caption. So instead I'll say again. I hate the 10 image limit.
And so he explains, for once, that he’s simply different from everyone else. The festival is something that doesn’t belong to him. He’s merely been an observer this whole time. He’s never actually been a part of it. And then he tells her that she should stay in the light, stay out of the dark. He calls her naive, but it’s not as much an insult as it used to be.
She is childish and loud and optimistic and annoying and a little sweet and even though he hated all these things about her before, he now realizes that these traits are things to be protected. The more she mingles with him, the darker her life will be. After all, her light is not the only thing that’s contagious: his darkness rubs off on people too, and in his mind it will only hurt her to be involved with him. She should stay in the light--in the shiny, sparkly side of the manga, where everyone is concerned with sports and coming up with ideas for the festival--and keep out of the dark--where there’s murder and blackmail and danger and death. It’s bad enough he can’t keep Youichi or Ruka out of it: Youichi is already in the DA class and Ruka came running after him. He can’t distance himself from them. The most he can do is protect them and raise their star ranks or keep them off of dangerous missions. But with Mikan he has a chance to really protect her, prevent her from being used against him at all. Ideally, she’ll stay away and he won’t need to worry about her as much.
And he wants her to be safe and gone, so when she asks what he means, he changes tactics and decides to be rude and mean instead, telling her to get lost and insulting her. She gets angry and it almost seems like it’ll be another bickering match, where they will both be childish and hurl insults at each other, but he doesn’t take that path.
She is complaining about how he doesn’t seem to know that she has a name, thank you very much--and then he calls her Mikan. He concedes to her demands. He does what he perceives to be the mature, adult thing, ending the argument so she will leave for good. When she has nothing left to argue about, she will have no choice but to walk away, and she does, once he makes it clear that his last command is for her to stop complaining about what he calls her.
Natsume chooses to do the selfless thing again, and gives up the first thing in a long time that made him happy. He barely had any time with her at all, but he lets her go, because she can only continue to be sunny and cheerful away from him. He’s giving up before anyone can tell that something was around for him to give up.
He has no idea how much one word has affected her.
Conclusion
Natsume is a selfless kid. He gives up on what he wants very easily, but especially because he knows that the second he gets what he wants, those things could be destroyed, just by association with him. He just wants the people he loves to be happy, even if it means he could never be.
In the next segment, we'll talk about what Natsume is willing to do to protect Mikan, even if it means being cruel and hurting her. NatsuMikan is the living embodiment of the "break her heart to save her" trope, and I very much adore that trope with my whole heart, so we're going to be having a LOT of fun with the next essay!
Also, disclaimer: I'm not smart. I refuse to take responsibility for any mistakes I make in these essays. There also are no mistakes. I've never misspelled a word in my life.
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Laid out cold, now we're both alone (part 3)
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A/N: Hello, this fic is very important to me because I tried my best to give justice to such a cool idea and I hope I did a good job. Plus I don't do multichapter ofter, so this was a challenge.
I wanna thank the lovely @livdonna​ for proofreading my work, you're literally the best <3.
P.S. If you want to get tagged in the next chapters, let me know.
Summary: Nikki needs to ask a favor to Vince Neil, in order to keep someone safe.
Warnings: Major Character Death,Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Drug Use, Angst, Overdose.
Pairing: Nikki Sixx x Tommy Lee
Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Taglist: @slashscowboyboots @witchytombstonesmile @arnold-layne @emometalhead​ @i-dont-like-rice​ @nikki-sexx​ @smokeandmirrorz​
Bittersweet. That was the best way to describe Nikki’s emotional state as he got teleported in front of Vince’s house. They weren’t the biggest fans of each other.  He was always so annoyed by his singer, whom he considered more of a diva prince than a front man.
Sometimes Vince Neil was a stupid spoiled fucker, in his opinion, yet he needed him. What made his blood boil the most was that he had to put his pride to the side, because this wasn’t about him but about Tommy, and there was no way in hell he would have disappointed him again, even if that meant having to deal with the blonde’s bullshit.
He decided to get in the blonde’s house but without showing himself at first.  He wasn’t being avoidant ( absolutely not) but just he wanted more time to think, that’s all. The first thing he noticed was how different Vince’s mansion looked from Mick’s : outside there was a big pool, in which the clear water was shining thanks to the sunny day, meanwhile the inside was mostly white and gave the whole house a very elegant and snobby atmosphere; however it was very messy too, which was a huge disappointment.
It reminded him of the singer: face of an angel but inside he had his demons. Who didn’t to be honest? Unfortunately Nikki wasn’t so lucky to get an angel face to hide his dirty soul, he felt like everyone could tell how fucked up he was.
Lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t notice Vince passing right through him, talking on the phone in an exasperated tone.
“I know Doc, you repeated that hundreds of times! Yeah , I’ll call Mick and Tommy and we will do this fucking conference!”
There was a small pause.  Doc was probably answering back, and Vince looked like he was about to smash the phone on the ground.
“What’s holding us? We fucking lost our bassist, our friend and brother. Jesus, I fucking get it that you want our money but show some fucking mercy, bastard! Fuck you!” He violently put the phone down, only to fall ungracefully on the couch.
The whole conversation made the bassist laugh out of anger.  He knew Doc was all about money, especially because they made his life a living hell, but Vince appearing concerned about his death was honestly so fake.
What? Were you saying that Vince Neil was mourning him? The guy who kept fucking up the band over and over again was sad for him?
“Fucking Nikki, real dick move you pulled there!”
Nikki didn’t wait one second before sitting on the couch and making himself visible to the blonde.
“Oh Vinnie, that’s so rude to say.”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Vince screamed,  trying to back away but just managing to fall off the couch.
The other man couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Nikki, is that you? What kind of joke is this?!”
“Yeah. Look it might sound nuts but I’m a ghost. I’m dead and couldn’t pass through because I have unfinished business to solve.”
If looks could kill, well Nikki would have died again judging by how Vince was staring at him. He saw his face turning into an angry snarl before he started to yell.
“What the fuck, Sixx?! You die, leave us all alone and then you even have the courage to stay a fucking ghost! You fucking selfish prick!”
The bassist felt his blood boiling, well not literally but he got the same feeling as if he still had blood pumping in his body. How did Vince dare to say such things? He was the selfish prick, he was the one never caring and always causing trouble.  He was destroying the band!
“I’m a selfish prick?! I didn’t decide to fucking die! I put my heart and soul in the band and you kept destroying it. Now you want to accuse me? Fuck you!”
“You didn’t want to die? Oh well, what did you think would happen if you kept injecting that shit in your veins. We are fucking screwed now, without a bassist and ready to split up!”
Oh that was funny! Vince wanted to shame him, as Nikki was the only one drinking and fucking up with drugs. Oh sure Mick, Tommy and him could do anything but Nikki dares to shoot up, oh he’s a junkie! However he knew it was different, it wasn’t a simple way to party for him... He needed it to be alive. He had tons of pages written in his diaries that could be used as a proof.
“Oh because you’re such a saint, aren’t you Vinnie? I’m the bad one, I’m the one out of control. Well guess what?  The only person I hurt was myself, meanwhile we can’t say the same thing for you!”
It was a low blow, a terrible one and Nikki knew that. Rage blinded him, but that didn’t mean he had to dredge up the past, especially on something as horrible as Razzle’s death.
