#I’ve seen it follows clips on tiktok and it seems really intense to me I’m such a pussy w actual horror movies😭😭

[cantofworms]

I’m just gonna leave some recommendations for spooky month movies btw: Trick ‘r Treat is a bunch of scary stories in one movie and it’s really fun, It Follows is such a vibe (not centered around Halloween though it’s just a suspenseful movie), and I love the It movies with Pennywise but you’ve probably already seen them :3

omg thank you sm ???? I’ve never heard of the first one but imma check it out I love short stories,, I used to be obsessed w the scary stories to tell in the dark book series so that sounds right up my alley!!

[twooneztaylorthecat]

When Nobody's Around - Adam Stanheight / Reader

A/N. There was a clip of the song 'Better' by Khalid on TikTok, and that inspired this story. Anyway, continue.

It was dark in the area, December twenty-fourth. The wind howled loudly as it whipped through the tree branches and sent snow spraying everywhere. The air was freezing cold, and the ground was icy. Even snow boots couldn't dull the slip from anyone who tried to walk on it. It was difficult not to tense up against the chill, or even not to zip up the jacket around one's shoulders, but no matter what you did you just couldn't get warm. You kept your head bent and plowed on through the snow. The coffee in your Starbucks cup made your palms hot, but you liked it that way; you didn't like the cold anyway. Adam Stanheight was following closely behind you, along with your best friend. You guys had a mixed friendship, or so it seemed. You knew what you had with your bff, you didn't need to question it. But your relationship with Adam was quite another thing entirely, it dissatisfied you, dismayed you. Often times he'd play off his flirting to be nothing more than jokes, and it hurt you a little. His mixed signals were confusing you. You clutched your tote bag closer and sped up your speed. Getting home was your biggest priority right now; you felt so flustered being around Adam. It made your heart beat faster and your stomach swim chaotically.

In your head you knew there was something there, or at least you wished there was, but you couldn't stop yourself from feeling it. You rounded the corner very urgently. You were in the lead, Adam and your friend had been talking earlier about politics, you didn't want to discuss that. But unfortunately for you, your friend called out to you. "What's your opinion?"

You, who had not been listening, turned around slowly and looked at them dumbly. You could not remember what they had been talking about before. "I wasn't paying attention," you admitted.

"Oh, come on. I was asking-"

"-No, no," you interrupted. "Right now I have other things to worry about than what side of the political spectrum you are on. I'd like to keep our friendship strong before Christmas, then we can ruin it."

"Fine. Then at least tell me this. What side of the 'romantic relationship' are you on? You know, with..." Your bff elbowed Adam in the ribs.

Adam made a face. " 'Romantic relationship'?" He repeated skeptically. "What the fuck are you on about?"

You turned back around and started to cross the street, your heart heavy. The light, which was blurred by the snowy fog, changed red suddenly, and you were pulled back by a strong force. It wasn't like you could have saved yourself, but you did appreciate the thoughtfulness. Not to mention, there weren't any moving vehicles out right now to plow you over, so it didn't really matter. "Thanks," you mumbled, and pulled your arm out of their grasp, you expected it to be your friend.

"Hey. Where are you going?" The voice sounded right behind you. It was quiet and soothing; it sent chills up your spine; like it always did. Apparently the political conversation was over now.

"A-Adam..." you gasped. "I... wasn't expecting you to be there."

"No?" Adam pressed up against your side. "You seem cold. Mind if I warm you up?"

You gagged, feeling embarrassed, and tried to get away, but Adam held you close. "Where are you going?" He asked again.

Your best friend came up to you. "Yeah. No romantic relationship here. What's up love-birds?"

Adam released you. "Tch," he scoffed. "What are you talking about? We're just friends. Can't I care for my friends?"

You stared at him miserably. "Christmas at my house?" You asked, changing the subject.

Your friends looked at you cluelessly. "Oh sure," your bff agreed. "I won't have to rearrange any plans if we go to your house."

"You live in the same place," you muttered.

"That's the point..." your friend grimaced.

Adam had fallen behind you both while you discussed this. He seemed quiet now, and lost in thought. You wondered what he was thinking about. You wished he was talking with you again. You wished he would try snuggling again.

The discussion wasn't a long one, and it ended right as you reached the other side of the road. "So, Adam," you hummed out quietly. "You need anyone to help with baking? I know you said you would like it if someone came over tomorrow morning."

"Only one someone..." Adam winked at you, and laughed. "In all honesty, I just want the company. It gets lonely over there."

"So... No baking?"

