#it only counts if they actually GO to the ds for love and stay there so reylo and bastila x revan don't count

[viridiave]

A little love post to HORROR JRPGs

Content Warning:

So I'm gonna be talking a lot about some pre-Undertale era RPG Maker Horror games, and this post is gonna contain both spoilers and the discussion of the following:

Blood and Gore

Psychological horror

Child abuse

Sexual assault

Suicide

Violence

Fictional minors being put into very messed up situations, because that's just the kinds of games these are

Other upsetting themes

Hetalia (because I can imagine that all of us have very complex feelings about this fucking franchise. It existing feels like it needs a warning)

This post is a nostalgia trip and exists purely because uh. I have literally no one else to talk to about these games, and please just click away if any of the above makes you uncomfortable in any way. Some of this stuff can't exactly be handwaved as just being products of their time.

I'll draw smthn real quick later just to make up for it I promise

I'm like days late to Halloween but I just wanted to write this after getting a bout of nostalgia lmao

I absolutely fucking love Horror JRPGs - the freeware ones, even though I haven't touched one in a LONG time. I'm talking about the pre-Undertale era freeware games by the way, and in the first place I don't think I can consider Undertale a horror game but that's a topic for another day. OneShot also doesn't count aksjak OneShot gives me existential dread and a nonzero amount of guilt sure, but never terror

But let's dial that back a bit.

To begin with. 'Vir, you're a fucking coward, you run upstairs when you see that someone on TV has a gun. You can't stand watching horror movies. How the FUCK did this happen'

Weirdly, you can thank Hetalia for that. Specifically, the freeware Hetalia fangames that used to circulate on DeviantArt - that shit led me down this rabbit hole. And I guess it made sense, most Hetalia fangames are a coin toss between a horror game and a fantasy JRPG with countries getting isekai'd. I also played the fuck out of those.

For a bit of background, I love video games, but neither me nor my family ever really had that much spending power to buy game consoles, so my selection was pretty limited. Before I turned 18, I remember that we owned a GameBoy, a GameBoy Advance, a PSP, and one of those Fun-Sized Nintendo consoles with built-in games. We never bought cartridges either. I got my first DS from my dad on my birthday when I turned 18, and that's all the consoles that my family has ever owned. Still kinda jealous of my friends who have Switches, but eh - one day.

I just played a lot of Harvest Moon growing up, that's been my object of interest in my elementary days. The most of a horror game that I've been exposed to was watching my friends play Five Nights At Freddy's back in 5th grade.

Then high school happened, and I got new friends and shit - and was introduced to both more conventional horror games and Hetalia. Which is. A really weird combination when I think about it now, but everyone who was alive and kicking around in the early 2010's would know what HetaOni is, and you can see how that slope led to me playing freeware horror games. I'll always be grateful to these games, seeing as I never had easy access to mainstream experiences growing up.

I think I played HetaOni exactly once, on my first laptop. I played most Hetalia fangames exactly once, but they all just stayed on my old hard drive. None of them really had anything interesting going on gameplay-wise, I mean it's RPGMaker and these were people who just really wanted to make Hetalia fangames, but I remember some of them just sticking with me. I'd play them while I was away on trips to my grandmother's house, then watch let's plays on YouTube when I wasn't otherwise occupied with schoolwork. Really when I say Let's Plays I only mean KyoKoon64's - and that's how I was actually introduced to horror JRPGs.

CLOÉ'S REQUIEM

There's been a couple of times where they played some of the more recognizable horror JRPGs on their channel, but the first one I REALLY saw a playthrough on was one called Cloé's Requiem. I don't know what exactly it was about this specific game that stuck with me, and at the time I didn't know that this had like. More warnings than you would usually find on a horror JRPG. Calling it now, please look up said warnings before you try ANYTHING with this game - I can't promise quality and nuance, but I can promise great moments. Those moments stuck with me to this day, SOMEHOW, even after encountering games with better story and gameplay experiences… it's about a cursed 12 year-old boy trying to free a cursed 13 year-old girl, never getting a shot at the normal life he wanted and playing the violin because he can't do much else.

I think this game changed my life. Not in like, any grand manner mind you - but I feel like it's the game that best represented this time of my life as a weird high school outsider who obsesses over games that nobody's ever heard about. I was introduced to a lot of things through this game, it's just this whole volley of firsts that I wouldn't trade for anything else. Baby's first horror game, first jumpscare I ever consented to, first taste of games containing disturbing themes of sexual assault and gore, first trips to Pixiv and NicoNicoDouga - just all the fucking firsts. I wouldn't call it a great game, but it IS important to me.

When I think about it now, it's a game about curses. Michel D'Alembert is a talented violinist at 12, and his alcoholic father milks the shit out of this talent because they're not exactly what you would call well-off. His twin brother Pierre is a pianist, is nowhere near as talented as his brother, and hides his misery over this situation under a big-little brother façade. Cloé Ardennes is a pianist too, she's wealthy, talented, and still plays with her stuffed animals. She is cursed with an insane father who rapes her, and a mother who hates her. Charlotte is a young maid with nothing and tries her best, only to be killed because she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Unsurprisingly things fall apart for everybody very quickly.

Pierre's frustrations with his spoiled, lazy brother boiled over, and he curses Michel out in a heated moment. This drives Michel to murder their Charlotte by accident, and she becomes his curse - he runs out of the house, kills cats, and finds himself in the dilapidated mansion that Cloé inhabits. Cloé by this point is already dead, and so is her dad, her parents, and the maids. Cloé's father may be her curse but she is the curse of this mansion, and it transforms into something hostile until Michel comes along and saves her from the shadow of her father. Michel plays her a requiem, and resolves to go home to confront his crimes - and back to Pierre, who regrets everything he's done. Watching the sun rise with a disappearing Cloé in the True Ending will likely be the last peaceful moment he will ever have in his life.

That's like. Not everything that happens in this game, but this post is already so goddamn long and I still have a lot of other stuff I want to talk about. But the gist of it to me nowadays is that these children are cursed with loveless lives and the whims of the adults that have power over them. In the end, their lives are all ruined. Cloé and Charlotte are dead, and we have no idea what becomes of Michel and Pierre when word gets out that Michel killed a maid and assaulted several others in the house in a fit of emotional instability. In every other ending, Michel is killed and Cloé remains an evil spirit, so really this is the best that anyone ever gets out of this experience.

I remember watching a playthrough of Con Amore on YouTube, but I understood none of it because it was in Japanese, and the game itself was untranslated at the time. It follows the cats Noir and Blanc and basically serves as an addendum to the base game - honestly it made me feel sorry for Charlotte, who was nowhere near as psychotic as Michel thought she was. There's also light novels, but international shipping is expensive and I don't know Japanese so. I'll just never figure out what happens to everyone after the game ends I guess

One of these days, I'll buy the remake on Steam - which exists, and I can't say I recommend it if everything I just listed bothers you in any way. But I can't shake the attachment I feel towards this game no matter how many years it's been, nor how uncomfortable its themes are, so you know - maybe one day. I'll go back to it.

IB

So - following that, I got pretty curious about the other games in this genre of freeware horror. Ib is the one that everyone knows the best, both Markiplier and Pewdiepie played it so you KNOW it gets press, but even in Japan this game was a hell of a hit. To me, it's a simple game that I can finish in an hour, but man what an hour it can be.

If you were to play this game right now after seeing how much press it gets (which I think you should, it's on the Switch now! Go get it!), you MIGHT be a little disappointed. It's nowhere near as gory or disturbing as Cloe's Requiem for one and you know - a bunch of blood and guts and ghosts on the walls does not a good horror game make, but make your choices accordingly. Nah - instead this game's staying power lies in its atmosphere. Like how many games can you say take place inside of an art gallery where most of the pieces try to fucking murder you? I mean there's probably a lot, but something about Ib's almost ambient sense of dread and exploration just kind of sticks in people's brains. Everything's a little scarier when the shapes are so close to being discernable but aren't, and I guess that's the appeal and horror behind Guertena's gallery.

Ib herself is a mute protagonist, pretty typical, but she's also NINE, and the game will let you know that no matter how unfazed she gets or how precocious she can be, she is a child all the same - and children break very easily. I personally love how the game barely has to say anything about how shaken she actually is about her situation, because it will show you how - she has nightmares that you can't escape, she sees herself getting hanged, Garry will need to shake her out of her shock when she sees a picture of her parents in the gallery that should not exist. She loses all of her will to live when she loses Garry to insanity. And speaking of Garry…

There's one standout room in this game and it's the Doll Room. 10/10 would NOT recommend it to anyone who suffers from anxiety because WOW I did not think the RPG Maker 2000 engine could ever have been capable of that. Nobody blames Garry if this room fucks him up. I mean come on the dude has to literally rip open the stomachs of dolls to find a paint ball. Those sound effects make it sound like the dolls are made of skin and flesh and all the while the giant fucking doll is creeping out of the goddamn painting while some of the most anxiety-inducing background noise is playing -

Yeah no I don't know why I ever said you'd be disappointed by this game. Or maybe you still would, this is a low-res game made in 2012. But my god does it TRY to scare you in the best ways it can.

One of the best moments in this game I think is the one where Mary and Ib are alone together, and the conversation gets increasingly unhinged with Mary asking Ib questions non-stop with no background noise other than their steps. At this point, they're separated from Garry, and they're trying to find a way back to each other. Garry meanwhile is slowly piecing together the truth about Mary and how dangerous it is for Ib to remain alone with her, all the while still trying to figure out how to get back to both of them.

The section after that is in the Sketchbook which honestly? The vibes of this place are impeccable. Somehow it's fitting that one of the tensest areas in a game about a fine arts gallery is the place made entirely out of childlike scribbles.

Overall, I'd say the experience is well worth an hour or two - I'd recommend it happily over Cloé's Requiem, if only so you can have a taste of what Horror JRPGs were like before Omori came along. Yes I know that Omori isn't Japanese but it's very much in the same vein as these games.

OTHER GAMES

Those were the safe two that planted my feet firmly into the Horror JRPG fandom, but there's a lot of other titles out there, so let's go - lightning round!

Ao Oni is the ubiquitous one, like chances are you've at least HEARD of it in passing at some point in your life. Like this shit made it to the big screen in Japan, that's how much of a deal it was. I've never played the original myself, but it's partly because its formula of stuck in a mansion with a horror that chases you around is present in pretty much every Horror JRPG after its release in 2007. If you want some classic fun with the big blue demon though then you can't go wrong with the freeware version.

Mad Father and The Witch's House are part of what I like to call the Big 3 of JRPGs starring preteen girls experiencing the Horrors™, mostly because back in the mid-2010's I couldn't go three posts without seeing them all together. Mad Father is the only other one of said Big 3 that I've touched, because I was too coward to touch The Witch's House and Ellen's whole deal remains a mystery to me to this day. I think Mad Father got a remake a couple of years ago, so you can check that out if you want, but keep in mind that these two games in particular might not stoke the same kind of magical staying power that Ib somehow retained years after its release, and I know those two rely on jumpscares a lot more than Ib does.

I'll eat my fedora right here by the way, because one of my cardinal sins of being a Horror JRPG fan is that I've never played Yume Nikki. As far as these freeware games go, this is probably one of the more avant-garde ones - it's artsy, atmospheric, and a game best experienced by getting lost in the strange environments it provides. Out of every game on this post, this is the one I'd describe as the most Earthbound-esque, with its horror lying mostly in the surrealist ambience of just… wandering around in Madotsuki's mind. The end is just as quiet as the beginning, but is no less chilling to watch happen. Then you fuck around a little bit on Youtube and you find out what's actually going on, and uh - yeah that checks out, cosmic horror sounds par for the course at this point.

Yume Nikki and OFF are two of the games I think of when I hear about Horror JRPGs being talked about alongside Undertale - and nope, I haven't played OFF either. That's my other Horror JRPG sin. I was a picky teenager, but I've grown now and wow I need to find a time to play these games in peace. OFF actually isn't even Japanese, it was developed by Mortis Ghost and released in French back in 2008, making both pretty old and already pretty weird in the library. The reason I bring up OFF is because it's one of the older examples I know of that also incorporate Earthbound's precision 4th-wall breaks, and that it's a game about judgment and interrogates the player (more you than the Batter you play as, serving more as a vehicle that the game uses to ask questions through) about the choices they make in the game. OneShot is probably the one game in this genre of indie RPG that I know so far that employs this metaphysical idea of the player existing in the game in any kind of charitable fashion (aside from again, Earthbound and to some extent Mother 3), so between it, OFF, and Undertale they're what I'd refer to as the Interface Screw-RPG Trio.

Some other titles that I like are between the same devs, even some that I haven't really played to completion. Cloé's Requiem for example was made by Buriki Clock, and they've made other titles like Fantasy Maiden's Off Hideout and Trauma Traum - the latter I can't play because it doesn't have an English translation rip. Miwashiba is another dev which I think people who have a taste for light lolita goth-pastel colors would like, because my god the character designs in both Alice Mare and LiEat are peak. Don't even get me started on the fashion of 1BitHeart because everything in that game has such an impeccable aesthetic. I think I saw something at one point about 1BitHeart that like. Might count as a shared joke between Xenoblade fans, but I'd be hard-pressed to give context because again… packed schedule, who dis?

Just to talk about Alice Mare a little more, I've actually played this one - it sports a heavily storybook-inspired cast with some unique tastes on the tales. Most of my actual experiences with Alice Mare were from the English Light Novel, which I do still have! I really recommend it to people who have a couple of hours to spare on some light, relatively bloodless horror. Most of these games have Light Novels, come to think of it - hell Ib even has whole audio dramas, one of which was fanmade in English, and from what I remember of it the voice acting for Mary was PEAK.

One last dev I want to talk about is Segawa. I've saved them for last because their brand of horror is reserved mainly for one game, but their other games Farethere City and Tower of Hanoi are no slouches either. I don't know much about Tower of Hanoi (or if it even has an English translation right now), but Farethere City is a pretty cute experience as far as pseudo-horror games go from what I've heard, which is probably good for us because their other standout game is anything but cute.

END ROLL

Ah, End Roll. The last of the Horror JRPGs I've played before school kicked me even harder in the shins and I had barely any time for it. Out of all the games I mentioned on this list, this is the one with the most staying power in my brain - and also the one that influenced me the most.

So, I don't talk a lot about my original works. Nobody asks, so I don't overshare. But some of the prevalent overarching themes of my personal mythos are those of guilt, self-love, and the burdens of love. All of these themes were lifted directly from End Roll - which is to say, End Roll actually only deals in guilt, my brain just ran buckwild with trying to wrap itself around the logistics behind InfoRuss. One of my main protagonists, Rosso, is a dead-ringer expy of Russell - the same goes for Blanco with the Informant. One of the only ways I can describe Rosso and Blanco's relationship is 'selfcest as a metaphor for the painful coexistence of self-love and self-loathing', and how this relationship reached this point was largely thanks to the Informant and his role in Russell's dream.

I don't really know why I've come to associate the idea of self-love with guilt, because that's like. Not what the game is trying to do. The game's express purpose is to tell you the story of a boy who comes to love his victims and self-destructs under the crushing guilt that he carries from killing them. By some weird hand, I've fixated on the Informant and his determination in seeing that mission of the game through - AND his secret boss fight. Actually, I should. Go ahead and describe the build-up to his secret boss fight

You can only access it if you've purchased the optional villa, and if I recall correctly you can only fight him on the last day of the dream. The locked shed next to the villa is revealed to be a library of some kind called the Graveyard of Books and like - sure enough, there's books of every kind just torn apart and scattered about everywhere. The reason for all of this is because of the Informant's jealousy. He is created specifically so he can provide Russell with the necessary information to complete the Happy Dream Experiment, and in this regard he thinks Russell doesn't need anyone other source of information than him. So he does away with the useless other books, except for the strategy guides because that's the only kind of book Russell likes - and thus, the only kind of book that the Informant likes. Notes are scattered in the hallway leading up into his boss room, with the last one sticking out in my mind to this day:

'He thinks he's the most important thing to you.'

Which. I don't know why that line is so important to me. Whether it be because it awakened something weird in me, or because I myself was dealing with my self-loathing in a VERY complicated manner at the time, that line has gone on to dictate the way that I write about my characters even to this day.

It's such a visceral depiction of self-inflicted brutality. Russell Seager is a 14 year-old serial killer who grew up loveless and abused, and has no shortage of things that make every waking moment of his life fucked up. He killed people - some who just happened to be wherever he was at the time, some willingly by his hand - could not feel guilt about any of it, and when he lost Yumi to his drunken father while his nymphomaniac mother watched he snapped and killed both his tormentors. He then turned himself in to the police, a teen on death row. Happy Dream is him discovering guilt through dream versions of the people he killed. Happy Dream is what allows him to manifest the newfound emotions he felt through interacting with the kinds of people that his victims COULD have been. The world he creates morphs into the self-inflicted hell that is his guilt.

Russell has no happy ending, his guilt won't allow him that. Everything around him becomes a reminder of the lives he's destroyed, and how much of a living hell his own life was. Through feeling happiness and love from these fabricated visages of the people he killed, he learned guilt. It's such a weird exercise in sympathy, knowing that you're playing as this remorseless kid going through rehabilitation through extreme means. It either doesn't work, and he's deemed a failure - or it does, and he commits suicide either by confessing his crimes to one of his victims and stabbing himself to death with a syringe, or he stays in the deteriorating dream, never to wake up again.

At some point it honestly just turns into misery porn, if you look at it from a certain angle - this game is set on having Russell die no matter what. I couldn't tell you what EXACTLY it is about this experience was so impactful that it would go on to influence the way I want to spend my life - that is, I want to make games exploring these kinds of themes. Guilt. Sins. If loveless lives can be redeemed and made better. By the time the last day in the game rolls around, it's just a matter of giving Russell closure over his miserable life and choosing for him what his last freedom is going to be.

I think one of the reasons I like thinking about the Informant with regards to Russell is the scene that happens if you choose to go through with the first True Ending. Russell never really much liked the Informant, and the feeling is mutual. Russell is cold to him, and the Informant takes every opportunity he can to rub all of Russell's sins in his face - and that's his job, he represents the fundamental, uncomfortable truths of Happy Dream. If Russell chooses not to leave the dream, he is resigned to its destruction and waits for the inevitable along with the other denizens of Nameless Town. But if Russell chooses to get out of the dream, the Informant returns to Russell in tears, happy that he can finally be back to being a part of him - to this game, it's the ultimate acceptance. Russell then goes on to confess his crimes and the reality of the dream to one of the citizens, and he wakes up when they kill him in tearful retribution by his request.

He grabs the syringe next to his bed, and stabs himself to death, unable to handle the guilt. That's how the game always ends for me. The Informant succeeded, Happy Dream succeeded - and Russell chose to die as person who could finally feel remorse.

It's a regretful story with themes that really shouldn't be replicated in any fashion in real life, but somehow I found it fascinating in the way it explores the facets of the self. It makes me want to ask more questions and explore that angle of self-reflection to the furthest extremes that I can conceivably reach, and I guess that's one of the many reasons why I respect it so much.

SO… WHAT NOW.

Nah, that's kind of it. Like, OF COURSE this isn't all I have to say about the games that I mentioned, but wow this post is so long and I was just pining for the days of a couple of years ago. These games were present for the most transformative years of my life, and uh - whether or not that was actually a good thing remains to be seen, but I'll always be grateful for their presence in the void that I call my gaming experiences.

Horror JRPGs will always have a special place in my heart for how they tell their stories. Nowadays, I've developed more of a taste for fantastical RPGs that prefer to hide their horror in the margins of the narrative, fridging the terror for when the player wants to step back a bit and think about the implications of certain events in the greater world. Undertale, OneShot, and the Octopath Traveler games all tick that box for me - and all of those games are ones I hold dear. Like I'll probably ramble about OneShot some other day, because that's the other game that really changed my life in a way I felt like I can never come back from - but there's just a lot of special things to be said about these neat little self-contained, 6-hour freeware games. For now I'll close this long-ass post out. Happy late Halloween I guess - the M&Ms in our fridge have never tasted better.

#rpg maker horror #rpg maker #horror rpg #ib rpg #cloe's requiem #end roll rpg #ao oni #mad father #the witch's house #OFF rpg #yume nikki #alice mare #farethere city #cw horror #seriously please read the content warnings

[borathae]

Omfg 😏🥵🥺 Sibi, wtf, I am not okay after reading that 🥴 I don’t know who I want to be more OC?! Or Yoongi?! Like man, my bisexual ass (literally) is like 😰 Also, I have a seggs ed question, but I don’t know if it’s even appropriate to ask. I am like a full on virgin, but I wanted to know if there is anything majorly different about preparing to have seggs with someone who has a penis vs a vulva? If inappropriate just chuck this out hahahha 💜

I'm so happy you liked it love!! Honestly this scene haunts my mind gnfgnf, just Yoongi gripping that pillow 🥵🥵

Also I wouldn't say that there is a major difference between getting ready for sexual intercourse with a dick or a vagina?

I would actually rather think about what exactly you want to do with your partner. Just because you have sex with someone with a penis doesn't mean it HAS to end in penetration. Just as sex with someone with a vagina doesn't automatically mean only rubbing and touching.

Idk, thinking about genitals is the last thing I do when I wanna get intimate with someone HAHAH I rather think about what exactly I want to do with them.

The things which should always be prepared no matter the genitals are condoms, dental dams, as well as a long conversation about your sexual health statuses & the last time you both got checked. And even then please make sure to always use protection.

This btw also counts if you only use sextoys. BUT A CONDOM ON THEM BECAUSE SHARING SEXTOYS CAN STILL TRANSMIT STI/Ds! So please only use sextoys without condoms when you know that ONLY YOU will use them. Also CLEAN YOUR TOYS after each use.

Now. If you want to do penetration with that person, make sure that the person who gets penetrated is well lubricated & wet so that it doesn't hurt.

If you just want to do handsy stuff, make sure that your hands are clean, your fingernails are cut & filed down and no dirt is underneath them. Also make sure you have some lube close by to grab it if the touched partner needs more lubrication.

If you want to oral, make sure you and your partner are clean & washed down there (THIS SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE CASE OBVS.). If you have sex with someone who you don't know their safety statues of/don't feel comfortable going down raw on make sure to suck dick with a condom on & eat pussy with dental dams inbetween.

I feel like those are the things you should really look out for. Other than that it all depends on your body and your partner's body and what gets you both turned on and ready for more. Just remember to always stay safe, communicate a lot, ask for consent throughout the scene & PEE AFTER THE SEX NO MATTER WHAT YOU DID.

#asks #anon #sex ed

[knightotoc]

Ulic Qel-Droma 🤝 Tenjoin Fubuki

following their evil boyfriend

to the dark side in an attempt

to save him (& failing)

#tales of the jedi #yugioh gx #star wars #yugioh #my last yugioh joke got 150+ notes so i am a thought leader now #ulic x exar #fubuki x rio #anyway this is the main reason why obikin is invalid (besides being creepy) it isn't even hot! he doesn't even go to the ds for him #that's homosexual agenda 101 #anyway when i saw this happen in gx i was OMG JUST LIKE THE UNDERRATED 90S STAR WARS COMIC #ryo* sorry i'm used to calling him zane lol #anyway i think this is my new favorite trope so please hmu if you spot one of these in the wild #it only counts if they actually GO to the ds for love and stay there so reylo and bastila x revan don't count #lol just remembered how you have to be 110% good perfect girl to get juhani😂😂😂😂😂 best standards in sw honestly. padme take notes #cue that 'he was married to sidious' quote #omg i think this calls for another oc for maul...ive had evil gf nice bf clueless bf now i need righteous bf HMMMMMMM #get that man an ulic

[ficauthor]

inspired by the prompt by @danphanwritingprompts:

Danny narrowed his eyes as the Uber arrived at the church, and he finally remembered the occasion. “Wait, Mom? Did we just pregame Vlad’s funeral?” Danny asked. Maddie scowled. “Shut up and act sober. For some reason, your dad loved that miserable creep,” she told him. “It’s the only way to get through the day,” Jazz agreed, fumbling to open the door and step out.

and some other headcannons that I've seen float around tumblr about trans Danny fic below cut if you dont wanna follow the link.

Looking out the window was making him nauseous, like really  really nauseous. The kind of nauseous he only got when sick or from a good punch. He knew a thing or two about good punches. He’d been taking them for a few years now.

It really wasn’t fair if you asked him. One should ask him because it was an experience that only he could experience. After all, halfa's were rare as can be. Skulker had certainly told him enough for him to know. Every brush with alcohol in his younger days was, well, a mixed bag. He processed it faster than the average person so he was lucky in that aspect that he got drunk faster. But if anything his messing about with alcohol before he was 21 told him it was that it also left much faster than normal. Bullshit ghost rules and all of that. Genuinely being a ghost even half one had very few upsides. Some people online speculated about how cool ghost powers must be to have but clearly none of them knew about the burden that it came with. Sometimes he still wished that he didn’t know. 

However this time for whatever reason the alcohol was hitting him and staying. Maybe it was because the previous times he’d been drinking cheap party booze in Dash’s garage with Sam and Tucker, no one but the three of them aware that they were even there. Instead this time the booze was some semi expensive shit, he didn’t know the name or type but he’d been promised quality. Why he of all people was being given quality alcohol he'd never know but he wasn’t going to turn it down.

That being said seemed the trade off was intense nausea. It wasn’t that bad all things considered, he actually preferred being sloshed for the upcoming event but his body was not agreeing with that. Not that his body agreed with a lot of things. The disagreement between ghost and human sometimes really bit him in the ass. His head was floaty, the world in front of him was spinning badly, maybe it’d be worth it to never drink again. Especially if he was going to have this reaction . If only he’d invited Sam and Tucker. They were great fun and always knew how to reel him in. Man he missed them, if only they didn’t all go to different colleges. But nooo all of their majors just had to have few overlapping colleges. At least they were all within a drives (or in his case a flying) distance. When he wasn’t feeling too sick and unbalanced he’d have to fly over to their dorms for a movie night. It’d be nice. Sam might even be able to get them into someplace cool again.

In a stagnant attempt to push the feeling away he turned away from the window and towards his family. Jazz was studying a text on her phone. Probably a message from her girlfriend at university. Maybe she was inviting her. That’d be nice. She seemed nice when he’d saved her as Phantom a month ago, then everyone was nice when their life had just flashed before their eyes and they were rescued from it’s visions. Even when he and Valerie were on the worst of terms he was always grateful when ever she rescued him in either form. Bar Johnny 13 his sisters' taste in partners wasn’t actually all that bad. He actually liked her last girlfriend. Even then with Johnny he wasn’t sure how much of that was actually her taste and how much was Kitty’s possession. 

Certainly Jazz’s apprehension couldn’t be blamed, three of her previous partners both highschool and college were driven away by how weird their family was. She claimed she was fine with it, something about them not truly accepting all parts of her but still. That sucked. School had been rough enough, he couldn’t even count the amount of people that had been weirded out from being his friend because of his parents. Well there was also his reputation but his parents being renowned ghost hunters and chaotic town kooks certainly did not help. Looking back on it more of that might have actually been on his reputation. A nerd with A+ grades until highschool only to then end up with Ds on the best of days and bruises on the worst. Yeah some of that was probably on him.

Jazz gave him a look, he’d spaced out and looked at her for too long, it was weird now. He gave her a shrug and turned to their mother.

Laughing would be rude; he had to remind himself when he spotted her dancing along to the car radio in her dorky adult grooving. It was peaceful in a way. A down time he didn't usually get to appreciate before something bad (normally ghosts) interrupted. It was almost nice in a way to be calm with his mom and sister. Even if the former looked really really stupid.

He snorted anyway at his mom’s dance moves. Discombobulated shoulder jerks and little hand motions mixed in with little head rolls that had no rhyme or reason. It was wildly out of beat and didn’t match the tone of the song on radio. It was definitely the kind of dancing that Tucker would disparagingly call “white people shit”. The thought alone of Tucker's pain at his parents' dance moves was almost enough to send him into hysterics.

Man he missed Tucker.

He’d have to check in on Tucker soon, since he started the latest school assignment he’d sort of ghosted everyone, for the lack of a better word. It was probably the stress of dealing with his assignment partners, he’d done the same last time. Still… in a town and world with ghosts it couldn't hurt to try to check in on him. Tuck was a big boy now he could hold his own in a ghost fight but he didn’t like the idea of leaving him to it. Call him what you will but obsessions were just like that. 

Maybe he was a little possessive.

Just a touch.

“Oh Danny!” his mom squealed as a new song filtered in. The Uber driver rolled his eyes, clearly he thought no one could see him but Danny caught it in the rear view mirror. ” I love this song, isn't it rad!”

He tried not to laugh, he really did, but it was so ridiculous. His parents were doing this on purpose! They had to be! There was no way that they weren’t no one was that out of touch. That behind on lingo. Warm giggles and chuckles bubbled forth, messy and loud. The kind of laugh only those closest to him could coax out of him. Back in school it was only Tuck and Sam that got him to laugh like that (maybe Jazz if she was lucky) make him lose his composure so quickly, but more and more readily his parents had been able to also force the laughs out of him.

If only fourteen year old him could see him now. He’d be so embarrassed. Sitting in the back of an Uber laughing openly at something silly his mom was doing.  She said something he couldn’t catch, teased him probably for laughing. A random pop song and the air coming in from the drivers open window were just loud enough to cover even a raised voice. Even still the there was comfort. Whatever she said was from a place of love.

He loved car rides sometimes. He didn’t always appreciate them when he was younger, kind of like how he felt about his parents. Especially when he was 14 but now? They were some of his favourite times spent with his parents. He just couldn’t help it, something about the rolling scene and music with easy conversation lulled him. It helped keep his obsession at bay, blocking it from flaring if he could see that some of the most important people in his life were there, in front of him safe and sound.

He still ached. Felt that compulsion to check Sam and Tuck. Rather than scream like normal it was a soothing whisper. He was able to drunkenly send them a text about how much he loved them without the skin crawling need to see that they were still standing.

 The Uber slowed to a crawl, the Sudan squealing as they stopped. Man that guy really needed to replace his breaks. He could get in a wreck and then whoever he was ferrying around could get seriously hurt.

No!

He shook his head; he couldn't let his obsession obsess on something so small. It was probably safe to look out of the window again so he chanced a look. Danny narrowed his eyes as the Uber arrived at the church, and he finally remembered the occasion.

“Wait, Mom? Did we just pregame Vlad’s funeral?” Danny asked. 

Maddie scowled,“ Shut up and act sober. For some reason, your dad loved that miserable creep,” she told him.

“It’s the only way to get through the day,” Jazz agreed, fumbling to open the door and step out.

Damn he hadn’t meant to forget the occasion but he couldn’t help it his mind was already prone to wandering and the alcohol was just making it worse. Really it was a miracle he passed highschool in the first place, even when sober his mind just struggled to latch onto subjects, and that was before he had to nightlight as Phantom, hell it wasn’t even nightlighting it was a full double life. Really he didn't even know how he was managing college with the heroing on the side. Best guess if he was pressed to give one was that his parents’ disappointment and the desire to go to space was combining into the ultimate peer pressure. Funny how his brain worked like that, maybe Jazz could explain that to him. She was good for stuff like that. Explanations for why his brain was weird. She tried to give him an acronym for it one time something with A's. An attention thing of some sort. He'd have to ask her about it again sometime so he could wrap his mind around it.

“Hey!” Jazz opened the door, her face inches from his, the scent of some fruity cocktail on her breath,” get out Danny, and remember, act normal. At least for dad’s sake.”

“Yeah,” he waved her off stumbling to his feet, honestly it wasn’t fair that the ground was so unsteady beneath him, kind of transphobic if you asked him. “If you wanted me to act normal then why’d we all get plastered?” he joked.

“Shush,” Jazz clamped a hand on his face, their slow amble up the church's  many  steps paused. “Don’t lick a gift horse in the mouth Danny, you know this will be insufferable.” 

He licked her hand, she recoiled, wiping the spit off on her fancy black dress. 

“Danny!”

He stuck out his tongue in retaliation.

“Behave, ”she chided.

He rolled his eyes and followed her. It was just a funeral, what was the worst they could get into?