Good job Sikki, great way to get your friend to do what you want.
Vince’s face turned red, his fists clenched and got up to Nikki’s nose. He looked like he was about to punch him, but he had to realize it wasn’t going to happen since the bassist was not tangible, so he kicked a small table.
“You’re the only one who you hurt? What about the band, the fans, all those people you lied to and made suffer. Most importantly, what about Tommy, Nikki? How is he? Because it doesn’t look like he wasn’t hurt when you left him all alone, when you preferred shooting up instead of caring for him.”
Tommy. If he knew Vince’s weak point, the singer knew his too. It fucking hurt so bad, now he was the one wishing to be able to slap him.
“You don’t know a fuck about me or Tommy. Shut the fuck up!”
“Oh, I know all the times I saw him scanning the room around hoping to find you, all the times he looked heartbroken when you disappeared in the bathroom during rehearsal. I saw him after you destroyed him, how he still loved you even if you threw him away like trash. His two worst nightmares came true: you left him and you died. So tell me again Nikki, how did you just hurt yourself?
He wasn’t about to cry, even if he felt like a thousand legs were kicking his chest, he wasn’t about to give that fucker the satisfaction to see him crying ( he probably couldn’t even do that). But after the pain came the realization : he was there for Tommy. He was angry to forget that this wasn’t about him but about the drummer, and he probably ruined everything.
Now the hard part came : swallowing his pride down and convincing Vince. Oh, he would probably torment the bassist as slowly as he could, but eventually he had to accept.  Fuck, the two of them knew each other since high school!
“How’s Tommy?” His voice was so low, he doubted the singer heard him, but somehow he did.
“Oh, so now you want to know how he is?!” His voice was still loud and angry, but he must have seen the desperation on Nikki’s face, because he decided to answer anyway. “ He’s a mess. I just talked with him very briefly, he wanted to know if it was real. Then Doc fucking occupied this phone like it was his bitch, so I haven’t called him again, yet.”
This wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, it wasn’t fucking reassuring at all… Fuck, literally anything could have happened, Tommy could have hurt himself or left the country and this was all because of him. He just hoped his family was going to be close to him, he was loved, they would have never left him alone. That was supposed to be his job too, but he failed.
He failed his sweet Tommy.
“Sixx, what are you thinking about?”
It was the moment. Even if his heart wasn’t beating, he still felt the oppressive pressure of anxiety.  He wanted to run but he had to do it.
Swallow your pride. You fucking owe it to Tommy.
“Vince, promise me that you’ll protect Tommy, no matter what.”
“What?” The blonde was visibly confused and how to blame him!
“You were right, I broke Tommy and he’s going to have such a hard time. He fucking loved me, even if I didn’t deserve it, and now I’m terrified he’s going to destroy himself. You can’t let that happen!”
“Nikki…”
“I fucking love him Vince. I still love him so much.  He deserves a good life, I can’t ruin him even in death. He needs support.”
“Why me? It’s not like Tommy and I are best friends.”
“Because both you and him have known each other for a long time, and when the band will keep playing there’s going to be you, him and Mick left. He would never tell his stuff to Mick and he has something else to do, which means that you have to do it.”
A dry laugh escaped from Vince’s mouth.
“What if he doesn’t want to get helped?”
“You know how to get what you want. You’ll find a way, I’d do it but I’m a little dead… look I know you hate me but I’m only asking this. Like I said to Mick, this is my dead man’s wish.”
“Okay.” The voice was so low and Nikki barely had the time to react before Vince disappeared in the kitchen.
All his insecurities came back to eat him alive. What was even the point of being a ghost if he still had feelings? The truth was that he wasn’t sure on how much Vince could help, sure having someone close to Tommy was good, but he knew his boyfriend and fuck if he was a stubborn fucker.
His boyfriend.
It was a dagger through his chest, yet it still felt warm like the first time Tommy called him that. His face always lit up whenever he said it. The drummer always made loving him seem like the easiest thing in the world, as it was even possible to love someone like Nikki.
But Tommy did and what did he get in return? A junkie boyfriend and eternal heartache, because the love of his life was dead now.
Vince came back with a beer and softer expression on his face. Nikki didn’t move from the couch so he sat back to where he was.
“I will do it. I’ll keep an eye on Tommy.” His firm voice eased Nikki’s worries a bit.
Fuck, he never expected to see Vince Neil agreeing with him.
“Thanks dude, I know you hate me but Tommy didn’t do anything.”
“I don’t hate you.” His voice was shocked and the bassist had to suppress a laugh.
Yeah sure Vince Neil, not hating Nikki Sixx.
“Oh c’mon, don’t tell me you weren’t happy to hear I was gone.”
“Fuck no. Nikki we might have fought a lot and you were a fucking pain in the ass, but I’d never want your death. I cried, you were still my band mate and brother!”
He wasn’t sure why this whole conversation was hitting him so hard.  It was probably because he didn’t know how to react to the simple act of someone caring for him beside Tommy. Especially when this someone was his singer.
But did they really hate each other as they thought they did? If the roles were reversed, would he be happy about his death?
“I felt the same. Ya know, when we thought you were dead in the car crash.”
Vince gave him a small sad smile.
“Maybe we can bury the hatchet. You don’t follow me for eternity and I won’t talk shit about you in interviews. Deal?”
“Deal.” Nikki smirked.
It’s time to go, Nikki.
The same sense of helplessness he felt before with Mick, came back. Because he could pretend everything was somehow normal, until the voice reminded him that this wasn’t his place. Even if in this case it was for the best for him to go, considering how awkward it felt for both of them to be so friendly with one another.
“Vince, I have to go now.”
The singer made an expression between sad and relieved, but maybe for the first time ever, it was genuine.
“Don’t be a stranger. Send us some bottles of Jack or some strippers from hell, okay?”
Nikki let out a chuckle. Since when he was laughing with Vince Neil?
“I’ll try my best. Vince, keep the promise.”
“He loves you. You should visit him, he deserves to say goodbye to you one last time.”
He knew that, he fucking knew that already! It didn’t matter how hard he was trying to avoid that, he was going to go to him anyway, not only because Tommy deserved it but because he was selfish.
He wanted to see him one last time too.
“I know. I’m going to go to his house next.”
Vince seemed happy and gave him a small smile. Nikki took a deep breath and got out of Neil's mansion, feeling every type of emotion.
God, now it was show time.
