#Bad Boys (6) - She’s ours (FIN)

[opposums-love-arson]

Scream Queen Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

Chapter 6

Chapter 5 / Chapter 7

P.S. lmk if y'all would like to be added to the tag list <3

I had pulled up one of the large lounging chairs to the front porch where I now sat with Tatum and Sindey. The girls were sitting on the railing talking to each other while I was reading a book. A book more specifically about a girl who is madly in love with a serial killer so much so that she ignores the possible signs and because of it he kills her claiming it will make their love immortal. Yeah not a very happy ending, just like most of life. 

  Sid told us about what she said to Gale this morning. How Sidney resolved my little...accident and about how she wasn’t sure that Weary was actually her mother’s killer. 

“What if Cotton Weary is telling the truth? Maybe he was having an affair with your mom?” Tatum asked as she twirled her hair in her fingers. “I mean your dad’s always out of town on business, maybe...your mom was just a very unhappy woman.” Tatum finished with the start of her eyebrows pointed up. 

“If-if they were having an affair then how come Cotton couldn’t prove it in court?” Sid said, as if she just created the world’s first unsolvable puzzle

“Well. You can’t prove a rumor, that's why… it's a rumor,” Tatum responded as she swished her head side to side. 

“Right, created by that little tabloid twit, Gale Weathers,” Sid said, seeming to choke on the name.

“It goes further back Sid...there’s been talk about other men,” Tatum fidgeted with her hands.

  “Hey, I’m going to leave you two alone out here. It sounds like I’m intruding so I’ll be inside. Just shout if you need anything!” I said, hugging my sister and giving Tatum a light peck on the cheek. When I got to the door I looked around a little bit, it felt like someone was staring holes into my head. Once inside I go upstairs to put my book back on the shelf. When I open my door I’m startled by the two tall figures known as Billy and Stu. “What the fuck are you guys doing here?!” I said as I slammed the door shut. “Chill out babe, we just wanted to stop by su casa to see how our fin-” Billy discreetly nudged Stu, “favorite girl was!” Rolling my eyes at the two idiots in front of me I asked, “Why didn’t you just use the front door?” Stu walked up to me and snaked his arms around me while Billy laid half way on my bed. “We wanted it to be a surprise,” he whispered, hot breath fanning my ear. “Yeah because I’m sure Sid and Tatum will be so pleased by this surprise,” I said, unlatching Stu’s hands from my waist. Billy sat up, pulling me to him by my hips, “Why wouldn’t they? We’ve been in your room plenty of times.” I removed his hands from my body, putting them on his lap. I walked over to my desk chair. “Yeah when Sid and Tatum actually knew about it!” I shouted just above a whisper to the two boys. They completely ignored me as Billy went right back to laying on my bed and Stu turned on my stereo. My cassette copy of some Michael Dulin songs playing through the speakers. Stu grabbed me by the wrist hoisting me out of the chair as we swayed to the music. I forgot about every horrendous detail of the past few days. “If I’m being honest, when I’m with the two of you I feel like nothing bad can happen in the world,” I say as I look up at Stu as we spin in circles. He has that same goofy grin on his face. All of a sudden just like earlier today he hoists me over his shoulder and marches over to my bed flopping both of us down next to Billy. “Do you really feel that way, (y/n)?” Billy asks, looking over at my meek form. “Yeah of course, why wouldn’t I?” I asked looking back at him. “You’re the one that was like ‘Oh but Tatum and Sid’, remember?” Stu said, mocking my words. Propping myself up on my elbows I look down at the boy laying on my stomach, “Stu I just said I feel happy when I’m with you two, not I want you to rail the fuck out of me?!” I got a little defensive. “Jeez okay, chill out girl.” He says as he wraps his arms around me. “It could be arranged,” Billy said, still looking at me. “Hmm?” I said, turning to him. “The whole… railing you thing,” Billy said with a smirk. My face contorted into a shape I never knew possible, “Ew Billy fuck off, I already said no!” He was practically about to topple over laughing at how bright red my face was when we heard a knock. “Oh shit,” I whispered. I rushed both Stu and Billy out the window as I shouted, “One moment!” 

  Coming to the door I adjusted my clothes and combed out my hair, “Hey what’s up?” “Tatum and I were wondering if you were hungry?” Sid asked, peeking her head through the door like she was searching for something. “Hmm, need something?” I asked. “Huh, oh no, well did you have people up here?” She asked, eyes still darting around. “No, I was just listening to some music,” I shrug trying to seem as collected as possible. “...Okay just let us know if you need anything, We’re going to head out in a bit.” Sid said as she closed the door. I went straight for my window sill seeing the boys standing by the truck looking up at me. I waved down to them and they waved back before driving off. 

  As we drove down Main Street it wasn’t very hard to notice that practically nobody was around. 

Stepping out of the car Dewey said, “Sure is quiet.” 

“Yeah, look at this place, it’s like the Town that Dreaded Sunset,” Sid spoke in astonishment about our own town. 

“Mhm, we’ve got the hooded killer and all,” I said, stepping to her side. 

“Yeah, saw that movie, it’s about a killer in Texas huh?” Dewey asked messing with whatever he’s holding

“Hey girls just think, if they make a movie about you two, who’s gonna play you…” Tatum asked with a chime in her voice. 

“Ugh I shudder to think,” Sid says as she places her hand to her forehead. 

“I see you as a young Meg Ryan myself.” Dewey said with a squinting smile, hiding from what’s about to be none of the sun’s glare. 

“Oooh (y/n) it’d totally be (___ ___) for you,” Tatum said as she spun me around. 

“Hmm, lesser known but great in her field, ya know I actually like that,” I said as I put my hand to my chin and wore a silly smile, “Who knows maybe Leonardo will play one of the boys?”

“With my luck they’d cast me as Tori Spelling,” Sid said before walking off to the market. 

“Ahh I’m just gonna’ be a few minutes,” Dewey calls out to us but we didn’t really care to listen. 

Once we rounded the grocery store corner Sid asked, “Is Billy going to be there?”

“He better not be, I told Stu to keep his mouth shut.” Tatum said as she strutted down the concrete ground, “I think we can live without the endorphin rush for one night.” 

“I don’t think it’d be so bad,” I grumbled to myself. 

I pushed the cart down the back aisle as Tatum and Sid threw bags of junk food and soda into the basket. 

“Billy’s right you know, whenever he touches me, I just can’t relax,” Sid said as she looked at the drinks. 

“So you have a few intimacy issues as a result of your mother’s untimely death, it’s no big deal Sid,” Tatum shrugs, “You’ll thaw out.”

“Yeah but he’s been so patient with me, ya know with all the sex stuff? How many guys would put up with a girlfriend who’s sexually anorexic?” Sid asks as she tosses some ice cream into the cart.

“Billy and his penis don’t deserve you,” Tatum said as we walked on… I really wish I didn’t hear any of this.

  As we pulled up to Stu’s house, which I can never get over the size of, Dewey told us to have fun but “Not too much fun or I’ll bust ya,” yeah sure. We got out of the car, music from the house was louder than anything I’ve ever heard. A lot more people were there than Stu had promised...intimate gathering my ass. 

“Caterer’s here!” Tatum announced to the entire house as she waved around the food we bought. 

Everyone whooped and hollered out in a cheering response. 

“Wow that’s so mature,” I said as we entered the kitchen where Stu and a couple other boys were drinking beer out of a funnel. 

“Hey just trying to get the party switch started,” Stu said as the kid to his right finished.

“My man,” Stu congratulated the greasy looking rat as they did, what looked to me like, the handshake from Predator. 

The girls and I put the food out on the island moving some bottles in the process. I accidentally ran into Stu spilling some of  the beer. “Ah shit man,” Stu exclaimed as he pulled on his shirt and stupid Hugh Hefner robe. “I’m so sorry about that, here,” I said as I handed him a towel on the counter. “Nah that’s covered in beer, Imma just throw on something else,” Stu says as he walks out of the room. I throw my head back and place my hand over my eyes. “Hey (y/n), don’t even worry about it, he has like a million of those ridiculous robes,” Tatum says as she leaned over the counter. Crossing my arms I look over at her and say, “I know but I still feel bad, I don’t want to ruin his mood.” Tatum laughed a little and rolled her eyes. “It’s not going to ruin his mood, (y/n). This is Stu we’re talking about,” Said Sid as she grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. “Yeah you’re right, hey I’ll be right back,” I said as I left the kitchen. 

  When I come back to the kitchen I notice the girls are gone. As I’m wondering where they might be I hear a loud “(y/n), over here!” for Tatum. Turning around and peeking down the hall I noticed her, Sid, and Stu on the couch. There were a lot of people surrounding them and Randy standing in front of the tv console holding two vhs tapes. “I saved you a seat,” Said Sid as she looked up at me, patting the empty space to her right. “Thanks sis,” I responded as I flopped down next to her. “What ya got there?” I looked down at her lap. “Just some movies that Randy tossed at me,” She said with a shrug. 

“How many Evil Dead?!” Randy shouted to the group around us. A bunch of kids hollered as they raised their hands. 

“How many Hellraiser?!” Randy shouted again, more kids repeated the actions from the last. 

Stu incoherently said something but Tatum’s response of, “Stop!” as she batted his finger away. 

“The Fog, Terror Train, Prom Night…” I mumbled as Sid went through the movies. 

“How come Jamie Lee Curtis is in all of these movies?” She asked, looking down at the pile with me. 

Randy knelt down beside us, “Because she’s the… Scream Queen.” he said as he put his hands together in a prayer formation. 

“Ah yes a Scream Queen, a woman who has filmed a repetition of horror movies keeping her in the frightening spotlight. A lot like a Screen Queen but scary,” I stated to my step sister. 

“With a set of lungs like that she should be,” Stu said grinning from ear to ear as he as he played with Tatum’s hands. 

A small but stupid, “Yeah” was heard fro Randy.

“Tits, see?” Tatum said as she leaned against Stu. 

The doorbell rang repeatedly causing Stu to jump out of his spot and say, “Oh I’ll get it!” as he hopped over the back of the couch. 

Or tried to at least.

He tripped and fell right onto the floor but popped  up to ask Tatum to, “Grab another beer, would ya?” 

“What am I? The beer wench?” Tatum asked as she flicked her wrist out. 

“Apparently so, my good friend, or should I say wench?” I said looking at Tatum earning me a roll of her eyes, click of her tongue and shove on the shoulder. 

Tuning into Sid and Randy’s conversation I can hear Randy say, “...Nominated,” Sid nodded and said “Yeah,” with a giggle. 

Randy went on to say, “She was nominated…” Blah blah blah, it was too loud to understand. 

Just as I was really getting comfy Stu came into the room and shouted, “You’re not going to believe who’s here! It’s that chick from Top Story!” 

“Gale Weathers!?” Randy asked.

 Meanwhile Tatum, Sid, and I turned to Stu in disbelief. “Shit,” Tatum said before she stood up. 

I could hear Dewey’s voice in the background… oh no 

“Dewey,” Tatum said as she gestured him over with her index finger, “Oh Dewey.” 

“What is she doing here?” Tate asked once her brother was finally in the room. 

“She’s with me,” Dewey said, looking like a kid who just got free ice cream, “Just checking things out,” 

I watched as Sid stood up, “Where are you going?” I asked...and was ignored.

“So you did, now leave,” Tatum peered over at Gale, “and take your media stuff with you.”

Kids were complimenting Gale left and right but all I could think of is how I wanted to punch her again...square in the nose.

I watched as Sid and Dewey talked, looking to my left I noticed that Tatum was gone. Must’ve gone to get those beers?

[weasel-b33]

shy

eddie munson x afab!reader

first time writing for eddie…but this has been in my drafts for MONTHS so i thought i should finish it up and post bc why not. and i didn’t really check so any spelling errors are MY TERRIBLE AND SINCEREST FAULT!

also this is post vol 2 but eddie is alive (bc he actually didn’t die that didn’t happen at all) and the eleven saved the world again! our hawkins babies deserve some reprieve

warnings: fluffy baby eddie, WHIPPED EDDIE, some nsfw topics but nothing explicit…minors dni :)

—

eddie munson is anything but shy. the resident freak of hawkins, indiana; the super senior who leads the so-called “satanists” of the hellfire club—which this one sends him for a frenzy when he hears it because henderson, sinclair or wheeler…satanists? those boys barely know how to read, but oh well. he even saved the world shredding on a guitar, and the guy who loves to perform in front of the crowd of 5-6 drunkards every tuesday night with his band is anything but shy. he even ran across the stage with his frizzy black mane attempting to burst out of the graduation cap on the day he received his long awaited diploma. and nearly every thursday night the members of hellfire pile into you small shared home to play the newest campaign of dnd, where eddie leads the group with such confidence and poise, the president would be jealous. so, shy? no one in there right mind would describe him as shy…well everyone except you.

you so fortunately get to call the rock-loving “bad boy” your boyfriend. some so respectfully call you insane to ever surround yourself with a person like that. but hey, he was acquitted on all charges—for the crimes he didn’t commit. so really what do you have to worry about. plus he’s a real sweetheart.

everyday before he goes to work at the mechanics garage he managed to snag a gig at, he wakes you up with kisses all over your face, but if you dare try to reciprocate those affections, he instantly turns as red as harrington’s sun burns caused by the pounding heat of the indiana summers. he loves to cook you breakfast, lunch and dinner, and when you attempt to praise his shocking talents he turns away hiding his bashful grin in his tangled tresses. oh. and let’s not forget anytime you two are getting intimate, the boy can only be described as a stereotypical shy girl in those cheesy romantic comedies you force him to watch. lovelorn grin. glazed over eyes. and face shoved so far into your neck into seems as though he is trying to work his way under your skin—which seems like something he would attempt.

so yes. to you eddie munson is the epitome of shyness. but who can blame the guy! you are the first female, scratch that, person besides wayne to ever show him an ounce of affection! so yeah, robin, he’s gonna get a little nervous when his beautiful girlfriend wants to give him a kiss in front of everyone. and of course he’s gonna blush brighter than the sun when she calls him pretty or tells him she loves him. sue him.

so maybe eddie munson is shy. so be it. if every morning he can look into your eyes and fall asleep with the dulcet sounds of your breathing singing a soft melody to help him fall asleep, he’ll call guinness up to put him in the world record books.

fin.

[doddsmountain]

hi Dodd I'm in the mood to learn some fish things what are your top 5 favorite fish?

OMG!!!!!!!!