"What would you guys be baking?" (Bff's name) asked. "Not like Adam is having anyone over. Not like he CAN. Everyone would be falling on their asses."

Adam muttered something under his breath, then spoke up, "No, you're right. I... will do the baking myself." He chuckled. "That is, if I stop taking pictures of it first."

"You're not planning on doing any baking, are you?" You realized.

"I... was? Actually."

"Pffft." Your best friend sounded dubious.

You yourself were a little doubtful too, but you had the sense to shut up about it. You blew out a breath, which made your bangs fly into the air.

"You look kinda cute when you do that," Adam commented and held your hand lightly.

You blushed, waiting for his infamous 'jk' or stupid reasoning as to why he was 'pretending to flirt' with you, but it never came. You exchanged glances with you friend, but alas Adam caught it, and let go. "I should really stop doing that, shouldn't I?"

You huffed. "I... like it..." You said inaudibly.

Adam had heard you, but he chose not to respond. He started talking about the snow instead.

Fuck, you thought.

Faulkner walked you both to your condo, and held the door open. You were the first inside, but didn't get too far. Adam called you back as your best friend stalked past you to the stairs. You fell back and leaned against him. What was going to happen now? Adam got all cozy with you when you guys were alone, and now that your friend had left, you wondered what was going to happen. "Hey, Y/N?" He looked directly into your eyes. He never flinched or gazed away, but his body language said he was nervous.

You felt obliged to ease his stress. "Yeah? Are you cold, why don't you come in for a minute and warm up?"

"No," Adam said boldly. "I... just wanted to..." He looked away finally. Your heart nearly stopped in anticipation. "Well, you see... I've been thinking about this for a while. Ever since October."

You stared at him silently, hoping he wasn't psyching you up just to joke with you again. "What is it?" You asked in irritation. "Are you playing with me again?"

"What do you mean by that?" Adam didn't seem to understand that you were referring to his 'fake flirting.' Honestly, sometimes you thought that he was completely unaware that he did it. Or maybe he simply pretended to be innocent?

"I'm not kidding around right now, I'm being serious. Here's the deal. I-I wanted Christmas at my place, if that's alright with you. I don't mind if you bring

(Bff's name,) But... Yeah."

Your stomach felt hollow after hearing that. Whatever you had been expecting was entirely not up for debate. You were simply 'friend-zoned', at least it felt like it. You thought about his words for a short moment, then stared at him questioningly. "Will your apartment be clean enough?" It was a joke, but not really. Adam was notorious for have a messy living quarters.

"Haha," Adam said sarcastically. "I cleaned it yesterday... well enough, that is..."

You nodded halfheartedly, still feeling disappointed. "Sure. I'll tell (Bff's name,) the change of plans."

"Yeah," Adam agreed.

It was awkward after that. Adam stayed in the doorway, and you kept the door open. Neither of you knew what to say after that, but you didn't have the heart to close the door and leave him there. It was so intense that you could feel heat rising to face in the cold forty degree (Fahrenheit) weather. Snow was starting to fill up the inside. "I guess you should go?" You didn't want to be rude, but asking it instead of saying it didn't help the bluntness of the sentence.

"Um..." Adam shrugged. "I was wondering something else..."

You looked at Adam in disbelief. In the fifteen minutes standing in the cold, he didn't think to bring this up? "Well, alright then. Any time would be... perfect." You noticed for the first time, how fidgety he had become. You'd never seen him like that before. Something else was on his mind, you knew him well enough to know that. "Go on," you encouraged.

"Why don't you come to my place for the night?" Adam asked unexpectedly. He got straight to the point, you liked that. He added clumsily, "Unless... Uh, you're busy... in the morning? I understand, you know. Of course I understand. Um... Y-Yeah, I just- I wanted to make sure you knew the invitation was there."

You smiled shyly. Having Adam stumbled over his words was a little bit cute. And then you realized what he had actually asked you. Wait a minute!? This couldn't be real! Stay the night with Adam Faulkner Stanheight!? Who could turn THAT down? Not Y/N. Definitely not Y/N. "Okay," you agreed politely, suddenly feeling self-conscious. You ran your hands over your clothes quickly, trying to smooth them out. But Adam didn't care about the wrinkles in your shirt, he just wanted you with him. He pulled you outside again, the chill biting you immediately. You huddled up next to him, trying to get warm.

Maybe this time it would be different? Maybe he'd snuggle with you?

But Adam was not as observant to his surroundings. He led you to his car, which was parked beside the road.

"What's with the car, Adam? We live close enough, you know," you joked.

Your companion only scowled at you as he snapped, "I was at a client's house when you called. And I decided not to leave the car here on the way home."