 The second he stepped in the church threshold he knew. It put his whole body on edge, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and the faintest trickled of mist? ghost vaper? Ghost breath? He actually had no clue what it was that came out of his mouth. 

Well he never really understood what he was saying half the time anyways, his mouth had a habit of running out from under him. The worst case of that was just the other week, he was talking to Sam over skype about something and he’d forgotten that she knew about Phantom, how really he had no clue, and he just went on for about twenty minutes making some out there wild excuse for why he’d missed their last hang out when she’d stopped him.

Honestly it was getting embarrassing, even worse was trying to keep things he said to his parents in each form separate. He really had to tell them soon.

It was so easy when he was 14 the breadth of his conversations with them as Phantom at the time could be summed up with a snarky quip from him or a “I’m gonna dissect you” from them. Now though they seemed to be fully taking seriously the notion that ghosts had depth to them. Which while true was deeply inconvenient for him. That meant he had to have interactions with them as Phantom and keep his identity straight ( ha  ). Maybe he should be grateful, they weren’t threatening to dissect him anymore that was certainly a plus, they still definitely wanted to examine him however.  He had considered it, in the depth of the night, allowing them to examine him only to drop the transformation part way through. It’d be funny, just a little bit to catch them off guard like that. But they didn’t deserve a coming out like that. He stifled a groan, he thought he was done with the closet when he’d come out but no life just had to never end and add in ghosts.

“Danny,” Jazz hissed at him. 

He slurred out a huh at her in confusion.

Damn he’d been staring out at nothing, the Pastor? Priest? He didn’t know the difference to be honest, was still talking about Vlad. Shit that’s right! The second he’d walked in his ghost sense had gone haywire, Vlad was still (half) alive in that plush ass casket. He wondered how bad it'd be to fake a stomach ache and transform into Phantom for some ass kickery. Knowing his luck though Vlad might just feign full death embrace just to make a fool of him. 

He would do that, fake his death, hell he was doing it right now! Motive was still unclear to him but Danny was going to get to the bottom of it. The man at the front, religious figure of whatever denomination, was gesturing large and big as he wrapped up.  It was really official, and stuffy, when he finally fully died he wanted his funeral to be nothing like this. Maybe Tuck's ideas of dramatic funeral pranks were where it was at. Or maybe even Sam's ideas of celebratory parties that remembered the dead's life. He wouldn’t object to either of those. 

Alcohol was fading out of his system again, well it’d been nice while it’d lasted but it’d probably be best to not be sloshed if Vlad wanted to cause a scene. 

He sat at the edge of his seat as his father came up for a speech.

“Vlad,” his father stopped to blow his nose,” Vlad was a good friend of mine in college, w-we,” his lip trembled, his large jaw hammering up and down as he stammered for words. It took everything in Danny to not sink into the pew bench in embarrassment. Jack was for all intensive purposes the only person in the entire church that seemed genuinely broken up about the billionaire’s death.

“We drifted apart for a while, and he’d just started to come back to mine and my wife's lives a few years ago and- and- I-I sorry,” he winced as his fathers voice died.

While he didn’t understand his fathers affection for the man his heart couldn't help but ache for the man’s sorrow. His father had such a large heart. He was so trusting and held so much affection in his large beating heart. It was a weakness and a strength. One his mother often said he inherited. He didn’t know if he could see it. He wasn’t so soft, so trusting, so eager to love and care as his father. Then the larger man hadn’t been burned the same. Hadn’t had his heart half electrocuted to death like him.

His mom walked up on the stage, he was briefly impressed by her composure, she was buzzed but also in heels and looked to all the church exceedingly well put together. Quietly she was speaking her hands gently on Jack’s shoulders patting his back soothingly. She often sold herself short. Stating her heart not to be as big, Danny didn’t believe that, not really, his mother was just more careful in those she let in.

“I wasn’t as close to him as my husband,” she admitted, having softly taken the mic from Jack. her fingers were curled around it softly, but her other hand was in her hair. She was fidgeting and searching for words,” but I’m sure those he was close to will miss him dearly.” she said tight lipped. Jack whispered something to Maddie quietly making her smile tightly and nod. The man moved to his seat and let his wife continue his speech in his stead. 

It was nothing notable really, Danny wasn’t one for paying attention to speeches or lectures and a funeral would not be an exception. He caught a few snippets though, his moms implication that she liked him better in college. A line hoping that in death that he could hopefully move on from the past. He really tried to not laugh at that one clearly because she'd noticed the exes. How many of them had known before? How many of the exes had to learn of their blueprint right then and there in the funeral.

Still he sat teetering on the edge of his seat, half paying attention to her words and mind half trained on that open casket. Vlad lay there in the plush box waiting. What for he couldn’t tell yet but he wasn’t going to be caught unaware.

The speeches couldn’t have ended any slower in his opinion. He wished that the alcohol hadn’t run it’s course already. It was so much easier to get through shit when his mind was quieted and his obsession was dulled. Instead he was forced to wait, his waking obsession tearing at his insides making him wait. Watch the lingering guests with apprehensive eyes. A few were expected. Gaggle of divorced exes. Some smattering of people that vaguely had Vlad's chin and nose. It was bizarre, some looked wildly like him and others well. They were utter strangers to Danny. They all were but they seemed almost faceless in how unknown they were. Interestingly none of them really seemed that choked up. He’d never expected troves of people depressed about Vlad’s passing. Still to only have one sobbing mourner? Maybe they just grieved differently...

Yeah maybe.

About when he got his water from the refreshments table he realized that Vlad really wasn't pulling a stunt. Still he had no clue why he was in that damn casket if he was still (half) alive in there. He almost laughed at the absurdity of it all, his worst nightmare was being trapped in one of those, yet Vlad had clambered in willing foot after foot laying stricken and board straight for all that he knew to see him. It didn’t make sense. There had to be some trick.

There had to be.

He thought maybe after his father had bowed his head over the casket head in hands loud body wracking sobs shaking his shoulders that Vlad might then spring to life (ha) and attack them. No, instead he remained laying in that coffin, the soft plush pillow under his head holding him still, the flowers in hand still clutched in strict fingers. He must have some sort of long con going on then. Some sort of goal he was aiming to reach by laying stricken and dead.

Wouldn’t be the first time the man had pulled a bizarre stunt. The time he’d kidnapped Danny and his mom sprang to mind. But there were few situations that came to mind where faking one’s death could come in handy. 

A severe looking man walked up to him a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in hand.  Sam would hate the sight of the small snacks, not a single one was vegetarian. And Tuck? He’d be laughing his head off at the name and size. He really had to rope them into a trip to the movies or arcade sometime soon.

The man greeted him, straightening his professional looking tie as he spoke. The man was exceedingly out of place, in a clean and crisp business suit that hardly matched the tone of mourning clothes. Then his parents were wearing their jumpsuits under their fancy clothes so glass houses and all that.

The man was painfully dull giving Danny his condolences in a rather stilted and clunky tone. The man clearly didn't want to be there. He raised an eyebrow at the man as he finally asked how he knew the ‘deceased’. 

Telling the man something to the effect of, “Just through my parents,” somehow making it clear to the man that he wasn’t particularly choked up by the billionaire's death. Gee he wondered what gave it away, his flat unaffected tone? Or the fact that Vlad was a billionaire with no moral backbone. 

Huh, he must really be missing Sam a lot to be thinking like that. he hated to admit it but she was kinda right. 

Business suit was disinterested in conversation with Danny after that, he hastily wrapped up the conversation. Man even muttered “shame.” under his breath, if Danny wasn’t half dead he wouldn't have caught it. But well nothing ever really worked out well for bureaucrats did it?

Had Vlad seriously faked his death to avoid paying a few measly bucks? The man was a billionaire! He must really owe them a mean amount of money for them all to arrive at the funeral like this. Maybe they hoped the will would work in their favour? Not far in front of the refreshment table were two suits talking unabashedly about the amounts that Vlad owed them. If it weren’t for the setting Danny would think that they were coming or going from an important meeting.

For what was probably the first time he properly looked at all of the guests. Actually taking them in, a good chunk like he’d noticed before were the exes that half looked like his mom, and their kids (hopefully they weren’t biologically Vlads). Then there were the vague family members that looked like Vlad watered down with kindness. But the rest? Suits and-

Oh.

Oh he had to step behind an archway and stuff a fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Vlad had fucking bounty hunters being sent after him! It was karmic, he had to stop himself from busting a gut right then and there in the middle of a church. It was already blasphemy enough to be the walking dead he didn't want to also throw in disrespecting the (only mostly) dead into the mix. 

Well at least they weren’t all debtors, lurking around the corners and edges of the room was a guy he’d worked with as Phantom a few years ago. He was kind of hot in a rugged sort of way. If it weren’t for Sam and Tuck he’d have considered flirting seriously with the other man. As it was his joking flirting got him in trouble with the other two.

He was really acting up being normal, that rugged man. Mingling about with other people dressed neatly.

Clear to only  Danny what he was, what the others like him were, the man wandered unaware that Danny was watching him. Ironically he only knew they were bounty hunters because Vlad had hired the rugged man and his crew to hunt Phantom that time a few years ago and now? Oh the tables have turned. Someone, maybe one of the exes, or the debtors wanted him dead. Damn what had Vlad done?

Ghost Zone inhabitants had mixed opinions on him, many of which wanted him dead or knocked down a peg. But that was the Ghost Zone, half of them wanted  Danny  dead at some point or another. This was the human world. Earth and shit, it was much harder to piss off someone to the level of murder. Not impossible but damn. He grinned at this, Vlad was (half) alive and (sorta) well in that casket and he couldn’t do anything if he started to stir shit up. Life was beautiful, twinkling and gorgeous, he decided. He Didn’t need Tucker and Sam to have fun.

 He started with one of the exes. He went out of his way to ignore her dyed red hair and pale purple eyes as he talked with her. It wasn’t her fault that Vlad had a complex, he reminded himself as the woman talked. Fault couldn’t be pinned on her for the parallels he could search between his mother and her. She was nice in a weird way, again really like his mom. It was unnerving. He kept trying to ignore her beady eyed gremlin of a child as she talked to him about the will. 

Whatever Vlad had done for all the people in his life to only care about the will and the will alone Danny wanted to do the express opposite. It was almost painful in a way to watch all of these people act like they weren’t only here for the money. Served the man right, it was still depressing, the man had everything on paper but not a damn thing in reality.

“Do you think his daughter will show?” he tactfully added into the conversation after the woman had made some condolences about his family and Vlad. 

“Daughter?” the woman asked, her large eyes blinking slowly,” I'm sure you're mistaken, Vlad told me he doesn’t have kids.”

“Oh,” he said, feigning apology, inside he was loving this, sure Vlad couldn’t admit the truth about the clones but clearly the man had seriously left out some details to his ex lovers. “Are you sure? ‘Elle is nineteen now,” he said, it was technically true if you counted right. She was also only seven if you counted right. It was all about semantics.

“Ninete-” the woman stammered something hard settling in her eyes,” he told me he didn’t want to have children,” she looked down at her angry eyed child (he hoped the little dude didn’t kick him in the shin) who had a hand fisted in the end of her dress. “If you’ll excuse me, Daniel, this was an- enlightening conversation.” he watched her walk away to a woman with a big chunky bracelet.

Also a redhead. Of course.

A sharp pain seared in the top of his ear he prevented himself from yowling out as the fingers attached dragged him over to a corner.

"ow ow ow," he whined out quietly trying heard not to draw attention to himself. It didn't really work.

“What the  fuck  are you doing?” Jazz hissed at him when they were hidden away from the rest of the group.

“First of all: ow!” He rubbed his ear delicately between his finger pads,” I’m not a child anymore, maybe borderline sibling abuse was funny in 80’s sitcoms but it's not anymore.”

Jazz rolled her eyes,” second of all?” she pressed, she was still slightly buzzed and yet she was still holding herself with so much composure. Kind of impressive, if she hadn’t just physically threatened to rip his ear off.

“Secondly I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Not do-” Jazz floundered,” Daniel!” she hissed out again struggling to keep her tone low. Damn she was mad, she only pulled out the full name when really fucked up,” I know your relationship with Vlad was- complicated.”

He snorted,” he tried to kill me multiple times, Jazz.”

“Yes bu-”

“Dark Dan,’’ he pressed further.

“I get it!” she snapped in a whisper-shout,” but a funeral isn-”

“He isn’t dead Jazz. Or really fully dead I guess I should say,” he laughed

Jazz rolled her eyes,” This is concerning behaviour Danny.”

“W-what?” he asked.

She tapped her chin pensively, she was psychoanalyzing him again, gag, “You must be transferring your complicated feeling about him into-”

“Jazz,” he groaned. It was best to stop her before she got on a roll, “Ghost senses remember? He’s still not fully dead, I can tell. He faked his death.”

“Okay,” she said with a sigh," I'm not saying I believe you, but say he did fake his death-”

“He did.”

She shot him a look, “Why? Why would he fake his death? He’s a rich ceo multi-billionaire with more money than most of us can conceive of, nonetheless actually obtain, what does he get out of faking his death?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, this was easier when Jazz was talking to one of Vlad’s cousins ignoring him stirring the pot. 

He explained what he’d pieced together so far, with the suits and hunters lurking around the edges of the room it was easy to point out how out of place they look. Slowly a realization fell on her face, an acceptance of what he was saying.

“When I was talking to the stepford exes they were all talking about who would get the estate.”

“Do they know who?” he asked.

Jazz shook her head,” no the will was kept really secretive from all of them. There was even a bit of an altercation from two of the younger ex girlfriends over it.”

He winced at that, he couldn’t blame them for being mad he just wished Vlad wasn’t faking death for them to take it out on. “The bottle red and the one with the big bracelet?” he prompted, remembering the end of his conversation with the former.

“No that’s Maddison and Maggie, the two that fought were Morgan and Melenie.”

“Maddison? Maggie? Morgan? Melenie?” he repeated with a grimace voice getting higher with each name.

“Yeah I know,” she said with a sigh,” a textbook case of projecting an ex, or in this case crush, on future partners leading to a string of failed relationships,” she frowned looking over at the group of clustered red heads. Danny followed and examined them, they were all looking at something their eyes occasionally darted over to- 

Oh of course, mom, they ‘d probably done the math already. He winced at the thought. He’d half thought about it before  finding the notion funny. Now in his sparkling sobriety of the evening he couldn’t find the humour.

“At least they all mostly get along,” Jazz offered, trying to look away from how the dozen or so women were looking at the one woman they were all stacked against.

“Really?” he blinked at her,” I’d have thought that they’d all be fighting cause of the- well you know,” he gestured to the, everything, of the situation.

She shook her head,” no, they seem to all understand that it was all on Vlad, two of them, Mackenzie and Melody,” she clarified to even more of his confusion,” even found out that they were seeing him at the same time. How they didn’t know with all of the press that followed him I’ll never know, but they decided to team up on the legal front if there are any issues with the will.”

“Really.”

Jazz nodded,” yeah I was surprised too, but good for them, Vlad went around causing too many issues in their lives.”

He nodded in agreement as he looked at at the sea of redheads, some of them had grown out their hair revealing dark roots, some had hair styled in poufy curls reminiscent of his mothers old style and one of them had completely cut her hair into a half shaved look, it was actually similar to the look that Sam had now.

“Want to cause some problems for him?” he asked.

“Danny, legally and socially he’s dead, what could we do?”

“Legally yeah,” he agreed,” but technically he’s still half alive in there, and can hear everything that people say-”

“Are you suggesting that we ruin his reputation?” Jazz asked with a poorly hidden smile. He loved that in the years she’d loosened up. It was a good look on her, relaxation.

“Ruin?” He said, in mock scandal, ”I'm merely suggesting we bring it down to where it belongs.”

“Oh ‘merely’ what is that a fifth grade word? I'm impressed!” Jazz teased.

He shoved her lightly with a laugh,” oh fuck off I’m in college now you know.”

“Really? Accredited and everything?”

He stifled his laugh,” shut up, you know dealing with ghost shit messed with my grades.”

Truthfully he’d expected her to joke further about it, to razz him about doing so much, or maybe analyze him, diagnosis him with trauma. Instead she hugged him.

“I’m sorry so much was put on your shoulders so young,” her voice was raw. Too raw.  

He patted her back, stomach squirming. Because what was he to do with that? The tender care held for him in the cracks of her fingers. The sorrow that settled in her pores all for him?

“Hey stop that,” he eventually said, pulling back,” or I'll make clockwork take me back in time so you never find out.” He didn’t mean it, he never did.

Jazz laughed a little wetly, he didn’t comment on it. Why would he? Also didn’t get a chance as she ruffled his hair, despite the fact that he was now much taller than her. “People are allowed to care about you, asshole.”

He scrunched his nose up at that,” ew what? I detest affection.”

“Oh detest another good one, really racking up those vocab words huh?” she sniffled her hands on her hips, a little lean in her back as she smirked.

Snorting, he stepped back and fixed his hair,” how about we make this a competition?”

“Huh?”

“First one to make Vlad burst out of his casket and rage in ghost mode wins.”

“Really? What would the winner get?”

He tapped his chin making a humming noise,” how about this, loser has to reveal their secret.”

Jazz laughed nervously,” I don’t have a secret Danny.”

Danny gave her a look,” Jazz, I’ve met your girlfriend.”

She bit her lip looking down at his outstretched hand, a debate playing in her eyes.

“Hey you don’t have to if you don’t wanna,” he said softly,” this is just meant for fun after all.” he knew better than most what forcing this stuff did.

”No, it’s fine,” she took his hand and shook, if a little clumsily,” that doesn’t mean they have to meet her though.”

“Oh don’t worry,” he said,” it won’t be my fault if they do that’ll be entirely on them.”

“Danny!” she exclaimed at him as he fled to the other side of the church. Finally this funeral was going to be interesting!

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked the swaying uncle of Vlad. The man smelled of beer and hors d'oeuvres. Not that Danny could judge if it wasn’t for the thick layer of spray on deodorant that his mom smothered him in right before he got in the uber then he’d probably smell just as rank. Then there was the fact that he’d pregamed to.

The older man narrowed his eyes at Danny, he was shocked to see the man he looked to hardly be much older than Vlad yet he was his uncle? He’d gone to ask about it but thought better about it, the less lore he knew about Vlad’s family the better, he really didn’t want to know about how many kids and when and how the Masters ‘clan’ had. Conversation with the older man was… stilted, to say the least. But he was certain that if he told him something then it wouldn’t get back to him. And that was half the game wasn’t it? Finding a way to spread the most rumours without people finding out it was him or Jazz. All without powers of course, that almost went without saying. 

The man didn’t seem too broken up about Vlad, they probably weren’t that close and Danny had always gotten the impression from the billionaire that he was a smidge too snobbish to fully have developed relationships with people. As often as he teased Jazz for being snobby, she at least was nowhere near as bad as Vlad. Man damn near invented snobbishness and assholery. He’d have to ask clockwork if Vlad’s ancestors were just as bad. Judging by some of his family, probably not.

“Well before he passed,” Danny prompted, pausing in a way to snag the older man's attention.

“Yes?” the older man asked when he didn’t continue.

“Well,” Danny fidgeted with his nail,”  you know his signed Packers jersey?”

The older man nodded eagerly.

Danny looked to the side,” it’s a fake,” he whispered to the man.

“Really?”

He nodded,” yeah, but please don’t tell anyone,” he added,” it’s bad enough that they know he was banned from buying the team-”

“He was what?” 

Danny fought to hide a smirk. He knew it’d be easier to sell this lie if he started smaller.

“I thought everyone knew!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, most of the town knows, it’s just, no one talked about it to be polite.” okay that might have been overselling it a bit but the distant relative seemed to really be drinking it in.

“What did he do?”

Danny looked side to side like he didn’t want anyone to overhear.

“Well a few years ago when he was closing the deal to buy the team he got caught stalking some of the members!”

“Really?” the uncle asked,” wha- why?”

Danny shrugged,” they never really found the reason he was following them, he was even trying to seduce some of the wives.”

The man gasped,” I- really?” 

Danny nodded. “But you can’t tell anyone you have to promise me.”

He watched as the man smiled in what he thought was slyness,” of course! I just, with all of those wives he had!”

 Within the next five minutes Danny heard the rumour circulate across the room and it had grown legs. How glorious those rumours legs were. 

“I heard he’d tried to break up a marriage on the team!” an ex wife (Maggie maybe?) hissed.

The other ex (Mary? The other woman might have called her) laughed,” would it really be any surprise? With what he did to Morgan and Melenie?”

The first woman nodded sagely,” fair I can’t believe I even fell for his tricks.”

All things considered the rumour was spreading well, and there was not even a gasp of a suggestion that he was the source. He couldn’t wait to hear what Jazz had invented, with the rumbles he’d already started to hear, it was probably great. Jazz always did have a way of getting into people’s heads. Find what interests them the most.

“So this daughter of Vlad's?” the woman he was talking to prompted, he vaguely remembered Jazz saying her name was Maddison. She’d found him again some time later; her child now safely deposited over by the other kids with their group babysitter. They were in the middle of the church now, the other two still whispering about the packers' spouses.

“ ‘Elle?” he asked as if he’d forgotten.

The woman nodded her curls bouncing as she did.

“Can I see a picture of her?”

He pulled up an older photo of them hanging out, the picture was grainy and they were both sticking their tongues out at the camera. Shit he’d really forgotten how alike they looked.

“You both-” the woman said before stopping. She glanced at his parents. 

Shit he had to go into damage control,” well she’s also my cousin,” he fibbed.

“Cousin?”

“Yes! Technically once removed? Or something like that, I didn’t meet her until a few years ago, we were really blown away with the family resemblance!” he laughed. "Really it's uncanny!"  He continued.

Too far! Too far! He was leaning into it too much! It wasn’t like he could just tell her the truth, that Dani was Vlad's only successful half dead clone of him! Then he’d also have to out two things about himself to her.

“She travels a lot,” he added. He really needed to learn when to shut his big mouth,” she was in Paris a few years ago actually.”

“Really?”

He couldn’t even blame the alcohol! He was just this stupid naturally huh? They’d been saying it for years Sam and Tucker, if only he’d taken them seriously before this. His idiocy might really be terminal.

“Yup, I haven’t seen her in awhile though, hopefully she visits again!”

Scrutinizing eyes scanned him up and down, darting from each corner of his face hunting out the ruse. He really needed to learn to shut his big mouth.

“Do you have her number?”

Crashing noises filled his brain. Her number? The last thing that he had expected was interest in ‘Elle. he’d just thought that they’d get upset at Vlad and leave it at that.

“ ‘E-elle's?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry if this is prying but me and the other ladies,” she gestured to a few of them,” we’re talking and we want to support her!”

“I-” he hesitated, he hadn’t really planned for this,” what?”

The older woman nodded,” we all talked it out and if we get the estate we’re going to support one another and the kids, and it seems like ‘Elle just got stuck in the middle of this like the rest of us.”

“Yeah uh, let me just text her first?”

“Of course honey!”

Danny walked away from that conversation feeling distinctly weirder than before. Regardless he pulled up his phone and slid out the keyboard.

He opened up the “With an I” contact.

  Hey i accidentally got you adopted by like fifteen random women that used to date vlad

5:43 p.m.

  You what? Lul

5:45 p.m.

 He looked up around him before typing out the next message

  Yeah long story short he faked his death. Its weird

5:46 p.m.

I’m at the funeral and the exes wanna like support you?

5:46 p.m.

  Well Vlad wasn’t good for much but at least i now have a multitude of mothers

5:47 p.m.

  So i can give them your number?

5:47 p.m.

  Yeah have at it! If this causes chaos for vlad im all for it !

5:48 p.m.

“So her phone number is.”

By the time he’d separated himself from that conversation a few more rumours were floating.

“I heard that the reason he died in a car crash is because he was on the run from the law!” one of vlad's relatives whispered.

“Really!” another responded.

Elsewhere some of the attending staff were murmuring too. “I heard that he got caught smuggling maple syrup cans from canada!”

“Cans?”

“Yes apparently the good stuff is canned there.”

He walked to a new group this time with the suits.

“I hear that the money in the accounts is dirty.”

“According to my source his invested stocks were backed with illegal funds.”

“If there’s drugs really attached to it like I was told then I don't want anything to do with it.”

“I agree it's hard enough to get money from wills with spouses involved. It's even harder if the feds sniff any drugs.”

“It might not even be worth it to try with all of the ladies,” a different suit complained,” I overheard them talking about lawyering up together if anything goes wrong.”

Another much older suit scoffed,” this business was much easier before the exes started working together.”

Finally he heard his own new rumour starting to gain some traction.

“Wasn’t it found out that he was stealing science equipment from the nearby college?”

“Oh whatever for?”

“I heard it was for making a specialty shampoo.”

“I’ve always wondered how he kept his hair so nice and shiny.”

 Jazz was good, too good, considering that neither of them had really clicked into any social cliques in highschool. Now she was gossiping better than even any of the A-listers.

“It’s just such a shame that they can’t come,” Jazz was even fake sobbing, damn he was going to have to up his game.

“Who couldn’t come?” One of Vlad's older cousins asked, Danny wondered if Jazz was screaming inside at the hand she had around one of the older exes' waists, it was casual and tender. If one of Vlad's exes was getting together with his cousin because of the  funeral , Danny would shriek from laughter, hell if he accidentally used his ghostly wail it’d be well worth it. Vlad of all people deserved to have a partner snatching occur to him. 

“Oh I’m sorry,” Jazz said,” I thought that everyone knew,” she looked from side to side,” please don’t tell the other ex wives Monroe I’d hate for their feelings to get hurt over this.”

Damn she was good. The wife- Monroe who was leaning comfortably on the cousin nodded.

“Of course Jazzie,” she said in a deep comforting New York accent,” this can be brought up to them later more delicately later.  Though I must admit,” she said after a pause where Jazz thanked her for her discretion.” I myself am curious who wasn’t able to come.”

“Well you know how he used to do ghost research with mom and dad?”

Where was she going with this? She was selling it well, Danny had to admit but for the life of him he couldn’t guess where this was going.

“Yes of course,” the cousin nodded as Monroe spoke.

“I can’t name the amount of times he used to write home in our youth about his little ghost adventures,” the cousin added.

Jazz nodded ,” well at the school there was the Lunch Lady Ghost and the Box Ghost, he was seeing them romantically in between their stays in the ghost zone.”

Danny held back a snort box ghost! If he laughed too hard in that moment he’d drop the ghost form and would fall on top of the group that’d gathered around her. As much control as he’d mastered over his abilities over the past couple years there was nothing that would be able to save him from Jazz’s wit. 

“I’m sure box ghost is very helpful for moves,” one of the crowd commented amicably. The others though had nothing to say. Clearly they’d all actually met Box Ghost. 

The gossip might have even stayed in that circle if it weren’t for another one of the cousins being right there and then deciding to tell his wife, who then told one of the ex-wives, who then told another, who then told a suit. So on and so forth.

By the time that Danny was back in human form and settled on the opposite side of Jazz’s conversation he was hearing the children that some of the wives had brought talking about Vlad ‘holding hands’ with the Box Ghost and Lunch Lady. Why couldn’t he have thought about that? It was so good, it was perfect, literally no one could prove it wrong. And embarrassing, seriously Box Ghost!

All the stuff he knew to be true about Vlad sounded so far-fetched.

Half ghost?

Well most people didn’t know about them.

The time he infected his two closest and longest friends with ghost pimples?

Needed the half ghost context. 

If only there was some-

“I hate Vlad!” one of the kids near him cried out stomping down his foot.

Unsurprisingly all of the kids agreed, okay he was a little surprised, usually Vlad had the wool pulled over on most people. So the fact that all of these kids  hated him really meant something.

“He stole my cotton candy at the fair!”

“Well he told me that I didn’t need to see daddy anymore cause he was gonna replace him!”

Eager ears pointed at them he drank in their every complaint. He’d known that Vlad was cartoonish levels of evil for awhile (see the infecting teens with ghost acne for personal gain as proof, or kidnapping him and his mom) but never had he truly expected for him to be so stupid as to do it all in the open in front of all of these kids. Then again some of this might be his obsession making him act out. Smallest sliver of him almost felt bad about that, the fact that Vlad was in a way forced to be this way, but it wasn’t really anything he wasn’t before. Obsessions just highlighted what was already there. Made it more severe.

 “Uhm excuse me,” he tapped the shoulder of one of the shorter women,” Mallory?” He'd asked the babysitter for her name but for the life of him he was struggling to keep all of the exes straight in his head. There were just too many of them and they all looked too similar to his mom.

“Yes,” her eyes flickered with recognition,” Danny?”

He laughed,” yeah that’s me!”

“Some of the others were mentioning you!” she said with a bright smile taking his hand,” thank you for telling us about ‘Elle! I can’t believe he kept her a secret from all of us for so long.”

He nodded in agreement,” well about Vlad-”

“Oh no, what else was he hiding?” she asked, there was a laugh ringing from her but Danny didn’t need ghost senses to know it was dead on arrival,” I’ve learned so much more here at his funeral than I ever did when we’d been together.”

He laughed a little at that, a stilted awkward laugh that only filled his chest halfway. He almost felt bad telling her about this, but she deserved to know the truth. “Well I overheard some of the kids complaining about Vlad.”

He filled her in on what he’d overheard about the kids, the petty little actions of Vlad. The cotton candy he’d stolen (which was weird he’s rich), the fathers he threatened to replace, it was all so bizarre. Danny was about halfway through when the casket began to shake.

Vlad masters was not an impulsive man. He was calculated, smart and forward thinking. At least he certainly liked to think so.  No impulsive man goes out of his way to plan his nemesis’ death and demise for twenty years. No reckless person would spend his time building an empire carefully crafting his abilities and connections for taking down his enemy.  Vlad however to his greatest distaste was in fact still half human and not infallible. While he was meticulous and in his personal opinion exceedingly intelligent he had no way to properly plan for wrenches in his schemes.

The fenton boy, Daniel was his biggest hurdle but it was only a matter of time before he found the right way to tackle the issue. He was just a particularly big roadblock. If only his emotional attachment to his dunderheaded father wasn’t so strong. These issues were all small potatoes compared to the one he was in now. The details can be spared and smoothed over all that was truly important was that he was at his own funeral.

He’d always wondered what people's reaction to his death would be. Contact with his extended family had been… loose, for the lack of a better term since his ‘accident’.  Deep down however he knew that when or if his time came, truly came, that they’d have a reaction. Probably sadness, he had been close to a few of them before his accident, hell he’d been close to them before his company had taken off. At the end of the day he simply had better things to do. Plans to make, revenge to ruminate on. It wasn’t his fault that they’d fallen to the wayside. They simply weren’t as important as Maddie.

He’d toyed with the idea that maybe his dear Maddie would sob over him, that she’d denounce Jack when she saw that he was no longer an option. How deeply poetic it’d be for that to happen. He never liked the idea of her only realizing their potential then but he couldn’t ignore the artful symmetry of it all. Some of the books that Maddie used to read in college had those even beginning and ends, those swooping through lines that tied it all nicely in a pretty bow. His first death had ripped her away from him. It’d gifted her to Jack on a silver platter, and his second oh how glorious it’d be if it drew her to him. Making her denounce her imbecile of a husband. Leaving the stocky man discarded.  Beauty was in the eye of the beholder and even with its harsh edges his death bringing her close to him was something to behold. If only that was what he was watching happen.

Unfortunately for Vlad Masters Owner, Ceo, and founder of Vladco. Life was not an art piece nor a well orchestrated game of football. No instead he got to lay still (half) alive in his exceedingly expensive casket and listen to the dolt sob.

It started like all of the worst things while heading to the Fenton's for another plan to be set in motion. The restraining order was still being held up in the courts so there was technically nothing legally stopping him from seeing them, or especially her. Besides he was a billionaire, those things were more fine machines than anything for him. Once it was enacted all he’d have to do was pay a fine.

Unfortunately it was during the drive that issues started. Again finer details notwithstanding for he’d run them all in his head a thousand times now while laying in this blastedly comfortable casket. While on the drive it became clear to him he was being followed.  No matter , he’d smugley told himself. He’d been followed by techbro fans before they were easy to deter. Easy to remove from his time and life. However in a deeply detestable turn of events the car following him did not belong to a fan.