SO! Number 1 is OBVIOUSLY Oncorhynchus mykiss... AKA the rainbow trout

These guys are amazing. They are the most farmed fish in the world by weight (not numbers). And they're not a trout! They are a true pacific salmon, like chinooks, cohos, sockeye, etc etc.

These dudes are different than the other pacific salmon though as they can spawn multiple times! That's why they don't undergo quite such extreme transformations during spawning season.

Rainbows are typically landlocked. Steelhead trout (which are Oncorhynchus mykiss mykiss) are the rainbows you see out at sea.

NUMBER 2: Acipenser transmontanus.... WHITE STURGEON!

This photo is a poor image I took of the baby white sturgeon I got to take care of for a year during my fisheries and aquaculture tech program.

White sturgeon are the largest sturgeon species. The largest ever recorded was 20 feet long and roughly 120 years old. The oldest sturgeon I worked with, Tyra, was about 9 feet long and was only 65. They reside along the pacific coast of North America and they are pure muscle. A two year old is about a foot long and the scutes (modified scales) are sharp as hell. You can't wear gloves when you handle them either so your hands get cut up real bad. I loved taking care of them. They're like giant, muscly, slimy dogs.

Females will lay roughly 3 million eggs per spawn and the eggs will hatch after about 6 days. A newly hatched white sturgeon is a few millimeters long. Crazy to think about.

This is my jar of dead babies.

NUMBER 3: Frog fish!

Wish I could remember who took this photo!

Frog fish have specially adapted pectoral fins that they use almost like legs! They're bottom dwellers and "walk" along the sea floor.

I don't know much about them I'm afraid. My brain was almost entirely consumed by rainbow trout and white sturgeon.

These guys look so grumpy! (I like to say my 'fursona' is just a regular ol' frog fish lol)

NUMBER 4: A fish my family had for about 15 years... A bloodred parrot cichlid named Sir Rupert Finklebottom III, Esq. (We learned she was female when she was about 9 years old)

These fish are man made abominations and I do not recommend owning them. They have horrible health issues and they have nasty personalities. We had two of them. Rupert and Regina. Because they're crossbreeds they're essentially infertile. Rupert and Regina both laid thousands of unfertilized eggs when they were roughly 9 years old. They only did this once. They ate all of their eggs within a week.

People say they're good community tank fish. They are not. They're aggressive little assholes. Ours had to live in their own tank and they'd try to bite you if you put your fingers in their tank (it didn't hurt because they can't close their mouths and have no teeth.)

They have malformed swim bladders and are just generally awful fish. But boy do I miss my Rupert and Regina.

And finally

NUMBER 5: All manner of eels. For the purposes of this I'm going to say Rock Gunnels.

These slippery little dudes are sharp as hell. When I did a practicum at an oyster farm these dudes kept getting pulled up in the oyster beds and I ran around scooping them up and tossing them back into the sea. They come in a variety of vibrant colours too!

BONUS FISH:

This abomination. It's a lamprey of some sort. And if I gotta look at this thing so does everyone else.

[aboutthegir1]

When Aurelia met Theodore

From: The Serpent, The Swan and The Sea

Pairing: Theodore Nott x Aurelia Lestrange (O.C)

Warnings: smoking, drinking

A/N: first thing I’m posting from this fanfic, it’s still just an idea, but please leave any tips or suggestions in the comments🤍

—

It was a great party, I had already met a lot of great people and indulged in a lot of grate conversation.

The only thing that wasn’t grate was that we had lost Pandora in the sea of witches and wizards. About ten minutes ago we had walked from the entrance of the saloon over to our mother who was seated in one of the couches by the fire place, and on our way we had lost her.

Now, mother and Celestia had gone out to take a stroll in the garden, their way of saying, we have to talk about things that are to important for you, so now I’m alone.

Grate

It’s such a shame that she’s so tiny. Now it’s gone take ages for me to fin..d… h…er?

She’s talking to a boy. I had to take another sip of my champagne to restart my brain, was I seeing this correctly?! Yes, yes I was. She was standing just a few meters away with her back towards me talking to a tall brown haired boy.

“Here you are, I thought I hade lost you for a second” I said as I came up beside her.

“Oh Aurelia, me too, thank you for finding me” she beamed up at me as she recognized me.

“I didn’t think my company was that bad” the boy said in a low and rumbling voice as he folded his arms across chest and stood upright, unveiling his full hight.

Hell he’s tall, at least 6 feet.

“Oh no that’s not what I meant, your grate, you were grate” Pandora nervously blurted out which made both me and the boy smile. “I’m so sorry, this is may sister Aurelia” Pandora continued when she had collected her self. “And this is… oh god I can’t remember”

“Theodore Nott, but please, call me Theo” he smile, offering his hand, which I gladly took.

“Well Theodore, thank you for finding my sister” this boy, no, man was seriously gorgeous. He was broad shouldered and the shirt he was wearing did little to hide his toned body.

“The pleasure all mine, she’s a lovely little lady” he smiled looking over at Pandora whose cheeks were turning a light shade of pink. “Plus she led you here” turning his gaze back to me. His light eyes slowly turning darker as he let them travel up and down my body.

“Oh, I think I see mother and Celestia, I’ll be back” if it was one thing Pandora knew better than any other of us, it was how to read a room. And when she left us to find our mother it only confirmed my suspicions.

I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension.

“So Theodore, tell me a little about yourself” I said.

“If you insist” he nodded towards a table nearby signaling for us to move our conversation there.

Theodore leading me over with his hand at the small of my back before dragging out my chair for me. Sitting down opposite me he started, “Well I am about to be a sixth year at Hogwarts, I play quidditch for the Slytherin team, I’m a beater, and” he paused and started to dig in his suit jacket and reveled a pack of cigarettes, “I’m currently battling a nicotine addiction” he smiled.

“Can I have one, I haven’t smoked in weeks” feeling the urge to ease the tingling in my body this man was causing.

“What a pretty girl like you? It would be a shame to deny you, but first I need to know more about you, Aurelia Lestrange” he smirked lighting his cigarette and leaning forward to blow the smoke in my face.

“There is really nothing special about me” I smile as I uttered the line I’ve been perfecting my whole life.

“Bullshit” he caught, “the only thing’s I know about you is thing other people have told me, I would like to hear from you” his eyes were now fully dark as he sat pointing his cigarette at me.

“Well, as you may know me and my sisters are not Lestrange by blood, that we are adopted” I sighed and looked over at Theodore who was rolling his eyes at my telling.

“Come on, give me something real” he said moving his chair closer to mine, so close that our knees were touching.

“Fine but you will owe me a whole pack of those” I said gesturing towards his cigarette which only made him smile and nod. “Rather basic but I’m also starting sixth year at Hogwarts, we moved here from France so my mother could be closer to, this” I said looking around the room filled with the pure blood elite who was celebrating you know who’s return. “I miss France already but this will be fine, I never played quidditch but I enjoy flying, I’m more of dancer if I’m honest, mostly waltz and ballet. I’ve had two boyfriend, both were huge idiots, like really. And hmm, I love my sisters more than anything else” I ended looking over at him.

Theodore who while listening was leaning back in his chair now inched closer giving me one of the cigarettes.

“I think you are one of the most interesting girls I’ve ever met” he said while lighting the cigarette I had put between my lips.

After taking a blow I smiled “I bet that’s what you say to every girl you talk to”

Theodore just shook his head and chuckled, “Do you see me talking to any other girls here tonight?” Laying his hand on my knee.

The rather innocent gesture effected me more then I dared to admit.

“So you’re saying that a handsome young guy like you, is here all alone tonight” I said giving him an uncertain look too which he answered with a smile.

At lest first, and then it started to fade, and then I herd another voice join us”

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you Teddy, our parents wants to take pictures” then she stopped when she saw the scene before her. “Cute” she huffed before turning her attention towards me. “Hi sweetie, I’m Daphne Greengrass, Theodore’s betrothed”

I took hold of Theodore’s had and flung it of my knee.

The girl was beautiful, she was tall and blond like me but she had this face that just screamed old money.

Taking one last drag of the cigarette I rose from my seated position, “I think I’m going out for som air, nice meeting you Daphne, Nott” I smile at them both, Daphne giving me an unamused look and Theodore an apologetic.

Walking away from them I could here the argument brewing.

“Really Teddy, you couldn’t even wait til we were back at school before trying to get in some girls pants, for Merlin’s sake our parents are here”

“Whatever Daphne, it’s not like I chose this”

Best to stay far away from that, only trouble could come from entangling myself in their affair.

—

(Do it for the plot)

[airi-p4]

The weekend Project - Ch 7

Chapter 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 __________________________________________

Summary: At school, Marinette has no friends in her class other than Alya. With the idea of making students interact more and out of their usual groups of friends, Ms. Bustier assigns her students to a school project that requires spending a weekend with another student of her choice. What Marinette didn’t know was how this project with her partner Juleka was going to change her life.

__________________________________

AO3

__________________________________ Chapter 7: Epilogue

"Julekaaa! Lukaaaa! Marineeeette! We're here!!"

"Rose! Ivan!" Juleka welcomed them, less shy than usual due to her best friend's presence. "Come in."

"Hello," Ivan greeted quietly. "Thank you for having me."

"So polite!" Rose laughed.

"Make yourself at home. Juleka's friends are always welcome on the Liberty," Luka informed.

"Thank you, ehm—"

"Ivan, this is Luka, Juleka's older brother. Luka, this is Ivan, our classmate and new friend!" Rose cheerfully introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Luka offered Ivan a smile and a handshake that he reciprocated. "Likewise."

"And with all introductions done, Kitty Section is officially born now! Yoohoo!" Rose raised her fist and jumped happily.

"Kitty Section…?" Marinette asked, after everyone shared confused looks.

"The name of our band! Isn't it both cute and cool?"

"Band…?" Luka asked Rose.

"Yes! Did you know that Ivan plays the drums!?"

"R-Rose!" Ivan protested, embarrassed.

"Wow, that's cool," Luka immediately added, and Ivan blushed slightly.

"See? We can become a band now! Ivan plays the drums, Luka the guitar, Juleka the bass, I can sing and Marinette—" the blonde girl paused, looking at the girl. "Do you play any musical instruments, Marinette?"

"No… I don't…" Marinette said sadly.

"Oh…" Rose lamented, but recovered soon as the optimistic girl she is. "Well, you can be our manager, or anything you want! Even if you don't play! You're one of us!"

Luka and the others smiled in reassurance and Marinette beamed. "Okay!" She was happy knowing she was still welcomed even if she couldn't play music. Besides, it was another perfect excuse to spend time with her… boyfriend? She blushed happily at the thought.

"Yoohoo! Go, go, Kitty Section!" Rose jumped again.

"Kitty Section, huh? It doesn't sound bad. I like it. What do you guys think?" Everyone agreed with the suggested name and Rose clapped her hands. "We should practice then," Luka continued. "C'mon! Let's get the instruments ready!"

"Yes!"

Every moment of the practice, Marinette couldn't stop looking at Luka, who winked at her playfully, whenever she seemed too lost in his eyes. At the same time, her ears unsuccessfully tried to get used to the strident sound of Kitty Section's instruments, which were definitely playing too loud, as Officer Roger proved when he came to fine them. The surprise was that Sabrina and Alya came with him, and they ended up staying at the boat for the band's practice, Alya happy for Marinette's progress with the boy she liked.

What had started with a tedious school project, ended up expanding Marinette's friend circle, including a new close friend, a boyfriend, and a music band.

She was going to thank Ms. Bustier with a beautiful birthday present as a thank you, she decided.

Fin

[thatbeluga]

Wet Sock 2x01: Beluga and Fuck are Bad at Being Prisoners

Previously on Wet Sock... 

"The universe didn't take Beluga and Fuck captive. It was a god. An old god."

They were supposed to all be gone. One had evidently gotten loose, and now it had her kind of parents.

"Who?" Elmo asked, backing away.

"Y/N."

"Y/N took Fuck and Beluga."

Beluga officially lost it after Y/N started singing “Fight Song” for the eighteenth time. 

It should be noted that Beluga rarely had it, so it wasn’t often that he lost it, it was more that his time in cosmic jail had given him a brief period, about one hour, in which he had regained it, only to lose it again. 

“Proove I’m alright! SooooooOOOONG!” Y/N quivered, her voice so angelic that every hot, popular high school boy in the multiverse suddenly got a cold chill down their backs. Beluga and Fuck were suspended in bird cages above Y/N’s throne room, which was just a really messy but cute bedroom made of Google Images of 2010s teen aesthetics.

“We’re going to die here,” Beluga realized, wrapping his fins around the bars of his cage. “We’re gonna fucking die here and Y/N is going to kill us for being hotter than her.”

“Chill out ‘luga,” Fuck said, gnawing on the bars of their cage. “We’ve been in worse prisons. We’ve been to an elementary beginner band concert.”

“I’m trying to focus on escaping but Y/N’s blue orbs are too distracting!” Beluga groaned, banging his melon against the bars of his cage. “And we can’t get her attention because she gets too flustered to speak whenever anyone looks directly at her!”

“Beluga my boy, we just need to think,” Fuck said, trying to reach a wing through the bars of their cage. “How did we get out of prison the last time an ancient diety captured us for pissing off the universe?”

“I can’t even remember! We locked the gods away all those years ago cause they kept imprisoning us for interdimensional crimes and it was getting so annoying to keep breaking out,” Beluga said, floating to the bottom of his cage.

“Whoa there dude, you might reveal too much lore too soon,” Fuck said, ruffling their feathers. “You almost could have told the audience where Rad came from.”

“What, you mean how we found her in--

“H-h-h-h--h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-hey...” Y/N stammered, blinking cutely, staring up at Beluga and Fuck cause they were on her ceiling and also she was 3ft 3 inches. “I h-h-h-h-heard you guys talking about....uwu.... me?”

“Listen up you sack,” Fuck said, pointing their wing at Y/N. “You better tell us what the me you want with us, or we’re gonna call our lawyer and they’ll SUE you and your glistening orbs into HELL.”

Y/N cried cutely, her tears puddling on the ground creating a second, even prettier reflection of Y/N. “Y-y-y-you’re so m-m-mean to me... when the sharpest words wanna cut me down... gonna send a flood gonna drown em out...”

“Fuck, fuck you.” Beluga hissed. All of Y/N’s servants, tall dark haired 6 ft tall sharp jawline red eyed senior boys entered the throne room, bowing down to Y/N as she belted every note of “This is Me” perfectly. Every mean girl within a 100 mile radius died immediately. Right where they stood. 