You sat down in the passenger's seat happily. Adam, of course, took the driver's seat, and as he started up the car the radio blasted you guys unexpectedly, hollowing out each one of your ears. Instead of turning it off, Adam just turned it down. He seemed much more laid back now that it was just the two of you.

In the silence, however, you were able to pick up what song was currently playing. It was Better by Khalid, and this surprised you. You didn't usually listen to this artist very much, but the radio seemed to love playing this song in particular. You hadn't been expecting it to come on while you were in Adam's car though.

Due to the quietness you could hear the words now. You'd never really listened to them before, but now that you could hear them, you felt suspicious.

"Say we're just friends, but I swear, when nobody's around. You keep my hand around your neck, we connect, are you feeling it now?-"

Adam rolled down a window suddenly, cutting off the next part.

You raised an eyebrow, thinking to yourself. Why the hell am I relating to this song so much? No wait, an even better question is, why would it come on the radio when I'm in the car with Adam? It doesn't add up right.

Almost instinctually, you asked, "D-Did you do this on purpose?" You hadn't meant to blurt it out. In fact you usually were pretty good about thinking about what you were going to say or do before actually performing it. This was a rare scenario.

Humiliation engulfed you as soon as the words left your mouth. You rolled your window down hurriedly, trying to act like you hadn't spoken. It was all for naught.

"What?" Adam asked dully.

"I-uh..." you stammered for a minute, then quickly regained yourself. "Yeah. I was just wondering if you chose the song, or if it was the radio?"

"Why would I have chosen it?" Adam sounded confused. "There would be no reason for me to choose it."

"oh... You're right..." You stared out the window and let the wind blow into your face. It was cold but you didn't say it out loud. You did wonder though, how Stanheight managed to live through it. It was so cold it felt like it was burning your skin off. You closed the window again.

Adam pulled to a stop in front of his apartment. "Don't mind the neighbors," he warned. "They don't like newcomers."

"I know. We've had this discussion before."

"I know," Adam said regretfully. "But... I just... like to remind you."

As you both shuffled into Adam's apartment, you gazed at the floor. He told you he'd cleaned up yesterday, and it showed. The normal empty boxes, or bits of laundry, had been taken care of, as well as the large stacks of photographs laying around the place. Adam was nothing if not passionate about his job, and that made you happy. It still amazed you to be able to see the wooden floor beneath your feet, and you desperately tried not to notice the counter, on top of which was an ashtray, which was piled with cigarette ends. The scent of cigarette smoke was thick, definitely fresh, but... you didn't mind it really.

Well, that was a lie. You did mind it, a lot. But that was the thing, that smell reminded you of Adam, so... you didn't mind it THAT much. Come to think of it, having the scent of smoke remind you of someone was probably not a good thing. Not for you or Adam. In fact, Adam probably had it worse. Imagine hearing someone say that the scent of smoke reminded them of you. That didn't seem like a positive thing to hear.

You shuddered at the thought.

"Come sit down over here," Adam said from the couch. "Sorry about the... Everything... I did try to keep the windows open but... it was way too damn cold. And I guess I couldn't stop... If you know what I mean?"

You did. You could understand completely.

Gently, you sat next to Adam, crossing your legs over each other delicately. It was warm in here, or was it Adam's body heat? You were sitting so close to him it was hard to tell. "I'm glad you came over," he said nervously. "You know... It's kinda stupid, but I only said I wanted your help with baking 'cause I didn't know how to invite you."

You smiled at him. "That's sweet. I would have done the same thing," you reassured Adam.

Adam slowly wrapped an arm around your shoulders. In a low tone, he said, "I didn't get you anything for Christmas. I'm sorry, I... Well, I mostly didn't know what kind of things you liked and didn't like."

"It's okay," you said. "I wasn't planning on having Christmas here until my parents' flight got canceled."

"So, you didn't get me anything either?" Adam's voice held some relief.

"Well, no," you tried to disappoint gently. You knew how it felt when you realized you weren't the only one who had done something a certain way. It was very reassuring. Maybe a bit too reassuring. You didn't want to crush his bubble so violently, but there wasn't any way to say it softly. At least, not one that came to mind. "I actually did think of something."

"Oh?" Adam didn't seem bothered, that was good. "What is it?"

You scoffed. "Like I'd tell you. You have to wait."

You had baked everyone some cookies this morning. That's what you were going to give your friends for Christmas. It was the first thing that came to your mind last second.