He knew from the offset of seeing the make and model that it wasn't his average follower, those types usually had older beaters or worse highly expensive care that they had no business owning. No, instead this car was perfectly down the middle of class and price. How he detested those cars, they had no class. It was effectively similar to the many unmarked police cars that he used to have follow him during his brief stint as mayor. 

Regardless the car was tailing his limo, it was simple at first to attempt to outmaneuver them. Eventually his limo was pinned.

Blah blah blah mindless details later some pointless shooting at him with guns and he’d jacked their car. In the end it was simply easier to fake a fatal car crash. then there were all of those witnesses that had to see his death. Walking it back was impossible all circumstances considered. At least when they attacked him they only knocked his driver out, the legal case of that would have been a logistical nightmare and he still had some hopes of getting access to his funds later. 

It was almost funny in a karmic way. Almost as poetic as he had wanted pretending to be dead to be. Only problem was it was poetic in exactly the opposite way. The person that he hated most there sobbing the loudest. It’d be so much easier if it was Madeline sobbing. If she was sobbing, a faked death could be almost satisfying. If she melted down it could almost be worth it. Instead it was Jack Fucking Fenton. 

Numerous things were to be expected from his funeral, Daniel's arrival, yes, Maddie’s, undoubtedly. Even Jazz’s and Jack’s all expected arrivals. Some of them were more annoying than others but they were the requisite arrivals. Even his gaggle of ex flings was to be expected (they had to try and get their hands on the estate and money somehow. Well jokes on them he’d left it all to Maddie). No, what he hadn’t been prepared for was Jack’s incessant wailing and sobbing. 

The man was besides himself absolutely losing his mind right next to his goddamn open casket. It was getting hard to keep a straight face when he wanted nothing more than to leap from the plush silk sheets and throttle the man. His hands might not quite reach around the other mans thick neck but he could give it a good try he was sure. To put it simply and without intense amounts of rage he had mentally calculated for a lot of variables, not one of them being Jack of all people struggling to breath, choked out sobs instead of breaths coming from him as he hovered nearby. Not a single variable included being cried on by the most loathsome man in all of Amity Park. Every tear that fell on Vlad’s extremely expensive make up was another tally against the man’s. Had he no clue how hard it was to not flinch every time a drop of water splattered on his face? It was much harder than it looked he’d have him know.

Didn’t the idiot realize that he hated him? That he’d never cared for him? At least not since his death. 

Worse was when Maddie and the Fenton children staggered in, he could smell the alcohol on them from a mile away. It was tasteless! The smell alone nearly made him leap from his casket and throttle them where they stood (Maddie with exception of course). Have they no respect for the dearly departed? Have they no care for social decorum? Those Fenton spawn would never survive in high class society. Not like himself and Maddie. Oh how he wished he’d never gone for those pale imitations. They hardly kept up with all that he needed.

All he had to do now was ignore everyone and get through the funeral and he could be Plasmius full time. Pursue Maddie 24/7 with no worries of the law (though with some worries of Phantom). If only those blasted Fenton's would stop spreading rumours about him! And he knew it was them! Who else would say such outrageous things?

Okay certainly if one wanted to be technical Danielle was his daughter, but he hadn’t raised her. She was not his blood, she was not his in the most important ways.

Then there was that rumour about the-

“He-hey Vlad.”

Oh, oh no.

“I uh, I’m gonna miss you.” 

No no no no no! He couldn’t do this! He wouldn’t do this! He would not stand for this! He did not go out of his way to fake his death for this. 

Jack blew his big blubbering nose into a handkerchief so hard it honked. Honked! He was going to throttle this man at his earliest convenience. Getting cried on he could deal with, revolting as it was. What he couldn’t and wouldn’t deal with getting yammered at. That was not in the details. He did  not  plan for this.

“I- uhm- I know we weren’t really close these last few years.”

That was putting it lightly.

“Or really at all since college,” there was a wet laugh from Jack.

If that oaf ended up coughing slobber on him- Maybe if he tried hard enough he could die for real, that’d be nice. He’d never really craved death before, not like in this moment. It’d be so much easier if he just didn’t have to hear this.

“I-I know you didn’t really like me in the end.” 

Wait what? Had he finally gotten a clue? That was a first. Maybe his overt plotting had finally gotten through to the oaf. If Jack attacked him now that’d almost make this all worth it. He might even consider revealing he’s Plasmius if he did.

“I know I messed up, I-I must have hurt you, I don’t really know how, but- but uh, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Yes ye- He was what?

There was another laugh sob from his  ex  friend,” It’s probably too late since you’re uh- dead, but whatever it is I did to hurt you, I'm sorry. I hope,” he trailed off into a high pitched keening whine. 

Stop stop stop! This is not what he wanted!

“I hope you rest well Vlad.”

Footsteps receded away from him at that. 

Well what the fuck was he supposed to do with that? What in the world was he supposed to do with that knowledge? Internalize it? Grow and change as a person? He was (half) dead! He was well past the point of growth! He was beyond growth.

For all Jack knew he wasn’t coming back! For him and basically all of them he wasn’t coming back! The only person that would know was Daniel and maybe his sister if he told her. Maybe his brat friends if he messaged them. 

What did Jack get out of telling him all of that?

Certainly not money, the will had left everything to sweet Maddie, not him. Some sort of moral upper hand? A sense of feeling like he got one over Vlad?

No the dolt wasn’t that complex, his intelligence lay somewhere between absentminded and incompetant on a good day, there was no moral forethought. Yet why did the words settle so deeply in a corner of himself? Carving out a crevice in him that ached and burned?

“Did you hear about why Vlad couldn’t buy the green bay packers?”

Why? Why did it dig in his flesh? why when he’d thought he’d burned all of that away.

I'm Sorry.

“No, why?”

Life was easier when he was fully alive. College life was simpler. At least then he could fool himself that Maddie thought of him equally as she did Jack.

“Well I heard that he was stalking the team!”

What?

Why would he stalk them? He’d never stalked someone once in his entire life! (death maybe but he’d never admit that) he could buy all the tickets to their games he had no reason to stalk them!

There was no practicality in stalking them. Just like Jack had no reason to apologize to him! The idiot didn’t even know what he’d done to hurt him. He hadn’t ripped the apology from Jack. He wasn't on his knees begging from him. Hell he didn’t even know that he’d killed Vlad. Jack Fenton was as oblivious to the fact that he’d died back in college as he was to the fact that his own son was dead and playing hero as Phantom.

The density of the man was rivaled by no other.

But then why did he apologize?

“Did you hear?”

He got nothing out of it.

Why did it ache?

Burn? He wanted for years nothing more than to make the man sob and beg for forgiveness.

Why did having it fulfill nothing?

“About him and the Box Ghost?”

Would it burn just as painfully if he finally got sweet Madeline’s confession? Would it ring just as hollow?

“I thought it was the lunch lady ghost?”

No. There was something about Jack that made it wrong. Something about that blathering moron that lashed the words to him like a blade.

“I think it was both.”

And what the hell were they all blathering on about? What was all of this nonsense about Box Ghosts and smuggling and stalking? What were any of their empty little words? 

Did any of that really matter? Their blathering human rumours and petty squabbles when he, the very guest of honour in all ways but one was laying here before their very eyes on the precipice of something? He was teetering at some edge, he didn’t know what it was but he could just make out the shape of the hole he was almost toppling in, he just had to know what it was. He just-

“Well I heard-”

They heard- they heard! What did it matter what they’d all heard! Nothing that they heard could matter in the slightest not when he was dealing with this! Not when he was reeling with whatever this was! The weight and size of it completely overtaking him and yet none of them aware, he was suffocating being overtaken by the edge of knowledge some realization he’d yet to make and hee still couldn’t read it. All because they wouldn’t stop blathering on and on about what? Lies?

Stupid foolish tales spun by his greatest enemy!

By a child.

If it were not for the show and pageantry of it all, if it were not for the display that he’d set about around him he’d be yanking his hair by the roots, tearing it slowly strand by strand from his scalp. And if there was one thing that Vlad Masters was, it was a showman! He was dramatic and he was going to be so unabashedly it was not his fault that there was no one that yearned for his life to roll onwards like Jack. None of it could be held against him. He was a romantic! Everything he did was for  her.

Had it truly all been for nothing?

All these years.

Had she never really cared?

“Dirty money, attached to drugs. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pool.”

All this time.

Did he really-

“Never even mentioned a daughter!

All his schemes!

Jack's tears were so warm when they cut the thick funeral makeup.

“So many secrets for him to keep.”

Dozens of attempts on his life!

Did he really  care? The water on his face was still warm.

“Wasn’t the cause of his crash a run from the law?”

“Would you all just shut up already!”

Silence blanketed the church as Vlad’s voice finished ringing out the wooden box still perched on its little stage. The casket was still shaking and the flowers were falling from the box as the hush grew sharper. Energy crackled from the casket shooting out and blowing the bulb above. Glass fell from the light falling gently on the flower petals. 

None one spoke, Danny’s father had a hand over his mouth, new large tears welling up. He looked green and pale, unlike most of the stunned guests he looked like he was about to be sick.

Danny shot a glance at Jazz, she nodded and jerked her head to the side. He ducked out. Things were about to get hairy.

There was no response from Vlad for a second as it seemed the outburst was done. Even the children who’d been shrieking with laughter and joy from their play for most of the funeral were silent. The falling glass and shaking box were deafening in the silence. Danny ducked behind a pillar and into the doorway that led to the restrooms. There was no one there. The closest person was his mom but she was standing silent and stunned not an eye tilted away from the casket. He couldn’t blame her.

It wasn’t everyday your incel stalker had a breakdown after he’d legally died.

He transformed. On the most part there weren’t many people near the casket. It was just a few lingering Exes, most people were near the refreshment table. His first line of action should be to grab the people near the stage and get them to safety. Then?

Well the rest was adlib. 

At least he had stored the Fenton thermos in his suit jacket (just in case). If only Sam or Tucker were there. Things were so much easier with their help.

Just as he was about to jump into the situation, the group of exes all swarmed Vlad. Shit he’d have to replan everything. He wouldn’t be able to get in an ecto-blast with out the fret of hitting one of them. He could always try Ice or a little storm cloud?

Just as a new plan was starting to formulate one of them (Maria?) slapped Vlad hard across the face.

Smack.

The noise echoed loudly across the church.

He grimaced.

Oh.

He did not want to get in the middle of whatever that was. He really didn’t want to get in the middle of it at all. Backing back into the bathroom he turned back to normal. Didn’t matter what the situation was, he was not going to get in the middle of a dozen or so angry exes and Vlad. It was his grave (even if Danny had helped him dig it a little) like hell Danny was getting buried with him.

“Vlad Masters!” one of the exes screamed,” you slimy pathetic excuse of a man.”

Yeah Danny was not getting in that, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to watch.

“Ow!” Vlad cried out, his eyes were glowing red, but aside from that he still looked very much the same. 

Weird, Danny didn’t expect him to stay in human form. He guessed it made sense if he changed into Plasmius the gig would be up. There’d be a lot of questions too. Knowing Vlad’s tendency to monologue he might even explain the concept of Halfa’s.

“M-Maria!” the older man stammered out,” darling hello-”

The woman smacked him again,” I’m Maggie,” she spat out.

Danny winced, yikes. Makeup covered Vlad's gaunt face but Danny could imagine the smarting red forming on his cheeks.

“Y-yes of course, how could I mistake your beauty, how foolish of me to compare the two of-”

The clearing of a throat interrupted as Maria herself tapped her foot.

“Maria!” Vlad exclaimed this time correct, even if taken by surprise.

“Yes,” the woman agreed,” but don’t mind me, what were you saying? Something about comparison?”

The billionaire awkwardly laughed as he seemed to take in the fact that he was surrounded by all of his exes. Phantom wasn’t even needed. Villain defeated right then and there by the rage and power of his many exes. Again Danny found himself desperate to find out whatever the older man had done to make everyone hate him so just to do the express opposite.

When he actually fully died he hoped his funeral wasn’t this… whatever plan he actually ended up with he just didn’t want this.

“So,” Jazz said as she settled next to him leaning on the pillar with him,” any idea what got him up?”

“Nah,” Danny shrugged looking over to his sister. She looked more sober now, less unstable on her feet.” He didn’t really decree what his gripe was this time.”

Jazz sighed,” so no winner yet.”

“Unfortunately,” he said,'' He also technically didn’t go ghost mode.”

Jazz groaned resting her head on his shoulder,” I wanted to go home, these heels are killing me!”

He stuck a tongue out at her,” shoulda transed your gender like I did,” he teased quietly.

“Ha! Really funny Danny,” she flatly commented with a roll of her eyes at the tired joke.

“Ah meany,” he pouted.

“You walk in these heels at a funeral,” she complained again,” At least if he went full ghost It’d be socially acceptable to ditch them.”

He bit his tongue remembering a rant that Sam had gone on recently about heels and social pressure. How she’d then thrown one of her platform boots at Tuck when he made a remark. Jazz probably wouldn’t appreciate his lovesick ramblings about them.

“Looks like we'll just have to continue to watch this unfold.” he said instead with a sarcastic twinge.

“Oh what a shame!” Jazz said flatly,” sucks to be us.”

Danny snickered as Vlad continued to try to dig himself out of his hole. How he wished Sam and Tucker were here. Unfortunately for him they were both far too busy. Ah well he’d just have to video it all for them.

How unfortunate for Vlad that he was made to sit through his own will reading, and how fortunate for Danny Fenton that he was the one that got to watch it all go down. In the entire time that he and Vlad had been nemesis he never knew just how much he wanted exactly this to happen. Actually if someone ever suggested this happening younger him probably wouldn’t have appreciated just how funny this was. No fourteen-to-fifteen him was far too invested in things like learning his powers and finding out just how observant the rest of town was. Also looking cool. Adult him however? Freshly 21 and college attending him? Oh he could enjoy the fuck out of this situation.

There was some minor debate among some guests over how ethical it was since Vlad's ‘ghost’ was now here to view the reading. Some point could be made that it might be weird...

“Isn’t it rude?” one family member had suggested.

But...

“It might be in bad taste,” another guest had even pipped up.

No one really liked Vlad anyways

“Oh no!” Morgan said,” I want to know what it says, and who better to see how accurate it all is.”

Oh how glad he was that those few were beaten out. How glad he was that the crowd was seeing blood. That the group was too nosey and invested in the drama to really get caught up in such small things as ethics.  How grateful he was that the exes were in half a mind to Kill Vlad a second time.

Fortunate he was, that his luck was finally turning up. It might even be the universe trying to pay him back for all of the shit he’d been dealing with since he was fourteen. Return investment on the untimely youth death. Honestly if it was it was a pretty bang up start all things considered. He’d have to find out if there was a ghost involved in the control of karma. They might just end up with an edible arrangement on their lair door. Older adults loved that shit so ghosts should too.

“Hm,” the lawyer said when they entered the room with the walking corpse of Vlad masters. The office was small and hardly held everyone, but snugly, far too snugly for comfort they all fit on the other side of the large desk.

No one said anything to the lawyer. Whether the man had been privy to the rest of the funeral or had just arrived Danny didn’t know but he had to admit this entire situation was bizarre even with full context. Not many of them knew ghost rules and the only ones that did were in either stunned or gleeful silence. There was no objection to the fact that Vlad had dragged his body with him, not a voice descenting on the fact that his form hadn’t shifted. Not a single attendee seemed perturbed by the fact that Vlad was not really a ghost.

Even the paid bounty hunters didn’t know how to discern ghosts from humans judging by their stunned expressions. Though he’d love to watch one of them attack Vlad in the middle of a church. Stabbing a man in the house of god might just be a big sin, though Danny wasn’t sure.

“Well this is unprecedented,” the lawyer commented,” never in my time have I ever seen a dead man rise for the reading of his own will.”

Vlad grumbled but no one could make out the words as the two exes on either side of him glared. 

Oh how fortunate Danny was indeed, never before had he ever been so glad for his untimely death. If it all led to watching Vlad squirm like this still trying to keep his alter ego a secret? Pain and strife, the many attacks and attempts on his life were worth it.

“Well if there is no protest,” the lawyer said. For a moment Vlad looked very much like he wanted to protest, but the glares of the exes kept him silent and made him snap his jaw shut. Danny knew what went into keeping a corpse looking fresh. Shame the mortician seemed to have skipped wiring the jaw shut. Then, Vlad didn’t seem to need physical wires to keep him silent and well behaved, his Exes were all doing that job very well.

“In that case,” the lawyer sounded queasy, if Danny wasn’t so invested with the drama unfolding he might have turned to verify. “Then I believe we will begin.”

The man started out by reading the long legal preamble, the paragraphs upon paragraphs of titles and information about Vlad that was included. Danny understood that him being the owner of VladCo was technically important for the will but did he need to include all of his ten titles at the company in the will? It just felt excessive. ‘Ceo, entrepreneur, founder, head of decisions, etc.’ did anyone care? Leaving out the most important title of ‘asshole’ was the biggest mistake of his will.

“Yes I think we get it,” Monroe said, her accent clipping the words in stiff professionalism. Bless her for cutting the pain short. “I do have,” the woman glanced at the cousin who was still holding her hand,” A more important social engagement to attend to with Carmila.”

The lawyer stammered,” yes of course ma’am my apologies.”

“It reads:

‘First, I hereby denounce all previous wills made by myself, Vlad Masters, no matter nature or kind.

Second I Vlad Masters hereby appoint,” the lawyer paused making a face before he continued,” Madeline Fenton love of my life as the executor of my estate, networth, and-” the lawyer paused,” the ownership of my beloved cat ‘Maddie the cat, the third-”

“Huh, I guess you listened to my suggestion after all and got a cat.” Danny muttered as at the same moment his mother reached her breaking point

“You what?” Maddie was standing out of her chair, indignation flaring in her eyes,” Vlad! I don’t want any of this.”

“But but,” Danny tuned the man out as he made the normal declarations of love. Trite at this point his mind was already trying to entertain itself. Fast forwarding this would be nice, if only his core was time based. But no he got Ice, and Weather, and other weird disconnected powers. He was electrocuted to death! Cruel that he didn’t get cool electrocution powers.

They were still arguing when he tuned back in. Loath wasn’t a powerful enough describer for this love diatribe that Vlad spewed every three to five business days. His mom yelled something back, a few of the ex wives even chiming in agreement. Well at least they didn’t hate mom that was a plus.

He shot Jazz a look as he repositioned his phone camera to get a better shot.

‘This again?’ he tried to communicated with his expressions. Tuck usually laughed when he tried and Sam told him he looked to constipated.

She shrugged and nodded as if to say  ‘this again.’

“I am happily married! I told you I won't leave Jack for you!”

Tuning out the conversation didn’t seem to leave out many details. Everything was falling exactly into the same patterns as always.

“Maddie please-” the billionaire tried to beg.

This made the woman snap,” no don’t Maddie please me! You have not respected my decision to marry Jack since it happened, well guess what Vlad it’s too late for you! You were never even an option!” she turned to Jack and put a hand on his shoulder. her voice much softer when she spoke,” come on honey we’re leaving. Kids?” She turned to the two Fenton children. The both of them stood with no protest. Like hell they were going to end up on the wrong side of their mother right now. Mission orientated as she was they had no doubt she could commit Vlad's murder and get away with it. legally she might even considering the fact that he was technically a 'ghost' right now.

Just as she was about to step out the door she turned,” oh and ladies, don’t worry about a legal battle I’ll work with our family lawyer to transfer everything to all of you.”

There were some small thanks from the stunned Exes as the office door latched shut behind them.

 The air in the car was-

Well the word tense didn’t really sum up the air but it was the best approximation that Danny had. It could have gone worse, he supposed he could have genuinely ended up fighting Vlad again. Chances where that if he fought Vlad while he was Plasmius that the formerly rich business mogul would then use the moment to out Danny as Phantom. Not just his family but all of the church. If he had to rate the evening it was definitely not as bad as he expected. About a six or seven, depending on his critical he was being.

“Uh so who won the bet?” he whispered to Jazz. he wasn’t worried about his parents, Maddie was soothingly rubbing circles on Jack’s back as the man drove. That and they were sat in the back, sometimes the front seats struggled to hear them at a normal level forget a whisper.

Jazz furrowed her brows,” I guess neither of us really won, he didn’t even go ghost.”

Nodding, he thought back to the man’s loud entrance,” He also didn’t say what rumour got him up.”

“So do we both lose?”

“I guess?” he looked over to his parents,” so we both tell them?”

Jazz sighed leaning back in her seat, hair dramatically laying behind her,” yeah I guess.”

“You don’t hav-”

Jazz cut him off with a snort,” no it’s fine, my things not really as big all things considered.”

Fair, she had a point with that. Their parents already knew that she was interested in men and women but still revealing partners to them was always weird and nerve wracking. The first time he’d introduced Sam and Tuck as partners and not friends he’d expected a lot more questions. Turns out if you hunt ghosts for a living nothing is really weird after that. They just bought him new sex ed books. Sentiment appreciated but still weird considering he could google that sort of thing now.

“So Danny,” his mom said, her fingers tightened on her phone. They were lucky she got old brick Nokias instead of those new Smart phones. She’d break them in a week. Jack wasn’t paying them much attention as he drove, he seemed to still be shell shocked. Hopefully he didn't crash, okay so maybe he didn't always like car rides. Sometimes the looming threat of a car crash really messed with his obsession.

“Yeah mom?” he asked.

“I was talking to some of the ladies.”

“Uh huh?” wherever she was going with this he didn’t like the tone.

“And imagine my surprise when one of them tells me Vlad has a daughter.”

“Weird right,” he said. Please stop, please stop! He begged, wherever this was going it was nowhere good. It would have been better if he’d just died in that accident. Screw whatever he thought back when he thought his luck was turning up. He was still the most unlucky bastard in all of amity park.

She hummed in agreement,” and imagine my surprise when they said she was your cousin.”

Danny didn’t have a response to that, Jazz was stifling a laugh next to him.

“And then,” she said,” she showed me a picture of her.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, Danny," there was a pause as she seemed to collect her words," why does she look like you pre transition?”

“Does she?” sweating wasn’t really something he did so much anymore, not since his core started cooling his mortal flesh, it was nice sometimes. But it didn’t stop nervous sweating. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Hadn’t- Danny,” his mother sighed,” sweetie if you want to start presenting as a girl again you can. We won’t judge you.”

Wait what, “ what?!” 

Shrieking loud bursts of laughter came out of Jazz. 

“Jazz!”

That set him off, it was just so ridiculous.

“Honey I’m serious,” his mom sounded so upset her tone lost. She really was trying.

He couldn’t help it, it wasn’t his fault. It was just so out of the realm of what was happening. Man his parents really didn’t have any of the facts.

“Danny?” his father asked the tenseness in his shoulders from the funeral leaving way to confusion.

Him and Jazz made eye contact and the laughing got so much worse. If being part dead didn’t make him need to breathe so much less he’d be choking. He’d die, it was just- they still didn’t know and somehow that was all the funnier. God he was calling Tuck and Sam right after he explained everything they were going to get such a kick out of this. Especially Tucker.

“That’s not-” wheezes high and stringy, cutting him off, he was struggling even with his ghost lungs.

“Danny my boy,” Jack asked quietly,” what’s funny?”

“We’re trying to support you Danny!” his mother exclaimed.

Finally he quelled the laughter enough to speak,” okay okay,” he whipped a tear from his eye. “I’ll explain it all it just probably isn’t something dad needs to be driving for.”

“Danny what do-”

“Just trust me okay?” he grinned at his mom in what he hoped was reassurance. 

She sighed and looked at her husband, Jack furrowed his brows and the pair silently communicated before the man hit his turning signal.

 The small side road was perfectly out of the way enough that no one would be able to peer in. It was some half abandoned picnic area but none of them reached for their seatbelts to leave the car. It was just the closest spot they could stop.

“Okay,” he started giving Jazz a look, she nodded comfortingly,” Remember how the portal didn’t work at first?”

It took them a moment but they nodded in remembrance. 

“Right well I died.” it was best to just rip the Band-Aid off.

“What?”

“Danny- honey you’re not dead.”

He thought so at least, he sighed pinching his nose,” I need you guys to wait for questions till the end okay?”

“But honey you’re not dead!” she didn’t sound so sure as she looked him over.

“What your mother said my boy! You’re sitting right there!”

Danny groaned,” guys please?” there was a pause as they looked at each other and finally finally agreed to wait till the end. “Sam said I should check it out, see if I could fix it. I put on my suit, and,” he made a buzzing noise with his tongue,” the button shocked me to death when I hit it. It was dark so I didn't see,” he looked to the side. The trees outside were swaying peacefully in the wind. Jazz put a hand on his shoulder, he took a steading breath and clenched the hand with the thin invisible scars. “It was an accident but,” he turned back to them resolution in his eyes,” I died that day, When I woke up, well, brace yourselves okay,” he let the tugging cold of hic core shift and change his appearance.

There was silence. He’d expected something but, no, even Jazz wasn’t saying anything.

He cracked an eye open, his parents were staring at him dumbfounded. Yeah that was about par for the course.

“Well this happened and now, I’m half Ghost,” he admitted,” everyone in the ghost zone knows that’s why there were always so many attacks at the school.”

“Half?” his mom asked despite herself.

Danny nodded,” yeah I still age, and need to eat and breath... mostly on that last one. It’s kind of cool I can go invisible,” he demonstrated before changing back,” and phase through things and float,” he demonstrated both in succession allowing the belt to glide through him as he hovered up an inch. “Shoot Ecto-blasts… probably best if I don’t do that one in the car though,” he laughed.

“Okay,” his mom said. 

“Okay?” he asked.

His father nodded,” sure Son, we love you. It’s weird but, well we hunt ghosts for a living.”

He laughed,” yeah fair enough.”

"I-" his mom looked over at Jack," We're proud of you sweetie, that's a lot to undertake at so young."

he chuckled," it wasn't so bad, I had a lot of help," he grinned at Jazz," Between her Sam and Tuck I don't know if I would have lasted half the battles I did."

"You knew Jazz?" Their father asked his tone soft and slightly hurt.

She smiled softly," yeah, I walked in on him transforming. Thought it was best if I let him tell you guys."

"Part of the apprehension might have been the dissection thing," Danny addmited.

"I- honey-" his mom put a hand over her mouth in shock.

"I'm sorry son," His dad said," it was closed minded of us to assume stuff about ghosts we didn't know."

"Well you weren't always wrong. Just usually."

“So ‘Elle?” his mom prompted before Jack could pepper in questions about what the got right.

He sighed,” yeah her full name is Danielle, technically she’s the only living clone of me Vlad made.”

“Only living Clone?”

“Vlad made?”

Man he had a lot to explain. Years of events just gone unsaid. Some small part of the divide between them was shifting, growing smaller. 

“Is now a good time to tell you guys I have a girlfriend?”

Danny choked on a laugh. Not to long after his parents followed after the tension disrupted, Well at least he had Jazz to help explain. Sam and Tucker too when they weren’t busy. It'd be a mess and weird to finally clear the air between them, but at least he knew they were proud of him.

#My writing #danny phantom #trans danny fenton #trans danny phantom #everlasting trio #thats their ship name right? its not like super there its minor but ye #danny phantom exists in my brain in vague memories and nothing else #only the smallest amounts of cannon may be contained in this fic #idk i dont have enough brain to know tho #danphanwritingprompts

[doctenwho]

Hardy’s Cure for Sadness

Hello! Sorry this took a while, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to start it! I loved the request, and it was so fun to write when I figured out where I was taking it! Thanks for the request! :D

I’m glad you like my work! I hope you like this one too!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3,270

Summary: Check the prompt above!

(Gif doesn’t belong to me! Credit to the creator!)

The day had been long. You’d known when you got the job that it would be long hours and lots of dutiful work, but you’d never really thought a workplace could work you as ragged as the Wessex Police station did. You weren’t even an officer, instead a receptionist, which was quite possibly more work than being an actual officer.

Not only did you have to deal with moody citizens filing reports and asking to speak with officers, or detectives, but you also had to deal with the moody officer's upstairs who were always irritated when you phoned up for someone. They were always frustrated with you for disturbing them, when you were really just the middle man.

Then there was dealing with the media, and attempting to console people who came in upset, or angry. There was being the person who’s calls got ignored upstairs when people were busy, and you were left with antsy citizens.

And you understood it all, you couldn’t even imagine being an officer and have to deal with the gruesome parts of the job, like Danny Latimer’s murder for example.

You really couldn’t win being a receptionist at the station.

The officers barely noticed you, let alone spoke to you. A few did, a pleasant few, like Ellie Miller, who was friendly and cheerful with everyone, but the majority of the office barely glanced your way unless they needed something from you.  

It was tiring to say the least.  

You leaned back in your chair, glancing around briefly for anyone who may need you, before letting your head fall back against the office chair and rubbing at your tired eyes.  

It was just one of those days where you felt sad, but didn’t know why. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it hit you like freight truck. It wasn’t even that you were sad about anything in general—just... blah. The kind of feeling you had where you wanted nothing more than to leave the office and tuck yourself into bed at home.  

And honestly, being stuck in the office really didn’t help those feelings.  

You gave a tired sigh, pulling yourself back towards the desk and returning your aching eyes to the screen of documents you were going over before they could be sent up to be looked over by one of the officers. A glorified proof reader is what the guys upstairs thought you were.  

It wasn’t even in your job description, but you were too nice to turn them away, and one always turned into two, and then three, and before you knew it, you were elbow deep in documents.  

You didn’t hate your job here. Everyone was nice most of the time, and as much as you liked to complain, you had it pretty good. The pay was good, and it was worth it to stick around for the few people upstairs who respected you and held friendly conversation whenever you were around.  

Plus, you always got to use the break room upstairs and take free coffee, or tea to have at your desk downstairs.  

It had its share of pros and cons like any other occupation; some days were just harder than others. And for no reason. Nothing prompted your sadness today, it was just what it was.  

It was getting quite late in the evening. You couldn’t really leave until the officers upstairs did, since you and your fellow receptionists were usually first to arrive, and last to leave. The three receptionists who swap out, the Chief Superintendents, the Detective Chief Inspector and the Detective Inspector were the only ones to have keys to the building.  

It was both a blessing and a curse. You didn’t have to wait in your car for the building to be unlocked when you arrived early, but then again, at the end of the night when all the higher ups left at their usually time, but others were still busy with cases, you couldn’t leave until they did.  

Thankfully though, it was usually DI Hardy and DS Miller who stayed later, so you could leave, so long as DI Hardy was around. He was usually good about staying behind late and locking up when he left (if he did leave for the night).

He’d been nothing but nice to you since he’d arrived. And that was a change of pace, since most of the higher ups tended to just breeze passed the reception desk to get to work. DI Hardy had been pleasant to you, at least in his own gruff kind of way.  

But still, how most of the building talks about him, you’d never have imagined him to be as nice as he was to you. He usually stopped by for conversation, thought it was a bit awkward at times. You thought it was endearing though, since he always looked nervous, but still put in the effort to talk with you when he had the time.  

Less could be said about anyone ranked higher than DI Hardy. The officers were usually friendly enough as they passed by, throwing quick greetings and friendly waves over their shoulders, but it was refreshing that Hardy too the time to check in from time to time. Especially since no one else considered a boss ever did.

You focused back onto your screen, eyes straying tiredly to anything that wasn’t bright and blinding in the evening hours. You liked to keep track of who came and went every day. You knew each member of staff by heart, so you could always keep track of when people were leaving.  

If you were correct, that meant it was just Ellie and DI Hardy working away.  

So, technically you could leave, but you did have more work to finish up before tomorrow, and you’d rather get it done now, instead of coming in early tomorrow to complete it.  

You continued on, fingers flying over the keyboard with practiced ease.  

You didn’t bother looking up from your document until Ellie appeared before you, smile bright, but tired. “You’re still here?” she asked kindly.

“Just finishing up,” you told her, hoping you’d returned the smile, “is DI Hardy still in the building?”

“He is,” Ellie gave a grimace, “sittin’ in his office staring at the files of Danny Latimer’s case.” She gave a tired sigh, rubbing her eyes. You knew the thought of the case exhausted anyone involved, Ellie and Hardy probably the most of anyone, since the two of them had been the most dedicated in getting justice for Danny. “You can leave now, if it was us who you were waiting for. Hardy will lock up when he’s on his way, that is if he even leaves.”