“Oh shit,” Fuck said, covering their letters with their wings. “Not the Greatest Showman... it was so... mediocre.”

“Why did we start the season out on this plot point?” Beluga asked. “How the hell are we going to do a beach episode if we have to have a whole arc rescuing us?”

“I’m not the one who ended the last season on a cliffhanger,” Fuck said. “Well, we used our one phone call to tell them “Boobs.” If that doesn’t tell them everything they need to know about finding us, that’s on them.”

“And where’s Wombat on his quest?” Beluga asked, looking at the camera. “Like, can I write you back into the story yet or do you have something up your sleeve?

“ANYWAY,” Beluga said, turning back to Fuck. “I just want to let you know, if I had to be stuck in an interdimensional prison, held captive by the ancient deity of self-insert cringe with no hope of escape...”

“...it would be Meryl Streep?”

“Of course it would be fucking Meryl Streep,” Beluga said. “Wish she were here.”

“Me too,” said Fuck, just as Y/N finished her song, and every boy proposed to her on the spot, and everyone started clapping, and Obama was there.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[dancingkirby]

As both a writer and a reader, I guess I should do a few of both. This got pretty long so it's under a read-more.

My fics (in the chronological order that I posted them):

Dissolution Fandom: Yugioh 5D's. Rating: M.

Summary: The formation and breakup of Team Satisfaction, as seen through the eyes of Crow and Kiryu. Darkfic.

Into Open Waters Fandom: Legend of Korra. Rating: M.

Summary: When forced to flee their home with a small child in tow, Eska and Desna begin a journey of self-discovery.

Umbra Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Rating: M (Heed the tags; this story gets really dark in places.)

Summary: Four of Ozai's ladies during the Day of Black Sun, and how they got there.

Queen of Fire, King of Ice Fandom: Yugioh GX. Rating: T.

Summary: Inspired by Silvormoon's fanfic "Manjoume Family Vacation." Before setting off for Tempest Top, the brothers first must seek permission to go there from a mysterious queen. A series of misunderstandings ensues, and Manjoume becomes re-acquainted with the person he least expected (or wanted) to see.

The Properties of Love and Hate Fandom: Yugioh GX. Rating: M.

Summary: Amon looked amused at Ed’s continued silence. “If you desire my wife so badly, I have a little proposal for you. You can have her, on one condition…I get to claim you too.”

Volatile Elements Fandom: Yugioh GX. Rating: M.

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Taniya, the youngest of the Seven Stars, is planted at Duel Academia as a student by Kagemaru. But with a romantic relationship that’s perhaps not quite what she anticipated, a struggle with increasingly divided loyalties, and a cryptic prophecy, her hands are going to be full this year.

NOTE: Unfinished.

Maternal Instinct Fandom: Yugioh GX. Rating: E.

Summary: Taniya and Misawa celebrate their anniversary in their own special way.

(I'm also proud of my most recent fic, Subject One, but @soaringonblackwings already posted the link to that. Thanks so much for doing that, BTW!)

Other People's Fics:

WARNING: The first two fics are from the Harry Potter fandom. I am no longer a participant in this fandom and never wrote any fanfics for it myself, but there were some real gems and I, personally, want to still be able to enjoy them despite how JKR is a horrible person and ruined everything.

FINDING HIMSELF by Minisinoo. Rating: M.

Summary: The-Boy-Who-Almost-Died has to figure out what it means that he didn't. Harry's tumultuous 5th year at Hogwarts is Cedric's 7th and final. Bound together by shared trauma, both boys fall under Ministry suspicion ... Who is Cedric Diggory? Cedric!Lives AU

Recall Alice When She Was Just Small by Harmonic Friction. Rating: M.

Summary: Dudley Dursley: champion boxer, crass chav, cannibal?, bad boyfriend, good son, annoying cousin, best friend. It's hard to keep all the identities straight. Fin.

The Blood of Kings by @silvormoon. Fandom: Yugioh 5D’s. Rating: T.

Summary: Fantasy AU. Being king is hard work. Jack is doing his best to rule his war-torn kingdom while dealing with his upcoming marriage and the uprising of a mysterious cult. More than one person wants him dead, but only one is trying to kill him...

End of the World Series by FernWithy. Fandom: The Hunger Games. Rating: G-M.

NOTE: I don't care what the upcoming book/movie say; THIS is always going to be my canon!

We Must Be Killers: Tales from District 2 by lorata. Fandom: The Hunger Games. Rating: G-M.

Ozymandian by @frostbitepandaaaaa Fandom: Game of Thrones. Rating: E.

Summary:

She should have been more prudent, instead of falling into him like a spell. She should have handled this thing like the fatal tangle of thorns it was, instead of drinking the air from his lungs like the sweetest Arbor gold. She should have picked it up about the edges, holding it at arm’s length until she could find a safe enough place to rest it upon the earth and walk away forever.

(Chapters 1-5 are a collection of Missing Scenes from Season 7. Chapter 6 is when we begin our own journey into possibilities for Season 8)

NOTE: And speaking of me ignoring canon...

Changes by NerdyMama. Fandom: Pokemon Sword & Shield. Rating: E.

Summary: One night, one error of judgment. Now Leon and Sonia's friendship is set to change forever.

Ozula Kinktober by @azulas-daddy-kink Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Rating: E. (HEED THE TAGS!)

Summary:

Enjoy, you filthy perverts!

Going to try and complete all 31 days, but I'm not making any promises. Chapters are standalone unless otherwise specified, some will be modern AU or diverge from canon for convenience. R&R!<3

The Tainted Soil of the Fields of Arcadia by @inkblackorchid Fandom: Yugioh 5D's. Rating: T.

Summary: Following an eye-opening confrontation with Misty Tredwell, Aki decides she might have to face up to her past if she ever wants to be free of it. After approaching Mikage with a curious request, she ends up with the last remains of the Arcadia Movement--and starts digging.

Fanfic writers!

Use this post to share some of your favorite fanfics you have written. Share the links so we can read and show you some love.

Fanfic readers! Share some of the fanfics you enjoyed reading, your favorite writers, or any fanfics that just make your day. Show our fanfic writers some much needed and deserved appreciation for all that they do for fandom!

[holylulusworld]

Bad Boys (6) - She’s ours (FIN)

Summary: New to town, a goody-two-shoes, you catch the attention of not one but two guys. Too bad they are the ‘bad boys’ and your ‘dad’ tries to protect you.

Pairing: Biker!Alpha!Bucky x Reader x Omega!Biker!Alpha!Steve

Warnings: A/B/O, A/B/O dynamics, angst, language, protective alphas, scenting, true mates, fluff, cuddling & snuggling, violence, blood, pregnant omega, Steve freaks out there for a minute

Characters: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, unnamed deputies

A/N: Reader is Tony Stark's goddaughter. This is an AU/A/B/O setting. I have a thing for Biker /BuckySteve so bear with me.

Bad Boys masterlist

The beautiful text divider was created by @firefly-graphics

“Aw, I like your decoration, Bucky,” admiring Bucky’s room at the clubhouse you hum to yourself, wander around, or stop to pick a few things up. “I like the little bike bookend. Where did you get it?”

“Flea market, doll,” Steve smirks when his friend’s cheeks turn pink. “Bucky likes to go to the flea market and buy useless crap.”

“I like flea markets too,” excitedly you jump at Bucky, tug at his leather jacket to make him look at you. “Do you want to go with me next time? Oh! We could buy some things for Stevie’s house.”

“Please, don’t—” the blonde groans when you won’t stop talking about decorating, the flea market, and how you wish you could all move in together.

“Please—Stevie,” you whine. “I want to find something nice for your house, alpha. It’s nice but needs the woman’s touch. You’ve got no clue how pretty it could look.”

“Like my room,” Bucky states, grinning at his friend. “See, our omega loves my room and my decoration.”

“Except for the picture over there,” pointing at the wall you scrunch up your nose. “Why do the dogs on the picture play poker? They look like drunk gangsters or something. I don’t like it, Bucky.”

“It’s a classic,” defending his picture Bucky mutter under his breath. “None of you got a clue how hard I fought for that thing. There was a punk offering buck after buck for it at the flea market.”

“Did you lose?” grinning you place your hand onto Bucky’s chest. “I mean, you ended up bringing it home.”

“I won, doll. I paid ten bucks for it,” he grins. “Punk had to go home empty-handed.”

“See, no taste—” Steve insists. “None of you will ruin my house with crappy decoration. That’s my last word!”

“B-but, Stevie,” you cry, eyes big and wet now, “you’re not a bachelor anymore! You’ve got a mate now, an omega. I want to feel safe and comfortable when I visit you. Don’t you want me around?” choking on your words you hide your face in Bucky’s chest. “Do you already regret your claim?”

“Great job, Steve. Now she’s crying and I got no house for her to decorate,” grumbling Bucky runs one hand over your hair, tries to soothe you while you smirk to yourself.

None of your alphas can see you played Steve well. “No—no! Baby doll, you can redecorate anything you want to. Maybe even bring that ugly picture with you. I’ll do anything, omega.”

“How often can I visit you?” you nuzzle Bucky’s neck; enjoy he holds you tightly. “I don’t want to disturb your solitary, Steve.”

“I-I want you to move in with me,” Steve blurs out, gasping as you turn around to look up at him with wide eyes. “I mean, shit—uh erm, that’s a bit sudden I guess. We should talk about our bond first. It’s a bit different from normal bonds with one alpha.”

“Can Bucky move in too? Can we buy a huge bed and share it? Oh, I want a large bathtub for us to share too and a shower! Imagine all the sex with could have!” you babble, slowly stepping toward Steve. “Please—alpha?”

“Oh, crap,” Bucky snickers when Steve whines low in his throat. You nuzzled your face in his chest and now the rough biker fights his alpha to not give in to everything you demand. “She’s got your balls in her hands.”

“Perfect, alpha,” smiling you look at the bookshelf. Bucky brought his belongings, including the bookend you love so much. “Right, Stevie? It looks awesome.”

“Yeah, awesome,” Steve gave up the moment you demanded you need three more pillows on the couch. Now you are busy redecorating his living room.

He sighs deeply but tries to remember you are an omega who tries to create a cozy home for her alphas.

“Look at the pictures I placed on the fireplace, Steve. I want to take some of you, Bucky, and me too. I want to fill our house with our love.”

“Uh-she’s in nesting mood,” Bucky whispers. “Do I need to know anything, Steve? Did we get her full of pups already? I think her breasts grew too.”

“WAIT-WHAT?” panicked Steve glances at your chest, tries to figure out if your breasts are fuller. “It’s only a month. I mean, she was in heat but we—”

“Didn’t use anything, Steve,” smirking Bucky watches you usher toward the couch to place one last pillow next to the others. “Do I have to explain how sex works? If she wasn’t on anything, we got her round.”

“Round? Pups?” panting heavily now Steve clutches one hand to his chest. “Fuck—Stark will kill us!”

“Tons won’t kill you, alpha,” humming happily you nod to yourself. “I’m done here. Can we go to the bedroom now? I wanna cuddle with you on the new bed you and your friends built.”

“S-sure,” Steve’s eyes drift toward your belly and he swallows thickly. “Uh-Y/N are you on birth control?” you giggle at Steve’s words but don’t answer his question. you brush past him, grinning as he follows you like a nervous puppy. “Omega? Doll?”

“I wasn’t when we mated if that’s what you are trying to ask, Steve—”

Steve’s head is spinning when you walk upstairs, giggling as Bucky runs after you to sniff at your neck. “Damn me, omega. You smell like us. Stevie, I think we filled her good.”

“I-I need a minute here, Buck,” Steve pants. “Go ahead. I’ll be right with you, guys…”

“Where have you been Steve? Y/N was waiting for you for half an hour,” Bucky tuts. He growls when you hide your face in the cushions. “Look what you did! She wanted to cuddle with us on the nest she made.”

“We need to use one of these,” Steve place a paper bag filled with pregnancy tests onto the bed. “I want to know if she’s pregnant.”

“Alpha,” you purr low in your throat. Before he can blink you snatch the bag from the bed to hide it behind your back. “Can’t you scent me and tell me if I’m expecting?”

“I can barely focus on anything, doll. All I want is to cradle and scent you right now. I-I need to know if I filled you with pups,” the alpha purrs, much to Bucky’s amusement.

The brunette sits next to you, a shit-eating grin on his lips. “Steve, just scent our omega. Her scent changed and this means our girl is expecting.”

“How’d you wanna know, Buck?”

“I read books about omegas and true mates. She smells more like me and you now. I think we both filled her with our pup,” humming you snuggle closer to Bucky to hide your face in his chest.

“Please, alpha,” you whine, hoping Steve’s not mad at you. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was in heat and lost control.”

“Baby doll,” Steve purrs low in his throat, ready to pounce on you. “I’m not mad, Y/N. This is just a little overwhelming. I finally found my true mate, mated her to share her with my best friend and now she’s pregnant. I need a moment to realize I need to change my life.”

“I want my big bad biker to cuddle me,” whimpering in distress you look at Steve. “Please.”

“Alright, doll. Let me kick my boots off and we can cuddle.”

After joining you and Bucky on the bed, Steve sighs deeply. He scents you, excessively, purring now and then.

“So—who’s going to tell her godfather we got her pregnant?” Bucky grins when you look at Steve. “Guess she wants you to volunteer…”

“Look what the cat dragged into the sheriff’s department,” the deputies growl. “Pity the sheriff couldn’t get rid of us – huh? Maybe you change your mind and want us to take care of that sweet little omega?”

“If you want to keep your teeth, you will shut your cakehole right fucking now,” Bucky grits, hands already balled into fists. “You are talking about our true mate, the mother of our pups.”

“Pups?” the deputy gasps, looking at you hide behind Steve. “You got her pregnant? What a pity. The girl looked like she likes to take dick—” Bucky’s fist breaks the deputy’s nose with one precise punch.

While the man stumbles backward, pressing one hand to his bleeding nose, his friend tries to help him but ends up pressed against the wall by Steve, the blondes arm against his throat.

The alpha grits his teeth reveals his true intentions. “Back in the old times' alphas defended their omegas by ripping their concurrent’s mating gland out with their teeth.” He grins, feeling the deputy struggle against his strength. “Good thing the old times are over – right, Buck?”