Adam leaned away from you hesitantly. "Well, there might be something that I thought of, too, but... I don't know... I guess I got scared..." He glanced at a nearby clock, and shrugged. "Is one fifteen AM close enough to Christmas?"

"I don't know," you said honestly. "I'd say, at least six AM."

"Fuck that," Adam exclaimed. "I... don't think I can wait any longer." He laughed nervously. It lasted for so long that you started to wonder if you had missed the joke.

"I'm sorry," you sighed. "I don't think... I follow."

Adam stared at the floor. "No, I'm sorry, that was unnecessary. I just got... scared?"

You narrowed your eyebrows sympathetically. "What is it, Adam?"

"Well... Will you be my significant other? The time we spend together means a lot, not to mention I enjoy your company a lot, too. Our dates have been nice... I know I should have asked you long ago, but... I don't know... I couldn't get up the courage..."

You smiled, but it was only out of uncomfortableness rather than actual happiness. You had no idea if he was playing with you or being honest with you. "Uh... Heh. You're joking, aren't you?"

"No," Adam gasped. He looked flabbergasted. "Why... What makes you ask that? I wouldn't joke about something like this."

Oh, right, you thought dryly. Just everything else about our relationship.

Out loud you said quickly, "Nothing." You regretted doubting yourself. It just made this situation very embarrassing. You felt the need to clarify your answer now. You didn't want to leave Adam hanging after such a significant question. "Well, Adam. The answer to your question is yes! I thought you were never gonna ask me. Well, actually, I thought you were bullshitting me the entire time."

"I didn't go about it the right way," Adam admitted. "That's my fault." He pulled you down so that your head was on his lap, and started to comb his fingers through your hair. "Merry Christmas, Y/N," he murmured. "That's my gift to you."

You inhaled deeply, feeling a strong wave of affection flood you. You had no idea anyone could feel so much emotion at once. It awed you. Gazing at the ceiling you felt your heart swell up. It beat in your chest heavily, loudly, nervously, but you felt soothed at the same time. And in this exact moment, you had good feelings. Maybe it was too soon to tell, however something in your gut told you that you were going to have a long, successful, future with Adam. "Wow," you hummed out quietly. "Christmas is going to be a hell-of-a-lot different this year." Adam didn't stop brushing your hair. You yawned and smiled. "But I can't wait for it."

[writingmaniaa]

Death Note review~

Okay so before we get into the review, I just want to warn you guys that I haven’t written many reviews so don’t be surprised if this is a disorganized mess. I’ll try to gather my thoughts the best I can but I can’t make any promises.

Anyways, I finished Death Note last weekend and I thought I’d share my thoughts! Death Note is a very well known show, and I’d heard of it before I ever got into anime. The concept seemed pretty interesting to me, but my judgmental idea of anime combined with my absolute loathing of subtitles stopped me from ever getting around to it. I finally caved in and watched it, and I’m so glad I did!

I’ll include a brief explanation of the plot as well as a spoiler-free section in case any of you haven’t watched it. After that I’ll get into some of my more spoiler filled thoughts later.

Basically, one day a bored “god of death” named Ryuk drops a magical notebook into the human world to see what will happen. This notebook, known as the Death Note, will kill anyone whose name is written inside. The notebook is found by an average high school student named Light Yagami. It doesn’t take long for him to start using the notebook’s abilities to do what he believes is the right thing. He decides to use the notebook to kill criminals and create a crime-free utopian world. The story follows Light as he tries to evade being caught by the police, led by his father and a detective named L, while enacting his plan.

This show does a really good job of twisting the plot in directions I wasn’t expecting. As I mentioned before, the concept of a killer notebook seemed interesting to me, but I was skeptical if the show could keep its intrigue for 37 episodes. A couple episodes in and it felt like Light was already caught. However, the close game of cat and mouse between Light and L is what kept me hooked for so long. I was always on the edge of my seat, waiting for Light to slip up one too many times and be caught by L. Another thing I found very interesting was Light’s descent into madness as his god complex grew as the story progressed. Light went from being an average teenager to a serial killer frighteningly fast, and I loved watching him struggle to keep his “normal kid” persona intact.

Another thing I liked about the show was actually something that made me hesitate to watch it in the first place. Anime is known for being over dramatic at times, and I’d seen people point to Death Note as an example of this. Many scenes, particularly the potato chip scene (you probably know the one even if you haven’t watched this show), seemed tiresome at first. I absolutely adore them now, and I think that the intensity and drama of scenes like the potato chip scene really add to the show.