“That’s alright,” you gave her a small smile, “I’ve still got some work to finish up before I can head out.”

“Alright, well,” Ellie gave you another bright smile, “I’ll be off then, my boys are waiting for me.”

“Have a good night, Ellie,” you gave her a small wave as she moved towards the doors.  

“You too,” Ellie grinned, “don’t let Hardy keep you here too late, alright?”

You returned a good-natured laugh as Ellie finally stepped out into the cool evening outside the office. You watched her retreating form for a moment, before it disappeared from sight, and you tiredly let your attention drop back to your computer screen.  

You continued on working on your documents. It was a couple hours past the time the station usually closed. It made sense that the station closed relatively early, compared to stations in bigger, urban areas. In comparison, Broadchurch had very little crimes, and it was usually petty crimes such as trespassing, theft, and occasional breaking and entering.  

You weren’t sure how long you’d been staring at your screen when Hardy finally made an appearance in the room. You’d just kind of given up on typing, and was instead just staring at the screen.  

The man looked like deer caught in the headlight of a vehicle when he finally noticed you still sat at the lobby desk. He eyed you for a moment, blinking at your slouched form before clearing his throat, “(Y/N),” he bowed his head in a greeting, “what’re you still doing here? It’s late.”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you shrugged, fiddling with your fingers, “I was just finishing up a few things for tomorrow.”

The man looked you over from where he was standing across the room, eyeing your slouched position and looking all the way to your hands, which weren’t anywhere near the keyboard. You just now noticed you really didn’t look like you’d been working at all.  

How long had you been staring off into space?

“Are... are you alright?”

You blinked at the man. He was still in the exact same spot he’d been when he noticed you, but he was close enough to catch a glimpse over the tall divider protecting the computers from onlookers when they were stood at the counter.

“Yeah, of course,” you cleared your throat, you’d hoped you could’ve just hidden away, or not been noticed like how Ellie had just walked by. But Hardy seemed a bit more observant. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You just... look sad.” The man frowned, then, he seemed to back track, “not that I mean anything by that... it was just... ah, never mind. You look lovely as always.”

“No, no,” you sighed, “you’re right. I’m... well, not really sad. Or, not sad for any reason, you know? Just... blah.”

“Ah,” Hardy gave a slight nod, looking towards you before looking away abruptly. “I was... just heading out to eat if you’d like to join me?” He paused, glancing at you, then looking down at back of the screen in front of you, “unless you’re still working, then disregard me.”

“You wanna go out to eat now?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. Hardy once again looked like a deer caught in the headlight, blinking nervously, “I mean, I’d love to, of course, but... isn’t everything closed?”

“The bar will be open,” the man shrugged, “I’m not much of a drinker, but there’s fairly good food there?”

“Are you sure?” you couldn’t help but ask.  

You weren’t too sure what to think of this situation. Alec Hardy had been nice to you, he had since his arrival, of course. But the most interaction the two of you’d really had was when he’d occasionally bring you a tea from the breakroom; there were glances, and nods of acknowledgment, or a rare, tiny smile as he walked past. Conversations were short and sweet, and usually in passing.  

But he’d never prompted anything like... eating out. You weren’t sure he’d suggested eating out with anyone in the office, other than maybe Ellie. And that was usually Ellie talking the man into it with her friendly hard-to-say-no-to charm. Hardy liked to keep to himself, which was why you were both unsure of the current interaction, but honored all the same.  

“Sure,” Hardy have a dip of his head, looking out at the car park where your single car remained, “wouldn’t’ve offered if I wasn’t sure.”

He paused for a second, looking around before he continued in a soft voice, “I mean, I’d like if you came with me.”

And that sealed the deal for you.  

“Alright,” you gave him a small smile. “I’d like to join you.”

You almost laughed at the surprise on Hardy’s face. It was funny as much as the look was sad. You could only imagine the previous rejection that would’ve curved that look. You couldn't understand why anyone would turn the man down—they should be happy at getting anything other than the stony, hard faced detective that was keeping Broadchurch safe.  

“Right then,” Hardy cleared his throat, “shall we then?”

“Sure,” you replied, organizing your papers for the morning just a bit before standing and rounding to the other side of the desk. “To the Trader’s Hotel then?”

“Yes,” the man pushed the door open for you, and you stepped out quickly. You watched as Hardy locked the door behind himself after he’d joined you out in the chill of the ocean air. The two of you decided quickly between walking and taking your car.  

The hotel wasn’t far, but Hardy seemed to be set on you not walking back to the station alone when the two of you were finished eating. It was a nice enough night that you’d be pushing to just stroll along, but you couldn’t deny that the thought of walking to your car with the person who killed Danny Latimer still out there, didn’t scare you.  

You’d almost forgotten that Hardy still lived at the Trader’s Hotel, just because he’s been around for weeks already, and you barely ever remembered he wasn’t a native to Broadchruch.  

The drive over to the hotel was nice. It was quiet, and there was next to no traffic since the whole of Broadchurch tended to shut down in the late evening. Neither of you said very much, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. You knew Hardy just wasn’t a talkative person, but him inviting you out to eat was nice gesture.  

Hardy led you into the hotel, taking a turn and leading you into the small bar section. Becca Fisher gave the man a nod, before noticing you following behind him. She raised a confused eyebrow, but gave you a friendly wave anyways.  

The two of you sat at a table, and Becca was quick to join you and take your orders.  

Conversation flowed relatively easily while the two of you waited for your food and drinks. Neither of you had ordered any alcohol, since you still had to drive home, and Hardy had said he wasn’t much of a drinker. You’d ordered a meal off the menu you’d had once or twice, while Hardy seemed to order a usual, since Becca didn’t even ask him what he wanted.  

The two of you talked about work. You talked of the office before Hardy’s arrival, and how much had changed since he’d come. And he told you bits and pieces of his past station and some of his memorable cases. The two of you talked about nothing relating to Danny Latimer’s case, or anything relevant happening at the station.  

“I swear,” he told you, voice light as he sipped on his water, “that was the weirdest arrest I’ve ever had to make in all my years.”

“Well, you don’t forget something like that,” you snorted a laugh into your own water. You set your glass back on the table and took another forkful of your meal, smiling widely at Hardy. “That’s hilarious.”

Becca had brought your food out quite quickly since the bar was relatively dead at this time. You dove into your food, starving after staying later than you usually did and not having eaten since lunch. Hardy wasn’t as excited to receive his food, but Ellie often complained in good fun that her boss didn’t ever eat or sleep, as far as she knew.  

He’d always seemed like a perfectly normal guy to you, just... a bit different. He was far more normal than the rest of the station thought him to be, but then again, everyone else was going off looks where you and Ellie were seeing him for more than his harsh speech and stiff mannerisms.  

Alec watched you across the table, fondly dropping his gaze whenever you looked back at him.

“What?” you could help but ask, smile small as you evened yourself after laughing at his story.

“Nothing,” he shrugged, “you have a very nice smile is all. I missed it earlier when I saw you.”

“You missed it?” you asked in surprise, furrowing your eyebrows at the man across the table, “why?”

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly, “you’ve just been a very nice person since I arrived. I know I’m not well liked, but you never really treated me any differently than you treated anyone else. I got kinda used to your smile, I guess.”

You didn’t say anything, watching him as he pushed his food around his plate more than he ate it. He looked up at you again, giving you a small smile, “it was the first thing I noticed when I met you, and the first thing I noticed wasn’t here this evening.”

You weren't sure how to respond. How was Alec Hardy this sweet, but still nicknamed ‘shit-face’ by the others in the office. Not a single other person had noticed your droopy mood. You’d been blah all day, and no one said a thing. But the first time Hardy really sees you, he’s noticed and he’s trying to cheer you up.

“No one else noticed,” you mumbled, setting your fork down on your nearly empty plate.

“They’ll all have a long time to wait before they’re observant enough to be a detective then,” Hardy said. And it almost sounded like a joke. Hardy looked towards you, giving you another tiny smile. Hardy had made a joke.  

You gave a surprised laugh, at both the joke itself, and the fact that Hardy had made a joke. You gave the man a smile, to which he returned a fond look, smiling at the smile gracing your lips.

“Are you finished eating?” Hardy asked softly, pushing his own plate away. He’d barely eaten anything, but you were not close enough to him to comment on it. Yet.

“Yeah,” you yawned, “it’s pretty late. I’m exhausted.”

“It is late,” Hardy nodded, waving Becca, who’d been watching the two of you almost the whole time you’d been sitting at the table, over for the cheque. She came over, handed him the cheque, then gathered the two plates and the glasses you’d both used for water. 

“I’m glad you could join me,” Hardy continued to speak, pocketing the cheque before you could see and pay your half, “it was far better having you here to eat with me, than eating alone.”

“I’m glad you invited me,” you gave him another small smile, “thank you for the invite, I think it was just what I needed to cheer me up. I don’t feel as sad anymore.”

“Anything to get that smile back on your face,” he replied with what you’d almost assume was an uncharacteristically sweet voice. You were starting to think he was just a big, soft teddy bear underneath all that gruff Detective Inspector, “don’t worry about paying, I’ve got a tab that Becca has added to the room.”

“Are you sure?” You frowned, almost feeling bad about Hardy paying for you. Sure, you’d come because he invited you, but you should still pay for yourself.  

“Yeh,” Hardy nodded, standing up and waiting by the table for you to stand as well, “it was my treat. I invited you. Now, you should get home. I look forward to seeing that smile of yours tomorrow.”

The man walked you out to your car, standing there until you drove away. You watched in your rearview mirror as the man turned to enter the hotel as you turned out of the parking lot. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face if you tried. This super late meal was all you really needed, and Hardy was an absolute saint for providing it.  

And if the smile on your face the following morning wasn’t as fond and bright as the evening before with Hardy, the coffee sat on your desk, made perfectly to your liking, when you walked into the office certainly would’ve made it.  

<><><><>

Hope you enjoyed! As always, feel free to prompt again if it wasn’t what you were looking for! Wasn’t sure how to go about this, but I hope it’s alright! 

#alec hardy #alec hardy x reader #broadchurch #reader insert #writing prompt #fanfiction #fanfic

[cadaceus]

C2E141

One last time, y’all. This campaign and these characters have meant so much to me, and this seven hour finale was definitely an emotional rollercoaster. (Yes, I shed actual tears at one point, which rarely happens to me with media. But this is a special occasion.) These liveblogs are nearly as long as the episode itself, so grab a snack! With that being said, here are my very last liveblogs for Campaign 2 of Critical Role. As always, major spoilers below, so beware. 

- Veth taking a level in Wizard, god I am really gonna cry ten minutes into this thing...  😭

- We got our first “stay with us” to Essek, I am emo...

- I was fully not expecting to say goodbye to Frumpkin, but now I’m on the verge of tears... farewell dear fey friend (Marisha saying “that wasn’t supposed to be what broke me” me too me too)

- “You’re a good person.” “I could be.” “You are.”

- “I think you’re a good person” I never thought that I’d hear Beau say that about Essek and this genuinely might be what breaks me... she thinks he’s a good person.... redemption is possible.... maybe love is real....

- If I end up crying over wizards, look away

- Jester lifting up Fjord’s arm to snuggle beneath it made me say “awww” out loud  🥺

- VETH GOING FOR A DIP IN THE POND, I AM GENUINELY SO PROUD OF HER

- “Aahhh!! It’s me! Your wife!” I am going to miss Jester’s sending so much

- Okay that accent bit was so funny, I am going to miss all of them so much

- REAL MOLLY IS BACK REAL MOLLY IS BACK REAL MOLLY IS BACK

- Oh but he doesn’t remember them... and Yasha is trying so hard to help him remember, it’s so so sweet 

- Something about the way he said “Tealeaf’s nice” made me tear up... I was neutral on Mollymauk early campaign because I went into things knowing that he passed away, but this whole conversation with the Mighty Nein is So Much. Also “Kingsley Tealeaf” 

- “Everyone should have a brother” as someone with three of them, I vouch for this  🥺

- a) I love Marion Lavorre (and Jester ofc!) so very much and b) I can’t believe that Jester’s parent trap actually worked??

- “I do not think Exandria is ready for how you’re going to change it” got to me... and it’s also so true. jester has already changed the world just by being kind.

- Good bye Marion... I love and will miss you so much! (And many thanks to Laura and Matt for creating an agoraphic single mother who raised a wonderful child <3)

- Beau and Jester teasing Marion for having a complicated relationship with Babenon reminds me of Caleb saying he has a complicated relationship with Essek...

- LEAVE CALEB ALON E FUOIKJLKGKNL 

- THIS IS ....... SO MUCH WORSE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.

- Caleb’s biggest trauma(s) coming back to haunt him, I am genuinely going to cry I’m not ready for this I’m not okay

- Beau saying to Jester “Thanks, cutie” I love themmmmm

- INITIATIVE AAGJASKHDKJ AAAAAHHHH

- Essek’s Gravity Sinkhole did nothing? uhhhhh Mr Stark...

- EADWULF???? HELLO?????

- Essek using his entire turn to save Caleb last battle 🤝 Caleb using his entire turn to save Essek this battle

- ASTRID???? I TRUSTED YOU??? WE ALL TRUSTED YOU????

- Another Counterspell chain sdfdghjkdl wizards !!!

- “It’s just business” is literally the Neutral Evil line, it always gives me chills when any character says it

- This hurts more after Liam confirming on Twitter that Astrid/Caleb/Eadwulf were all three a romantic item... please stop hurting Caleb, you loved him  😭

- THE FJORD VS EADWULF SWORD FIGHT IS SO CINEMATIC I LOVE IT HERE ACTUALLY

- Essek taking every opportunity to pull Caleb to safety makes me so emotional...  😭

- “You’re not the first student I’ve had to put down” I am burning with my anger for you, old man 

- THE DISPEL WORKED LET’S GO CALEB.....

- Remember when Matt said that Essek doesn’t openly show concern/emotion? And now he’s saying “I’m scared” in front of his closest friends and his worst enemies.... growth my love.....

- BEAU AND VETH LETS GO CHAOS CREW LETS MF GO BABEYYYY!!!

- FJORD COUNTERSPELLING THE DIMENSION DOOR..... and Matt having him describe it.... is this taking the place of a “HDYWTDT” *eyes emoji*

- CALEB GOING DOWN NO, THANK GOD FOR THAT DEATH WARD

- Veth’s illusion of Caleb’s parents flanking Caleb in the flames.... that got me too, Liam

- “Stay down.” yeah, okay, that was sexy

- ASTRID BEING THE ONE TO ACTIVATE THE COLLAR IS LITERALLY POETIC JUSTICE... Trent being beaten by the student who stuck with him longest I love this so much, she deserved that moment honestly

- Break Time, AKA Emma Makes Her Weekly Mug Brownie Interlude

- Sometimes I feel like “death is too good for you” is a copout, but in this case it fits so well, I want this mf’s reputation destroyed and the entire operation exposed and overthrown let’s goooo

- “I loved you both so much”.... Astrid and Eadwulf walking away.... oh, Blumendrei... I know this is not the end of your story. What’s past is prologue, loves

- The Empire Siblings are gonna burn down the whole system because it’s the system that enables individual corruption... I am so fulfilled by this, god i love them

- “I love you too” OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, FJORESTER ARE THE CUTEST FOR REAL

- Jester and Essek’s friendship still means so much to me btw just in case anyone wanted a check-in

- Veth giving the flask to Kingsley!! Good for her, good for her!

- OH Blumenduo are back already! I truly thought that was going to be their last appearance of the Campaign, why is this taking me more by surprise than Trent’s appearance

- “[Caleb] notes how similar Eadwulf and Fjord are” this is Widofjord adjacent... this episode we have gotten Widomauk-adjacent, Widojest-adjacent, and Widofjord-adjacent (and Blumentrio ofc), now come through Shadowgast and we can get a full Bingo on the “Bisexual Maelstrom” card

- Speaking of relationships, I am lowkey into the Fjord/Jester/Kingsley dynamic LOL no one look at me I’m in hiding

- I’M NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO VETH AND CAD 😭 It makes sense and the fact that they have their families back is beautiful but also consider this: I’m sad and I will miss them 

- The goodbyes to Caduceus..... I am going to cry aren’t I?

- “If he’s anything like his mom, you won’t see him until it’s too late” Okay that made me giggle, I love Veth and I love Luc and I love their little family

- IS ESSEK LEAVING TOO? THAT’S GONNA BE WHAT BREAKS ME ISN’T IT

- If Essek leaves and we never see him again, getting a triple whammy of goodbyes I will be so incredibly sad, I cannot do this  😭

- If anyone is interested, no I am not doing well

- I was lowkey ready to get an Essek’s feelings for Caleb confirmation tonight, I guess it makes sense that we didn’t but I hope that this is not the last time we see Essek... I want to write another emo post about him and about how much he means to me but I will refrain

- CALEB BEING A TEACHER IS THE ENDGAME I WANT FOR HIM PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- Wow, I really was not ready to see Caduceus and Essek go for some reason... I really wanted this Campaign to end on the image of the Mighty Nein together as all nine of them... I’m feeling so numb right now having to say goodbye  😭

- Oh, we’re in the epilogue now!

- When Fjord said “[the sea] is my favorite place to be” I genuinely felt that on a spiritual level... the ocean is home, it truly is and always will be for me as well

- “I CAST MODIFY MEMORY” FJORD LMAOOOOOOO

- Okay, that Widobrave ending is what made me shed tears for the first time this episode... not to be Personal but my biological brother graduates High School tomorrow, and for some reason this conversation just reminded me so much of me and him and now I’m emotional

- NOT THE SYPHILIS BANDITS DSYUHDFJKLSFJ;DS OKAY I NEEDED THAT LAUGH

- “I’d like to hear about your friend” Kingsley aww

- Beau giving Kingsley her first diary to help him realize who they all are is actually so perfectly fitting, I love that!

- “The other eight and I, yes” Caleb counting all nine of them again  😭

- CALEB BEING OFFERED AN ASSEMBLY SEAT WTF AAAHHH

- Oh shit, Astrid took the Assembly seat... I’m not sure how I feel about this, I feel so bad for her for having to stay in the system that abused her for so long and I would have loved to see her burn the whole thing down, but I hope that she at least has a sense of contentment with this title

- “I go where you go, baby” Beauyasha.... my darling loves....

- Beau’s dad??? But also Beau being the one with power over her father is so Good, I’m glad that she got justice on that front as well!

- This talk with Artagan... “I didn’t want you to be a god. I wanted you to be my friend.” and in the process my love you created divinity... maybe divinity is the friends we made along the way

- OH SHIT WE ARE GETTING ALL THE VANDRAN LORE TONIGHT I’M READY LET’S GO LET’S GO

- VANDRAN AND AVANTIKA WERE AN ITEM???

- Wait crack theory: Sabian was a half elf right? Could he be the son of Vandren and Avantika? Or is that too much of a stretch? 

- Vandran going with them!!! Also I feel like that moment between Fjord and Vandran was lowkey a tease to a post-campain Uk’otoa one shot and I am ready for it already 

- THIS BEAUYASHA MOMENT... “i’ve never known anyone as deeply as i know you” & “explore every bit of you in multiple ways ;)” & “your past doesn’t scare me, it only makes you beautiful” .... this is so much they are so much i love them so much

- “I will have you and then some” Beauyasha   😭

- I’m torn between “oh my god there’s still half an hour left?” and “how is there only half an hour left??”

- “You will let this Skyspear live at least?” oh my god so Yasha killed the last Skyspear then? Oof...

- YASHA GIVING ZUALA(’S GRAVE) THE BOOK OF FLOWERS, OH DEAR HEART

- And Beau’s talk to Zuala about being the luckiest woman alive and sacrifice.... 😭  

- PLANTING FLOWERS AT ZUALA’S GRAVE... “NO BETTER GRAVE MARKER” THIS IS MAKING ME SO EMOTIONAL, I KNOW I’VE SAID THIS A LOT THIS EPISODE BUT THIS TRULY IS SO BEAUTIFUL

- So... I may or may not be crying again

- Shadowgast with a steel chair??

- Caleb’s plan for saving his parents... it’s clear he has thought of this so much, oh my darling love  😭

- Caleb burning down his chance to change his past is so symbolic and something he really needed to do, it does make me emotional though

- The other book was him writing to his parents?? Oh bby boy  😭  

- While I would have loved for Caleb to open his own magic school (especially with Essek, or the Mighty Nein, or someone else as well), I am so pleased that he stays with Veth and that their friendship continues for the rest of their life because again: they mean so so much to me, and in a way they remind me of me and my biological brother (which I never realized before this episode) and yeah. They just make me Emo

- Also. Caleb being a professor was my Number One Endgame Hope for him and the fact that it came true is just so surreal in the best way possible. I’m so used to being robbed of happy endings. The fact that the Mighty Nein all got theirs makes me incredibly happy. A story does not have to be sad to be impactful. Happy stories and happy endings, especially during a time period of tumultuous real life circumstances, have just as much value and meaning and they always will. Caleb is teaching the next generation magic, and he is teaching them to be Good, and he is nurturing them, and that just means so much

- MATT CRYING IS GONNA GET TO ME

- “Let’s do it again” Please, let’s.

- Okay, everyone. I made it all seven hours in one piece with surprisingly minimal tears (though who knows, this might all sink in tomorrow.) I already wrote my thoughts earlier today about how much the Mighty Nein mean to me and how much this show and these characters have kept me holding on during quarantine and today... I’m still not ready to let them go, but I know that I can always revisit to say hello and to say thank you for changing me. Until then though... I love you all more than you could ever know. And for the last time of Campaign 2... is it Thursday yet?

Good night 💗

#cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #c2e141 #critical role #my liveblogs #cr2 #i genuinely can't believe this is the end y'all... what a journey. what a freaking journey 💗 #to anyone who has ever interacted with even one of my liveblogs: i love you and i think about you every damn day dfghjkflf #it makes me Emo knowing that i'm not just speaking to the void and that there are ppl out there listening etc #also this liveblog was TWO THOUSAND WORDS LONG i checked it in a google doc sgdhjkdl #so if you made it through all that you may be entitled to financial compensation #but in all seriousness: i love you mighty nein. and thank you for everything. #is it thursday yet? #queue #(i always queue these for the mornings dgfhjk!) #and yes i WILL be liveblogging campaign 3 #also mayhaps this hiatus will be time for me to catch up with vox machina?

[mitsumerea]

Me in a nutshell: my otome journey, separating fantasy from reality, something about friendship and why I’m the real  Soryu Oh’s soulmate 

WARNING: Lots of gushing

I was raised as part of a generation that gets a lot of flack for being improperly socialized. In my case, I had very controlling parents who were happy to keep me occupied with my DS and computer, as long as I stayed home where they could see me. My phone, however, was not my own. My dad demanded to know my passcode as a way to look through it and make sure I wasn’t talking to any boys. He didn’t talk to me for 30 days when he found out about my very first boyfriend, I counted. He also flipped out when he saw my Mystic Messenger texts from Jumin, so that was a fun one to explain to him. I did have another boyfriend in junior-senior year of high school and I managed to get him to cooperate in hiding our relationship but I was actually in love with someone else the entire time, but that’s a story for another day. My dad would use the excuse that he needed to use my phone specifically to call even though he had a perfectly functioning one in his own pocket. When I did manage to sneak out, it was planned flawlessly. To this day my parents think I have a perfect record. But I was so paranoid that I would duck and hide whenever a car that vaguely resembled my parents would drive by. It’s kind of sad to think that all my friends and my ex didn’t ask anything about the way I behaved around them.

Double down on the fact that we’re Asian, they used emotionally abusive tactics on me and my siblings to do what they wanted like guilt us for wasting their money even though they threw it all on private school, constantly reminding us how good we have it even though they left their homeland and came to this country with absolutely nothing, cry that we were going to put them in a home when they were older, etc. But they were a lot harder on me than my brothers since I was their only daughter. And they didn’t just do it for our own safety; they, especially my mom, did it frame themselves as parents who got it right with one of their kids. She never liked my friends, so she never let me hang out over the weekends or have sleepovers with them because thought their parents were dirty and dumb. She wanted to teach me a lesson that family is more important than friends so I took it to a new extreme at the cost of basically drying out my need for social interaction, including my own extended family.

They were aware Ive been an anime connoisseur since middle school and were okay with it as long as it didn’t affect my studies. I wrote fics all the time but never published a single one, even to this day. In the latter half of high school, I started playing Pirates in Love and I mained THE HELL out of Eduardo back when his hair was slicked back. That’s where it all began. I on and off flings with my ex after I graduated high school in 2014. It was 2016 when we broke it off for good and I went to grad school in Southern California, the same year I officially started writing for KBTBB. If you’ve read this far, you should know I have a type, so OF COURSE I went for Soryu.

At this point in my life I was used to being by myself. For years. I was comfortable just not partying and keeping to myself. I wouldn’t even make friends online. That’s how reclusive I was. But all that time spent inside my own head resulted in me developing odd behaviors that are now biting me in the ass as I attempt to navigate this capitalist society as a full-time adult. Despite my interest in romance, I identified as falling in the ace spectrum, I still do, but I was leaning towards asexual. I had no interest in dating. I told my parents not to expect any grand children from me because my life goal was to be rich enough to own a cottage and live alone with many cats. This worries my mom who, all of a sudden, cared about my social life. In my head, her only hope was for Soryu Oh himself to exist in the flesh and reciprocate any interest in me.

Grad school was different, and our cohort in particular was very small. We only had 15 people and I was one of the youngest one in my batch. We were a mixed bag of folks. Some were already married, majority in serious relationships and half were engaged by the end of the program. There were only 3 of us who were single. Of the majority who were in committed relationships at the time, there was an tall, objectively handsome and dare I say muscular? (he played volleyball competitively before meeitng me) half-Cantonese man. He was the only other Asian in our class. I drew the comparisons right away and made sure not to delude myself into thinking he was anything like Soryu, but boy was I wrong. He actually reached out to me first and we hit it off right away. I learned he too loved to read any kind of novel (not just mystery but all kinds of genres), was put off by strong perfume, and was very fond of eggs. When I got to know him better, his mannerisms, views on life and upbringing (had step-siblings, grew up without a father) were almost exactly the same. He was like Soryu reincarnate minus being in the mafia. I thought I was batshit crazy.  Like God himself was trying to smite me. It was damning. I wish I’d created this blog sooner so you guys could’ve observed my reactions in real time, it was so wild. But at the end of the day, as screwed up my history was with forming meaningful relationships, I couldn’t approach him like I would straight out of these games. That was a goddamn person with his own plans going on, why would i matter to him? And I had to be especially careful because he was in a very complicated relationship. So I made sure not to overstep my boundaries.

Over time, it became increasingly clear to the only 4 girls in my class that we were close for being “just friends”. I learned later that the entire class eventually caught on and began playing a game of “will they, won’t they?” But as always, I kept it to myself and persuaded myself to be grateful that I even had friends. This guy became my best friend, and my mom was definitely wrong about how important it is to have friendships, because my biological family was definitely not there for me when I needed them most. And they knew I was serious when I spent our entire spring break visiting him in the ICU. He had an accident and was hospitalized for 10 days. I didn’t have his family’s contact info but I did everything I could to find out where he was. Like y’all don’t understand how big of a deal that was to my parents, because I’d never done anything like that before. Looking back, it was like giving a middle finger to all the conditioning my parents did to make me sit at  home and mind my own business. I was truly liberated from the hellscape they’d built for me. But me riding BART 2 hours there and 2 hours back just to see him like that was the second time my heart was broken (the first time was when my mom told me to “Be more human.”) I realized I was screwed after his mom thanked me for coming. She also must have thought I was absolutely deranged for waltzing in there, unannounced. 

Despite my sexual orientation, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sexually confused throughout the 2 and a half years of the program. Most of it was spent me convincing myself not to fall for him because not just because I saw a fictional character in him but because he was in a high-key emotionally abusive relationship. But the more I got to know him the more I realized I liked him for who he was way more than she ever would. But how he was going to settle it was all up to him. With my limited gaming knowledge, I was clearly no expert at romance. For all I knew, I could’ve been pining over nothing because I wasn’t even sure he liked me back! That was until things happened, we crossed a line at some point, statuses got really messy, and I was trying to tap out to save his rep. When he ended things with his ex, he confessed that he couldn’t imagine the rest of his life without me. It was like straight out of the game! I’m so sorry for gushing, but no one had ever told me something so cliche. And he didn’t seem like the type AT ALL. To this day it still puzzles me how someone like him is even remotely interested in someone like me. I even considered walking away to let us “become our own people” and “find ourselves” but we had already been doing that, so we got together!

Now he’s an integral part of my life. Because we met in the same field, we do work together. He still hasn’t read a single one of my pieces but still looking forward to the day I’m willing to share it with him. We moved out of state and even have a cat. I’m definitely not asexual as I initially thought but I do fall under the ace spectrum, now leaning towards demisexual. The me from a few years back wouldn’t believe my IRL romance would actually turn out as well as it did. I still play otome games (all from Voltage) and write fics except now I don’t have to hide that I do these things because he accepts my habits and hobbies completely. Aside from all KBTBB stories, and Eduardo, Nate and the Captain’s route in Pirates in Love, I’ve read the main stories for the main love interest of Scandal in the Spotlight, Our Private Homeroom and Romance MD. I’ve also read Hirose and Noel’s route in Seduced in the Sleepless City, Kaoru and Akiyoshi’s route in Our Two Bedroom Story, Shiki’s route in 10 Day with My Devil, Ken, Shion and Gaia’s route in A Knight’s Devotion, Joshua’s route in Be My Princess, and the Boss’ route in Masquerade Kiss. 

I also am up to date on most of Soryu’s stories and they make me really happy. But over the years, it’s literally become the other way around: I see my partner in Soryu now. With his Traitor’s Wedding March coming out soon, I can’t help but draw some comparisons to then and now. In my own life, we’re p set on holding off on marriage and we’re both focused on our careers so we’re on the fence about kids. But my mom wants it all right now so bad -_- But naaaaah, it’ll happen whenever it happens. I’m not scared about being too early or too late, because I’m not going anywhere and neither is he.

Soooo that about sums up why Soryu Oh as a character is so dear to me, friends are good to have, and not to treat people like otome game characters because they’re the whole package, faults and all

#TLDR;Socially reclusive girl meets otome game love interest IRL learns about the power of friendship and ends up loving him for who he is #kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb #soryu oh #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb soryu oh

[washymylifeaway]

SakuAtsu Fanfic recs

Edit: minor changes (grammar and stuff) cause I rushed this :’)

EDIT: PT 2 IS OUT

OKAY so I meant to make like a long list of MULTIPLE VARIOUS ASSORTED ships but as I was making it I realized I had WAY too many SakuAtsu fics. Like TOO MANY AHHHH. Anyway, I decided that for the sake of everyone, I should just make a separate post LOL oops I’m sorry but I’m so far into SakuAtsu hell it’s not even funny :))))))))) I tried to keep things short so I could not BORE you while reading this post LOL, but also THERE WILL BE A PT 2 because I cut myself short in order to get this out for.....

THE BEST BOY SAKUSA KIYOOMI’S BIRTHDAY I LOVE HIM AND EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD TOO :DDDDDDDDD

As per usual, pls check WARNINGS, TAGS, and SUMMARIES for each fic before reading and make sure you’re taking care of yourselves (since mental health is key!) Stay healthy loves <3

Some of my FAVORITE writers CHECK TAGS AND WARNINGS PLS-

astroeulogy // I LOVE their works and they write BEAUTIFULLY AHHHHH!!! My fav? Possibly Dance of the Parallax by astroeulogy (T) 6.7k, but all of them are SO good! (My love for mythology really be showing here hehe.)