“Right, Steve. I mean, some people should watch their backs and mating glands if they don’t want to end up in a dark alley,” the brunette grins at the other deputy. “I have a thing for knives and always wondered how deep I can cut a bastard until he bleeds out.”

“T-this isn’t necessary,” the deputy looks up at Steve before he tilts his head in submission. “My friend was just joking. He likes to run his mouth.”

“I will tell you this one last time,” Steve growls. “She’s ours. Our true mate and you will stay the fuck away from her.”

“So—,” Tony clears his throat. “You are pregnant by two alphas, great. I will get a godfather of the year medal this time.”

“Please don’t be mad, Tony,” you sniff. “It’s not your fault nor theirs. I wasn’t on anything and gave in to my instinct but Steve, Bucky, and I got a nice house. We can raise our kids there.”

“I heard you gave my deputies hell,” your godfather smirks at Bucky. “Good job, boys. Next time break a few bones.”

“Tony,” Pepper tuts her alpha, but she gently pats his hand. “Don’t encourage them! Soon they will be fathers! Now let’s talk about the nest and anything else, Y/N. How far are you?”

“Two babies,” Steve watches you lie in the middle of your shared bed. “We need to tell the gang we are going to be fathers soon, Buck. No more dangerous stuff for us. Y/N needs reliable alphas.”

“Aw, you’re such a softie, Steve,” Bucky whines when you look at your alphas. “Fine, I’m all soft for her too. What happened to us? We used to be stone-cold bikers and now we are putty in a girl’s hands.”

“Not just a girl, Buck,” smiling Steve looks at his friend. “Our omega, my friend. I think it’s time to grow up and be good alphas.”

“Agreed,” offering Steve a fist bump Bucky grins. “Now let’s take care of our omega. She needs us.”

THE END...*and yes I made her pregnant, sue me...*

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[total-lost-boys-simp]

SCREAM QUEEN Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

Stu Macher x reader x Billy Loomis

Okay so basically let’s just cut to the chase, the main character “(y/n)” is Sidney Prescott’s little step sister, yeah? Well what happens when she takes Sid’s place as the final girl? A whole lot.

Disclaimer: this follows the movie very closely with little change other than the reader insert portions, so like I’m not trying to be like “Oh yeah this is all me” bc it’s not (RIP Wes Craven 😔🙏🏻🕊⚰️)

—————

Chapter 6

—————

Next Chapter / Next Chapter

I had pulled up one of the large lounging chairs to the front porch where I now sat with Tatum and Sindey. The girls were sitting on the railing talking to each other while I was reading a book. A book more specifically about a girl who is madly in love with a serial killer so much so that she ignores the possible signs and because of it he kills her claiming it will make their love immortal. Yeah not a very happy ending, just like most of life.

Sid told us about what she said to Gale this morning. How Sidney resolved my little...accident and about how she wasn't sure that Weary was actually her mother's killer.

"What if Cotton Weary is telling the truth? Maybe he was having an affair with your mom?" Tatum asked as she twirled her hair in her fingers. "I mean your dad's always out of town on business, maybe...you're mom was just a very unhappy woman." Tatum finished with the start of her eyebrows pointed up.

"If-if they were having an affair then how come Cotton couldn't prove it in court?" Sid said, as if she just created the world's first unsolvable puzzle

"Well. You can't prove a rumor, that's why... it's a rumor," Tatum responded as she swished her head side to side.

"Right, created by that little tabloid twit, Gale Weathers," Sid said, seeming to choke on the name.

"It goes further back Sid...there's been talk about other men," Tatum fidgeted with her hands.

"Hey, I'm going to leave you two alone out here. It sounds like I'm intruding so I'll be inside. Just shout if you need anything!" I said, hugging my sister and giving Tatum a light peck on the cheek. When I got to the door I looked around a little bit, it felt like someone was staring holes into my head. Once inside I go upstairs to put my book back on the shelf. When I open my door I'm startled by the two tall figures known as Billy and Stu. "What the fuck are you guys doing here?!" I said as I slammed the door shut. "Chill out babe, we just wanted to stop by su casa to see how our fin-" Billy discreetly nudged Stu, "favorite girl was!" Rolling my eyes at the two idiots in front of me I asked, "Why didn't you just use the front door?" Stu walked up to me and snaked his arms around me while Billy laid half way on my bed. "We wanted it to be a surprise," he whispered, hot breath fanning my ear. "Yeah because I'm sure Sid and Tatum will be so pleased by this surprise," I said, unlatching Stu's hands from my waist. Billy sat up, pulling me to him by my hips, "Why wouldn't they? We've been in your room plenty of times." I removed his hands from my body, putting them on his lap I walked over to my desk chair. "Yeah when Sid and Tatum actually knew about it!" I shouted just above a whisper to the two boys. They completely ignored me as Billy went right back to laying on my bed and Stu turned on my stereo. My cassette copy of some Michael Dulin songs playing through the speakers. Stu grabbed me by the wrist hoisting me out of the chair as we swayed to the music. I forgot about every horrendous detail of the past few days. "If I'm being honest, when I'm with the two of you I feel like nothing bad can happen in the world," I say as I look up at Stu as we spin in circles. He has that same goofy grin on his face. All of a sudden just like earlier today he hoists me over his shoulder and marches over to my be flopping both of us down next to Billy. "Do you really feel that way, (y/n)?" Billy asks, looking over and my meek form. "Yeah of course, why wouldn't I?" I asked looking back at him as well. "You're the one that was like 'Oh but Tatum and Sid', remember?" Stu said, mocking my words. Propping myself up on my elbows I look down at the boy laying on my stomach, "Stu I just said I feel happy when I'm with you two, not I want you to rail the fuck out of me?!" I got a little defensive. "Jeez okay, chill out girl." He says as he wraps his arms around me. "It could be arranged," Billy said, still looking at me. "Hmm?" I said, turning to him. "The whole railing you thing," Billy said with a smirk. My face contorted into a shape I never knew possible, "Ew Billy fuck off, I already said no!" He was practically about to topple over laughing at how bright red my face was when we heard a knock. "Oh shit," I whispered. I rushed both Stu and Billy out the window as I shouted, "One moment!"

Coming to the door I adjusted my clothes and combed out my hair, "Hey what's up?" "Tatum and I were wondering if you were hungry?" Sid asked, peeking her head through the door like she was searching for something. "Hmm, need something?" I asked. "Huh, oh no, well did you have people up here?" She asked, eyes still darting around. "No, I was just listening to some music," I shrug trying to seem as collected as possible. "...Okay just let us know if you need anything, We're going to head out in a bit." Sid said as she closed the door. I went straight for my window sill seeing the boys standing by the truck looking up at my window. I waved down to them and they waved back before driving off.

As we drove down Main Street it wasn't very hard to notice that practically nobody was around.

Stepping out of the car Dewey said, "Sure is quiet."

"Yeah, look at this place, it's like the Town that Dreaded Sunset," Sid spoke in astonishment about our own town.

"Mhm, we've got the hooded killer and all," I said stepping to her side.

"Yeah, saw that movie, it's about a killer in Texas huh?" Dewey asked messing with whatever he's holding

"Hey girls just think, if they make a movie about you two, who's gonna play you..." Tatum asked with a chime in her voice.

"Ugh I shudder to think," Sid says as she places her hand to her forehead.

"I see you as a young Meg Ryan myself." Dewey said with a squinting smile, hiding from what's about to be none of the sun's glare.

"Oooh (y/n), you totally be played by _______," Tatum said as she spun me around.

"Hmm, lesser known but great in her field, ya know I actually like that," I said as I put my hand to my chin and wore a silly smile, "Who knows maybe Leonardo will play one of the boys?"

"With my luck they'd cast Tory Spelling," Sid said before walking off to the market.

"Ahh I'm just gonna' be a few minutes," Dewey calls out to us but we didn't really care to listen.

Once we rounded the grocery store corner Sid asked, "Is Billy going to be there?"

"He better not be, I told Stu to keep his mouth shut." Tatum said as she strutted down the concrete ground, "I think we can live without the endorphin rush for one night."

"I don't think it'd be so bad," I grumbled to myself.

I pushed the cart down the back aisle as Tatum and Sid threw bags of junk food and soda into the basket.

"Billy's right you know, whenever he touches me, I just can't relax," Sid said as she looked at the drinks.

"So you have a few intimacy issues as a result of your mother's untimely death, it's no big deal Sid," Tatum shrugs, "You'll thaw out."

"Yeah but he's been so patient with me, ya know with all the sex stuff? How many guys would put up with a girlfriend who's sexually anorexic?" Sid asks as she tosses some ice cream into the cart.

"Billy and his penis don't deserve you," Tatum said as we walked on... I really wish I didn't hear any of this.

As we pulled up to Stu's house, which I can never get over the size of, Dewey told us to have fun but "Not too much fun or I'll bust ya," yeah sure. We got out of the car, music from the house was louder than anything I've ever heard. A lot more people were there than Stu had promised...intimate gathering my ass.

"Caterer's here!" Tatum announced to the entire house as she waved around the food we bought.

Everyone whooped and hollered out in cheering response.

"Wow that's so mature," I said as we entered the kitchen where Stu and a couple other boys were drinking beer out of a funnel.

"Hey just trying to get the party switch started," Stu said as the kid to his right finished.

"My man," Stu congratulated the greasy looking rat as they did, what looked to me like, the handshake from Predator.

The girls and I put the food out on the island moving some bottles in the process. I accidentally ran into Stu spilling some of the beer. "Ah shit man," Stu exclaimed as he pulled on his shirt and stupid Hugh Hefner robe. "I'm so sorry about that, here," I said as I handed him a towel on the counter. "Nah that's covered in beer, Imma just throw on something else," Stu says as he walks out of the room. I throw my head back and place my hand over my eyes. "Hey (y/n), don't even worry about it, he has like a million of those ridiculous robes," Tatum says as she leaned over the counter. Crossing my arms I look over at her and say, "I know but I still feel bad, I don't want to ruin his mood." Tatum laughed a little and rolled her eyes. "It's not going to ruin his mood, (y/n). This is Stu we're talking about," Said Sid as she grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. "Yeah you're right, hey I'll be right back," I said as I left the kitchen.

When I come back to the kitchen I notice the girls are gone. As I'm wondering where they might be I hear a loud "(y/n), over here!" for Tatum. Turning around and peeking down the hall I noticed her, Sid, and Stu on the couch. There were a lot of people surrounding them and Randy standing in front of the tv console holding two vhs tapes. "I saved you a seat," Said Sid as she looked up at me, patting the empty space to her right. "Thanks sis," I responded as I flopped down next to her. "What ya got there?" I looked down at her lap. "Just some movies that Randy tossed at me," She said with a shrug.

"How many Evil Dead?!" Randy shouted to the group around us. A bunch of kids hollered as they raised their hands.

"How many Hellraiser?!" Randy shouted again, more kids repeated the actions from the last.

Stu incoherently said something but Tatum's response of, "Stop!" as she batted his finger away.

"The Fog, Terror Train, Prom Night..." I mumbled as Sid went through the movies.

"How come Jamie Lee Curtis is in all of these movies?" She asked, looking down at the pile with me.

Randy knelt down beside us, "Because she's the... Scream Queen." he said as he put his hands together in a prayer formation.

"Ah yes a Scram Queen, a woman who has filmed a repetition of horror movies keeping her in the frightening spotlight. A lot like a Screen Queen but scary," I stated to my step sister.

"With a set of lungs like that she should be," Stu said grinning from ear to ear as he as he played with Tatum's hands.

A small but stupid, "Yeah" was heard fro Randy.

"Tits, see?" Tatum said as she leaned against Stu.

The doorbell rang repeatedly causing Stu to jump out of his spot and say, "Oh I'll get it!" as he hopped over the back of the couch.

Or tried to at least.

He tripped and fell right onto the floor but popped up to ask Tatum to, "Grab another beer, would ya?"

"What am I? The beer wench?" Tatum asked as she flicked her wrist out.

"Apparently so my good friend, or should I say wench?" I said looking at Tatum earning me a roll of her eyes, click of her tongue and shove on the shoulder.

Tuning into Sid and Randy's conversation I can hear Randy say, "...Nominated," Sid nodded and said "Yeah," with a giggle.

Randy went on to say, "She was nominated..." Blah blah blah, it was too loud to understand.

Just as I was really getting comfy Stu came into the room and shouted, "You're not going to believe who's here! It's that chick from Top Story!"

"Gale Weathers!?" Randy asked.

Meanwhile Tatum, Sid, and I turned to Stu in disbelief. "Shit," Tatum said before she stood up.

I could hear Dewey's voice in the background... oh no

"Dewey," Tatum said as she gestured him over with her index finger, "Oh Dewey."

"What is she doing here?" Tate asked once her brother was finally in the room.

"She's with me," Dewey said, looking like a kid who just got free ice cream, "Just checking things out,"

I watched as Sid stood up, "Where are you going?" I asked...and was ignored.

"So you did, now leave," Tatum peered over at Gale, "and take your media stuff with you."

Kids were complimenting Gale left and right but all I could think of is how I wanted to punch her again...square in the nose.

I watched as Sid and Dewey talked, looking to my left I noticed that Tatum was gone. Must've gone to get those beers?

[chaoticcultist]

Sirens don't really do Scary Stories.

“-and on her door-handle… WAS THE RUSTY HOOK!!!” Giulia yelled with a big grin as Luca shrieked. Alberto decided he liked horror stories, they always resulted in Luca clinging to him.

The adults around the backyard bonfire chuckled at their children’s antics. “Very good, Giulietta.” Massimo’s baritone voice rumbled sweetly. “You even had me scared at the end there.”

“What about you guys?” Alberto asked, directing the question to the three elder Paguros across from him and the younger one in his arms. “Do you have any scary stories? Like, with ghost-fish and stuff?”

Luca looked up at Alberto, not at all loosening his grip on the older boy. “Sirens don’t really do scary stories. I think that’s a surface thing.”

“Yeah,” Lorenzo piped up. “The ocean is already a terrifying place without making up more things to be scared of.”

Alberto just blew a short raspberry. “That’s lame.”

Daniella seemed to mull over something before coming to a conclusion. “There was something pretty horrifying that happened in the reef colony about 8 years ago. I had never been so scared in my life…”

Luca sat back up straight, still holding Alberto’s hand. He didn’t look frightened anymore, just apprehensive and uncomfortable as he addressed his mom. “Are you talking about the golden eyed man?”