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oddarin · 4 years
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It is one of the most meaningless thing I’ve done in time - all least-to-most ranks and just characters’ fact answers (those that with no pictures) from oficial Ask Arcana gathered in one place. Have no idea what that information could be used for and if it even useful but it kept me occupied and distracted from some life shit for a while, so let it be.
who is most to least likely to enjoy the movie Frozen? Lucio, Portia, Julian, Asra, Muriel, Nadia
Out of the cast, who is the most to least likely to be the jealous type? Portia, Lucio, Muriel & Nadia (tied), Julian, Asra
would you like to rank the characters from who cries most to least ugly? like from sniveling to shoujo manga tears? Muriel, Lucio, Julian, Portia, Asra, Nadia
who is the most to least superstitious Portia, Julian, Nadia, Lucio, Asra, Muriel
most to least excited to be at a WWE event Portia, Lucio, Asra, Julian, Nadia, Muriel
From worst to best at handling children Nadia, Lucio, Muriel, Asra, Portia, Julian
From worst to best for alcohol tolerance Muriel, Asra, Lucio, Julian, Portia, Nadia
Character ranking from best at keeping secrets to loose-liped gossip? Asra, Muriel, Nadia, Lucio, Portia, Julian
best to worst dancers? Asra, Portia, Julian, Nadia, Lucio, Muriel
Most to Least likely to slap you for stealing a mcnugget Nadia, Lucio, Asra, Portia, Julian, Muriel
Least to most likely to eat something weird (read: probably shouldn't be eaten) because of a dare? Nadia, Julian, Muriel, Lucio, Portia, Asra and not even on a dare
how old are each of the revealed characters? everyone is old, but in order of least old to most old: Asra, Portia, Muriel, Julian, Lucio, Nadia
Who's the best kisser? Who's the worst? Best kisser: Faust (good snake smooches) Worst kissers: Mercedes and Melchior (too much cronch)
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If the main 6 played MTG what color decks would they play? Asra: Blue Nadia: White Julian: Black (Portia made his for him) Portia: White/Green Muriel: Green Lucio: Red
How did cast look as babies? Nadia: The best baby, perfect in form and function Asra: A cute baby, always looking around Julian: Not the most handsome baby, a little gangly Portia: Round, squealing delightful baby Lucio: Red-faced screaming awful baby Muriel: Sturdy and well insulated for the long winter
Of the main six characters, which ones are capable of juggling and which ones would absolutely love doing needlepoint? capable of juggling: Portia, Asra, Muriel absolutely love doing needlepoint: Nadia, Julian incapable of juggling/ absolutely hate doing needlepoint: Lucio
what would the cast choose as their job in the mmo final Fantasy XIV? Julian: Dragoon Asra: Astrologian Lucio: Ninja, but he messes up the mudras Nadia: Machinist Portia: Summoner Muriel: Paladin
What would be the favorite attractions/rides of the cast at Disney? Julian: Pirates of the Caribbean Asra: Astro Orbiter Lucio: Tower of Terror (RIP) Muriel: Matterhorn Portia: California Screamin' Nadia: Carousel of Progress
What do the rest of the cast smell like? Nadia: Les Larmes Sacree Du Thebes by Baccarat Asra: Lord of Misrule Lush Shower Cream Julian: Leather seats in a rental car Portia: Cocoa butter and laundry soap Lucio: Fireball, Axe body spray & ass Muriel: myrrh
What board game would The Arcana gang be? Nadia: Clue Asra: Twister Julian: Sorry! Portia: Mouse Trap Lucio: Monopoly Muriel: Guess Who
Who do all the cast main in over watch? Nadia: Ana Asra: Sombra Julian: Reaper Portia: Zarya Muriel: Bastion Lucio: Genji
If everyone participated in a Winter Olympic sport, which one would they be in? Nadia: figure skate (singles) Asra: snowboarding Julian: alpine ski Portia: freestyle ski Muriel: luge Lucio: ice hockey
Main casts Starbucks orders? Julian: Black coffee and he flirts with the barista until it’s ready. Nadia: London Fog Latte. She comes in at exactly 8 every morning. Asra: Matcha latte unless there’s a new radioactive-looking Frappuccino flavor and then he gets that. Muriel: Waiting outside in the car, asks Asra to get him a water. Asra comes back with a hot chocolate and a cake pop. Muriel grumbles but accepts them every time. Lucio: Salted Caramel Mocha extra whip extra sprinkles nonfat no foam soy upside down actually coconut milk instead and then he yells at you if you get it wrong. Portia: Pink Drink and all the baristas get excited when she walks in because they love her and she always tips.
The cast as Kanye songs Nadia: Power Lucio: No Church in the Wild Asra: Love Lockdown Julian: Heartless Portia: Paranoid Muriel: Coldest Winter
Which characters would be in the fire, water, earth, and air nations? Slightly different from what you asked, but: Asra - waterbender Nadia - airbender Julian & Portia - non-benders Muriel - Earthbender Lucio - Firebender
What kind of parents are the cast at their child’s soccer game? Nadia: standing on the sidelines in sunglasses and heels biting her thumbnail and watching every move on the field because she doesnt trust the ref Asra: cheers whenever anything happens, takes as many kids as can fit in the car out for ice cream but doesn’t check with the parents Julian: chats up the other parents relentlessly and isn’t watching when his kid gets hit in the face with the ball Portia: “cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon AW WHAT WAS THAT” Muriel: watching from the parking lot inside the car Lucio: yelling on the phone the whole time, spills all 24 oz of his salted caramel mocha on the bench and doesn’t do anything about it
Which Disney movie is the favorite of each of the cast? Nadia: Fantasia 2000 Asra: The Emperor’s New Groove Julian: Muppet Treasure Island Portia: Muppet Treasure Island Muriel: The Fox and the Hound Lucio: Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True
what kind of youtube channel would each character have (letsplay, cooking, craft, etc)? Asra: very unstructured mostly-cooking channel that also features videos of him just eating weird things, and videos of Faust existing and being cute Nadia: beauty guru with very polished high-end editing Julian: doesn’t know how to use youtube but Portia made an account for him and uploads her shaky/blurry phone videos of his jazz performances Portia: likes and comments on all of Nadia’s videos while occasionally posting cute cat vids Muriel: does not have an internet connection Lucio: extremely loud letsplayer, mostly FPS
What would the cast be as animal crossing villagers? Muriel: Cranky Bear Julian: Smug Eagle Portia: Uchi Cat Nadia: Snooty Ostrich Asra: Lazy Wolf Lucio: Jock Goat
What Fire Emblem Fates' classes would each character be? Asra - Diviner Nadia - Priestess Julian - Adventurer Portia - Maid Muriel - Wolfskin Lucio - Berserker
if the arcana cast were naruto characters, which ones would they be Portia: Naruto Muriel: Gaara Lucio: Orochimaru Julian: Itachi Asra: Kakashi Nadia: Fancy Shikamaru
If the characters of arcana watched rupaul's drag race who would be their faves? Nadia: bebe, raja, peppermint Asra: yara, aja, adore Julian: nina bo’nina, sasha, raven Portia: chichi, bob, ginger Lucio: willam, kimora, mimi imfurst Muriel: Latrice Royale
WHAT ARE THE CHARAS PREFERRED FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM? Nadia: Lavender Lemon Asra: Rainbow Sorbet Julian: Pistachio Portia: Cookie Dough Muriel: Rocky Road Lucio: Red Velvet
Please please arcana cast as mcr songs Lucio: It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish Julian: Thank You For The Venom Asra: Welcome To The Black Parade Muriel: House of Wolves Nadia: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison Portia: Give Em Hell Kid
What are the characters going to be for Halloween? Asra - glow-in-the-dark mermaid Nadia - [elegant ballgown interpretation of] a swan Julian - tortured vampire/werewolf hybrid Muriel - sheet ghost Portia - ninja turtle Lucio - slutty angel Faust - a very long hot dog