DeathBelle // this writer is on SO many of my posts cause I ADORE the way they write and characterize!!! My fav? Burden of Blame by DeathBelle (E) 91.2k but you already knew that LOL. I love the other ones too, but mafia? UGH.

hatsuna // ahjfsdjfhkasj need I say more? There isn’t a lot BUT the ones there are so so good! My fav? Pas De Deux by hatsuna (T) 19k surprise :D I love this one for their interactions but also Omi’s childhood! It’s really good (and you don’t even need to understand ballet) <33333

bastigod // again another writer you will be seeing in other posts because their writing gives me LIFE AHHH. My fav? my love, take your time by bastigod (T) 9k again you already knew this, but I LOVE THIS ONE ahagdhls. I have reread this one so many times oops hehe :)

volchitsae // I LOVE THIS WRITER, like some of my favorite SakuAtsu fics are from this writer, like favorites of ALL TIME. Please go read their stuff because I love it so much. My fav? take me to the limit, hold me down there by volchitsae (E) 3.8k this was the fic that got me into their writing, and oops I’ve fallen and I can’t get up haha leave me....

awkwardedgeworth // THE FICS THIS WRITER MAKES AJKASDLK. I love them and everything they make omg!!! My fav? This was SO hard but Notte Stellata by awkwardedgeworth (T) 20.8k cause I’m basic LOL but your flame will not survive in this cold tundra was a close second :’)

TBH, there are more that I don’t have time to get to (I started this a while back but then pretended like it didn’t exist for a while LOL) but these were the ones here hehe :) I could honestly make an ENTIRE fic rec list from these writers alone and it would be WAY too long, so for the sake of everyone,,, MOVING ON

Fics (in no order, but also I’m missing a bunch I LOVE but like I said TIME CONSTRAINTS AHHAHAH RIP)-

the inherent romance of classical conditioning (or, the fine art of emotional recognition) by pseudoanalytics (E) 13.7k // this fic made me laugh so much, starting from the fact that there needed to be clarification (which was, after finishing, understood LOL) that this was indeed NOT a fic with a foot fetish.

Routines (and How to Break Them) by cajynn (T) 1.6k // this fic makes them SO CUTE ugh the fluff ajsjkfhajh. I love how Atsumu just slips into everything Omi does (like a snake) ITS SO ADORABLE AHHH.

sense of purpose (or, what comes next) by pseudoanalytics (T) 3.6k // this fic was so HEARTWARMING!!! It made me kinda sad though cause I’m just that kinda person (and I don’t like to think about the past LOLOLOLOL), but the ending was !!! SO !!! CUTE !!! and I love the ending notes (me too Osamu, me too)!

crushed by citruslemonade (strawberrycitrus) (E) 4.2k // I feel like it’s a crime if I don’t mention this fic LOL and it’s very quick and funny! We all want to be the watermelons in this fic and no I don’t take criticism. No thoughts just Miya Atsumu’s thighs :’)))

Clipped To You by littleboat (T) 8.1k // (cp) okay first of all THERE’S ART, second I love Omi in hair clips <3333 It’s really funny with lots of ~pining~ Atsumu and there’s cameo’s of other players,,, it’s just a great time :D

bet on it by selenophim (T) 13.3k // this is a ~classic~ literally I keep seeing this fic because I like to stalk the relationship tags (LOL) and since it’s so good, I keep seeing it (also LOL). This may be SakuAtsu, but this is Osamu supremacy, again I don’t take criticism LOL.

Just as much by Sapphirine (NR) 16.1k // this is peak gay panic as demonstrated by one Miya Atsumu hehe. This fic is so FLUFF but also PINE! I’ll just be sitting here with my 851 million microorganisms to keep me company cause I’M SINGLE LOL.

every action has an equal and opposite reaction by akanemnida (T) 10.4k // nothing to see here, just Sakusa saying things that make Atsumu’s heart stop ;) I love ~caring~ Sakusa so if you do too, read! But also hello? Perfume drop please,,,,

see this through by basilleia (T) 17.7k // I am shamelessly a HARDCORE Atsumu wears glasses fan, once again, I take absolutely no criticism! Again some ~caring~ Sakusa heheh but also love the twin dynamic in this one!

dogshit (first comes the fall) by kitcassiachan (E) 15.8k // PLEASE CHECK WARNINGS! ngl this was one of the first fics I read for this ship and GOD did it get me hooked onto bottom Sakusa agenda (it really hit different). Of course, I’m not promoting the way this relationship happened (don’t have hate s*x), BUT I have nothing to say other than I had no regrets. RIP (not actually but you’ll get what I mean LOL) Bokuto and Ushiwaka for that matter.

let's get physical by rosegoldwriting (T) 4.3k // I really like medical stuff (you’ll see later LOL) BUT even if you don’t still read it cause IT’S FUNNY OKAY. We gotta love boys day and STD’s~~ (also don’t be stupid like him and get hurt to see hot doctors :))))

all i do is crave by newamsterdam (E) 12.7k // were we waiting for me to bring a 5 + 1 to the table? If so, here it is! We do love the olympics and oblivious Astumu~~

lay it on me (no, really) by ayushi_writes (T) 4.2k // please the way I was hesitant to read it at first but then the ‘being very fond and caring in a homie way haha’ made me read it LOL. The fluff (and Astumu being caring because that is another one of my favorite things to read hehe) in this is almost worth the awkwardness that made me want to go put my head into a hole like an ostrich LOLOLOLOL.

ink blossoms by entrechat (T) 8.1k // I think this fic IS SO CUTE OMG. I love the way Omi sits in the shop to draw was ADORABLE and making them do that to get tattoos? Smart af (and v respectful we stan). Also, I love flower meanings :D

crimson colored lotus by sieges (M) 16.5k // (cp) this was a demon slayer AU LOL. TBH I haven’t watched DS, but you honestly don’t really need to in order to read this LOL. It’s explained really well and the writing is AMAZING! It’s not a linear fic, but you can read it in order if you so choose.

where i want to be by tookumade (G) 8.8k // THIS ONE ahhhhhh so cute I love it. Omi trying SO hard in this relationship and Atsumu being so understanding. I love it here :’)))))

three roses and a smile by strawberrycitrus (T) 19.7k // I LOVE THIS ONE not only cause I love professor AUs (I do, I LOVE THOSE) but also it’s just some great writing :D I really love their interactions and the misunderstanding killed me ahhhhh.

If you were wondering, I already have 50+ fics (yes I counted but no I’m not done looking so there will probably have to be some cuts D:) lined up for pt2 AND I took out series in another post, so yeah this is why it’s a cursed draft hahahaa..... I hope you enjoyed cause SakuAtsu is my life and blood.

#sakuatsu #haikyuu fanfic rec #haikyuu fic recs #fanfic recs #manga #anime #omi’s birthday post #cause I love him #pls don’t come for me #I’m getting to the next one soon #I promise #teehee #we’re here for a good time #and a long one too ig? #haikyuu #hq

[butgilinsky]

hard decisions // ds

warning; language, mentions of sex ig, angst (i’m so sorry) 

summary; you and drew have to come to a decision, even if neither of you like the one you choose.

word count; 3.6k+ of absolute heartbreak 

based off of these blurbs that i wrote and keep getting reqs for a part three or a whole ass fic so- i think we knew which one i chose.

i love madelyn, so pls don’t think this reflects my feelings on her bc it doesn’t, i just had to pick a person to get caught in the crossfire

you were starting to regret this dinner. you loved your friends, and you were happy to spend time with them when you weren’t all filming for outer banks or all of your side projects, but it was a less than ideal situation at the moment for you. 

you were picking at the nail polish on your fingernails to distract yourself from the conversation playing out at the dinner table. this dinner was a mistake, and coming while you and drew still had unresolved problems between the two of you was a mistake.

you should’ve at least come to a common ground before coming out tonight, or maybe you should’ve just stayed home. it was hard, when some of the people at the table had no idea about the rising tension between you and drew. they’d noticed you two were less touchy and smiley with each other than usual, but they tried not to think too far into it. 

the only people that knew the severity of the situation were austin, along with both maddies. one of those reasons being that madelyn was slightly involved in the mess of it, though she didn’t ask to be. madison and austin became your crutch along the way, being the ones you’d turn to when things got messy and you needed a place to stay after your apartment grew to tense. 

drew was talking to maddie while you tried to keep your thoughts to yourself and listen to the story austin had been telling. you were trying to block out drew and maddie, truthfully, but you that proved to be hard when he made yet another comment about the top she was wearing.

“can you quit flirting? i’m right here.” you snapped, your eyes burning a hole in the boy beside you. you earned a few glances around the table, and drew looked down at you, practically mortified at your outburst. 

“i didn’t mean to-”

“well you did, and it’s annoying as fuck.” his eyes widened, as well as a few across the table while maddie stared at her lap, feeling her shoulders slump at the idea that she was unintentionally causing rifts between you and your boyfriend. 

it was unlike you to start a conversation like this in front of all of your friends. you and drew were good at keeping your cool until you got in the car, leaving your friends to believe that nothing was going on just before world war three began on your drive home. 

they knew things were off between you two, but you both plastered believable smiles on your faces and tolerated each other long enough to at least make it to the elevator of each building without even making a snide comment. 

“can we not do this right now?” his voice lowered, and he spoke through his teeth to try to underplay the anger bubbling inside of him, but you knew you only had to push a little further to get him to give in.

“can you not flirt with my best friend right now?” drew rolled his eyes again, breathing out through his nose before standing up.

“y/n, we’re not doing this right now.” he turned away from you, looking at the less than exciting table cloth in front of him, desperately trying to ignore the gazes on him. you let out a short laugh, making his eyes snap over to you momentarily. 

“it’s never the right time to do this, isn’t it?” he sighed heavily, realizing there was no way out of this conversation with you. 

“if you want to talk about this now, can we at least go outside?” you scoffed softly but stood up anyways, letting drew apologize to the group while you walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.

he was hot on your heels after apologizing to your friends, forcing a short smile at them waving him off, telling him to go deal with the mess you both made. they whispered about the two of you after you left, but neither of you needed to know that. though, they did find it odd that madelyn didn’t contribute much to the gossip. 

“you’re unbelievable you know that? you can’t let it go for one fucking night? what’s wrong with you?” you paused in stride, turning on the balls of your feet to peer up at your boyfriend, who was fuming right in front of you.

“i’m unbelievable? i’m not the one that’s been acting like we aren’t even dating anymore! if you want to be with maddie so bad-”

“for the last fucking time, i don’t want to be with maddie! i don’t know what’s got that so heavily ingrained into your thick skull but i don’t see her like that!” people were trying to ignore the two of you in order to walk into the restaurant, but it was hard when you were so close to the front door, in the middle of the sidewalk.

“could’ve fooled me, drew. anybody with a set of eyes would think that you’re trying to make passes at her.” he groaned loudly again, sending his foot into the brick wall beside the two of you. “you know what, you go back inside and spend time with everyone, i’m going to go home.”

“y/n, don’t do this tonight. this is one of the last times everybody will be in the same place at the same time before we start filming. just come back inside-”

“i don’t want to, drew! i can’t act like we’re fine right now, and i sure as hell don’t want to listen to you talk to maddie all night long. so i’ll see you at home.” part of you wanted him to keep fighting for it. you wanted him to want you to come back inside, but the small part of him that wanted that was outweighed by the part of him that wanted a break from your incessant attitude. 

you would’ve felt bad for taking the car, given that you two showed up to dinner together, but you knew maddie would’ve been more than happy to drive drew home, which was just another thing you’d argue about once he got home. drew had half a thought to follow you, go home with you and fix this situation before it progressed, but he ignored the thought and walked back inside of the restaurant.

you cried in the car, punching your steering wheel a few times until your hand started to hurt and you tried to clear your vision. you started your car and drove home, earning a few texts along the way. madison and austin asked if you were okay, given that they were the closest to you out of the group and probably had more insight than the others about the situation you were in. 

you sent a quick ‘i’m home, i’m okay’ text to both of them and threw your phone onto the counter before sinking yourself into the couch. you didn’t get to catch the look that the the two of them sent each other across the table, neither of them believing you from the way drew was tense the rest of the dinner. 

you sat on the couch, staring at the glass of wine in your hands that you poured over an hour ago and had only taken a few sips from. you had full intentions of drinking it faster than you sat down, but that proved to be difficult with the thoughts running through your mind. you figured alcohol would only make those thoughts harder to think through. 

you sighed when a knock on the door echoed off of the walls, placing the glass on the coffee table and standing up. you reached for the handle, but paused, staring at the door in front of you.

“baby, i don’t have my keys.” you sighed gently, the lump in your throat making you hesitate from swinging the door open. “y/n, please.”

you opened the door, watching drew sigh heavily when your eyes met. you turned on your heels and walked away from the door, letting him catch it for himself before he walked inside.

“are we going to settle this?”

“i don’t know, drew. are you going to stop acting like maddie’s your girlfriend just to tell me that it’s nothing and i shouldn’t worry about it?” he groaned loudly, kicking his shoes off by the door.

“y/n, this is getting out of hand. i’m sorry if i’ve crossed a line here and there, but-”

“crossed a line here and there is a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?” he growled softly, hating when you cut him off and didn’t give him room to speak. “you haven’t talked to me like that in weeks, drew! you compliment her every time you see her, you dance with her when we’re out and barely talk to me the whole night. if you want to be with her, drew-”

“you know, y/n, despite the fact that i keep telling you that i don’t want to be with her every single time we have this conversation, you’re sure as hell making me want to be.” he growled at you, standing face to face with you and watching your tough demeanor diminish.

your lips parted, and you tried to say something, anything in response. but you couldn’t. too many thoughts swam through your mind and none of them could break the barrier to actually come out.

“maddie wouldn’t act like this, y/n.”

“i hate you.” it came quickly, and it stayed soft. every crack in your heart that built up over the weeks pouring into the three words.

“no you don’t.” he shook his head, his shoulders slumping. he knew you didn’t mean it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt him to hear it. you had never said things like that to him. “no you don’t.” he repeated.

you shook your head then, your chest tightening at the situation as a whole. you didn’t know what was going on between the two of you but it needed to end soon, or it would end forever.

“we need to stop doing this, baby.” you nodded, eyes watering at the thought that you’d possibly lose drew forever, sooner than you ever expected. 

you had been arguing more in the past few weeks than you had in the entirety of your relationship. you didn’t know what it was, or how things progressed to this point, but you knew that things were tougher than they ever had been. 

you knew that every time you saw drew with maddie, your skin crawled. it was hard enough in the group when maddie and chase separated, and you didn’t want to add to that by splitting up from drew. it wasn’t that you wanted to, because you’d convinced yourself that you were going to spend the rest of your life with drew, but if things stayed like this, that didn’t seem likely anymore. 

“c’mon, let’s go to bed. we can talk about it in the morning.”

you nodded again, feeling a pair of lips press against your forehead before drew walked around you and towards your bedroom. you turned around, facing the door that he stood in front of.

“come to bed, baby. i’m sorry.” you sighed, eyes glued to your feet as your chest continued to ache.

“not until you apologize.” drew sighed softly, restraining himself from getting angry all over again.

“y/n, i just said i’m fucking sorry.” he caught himself getting angry again and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “i don’t want to fight all night baby, please can we just go to sleep?” you nodded, though you knew you wouldn’t sleep well that night. 

and you didn’t. neither of you did, but you weren’t about to find comfort in one another when that was the sole reason you weren’t sleeping well. you’d been in and out of sleep for a few hours when you pushed yourself out of bed completely, throat scratchy and head slightly throbbing. 

you walked out of your room, shutting the door behind you in an attempt to muffle any noise you would make in the kitchen, and slightly hoping that drew was sleeping soundly. he wasn’t. 

you made coffee, something that you usually did when one of you couldn’t sleep, and despite every bone in your body telling you to sit out there by yourself, you poured drew a cup. you made it the way you knew he would and took it back into the room, seeing him sitting up against the headboard and rubbing at his eyes. 

he had a book in his lap, the lamp on his side of the bed switched on. he looked up at you once the door opened, a soft smile creeping onto his lips at the sight of you holding two cups. 

you knelt down on the bed and moved to the top of it, handing drew his cup and smiling at the soft ‘thank you’ he offered. you drank most of your cup in silence, letting drew read the chapter in his current novel, before setting an almost empty cup of, now room tempered, coffee on your nightstand. 

you sat beside drew, dropping your head on his shoulder and letting out a sigh through your nose. he folding the corner of his page once he finished his paragraph and shut the book, letting it fall onto his lap as a signal that you had his attention - if you wanted it. 

“do you think we’re going to make it?” you whispered, picking at the almost nonexistent nail polish on your fingers, despite the fact that you painted them yesterday. 

“i don’t know.” he spoke truthfully, which you appreciated, but it tugged at your heart. it hurt to know that the two of you were on the same page of not knowing where this path was leading the two of you. “i hope so.” 

“me too.” you said softly, feeling the tears in your eyes come back from hours before. 

the sleep deprivation along with the unruly emotions you had put yourself through for the last couple of weeks was enough to bring tears to your eyes within seconds. there was no point in blinking them away, or trying to hide them from drew. 

they were falling down your cheeks and onto his shoulders in record time, making you unsure if you were glad he wasn’t wearing a shirt or not. on one hand, you weren’t ruining one of his shirts - which you had plenty of experience with - but on the other other hand, he was able to recognize the feeling of a wet shoulder within seconds. 

“baby, come here.” he whispered softly, throwing an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest. he knew there was almost nothing he could do to cease your tears, since they were built up from all of the argument you’d been having. he couldn’t take back his words or his actions, but he could prevent them in the future - hopefully. 

“i don’t know how to fix this, drew.” his hand found its way underneath the shirt you were wearing, tracing small shapes across your back. it was something he did a lot, when you couldn’t sleep or were stressed out from work. it was one of the only things that seemed to soothe you without fail. 

“i don’t either.” he whispered back, setting his chin on top of the head resting against his chest. 

truth be told, he’d done everything he could think of. he’d given you space when he thought you needed it, and that didn’t seem to work. he tried to not get angry without reason, but he couldn’t seem to help it. he tried to minimize the amount of arguments, as well as the severity of each one. nothing worked. 

the two of you were in a rut, and neither of you knew how to get out of it. you were due for season two of outer banks in a few months, and you didn’t know how that was supposed to work. if you two had to get on a plane and fly out tomorrow, you knew it would end badly. 

you knew that if the two of you had to act together right now, the scenes between your characters weren’t going to help your relationship at all. your characters were both hotheads, spending most of your shared screen time yelling at one another. 

“what do we do?” you asked through your tears, not bothering to hide the crack in your voice. 

“there’s only so much we can do, y/n. we either have to find a way to fix this or we have to-” he stopped himself, his voice cracking before he could even mutter his next suggestion. his heart was breaking, as was yours. 

truth be told, your hearts were breaking because you knew what you should do. you knew that despite everything that the two of you felt for each other, there was only one way to truly fix the unbreakable tension between you and your boyfriend. 

staying together didn’t seem to provide any solution. you’d tried to work on this, and it ended in a different argument every time. neither of you saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and the only way out was an emergency exit. 

“i don’t want to.” you didn’t want to say it. you didn’t need to say it. he knew exactly what you meant, because he didn’t want that either, but it seemed to become clearer to both of you that that was the solution for right now. 

“neither do i.” you clung tighter to him, and he held onto you when your body started to shake. 

it was hard, to come to a solution that neither of you liked the idea of. you told yourself that no matter how much it sucked to fight with drew, you’d rather fight with him every day than go a single day without seeing him. you’d seen him everyday for the past year and a half. working with your partner offered that luxury, and now you weren’t going to have that opportunity for a few more months. 

“i guess i should go in the morning.” you shook your head at his words, wanting to rid yourself of the growing feeling in your chest. 

“i’ll go. your name’s on the lease.” he didn’t say anything after that, having no desire to get into an argument about who moved out of the apartment you’d been sharing ever since you got back from filming. 

“can you stay until the sun comes up?” you nodded, not wanting to move even when the sun peeked through the curtains, but you knew that if you didn’t go then, you’d never go and the two of you would spiral into the same pit you’d found yourself in for months. 

so you laid there, wrapped in one another’s embrace for the next few hours. there were shared words and tears, as well as kisses and touches. there was a connection between the two of you that neither of you had felt in what seemed like forever, but it gave you hope. hope that if you revisited this part of your life anytime soon, you’d be able to pick it up from where you left off before you dove into this rut. 

and when the sun came up, you unwrapped yourself from the boy, eyes bloodshot and bags darker than they’d ever been before. you didn’t want to leave, a soft but noticeable voice in your head telling you that the last few hours might have been the beginning to the next era with drew. 

but you got up and packed your bags, because you knew that was the right choice. you packed a duffle bag and slipped the essentials into your backpack after drew told you you were welcome to come back a different day for the rest of it. 

he was hoping that the next time you stepped into the apartment, you’d stay. 

and you found yourself standing at the door, both of you crying just as you had done just a few hours earlier. he kissed you once, longer than a normal kiss but shorter than a suggestive kiss. he was asking you to stay, and you were telling him you wanted to. 

but you turned on your feet and you walked down the hall, leaving the apartment and the boy that lived in it behind you. and it took you all of ten seconds of being in the elevator for you to break down, body shaking and tears freely flowing. 

you were able to stop them long enough to make the short drive, but the second you’d turned your car off they started again, not stopping even when you knocked on the familiar door and austin stood in front of you, understanding without saying a single word. 

he wrapped you in a hug, because this hadn’t come as a surprise to him, and he held you while you violently sobbed into him. you didn’t have to tell him with drew, and you didn’t have to ask to stay here, because the bags under your bloodshot eyes and the bag on your shoulder told him you needed a place to stay. 

“drew and i broke up.” he sighed softly, hand holding your head into his chest as he racked his brain for ways to make this situation any less shitty. 

he didn’t come up with any. 

“can i stay here?”

“of course you can. come inside.” 

#drew starkey #drew x reader #obx #the obx #the outer banks #outer banks #outer banks netflix #angst

[vintagedolan]

mixtape | track four

| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist | visual by @brockhsmpton​

“Hey! No headshots!” 

“Then no moving your head into my shot! Cheater!” Bekah stuck out her tongue. It looked a bit paler than usual. 

“Aye, I don’t cheat!” 

It was quite the sight, Indy was sure. A small 15 year old versus a much larger 20 year old, ducking behind anything they could in the hospital room - curtains, the bed, the large cabinet door, even going as far as climbing under the sink to avoid each other’s paper airplanes. The first few times she’d protested their swiping of her blank index cards, knowing she would need them eventually for another study session in the future. But Bekah’s giggles were enough for her to give in, taking on her role of judge to ensure no one cheated and even folding a few extras for them. 

They kept it up for a while until Bekah started to breathe a bit heavier, wincing some as she tried to throw hers at an ever moving Grayson. Indy caught on first, furrowing her brow and offering up a ‘take it easy’, but the look she gave Grayson was a bit more serious, and he nodded, scrambling for another idea that wouldn’t make it too obvious that he’d noticed Bekah’s struggle. In a moment of insight he grabbed the bedpan, sitting it at the end of the bed and moving to sit towards the top, leaving plenty of space.

“Beks, come sit down, we’ll see who's really got better aim.”

She was grateful, her exhaustion obvious as she leaned back against the pillows, landing a few good ones before Jennifer came in with that look that had her groaning.

“It’s 8 guys, time to roll out.” 

“Can’t they stay just a little longer Mrs. Jennifer? Please?” She put on her best pleading voice, but it was futile. Even if they weren’t being told to go, Indiana wasn’t going to push it that night - she didn’t like the way that Bekah’s skin didn’t have it’s usual deep richness. She looked small. Jennifer shook her head.

“Not tonight kiddo, maybe next week.”

Indiana checked her phone - it was only 7:50, and Jennifer never pulled them out early.

Unless…

“We’ll see you soon Beks, get some rest okay?” She kept her voice steady despite the twisting feeling of her gut, giving Grayson time to say goodbye before they both headed out the door with a wave.

Indiana followed Jennifer towards the nurses station, Grayson right behind her. When they stopped, she reached out for his hand, bracing herself.

Jennifer was a kind woman, and she’d only cut their session short if there was something she needed to tell them.

“What’s going on? Don’t sugarcoat it either,” Indy said. Grayson squeezed her hand, running a thumb across the back of it slowly.

“She’s not responding to treatment. Her counts aren’t going down, her tumors aren’t shrinking. Her body isn’t doing well.”

Grayson stiffened. 

“So what’s the next step then?” He asked. 

“We’re going to try stem cells, but with her systems already so fragile we can’t have her expending any energy she doesn’t have to be. She puts on a show when you all are here, because she doesn’t want you two to worry. And when she actually has the procedure, it’s gonna be family only for at least a week, so I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.”

“Isn’t that the whole reason we’re here though? Because her family can’t see her very often? I don’t want her to have to go through that alone.” The concern was evident in Grayson’s voice, and it made Indiana’s heart swell, even as Jennifer sighed.

“I know, and I wish it was different. But it’s for her own protection, or believe me we’d be looking for a loophole. We’ll take good care of her, and you can always facetime to keep her company, kiddos usually love that.” 

Indiana’s logic kicked in, her medical brain starting to spin and catch up with what Jennifer was saying. She set her shoulders, like her mom taught her to, and just nodded.

“Right, that makes sense. We’ll figure out a way to make sure she’s supported through the whole thing. Thanks for letting us know.” 

Grayson frowned at the sudden change in her tone but didn’t question her as she turned away. He simply followed her, pressing the buttons for the doors as they made it through the hallways. She was walking faster than usual and he lengthened his stride to keep up, not even making his usual comment about the stairs, just moving straight into the elevator.

As soon as the doors closed he heard her ragged breath and immediately opened his arms, taking a step towards her. He was met with a closed fist pressed to his sternum, her knuckles hard even through his hoodie as she stopped him.

“I’m gonna need you to not do that right now.” 

He tried not to pay attention to the way her words made his stomach drop. 

“Why?”

“Because if you hug me right now, I’m gonna cry. And I don’t wanna cry.”

To her relief, he didn’t push it. Instead, he laced his fingers with hers again, a bit tighter than before, as the elevator dinged and they stepped out into the now familiar lobby. 

When Grayson was six and a half, he’d gotten worried. He’d decided he wanted to be a spy, which meant he needed to practice listening to every conversation he could to get ‘intel’. Which meant picking up the extra house phone to listen in on Cam’s conversations, reading Ethan’s Nintendo DS chats, and most importantly, practicing his stealth by sneaking into the living room when it was just Lisa and Sean, to get the real gossip from the adults. But by his third day as the designated house spy, he was worried - so he did what he always did when he didn’t know what else to do. He went to his dad. 

“Why don’t you and Ma talk?” He had asked. His dad had looked up from his paperwork with a frown, putting his pen down and turning to his son.

“What do you mean?”

“You guys just sit in the living room but you don’t talk. I thought moms and dads were supposed to talk. Nick’s mom and dad talk all the time when we’re at his house.”

“Are you worried? About me and Ma?”

He nodded, and Sean smiled his big smile, the one that always brought out the same dimple that Grayson had, reaching out to grab his son and lift him up onto his desk so they were at eye level.

“Let me tell you a little secret Gray. When you love somebody, and I mean really love them, you don’t have to talk. People talk to tell you what’s going on in their mind, but when you love somebody, real deep, like the way I love your Ma, you don’t have to tell them. They just know.” 

“Like how I know what Ethan’s thinking all the time?” 

Sean smiled, and pinched his cheek.

“Yeah babe, just like that. You can love somebody loud, or you can love somebody quiet. Doesn’t mean you love them any more or any less.”

Grayson didn’t say a word back then, and he didn’t say one now either - he just held onto Indiana’s hand and walked beside her until they made it to her apartment building. The elevator ride was silent apart from the muffled ding of each floor they passed, and he kept his eyes on her face as subtly as he could, making sure she didn’t need him. 

She fumbled with her keys in one hand, unwilling to let go of his hand with her other, finally getting it lined up and turned. 

They made it five steps inside before Grayson wrapped his arms around her. It was a bit of a smothering hug, as any Grayson hug was, whether he meant it to be or not. He was so big that she melted into him involuntarily, as she had every time they’d hugged goodbye over the last week. But this time, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair with so much tenderness that it had her nose burning, her eyes pricking.

“You can cry, it doesn’t scare me. I know you’re worried about her. I am too.”

His voice was so soft that she felt it in her bones.

She swallowed hard, fought it, bit it back like she’d learned to and squeezed him back before going limp, waiting for him to let go, knowing if he held on too long she wouldn’t be able to keep it together.

He didn’t let go.

Instead, he turned his head and rested his cheek on top of her hair and waited. Loved her quiet, let her settle herself at her own pace, relax and compartmentalize. She sucked in another few breaths and then started to walk backwards, arms still locked around Grayson’s waist as he followed her with a smile, letting her guide him to the couch. 

They fell into the position they’d found themselves in at the end of Saturday night - Grayson leaned back against the cushion, giving her his whole torso to choose from as she curled up against him. There was a casual intimacy between the two of them that Indiana had never felt. She didn’t hesitate to rest her head on his chest, or throw her leg over his in a bid to get closer. She didn’t have a single doubt before she scooted up so she was closer to his lips, smiling when he reached for her, cupped her face with both hands and brought her to him for a kiss. 

“You feeling better?” He asked, nose still against hers when he pulled back a fraction.

“Much,” she murmured, chasing out the last worries she had with his lips as her tool, focusing in on the way they moved against hers, the warmth of his tongue, the way her muscles tensed as his hand traveled from her cheek down her neck, over her shoulder and down to her hip. She sucked in a breath when he squeezed her skin, calloused hands rough against her smooth. 

He managed to keep her there for a few more minutes, a lazy make out made up of slow kisses, deep breaths and a few giggles seemingly enough to keep her mind busy for the time being. Everything had moved so fast but so naturally somehow - strangers only a few weeks ago, and now there they were, caught up in each other as if it was the only place they were ever meant to be. But as it always did, school began to poke into the back of her mind, ruining the moment as she started to ease herself up, laughing at the way he held onto her arm and pouted, pulling her back down so he could nuzzle into her neck, pressed up so tight that every breath tickled her neck.

“Gray I have school stuff, I told you that,” 

“I thought you said your exam got moved, you got that email the other day!” 

She ran her fingers through his hair with a smile.

“Honey just cause one exam got moved doesn’t mean I don’t have shit to do for my other classes.”

“Honey?” He balked, sitting up enough for Indy to see his furrowed brow and wide eyes that had her giggling again.

“Not for you huh?”

“Pretty sure my mom is the only woman who has ever called me honey, so imma have to pass on that one.”

“Then what do you prefer?” She hummed as he cozied back up to her, holding her just tight enough to keep her there, arms crossed around her so her back was pressed to his chest. 

“Dunno. Never really had anyone ask before. What are my options?” 

She toyed with his fingers, trying to think of what to say. 

“I like all of them. I like original ones, but I like the classics too.”

“Classics?”

“Yeah, you know. Baby. Babe.”

He could have blacked out hearing baby come from her lips while she traced shapes on his arm. It took him a moment, but he realized what she was drawing. Letters. B-A-B-Y.

“I like baby. It’s a good term of endearment.” Even if he hadn’t liked it before, the feeling of her fingers lingering over his skin would have convinced him.

“Endearment. So formal,” she teased, leaning a bit to kiss his forearm. He returned it with a kiss to her hair, comfortable silence filling the room for a few moments.

“You really gotta study?”

“Yes.”

“So I should go.” His arms squeezed her a little tighter. 

“I never said that.”

“So I can stay?” 

“If you want to, I mean it’s going to be me and my flashcards for a good two hours. Riveting stuff. And you have to actually let me study.” Her voice was pointed, half because of his hold on her, and half because of the way he was peppering kisses against her shoulder, making her mind a bit fuzzy.

“I’ll behave. Might take a nap actually.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Silence filled the apartment for a moment and he let his eyes close, relaxing until he felt her body start to shake with a quiet laugh.

“Baby?” She tried it out.

“Hmmmm,” he hummed, heart fluttering at his new nickname.

“You have to let me get up and get my flashcards.”

“You stay, I’ll get em.”

He slid her to the side with ease, standing up quickly from the couch in search of her backpack. Once he found it on the kitchen stool he pulled it open, unsurprised to see a planner big enough to be a novel, and stacks upon stacks of index cards.

“Jesus Indy, how many of these do you have?!”

“They’re for all my classes, I just need the blue ones, the ones in the blue rubber band.” 

He didn’t have to ask - he knew every course she had was color coded, no doubt. He brought them over to her with a smile once he’d found them, looking at her perfectly neat handwriting, spelling out a word that he was sure he wouldn’t be able to read even if the letters didn’t jumble in his head. 

“Which class are you working on tonight?”

“Pathopharmacology.” 

“In English maybe?”