Daniella shuddered at the words as they left her child's mouth. Nonna Paguro placed a comforting hand on her shoulder in response. “Go ahead and tell the story, we all need to get it off our chests. Don’t we?”

She gave an unreadable look to Luca and he squirmed uncomfortably.

Massimo waved his hand in front of him. “Don’t feel forced. This is meant to be for fun, we wouldn’t want to dredge up bad memories.”

Lorenzo shrugged. “I don’t know… as a siren himself, Alberto should hear the story at least once. Now’s as good a time as any.”

Luca moved back in closer to Alberto’s side, gripping his arm with his free hand. “I hate this story.” he frowned.

Daniella took a deep breath. “Just a little while after Luca had turned 6, he started having these terrible dreams. He would cry to us about a golden eyed man watching him, and he stopped being able to sleep through the night.” she rubbed at her eyes tiredly, remembering those sleepless nights when she thought her biggest problem was a restless guppy. “One day, he refused to set a fin in his room. He said the golden eyed man would take him if he did…”

Her gaze went to her mom, and the wrinkled old woman gave a small nod. “He was so insistent, I actually took him to sleep in the goatfish barn with me that night, just to show him the alternative to sleeping in his bed. I thought it was so silly, until I saw it.” The old woman looked directly at Luca, almost as if making sure he was still there.

Alberto didn’t like this story either. He held onto Luca tighter, wanting the confirmation he was still there too. Something about this tale seemed horribly familiar somehow. “In the middle of the night, the silhouette of… something like a siren, was hovering outside Luca’s window. It just stayed there for so long, I couldn’t move a muscle. I held Luca tight so he couldn’t move a muscle either.” She wrapped her arms around herself as some sort of macabre visual aid.

“After a while, it finally left, but as it turned, I could see that it had huge, unnaturally gold glowing eyes.” Her own eyes were wide, the memory playing back in her mind in perfect detail.

It was Lorenzo’s turn to pick up the story. “That morning, we woke up to one of our neighbors screaming. She had gone to wake up her daughter, but the guppy was just… gone.” He shuddered, taking his wife’s hand. “When mom brought Luca back in and told us what she saw, Luca started crying and told us-”

“Cod, I’ll never get that out of my head!” Daniella interrupted with gritted teeth.

“What?!” Giulia asked anxiously, on the edge of her seat and feeling like her teeth were going to shatter.

“The one part of this story I actually remember…” Luca mumbled miserably from Alberto’s grip. The older boy was shaking like a leaf. “I told them ‘he couldn’t find me, so he took her instead.’.”

Daniella was gripping at her heart as Alberto gulped down a breath. “So Alberto, you see, the ocean can be a very scary place. We feel it’s important you know that… those creatures are out there, just in case…”

Alberto stood up, bringing the tightly held Luca up with him, and walked over to sit between Daniella and Massimo. He pulled on Massimo’s shirt and Daniella’s skirt to signal them to scoot closer. They, along with everyone else around the fire, shifted to be closer to the two boy’s. Luca looked a bit dissociated, and Alberto looked downright terrified.

“Can I tell you my own story?” He asked with a shaking voice.

Nonna Paguro understood what the boy wanted to tell immediately. “Go ahead, Alberto. Did you also see the golden eyed man?”

Alberto swallowed hard. “When I was seven, I was on top of our tower watching the anchovies- stars with my dad when I saw something in the water. What looked like glowing yellow eyes staring right at me from the shallows. I told my dad about it but he just sort of brushed me off. He told me not to worry because ‘they can’t come up on land like us.’.”

Luca hummed curiously as Alberto cleared his throat, looking almost guiltily up at the Paguro parents. “He also told me to stay out of the water for a few days, they’d get bored and find some other kid to eat.”

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

If You Love Someone, Let Them Go: Part 7

Summary: Since starting with SVU, Sonny hadn’t kept much terribly close to the chest. The squad knew about his family, growing up on Staten Island, the classes at Fordam. What was hidden was why he didn’t date. Sonny Carisi was also separated from his childhood sweetheart, a separation neither ever took to divorce. They had the same haunts. They’d grown up neighbors. Their paths crossed every few months, and divorce talks would turn into reminiscing would turn into a night spent together, sometimes sex sometimes just talking until the early morning. It always ended with one of them waking up alone however. How will that change when the squad finds out?

Pairings: Sonny Carisi x Original Character

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

May 2015

“Dominick, where’s the box with my shoes?” Victoria called, stepping over the piles in the apartment they’d consolidated into over the last month and a half. Both their leases were ending, so they decided to go ahead and overlap their leases with a new place for a month. They needed to start fresh, and neither of them wanted to do that in the solitary spaces they’d inhabited without the other. She was nervous now, however, because Olivia had extended Carisi’s invitation to celebrate Noah’s adoption to her as well. It struck her that she was the only SVU spouse, so it might just be the group that spent every day and lots of long nights together and her, someone suddenly thrust into their world. That meant she was exceptionally nervous as she got ready; meeting them on their turf felt more serious than being at Bella’s wedding. Everyone had dispersed within hours there.

“Kitchen counter. Got mixed up for the pots and pans in our room somehow,” he called, and she could tell he was brushing his teeth. She stepped over the not yet assembled shelves she’d gotten, digging each chunky heel from the cardboard box. The wedding heels had been hard on her because the brides wanted stilettos. These she could walk in all day, and she liked reaching Sonny’s shoulder. She went to the bathroom, leaning on the door frame as she watched him style his hair, the tip of his tongue between his front teeth. He caught her eye on the mirror, and his mouth shifted to a grin as he shot her a wink.

“Lookin’ hot, Mrs. Carisi.”

“Why thank you,” she grinned, striking a playful pose. “You look pretty hot yourself.”

“You just like these shirts on me.”

“And your ass in those khakis.” 

She felt triumphant as his cheeks turned pink, grabbing her purse and fixing her lipstick. Soon enough, they were knocking on Olivia’s door, and Sonny pressed a kiss by her ear. 

“You’ll be fine,” he whispered, straightening up as Olivia opened the door.

“Carisi, Victoria, come on in,” she smiled, and Victoria couldn’t help but grin at the sight of the little boy on her hip, putting the gift bag on the counter. 

“It’s so great to see you again. We brought a present for you two. Wine for mama and a toy for Noah.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s a celebration,” she smiled, and Sonny watched fondly as Victoria made faces at Noah, who squealed with delight. 

“Carisi,” Barba nodded, scotch in hand as the detective opened a beer. “Things seem to be good?”

“Yeah. We’re unpacking the new place.”

“I’m sure it’s a delight.”

“Tor’s back home. Of course it is.”

“Can I give you one piece of advice, if you still want to be an attorney?”

“If you’re going to say ‘don’t’ again-”

“I’m feeling sentimental on this, the celebration of Noah’s adoption.”

“Go on then.”

“You’ve expressed an interest in the DA’s office. Prosecution. It’s all the pain from SVU, plus you have to be the bad guy and demand proof. You’ve hated my guts more than a few times, no?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t fuck up again. You’ll need that anchor. I have had two opportunities. One ended up with the friend. The other I drove away trying to keep secrets and seem tough.”

“Liv rat me out?”

“On accident at the wedding. But only because she knew I’d understand. Being able to talk to her will be what keeps you sane during some of those trials.”

“You know, cousin Tony is a real good listener and seemed real into you.”

“He is quite the listener and is quite into me. Now, shut up before you ruin my good mood.”

“There’s the Barba I’m used to.” A roll of the attorney’s eyes told him whatever sentimentality he was going to be at the receiving end of was over, and Sonny felt confident that when he asked to shadow him later, Barba wouldn’t be as put out as he pretended. When he looked back to Olivia, Victoria was chatting happily with a glass of wine in hand. He was excited he still got to make an introduction between Fin and Victoria. It was nice to be able to say This is my wife, Victoria without having to eventually explain they didn’t live together. When he heard a knock, he moved to her side, anticipating his entrance. Once he’d greeted Olivia and Noah, Sonny was pleased with the look on his face. As the detective who’d been there the longest, Sonny found himself caring what Fin thought, and Fin seemed to be forming his opinion.

“Fin! I want ya t’meet my wife, Victoria,” he said happily, arm slung over her shoulder. She extended a hand, which Fin shook gladly.

“It’s nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much!”

“Nice to meet you too. Your husband ain’t shut up about you in weeks. Once he started-”

“He’s pretty sappy?”

“So you been putting up with him a decade?”

“I mean technically my whole life. We grew up next door to each other.”

“I hear I gotta come to a bakery in Brooklyn now.”

“Oh yeah. You got any favorites? Tell me, and I’ll send a preview with Dom next week.”

“I’m pretty traditional.”

“You want brownies, cookies, or cake?”

“Cookies.”

“Deal. Sonny’ll have you a batch Monday.”

“I like her, Carisi,” Fin said, clapping a hand on the younger detective’s shoulder before going to get his drink and greet Barba.

“It’s not fair. You can make cookies and everyone instantly likes you.”

“You seen your goofy grin? You don’t even have to talk to be likable.”

She was rewarded with a kiss to the temple and the aforementioned grin. Soon enough, Amaro and Rollins were there, and Barba poured the pricey champagne he’d brought to toast. Everyone finally got comfortable after that, Sonny settled on the arm of the couch beside Victoria, and Noah was teetering around the coffee table. Victoria was happy to babble to him, and he could see she felt proud when Noah decided to climb onto her lap. God, she was going to be a good mom if they ever stabilized. Couples therapy would start soon. They’d always said when he finished school, and that would actually be happening the next year. Maybe if they were doing well they could have their own baby. All of his sisters were pregnant or already had kids, and fatherhood had been Sonny’s dream.

 As Noah leaned into Victoria, he looked up at Sonny, who was happy to wave down at him. It seemed Lucy liked getting a break to talk to the adults, and he could see the look on Olivia’s face watching Noah. She liked seeing the boy bond with the family she’d made through work. He probably owed a lot of the growth that got him Victoria back to her. The squad was a family with Olivia as their matriarch, and he’d felt safe enough to verbalize his feelings in the first days with her team, when he still had the moustache Victoria had recently informed him really was awful when he tried to defend it. 

“I can take him if you need me to, Victoria. He’s out,” she said from her spot beside Barba. 

“It’s fine. He’s so cuddly.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Long as Sonny doesn’t mind getting me a glass of wine.”

“On it, doll,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Victoria had always loved when their nieces fell asleep on her like this when they were babies. Mia had been the first one, and they took to each other quickly, even if Victoria had been the neighbor kid at the time. They hadn’t broached kids again, and frankly she was afraid of the prospect, but she’d wanted to have kids with Sonny since they got married. Logically, she knew they had to wait until the time was right. Originally, that was just when he finished school, but now they had to play it by ear again. Either way, she was going to savor the smell of baby as Noah slept with his cheek pressed against her shoulder. She wasn’t as good at the play as Sonny was; every child he encountered bonded with him easily, something that had to be helpful in his job. Victoria was good at cuddling and nurturing though. When the first members of the team trickled out, she settled Noah in his mother’s arms and gave her the best hug she could. 

“Thanks for including me. I’m so happy for you, Olivia.”

“Thanks for coming. Noah loves you. Mind being added to the babysitter list?”

“I am honored.” Sonny led her out, hand on the small of her back and a crooked smile plastered across his face. Everyone loved her, like he knew they would. How could someone not? It was near dinner, so without checking, he led the way to a sushi bar near Olivia’s. As he guided her in, she looked up at him with her brow furrowed.

“Dinner date?” He was proud to see her cheeks turn pink.

“I’d like that. You been spoiling me lately.”

“I just been acting like I should. You been pretty damn good to me too.”

“Wanna get saki?”

“Are trying to get me drunk?”

“You only have to go in tomorrow if there’s an emergency.”

“Saki it is.” 

“I was thinking I might plan us a trip in November.”

“Yeah? Could be fun.”

“Any place you wanna go? You’ll be who we’re celebrating.”

“Oh?” he asked, brow lifted as he smiled at her. 

“Dirty thirty.” 

“Dirty thirty? Really Tor?”

“It’ll be fun.”

“I was thinking about New Orleans next year. Could be fun near the holidays instead. Do something bigger for our anniversary.”

“I like the way you think. Plus, July is hot as hell. I’ll tell you the dates when I know.”

“I can’t wait. I’m glad we’ll be together over the holidays.”

“I’m glad we’ll be together on our anniversary. We missed two.”

“One,” he said, puzzled before he winced. “Wait no, you’re right. I was being a bad husband.”

“Nah, you weren’t doing well,” she assured him, hand on his thigh. 

“Ninth, we’re staying here. Tenth, we’re going big.”

“Deal. I love you, Tor.”

“And I love you.”

“You were real good with Noah.”

“He’s such a cuddly boy.”

“I told Lieu I gotta hang out with him sometimes. The girl gene runs real strong with the Carisis. Four nieces, no nephews? And then non Carisi niece on her way from Rollins.”

“Only two have been born. Mom thought I was going to be a boy.”

“True. Fingers crossed. Or maybe we’ll have a boy.”

“Dom-”

“I ain’t saying tomorrow. I’m just saying therapy is going good, we’re doing good, couples therapy is soon, and I bet we have a kid in before I’m forty.” She laughed, kissing him softly. “I think it’ll be sooner than that. Maybe in like three?”

“Even better. I can’t wait to feel our baby kick one day. Know they’re there. It’ll happen when we’re ready. Not a minute sooner. God’s got a plan.” 

“We just gotta be careful, okay? I want to try to not get pregnant for a while.”

“I know, Tor.”

“Don’t get testy. I wanna make sure we’re ready.”

“I know. Just- seeing you with Noah and Jessie? Set off the ‘I want kids’ bell stronger than last time.”

“Me too. Every time I see you hold the kids.”

“We gotta baby sit more to tide me over.”

“I got a feeling I’ll be getting calls from Liv. You make that clear to Amanda. Then soon enough? Gina’s almost due. Then Bella.”

“True,” he smiled softly. “If we wait they get to be the only Carisi baby that year. Even more attention.”

“You’ll spoil them rotten.”

“That’s my job.”

“We get the day tomorrow, unless somethin’ happens.”

“We do. I gotta go to the bakery for a couple hours at least to help train the newest hire. Margy picked good, but they’re taking weekends for me.”

“I’m really excited about that. I think it’ll be good now that it’s an option.”

“Me too. We both get to be in case of emergency for the most part.”

“Yeah. Liv will rotate all of us taking a Saturday.”