If you had to assign the characters from the Arcana to characters from Labyrinth who would they be? Nadia: Jareth Asra: Sara Julian: Sir Didymus Portia: Hoggle Muriel: Ludo Lucio: The Chilly Down birds
What's each character's favourite fruits? Nadia: Concord Grape Asra: Blue Raspberry Julian: Fig Portia: Banana Muriel: Lemon Lucio: Pomegranate
what's everyone's favorite season? Asra - spring Nadia - summer Julian - autumn Muriel - winter Portia - spring Lucio - summer
Who would the Arcana cast be in a cliche Noir Film? Nadia: boss with kinetic ball bearing desk ornament and brandy in the drawer Asra: first love turned old flame that you run into halfway around the world Julian: haggard scientist with an unbuttoned shirt scribbling on the walls Portia: wisecracking secretary who takes a bus a train and a ferry to work Muriel: ominous farmer that lets people use the phone after a car breaks down Lucio: raging starlet shattering a vase after being blacklisted by every studio
The Arcana cast as Michael Jackson songs? Nadia: Man in the Mirror Asra: You Are Not Alone Julian: Smooth Criminal Portia: Will You Be There Muriel: Ben Lucio: Bad
What would each character be in cats? This probably wasn’t supposed to be Cats the musical but if you think i’m gonna pass this up Nadia: None they’re all awful/ Munkustrap Asra: Mister Mistoffelees Julian: Macavity Portia: Jennyanydots Lucio: Rum Tum Tugger Muriel: Grizabella
what would their favorite emojis be? Asra: 🌚 Nadia: 🍷 Julian: 🎷 Portia: 👀 Muriel: 👁 Lucio: 💃💸😏👑
What panic at the disco songs describe each character best? Julian: Death of a Bachelor Asra: I Write Sins Not Tragedies Portia: She’s a Handsome Woman Nadia: Northern Downpour Lucio: Victorious Muriel: From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins
What stereotypes for a super cliché highschool do the characters fall into? Nadia: Valedictorian who has been doing independent study and hasn’t set foot in the building for the past two years Asra: Shows up late every class with loud ass Sunchips, does homework in glow in the dark gel pen Julian: Eats lunch with his teacher so they can keep talking about mitochondria Portia: Gets really hype about dances, always ends up fighting at dances Muriel: Puts away all the folding chairs that everyone left behind Lucio: Gets on the intercom to talk shit about the teacher who gave him a D+ on his plagiarized essay
What sports would the characters play? And would they be any good at those sports? Muriel: Any solitary sport. He likes track and shotput. Nadia: Swimming. She isn’t on a team, she just likes the water. Portia: Wrestling. She’s got a few championship belts. Julian: Grandma Devorak forced him to take One Sport in high school, and he chose long-distance running. Asra: Beach volleyball and snowboarding. He’s just there to have a good time. Lucio: Ice hockey, but he spends it mostly punching other players.
what dragons from books/movies/games match each character best, would you say? As for dragons, one of our writers plays Flight Rising obsessively so here’s every character as a Flight Rising breed. Asra: Fae Nadia: Imperial Lucio: Wildclaw Muriel: Guardian Julian: Skydancer Portia: Snapper
What is each character most likely to do with the mc when they're feeling 'unusually affectionate'? Nadia: feed them champagne grapes and engage them in conversation so she can watch them try to talk with their mouth full Asra: stare at them and stop acknowledging anyone or anything else Julian: preen and spoil them to the point of being a public embarrassment Portia: constant cuddly contact Muriel: follow them at a respectable distance Lucio: belt out an aria at the sight of them
What's everyone favorite manga if they read any in this world? Nadia: Rose of Versailles Asra: Yugioh Julian: Blackjack Portia: Ranma ½ Muriel: Hunter x Hunter Lucio: Berserk
how much does faust like all the characters? like, who does she like the most/least? does she like the main character at all? Faust adores the main character almost as much as she loves Asra. But if she had to choose from the rest: Most good smelling: Nadia Most fun to squeeze: Julian Most too big to eat: Muriel Most hard to hide from: Portia Most attackable: Lucio
what kind of drunk is everybody? Nadia: capable, professional drunk on the move. Never in the same room twice Asra: touchy-feely but won’t leave the couch, still somehow manages to catch on fire Julian: morphs into The Storyteller, everyone in earshot ends up caught in a dramatic reenactment of his life story waiting for him to take a breath but he never does Portia: makes 6 new friends in the bathroom line Muriel: moody, talks to no one, keeps taking everybody’s empty bottles out to the trash Lucio: the loudest, the drama, the legend, the first to dip out when the cops show up
Of the Characters: Who tells a dirty joke? Who doesn't understand it? Who is disgusted? Who laughs? Who hides a smile? Who gets annoyed? Lucio: tells a dirty joke Muriel: doesn’t understand it Julian: is disgusted Asra: laughs Portia: hides a smile Nadia: gets annoyed
What are the characters usual reactions when subbing their toes? Nadia: It Does Not Happen Asra: hops it off Julian: hissing, closes his eyes while he savors the pain Portia: (string of curses) “ok………. i’m fine” Muriel: doesn’t notice because his toes are too far away Lucio: shrieks, revenge kicks the wall, shrieks harder
what you think everyones deadly sin would be? the deadly cliches: Nadia - Pride Asra - Lust Julian - Wrath Portia - Envy Muriel - Sloth Lucio - Gluttony
On a scale of good to bad, who sings karaoke? Nadia has a silky voice with impeccable vibrato. But she only sings karaoke alone in the bath. Asra has an airy, intimate voice. He’s the worst at karaoke because he doesn’t even get up off the couch. Julian has very limited singing ability, but he will talk sing the whole way through if he has to. He’s great at duets, somehow. Portia has a throaty, powerful voice. She brings the house down with Heart and Bonnie Tyler ballads, even if she squeaks on the high notes. Muriel has a gravelly grumble that he is convinced is useless for singing and if you hand him the microphone he’ll drop it and go stand in the corner. Lucio has an overdone musical theater voice but he is tone deaf. He will shout out the high notes and power through the rest and if you try to skip his song there will be hell to pay
which social media platform which each character Prefer™ ? Asra - twitter (RTs a lot of memes and shitposts, posts incomprehensible dril-like tweets at 3am) Nadia - instagram (flawless makeup and aesthetic™) Julian - yahoo answers Portia - snapchat Muriel - what is social media Lucio - LinkedIn (you will NEVER stop getting email notifications from him)
what dnd classes would the cast be (like mage, assassin, cleric etc)? Nadia: Paladin Asra: Warlock Julian: Rogue Portia: Bard Muriel: Fighter Lucio: Barbarian
what would each characters spice girl name be Asra: Mystery Spice Nadia: Boss Spice Julian: Suffering Spice Portia: Sassy Spice Muriel: Surly Spice Lucio: Spicy Spice
how complicated is each character's personal hygiene routine? Nadia’s personal hygiene routine: an exact science and takes a practiced team of servants to execute. Julian’s personal hygiene routine: splashing his face 5-7 times and gargling with his famous mint vodka peroxide formula Asra’s personal hygiene routine: sticking his head underwater until he’s awake Portia’s personal hygiene routine: putting her hair in a bun and scrubbing herself with a cloth and bucket down by the frog pond Lucio’s personal hygiene routine: milk and caviar bath every 13 hours Muriel’s personal hygiene routine: standing in the pouring rain