“Drugs. Well, conditions and diseases, why they happen in the body, and then the drugs that you should use and what they do.”

“Well then it’s definitely nap time for me,” he grinned, passing her the cards and sitting down on the couch beside her. He hesitated, eyes flickering around to the pillows and blankets, and the opposite side of the couch. The last thing he wanted to do was move further away from her, but he didn’t want to crowd her, or get in her way, make her regret letting him stay.

“C’mere.”

When he looked over, she was patting her leg, and in a moment of impulse he launched himself over, immediately getting cozy. Her leggings were soft against his cheek and he sighed, relaxing fully, muscles turning to mush when her fingers moved to his hair, starting to scratch lightly over his scalp.

“Oh god,” he groaned, making her halt her movements.

“What?!”

“Feels so nice.”

She laughed and went back to his hair.

“So you’re a sucker for a good head scratch huh? Noted.”

“Back scratches too. Those are my shit.” It took him a moment to realize that he’d never told a girl that before. It was too soft, too… personal.

“Well, I can’t really scratch your back through a sweater. But if you wanna take it off I can-”

Before she finished her sentence he was sitting up and whipping it off, tossing it towards the kitchen without a care, giving her cheek a quick kiss before he settled back down again.

“You’re adorable,” she hummed, nails starting in his hair first and then tracing down his neck, over his shoulders and then down his back in long, gentle runs. His shoulders went slack against her, and she knew that her legs were going to fall asleep with the weight of him on them but she didn’t care. She waited until his breathing settled, quiet snores starting to sound out in the room being her final tell that he’d actually fallen asleep. She kept her cards in one hand and used the other to scratch, occasionally getting sidetracked and tracing her fingers over the lions on his back, the script along the edges. Others came before me. Others to come. She made a mental note to ask him what it meant one day, but instead she let him sleep and continued in her studies, tracing more letters over his back. 

If he’d been awake, he would have been soaring at the feeling of the words she was forming letter by letter. 

I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U.

But he wasn’t awake - in fact, he didn’t wake up until 10:30, when she shook his shoulder gently. He sat up with adorably bleary eyes, gaining his bearings and then moving to pull her against him again - so forceful that he actually pulled her into his lap and nuzzled into her neck.

“Done studying?”

She nodded against him, resting her cheek on his head.

“Come to Jersey with me.”

“Huh?” She pulled back, her back arching from the way his hands held her hips close to him,

“Your exam got moved to next week right? It’s supposed to be really warm on Friday, the last warm day we're gonna get. I want you to see Jersey, before it gets too cold. I can show you the land where we’re building the tiny homes, and take you to my mom’s house. You can meet her, and Ethan, and get some non-city air.” 

She could have pulled out ten things in that sentence that made her anxious - meeting his mom, meeting his twin, not having enough time to study - but there was an excitement in his eyes that had her melting. Even if she’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have been able to say no. 

“Okay. Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I could use a non-city day,” she smiled, leaning in to kiss him. She could feel the excitement in his lips as they moved against hers, hands roaming up to cup her cheeks.

“You’re gonna love it.”

And she knew that no matter what they did or where they went, she would, just because she’d be with him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Bro, I can’t. I gotta rent a car.”

“You are not gonna fucking rent a car for one damn day Grayson. It’s fine.”

“It’s camo and tiger striped bro. It’s a fucking truck.”

“And? We’re in fucking Jersey, it doesn’t matter.” 

“You wouldn’t have picked up Eden for a fuckin date in a spray painted Tacoma, Ethan.”

“Okay true, but only because I would have planned better and asked mom to borrow her fucking car.”

Grayson resisted the urge to pick up a rock and throw it at him. Instead, he just threw the football back down the driveway with a little more force than necessary. Ethan grunted when he caught it, rolling his eyes.

“From what you’ve said she’s pretty chill. I don’t think she’s gonna care.” He tried a gentler approach, hoping it would calm his brother down as he threw the ball back. They volleyed back and forth for a few minutes in silence, listening to the tree frogs’ song from the woods - they were getting quieter as the nights grew longer and the warmth started to fade out of New Jersey.

“Will you at least help me wash it real quick? It’s muddy.” 

“Bro.”

“Bro.”

“Fine. But I’m not vacuuming the inside, that’s all you.”

Ten minutes later and they were outside with a few old sponges and the garden hose, scrubbing away at the dirt and grime that they’d accumulated from all their back road driving. They blasted music, occasionally taking breaks to text their girls back. Ethan felt the nervous energy coming off of Grayson’s every move, and it softened him up a bit.

“You really like this girl huh?” He spoke up while they were both scrubbing the hood.

“Yeah bro. I actually think I might be in love with her.”

Ethan resisted the urge to tell him to pump the brakes - it was all reverse psychology with his twin. If he told him to slow down, he’d only speed up, and there was no use in pissing him off. 

“I’m excited to finally meet her. Maybe you’ll stop talking about her constantly.” 

That earned him a well deserved spray from the hose that soaked through his shirt, and then it devolved into throwing sponges and a wrestling match on the gravel that had Lisa laughing from the kitchen window. But eventually the truck was clean, and as Ethan watched him vacuum it out three times over, he realized just how serious his brother was about Indiana. So on Thursday night, over late night veggie burgers after Grayson got back from the city, he opted to offer him some advice.

“Snacks.”

“Huh?”

“Buy snacks, before you pick her up. Girls love snacks.” 

“Yeah? What kind of snacks?”

“I don’t know bro, it’s your girl.”

“Ask Eden.”

“Girl snacks are not universal.” 

“Then how the fuck am I supposed to know what to get?”

“I don’t know dude! Just… fucking guess?” 

Which was how Grayson ended up in a gas station in New York early on Friday morning, perusing the same aisle for the third time, arms already full of any snack that he thought she might like. He settled for a good mixture of things - some salty, some sweet, and a few different drinks before he went to the counter and paid, hoping he had something she would like within the mix. 

As soon as he got back into the truck he unpacked it all neatly and checked his phone, happy to see a text from her.

do I need to bring anything?

and do you want a coffee? I can make one and bring it with me

He looked down at the three drinks he’d already bought.

Nah, maybe just a pair of shoes you don’t mind getting dirty

And hell yeah to the coffee

Please :)

just text me when you’re here and I’ll come down so you don’t have to park!

He liked the message and started the truck, wincing a bit at the roar of the engine before he pulled out of the lot with Indy’s apartment in the GPS.

Indiana knew he wasn’t supposed to get there until 9. He’d told her that it would be between 9 and 9:15 depending on traffic. But still, she was in the lobby at 8:50 with two coffee tumblers in her hands, trying to keep her nerves in check. She looked in the mirror, checking her outfit again. A black crop top, maroon leggings and a pair of chacos that Charlie had gotten her last year for her birthday. Simple enough. But was it too simple? Grayson always dressed so well - he even managed to make hoodies look put together. 

She didn’t have time to think on it, because her phone buzzed in her hand.

Here :)

In the orange truck 🥴

Indy walked out to the curb to see Grayson standing on the sidewalk, tall and broad, as if he was trying to hide the vehicle behind him. It was indeed a bright orange truck, but there were small spray painted stripes on it. It took her a moment to realize they were supposed to be tiger stripes, and with every moment that she spent looking at it his cheeks grew redder with embarrassment. She didn’t say anything, but it didn’t matter - he was already stammering out his explanation that she was sure he’d rehearsed in the car. 

“I uh- we did it for a video - we thought it would look cool, and uh, actually it looks like shit, but we got a truck cause we didn’t wanna have to worry about a car and-”

She moved his coffee into the crook of her arm and grabbed the front of his t shirt in her fist, pulling him down to kiss him, lips falling silent against hers.

“Hi,” she said when she pulled away, popping up to give him another quick peck. She couldn’t get enough of it, couldn’t believe that she just got to do that whenever she wanted to. 

“Hi.” He beamed down at her. “Missed you.”

“You saw me last night.”

“And?” He leaned down and stole another kiss - she felt like a middle schooler hiding behind the buses from the teachers, just trying to sneak in a few more kisses before they left for the day. “You ready?”

She nodded and blushed when he opened her door for her, hand moving to her ass to help boost her up even though she didn’t need it. She wasn’t complaining, moving over to put the coffee in the cupholder as he jogged around the car and got into the driver’s seat. 

“I missed you too, for the record.”

He reached his hand over and squeezed her thigh.

“Good. Now let’s go to fuckin’ Jersey, I brought snacks.”

“I can see that,” she teased, looking down at the floorboard where two whole grocery bags were stuffed full. “Did you buy the whole store? We doing a cross country road trip I didn’t know about?”

He blushed bright pink, keeping his eyes trained on the speedometer. 

“Just wanted to make sure I got something you liked.” 

She rummaged around in the bags, happy to find a packet of Chex Mix. 

“Breakfast of champions,” she grinned, pulling the edges open and popping a few into her mouth. A comfortable silence filled the cab, and it made her hyper aware of everything that Grayson did, from the way he palmed the wheel to the way he ran his thumb along her thigh. They made it out of Manhattan as easily as you can ever get out of Manhattan, Grayson managing to maneuver the traffic despite being in a pick up truck, and she found herself relaxing more and more with each mile out of the city that they drove. Cityscape turned into suburbs with patches of tall green trees and farmland between denser areas, and she couldn’t decide where to look - out the window at the beauty, or at Grayson, who was watching her every second that he could. 

“Told you it was amazing out here. Jersey hits different than anywhere else in the world.” 

“The whole world huh? You’ve been around the world?”

“Yeah. We did a world tour a while back, got to see a ton of places.”

“Of course you did. Tell me about them,” she hummed, scooting up in her seat so she could lean over against his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his and snuggling up to him. He pressed a kiss to her hair and smiled.

“Well, we started here, in Jersey. And then we went to Maryland, then New York. I think Detroit was next, and then Chicago, which was super cool.”

The cadence of his voice was soothing, and she listened as he listed off state after state, and then moved into countries. Brazil, Argentina, the UK, France, Ireland, Spain. It went on and on, and she laughed at the little anecdotes of the crazy things they got up to in every city, their 16 year old selves taking the world by storm. He could have been talking about the color of his socks and she would have been just as enthralled. She spent her time looking at the tattoos that she could see in person for the first time, scattered across his legs, shown off by his shorts. She’d seen them in her few limited scrolls of his instagram - every time she got on there it only intimidated her to see the comments and the thousands and thousands of likes. But in person, they were even more beautiful, small pieces that no doubt had significance to him. She held back from asking him about them as he spoke. 

The drive flew by, even though it was over an hour before there was gravel crunching under the tires of the truck as he turned into the driveway. Her stomach started to tighten as she sat up, suddenly realizing what she was up against. The house was beautiful - bigger than she expected, with white siding and dark metal window frames, a large front porch with a small swing and scattered furniture. It looked neat, but lived in at the same time, welcoming and warm. 

“Where’d you go?” Grayson asked, nudging her shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m here. Just nervous.”

“Ma is at work, and Ethan is nothing to be scared of. Trust me.” 

“Does that mean I should be scared of your mom?”

He only answered with a laugh, shaking his head as he parked the truck and hopped out to open her door. He held out a hand to help her jump down, arm going around her shoulder as soon as her feet touched the ground, leading her towards the house. 

He opened the door for her, motioning her inside of the foyer, which was nicely decorated - it looked a bit like the farmhouse section of Hobby Lobby; not her style, but nice nonetheless. 

“Yo E!” Grayson called out through the house.

He was met with a returning yell, and an odd screech from somewhere else in the house that made her tighten her hold on his arm.

“The fuck was that?” 

“Gizmo.”

“Who?”

“My bird. I’m allergic to literally anything with fur, so we got a bird when I was little. She’s a cutie.” 

Indiana had never in her life thought a bird was anything close to cute, but she nodded anyways, focusing on the sound of what she presumed were Ethan’s heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. 

He appeared around the corner a moment later with a big smile - different from Grayson’s somehow, despite the similarities across their features. The biggest contrast was his clean shaven jawline - Grayson had kept a healthy scruff since you’d known him. 

“Hey! I’m Ethan, it’s nice to meet you. Indiana, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s me!” She kicked herself for the way her voice went up an octave.

“That’s such a cool name.” 

“Thank you!” 

There was a small beat of silence that made Grayson laugh. 

“You ready to go out to Woodland?” He turned his attention to his twin - Indy assumed that meant the land where the tiny homes were. 

“Yeah, but we gotta get gas for the quads to take out there.” 

“We got some in the shed?” 

Grayson nodded and turned to lead the way, giving her a quick kiss before they disappeared around the side of the house. As soon as they were out of sight she checked herself in the side mirror of the truck, smoothing her hair down quickly and trying to find a way to look casual as she waited for them to reappear. She opted to go for the default of scrolling her phone, happy to see a message from Charlie.

Miss your face. Facetime later? She’d sent, with a picture of her and Devin with a massive Washington waterfall behind them attached. It was a beautiful sight - she was slightly jealous that her sister got to see so much of the world while she saw the inside of textbooks and the screens of laptops. 

On a date today, can we do it tomorrow?

It took all of three seconds for Charlie to read it and reply.

EXCUSE ME?

A DATE???

MA’AM

I’ll fill you in later, gotta go. Love you

Right on cue, the boys reappeared with an old red gas can each, wide smiles on their faces. 

BITCH YOU FUCKIN BETTER

She locked her phone quickly and tucked it in her waistband, moving towards the back door as they loaded the cans into the bed. Ethan looked at her, then her hand on the car door handle, and frowned.

“You don’t think you’re sitting in the back, do you?” 

“I didn’t know if twins automatically got shotgun rights,” she shrugged.

“Most times yes, but girlfriends are the exception.” He pulled the door open and waved her in. “Up you get.” 

Girlfriend.

Grayson was already in the driver’s seat, and he held up a small aux cord with a grin.

“You’re up.”

She narrowed her eyes as he started the truck up with a roar.

“Why do I feel like this is a test?”

All he did was smile and put the truck in reverse.

Indiana took the safe route, pulling up Cudi and shuffling it, laughing when Ethan perked up in the back with a “oh hell yeah!” 

The drive was long, about 45 minutes down the road, but she didn’t mind; the cab was full of the comforting feelings of slightly off-key singing in her ears and Grayson’s hand in hers on the console. Her heart fluttered in her chest when he brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles before he pulled the truck off on a dirt path and put it in park.

“Here we are. Well, almost. Gotta take the quads the rest of the way.” 

He could have said anything and she would have been fine with it. She climbed out of the truck, moving to the bed to grab one of the gas cans, hoisting it up on her shoulder so she could carry it easier. 

“Hey, gimme that,” Grayson mumbled, reaching up for it. She turned away, just out of his reach.

“I got it!” She watched Ethan go around to grab the other one, just out of earshot, giving her a chance to lean over to Grayson and ask the question poking in the back of her mind. “Did I pass the test?”

He shook his head with a laugh. “There’s no test. If Ethan didn’t like you, you’d already know.”

“True!” Ethan teased, sneaking up on her and snagging the can from her shoulder, passing it to his brother. She nudged his shoulder with hers on instinct, glad to see that he laughed. There was a comforting warmth about Ethan - he reminded her of Devin in a lot of ways. He gave off a sense of automatic, unquestionable good that had her at ease as they walked over to a shed hidden away in the trees. Ethan unlocked it, pulling the doors open to reveal the parked quads. She watched the trees while they filled up the gas tanks, enjoying the sounds of the woods until she felt Grayson’s hand snake around her waist.

“You ready baby?” 

She nodded, leaning into him for a second before following him over to the quad, letting him climb on first and settling behind him.

“Hold on,” he said, but she would have wrapped her arms around his middle anyways, resting her chin on his shoulder as he started it up and backed it out, Ethan following suit.

They picked up speed and she nuzzled into his back, returning his beaming smile when he looked back to check on her occasionally, wind whipping both of their hair around. They rode for about 5 minutes, a long stretch back through the towering trees. The only sign they were coming up on the houses was a thinning of the woods, which eventually gave way almost immediately to a large, bright opening - a meadow of sorts, framed out by trees. A few had started to tease with fall, bunches of their leaves turning bright orange and red, scattered amongst the green.  

The boys cut their engines almost in sync, the silence revealing the song of the birds and the bugs.

“Welcome to the Jers homes,” Grayson beamed proudly, nodding ahead.

Indiana looked over his shoulder and had to bite back her laugh. 

In the middle of the clearing were two small platforms - foundations, she realized after a moment. They were spread out enough for comfort, but close enough that it wouldn’t take more than a minute to walk between the front doors. And they truly were tiny homes if she’d ever seen one - the space looked no bigger than her living room and kitchen combined in her apartment.

“Which one’s yours?”

“That one,” he pointed to the left. “I’m always on the left, Ethan’s always on the right.” 

“Even in houses?”

“Even in houses,” he laughed. “C’mon, I’ll show you around.” 

She gave him her hand and let him lead her over, stepping onto the platform and listening intently as he started to explain the floorplan in his head.

“So, this is the kitchen,” he exaggerated it, gesturing grandly to the piece of plywood below his feet. “It’s gonna have a cabinet here, and then a sink and a little stove, which will go here. And then the bathroom is gonna be over there-”

It turned into a bit of a stretch for Indiana’s imagination, trying to envision all the rooms, and even the loft that he was describing. But she did her best, matching his enthusiasm however she could, asking questions about anything she could think of just to show him that she cared. He was so excited, and the last thing she wanted to do was damper it because she couldn’t picture the shower tile he was describing. 

When the “house tour” was done it was Ethan’s turn for an imaginary walk through, which was surprisingly different than his brother’s despite the house being the same size and general base.  

“And now, we go to the best part,” Grayson grinned. 

“Oh?”

“C’mon, I’ll show you. Leave your phone and stuff.” 

She did as he asked, surprised that when she stood straight again and saw that both the boys were shirtless, tossing their clothes onto the wood. Ethan headed off towards the trees but Grayson stayed back and waited for her, smiling softly when she automatically took his hand. 

“Where are we going?” 

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise. Which I feel like is probably not your favorite.” 

She didn’t answer, which was answer enough, and he just laughed and swung their hands between the two of them as they started into the trees.

The surprise turned up a few minutes later, in the form of the running water of a New Jersey creek and a rocky cliff side that Ethan sauntered on to with far too much confidence for Indiana’s liking.

“Careful!” She called out on instinct, holding onto Grayson’s arm tightly as he moved to follow his brother. 

“We always are. C’mon,” he smiled, starting to lead the two of them over. She locked her knees and shook her head.

“Oh fuck no.” 

Both twins' eyebrows lifted, and then they were cackling, laughter so loud it bounced off the trees.

“Why not!? You scared?” Ethan jeered, toes over the edge of the clifface. It couldn’t be more than 25 feet high, but even that had her stomach tightening.

“You’re not?”

With that, Ethan threw her a wink and flung himself over the edge, flipping backwards once and splashing into the water feet first. 

“Show off,” Gray muttered, rolling his eyes a bit. “There’s nothing to be scared of baby, we’ve been doing this since we were kids. That’s why we bought this land.” 

“Nothing to be scared of,” she scoffed. “How about traumatic brain injuries? Spinal cord injuries? Broken leg? Broken ankle? Broken neck?” 

“Hey.” He took her face in his hands. “This isn’t anatomy class. Get out of your head, live a little. It’s fun.”

“It’s reckless,” she countered.

“Reckless fun.” 

She scowled at him, but he couldn’t take it seriously with the way her cheeks were slightly squished by his palms. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She didn’t react on purpose, though it took quite a bit of self control.

“Will you try it? For me?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow. Off to their right, Ethan was scaling the rocks to get back up from the water, yelling about something, but her attention was on Grayson. She held her ground, didn’t react as best she could, resisted the urge to give him whatever he wanted.

“Please?” He tried again, pressing another kiss to her lips. He smiled when he felt her loosen up, realizing that it was working. “For me?”

“Maybe,” she mumbled.

“I’ll keep you safe. Promise,” he whispered, running his thumbs along her cheeks as he kissed her again, somehow softer that time, and her resolve melted into a puddle. 

“You better,” she mumbled, still scowling a bit. It was more adorable than intimidating to Grayson.

“So you’ll do it?”

“Once. One time. That’s it.”

“I can deal with that. C’mon, before you talk yourself out of it.” 

She kept a vice grip on his hand as he started towards the cliff, where the dirt gave way to solid rock. She stayed behind him with hesitant steps, shuffling her way over until they were above the water, keeping her eyes on Grayson, forcing herself not to look down.

“Now when we go, you can’t lock up. That’s how you get hurt. If you just jump, you’ll be fine, I swear.” 

Indiana nodded and sucked in a deep breath.

“Just don’t let go of me, okay?” She asked. 

“I won’t. Promise. You count us off.” 

He was patient with her as she worked up the courage, settled her shaking legs as best she could.

She counted down from three and forced her legs to move, Grayson’s momentum helping to pull her off the ledge. There was a roar in her ears, a mixture of her own scream and the wind as her stomach dropped before she hit the water. Any breath she had left was gone when she submerged into what felt like an ice bath - she hadn’t accounted for the fact that despite the abnormally warm day, it had been in the low 60’s the last few weeks. 

By the time she came up, Grayson was already swimming over to her, eyes alight with adrenaline as he reached out for her waist in the murky water and pulled her to him. 

“See! Told you it was fun!” 

“Don’t know if that’s the word I would use,” Indiana laughed, shaking her head and moving some of her wet hair out of her face. “But now I can say I did it.” 

“Such a badass,” he teased. “C’mon, gotta get out of E’s way.” 

She looked up to see Ethan waiting patiently at the top of the cliff - had she really fallen all that way? Grayson led them away slightly, cheering as Ethan jumped and flipped again. There was an athletic nature to the way he moved that put Indiana’s mind a bit more at ease - he seemed to have enough control over his body to make sure he didn’t land wrong, and she hoped the same principle applied to his twin when he climbed out and went to do his own backflips. 

Indiana stayed to the water, wading around and trying not to panic every time she watched Grayson plummet down towards the water. She squealed when he over-rotated on one, landing a bit off kilter. She swam to him as quickly as she could, overwhelmed with the concern she had that he was okay. But when he reemerged he was laughing and shaking the water out of his hair. 

The cycle continued on for a while - Indiana lost track of the time, only realizing how long she’d been in the cold water by the numbness of her limbs. With the climbing out and up the cliff, Grayson didn’t even notice the cold until he saw her wrap her arms around herself when she thought he wasn’t looking from up on the cliff.

“Last jump E, we gotta get back for food anyways,” he told his brother, jumping quickly and kicking hard to get back up to the surface, immediately swimming over to her. When he got closer, he realized she was shivering slightly, and her lips had a bit of a blue tint to them that had him frowning.

“You’re freezing aren’t you?”

“I’ve been warmer,” she admitted with a smile. Trying to play it off - typical Indiana, he realized.

“You should have said something,” he pouted, pulling her to him. Her hands were ice cold as they wrapped around his neck.

“You all were having fun, and I’m fine.”

“Right. C’mon, let’s get you back. Mom’s making potato soup for dinner. Vegan though.” 

“Dinner? What time is it?” 

“By the time we get back it’ll probably be 5. We’ve been out here a couple hours.” 

“No shit,” she laughed, surprised by his words. It was like minutes to Grayson too - he couldn’t manage to get an amount of time with her that felt like enough it seemed. They swam over to the edge, going a bit farther down so Indiana didn’t have to climb as much, making their way up with soaked pants and smiles on their faces, which stayed there as they took the same path back to the houses. She’d thawed out marginally it seemed, but Grayson could tell she was still cold just from the way she was cuddled up to his side. So when they got back to the pile of their belongings, he held out his shirt for her.

“Here. Extra layer for the quad ride, so the wind isn’t so bad.” 

He knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it, so he said it before she could.

“For me?” He tried his earlier line, holding up the black wad of fabric and wiggling his eyebrows. 

She faltered, argument falling silent. He’d found a new loophole to her apparent inability to let anyone take care of her, and he ran with it, pulling the shirt down over her head and kissing her nose when it reappeared. He could feel Ethan’s eyes on him somewhere behind him - he knew what he was thinking, what he’d say later about how “soft” Grayson was. His bigger, stronger brother, soft for a girl he’d met only a few weeks ago. He’d seen this trajectory before, and never held his tongue on what he thought about it either, but Grayson hoped he could see that this time, it was different. 

Different, because of the way he still got butterflies when she climbed on the quad behind him and pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. Because of the way he threw the keys to Ethan so he could drive the truck home and the two of them could curl up in the backseat to warm her up. Because of the way she just seemed to fit, with him and with Ethan, in every way.

The last one to make a verdict was Lisa, whose car was parked in the driveway when they made it back. Indiana’s relaxed body tensed up, and he noticed her trying to adjust her still damp leggings, make herself look more presentable.

“You’re fine.”

“I’m meeting your mother wearing your shirt and pants that smell like mud.”

“Mom’s chill. You have nothing to worry about. Actually, she’ll probably be mad at me, since I didn’t bring you dry clothes.” 

They climbed out of the back and followed Ethan inside, met again by the sound of squawking as soon as the door opened.

“MA!” Ethan called out, voice booming throughout the entire house.

“In here!” 

The trio followed her voice, happy to find her in the kitchen and over a massive pot of soup. They kissed her cheek, one after the other and then moved on to start picking at her ingredients like scavengers that had never been fed. She smacked Ethan’s shoulder when he took one too many carrots.

“You must be Indiana, it’s nice to finally meet you! Heard so much about you!” Lisa’s smile was warm - different than Grayson’s though. He must have gotten it from his father. She wondered who he got his tendency to blush from as his cheeks flushed red at his mom’s words.

“So nice to meet you! That soup smells delicious,” Indy complimented. “Anything I can help with?”

“Well, if you’re offering.”

The kitchen was soon full of laughter and stories as they each took on a job to finish off the soup. Lisa asked about school, and Indiana’s family, her apartment and Bekah.

“So you’re set to graduate in December then? That’s amazing! You must be a smart little cookie.” 

“She is,” Grayson chimed in with a smile, and it was Indy’s turn to blush. 

Eventually the soup was finished and served out into bowls that were carried to a dining room framed out with tall windows. Indiana couldn’t remember the last time that she’d actually sat and had a meal with a full table around her.

Lisa was a kind woman, not much unlike Indiana’s own mom. She had a feeling that with the boys for kids that she was used to bringing all sorts of people in her house and treating them as her own, and it seemed Indiana was no exception. When she asked questions, Indy could tell that she cared, that she genuinely wanted to know. She hadn’t had an adult invest in her like that in a long while, and she couldn’t dwell on it without her throat tightening up.

By the time their bowls were empty Indiana felt like she’d been in the house for years - like she was home. Lisa took her around, offered her some clean clothes - some old running shorts of Cameron’s for her to change into. She opted to keep on Grayson’s shirt on instead of changing, letting Lisa guide her around the house and show off the rooms she’d decorated while the boys showered off the muck of the creek.

And her new favorite aspect of the house? The espresso machine that caught her eye at the small coffee bar off the kitchen.

“Is that a mastrena?” Indy asked, eyes wide. She knew the price tag on those from her time at Jets - 5k, minimum.

“Oh yeah, that old thing. The boys bought it for me for mother’s day a few years back, I never could figure out how to work it right, to make lattes,” she sighed.

“I could show you if you want! I used one just like this when I was a barista.” 

“Did someone say barista?” Ethan perked up, poking his head around the corner. Grayson was right after him, now with a hoodie on, poking over his shoulder in a way that had all of them laughing.

And so Grayson watched as Indiana gathered a few mugs and the rest of the almond milk from the fridge. He stood out of the way, listened to the way she explained how to froth the milk right to his mom, voice gentle without any trace of condescendence. No other girl he’d ever brought home had been so invested in his mother, in talking to her and getting to know her. It warmed his heart the same way that the mug Indiana handed him warmed his fingertips.

“Ran outta milk. Looks like we have to share,” she hummed. Ethan and Lisa had made themselves scarce once they’d gotten their mugs - E would’ve told her it was the best latte he’d ever had, but he saw the suggestive look in his brother’s eyes and went on to distract Lisa instead.

“I’m down,” he teased, passing her the mug. “Come out here with me for a minute.” 

He headed towards the front of the house, through the hallways and past the living room, back out to the front porch. The air had cooled off even more, and while she was grateful for the clean shorts, her legs were covered in goosebumps by the time they made it over to the swing. Grayson sat down first, keeping it still with his foot on the ground as he patted his lap. 

In a moment of impulse she sat down facing him - it took a moment for her to get arranged and comfortable, but eventually she settled over his thighs, coffee cup in hands and legs around his back. 

“I’m gonna have to start packing an extra blanket for you or some shit, you’re freezing,” he teased, chafing his hands up and down her thighs to get some friction for her cold skin. She couldn’t help but notice the way her body reacted to it, and she was glad that the sun was setting, dimming the light that would give away the flush of her cheeks and neck. 

“The coffee will keep me warm,” she teased.

“Can I have a sip?” 

She held the mug up to his lips and tilted it so he could have a drink, laughing at the little bit of foam that clung to his upper lip when he was done. She kissed it away, wishing she didn’t have the mug in her hands so that she could run her hands through his hair, or over his scruff - anywhere that he’d have her. They kissed slow, quiet, for a while, letting it sizzle out before they pulled back. It had gotten darker when she opened her eyes again, but his smile was just as bright, even in the twilight.

“Did you have a good day?” He hummed, taking the mug from her so she could hold on to him as he started to swing them slowly, back and forth in a soothing rocking.

“The best.”

He hesitated for a moment, taking the end of her hair and twirling it between his fingers.

“Wanna make it a night then?”

She was pretty sure if she’d been attached to a heart monitor, it would have shown a skipped beat.

“Oh?” Her mouth was a bit dry, a mixture of more nerves than excitement.

“A sleepover. Nothing else. We can even do it middle school style if you want, I’ll take the couch,” he reassured her, poking at her side just to get her to laugh, to loosen up.

“We don’t have to go that far. But won’t your mom care?”

“I think you’re her new favorite, so I’m sure she’d love it if you stayed. She always makes good breakfast when one of our girlfriend’s spends the night too.”

“Girlfriend hmmm? Bold assumption,” Indy teased, running a thumb over his cheek. 

Her joke didn’t land, seeing that he his eyes went wide in a bit of panic and his shoulders tensed.

“I uh… I just thought, um-”

“Kidding Gray. Though to be fair, you never asked.” She kissed him again to finish off her point, happy to feel him relax underneath her as he nuzzled into her neck.

“Well, will you be my girlfriend then?” He muttered against her skin.

“I guess,” she grinned, pulling back enough to get back to his lips and kiss him again. “Do girlfriend’s get shower privileges? I feel disgusting, and I don’t want to get your bed all gross.”

He laughed at that, shaking his head.

“You’re always three steps ahead, you know that?” He brushed his nose against hers lightly. “C’mon, I’ll get you set up.”

Thirty minutes later and Indiana was finally warm after her shower, happy in a pair of running shorts, one of Grayson’s hoodies and a pair of his socks. When she made it to the bedroom he was sprawled out over the covers, shirtless in a pair of joggers. 

“Hi gorgeous,” he hummed, putting his phone on the nightstand and opening his arms.

“That’s a new one,” she mused as she climbed on with him, curling up to his chest like she’d done it a hundred times before. It was much more comfortable than when she’d done so on the couch in her apartment, the warm blanket below her and the soft plush of the mattress giving them plenty of room for him to wrap her up in both arms. 

“It’s fitting. A little long though. Might have to find a shorter one to use sometimes.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Been thinking about it. I thought about indigo for a minute, but that’s just as long. What about Dee?”

She looked up at him then, tracing her fingers over his chest, over his heart. D-E-E.

“No one’s ever called me that before.”

“Then it’s all mine. My Dee.” 

All she could do was sigh and curl into him further, unable to find the words for the lightness of her body, and her mind, as he held her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, as if he were determined to hold her there until they woke up.

#mixtape #SHES HERE #all 9.4k of her HAHA #hope you love it pls pls pls tell me what you think! #grayson dolan #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan fic

[evanthenerd83]

“How To Lose Your Arm—Yet Again”

“Uh,” the witch muttered.

The new girl kept on walking. She held several textbooks—thick as encyclopedias—in both arms.