“I guess I’ll just have to find somebody’s baby to play with,” she teased, poking his side and he grinned. 

“Y’know, I think we ought to start practicin’ when we go home, doll.”

“Read my mind, Sonny.”

Tag List: @cycat4077​ @fear-less-write-more​

[taehyungsleftear]

Pied Piper Pt. 4 (fin) // (M)

genre: smut; fluff; jiminxreader

warnings: seggs in public places

a/n: why is part 3 getting more likes than part 2 lmaooo

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (fin)

———————————————————————

you’ve only been at the school for 11 months but you’ve met the boy you think is the love of your life. you didn’t know anything about his past but he gives you the world and treats you like a princess; no wonder he had so many girls running after him. you wondered every now and then how you got so lucky to get a guy that’s so handsome and respectful. he would often take you out to expensive places or buy you pricey gifts but he wouldn’t let you give them back.

today was your 10 month anniversary and you had no clue what to get him; we was the one that usually got you gifts and you were quite poor so it was harder for you. you’d spent the past week preparing for what you were gonna give him but nothing came to mind. your last choice was to either give him nothing or to reserve a fancy restaurant.

“hey baby, how did you sleep last night?” jimin says into your ear as he holds you from the back and kisses your neck. you smiled at him and answered, “i couldn’t really sleep last night, but i feel fine. what about you?” he smiles and walks around you to stand in front of you and takes your hands. “i slept good, i dreamt of you so i lost no sleep,” he says. it was so cheesy it even made him cringe. dahyun was silently rolling her eyes - she didn’t like the thought of you two together.

jimin hadn’t mentioned your anniversary yet and you were quite upset he didn’t but you couldn’t say anything because you didn’t get him anything. when he isn’t talking to you or when you’re caught up in your thoughts, jimin caught you looking upset or down. he thought it was because he hadn’t said anything about your anniversary yet so he felt bad for keeping a secret but he knew he wouldn’t regret it later.

the end of the school day had finally arrived and you were ready to enjoy your weekend alone, seeing as your boyfriend forgot your 10 month anniversary. you left the class without saying bye to him, maybe he would take the hint that you’re upset. he ran after you and grabbed your hand. “y/n... where are you going?” he said shyly, looking at his feet. “i’m going home. i’ll see you only monday,” you say quickly before kissing his cheek and walking of. he’s upset that you’re mad at him.

*

it’s 5 pm and jimin hadn’t said anything to you. you stare at your phone, seeing jimin go online and offline without talking to you and your eyes begin to well up. you can barely see anything when your phone starts buzzing in your hand. you quickly wipe your eyes and look at the name that lights up your screen. “jimin <3”. you scream internally and answer the phone immediately. “yeah?” you say softly. “get the box outside your house and be ready in an hour, i’ll pick you up at 6,” jimin says before he puts the phone down and you run to your front door. there the box is. you grab it and sprint to your room and tear the lid off.

there’s a small, silky, nude dress folded neatly with a pair of black heels next to it. there’s a pair of earrings and a little box. inside the box is a little ring with diamonds woven into a rose gold line. you smile to yourself and shake your head. “what an asshole,” you think as you hold the dress to your body. you take your time getting ready and doing your hair and makeup when your mom comes into your room. she looks at you with an eyebrow raised. “where are you going?” she asks. “i’m going out with jimin. it’s our anniversary today,” you reply. “enjoy,” she says as she walks out, closing the door behind herself.

you finish putting in your new earrings and spraying yourself with a new perfume your mom bought you so you start getting ready to leave. under some paper in the box jimin dropped off, was a small, black chanel handbag. you put your phone and some extra makeup in the bag, just for in case. you looked in the mirror and took a deep breath; you had gone on many dates with jimin, but never one this fancy. you prepared yourself mentally to meet him and you walked to the door. “bye mom, see you later,” you shout. “okay honey, enjoy,” she replies.

you open your phone to message jimin to ask if he’s left yet when he messages you first. “i’m outside, are you ready?” your face suddenly get hot but when you open the door, you see jimin, in a neat all black suit with his blonde hair pushed back, standing outside an expensive looking black car. what else would you expect?

he walks around to the passengers seat and opens the door. “come on, we should get going now, we don’t want to be late now, would we?” he says smoothly, smirking just a little, trying to hide his huge ego. you climb in the car and all you can smell is his unique smell. you smile as he gets in and reverses out of the driveway.

as he drives to wherever you were going, he has his hand on your thigh and he massages it lightly. he then takes your hand and puts it on the gear shifter and exhilarates. you find him steering with one hand extremely attractive and you could watch it all day.

you finally arrive at a fancy restaurant at a mall you didn’t even know was in your town and he parks the car in the mall parking lot. when you two walk in you see the whole restaurant is empty. “where’s everyone?” you say. “i booked the whole restaurant for us so we can enjoy ourselves properly,” jimin replies. you try not to show it but you’re so shocked that jimin would go this far for you.

you’re seated at a table for 2 and 2 waiters bring over your food. you’ve never tasted something that good and the drinks were so nice. you and jimin talk and laugh together for the next 3 hours in the restaurant as you go through full course meals and dessert. when jimin looks at you, you can see the love in his eyes. even when you aren’t talking, he just stares at you and watches the little things you do that make him so happy. you feel like jimin does too much for you, and you didn’t want it to look, or feel, like you were mooching off him.

after you leave the restaurant and enter his car, jimin pushes the passenger and the driver seat down as far forward as they can go. he then opens the back door and tells you to get in. you already know where this is heading and when you get in, you immediately begin to unclip your heels and throw them, along with your handbag, on the floor where they wouldn’t bother you. when jimin opened the door, his eyes were dark and filled with lust. it seemed that jimin had something other than dinner on his mind tonight.

as he closed the door behind him with one hand, the other was unbuckling his belt while yours unbuttoned his shirt. “fuck, y/n i’ve been waiting the whole night for this. you turn me so on, especially in that dress, i’m glad i chose that one,” jimin says in a hoarse voice, he’s breathing heavily. his hair was falling into his face and you couldn’t be more turned on; you had jimin in a suit, hair slick back and you now see him falling apart like this just for you. you just wanted to skip all the talking and have him inside you.

once the door is closed, and his dick is out, you put his whole length in your mouth and bob your head up and down. it makes you feel so good to hear jimin moaning for you and the things you did to him. it almost makes you want to moan. after a bit of you sucking him off, you remove your mouth completely from him and he moans at the loss of contact but you pull your underwear to the side and push him into you, and let him fill you completely.

you both moan together at your actions. you swing your one leg over jimins thighs so you can straddle and ride him properly. jimin sits back and holds your waist, his hands guiding you up and down. as you’re riding, jimin kisses and sucks at your neck, leaving his usual dark marks. he massages your waist and every now and then bucks his hips up into you and every time you moan as loud as you can.

jimin starts rubbing your clit and you moan even more. “fuck, jimin, i’m gonna come,” you moan loudly. “come for me baby, i want you to come for me,” he whispers in your ear, as he does every time, and every time it takes you to your highest, most euphoric feeling. jimins high pitched moans also mean he’s at his high and he’s moving his hips to let you both ride out your highs.

once’s you’re both finished, you sit on jimins lap; him dripping from the insides of your legs. you’re both sweating and the windows of the car are fogged up. you and jimin just sit there, looking into each other’s eyes for a few seconds when someone knocks on the window. both yours and jimins eyes are wide and you don’t know what to do. jimin slides the window down enough to see who the person was, but not enough for them to see you.

when jimin sees the face he smiles and slides it down further. the person couldn’t see anything bad because you were covering jimin and you were still in your dress. “park jimin. long time no see,” the man says and chuckles. “jeon jungkook, i haven’t seen you in weeks man,” jimin says and he looks all excited. you’ve heard of jungkook before but you’ve never met him and all you could say was that he was damn fine.

“you two sure had a good time, i got a few complaints from a few people saying there’s screaming coming from the parking lot, good thing i stopped a few people from knocking on the window while you were still busy,” he said. “thanks man, i’ll see you around,” jimin says before he rolls the window back up. you two look at each other for a few seconds before breaking out into laughter. “okay let’s head home, it’s getting late, it’s already 10pm,” jimin says as he pushes the seats back up.

*

you arrive at jimins house and you look at him. “my mom doesn’t know i’m sleeping here, i don’t think this is a good idea,” you say. “i’ve already told her, don’t worry,” he replies. he parks the car in his garage and he takes your hand to lead you to his room. he gives you one of his hoodies for you to sleep in and when you put it on, it’s way too big for you. you get into bed and he gets in after you. you snuggle up into his arms and he holds you tightly.

you’re in love with park jimin.

[danieco]

check in tag ✅ (Thank you, @chaosmax!!)

1. why did you choose your url?

It’s a partial mashup of two of my names that sounds a bit like a company: “Danie Co.” It’s my Brand™ (facetious) 

2. any side blogs? if you have them name them and why you have them?

Yes, an RP blog @dubmiho and @daniecho, a catch-all for non-YGO reblogs and occasional silly text posts about my life

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

Hard to say, I’ve used Tumblr on and off for years just as a way to collect posts that I liked. I started actually participating in fandom (making and reblogging posts) last December, so like seven months?

4. do you have a queue tag?

Yes, “queue-gi-oh”

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

Surface level answer: I got back into YGO somehow, was having a LOT of thoughts and needed somewhere to put them. Realer answer: I think the timing with the pandemmy isn’t coincidental. The Atlantic ran an article months ago about how people were mourning the loss of relationships they didn’t realize they had, the outer circle of acquaintances that populated their lives and they saw regularly but didn’t really know. Tumblr I think kind of fills that niche with convos in the tags, etc.

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I honestly don’t know, it’s not even my favorite color. I guess it felt like a quick, neutral thing? Also with the first header I had (a manga panel of Jou going “Hmmmm”), in dashboard view it kind of looked like he was blowing bubblegum and getting concerned he let the bubble get too big. 

7. why did you choose your header?

My header will probably always be some manga panel of Jounouchi, haha. He’s the boy! I was actually a Kaiba stan for like, my first decade of liking YGO. No clue how Jou totally took over this go around, but I’m having a blast. 

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

Definitely a Kaiba joke I tossed off and almost didn’t post because I thought it was “too Tumblr”. Someone I used to follow for feminist film criticism (who I never would have guessed even knew what YGO was) reblogged it at one point, and seeing it on my dash from her was the most bizarre experience I’ve had on here for sure. 

9. how many mutuals do you have?

I honestly don’t know, but this question stresses me out because I recently unfollowed a lot of blogs so I’d spend less time on here and I know some were mutuals. I know the cool kids are always reblogging the “I don’t care how many followers I have/who unfollows me” posts but I still feel bad doing it. :( It feels like not waving anymore to someone you regularly pass in the hallway at work. Minor, but still a bummer. 

10. how many followers do you have?

200, it’s baby blog hours over here always

11. how many people do you follow?

Around 50

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

I’ve made a lot of dumb jokes (affectionate) but I’m not sure any qualify as an actual shitpost. People may think of my super spy Tristan post but I was being entirely sincere!! Sincere, thank you!

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

God, I don’t even want to think about it. I love you but I hate you, my little dopamine-boosting trap. (This is why I try to follow as few people as possible, so I run out of posts on my dash more quickly.)

14. did you have a fight/argument with a blog once? who won?

No, but I’m pretty quick to just mute blogs by blacklisting their names if I see them being rude to someone or if their posts don’t Spark Joy for me.

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

Opposed; I understand that’s coming out of a passionate desire to help but frankly (time for a HOT TAKE) I think a majority of the Tumblr activism I see is underinformed and/or ineffectual anyway. 

16. do you like tag games?

Yes!! It’s fun to get to know people

17. do you like ask games?

Yes again!! Same reason. Give me all your opinions. I want to know. Tumblr is like a fin-de-siecle Parisian salon except all our opinions on life, love, art and politics are filtered through a YGO lens (i.e., incredible and inherently entertaining)

18. which of your tumblr mutuals do you think is famous?

This question made me feel old because I immediately thought “What, a secret celebrity is incognito on YGO Tumblr?” But this probably means like, who has the most followers. I know of at least one with a solid following but YGO is such a small fandom it’s hard to feel like anyone’s really “famous”

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

Maybe a LITTLE and it’s extra silly because a) we hardly talk and b) she might be straight I don’t actually know HAHA it is mostly just for cute fun. I can have a little pandemmy parasocial summer crush, as a treat

20. tags?

I’d love to see anyone do it! Tag me back if you do, I’d love to see them (seriously!! say hello!)

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Friday 13 September 1839

3 40/..

10

ten minutes with A- very fine sunny morning – F64° at 4 20/.. – waited for horses – inked over 2/3 last page off at 5 35/.. sun rising in our eyes as we get out of the city – at Henrisdals at 6 51/.. little lone place – see no house at all – nothing but little stabling – nice drive from Helsingfors – we had fjord a long way – but very little wood – met an infinity of carts loaden with deals, timber long but the largest smallish beans, hay, moss and Spruce branches for strewing the floors – the approach to the capital prettier from Henrisdals then from Grahn? at Sibbo [Sipoo] – small house no fire in the kitchen or should have had boiled milk – went in – a goodish room but not good to sleep at – the little unpainted village at a little distance a few little cottages clustered together  - pretty good road from Helsingfors – 2nd stage sandy – this 3rd stage forest and good road (no bad pitches since Helsingfors) – to Wackosky at 9 26/.. Breakfast on our bread and butter but large [?] of boiled milk and clean table cloth for 25 kopeks –

Till Borga [Borgå] 12 ½

St. P- 369 ½

September Friday 13 one night sleep well enough – lone house – a farm or 2 and its appurtenances scattered about at a little distance – pretty river winding along the valley from here – pretty foresty rather more hilly road – a little pitch or 2 – good road  pretty drive to Borga [Borgå] to the picturesque goodish wood town beautifully situated on our river from Wäckosky – Borgå at 11 23/.. good red (wood) town house in little square – very tolerable pavé – as good as at Stockholm without the deep channels – at the station in the town at 11 27/.. considerable town – Baggar( not importunate old man) at the carriage door

till Illby 10w.

St. P- 357w.