What's everyone's favorite alcoholic drinks? Asra - St Germain, tequila, blue curaçao,  lime juice, hibiscus syrup (serve in a champagne flute or martini glass, garnished with a wildflower or tiny umbrella) Julian - whiskey, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, lemon juice (serve in a highball glass) Nadia - Chambord, white wine, seltzer (serve in a wine glass, chilled or on the rocks) Portia - beer & apple cider with a shot of rum (serve in a lowball glass) Muriel - Baileys, butterscotch schnapps, hot chocolate (serve warm, in your coziest mug) Lucio - Jägermeister & Goldschläger topped with overproof rum (serve as a flaming shot)
what would be each of the characters' favorite genre of music? Asra: Bossa Nova and EDM Nadia: Obscure Opera and Calming beach sounds Julian: 20 minute tracks of Quality Jazz Portia: Reggae and dad rock Muriel: New wave and white noise Lucio: Top 40 and Dark Funky Disco
who would the arcana characters be from mean girls?? Asra: the guy who asked what day it was Nadia: cady Julian: gretchen weiners Portia: janis Lucio: regina george Muriel: damian
Which Hogwarts house would each of the Main Cast belong in? Asra & Julian - Ravenclaw Nadia - Slytherin Portia & Muriel - Hufflepuff Lucio - Gryffindor
What would the characters modern!au job/career of choice be? Lucio owns and manages several nightclubs and has a trashy daytime talk show Asra does really low-budget magic shows at kids’ birthday parties by day, and DJs at one of Lucio’s clubs at night Nadia is the city mayor, an international chess champion, and concert pianist Portia works at Home Depot (used to be a waitress at Red Lobster but the tips were terrible), but she wants to be a zookeeper Julian is a doctor at an underfunded hospital with lots of drama Muriel lives off the grid in a broken-down van in the woods
Just due to mild curiosity what would be the casts favorite musicals? Asra - Legally Blonde: The Musical Nadia - Chicago Julian - Les Mis Muriel - Wicked Portia - Cats! Lucio - Phantom of the Opera / Kinky Boots (it’s a tie)
what cryptid is every character Asra = Chupacabra Julian = Mothman Nadia = Nessie Portia = Loveland Frog Muriel = Bigfoot Lucio = Jersey Devil
how would the game's characters celebrate the MC's birthday with them?? Asra would take them on a long journey without telling them where they were going (but would keep them entertained with riddles) to a scenic oasis, where he would pretend to drown so MC has to dive into the water and at the bottom is a magic flute that can summon a swarm of bees (their favorite!) Nadia would throw a tastefully brief festival in their honor. MC would be lavished with pampering (by professional pamperers) from dawn to dusk and when the clock struck midnight, they would be presented with seven bejeweled eagles (one for every day of the week) Julian would meet them for dinner in a shady tavern, bring them heaping plates of food and offer unsolicited advice for the coming year. About halfway through the meal he would have to scramble out the back door because law enforcement arrived on the scene but he’d put it an order in the kitchen to bring them something for dessert Lucio would declare the day a holiday and call it Day of the Beloved One of Lucio. They would have to sit uncomfortably still while a master artiste painted their portrait and a mile-long line of peasants laid gifts at their feet. Muriel doesn’t celebrate birthdays because time is a human construct Portia would throw a big loud party with a barbecue :D
Since it is soon, what would the characters do for Valentines day with us (the MC)? Nadia would take you on an elegant river cruise stocked with 130 varieties of tiny cake and a private crooner hired to serenade you but she would end up throwing them overboard for not hitting the high notes Asra would take you to the mall and splurge on all the stuff you both can’t afford but wait way too long to get lunch so you get into a fight and he proposes in the food court Julian would show up on the 15th after with all the candy he scored at 75% off, pretend it was on purpose that he got the day wrong, and wake you up at 3 am to come clean because the guilt was eating him alive Muriel would light some scented candles, cook up a sensual meal and throw a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace for you to enjoy alone while he escapes into the woods Portia would pack a picnic of chicken and tortilla chips, take you to the beach where you could splash around until the sun goes down and lull you to sleep on the sandy blanket with her acoustic guitar Lucio would have servants fill your room with floor to ceiling flowers while you sleep and wait impatiently for you to wake up like
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Would you roommate with any of the characters? it’s hard to decide, so here are some pros and cons Asra - pro: never home / con: leaves dishes in the sink for weeks Nadia - pro: your home will be spotless / con: it’s spotless because she orders you to clean it for her Julian - pro: medical professional / con: half of your apartment is now this
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rate the characters on how #extra they are Muriel: 4/10 Lucio: 13/10 Everyone else: 10/10
Which character could be best described as "tender"?? "Spicy"??? “tender”: Muriel “tender”/“Spicy”: Asra, Portia “Spicy”/”tender”: Julian, Nadia “Spicy”: Lucio
what the favorite Pokemon of all the characters were. Asra - Ekans, Delphox, Espeon Nadia - Noctowl, Gardevoir, Musharna Julian - Absol, Bisharp, Murkrow Portia - Chansey, Politoed, Hoothoot Muriel - Pangoro, Aggron, Wigglytuff Lucio - Houndoom, Pyroar, Skarmory
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sunflowerspectre · 3 years
Text
Hellfire and Ectoblasts
For @cleanlenins
Title: Hellfire and Ectoblasts Fandom: Danny Phantom x Lucifer Summary:  The devil works hard, but Vladimir Masters works harder. When Vladimir Master dabbles in dealing favors to others to get his way - much easier than constantly possessing everyone - Lucifer Morningstar has a few choice words for the business tycoon. Rating: T for cursing (multiple uses of the F word, mentions of drug abuse) Final Word Count: 5005 Ft. Uncle/Redeemed Vlad AU
Read on A03 Read on FF
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Los Angeles is new territory, despite all the places Vladimir Masters has traveled. He has drunk martinis in the sands of Bahamas, made deals in Cancun, and has a passport larger than most politicians. He has even traveled further into the Ghost Zone than most of the fully ghosts there.
Yet the city of angels has always eluded him, or rather he eluded it. It never quite appealed to him, with the oddities and gaudy casinos. It felt almost beneath him and it has, honestly,  never been on his priority list - at least, not until now.
Business is business and Vlad Masters will always go where business is; even if it is in a city like Los Angeles. Even if it is with an admittedly annoying sixteen year old teenager for a long extended amount of time.
Honestly, what was he thinking when he wanted Daniel as a son? He should have gone after Jasmine, he begrudges. At least she knew when to be quiet.
“Are we there yet?”
Vlad feels his eyebrow twitch, a vein throbbing in his neck. Daniel Fenton has the nerve to look at him with large innocent, doe eyes as if that is not the hundredth time he has asked that question in the past hour.
His somewhat nephew had jumped on the chance to go to LA with him; he would have been more suspicious of Daniel’s intention if not for the fact that the space shuttle endeavor will be within one quick bus ride from their hotel. As challenging, and even powerful, as Daniel can be - he is very much an open book that has been quite easy to read.
Danny opens his mouth, as if to ask that infuriating question again, but is stopped short by a small ecto blast. The ectoplasm effectively sticks against his mouth and despite the way he claws it, it refuses to budge. He settles for crossing his arms in a huff with a narrow glare. He idly considers it for a moment before a middle finger raises in contempt.