Well…

“Uh,” the witch tapped her right shoulder. “S-Serafina?”

Serafina froze, turning a slender neck. Her eyes were both bright and dull. A smile played across her pale lips.

A sad, little smile.

“What?”

Emmy pointed a shaking finger at the ground.

Serafina followed.

When she saw it, her smile fell.

Heat flushed down her face. The flesh took on a tone of printer paper. Veins were visible, still, blackened with decay.

A look of absolute horror…

“Oh,” she gasped. “Oh.”

An arm.

Her arm.

Her left arm, hand and elbow and the part that had been connecting it to the shoulder. Bolts, too.

It was laying with the palm facing up. A finger twitched. Coagulated blood spilled out, forming a small puddle around the limb. Flies landed.

Emmy felt like gagging.

Emmy did gag, covering her mouth. She looked away.

“I’m so, so sorry!” Serafina screamed, tears welling. She dropped her textbooks, letting them tumble down, down, down.

They all fell in a pile.

She dashed forward, reaching out her remaining arm.

She neared it, close enough to grasp the shattered end of a very, very, very brittle bone.

Then, she saw—

A blur.

A black shape crossed her field of vision.

Everything moved in slow motion.

Jaws opened, revealing millions of serrated teeth, and Serafina suddenly smelled something.

Something absolutely horrid. Meat. Rancid meat.

Dead meat.

Emmy fell backwards, recoiling, raising both hands in front of her face.

But the shape ignored her.

It instead went straight for—

“Noooooooooooooooo,” Serafina sounded like a giant.

But the shape didn’t listen.

It clamped down.

It ran off, down the sidewalk.

A brown-haired witch shrieked, then pressed herself against the side of the building. She gave the shape a wide berth.

It turned a corner. Vanished.

“No,” Serafina wheezed.

…

“What was that?”

Emmy helped Serafina, who was leaning on her shoulder.

“A hellhound,” the witch sighed. “Her hellhound.”

Serafina wiped her eyes. She sniffled. A glob of snot dangled, pulling a dangerously thin string even thinner.

The sound broke Emmy’s heart.

“Whose?”

“Rose’s,” she answered.

Rosarie Northstone was beautiful, as well as obnoxious. She constantly teased her classmates for things outside of their control.

She came from a wealthy family. Apparently, her father worked for the Underground Circle, cleaning up beast attacks. Her mother owned a side business.

“What kind of business,” Serafina asked as Emmy sat her down.

Emmy plopped down next to her. She took a deep breath.

She felt winded. Didn’t help that her shoulder ached. How could she weigh so much?!

“Love potions.”

Serafina blinked. “But aren’t those banned? Or something? Mrs. Rodone said—“

Emmy waved her hand dismissively.

It also served as a fan.

“Lust potions have been banned,” she laid back. “Too many cases of stalking, accidental pregnancies, people using them to force their partners into staying.”

Serafina blinked again.

She blushed.

“Ah.”

They sat on the bench for what felt like an hour. Neither of them said a thing. For what could they have said?

The weather was okay. A little warm, but whatever.

Their grades were the same. As and Bs in textual studies. Lower Cs and Ds when actual magic was concerned.

They shared a dorm.

Emmy watched as the clouds floated by. She counted several cats, fewer dogs, and a bunch of marshmallows.

She could hear Serafina sniffing. Rustling as the new girl dabbed at her eyes. The sounds eventually grew so intense that, if she had cast a Muting Bubble spell, they would’ve bled through.

Finally…

“We need to find your arm.”

Serafina stared as Emmy stood up, straightening her skirt. Her cheeks were stained.

“What?”

The witch extended her hand.

She smiled.

“Come on. Wanna get your arm back or what?”

A beat of silence.

A sudden gust of wind blew through, sending Serafina’s hair fluttering. It whipped.

And then, the new girl smiled.

She leaned on her friend’s shoulder. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

…

Someone screamed.

Serafina and Emmy froze. They glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

“Was that—“

Emmy nodded her head. “Rose? Yep.”

They resumed hobbling down the sidewalk.

They eventually reached the source: A blonde, fair-skinned witch.

Her uniform was customized, with the vest unzipped, the skirt trimmed. It ended above the knees. Seeing such pale skin made Serafina gasp.

Emmy only snorted.

Rose had her back to them. She held an arm up.

“GO AWAY, CERB!!! GO AWAY, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”

She was trying to shoo away her hellhound, but not having any luck. The beast had sat down in front of her. Its tail wagged from side to side.

It stared with blank eyes, smiling dumbly. A chalk-white tongue licked at its own snout.

And laying before it…

They approached.

“Hey,” Emmy yelled. “Rose!”

The witch spun around, and she bunched her hands into fists.

But the surprise instantly drained. As did the fear. Something else took their place. Something that Emmy recognized.

Rose glared. “What do you want, Jaophon?”

Serafina glanced between Rose and Emmy.

The way this Northstone person spoke to her friend… it wasn’t very nice. No. It wasn’t nice at all.

She frowned. A burning sensation, faint like a prick from a sewing needle, flared up.

Somewhere in her gut.

Somewhere inside her gut, a voice cried out.

BITE HER

Serafina found herself staring at Rose’s legs.

The voice called out once again.

BITE HER LEGS

MAKE HER NOT WALK

She began to drool.

Rose saw this, and her face wrinkled. She sneered in disgust.

“What’re you lookin’ at?”

Emmy glanced.

Her eyes went wide. Her grip on Serafina’s waist tightened, and she leaned over, whispering into the new girl’s ear.

“You’re drooling.”

Serafina licked her lips.

“L-l-legs,” she looked at her shoes. “Like chicken legs—“

Rose paled. The color drained from her face, the malice melting in an instant. A giggle nearly left Emmy’s chest.

Almost. She had a reputation to uphold.

She began to back away, then thought better of it. Her hellhound growled. It put a paw on Serafina’s arm.

Protecting it from would-be thieves.

Or an unaware owner.

She stood still, stiff as a telephone pole. Emmy could see beads of sweat cascading down her neck.

Rose cleared her throat.

“Wh-what do you want, Jaophon? Why aren’t you in class?”

Emmy leaned to the side, stealing a glance at Cerb.

The hellhound was big. Like a golden doodle, only neither golden nor a doodle.

A collar was attached to its neck, and she could just barely make out the words printed across its circumference—

“Cerby, huh? Cute name.”

Rose blushed, cheeks turning bright pink. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Tell me what you two freaks want. Or else, I’ll—“

Emmy smiled. A strained smile.

“Talk to me like that again, and I’ll let Serafina here…” she gestured. “… make you her lunch.”

Serafina continued to stare at her legs. The front of her uniform was now damp with drool. She didn’t blink.

Her hands clenched into claws.

Her teeth gleamed.

The voice squeaked.

BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE BITE

Rose sneered. Or tried to sneer. She looked sick.

“You… you wouldn’t.”

Emmy suddenly loosened her grip, and Serafina instantly lurched forward. It was only an inch. But it was enough.

Her claws dug into empty air. She giggled and struggled, trying to pull herself free.

Rose screamed.

She jumped. Her foot landed on Cerb’s paw. The hellhound didn’t so much as whine.

Emmy laughed, wrangling Serafina, holding her tighter than before.

The look on Rose’s face had been priceless. And her scream?!

She’d never heard Northstone scream. Ever. Not even during magientomology 101, where a fleshbeetle had once popped. In her hand.

“Ok! Ok! Ok!”

Rose gasped, arms crossed over her heaving chest. Tears were welling up.

“Just tell me what you want!”

Emmy pointed.

“Funny you should ask…”

#evanthenerd83's storytime #little witches #short story #scifi and fantasy #july 2021 #comedy #my writing #original writing #creative writing

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (ch.3)

Chapter 3

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 1,905

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j  @daechwitad-2

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing...

               The following day found Catalina following Jungkook to the campus library. They had gotten their tests back in French class that day and they both got Ds. Their professor set them up with a tutor, whom they were on the way to meet.

               “I can’t believe we got Ds,” said Catalina. “We studied!”

               “Yeah! We totally studied and it didn’t help us at all,” said Jungkook. Catalina thought back on their study session at her apartment; French textbooks open, bottles of wine scattered about, two full glasses, and the Twilight movies unironically playing on Catalina’s laptop.

               “Yeah we totally studied!” she said.

               The campus library was a huge, old building with towering bookshelves and dark wood furniture. They went down one of the halls where there were tables and chairs set up between the aisles. At the first table was a ridiculously handsome man, who stood up when he spotted them.

               “Well, well, well,” he said. “Look who’s failing his class already in the first week.”

               Jungkook frowned and stopped in his tracks. “You’re our tutor?”

               “Hey! Why are you saying it like that? You should be more like, ‘Oh, Jin! Thank goodness you’re helping me pass my French class, how can I ever repay you?’”

               “I’m assuming you guys…know each other?” said Catalina.

               Jungkook sighed and said, “Catalina, this is Jin. As you can see he’s very old and his dementia is setting in, making him talk nonsense-“

               Jin rounded the table and swatted at Jungkook, yelling, “Hey! I’m tutoring you out of the kindness of my heart and this is what I get?”

               A librarian stuck her head around the corner and shushed them angrily. Jin apologized and gestured to the two chairs across from his.

               “Yeah, I’ve known Jungkook since he was a child,” said Jin. “I practically raised him.”

               “He used to live next door. He babysat me and my brother like, two times,” said Jungkook.

               “So, are you two dating?” asked Jin. “Because I have some wonderful childhood stories to tell.”

               Catalina laughed and said, “We’re not dating, but I’d love to hear them.”

               “Jin,” said Jungkook. “Jin.”

               “What?”

               “I’ll kill you.”

               Jin laughed for several seconds, then sobered up in an instant. “Anyway, let’s get to work.”

               He flipped the French textbook open and began.

               “So, what are you guys having trouble with?” he asked. “Let’s see your tests.”

                 Catalina left the tutoring session feeling a bit better about her French class. As they walked out of the library, Jungkook said, “So, I’m having a party at my house tonight and you’re invited. My parents are out of town for this healthcare conference thing so everyone’s gonna be there. It’s gonna be awesome.”

               “And what do you mean by ‘everyone’?” asked Catalina. She’s always kind of wanted to go to one of those cliché house parties where a bunch of unwanted guests show up and the host is freaking out about their parents’ china cabinet or whatever. Her friends back home were pretty boring, so she never got the party experience.

               “I mean, like, everyone. Like, a bunch of people from my classes and from high school and stuff,” said Jungkook.

               “Okay, I’ll go. It sounds fun,” said Catalina. “Do you think a lot of people will show up despite the people going missing in the neighboring town?”

               “I mean, it’s not happening in this town so…” Jungkook shrugged.

               “Yeah, it’s probably fine,” said Catalina. “Anyway, I’ll come over late tonight. I have homework I need to finish.”

               “It’s okay, the party doesn’t start until late anyway, if you know what I mean,” Jungkook said with a wink. “It’s gonna be lit.”

               “I’ll see you later JK,” Catalina said, laughing. The two of them parted ways, Catalina wondering with trepidation, and also excitement, what the party was going to be like.

                 The party, as it turned out, was not lit. Catalina arrived around ten, after getting most of her homework done with minimal procrastination. There was only one car in front of the house besides Jungkook’s, and no lights on inside. Catalina texted him to make sure everything was alright. He answered, telling her to come to the back yard.

               The backyard was small, a tall wooden fence along the back separating it from the woods. In the middle of the yard were two people sitting in lawn chairs around a bonfire. Jungkook stood up and waved.

               “Hey, you made it!” said Jungkook. He gestured to the bonfire and said, “I told you it’d be lit.”

               Catalina cringed.

               “I’m sorry, that was terrible. I can’t believe I just said that,” he said.

               “I think Jin is getting to you,” said the other person sitting at the fire. Catalina realized that it was Jimin.

               “Jimin! I didn’t know you’d be here!” said Catalina. Jimin stood up and they hugged. “I didn’t know you guys knew each other.”

               “Yeah, we grew up together,” said Jimin.

               “Does everyone in this town know each other?” asked Catalina.

               “I mean…” Jimin started.

               “Kind of,” said Jungkook, setting up a chair for her. They all sat down. “Not really, but this town is pretty small. There’s only one high school so…”

               “I see,” said Catalina. “So, what happened to the party? I imagined like, a big house party with a bunch of people we don’t know, getting drunk and tossing vases around like footballs.”

               Jimin laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair.

               “What? Did you get that from Mean Girls?” asked Jungkook. Catalina nodded. “I don’t know, I guess everyone is “scared” of the “serial killer”, or whatever. They don’t know what they’re missing, because I plan on sharing some great horror stories around the bonfire tonight.”

               “Jungkook, I just want you to know how irresponsible this is!”

               Jin came into the backyard and stood there with his hands on his hips. Another man joined him, equally as handsome. This man was blonde, built, and wore a bomber jacket with patches all over it.

               “There is a serial killer on the loose and you’re throwing a party!” said Jin.

               “Well, you showed up so you’re just as bad. And you brought your boyfriend,” said Jungkook.

               “We are not dating and I am just here to tell you that you should end this right now. We are going to get kidnapped,” said Jin.

               “Catalina, this is Jimmy K, the local bad boy who is all of a sudden mysteriously hanging out with Jin all the time now,” said Jungkook.

               “Local bad boy, I love it,” said Jimmy K. He held out a hand to Catalina to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with a wink.

               “Oh,” Catalina blushed, caught off guard. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

               Soon, they were all sitting around the bonfire listening to Jungkook begin his scary story.

               “This is something that happened to me when I was kid, and I never told anyone this before, because I was afraid no one would believe me. When I was nine, my brother and I were staying at our aunt’s house in the mountains while our parents were out of town on a relief mission. One day, I went out to explore the woods and do some climbing. I found a big rocky crag, which I climbed, hoping I’d end up at the top of the mountain. It wasn’t the top of the mountain by far, but I did find something else: a mossy trail leading deep into the woods,” Jungkook said, lowering his voice dramatically.

               “When is this supposed to get scary?” asked Jin.

               “Shut up. So I followed the trail. The sun was beginning to set and I knew I needed to head back to my aunt’s house soon, but I needed to see where the trail led to. I wasn’t disappointed. The trail opened up to an old cobblestone driveway, and at the end of the driveway was a huge house. It was old, one of those gothic Victorian houses, all dark brick and carved wood. I could see the sky from the clearing, which told me I had about an hour before it fully got dark. I went to the front door anyway. It was unlocked, so I went inside. There were cobwebs everywhere and sheets over furniture, a real classic haunted house, but I wasn’t afraid, because I knew ghosts weren’t real. So, I went deeper into the house. All of a sudden, the front door slammed shut behind me. I was thrown into darkness. Then I heard a voice somewhere in the house say, ‘Don’t you know trespassers get eaten, little boy?’ I was terrified, so I turned around and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The voice was laughing. Finally, the door opened and I ran from the house as fast as I could. I ran back through the trail, climbed back down the rocks and ran. It was dark now and my lungs were burning. Eventually, I made it back to my aunt’s house. She was waiting outside for me, angry. She said, “dammit Jungkook! I told you not to go too far in these woods. There’s monsters out there who eat reckless little boys like you!’

               “And that’s the story of how I found out ghosts are real,” Jungkook finished.

               “That was more like listening to a trauma story than a scary story,” said Jimin. Jungkook took his shoe off and threw it at Jimin, who actually fell off his chair laughing this time.

               “I thought it was a good story,” said Jimmy K, who was listening with interest.

               “Thank you,” said Jungkook.

               “That didn’t actually happen to you, did it?” asked Catalina.

               “Yeah, it did. Minus the cobwebs, sheets, and locked door. But my aunt definitely did say that when I got back. Actually, I remember the real life house being really pretty and not dark, which made me realize that I had just broken into someone’s house. That’s when I ran away. So, who’s next?” said Jungkook.

                 Catalina was running again. They were right behind her. Her heart was pounding in her aching chest as her bare feet thudded against the forest trail. It was close, just a little farther and she’d be safe. The footsteps behind her were getting closer. They were heavy and fast, much stronger than she was. Finally, the house came into view and she threw the front door open. She tried closing it behind her, but the door was too small for the frame and it wouldn’t close all the way. She could feel tears pricking at her eyes. They were going to catch her and she couldn’t do anything about it… Catalina turned around and ran deeper into the house. As she rounded the corner, she found herself in a den, running right into someone. But she wasn’t afraid of this person. She knew she was finally safe here.

“They can’t get you here,” the man said as he held her against his broad chest. She looked up at him. He smiled down with his dimples and perfect teeth. She felt herself melt against him.

But it didn’t last long. Soon, he disappeared and the fire went out in the fireplace, leaving the room in cold darkness. An unfamiliar voice chuckled, the laughter bouncing off the walls to taunt her.

“Don’t you know trespassers get eaten, little girl?”

Catalina jolted awake that morning, a scream lodged in her throat.

#bts #bts fanfction #knights of the night #crystalstar #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #jeon jeongguk #Jimmy K #namjoon #jin #yoongi #suga #jhope #hobi #jimin #jungkook #captain kirk

[jalapeno-princess]

All I Need is You

(Guys I miss Mark so fucking much *Cue Tori Vega I think we all miss Mark)

Songwriter Mark X Reader

Genre: Extremely fluffy angst (is that even a thing?)

Word Count: 5.8K

Summary: For all your life, your parents raised you to be the perfect daughter of every parent’s dreams. You did every single thing your parents forced you to do and never did you complain about anything they’d make you do, no matter how badly you wanted to. That all changed the day your path collides with Mark Tuan. After being stripped of your childhood completely in order to be respective and follow your parent’s desires, Mark shows you how beautiful life can be when you do the things you want to. Mark is the breath of fresh air from a life you feel so suffocated in. For the duration of your relationship, you did your best in hiding him from your parents in fear of them disapproving of the older boy. However, once you graduate from college, you decide you are old enough to make your own decisions and you build the courage to introduce your boyfriend to your family. The night starts off without a hitch; everyone seems to really like him up until your mom asks him what he does for a living. That’s when things take a turn for the worst and your mom gives you an ultimatum; to chose between the love of your life and your family.

A/N: Hey guys, so I’ve been wanting to write an imagine based on the song Paris by the chainsmokers for the longest time and here it is. Only when I reached the middle of writing the story did I realize this is the complete opposite of my other story “Second Chances” LOL. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story (most of it is written in past tense so I hope you don’t get confused).

We were staying in Paris To get away from your parents And I thought, "Wow If I could take this in a shot right now I don't think that we could work this out" Out on the terrace I don't know if it's fair but I thought "How Could I let you fall by yourself While I'm wasted with someone else

"If we go down then we go down together They'll say you could do anything They'll say that I was clever If we go down then we go down together We'll get away with everything Let's show them we are better Let's show them we are better Let's show them we are better

“Hey, everything okay?”

It was currently 2:45 a.m. and normally, you’d be fast asleep right now but you couldn’t help feeling as if the bed grew more spacious and colder than it was when you first went to sleep. Mark was your own personal furnace; the two of you fell asleep pretty early after a long day of sightseeing and an even longer night of love making.

After multiple rounds of his all but gentle kisses on your neck, jaw and chest as he rammed himself in and out of your velvety walls, you both were too tired to get up and clean yourselves off. He immediately pulled you in to his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around your waist while placing his face in the crook of your neck and whispering sweet nothings until his dreams finally took a hold of him. It’s been like this for the last three weeks since you and Mark ran away to Paris in the hopes of hiding from your extremely overprotective and non-understanding parents.

You’d go sight seeing, visit a couple of museums, cute little coffee shops and sometimes you’d even go to a farmer’s market and you’d buy food to make for recipes you and Mark learned while watching whatever they had on television. Almost every single night ended up in sex; on a few occasions, there were drunken stupors where one of you or sometimes even both of you would have a little too much to drink and you’d have wild, kinky sex.

Then there were the days where you’d argue over minuscule and unnecessary things and usually Mark would be the first to give up and apologizing with his head between your thighs. Most of your love making sessions were soft, passionate and very romantic.

To strangers or people who weren’t familiar with him, Mark gave off an intimidating and sometimes standoffish kind of vibe. It was only because he was actually very shy and soft spoken and those who actually knew him were aware of how talkative and outgoing he could be around those he was comfortable with.

Unfortunately, your parents were the kind of people you’d always sought praise from and you’d do whatever you could to make them proud. Ever since you were a little girl, you went along with every command they would give you, you never complained about the clubs they’d put you in or the clothes they had you wear. It wasn’t as if you were the only child, you had three other siblings but since you were the youngest, your parents were a little more strict with you even if you never gave them a reason to question or mistrust you.

It wasn’t until Mark came in to your life that your relationship with your parents took a completely different turn. You’ve known Mark since middle school and although you hardly ever talked to him, you did admire him from afar and you could only wish to build up the courage so that maybe one day, you’d be able to at least say hello.

He was always such a social butterfly and made friends with anybody he’d interact with. All the girls in your grade had a crush on him, but you couldn’t blame them. Not only was he a sight for sore eyes, he was such a free spirit; he had decent grades and not once did the teachers have any problems with him like they did with his friends. But he was never one to genuinely care about his education, and unfortunately that was his downfall.

When you finally entered high school, it’s as if the world felt like it was time for you and Mark to come together and for your two worlds to become one. In your first semester, he was in almost every single one of your classes. You didn’t think you were the smartest person in your grade, but you did pretty well in all the subjects. All those years of long, grueling days of summer school actually paid off. Sometimes, you hated being the youngest.

Your parents expected so much out of you but they never seemed to care about anything that your two older brothers and your older sister did. They all got to join groups, clubs and sports that they genuinely liked whereas you were coerced in to learning how to play the violin and the cello. You were thankful that school was considerably easy for you seeing as how your parents made education your first priority.

While your brothers would play video games and your sister would talk on the phone with her friends, you’d be practicing math problems and read books about the civil war. You didn’t think you got to experience a legitimate childhood you’d witness all your classmates and friends had. For that reason alone, you always felt different from everybody else and it was the reason why you were so hesitant on continuing friendships with the few friends you did have from middle school.

You could never relate to anything they’d talk about; all their favorite movies they’d watch, the latest installment of Grand theft auto that they’d play, going to each other’s houses—you weren’t even allowed to cross the street by yourself let alone go out with your friends. Entering high school by yourself had to be one of the most scariest things you had to go through and because your siblings were at least five years older than you, none of them would be there at least if you needed someone to confide in or run to.

From all the stories you’d hear from each of them, their high school experiences were ones for the books. Both of your brothers joined each and every sport you could think of and your sister was the co-captain of the cheerleading team. She also had a few boyfriends in high school and you felt as if a lot of the mistakes she made were the reasons why your parents took complete control of your life.

It didn’t take long for Mark to acknowledge your existence; in fact, what you didn’t know was that back in middle school, he noticed you even if you didn’t realize it yourself. While all the girls would ogle over him and try to get his attention, he would find himself admiring you from afar.

Mark always thought you were so cute; you were always hesitant to answer the questions your teacher would ask you even if everyone was aware you knew the answer, whenever someone asked you for help you were always so quick to attend to them no matter what they were asking of you and he could never get the way you would blush when you were flustered out of his head.

He had no problem talking with other girls, but he’d become a mess at even just the thought of having to talk to you. Mark was quick to pick up on how you had most of your classes together, and he was going to use this to his advantage. Only a month in to school, both his algebra teacher and his language arts teacher pulled him to the side to tell him that he wasn’t doing too good in their classes. It wasn’t that Mark was purposefully failing his classes in order to get you to tutor him, he never was all that amazing in school to begin with.

High school wasn’t even half as easy as middle school was. Getting anything lower than a C wasn’t going to cut it and now that he had two Ds, he planned on asking you for some help. When Mark did approach you and asked you to help him catch up with a couple of missing assignments and to help teach him some algebra formulas, you had a hard time believing he was even talking to you. In the beginning of your tutoring sessions, he was always quite the gentleman.

He’d give you his full attention, always waited till you were done talking before he’d ask you a question, he’d tell you silly jokes so that it wasn’t always about studying and learning and sometimes he would drop you home after your meetings. It didn’t take long for your tutoring sessions to turn in to something more and only three months after getting to know each other, he asked you to be his girlfriend.

Dating Mark was a dream you never think would become a reality. He was extremely kind hearted and took care of you in ways you didn’t think you’d be able to experience. You were shocked when he confessed that he’s liked you for all these years, and you were quick to admit the same to him. Knowing how your parents could be, you decided to keep your relationship with Mark a secret and he was very understanding about the entire thing.

The two of you would sneak around during and after school for the entirety of your high school years and your love for one another only grew stronger as the time went by. You fell in love with him in tiny little coffee shops, in the back of the library where you’d be making out together when you were supposed to be studying. You’d lie to your parents and say you were preparing for tests and picking up on extra credit when really you’d be lying in the back of Mark’s truck, cuddling in his arms while looking up at the stars.

Mark did a great job at helping you take your mind off of how perfect you were supposed to be. He was the breath of fresh air that you’ve always craved and now that you had him, you didn’t think you would be able to let him go. Ever. He made you feel like a little kid again; you actually got to experience all sorts of things you’ve wanted to do as a child through your relationship. It didn’t take you long to fall in love with him.

Being in love was an indescribable feeling. Every time something good happened to you, he was the first person you wanted to tell and whenever something bad happened, he was the shoulder you wanted to cry on. He always knew the right thing to say; but if there ever was a time he didn’t know how to respond to something, he would just hold you comfortingly while whispering sweet, encouraging words in your ear.

People claimed that perfect people didn’t exist and if that’s the case, then Mark came pretty close. You felt as if he was sent in your life to be your safe haven; your sanity. The burst of color in your world of black and white. He had a habit of telling you he loved you every single day and even if he weren’t to do so, his actions spoke for him. You don’t know how you did it, but you actually did a great job in hiding Mark from your parents for the last few years.

There were times where you did come pretty close to getting caught; whether it was because of how loud you didn’t think you were while talking on the phone with him, or when you’d come back home with swollen lips and tousled hair. It didn’t matter to you though. A part of you was ready for whatever response you’d receive from your parents. Honestly, Mark was the kind of guy you’d bring home to your parents; so you weren’t afraid of the idea of introducing him to your family.

The only thing you were really worried about was what they would say when they were to find out you were hiding a boyfriend from them for over six years. After graduating from high school, both you and Mark went straight in to college. You went in to study criminal law and he had high hopes of becoming an engineer. Three months in to college, Mark decided it wasn’t for him and as his girlfriend, although you were upset at the idea, you supported and trusted his choices.

College wasn’t for everybody. With that being said, it was then that you found out he wanted to become a songwriter. In the few years that you’ve known him for, not once did he ever talk about wanting to write songs. You didn’t think he was passionate about music in general let alone wanting to write music for artists but when he showed you a few of the songs he had wrote, with most of them being about you, you knew he was extremely talented.

Mark always had a way with words and now that you saw them written down on paper, you knew you’d continue to support his dreams and his future endeavors and that you would do anything to help him if he needed it. Before you knew it, four years came and gone and you graduated from college with your bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. It didn’t take too long for law firms to reach out to you with internships and to see if you were interested to work for their companies. Mark was also very successful  with his career.

He started off small; he wrote a few things here and there for some up and coming artists but it wasn’t anything too major. No matter how patient he was, there were times he did grow discouraged and felt like giving up but you never allowed him to. You saw how passionate he was about writing. You’d watch him stay up trying to write down any ideas that would pop through his head.

The road to success wasn’t easy, but when he got an offer from a record company to write songs for a popular artist you both listened to, he was extremely over the moon and made sure to let you know your love, your patient, your support and your determination to help him succeed was what kept him going.

The day came where you felt like you were ready to tell your parents about the man you were head over heels in love with and the reaction you got wasn’t one you were expecting. When you brought him over for dinner, both your mother and your sister raved over how good looking he was and your brothers tried their best to come off as the older, overprotective brothers boyfriends wouldn’t want to mess with. But when they heard Mark played fortnite, they were sold.

Even your father took a liking to him once Mark told him his favorite football team were the Patriots. Everything seemed to be going perfectly and you were so upset with yourself for keeping him a secret for so long. It wasn’t until your mother asked him what he did for a living that things only went downhill from there. I’m a songwriter. You could still remember the grave look on your mom’s face and with the way she motioned for you to follow her and your father in to the living room while excusing the three of you from the table, you knew it wasn’t going to be good.

You were angry that she didn’t wait for dinner to be finished or even for Mark to go home before ridiculing him on his career. It was obvious that she wasn’t too happy to hear he was a musician but it didn’t matter what she thought. Hell, you didn’t care about what anyone in your family thought about him. You loved Mark, with every beat of your heart and there was nothing your parents could say or do to change your mind about him.

“You are to break up with that boy immediately.”

Your eyes widened in shock at your mother’s command and for the first time looking her, hell, looking at your parents, you didn’t feel afraid of them. This time, you had something beautiful worth fighting for. This wasn’t something minuscule; it wasn’t something you could just stop like piano lessons or tennis practice. This was an 8 year long relationship she was telling you to end and there was no way you were going to lose against your parents without putting up a fight.

“No.”

The scoff that came from your mother’s throat wasn’t unexpected. This was the first time ever you talked back to either of your parents. This was the first time you actually said the word no in your 23 years of existence and damn, it felt really good.

“Excuse me? Did you just tell your mother no? Y/n, he’s a musician! He will never be able to give you the life you deserve! That is not a career! You’ll be the one having to take care of your entire family, I refuse to let this man ruin your life. You’re going to throw away everything you’ve worked so hard for—for someone whose position in your life isn’t promised. You know better than this, there are plenty more men in the world with better jobs and probably better living situations. Mrs.Choi’s son is a—“

“I don’t give a shit about Mrs.Choi’s son or Mrs.Park’s son or anyone’s damn son for that matter. I love Mark. I am in love with Mark. I only want Mark. Mark is all I need. I don’t care about what his job title is. It makes him happy and he’s pretty fucking amazing at what he does. But like I said, I don’t give a shit what he does for a living. He could be a garbage man and I’d still love him with every fiber of my being because that’s what love is mom. Love is not money, it’s not a big mansion in Beverly Hills with a doctor husband and six cars I will probably never drive. Love is what I feel when I’m with Mark. He takes care of me. He makes me laugh when I’m sad, he makes me smile even in the most inconvenient situations. He does my laundry, cleans our apartment, blow dries my hair when I’m tired, takes me to and pays for all my doctor’s appointments. We’ve been together for almost 8 years and these last 8 years have been the best years of my entire life because of him. The two of you stripped away the entirety of my childhood from me and Mark was the fountain of youth to help me experience actually being a human.” If looks could kill, the glare your mother was sending you would have you six feet under, but you didn’t care.

“I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m grown. I’m an adult for crying out loud you guys can’t tell me what to do anymore. I’m sorry you can’t accept it but I love Mark and I plan on doing so for the rest of my life and there’s nothing either of you can say or do to change my mind.”

“If you leave with him tonight, you are never allowed back in to this house ever again.” The burst of confidence and bravery you had confessing your love for Mark and the fact that you had every intention of staying with him went right out the window at your mother’s ultimatum. Was she really making you choose between your boyfriend and your family? There was no way you could choose between the two of them. Yes, Mark was the best thing that’s ever happened to you. But to lose all contact with your family because your parents were being unfair and irrational with their decision? She didn’t even take the time to listen to your words; did she not care about your health, happiness and well-being? Here was a man putting her youngest daughter on a pedestal, giving her the entire world and more but yet she still couldn’t accept that. You didn’t know the consequences of your next few words, but it wasn’t even a question. “Mark, we’re leaving. Let’s go.”

Your boyfriend came out from the kitchen and you had a feeling he probably heard the entire conversation between you and your parents, but your mind was so focused on leaving before things could get any worse. “Y/n, wait, sweetie think about this—think about what you’re doing—are you really willing to give up your family for a boy?”

“A man—he’s a man and yes—he’s all the family I could ever need. He’s shown me more love and support in our 8 years of being together than either of you did in the last 23 years of my existence. If you were a really family, you’d accept Mark for who he is and what he does and you’d be happy with the fact that he takes such good care of me but no. Your pride, your reputation, your wealth, your social status and your ego are more important than my feelings and what I want. You don’t care about me. You never cared about me you just cared about what others would think about me and I’m sick of it. I’m done. Have a nice rest of your life. Assholes.”