1st time in Finland and almost since landing at Helsingborg – good church – belfrey town separate – both partly stone plastered and whitewashed and pretty red wood – and booth partly covered with shingle and partly with copper – rocky-foresty good (rather sandy) road from here – prevailing colours at Borgå red and yellow roofs red or dark slate-colour – did not observe one green roof – Senate house at Helsingfors uellow and pea green roof and several other such roofs, on yellowish white and dark red buildings – perhaps the ancient green sod roofs gave them a taste for green roofs – In returning from Sweaborg, the rye rested agreeably on the green roofs – they seemed like patches of light green sward among the Glacier white – this effect, too, on looking on them from our high window – the cupola of the church dome is dark blue with gold stars – the church a yellowish whitewash over the plaster –

= very pretty forest and break from Bordå [Borgå]– sunny and fine – red moss – a woman riding astride between W- and Bordå [Borgå ]passed so[me] soldiers (a company) and by these waggons just out of Bordå [Borgå] at 12 25/.. Illby – rye out in stook – red station

Borgå stad 10

Hofvardböhle 11 ¼ verst

Forsby 13 verst

SH:7/ML/TR/13/0034

September Friday 13 the country about Illby very pretty – dotted over with cottages or barns – Illby little red lone station house – the little unpainted village at a little distance – 11 or 12 carts here in a row without horses as if some sort of meeting? pretty rounded hills, green nice grass or corn ½ way up the hill and the top wooded – a boy or 2 begged and a man but all looking decent considering the country and not very importunate – our young man this time a good looking Fin   1 5/.. just in the carriage again – detained 10 minutes + the horses restive up the hill – obliged to get out again at another steep pitch a few minutes afterwards – very nice farming this stage and small enclosures – saw a strawberry plant in flower and gathered a cranberry in flower very pretty little pink flower everywhere potato stalks hung to dry on 4 or 5 tiers of rails – cottages and barns doted singly and in patches all over now at 1 50/.. lake in sight in the distance before us – then obliged to get out for a few minutes till 2 5/.. – snow plough the 2nd I have observed in Finland now at 2 10/.. – cross wood bridge over broad shallow stream into the good little very picturesque village of Forsby the little red station standing at the bottom of the hill and end of the village just below the neat little (wood) red church – very pretty picturesque drive from Illby here hilly – rocky – foresty – well cultivated fields – farms and cottages – good road but pitchy – forest hilly and heavy sandy road to Perny  [Pernå] at 3 20/.. very neat red station house and its numerous appurtenances and good picturesque white-washed church close by and curious picturesque belfrey at some distance from the church on the opposite side of the road – fine large beautifully beautifully wooded lake stretching as far as can see (right) a few good cottages and farm houses, scattered at a little distance – very pretty and picturesque – mossy rock forest again soon after the village – and our horses stop a little at the steep pitch soon after starting

till Lovisa [Loviisa] 12 verst [werst]

verst and virst and werst

Perno [Pernå] on the road post

Pärno [Pernå]  on the sign post

September Friday 13 at 4 16/..  3 story high large whitewashed gentleman’s house (right) little distance – forest and sandyish road almost all the way – this time Handbook is right as to the road – we have wound our way amid rocks and big boulders – at Lovisa [Loviisa] at the station at 4 40/.. – meant to have slept here but think we can push on 16 versts more to Aberfors [Aborrfors] – Lovisa [Loviisa] large good picturesque town – larger and much better than Borgå – our passport must be visé by the Burgomaster – send it by the station man and Gross with him – and we wrote dans ces entrefaites in the carriage close to the large good board-covered church with white window frames and red-boarded roof – the stone-foundation part of church plastered and whitewashed – at a little distance the belfrey – painted grey-white with bright green cupola roof – the town beautifully situated on the fine lake – island and buildings seen upon it as we cross the bridge out of the town no green roofs but sod-green – very picturesque and bright ([real] sods) in a low street we peeped down – heard of many cows chiefly red just out of the town – young forest again thin shewing the large boulders that thickly cover the ground all but the bits cleared for corn and cultivation – everywhere chiefly Scotch fir – and occasionally birch and alder beautiful evening – good road – no detention about the passport save the time occupied in taking it to the burgomaster off at 5 – lovely evening – but it begins to be coldish late – early in the day – 5 40/.. enormous boulders – this by far our most interesting stage for rock and boulder – the last interesting in this respect but near so much so as this stage – all Scotch fir and birch – good for burning several cottages – huts – no chimneys – the doorways black with smoke – no large trees anywhere – trying today my Russian [letters?]

SH:7/ML/TR/13/0035

September 13 can do nothing without a master – all this stage forest and pretty breaks with green rye and rye in stook – and huts (unpainted) and green corn and grass pasture among the boulders – very picturesque and now at 5 50/.. one large good brick barn I think the 1st and only one I have seen in Finland? Little enclosures – fenced as in Sweden – another Snow plough – juniper and cranberry here in the woods as in Sweden and N-

Lovisa [Loviisa] pronounced almost Louisa – odd we could not get turnips in Sweden but got them good at Helsingfors without asking for – at 6 10/.. a few spruces and a very few of them goodish trees – at 6 20/.. little picturesque unpainted hamlet and the fjord among the wood – all the waters of todays inlets of the sea – at 6 27/.. cross wood bridge over water ascend and at the station at 6 28/.. single house

on this side the bridge begins Wiborg [Vyborg] land and here 161 versts from Wiburg [Vyborg]   Good warm room – the forest, rock, water-bridge – pretty scene – but we have seen many places as pretty – ‘the red cottages of the Fins’ that Handbook speaks of p. 137. [Manquerst] – we left the little unpainted hamlet 7 minutes from here; and as for its position being ‘one of the most picturesque’ Handbook had even seen, one can only think he has not been much favoured in the picturesque positions of his villages –

Aborrfors                      Helsingfors 120 ½ w.

Lovisa [Loviisa]              Wiborg [Vyborg] 161

Broby 16.                         St. P- 297 ½

A-     and I sauntered out till 7 ¼ and she sketched the house – went down to the water and bridge again – very pretty – 2 or 3 unpainted cottages or barn most represent the red cottages – one of the without chimney door and window – way smoked buildings which I have noticed often a little way from our station – went into

September Friday 13 – [?] oven to roast ore – had John it is a Finnish vapour bath! dinner now at 7 ¾ to 8 ½ the Fins do not bathe in water – but in vapour – a little like the Russian vapour bath? – very fine day – F62° at 8 ½ pm

[blackjack-15]

The Puzzle is Just the Italian Language — Thoughts on: The Phantom of Venice (VEN)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. Like with all of the Odd Games, there will be a section between The Intro and The Title called The Weird Stuff, where I go into what makes this game stand out as a little strange.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: VEN, RAN.

The Intro:

From the French-inspired streets of New Orleans, Nancy jumps on a plane to Venice and is caught up in international espionage, theft, a mafia ring, and a cast of hostile suspects living in the same house as her.

Sounds a bit like my first semester of college, honestly. Minus the whole “Venice” and “international espionage” parts.

Coming directly after CRY, VEN isn’t quite as thick with atmosphere, doesn’t have any of its philosophy or thematic elements, and is really only famous for being set in Italy and for the fact that they hired four voice actors for our main cast sans regular characters (Colin, voiced by our good ol’ boy Jonah Von Spreecken, counts as a returning VA), but hired 6 distinct VAs for the singing gondoliers, most of whom the average player will never hear.

Yeah, VEN is kind of that type of game.

There’s a lot that makes VEN the trippy experience that it is – more on that immediately below – but nearly none of that makes VEN as confused as it is. Nancy’s hired by a foreign government – sort of – but there’s also a love line – sort of – a roommate story – sort of – and some touristy stuff like overpaying for flowers and gelato.

Taking place overseas, VEN might have been mistaken for a Jetsetting game if it weren’t for the fact that every bit of the game is permeated with the sense that nothing was quite thought out, nothing quite flows together, and there’s no emotional response in anyone – including the player.

That’s not to say that there’s nothing enjoyable about VEN; it’s one of the most highly memed games, in fact, with a catsuit, horrific fashion choices, and little laser roombas all making up the most memorable meme material (and that’s not even touching discount Justin Timberlake and his slides of seduction). It has strongly-painted characters (even if there’s a touch of the caricature about them), the return of recurring characters, the first appearance of a semi-recurring character, poisoned chocolates…it’s almost like someone tried to do STFD, but with a sprinkling of spies and Italy thrown in for good measure.

VEN can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a grind a lot of the time; the required puzzles can be ridiculous, for example, and, in a twist for Nancy Drew games, there’s a puzzle for everyone to hate, no matter if you dislike stealth games, card games, speed-reaction games, or even language puzzles.

Which brings us to the biggest problem with The Phantom of Venice: the common puzzle thread, the thing that keeps recurring, the ‘mission statement puzzle’…it’s just the Italian language. The game hinges on the idea that the player won’t know any Italian (or any Romance language, honestly), and that’s where the majority of the difficulty in the game (barring bad hand-eye coordination) comes from. It’s not a good thing at all, and it brings the entire game down with it.

Well, it has a little help. Let’s talk about the Roomba in the museum, shall we?

The Weird Stuff:

There’s a lot of things that are weird about VEN, no getting around it. But there’s one solid thing that makes it…well, Odd in the way that the other Odd games are qualified, and that’s this one simple fact:

This is a Hardy Boys mystery, with Nancy clumsily inserted in instead of Frank and Joe.

Think about it; called in by a foreign government, espionage, nearly drowning, contacts in the government and police force, an Italian crime ring…these are all things straight out of a Hardy Boys novel, not a Nancy Drew novel. There is a Nancy Drew book titled The Phantom of Venice, true enough, but this game doesn’t bear any resemblance to it besides, well, Venice itself. You could swap out Nancy with the boys and the whole game could go on, minus the whole ‘keepsake necklace from Ned’ thing, and depending on what you ship, even that might fly under the radar.

And no, I didn’t forget the dancing in a catsuit thing. Pure comedy right there.

Nancy’s a homegrown detective; most of her cases are ‘small thing spirals into bigger thing’. It’s not that she doesn’t deal in espionage, at times in foreign places, or stumble upon a crime ring. It’s just that that’s not the type of thing Nancy’s called in for, it’s the type of thing she trips over halfway into a lower-stakes mystery.

The Hardy Boys, however, because of their father’s contacts (in the novels) and their position in ATAC (in the games) are exactly the kind of people that work with police chiefs and security experts and foreign spies and the like. It’s very nearly their bread and butter. Which is why I have a wild but not out-of-the-way wacky sorta-serious theory. Bear with me:

This game was designed as a Hardy Boys game, and Nancy really was clumsily inserted in with a few weeks to spare.

At this point in history – the far-behind time of July 2008, as the Great Recession was descending, the fury of an election year was coming to a head, and you couldn’t go to a supermarket or clothes store in America without hearing OneRepublic tell you that it was just a little too late to apologize – HER wasn’t doing badly, per se, but they certainly weren’t doing as well as they could have been. They weren’t that far from having had to majorly upgrade their engine for a rapidly changing technological world, and there seemed to be no end in sight. HER had plenty of staff change-ups coming because of new sponsors, but weren’t making enough simply with what they had.

Put simply, they needed a carrot. And what better carrot than the fan-favorite Hardy Boys?

There are two Hardy Boys games put out around this time: The Perfect Crime and The Hidden Theft. While neither one was done by Her Interactive, there was a HER Hardy Boys game in the works: the DS masterpiece Treasure on the Tracks. The audience for a Hardy Boys game was meant to be young boys/teenaged boys, but the side audience expected was fans of the Nancy Drew books and games.

So while I know logically that Phantom of Venice was just the latest in a  line of ‘adulted-up’ Nancy Drew books (and games), in my head it makes much more sense to say that it was supposed to be a Hardy Boys game meant to promote Treasure on the Tracks and HER got nervous and pulled the plug, stuffing their erstwhile teen detective in instead.

The Title:

As far as a title goes, The Phantom of Venice isn’t a bad one; you can tell it comes from the ‘hotter and sexier’ Nancy Drew books, and as a collection of words, it works rather well. It’s an evocative title, giving us our location, our crime (‘phantom thieves’ are common as a type of thief), and doesn’t say too much else, so as to not spoil the mystery.

As a title for this game, however…well, so little of the actual game deals with the Phantom that it’s rather non-indicative as a title. By the time you’re 16 Scopa games deep and are wearing a sparkly red dress with a cat mask and sneakers around Italy, you’ve pretty much forgotten about the Phantom and are more worried about exactly what happened to the pigeon you used as a messenger and why exactly flowers and gelato cost so much for 2008.

The Phantom of Venice just…deserved a better, more cohesive, more…well, phantom-y game than it got. That’s all.

Now, onto the mystery!

The Mystery:

Nancy’s been called in by the Secret Italian Police because a thief has been stealing art.

No, really, I’m being serious.

Sure, Prudence Rutherford has a hand in getting her called in, but basically Nancy goes from small-time cases, sometimes getting her name in the papers, to called in by the Italian Secret Police.

Caught up at a house where no one likes her (understandable, given that she just Appears one day, forced on the Ca’s owner, Margherita Fauborg, and her residents at the Ca’), Nancy soon becomes embroiled in a mystery most foul when she discovers ties to the art thief – or thieves – right around the Ca’, poisoned sausages and message-laden chocolate boxes, and shades and shades and shades of tiles offered by the Ca’s resident nerd.

Soon, Nancy is juggling police contacts, heists, Scopa games, and the impersonation of a world-class spy just to give the Italian police a hint as to who might be stealing Venice’s greatest artworks. It gets personal, however, when the Phantom Thief himself shows up, stealing Nancy’s locket which she’s just been given by Ned.

Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing is told in media res? Yeah, very, very weird choice right there.

Honestly speaking, the mystery isn’t…bad, per se. It’s got solid bones – art theft, mysterious thieves, romantic location, interesting-seeming suspects, some spy shenanigans. The problem with VEN’s mystery, largely, is that there just isn’t any cartilage to connect those good bones. Without something to hold it all together, it just kind of falls apart – exactly like a skeleton without cartilage.

Simply put, there’s a lot of mystery, but no plot to carry the mystery along.

The Suspects:

Beginning with Margherita Fauborg, the tanning-obsessed matriarch of the Ca’ Nacosta, seems like a good place to start. Dismissive of Nancy, tourists, and Nancy being a ‘tourist’, Margherita prefers to stay on top of her house tanning the day away rather than take part in any shenanigans.

Having Margherita not be a member of the ring was almost as inspired as having Helena lead it; she’s not nice, does suspicious things, is entirely self-centered – but she’s not a villain, nor does the game really pretend that she is for more than a second. I really like characters like this in the Nancy Drew games, who are honestly just People not enamored with the teen detective, but aren’t villains just because of that.