“Curse at me all you want, Daniel, but I refuse to listen to that infernal question the entire trip.”
Danny’s body language makes it clear that he is mocking him. Vlad waits until his fit is over before removing the ecto blast. Danny, huffing about being cut-off, leans back into the seat of the private jet. When he glances out the window, catching glimpses of clouds, he can not help but think wistfully how much better it would be to be flying Airline Danny. Jets, private or otherwise, are too confining now that he knows what it feels like to touch clouds.
He bets that the skies of Los Angeles is beautiful up close. He absently wonders if he gets far away enough to the nearby desert if he will be able to get a good view of the stars. The Orion constellation, not to mention a few planets like Venus and even Saturn, should be more visible here than it would be in Amity Park. He wonders if he flies high enough if he can get a good picture with a smartphone.
“Why are you going to LA anyway? Don’t you have enough money that you don’t need to be blowing it at casinos? Or is that the whole point?”
He barely even spares Vlad a glance through the corner of his eyes, arms crossed lazily against his chest as his cheek presses against the cool glass of the window. While being with Vlad is not the worst thing in the world - at least not anymore - he can not help but wish he would’ve been able to bring Sam and Tucker along. He imagines that they would be thrilled to go somewhere that’s not the Nasty Burger. At the very least, they would be better conversationalists.
Well, I guess it’s at least fun to mess with him, Danny thinks wistfully, a more devious smile on his face. If anything, it is a great way to pass the time. Messing with Vlad has always been a treasure, but now with little repercussions, at least nothing that compares to the way he used to threaten to kill his dad, it is like the entire world is his oyster.
“You can never have enough money, young badger.”
Danny coughs something into his elbow that sounds suspiciously like ‘ eat the rich’.  His eyes watch Vlad carefully with feign innocence, as if he never said anything at all. His elbow hides the large shit-eating grin threatening to break on his face.
Vlad makes a point to ignore the comment, continuing easily, “Since our - my -”
He struggles to find the right word, fumbling a bit with a strained look on his face. Mentions of the past have always been hard to bring up when he is, honestly, doing his best to move forward from it. He feels strained at the mere mention of how he behaved beforehand, somewhat even embarrassed by the things he tried to pull. He cannot be thankful enough that the Fentons, including even Daniel, have even given him this second chance. The young badger’s trust is not an easy thing to earn.
“ Your redemption arc,” Danny offers somewhat helpfully.
While not fond of the term, Vlad has to admit that he cannot think of a better phrase.
“-Yes.”  
He accepts the term Danny offers with clenched teeth, “-and as such, possession has become quite unfavorable . I have taken up doing business the old-fashioned way.”
Danny turns to face him. His innocently blinking eyes do not fool anyone with the gleam of mischief shining brightly in them.
“-Legal suits and proper paperwork?”
Vlad snaps at him suddenly, a vein throbbing in his forehead as he regrets taking off the ecto-gag.
“Oh will you - stop that?”
The outburst sends Danny reeling  into a laughing fit, clenching his sides tightly.
__________________________________
Danny’s smartass comments cost him; though, in his opinion, it was absolutely worth it. To his dismay, Vlad drags him along through the city of angels instead of leaving him at the hotel. He claimed he needed to meet a new potential business partner. He gave an entire speech of how it would be good for him to learn how the business world works, but Danny can only recall maybe the first few sentences of said speech. Vlad even went as far as stuffing Danny into the most uncomfortable expensive clothes that he could find. Honestly, couldn’t the man at least get comfy expensive clothes? Gucci makes sweat suits. He makes a mental note to send some links to Gucci sweat suits to Vlad later.
Comfy or not, he still would have preferred to have just headed straight to the space shuttle endeavor. At least then, he would be in ghost form most of the time anyway. It would have been a ten - maybe fifteen - minute flight himself from their hotel room; he even promised Vlad that he would stay invisible the whole time and not touch anything he was not supposed to. A promise that was hard to give since oh man did he want to touch the shuttle just to say he touched something that was in space. He even begged his uncle. Slipped in a few mentions of how his mom would be so happy if he was able to go and get pictures.
He almost got him too, but alas, his efforts were in vain. Instead, he is stuck in a limo. It is not a bad thing in and of itself, but even a luxurious car feels suffocating when you want to be somewhere else.
He eyes the protesters lining up on certain streets. Sam would have loved it here. He keeps track of all of the ‘trendy’ vegan cafes he spots along the way for future reference; he even spots a few goth-centric stores. He snaps a few pictures, sending them over their group chat. He follows them up with pictures of pictures of every BBQ stand he finds for Tucker’s sake.
Sam: Still with the ex-villain?
Danny snorts, scooting away from Vlad as much as he could before snapping a picture of his unsuspecting ex-arch nemesis. Vlad visibly sighs, the exhaustion showing on his face as he does not even bother to look at Danny anymore.
Tucker: Someone looks like he’s having a great time
Danny: He’s with me, of course he’s having a  great time. I’m a joy to be around. An absolute blast.
Tucker: Isn’t every party you’ve gone to nowadays a bit - dead?
Danny audibly groans at the bad attempt at puns, sending a quick message of how puns are his thing; it’s his whole shtick.  But like all group chats do, the conversation grows dead pretty fast.
He is already growing bored again after having sent all the memes he could find ( and how dare they not laugh react at them) . He settles for rolling the window up and down obsessively, occasionally even sticking his head through it. When that adrenaline rush is short-lived, he ends up leaning against the door while obnoxiously clicking the window button repeatedly until Vlad is forced to ask the limo driver to put on the child lock. He considers the idea of just phasing his head through the window, but as weird as LA is, he thinks even that would be a stretch.
He could just phase away entirely. After all, the limo is not ghost proof. Vlad even got rid of most of his more outrageous contraptions and traps so he knows that the seat will not suddenly grow restraints if he tries to get up from it. He wonders if the oddity shop that they passed is still open? He did promise everyone souvenirs and the weirder the better (as is the whole point with souvenirs).
But he also promised his mom that he would get along.
Besides, Vlad said he would pay for lunch when they are done and they passed the most delicious looking burger place.
After what feels like forever, watching all the places he wants to go but can’t right now like a sad puppy begging for the window to be let down, the limo finally pulls up in front of a nightclub. LUX. Danny raises a brow. He may not be the smartest out of his family, but dead languages are his specialty. He glances to Vlad, wondering if he should be more concerned about his pseudo-uncle doing business here. Any nightclub named after light that looks this shady can not be good.
He is also pretty sure that he just saw a drug deal around the corner and some of the people in line already look under the influence of something .
“Am I even allowed here,” Danny questions, pausing a moment to count on his fingers, as they exit the limo. “I’m only like - sixteen? I am a literal child. ”
Vlad continues walking as if he does not hear Danny’s voice grating on behind him. Somehow, the teenager has a voice that seems to stick out like a sore thumb against the boom of the music coming out from the club’s doors.
“You are not a child, Daniel,” Vlad finally acknowledges.
“Uh the law would disagree, sir,” Danny waves a finger after him, “I am a minor.”