I can’t really go into depth about the things I didn’t like about the show without spoiling some things, but I’ll try to sum things up the best I can. The later episodes did seem to drag a little bit, and from what I’ve heard many people agree with me on this. That’s not to say that they were awful, but there was definitely a drop in quality for the last twelve or so episodes. Another thing I didn’t like was the female characters, especially Misa. Her entire character revolved around her obsessive love for Light. All she seemed to do was get manipulated into doing his bidding. Overall, it felt like she was just in the story for fanservice, and her obnoxious personality was rather irritating at times. One of the few other female characters, Kiyomi Takada, also had a similar problem. Her entire character revolved around her loyalty and adoration of Light; she seemed to have no story of her own without him. I’ll go over more things I disliked in the spoiler section, but that’s all for now.

Other than those problems, the show was pretty great! I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes intense shows like this. It’s on Netflix if you haven’t watched it, so go check it out!

Now I’ll be getting into some spoilers, so proceed with caution!

As I mentioned before, there definitely seemed to be a change in quality around episode 25, namely due to L’s death. He was always my favorite character, and when I realized that he was going to die I was somewhat disappointed. As for Near, he felt like a cheaper version of L. He wasn’t completely awful, though. I liked seeing him succeed in places that L failed, but it almost seemed like the writers regretted killing L and they wanted to bring him back in a way. There was a point where Near said something along the lines of “there’s a 7% chance that Light is Kira,” and I actually had to close my computer and take a deep breath because of that (is it normal to feel such a burning rage towards a fictional character?). Despite how emotionless L was at times, Near was much colder and calmer than him, which is why he was able to catch Light in the end. His character wasn’t completely awful, but he felt like a cheap addition to the story at times.

I want to talk about the ending and the last episode, because I have a lot of thoughts on that. From episode 1, I could tell that Light was going to die at the end of the show, so it was no surprise when he actually did. I was, however, pleasantly surprised at how undramatic his death scene was. For a show that overemphasizes mundane things like eating chips and playing tennis, I was expecting some grand monologue from Light accompanied by him dying in the most exaggerated way imaginable. I was definitely not expecting him to die silently in a stairwell from a heart attack, though it felt very poetic that Light was killed by the Death Note in the end.

In regards to the actual events that lead up to his death, I really liked how one tiny slip up on Light’s part led to his downfall. It really made me think about how differently the story would have gone if small details had been changed early on. Would Light have never been caught or would he have been discovered much sooner? Intriguing questions like these are why people are still theorizing about this show fifteen years after it came out.

There were a couple other thoughts I had on the last episode. First, I absolutely loved Matsuda shooting Light like ten times in a row (though I still don’t understand how he was able to run away after being shot so many times). It was great to see him stand up against Light and his reaction seemed very natural for the situation.

Speaking of reactions, I feel like we should have learned what happened to Misa after Light’s death. Her entire life was centered around him, so obviously that would have been a big deal for her. The most we got was those shots of her sitting alone on a train during the credits, but we were never told what happened to her after the story ended. I would have liked to see a little bit more of her, especially toward the end of the story, when it felt like she was just written out of the plot.

I really loved Ryuk’s final words as he writes Light’s name in the Death Note, along with him ending up being the one to kill Light. Ryuk never really seemed to care about Light, he was just hanging around because Light had the Death Note, but with Ryuk’s final words, it did feel like he enjoyed spending so many years with Light and that he would miss their time together once it was over. Like I said earlier, it felt very poetic that Light was killed by the very thing that started the story in the first place.

I’m not the type of person who cries over shows and movies easily. There have been times where I forced myself to cry over a certain character’s death, but I rarely genuinely cry over these things. However, if you slap a sunset in the last episode of a show, I’m going to tear up. There’s something so final about sunsets. To me they represent the end of an era, as well as a bittersweet sense of longing and regret. When Light was running from the warehouse, I did start to feel myself tearing up. Everything from the quiet swelling of the music, to the flashbacks to the first episode, to the sounds of Light’s panting and crying just really hit me in the gut. This scene was so great to me because of what it didn’t have. There was no monologue, no haunting chorus or intense music, no dramatic action shots. This scene conveyed the regret and longing that Light felt in his final moments through the visuals of the sunset, the quick flashbacks, and his body language; as well as the subtle yet emotional music and Light’s desperate panting. I think it’s a great way to close a great story.

Despite its flaws, Death Note excels at telling a memorable and captivating story. That’s why you see clips of the show being used as TikTok audios a decade and a half later. Everything from the characters, to the plot, to the soundtrack and animation add up to make a great show. I’d probably give it four out of five stars. I had some issues with the show, but overall it’s definitely something I’ll be rewatching in the near future.