Also, the story of her husband’s death is just incredibly hilarious.

Her half-ward, half-employee Colin Baxter, on the other hand, is anything but dismissive of Nancy. He’s part of the ‘kinda crushing on Nancy’ club, but is Far less beloved than any other member of that club. It comes from his inherent creepiness, criminal record, and love for tile slides, I think.

Colin, as a suspect…well, he’s just there to make the numbers add up. It’s a shame that his largest utility is to show Margherita’s slightly unscrupulous nature, but he should have been kept as perhaps a figure that Nancy could call to get the story, rather than an in-person suspect.

The other person staying at the Ca’ is Helena Berg, fulfilling the HER mandate for having a German villain in their European games. Having Helena be the mastermind of the ring is a pretty good plot point, honestly, as I expected the first time for her to just be part of it, and to have that be the Big Surprise.

She’s also one of the few villains who promises revenge on Nancy and/or is still out there. I know it would have been Way too soon to have Helena be the returning culprit in RAN rather than Dwayne, but honestly she was a better candidate for it. While any hope of a good ND game (and mostly any game, honestly) is pretty far from me, I always hoped one day Helena would return in all her platinum blonde glory.

Enrico Tazza is our most encountered (kind of) and outwardly suspicious suspect, but he’s not exactly…well, scary. He makes Nancy-as-Samantha play a card game with him, then disappears, despite being the Preeminent Villain Face for the first half of the game.

I do love Tazza, however, just for his presence in the game. He’s cartoony, fun, well-acted…he’s just great. And as a potential villain, he’s great too! You’re never meant to doubt that he’s a ‘baddie’, you’re just meant to go along for the ride. Excellent.

Finally, Antonio Fango is the most prominent suspect that you’ll ever completely forget the name of, due to his lack of screen time despite being the Italian Police’s favorite suspect. He has a whole convoluted backstory involving multiple colleges and degrees, but really he’s just the communication go-fer for Helena’s theft ring.

As a villain…well, Fango does his part, but due to being a nigh-unseen suspect, he’s really just not very memorable. He’s like most of the ring – necessary to establish the numbers, but other than that, a non-entity.

The Favorite:

Despite the plot holes wide enough to steer a gondola through, there are a few things that really make VEN stand out.

The first is Samantha Quick; originally a stage name suggestion from Simone in FIN, she shows up as an actual character in VEN, albeit only by phone and shadow. Her pissed-off phone call to Nancy is a highlight of the game, especially as she ends with the vaguely threatening line “say hi to Ned for me”. Her shadow at the end in Colin’s window is the final clinch to make SQ a personal favorite of mine, and her presence (and the feeling of her presence, which is sort of different) is a high point in the game.

The location of the game is another plus; not so much Venice, but the Ca’ Nacosta itself. It’s a wonderful ‘home base’ location for any Nancy Drew game, filled with light, staircases, and pretty impressive stonework given that just a few short games ago, everything looked like it was animated out of melted gummy bears.

My favorite puzzle(s) are the chess puzzles, honestly. I just kind of like chess puzzles to begin with, and it’s a nice respite from forcing pigeons to do your bidding and avoiding various foods.

My favorite moment in the game is honestly the Samantha Quick shadow, but if I had to pick another moment, it’s where Nancy implies that she’s stripping for money, and Ned just replies that he’ll be really glad when she’s back home safe in the States. It’s such a random, hilarious thing to happen, and Ned’s complete underreaction to the idea of Nancy earning money in such a way (as she makes it sound way worse than it actually is) is what really sells it.

The Un-Favorite:

There are some un-favorites as well, however, that drag down the game to the place it currently resides.

The first is…well, the location and the means used to get Nancy there. As much as I have no problem with Venice, this attempt to open up the world makes little sense when you consider that there’s no way the Italian Secret Police would hinge their hopes on a small-time 18 year old American detective, no matter how highly Prudence spoke of her.

The jumbled plot (when there is a plot, at least) is another point against VEN; the writers just didn’t know what to do with Nancy being in Venice, and so just…didn’t do anything with it.

I also dislike that this game happens in media res. There’s no real reason to do it – and it makes any actions that the player takes that’s slightly apart from the ‘main plot’ – gondola rides, ice cream, looking at slide after slide after slide – seem incredibly out of place and borderline inappropriate. At the very least, if the Hardy Boys were part of the game, they could be yelling her name as she began to drown, which would give a sense of urgency that’s missing from the confused opening.

My least favorite puzzle…well, that brings me to a huge problem: every puzzle in this game is based around the fact that it’s in Italian, and they expect no one playing this to even have an idea of Italian (or any romance language). It boils down to this: the puzzle is just the Italian language, and they have nothing else up their sleeves. I don’t have a least favorite puzzle, because apart from a select few, they’re all the same puzzle, wrapped in slightly different clothing.

The Fix:

So how would I fix The Phantom of Venice?

Coming off of CRY, we’ve now had two games with two (or three) player characters, so that’s what I’d start with doing. Include the Hardy Boys, who have been called on by the Italian Secret Police because of their work with ATAC. They’re helping the mystified police track down this ring of thieves when Nancy mentions offhand that Prudence Rutherford is recommending a stay at a Ca’ in Venice whose owner owes her a favor (as a treat/vacation). Upon hearing this, the Hardy Boys ring her up and ask her help, as they’ve stalled out. They’re not allowed to come into physical contact with Nancy (to save money on animating them/Nancy), but they want her to investigate from her end, as she won’t be suspected at all.

The real reason the Italian Police let the Hardy Boys get her involved, of course, is that they need someone to impersonate Samantha Quick, and they’re having a rough time with their Joe-in-a-wig tests. They need an American who can convincingly pull off the act, and the brothers mention Nancy’s stints undercover. Desperate enough to grasp at anything, Nancy’s officially in.

That along would help beef up the plot, as suddenly we have an actual police plotline with the Hardy Boys (playing as one or the other, it doesn’t matter, or maybe both with different ‘jobs’ to do as one or the other). Diving the suspects is a good idea too; Nancy would take Helena and Tazza as her primary suspects (of course, only Tazza would be the ‘primary’ at the beginning), while the Hardy Boys handled Fango and his side of the ring.

The final puzzle (with the flashlights and such), especially, makes more sense as a Hardy Boys sort of thing. Nancy can snoop around the market and the Ca’, discovering clues as to Helena’s guilt and such. The Hardy Boys take down the ring, but Nancy takes down Helena.

I would also give Nancy a better reason to be undercover at the dance club. It’s a weird little minigame to be sure, but if it’s gonna exist in the game, there should be a better reason. Even better, take it out and have her solve puzzles – something other than the Italian Language, mind you – in order to get money from the police or something.

(Even better, take out the money thing, as someone helping the Police and pretending to be a spy should not be or appear to be short on funds.)

The last big change I’d do is to take Ned out (sorry, Ned, but there’s really no reason for you to be in this game) and swap him for Carson. Carson really should be in a few more games than he is as it stands, and this is a great way to bring in the fact that…well, Carson can’t be entirely Comfortable with the direction that Nancy’s life is going, even if he is proud of her.

Most of the time, Nancy’s family and friends are just used to say “and she’s ‘normal’ and loved and supported even though she’s never home”, and I think using them to establish her character and the stakes is a far better use of these pre-existing characters.

[gumnut-logic]

Flannel (Bit 26 and THE END)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 | Bit 4 | Bit 5 | Bit 5a | Bit 6 | Bit 7 | Bit 8 | Bit 9 | Bit 10 | Bit 11 | Bit 12 | Bit 13 | Bit 14 | Bit 15a | Bit 15b | Bit 16a | Bit 16b | Bit 17 | Bit 18 | Bit 19a | Bit 19b | Bit 20 | Bit 21 | Bit 22 | Bit 23a |Bit 23b | Bit 24 | Bit 25 | Bit 26 (The End)

Okay, this is an ending! Woohoo! Soooo many thanks to all you wonderful Thunderfam peeps who have written almost as much encouragement as I have fic ::hugs you all like crazy:: thank you for reading, commenting and putting up with my crazy during this fic (like this extremely strange posting schedule). Would you believe all these little bits add up to 22,000 words?! I never expected it to be this long (I’m blaming Alan - he was the one who wanted to go visit the mountain - it was supposed to finish just before that!) It went places I never expected. I had no idea when I started where the incident had actually occurred. I also now know a lot more about Washington State than I did before.

Extra thanks to @scribbles97 for reading this bit through and telling me it was okay when I thought it was too soppy. Yes, Nutty got soppy. Must be all the tears this fic has induced - even I got teary when Scotty cracked ::wails::

Anyways, I’ll stop babbling. Thank you being wonderful and I hope you enjoy this last bit.

-o-o-o-

It was John who was the practical one. Aware of his brothers’ state of mind, the suspected injuries hidden by Scott and Virgil, and the sun slowly being overtaken by cloud, urged him to gently suggest that perhaps it was time to go.

He had recorded the monument in fine detail. Enough to project a hologram from his phone. He had thoughts on that. Something that might help. But for the moment, his priority was getting his brothers safely home.

A quiet word with Eos and it wasn’t long before a roar echoed across the mountains and Thunderbird Two made her presence known. The great green cargo ship reassuringly familiar in the sea of emotion this place had invoked.

She came in to hover close, her forward hatch lowered. Of course, Virgil was the first to move towards her, an arched eyebrow in John’s direction. The half-smile John sent him in return was enough. Limping or not, his brother climbed the railing around the lookout and stepped onto his ‘bird. Gordon grabbed Alan, saying something that could not be heard over Two’s VTOL, and together they made their way on to the hatchway.

John stepped up beside Scott, who since releasing Alan, hadn’t looked up and stood staring at the monument.

“Time to go, big brother.”

Blue eyes looked over at him before darting in the direction of the hovering Two and then back to the grey flame.

“I miss her.” Barely heard.

“I know.” John reached out and put his hand on Scott’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

A blue inquiry was shot at him before the muscles under his hand relaxed just a little and Scott let his head drop in a single nod. Almost reluctantly, Scott made his way to Two where Alan offered him a hand to climb on board.

John took a last look at the plaque, his mother’s name and the flame forever frozen, reaching for the sky.

Two’s VTOL flickered in echo.

Green was his mother’s favourite colour.

He looked up and knew Virgil would be in his pilot seat by now, demanding control be returned to him. It wasn’t a guess, more a law of physics.

He let his fingers brush over stone.

A quiet, indrawn breath quickly let out again.

“Bye, Mom.”

The breeze overcame the heat of Two’s VTOL and curled its cold fingers in his hair.

He strode over to the hatchway and climbed on board. As the hatch drew him up into the warmth of Two’s belly, he caught sight of Mount Rainier, still massive, still silent, still there, until it was gone and all he could see was Two’s cockpit and all he could hear was her engines and his brothers.

Two minutes later they were out over the Pacific and heading home.

-o-o-o-

Virgil Tracy wore flannel. No matter the climate. No matter the temperature. He wore flannel. At least when he wasn’t wearing his uniform.

Well, almost any temperature. Apparently, John had spoken to Eos at length after their trip to Washington State. His purpose had been to explain the process of human grief. Her response was to heat the villa to thirty-five degrees centigrade to see if she could get Virgil to shed his flannel shirt.

What she hadn’t expected, nor Kayo and Grandma returning from the mainland unexpectedly, was how many other items of clothing might be shed.

Five Tracy boys in only their underwear as they desperately tried to cool down a hot house on an already hot and humid day, was not a spectacle either of them had expected to see.

John and Eos had a rather longer discussion after that little incident. Eos also made a point of hiding from Scott for the next month or so.

So yes, Virgil wore flannel unless his AI niece’s good intentions tried to cook him.

But what did change after Washington was the words.

Alan made a point of it. Not a big one, but a subtle one. No longer was the topic of their mother banned from conversation and Alan finally had a chance to get to know the woman behind the photos and the videos through his brothers’ memories.

First up he discovered that there was a reason why Virgil wore red plaid. Apparently, he’d had a blanket as a child, now long lost, but he associated it with their Mom and it gave him comfort.

That story appeared one day when Alan came across Virgil sitting out on the balcony. He had the shirt off, but it was laid across his lap. His grey t-shirt pale in the sunlight.

Alan sat down beside him and a rare moment of storytelling just happened. Alan did prod a little with questions, but Virgil appeared quite happy to tell him of the time six-year-old John went swimming in a lake and lost his shorts. Gordon had been just a baby, and Dad wasn’t there at the time, so it had been up to Scott and Virgil to fish their little brother out of the water and protect his modesty.

The fact Gordon’s third word after momomom and dadadadada was jajajajajah made the story all the more amusing.

Scott, too, offered some stories. He mentioned the awards their mother had won. Alan had known his mother was smart, after all her five sons had a decent set of brain cells themselves. But it was more than the awards. It was the stories about the ceremonies and how Virgil had cheered wildly into a dead silent auditorium. How every eye had turned to them, including those of their mother standing on the podium. Her smile had been brilliant.

Unfortunately, that had only encouraged Virgil, and their father had to quiet him down. But Scott remembered her proud smile.

Virgil had been right. There were many stories and his brothers offered them to him when they could and slowly the woman who was his mother grew in his mind into a person rather than just a figure head.

There were still bad days. Days where Virgil would be found shivering on the lounge or silent on the balcony. But the difference was that now the blanket appeared and was wrapped around him with words, reassurance and understanding. All the brothers would gather and they would talk.

About Mom.

About Dad.

About each other.

Eventually Virgil would end up snoring on the couch, usually half on top of one brother or another. And they would all crash there, all silent support...well, all except for Alan, apparently. They all claimed he talked in his sleep. He still wasn’t convinced Gordon hadn’t fabricated the recording he claimed to belong to Alan and his slumber years.

So, it got better. Not perfect, because life never is, but easier.

Some days the flannel comes off, some days it doesn’t. But ultimately, it didn’t matter.

And if Scott froze solid the first time John led them all out onto the cliff that overlooked the caldera to show them the permanent hologram he had installed there, it was to be expected.

If Virgil’s hands flew to his mouth to muffle his reaction, John chose to ignore it.

But the grey flame that now flickered above the volcanic rock said everything.

Their brother had installed a plaque, just like the one on the mountain in Washington, but the words were different.

Jefferson and Lucille Tracy

The source of the flame

Forever burning in our hearts

You were the lightning

To our thunder.

-o-o-o-

FIN.