The sun is already starting to set, which means the club is steadily filling up; a majority of people are still out in long lines outside of the club’s door. He glances at them briefly, if in a bit of curiosity at the club wear. He blushes wildly at some of the more out-there club wear and focuses quickly on the fact that Vlad is steadily getting ahead of him.
“We are not here for drinking, Daniel,” Vlad’s voice comes out a bit exasperated as he fixes his tie. He eyes the people in line with a bit of disdain, but otherwise ignores them.
Vlad continues on past the lines, not acknowledging the way that some of them call after him. He keeps his hands in his pockets as he gets closer to the crowd; Danny realizes that it likely has something to do with the high possibility of getting pick-pocketed. After all, Vlad does not exactly blend in, but neither does Danny in the suit that Vlad forced him in.
Danny is close in tow as they head straight for the bouncer at the door.
If Vlad was not so used to the way that Maddie could ( has and absolutely will) beat him, he would have been more surprised at the woman at the club’s door. The choice being a bit abnormal in the job. Her intimidating presence is enough to make most of the more pushy people at the front second-guess themselves. A few of the people who dare to test the boundary of the velvet rope quickly change their mind as she just glances at them. Danny’s first thought is how much Sam would like the bouncer. The entire leather outfit is just something that feels like she would like, compared with how tough the woman seems to be. If the woman didn’t scare him so much, he would have tried to take a picture.
His second thought, however, is how off she feels. The closer he gets to her, the more his core vibrates deeply in his chest. As if it is trying to transform and get him out of there, like an animal’s instincts to a predator. Run. RUN. RUN. He digs his heels into the ground and refuses to listen to his gut. He refuses to let his gut determine what he thinks about someone, or how he acts on them. He learned the hard way to control that impulse.
Besides, she does not seem that dangerous - he thinks? He glances to the knives strapped to her thigh and the mean look in her eyes. Mostly. But his ghost sense has never gone off. That means that possession is off the table - so is her being a ghost. But he has never felt his core vibrate this way, in such a paralyzing instinctual fear. The only thing that comes close is when he faced Pariah.
Danny is sure that Vlad notices it too, he is way too smart not to. Vlad’s expressionless face does not give a single thing away, staring straight on even as the woman looks him over closely, a sneer on her face. Something about the way she bares her teeth feels more like a threat, as if she is prepared to rip your throat out herself at any given moment. The worst part is that it feels like that is something she is very much capable of doing. She gets startlingly close to Vlad’s face, sniffing him. He refuses to flinch and let this woman know how much she intimidates him.
He seems to pass whatever test she was giving him. Finally she just snorts, taking the card that he offers her. Danny only catches a glimpse of the red and  gold lining against black with some sort of name written on it. He barely sees the flash of some sort of horned symbol on the edge. Just who is Vlad doing business with anyway?
Whatever the card is, it works. She backs off, crossing her arms against her chest as she moves out of the way of the door to let them through. The glare she gives some of the people at the front of the line scares them out of even thinking about shoving their way in through the open door.
Danny sticks close to Vlad’s side this time, feeling the urge to get as far away as he can from the woman. He is not sure if she will stop him. He would love to get out of this situation with Vlad, but he would hate that it meant staying anywhere near the woman. The wild beating of his core is getting worse and it feels like he can’t breath.
He is unsure if he can handle being around her much longer with his core acting up like this. He feels like he is this close to a heart attack.
“You smell weird, but whatever. He’s inside.”
He smells weird, Danny wonders how she can smell anything especially when all he can smell is all the people around them not wearing deodorant. He tries his best to brush it off as some sort of intimidating tactic. But when Danny passes by the woman, she leans forward, visibly sniffing him as well.
“Sorry it’s my - uh - aftershave,” Danny’s panicked lie confuses even him as he just waves at the woman as he enters the club, finally taking a deep breath in as the door shuts behind him.
Still thoroughly weirded out by whatever that was, something that does not improve when he’s suddenly surrounded by drunks and loud blaring music, he sticks abnormally close to Vlad. The people surrounding them are too drunk to notice when he phases through the elbows that are just too close to him or the shoulders that almost bump into him. Vlad looks back at him briefly, a ghost of a smile on his face, before he turns attention to the crowd.
“Whatcha looking for? The bar? Drugs? A confessional?” Danny asks as they finally reach a section that gives them some elbow room. He brushes off imaginary dirt, and not so imaginary something , off of his shoulders.
“My business partner,” Vlad answers curtly, eyes still scanning the crowd. He knows what he’s looking for, despite not having met the man before.
When Lucifer Morningstar reached out to him, insisting that they meet in person to discuss business, Vlad almost brushed him off. However, a combination of the man’s obsession with the devil and the fact that Lucifer Morningstar’s very identity doesn’t go back any further than a few years intrigued him. How does a man who legally has only been around for a few years get so ahead in the business world? More importantly, who is he really?
“What does he look like, maybe I can help.” Danny offers, looking over the crowd as if he would suddenly be able to who they are looking for.
“It is our first business meeting, I’m afraid, but if he looks anything like his photos, you can’t miss him.”
That gets Danny’s attention. He swerves suddenly on Vlad, jutting his hands out to form a T, his fingers press against his palm, “Whoa, time out! You brought me to a business meeting with someone you never met before? How do you even know the guy’s like, I don’t know, a ghost hunter?”
“You're a paranoid teenager, young badger.” Vlad’s voice is dry with a lack of amusement, “I’ll have you know that I reach all my partners quite well. Lucifer Morningstar is nothing more than a lunatic, however he is quite popular with our mutual partners.”
“ Lucifer,” Danny harshly whispers, his voice only half-way kidding, “Don’t tell me you actually made a deal with the devil?”
Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise him if Vlad did - if such a thing is really possible - but it would put a strain on their now alliance. Vlad’s about to retort, likely something along the lines of you’re being ridiculous Daniel, but he gets cut off prematurely by another voice.
“Well not yet, but let’s see if that changes today, shall we?”
A particularly British voice gets their attention as a man in a well fitted suit, looking vastly more comfortable in it than Danny is, struts their way. Despite looking like every other business man he’s seen, the man doesn’t feel like the usual stuffy suit type. He feels dangerously charismatic, with an easy smile on his face and a magnetic pull that makes it difficult to turn their attention away from him. He has a few beautiful women, and at least one man, at his side. He whispers something that Danny wishes he didn’t hear, to each of them before they regretfully leave his side.
“You must be Vladimir Masters.” The tone of voice is not a compliment, coming off more mocking, “Look at you, a bit older than I expected, but ultimately age is never an issue. Provided you’re at least an adult.”
The sultry look that the apparent Lucifer Morningstar has as he looks Vlad up and down appreciatively reminds Danny too much of how Vlad used to look at his mom. He starts to feel sick to his stomach, gagging exaggeratingly in the background as he tries his best to ignore the way his core has returned to vibrating, thumping hard against his chest.
Whatever the woman at the door was, Lucifer Morningstar must be at least the same thing - or something close to it - to make his core react the same way. He should be more concerned over it, but he glances toward Vlad. He looks stony as ever, the only sign of discomfort being a vein beginning to throb on his neck. Ah, so he does notice.  
He doesn’t seem surprised either.  Danny wonders if this is some sort of test again, to see what he will do and how he will react. Especially in front of an unknown factor. Shit. Danny curses when he realizes that’s why Vlad brought him along in the first place and then curses again - more directed at Vlad himself this time - for Vlad being as cryptic and vague as Clockwork.