You marched out of the house and a huge weight was lifted off of your shoulders. With the rate you were walking, your boyfriend had to practically jog to catch up with you because you were filled with so many different emotions. Anger. Sadness. Grief. But no regret, nor any remorse. You knew you made the right decision in choosing Mark because not only did you choose Mark, you chose yourself. You were no longer going to allow your parents to dictate your life anymore.

“Baby—are you alright?” You gave him a sad smile before stealing a soft kiss from the corner of his mouth.

“Maybe not right now, but I will be. Take me home Mark.” Your siblings tried to get in touch with you for weeks, trying to get you to come back and to talk things out with your parents, but the damage was done. Neither of them were going to accept your relationship. It was a tough pill to swallow, but you accepted it for what it was.

Even if one day they came around and accepted Mark being a songwriter, there was no way you could ever forget the look of disgust on your mom’s face when Mark said what his job was nor could you forget how your dad just stood there and said nothing. It genuinely showed that neither of your parents really cared about you even if you were the star child out of the four of you and that’s what was hurting you the most.

Mark did his best to try and take your mind off what had happened and every time you’d look at him while he was sleeping, while he was cooking the two of you dinner or while the two of you would shower together, you’d see the glint in his eyes as he looked at you like you were one of the seven wonders of the world and you knew you made the right choice. You’d pick him again and again every single time.

He never brought up the fact that your parents didn’t accept his passion but you were sure it must have hurt him. Especially because that’s was caused you to be cut off from your entire family, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t extremely content with your decision. A few weeks ago, Mark got a call from the record company he was working for and gave him the opportunity to travel around Europe to work with a couple of the entertainers there and he didn’t hesitate to ask you to tag along with him.

The adventure started off in Italy, then you found yourselves in London and Greece. Each and every city was more than you could even imagine. The scenery was so beautiful, the food was delicious, the people were so sweet and the fact that you got to experience it all with your soulmate; your favorite person was a feeling you would never be able to fathom in to words.

Paris had to be your favorite place you had visited so far and you were sure it had to deal with the fact that it was the city of love and you were making the most of it with the love of your life by your side. It was currently winter in Paris right now; the temperature only grew colder as the days went by which is why you were shocked to see Mark outside on the balcony in only his underwear, but the sight did make your cheeks pink.

No matter how many times you’ve seen him naked, you always got so shy and flustered. He was freezing cold when you finally found your way behind him, you placed your chin on his shoulder blade and left a soft kiss there while lazily wrapping your arms around his hips. The giggle that fell from your lips at the feeling of your bare chest against his back couldn’t be helped, he was so cold and the frost nipped at your skin.

It took you a few moments to notice the cigarette in his hand and when you did, you grew worried. Mark hated cigarettes. He hated the smell and hated the negative effect they had on people’s bodies. However, you noticed he began smoking them after working with a well-known rapper who claimed that smoking helped him relax. It was a habit you weren’t too fond of; you knew it was probably damaging his lungs and you could taste the ash in his kisses, but you knew something had to be bothering him for him to want to even start smoking so you never tried stopping him.

For the last month, you haven’t seen a pack of cigarettes lying around the place nor did the scent linger on his clothes so you knew there was a chance he stopped. Seeing that ugly death stick in between his fingers made your blood boil; you didn’t want anything happening to his health because of a stupid decision he‘d make whenever he was upset.

“Go back to bed baby. I’ll be there soon, I just needed a little break. I’m fine.” You’ve been with Mark long enough to know when he was lying. You didn’t have to see him; the lack of confidence in his voice and the way he tensed up against your body made it clear that something was indeed on his mind, and there was no way you’d be able to go back to sleep knowing he was overthinking.

“Talk to me Mark. Something is obviously bothering you and I want to be able to help you.” He released a long sigh before putting out the cigarette and turning to face you. His eyes were red and puffy and there were dried tears on his cheeks.

The idea of him crying made your heart hurt; he was always the strong one in your relationship. No matter how rough life would get for him, he never showed that he was having a hard time. He hated burdening other people, especially you. So all his battles, he’d keep to himself. You hated that he never confided in you the way you always seemed to with him. You wanted to be able to help him carry the burden or to help fight the war in his mind that he was battling alone.

“Why did you do it?” You immediately looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about? What did you do that could be causing him so much distress and frustration?

“Mark—“

“You gave up everything to be with me. You’re completely cut off from your parents, you gave up your job at the law firm, you had to sell your car, you left all your friends without any explanation as to why you were leaving—just for me. I can’t give you everything that I want to just yet. I can’t promise to give you a big house, a nice car—we’ve been together for years and I have every intention on marrying you y/n but I can’t afford to buy you the ring of your dreams—I’m honestly nothing. I’m a college dropout trying to become a renowned songwriter y/n. Sure, I’ve been getting quite a few amazing opportunities but it isn’t enough for us to be set for the rest of our lives nor can we really be comfortable. Like your mom said, there are many men out there who’d be able to take care of you in the ways that I can’t. All I can do is love you y/n, and fuck. I love you more than you can even fathom yourself. But you deserve so much more and sometimes love isn’t enough—“

“Do you hear yourself right now? Are you really asking me why I left my life behind to be with you? My family, I love them dearly. But you know how I feel about my parents, how they sheltered me, overprotected me, forced me in to doing things I didn’t want to. They never did care about how I felt; not once did they stop and think maybe they were working me to the bone. I was never happy Mark. Until you came in to my life and I really don’t know what I would do if I were to lose you. I’m assuming you must’ve heard what my mom said and don’t you dare listen or even think what she said was true. You are not nothing Mark. You are so talented, so hardworking, so passionate and dedicated and if anyone deserves the world baby—it’s you. I meant what I said when I told her I couldn’t give less of a shit about any materialistic things. What’s a fucking Porsche going to do for me if my husband neglects me? What’s a big house if the person that I love isn’t there to share it with me?” You brought your hand up to cup his cheek and released a sigh of relief when he leaned in to your palm.

“You and I could live in a fucking box and I wouldn’t care and you wanna know why? Because you’re there. All I need is you. I don’t care where we go, who we meet, how much money we have in our bank accounts; as long as I have you right beside me, I’m not worried about anything. I can get another car Mark, I can find another job, I can make new friends—but there is never going to be another you. So stop beating yourself up about the decisions I made in the last few months. I did it for us. I did it because I love you. I will never love anyone the way I love you. Now get it out of your head that I deserve someone better than you because a man like that doesn’t exist. And yes—your love is enough Mark. It’s all that matters to me. The way you take care of me when I’m sick, or hold me close as we watch a scary movie. The way you take a bite out of my food to make sure it isn’t too hot, although I feel like you use that as an excuse just to try my food. The way you can be so tired, yet you want to sit down and listen to me go on about my day. You love me Mark. You never fail to say it, but it means more to me because you never fail to show it either.” At this point, his tears were flowing steadily from the bird of his eyelids and you found yourself wiping them away every time new tears fell.

“A person’s job title, the amount of education they’ve received, the kind of car they drive and the house they live in; none of that matters babe. I know you probably hear this all the time, but it’s what the inside that matters. Genuinely. All the wealth, the riches, it doesn’t make you better than anyone else. Your personality, your selflessness, your golden heart, your generosity, your patience, the love you never fail to show others, that’s why I fell in love with you. Oh—and your stupidly handsome looks but that’s besides the point. I’d go wherever it is that you’ll go. Whatever you need me to do, or be in order to help you grow as an artist or just a human being in general, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything for you Mark Tuan. And one day, when everything works out with your career, we can rub it in my parents faces. No more tears my love. It’s just you and I; and that’s what makes me the most happy. Oh—and I don’t need a big wedding or a huge diamond ring to get me to marry you. You could get me a ring pop for all I care. I just want to be with you. We could honestly elope in one of the hotel’s chapels if that’s what you want.”

He didn’t miss a beat before bringing his hands on either side of your face and roughly connecting your lips together. His mouth was warm and wet against yours, his kisses were rough and needy. It’s as if he was putting everything he wanted to say to you in to the kiss. How grateful he was for you. How much you meant to him. How much he loved you more than his heart could genuinely handle. Mark knew he needed to continue fighting for his dream in order to prove to you that you made the right decision in choosing him. Soon, the atmosphere was filled of sexual tension and it didn’t take too long for you to feel something hard against your thigh.

“I just—I hope—fuck. Thank you baby. I could never thank you enough for everything that you’ve done and continue to do for me. You’re the most ethereal being to walk on this earth you know that. I really, really do not deserve you but I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’m sure happy you chose me. Don’t tempt me, I might just go down to the gift shop and get you that ring pop. I love you—so fucking much my beautiful girl. God , only you could make me hard as a rock while I’m in the middle of crying—I know it’s 3 A.M, and I promised I would take you to the Champs-Élysées later on today, but I really want to show you just how grateful I am for you. I also kinda want to solve this problem in my pants and fuck the shit out of you so let’s go baby. You might have to rent a motor chair to get around once I’m done with you.”

#got7 imagines #got7 #got7 mark #mark tuan #mark tuan got7

[innittowinit]

Abandoned amusement parks are the best place for young children (chapter 13)

Fic summary:

Techno, Tommy, Wilbur and Phil have been hanging out at the abandoned amusement park in the woods since they moved in. Techno likes knowing he's definitely alone with his brothers Tommy likes climbing on the old rides Wilbur likes having a place to play his music Phil likes spending time with his younger brothers

That is, until a group of brothers calling themselves the 'dream team' move in down the road. Will the sleepy boys give in and share the park or will they succeed in scaring the new kids off?

Chapter summary:  The Dream team decide it's finally time to talk it out.

Chapter word count: 2089

AO3 

The morning sun seemed to trickle through the window like a leaky faucet, the seasons were changing and the once blistering heat was shifting to a far more bitter coldness. That being said, the concentrated beams of light seemed to wake the boys up with a solemn kindness, the chilly undertones being replaced by the heat from the hug.

Almost all at once, the events of last night flooded back to Dream; he remembered crying, he remembered being so so painfully lonely, he remembered his brother coming in and giving him a hug. Today was the day they’d make things right. Sapnap was telling the truth when he said the important thing was that they didn’t mean to hurt anyone, he was smarter than people gave him credit for and Dream appreciated that.

The boys lay in bed for a little while longer as the sun rose, the alarm clock said 6am but since it was a Sunday he hadn’t set an alarm, even so it was much earlier than the boys would normally get up. If anyone were to ask him, he’d say he didn't believe in fate but deep down he wanted to believe that this was a sign from the universe to tell them that they were doing the right thing.

It was nearly half seven by the time the pair got up, they had been laying about and scrolling through their phones as their bodies woke up but they knew sleeping in was a bad habit to get into so eventually they forced each other out of bed and stumbled towards the smell of a cooking breakfast and their older brother cooking.

The overall assumption, as the two sat down sluggishly, was that George was still in bed, he always woke up last anyway and it mustn’t help that everyone else had been up early today.

“You two sleep well?”

A few groans were heard but the overall consensus was that they had slept well and had in fact just not wanted to wake up. Today would be a good day though, they’d fix it all today.

“Well I was making some breakfast, blueberry pancakes, if one of you could wake George up that would be nice”

Dream nodded and pulled himself up from the table, jogging up the stairs and then made his way to George’s room, knocking on the door. He knew that wouldn’t be enough to actually wake him though so he let himself in and shook his brother awake, saying something about pancakes and how George would miss it if he slept all day.

The morning was nice, everyone was fairly calm, sleepy but calm. A few months ago Bad had been admitted into an academy school that specialised in media production, of course he had been ecstatic about this news but that also meant the boys didn’t always get to spend time with him. This past week he had been off on Half-term but for the rest of the term he’d only be home for weekends and even then sometimes he had to go to work.

It sucked but Dream was easily old enough to understand that his brother was just pursuing his dream and at least they lived close enough to the school that he could come home on weekends, a lot of Bad’s friends had to stay at the school the whole week and were only able to stay elsewhere if it was a longer break, like summer or winter holidays. So Dream was grateful for that much at least.

Day’s like this were cherished, where they were all just sat comfortably, talking or eating, and there was nothing to be mad about, there was an overwhelming sense of understanding in the air, as if for the first time in forever the boys were thinking clearly and they could see that they needed to just be mature and talk it out.

“How’re you gonna do it then?”

Bad was speaking with his mouth full but nobody cared to mention it.

“Just be honest. I was thinking about it last night, I think we just need to be clear with them and hopefully they’ll understand and still want to be friends afterwards”

There was a smile on Bad’s face, hopefully this would make him proud of them again, they were all very much aware that they had messed up but really messing up was the easy part, making things better was the hard part.

----

Phil was at work today and Wilbur wanted to prove that he was responsible to look after Tommy, even when he wasn't there, although they had sorted it out after Tubbo got his scar, he was still a bit ashamed and he still wanted to make sure Phil knew he was responsible.

So now, he was sitting with his little brother, on top of the boy’s favourite coaster. They weren’t really sitting on top of it but they were higher than Wilbur would have liked, it was about the point that Tubbo had fallen from now that he was thinking about it. Still, he wanted to let the kid have fun and blow some steam, he was just here to make sure he was safe if he slipped.

Techno was sitting directly underneath this rail too, he was playing some game that Skeppy had given him a while ago, on his DS. It was a peaceful day, no interruption, no conflict. Even the game was peaceful, it was some farming game that Skeppy had decided wasn’t interesting enough for him. It was a little ironic that the repetitive nature of it, that had made Skeppy not want it anymore, had also made Techno get attached to it very easily.

Currently he was growing potatoes and his farm was very cool, he was on the leader-boards but he wasn’t satisfied with that, he had to be number one.  

“What game are you playing, Blade?”

Tommy had hopped down from the rail, almost giving Wilbur a heart attack, but thankfully he was able to land with nothing more than a graze and a sore knee from the impact, that would go away quickly though. It seemed like he had got bored of climbing around the same area and was now much more interested in whatever his brother was doing.

Worming his way into Techno’s lap, he peered down at the little screen of Techno’s character farming potatoes, huffing out when he realised this wasn’t much more interesting than climbing the same section repeatedly. Still, he stayed curled up against his brother’s chest as he watched him play the game, it was more comfortable than sitting on old rails and he enjoyed sitting with Techno.

While Techno wasn’t usually one for needless contact or cuddling, he loved Tommy and if Tommy wanted to sit on his lap goddammit he could do that.

After making his way down from the rails, Wilbur sat down next to the pair, holding his burgundy beanie in one hand and raking his hair with the other.

As they were growing so unfortunately accustomed to, the peace didn’t last long.

Unlike any other time where they realised the Dream team were on their way in, they didn’t look rebellious or have wide grins on their faces, all three of the boys wore an awkward frown as they sauntered into the park.

Wilbur was the first to stand up, immediately stepping in front of his brothers as if to protect them, he was pissed to say the least. He had just wanted to chill out with his brother’s and these pricks had to keep showing up! He knew Phil didn’t want them to fight anymore but Phil wasn’t here right now.  

Protecting his brothers was his biggest priority right now, even if that meant breaking the rules.

“Go away!” He yelled at the trio, walking towards them with a kind of intensity that only seemed half real, sometimes you just needed to be more intimidating to get people to listen to you. “Just leave us alone! God you’re so annoying!”

Before he could realise what he was doing, Techno had jogged up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder .

Of course Techno wanted him to calm down. Of course Techno wanted him to follow the rules. He loved his brother but sometimes it felt like he thought he was so much smarter than everyone else - probably because he was but it was still frustrating.

“No! Techno! You find it annoying too! You don’t like this either! They hit you! They hit Tommy!”

Right now, Wilbur was flapping his arms about as if they punctuated his words, a distinct movement to each of his points as if it had been rehearsed.

In all honesty, he had been waiting to say this far longer than he’d like to admit. He had always been the most vocal about his distaste for the ‘Dream team’ -which he still thought was a stupid name, sleepy bois was much better- but he knew the others felt like this too.

How could they not? They had come and invaded one of their only safe places and made it into some joke.

Wilbur would have swung at one of them right then and there but he knew the consequences of that would be much higher than if he just yelled. Violence had never been his thing and he had genuinely felt guilty for throwing the rock, words were his forte though.

Words slid off his tongue easily, he was perceptive and could tell what people were insecure about after one conversation, subconsciously making a mental bank of things he could use to hurt someone if the time came when he had to. It was a nasty habit to say the least and he hated that he would ever need to address it, it made his lyrics feel so real and his creative writing for English class always got top marks because of it.

But it was cruel and shameful to know that he was always looking for the worst in people, he was mortified to say it but he found it near impossible to trust that people would never leave so at some point along the line he had picked this up as a kind of coping strategy, if he could hurt someone back, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad when they left.

And so, in true Wilbur fashion, he cut deep, glaring at the boys in front of them as he spouted everything that had been bothering him. He just wanted it to stop. He knew he was being mean. He just wanted to be with his brothers. He just wanted it to stop.

He wanted Phil. He wanted Tommy. He wanted Techno

He wanted their spot back.

Tugging at his sleeve was Techno, he could tell he was upsetting his brother’s but he found himself too heated to care, he just wanted everything off of his chest and then he could help them. He had always hated the teachers that made him and Techno stay in class when he was getting overwhelmed, they were all aware of his ADHD and how that can lead to over-stimulation if a lot of things were happening at once.

No doubt he would hate himself for brushing his brother off like that later. He was being a bad brother.

“We thought it was a game! We didn’t think you were actually getting upset!”

George was yelling too now, so much for having a calm discussion. So much for staying friends.

“Are you thick?! We’ve been very clear about how we feel! You’re the ones that keep coming back!”

“We thought it was a game! We thought you were playing a character!”

It was getting too heated

Nobody was happy with this

Why did he find it so hard to calm down?

Reaching for his brother’s hand, desperate for some comfort, he realised Techno wasn’t with him anymore. Snapping himself around, he only saw Tommy, still sat under the rail, playing around on Techno’s DS.

“Techno?”

His throat felt like sandpaper, trying to call for his brother gave him an excruciating pain which was only rivaled by the heavy ball of dread sitting in his stomach. He knew he should have done something when Techno had been trying to get his attention, he was just so mad.

Why did he let this happen?

Turning back to the Dream team, hoping one of them had seen him leave, he noticed something else.

Dream was gone too .

#dream #technoblade #wilbur #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #tubbo #philza #georgenotfound #sapnap #badboyhalo #dream team #sleepy bois inc #dt #sbi #fanfic

[wolfsgravity]

I can’t sleep so I’m just thinkin’ about my range of Pokémon romantic F/Os. This series has meant so much to me for so long, and I know F/Os from that source make up a decent portion of my list. I’d feel more embarrassed about it if I didn’t make it abundantly clear that Pokémon is one of the most pervasive influences in my life from an exceedingly young age.

I just. I dunno. I find my collection of Pokémon series F/Os so interesting.

I’m just gonna ramble a bit.

I’m going to talk in Generational order, because my 1am brain couldn’t decipher a more cohesive timeline if it tried.

Giovanni is a funny one. As a kid, his character in the show intimidated me a little. But I really loved Team Rocket on some level. They were my first Pokémon villain organization, and with the Gen III games having Aqua and Magma, I decided pretty early that Team Rocket was my team. I had a stint in Magma since when I was young, I thought I’d specialize in Fire types, but eh it didn’t stick. No team really stuck nearly as much until Team Skull! So I had a lot of time for my intimidation from Giovanni to evolve into a fearful respect, to a mild devotion… by the time I played Let’s Go! and Ultra Moon, I was more than a little excited to see him in game. As in, I would quietly cheer when he appeared on my screen, in some weird giddy manner. It was only a matter of time before I realized I was crushing hard.

Steven Stone (he has a full name so more often than not I use it when referring to him) probably didn’t make the biggest impact on me in the original Gen III games? Hoenn was my favorite region for a while (in part due to pre- “Hoenn confirmed” hype), but he didn’t have a huge role in Ruby/Sapphire. Maybe I noticed him first in Emerald? I wish I could remember my real first inkling of crush on him, because I just remember when I played Omega Ruby… I was already obsessed with him. He showed up for the first time in game and I squealed. I spent the whole game seeking him out and already making romantic passes at him in my around-19-year-old head.

I am counting Grovyle for this, but it bears repeating that my S/I for the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games is a Pokémon too. Those Mystery Dungeon games enamored me as a teen! I got to BE! A POKEMON!! So I probably got Explorers of Time/Darkness for DS not long after it released in 2008. I was so excited to have Gen IV Pokémon to be and battle and recruit, ugh, this game meant so much to me. I will always remember being part of Wigglytuff’s Guild super fondly. And like, as I am super susceptible to mental role play, putting myself in my characters shoes (or lil toe beans I guess) has always been second nature for me. So a dashing Grovyle just jumped into my silly life and was the most honorable and misunderstood character and I am not even joking when I say I fell for him in my first playthrough. And I’ve played through it a lot. I was always jealous of Celebi. I hate every Dusknoir I see to this day. *chefs kiss* Good game.

Gen V is “oops all F/Os” Gen, where to even start..

Just kidding, N is the obvious choice to start for me. He was love at first sight. He just, ugh, he cares about Pokémon SO MUCH. I literally don’t know how to even expand on this. He literally rode the Ferris Wheel with the player character in the game, and I WASNT supposed to interpret that as a date? Wack. It was a date. I love him so damn much. Next question

Elesa comes next because I’ve always thought she was stunning. I mean, duh I guess, she’s canonically a model. Also, Electric types are in my top 3, behind Fairy and somewhat tied with Fire, so she was a woman after my own heart. Her Emolga kinda wrecked my team and I respect that. Also, she loves puns. So again. Woman after my own heart. The only reason she’s still listed as Crush and not as Dating is because she intimidates me. She’s out of my league and I worry she’d only see me as a friend. Well, not “only”, her and Skyla are bffs and that also looks fun. I just. Can’t imagine her romantically being interested in me sometimes. Heh.

Grimsley was a crush that came on yeeeaaaars after his Gen, and it hit me like a freight train. I swear, he made very little impression on me in B/W, because I was young and I was just excited to possibly see N again as champion. I was a little shit, okay. I also never played B2/W2 all the way through, which is a huge stain on my Pokémon record. Anyways. When he showed up in Sun/Moon, I gasped. I was like, that’s a familiar face. Why is he hot now? (The answer is we was always hot, and I just had a few years to grow between games). But like, I kind of tamped it back down? I think I legit tried to tell myself around Sun/Moon era that I can’t keep finding Pokémon characters hot, because I was drooling over another one in Moon. Anywho. Grimsley kept popping up as fanart on my Tumblr dash for a while and by the time I pulled him in Pokémon Masters, I slipped into love. Whoops.

Professor Sycamore, probably not my proudest moment of fandom. He was another one I liked from the very introduction. I made fun of him in equal measure, but I affectionately referred to him as “Professor Hotdad” for an embarrassingly long amount of time. He’s not even the oldest of my Pokémon F/Os. One of my other Pokémon F/Os is canonically a father. But nope. Sycamore was Hotdad. That all said, he did make me smile like a crush-stricken schoolgirl when he talked in game so it wasn’t all just memey objectification. I do love him dearly.

Gen VII! Alola! Guzma! Oh man, like I’d stated earlier, Team Skull really nestled it’s way close to my heart the way no team had since Team Rocket. It wasn’t all because of Guzma, I really did like the group of ragtag misfits banding together and creating a family. Guzma was icing on the cake. Oh boy, he made my heart do funny little flips even when he was threatening me in game. I loved his design, I loved his character, the way he talked, I just. Ugh, I was down bad for ya boy in Moon and Ultra Moon. He’s actually the inspiration behind my main blog url: its-ya-boi-remington. The “Y’all are stupid!” line and face lives in my head rent free at all times. Guzma protection squad.

(Nanu isn’t a romantic so I won’t talk about him here, just know I’m not forgetting him!)

Leon was, believe it or not, my actual first Gen VIII crush. I saw that fashion disaster and felt a warm comfort from him. It didn’t help that I mentally read every character in Galar with some UK/British Isles accent, that sweetened the deal. I was actually gushing to a couple then-friends about Leon while we all played Sword/Shield together and they kind of mocked me about it. They chided me that Leon “doesn’t bat for my team” and said either of them would have a better chance with him if he were real. So I was a little downtrodden about Leon after that for quite a while. It wasn’t until a couple months ago when suddenly it hit me that A- He’s literally fictional and my version of him can like me regardless of what “team he bats for” and B- I’m nonbinary? So rules get thrown out the window, anyone who likes me is both a miracle and some kind of gay whatever way you spin it. So I let myself warm back up to him, though I’m still a little skittish from before.

Piers, I guess, as awful as it sounds, was initially a crush rebound. Like, don’t get me wrong, I’d have been attracted either way. He’s a musician, a SINGER no less, and has that emo/punk vibe. But he’s also gentle and kind. Swoon. But it helped that I had my crush-feelers out full-force for a cutie in game to obsess over since I was still butthurt about my “friends” killing my crush on Leon. Obsess I did, and continue to do. I could probably snap this man over my knee like firewood he’s so lanky, idk why I put that in here but it’s staying. Piers is the one I most imagine jamming out with on a regular basis, and it makes performing for no one a bit more fun 🥰

I’m finally getting tired, I feel like I’ve been typing this for an hour. I probably have been. Ah geez now I gotta tag all these F/Os lmao. Thanks for letting me ramble.

#all my Pokémon romantic ships ahoy #ship: darkpoppunk #ship: it’s ya bois #ship: despite being french #ship: natural number one #ship: da boss’s favorite #ship: she’s electrifyin #ship: taking a gamble on you #ship: I got lost in your eyes #ship: time stops for you

[protagonistheavy]

Got a new computer so I can play DBD again after a two week break. So, I'm new to both Pinhead and the new mmr system.

Wow. Both these things just suck shit. : \

The survivor experience is just terrible. I played upwards of ten games and each one just felt way worse than usual. The only good game I had ended with the killer disconnecting, so that's a great sign. Every other game was deeply unfun for at least one reason or another. The worst was a Doctor that had to tunnel, camp, and noed his way to a 3k + disconnect... Jesus Christ. I spent like eight minutes NOT playing a video game because I spent the entire time getting camped, then slugged (because he wanted to wait out the DS I didn't even have lololololol love these mechanics), then rehooked, shaking off tier 3 madness, and then getting mori'd. What a god awful experience. And no other game was significantly better -- except for one Pig game, but that doesn't count because, yep, they were just throwing and looking for boops.

It's bad out there man and it's personally depressing because I was sooo looking forward to coming back to DBD. : ( I guess I can still give killer a try, but I can't BELIEVE how much joy got sucked out of the survivor experience for me -- incredible, considering how unfun survivor could already be. But now I just really do feel like I'm making the game worse for myself if I'm not running the meta perks, there's NO space for even a little error.

At first I heard complaints about the new mmr system, and I heard counter-arguments to them saying "you don't have to care about winning so much, just enjoy the game." yeah well. except. you can't really enjoy a game when shit like this is happening lol. Like how am I supposed to enjoy the game... if part of my enjoyment is being able to at least SOMETIMES escape a killer? What if I LIKE to run some non-meta perks? Like I'm not saying "wahhh I wanna win every game" but I AM saying that I'd like to not feel PUNISHED for not playing hyper optimal. Seriously, this matchmaking just feels terrible! I'm literal bottom rank and I'm going against some of the best killers I've EVER gotten... At what point should my mmr be low enough that I'm getting killers I can fairly go against???? It feels like I'm constantly the dead weight being added into the lobby to counterbalance better survivors, it's so frustrating.

And god. Pinhead. This, is just bad. I seriously just groan when I hear that fucking box noise at the start of a game. This is, by far, the LEAST fun killer to go against I think. I guess maybe Hag could be worse, but jesus christ, 90% of this guy's power is just automatic. The fucking box is WAY too strong. Can anyone explain to me what the optimal approach to this shit is??? You see the box, you know SOMEONE has to go get it, but without comms, you don't know who is and who isn't going for it, which makes the whole team super inefficient. You'd think to go get the box immediately, but isn't it smarter to wait it out until the timer is almost up? If you want to stay efficient doing other things for as long as possible, it's better to IGNORE this thing until it starts becoming a problem basically. If no one gets the box in time, then everyone just starts getting slowed down and pulled off gens constantly without any way to stop it! How fun!!!!!!!! Sucks for you if you're in the middle of getting chased, because now on top of his fucking guided missile chains that he controls, there's just MORE chains coming after you nonstop. Oh you grabbed the box, like you're supposed to? Cool! Let's drop your item tee-hee-hee : ) and make you solve this puzzle box for like 10 fucking seconds w/ skill checks! Oh and all the while, a chain hunt is on you uwu!! So you keep getting ripped away from the very thing youre trying to solve! Oh and you never get a chance to ACTUALLY solve the box, lol no you fucking moron, because Pinhead can just IMMOBOILIZE YOU MID-SOLVING AND TELEPORT TO YOU FOR FREE. Are you a shitty killer player that can't find survivors? Then come play Pinhead, who just reveals survivors for free and gets to warp right to some of them! Nope, not because of any ACTIVE ABILITY he actually CONTROLS or EXPRESSES SKILL FROM, no you fucking troglodyte, it's entirely because his passive box shit just forces you to play a whole different game that's EXTREMELY frustrating to trudge through. Oh and guess what happens when Pinhead knocks down the survivor that had the box? Oh well instead of doing a weapon wipe animation, he picks up the box and solves it : ) which triggers a chain hunt to immediately begin! Wow! I'm having so much fun that for the sake of my health I need to go make myself more depressed to balance it out.

This is so absurd and not even getting into his add-ons that just make him even LESS fun; the chains that can injure you, and the one that makes the box almost impossible to see until the chain hunt starts? I'm sorry but what the FUCK? I'm genuinely getting the point where I sincerely wish we could just hard block certain killers lol I can very well see myself just DCing as soon as I hear it's Pinhead. This isn't fun, sorry Behaviour, but you wildly fucked up with this one. I think the most offensive part is the fact you have to drop your fucking item to solve this shitty box. That's just so cruel. Why does it have to be like this? Just let us keep our item bro! It's so unfair that in order to face a killer's base mechanic -- which they don't even manually control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- and have to, HAVE TO, MANDATORY, you have to drop your item, KNOWING you're never going to see it again since Pinhead is going to teleport and chase you away! Jesus Christ, can we at least balance this out? Can we make it so you can't solve Jigsaw Boxes if youre holding an item? Can we make it so Legion's Frenzy attacks make you drop your item? I fucking HATED this mechanic with Nemesis, and that's LEAGUES more tame than Pinhead's stupid shit. At least when I set my item down, I'm not expecting Nemesis to outright TELEPORT to me because I used the fucking item he makes me have to use.

And hey something else that just pisses me off as a Pig main. Why doesn't Pig get ANY vision or advantage against someone who removes their bear trap? Hmm? Nemesis gets a killer instinct when someone uses a vaccine, Pinhead gets to see their location AND ALSO choose to teleport DIRECTLY TO THEM, so why can't Pig get SOMETHING?????? Oh would she become OVERPOWERED if she got a killer instinct on someone who removed a hat? Mind blowing how fucked up their killer design has gotten. Imagine what Pig would look like if she was released in 2021 -- absolutely she'd have some way more bullshit mechanics going on. She'd get aura vision on anyone solving a box; anyone she knocks down for the first time automatically gets a hat placed on them rather than her going through a weapon wipe animation; that timer would just start instantly, no fucking waiting for a gen to pop; no slow down at all while stealthing, in fact she just stealths passively after a few seconds of not attacking; if you fail a Jigsaw skill check you get injured. I'm not even exaggerating much when I say this is what Pig would be like if made today.

Yeah I think this mmr shit needs a rework, and Pinhead, wow, I dont even know what to say. Maybe Pinhead would be better if he got toned WAAAAAY the fuck down. Chain Hunts are way too fucking oppressive, the chains that appear need to be like 50% less frequent. And instead of making the box an item, it should just be an interactable object that you go up to, progress a bar, and solve. Remove the fucking chain hunt on the box holder, take away Pinhead's teleport, just let Pinhead get killer instinct on whoever solved it.

I really hope he gets reworked to something more fun. This really just sucks to go against and doesnt feel like any other killer. Please, man.