 I just wanted to see the endeavor, Danny bemoans as the man ushers Vlad (and by extension, Danny) to a clear booth. Taking Vlad’s lead, Danny acts more confident this time around, trying his best to act like every inch of his being isn’t screaming to run.
“Drinks,” Lucifer offers, seeming comfortable in the booth with his arms stretched out wide against the edge of the seat across from Danny and Vlad. While Vlad accepts the offer, ordering a simple old fashion, Danny speaks up with a cheeky grin.
“I’ll have a coke on the rocks,” Danny orders, showing a lot of teeth in his grin as he gives finger guns, of all things. After a pause, he adds on, “Not shaken nor stirred, please.”
Vlad’s exasperated sigh is barely audible as he breathes out through his nose. At the very least, he should be glad that Danny is acting normal - as awkward and tiring as normal is.
“I must admit Mr. Morningstar, I was a bit surprised to receive your invitation,” Vlad speaks easily. He politely sips at his drink, but otherwise leaves it untouched, more focused on the conversation. He tries to not let his eye twitch when he hears Danny suck up his coke through a straw.
Lucifer looks at Danny in amusement, seemingly unoffended by the teenager’s manners (a small blessing). Unlike Vlad, Lucifer doesn’t shy away from his own drink, downing it easily. He orders a few more at one of the ladies passing by, followed by flirtatious compliments that make her giggle and once again, makes Danny wish that he couldn’t hear what was being said.
“Well how could I not invite a man such as yourself, Vladimir,” Lucifer’s voice is exaggerated, almost strained, “Or is it Vlad? Vladdy?”
Vlad does twitch at that and Lucifer grins, “Vladdy it is. Better than douchebag, I suppose.”
Danny snorts at the sudden word, laughing hard enough that he barely stops the coke from pouring out of his nose. He takes in a deep breath, wiping at his face with a cocktail napkin as his nose burns from the soda.
“I prefer to use the term fruit loop,” Danny speaks up helpfully.
Lucifer seems delighted at this information, his eyes lighting up in glee as Vlad visibly sinks into the seat.
“ Fruit loop,” Lucifer repeats gleefully, “Lacks a bit in curse words for my liking but fruit loop it is!”
“You can always say fucking fruit loop,” Danny offers as if he is still being helpful, the grin on his face more genuine, “Or fruit by the fucking loop?”
Lucifer’s laugh is infectious, his eyes gleaming as Danny joins him in laughter at Vlad’s expense. For a moment, the two continue back and forth before Vlad is forced to intervene; the vein is his neck is more noticeably throbbing at this point.
“Mr. Morningstar,” Vlad cuts in, his voice stern, “What exactly was the point of the invitation, if I may? I hope it wasn’t to just call me outrageous names.”
Lucifer nonchalantly waves off Vlad’s growing ire, “Oh no, I invited you over for much more than just that. Favors, you will find, are my  specialty. One could say it’s my whole business. I grant favors and I do not take kindly to others who sneak up on my business and steal it away.”
There’s a flash of something in Lucifer’s eyes. Something dangerous. As brief as it is, it’s enough to make Danny’s core hum against his chest, his hand grips his knee tightly. His eyes flicker to Vlad and as much as the older man is trying to hide it, Danny can tell that he’s just as suddenly bothered by whatever that was.
“It’s the point of the matter, you know,” Lucifer continues, “Steal my business, shame on me, steal my shtick, shame on you.”
He downs another glass and grabs something off a platter as someone passes by. It looks suspiciously like a joint. He lights it up without a second thought; Danny tries his best to act like he doesn’t know what it is as Vlad eyes him through the corner of his eyes.
“Word is that you, Vladimir Masters, have been sneaking around granting favors to a chosen few. I don’t know how you grant said favors, I don’t particularly care. But I do wish you would stop.”
The dangerous aura that’s thick in the air is heavy, but the realization that Vlad has still been up to shady business is heavier. Danny slumps into the seat, leaning forward with a heavy sigh.
“So you have been up to shady shit,” Danny mumbles under his breath as he absently stirs the straw in what has to be his third glass of coke.
“If you don’t stop,” Lucifer continues, “I’m afraid I’ll have to make you stop. If Mazikeen does not get to you first.”
He gestures his thumb toward the woman that was outside the door; she hovers nearby as if she knows exactly what they’re talking about. The grin on her face is malicious, bordering on feral as she twirls a knife across her knuckles without breaking eye contact. That woman is intimidating, Danny swallows thickly, but grins wildly at Lucifer.
“Oh he’ll stop,” Danny reassures the man before Vlad can even get a word in. There’s an edge to his words; a very clear message underlying his words. “Otherwise I’ll make him stop myself.”
A flash of ectoplasmic green swirls across his eyes. Vlad, not quite intimidated by a sixteen year old still going through puberty, simply mumbles under his breath, oh stop with the ‘scary’ eyes, Daniel, honestly. Lucifer catches the moment, eying them both with interest as he relaxes into the chair. He makes a motion with his hand and suddenly the woman - Mazikeen - isn’t there anymore; Danny isn’t sure where she went, if he should be worried about it, or if it was a sign of good faith.
“ You are a very interesting child,” Lucifer says, “At first I thought you two may have been one of mine, but that’s not really the case is it?”
Danny isn’t sure what one of mine really means; he doesn’t really want to know either. The way Lucifer says it feels off, as if he’s not concerned by it or that they would have been in worse trouble if they had in fact been one of his (whatever that means). Vlad recovers fast, eying Lucifer with narrowed eyes.
“Just what is it that you’re inferring, Mr. Morningstar?”
“Why, that you’re not human, of course!”
He says it as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, a large grin stretched on his face as he finishes off the suspicious joint, making a point to blow the smoke away from them. It may have been a trick of the light, or even just a magic trick, but Danny swears that the smoke formed some sort of devilish face. Complete with the horns and all.
Danny’s grin falters as he watches Lucifer closely.
F-uck-ing typical. At this rate, he will never get to see the endeavor or any other of California’s space museums. Why can’t he have just one normal road trip for once? No circus ringleader, no reality altering devices, no ghosts, and no ghost hunters. He just wants to get a selfie with a space shuttle, order as much hotel food as he can off of Vlad’s card, and then crash. Maybe even go to the Griffith Observatory. Fly to the Hollywood sign. Sneak into a Disney park and take a selfie on top of Cinderella’s castle. Just a normal trip (with a few added advantages to being a half-ghost boy). Now, he has to instead worry about some devil-obsessed (but definitely weird and maybe not human at all) club owner finding out his secret.
This is exactly what Danny told Vlad; meeting someone you don’t know is just a risk. At the very least, Lucifer doesn’t look like a ghost hunter. He definitely doesn’t fit the M.O. of a Guys In White agent. There could be other agencies out there though, other people who want to hunt them down. Who knows, maybe whatever this guy really is likes to eat ghosts or hunt them for sport. This is exactly what he was concerned about. Now, his secret, and Vlad’s secret too he supposes, could be blown all because Vlad had to go make a shady business deal.
Danny turns to Vlad, not even bothering to whisper as his voice cuts through the loud music.
“I told you so.”
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