#With enough ghosts we can SURELY smack some sense into him

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

reblog to send three ghosts after elon musk

[akwolfgrl]

LFT 44

Oh Sanji, here's your bags,” Nami said, changing the subject, handing over the bags he had been carrying earlier.

“Thank you Nami swan!” Sanji dug in the bag. “Usopp here,” Sanj tossed the long nose worry wort a small bottle.

“Ghost pepper hot sauce! I can add a few drops to the Normal hot sauce when it hits people's eye it's gonna hurt even more!”

Zoro finished his drink and took out a bottle of mead he had bought at the fishmongers stall. What did Curls get him? He took a swig of his mead smacking his lips at taste. It was really good. It was no sake but still good.

“Luffy here's some candy that looks and tastes like meat, try to save a piece so I can try and recreate it. ”

“Meat candy!” Luffy took the box and ripped it open and broke a piece off and handed it back before shoveling the candy in his mouth, drooling a little as he sucked on the candy. “fank yuu!”

“And for Nami! A monarch butterfly paperweight,” Sanji took out a round glass object with an orange butterfly on top of a flower.

“Oh Sanji-kun! It's beautiful,” Nami took it in her hands in awe. “I love it, thank you!”

Zoro felt jealous bubbling low in his gut. Would he ever do things like that for him? Would he always come second to Nami? Zoro tilted the bottle back and took another swig.

“Nami’s pretty like monarch butterflies!” Luffy chimed in unhelpfully.

“That makes sense, they do symbolize strength, endurance, spirituality, trust, transformation, and evolution … some people believe that they connect the living to the dead,” Usopp rattled off.

“Oi shit cook got anything to sharpen my swords? Or are you to afraid that I'll kick your ass with three swords?” Zoro wanted Sanji's attention even if it was negative.

“Here shitty swordsman be patient for once,” Zoro caught the bag that was tossed at him with his free hand.

Zoro placed the bottle of mead down and opened the bag, inside was a wooden box, a familiar wooden box. He didn't need to open the box to know what was inside but he did so anyway. He took out each item, Uchiko powder, a mekugi nuki, nugui gami paper, and high grade sword oil. How did Sanji know he needed a new kit without him saying a word? Sanji sat next to him taking some sushi for himself, Mr. Noodles curling in his lap. He put all the items carefully back in the box and placed it next to his alcohol.

“What are we?” He found himself asking.

“Well let me ask you something, did you enjoy our date and do you want to go on more?” He was asked in return.

“Yes! I want more!” Zoro almost cringed at how enthusiastic and needy he sounded. He needed to get a hold of himself, but his heart did funny things when Sanji smiled at him. Like candle light guiding in the dark, soft and flicking hope. He could feel his face flush, maybe he could pass it off as alcohol?

“Then Zoro, do you want to be my boyfriend?”

<>

Zoro was cute like this, his face red as he nodded eagerly. The man in front of him was open and almost vulnerable right now. He had never seen him look like this before. Sanji took his strong calloused hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over Zoro's skin. The difference in their skin tone makes it clear how his own soft pale skin is blinding against Zoro’s own golden tan skin.

“Yes, I want to be your boyfriend.”

“Hah! Usopp shouted, and Sanji turned to him, pumping his fist high into the air, before turning to Nami his hand held out. “Pay up!”

“Damn it!” Nami cursed and slapped money into Usopp's hand.

“Ummm? What just happened?” Sanji asked, confused.

“I was sure that when dense as his own blades, aka that green moron here, came to me to ask for help wooing you. It would take more than one date, Usopp was certain one date was enough,” Nami explained. “Zoro you owe me!” Nami wagged a finger at Zoro before taking one of the few pieces of sushi that remained on the plate.

“What?! I don't owe you for your lost bet, damn witch!” Zoro yelled at Nami.

“Hey! Just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean I'll let you get away with calling Nami names!” Sanji informed the sentient plant life, already gearing up to kick his new lover’s ass.

“Well then maybe I don't wanna be your boyfriend any more,” Zoro grumbled with what could only be called a pout.

“Is that so? Well then I guess I don't need any help with the dishes tonight after all,” he quips back with a teasing smirk.

“What!? No, I’ll help!” Zoro yelled. “I can wash dishes better than you can!”

“Do we even want to know?” Usopp whispered in Nami’s ear.

“No we do not.”

[ruminate88]

Traumatic Events?

My whole life I’ve never understood “Trauma” or “Being Traumatized”. Those words weren’t even in my vocabulary. I knew what it felt like to be “lonely”, “invisible”, “made fun of”, “bullied online”, “exploited.” Never saw any of that as “Traumatic”…..

So week of thanksgiving last year, I decide to decorate my house with Christmas lights early because it’s so much work to put them up and tare them down. Well, I fell putting up the Christmas lights. I mean, I smacked hard on our concrete driveway. When it first happened, I thought I broke my nose. I ran inside and told my husband I fell. He came over to me and watched me sit down and try to calm myself down. I didn’t know if I was hurt or not. Turns out, thankfully nothing seemed broke but I had very very deep bruises on my legs and I was SO SORE the next few days…

Nights in a row I kept replaying the fall in my mind and some reason it was upsetting me, even though I was ok. Weeks go by and I’m still somewhat sore and still have bruises on my legs. I asked my Mom, “Why is taking so long for my legs to heal?” She says, “Healing Takes Time”. Wow. That struck a chord in me!! I had been beating myself up that all these years later and I STILL can’t stop constantly replaying memories in my head of Andrew or Cody. I STILL get emotional over them both.

For the first time, I started to realize that my experiences with my exes were traumatic and it explains so many of my current health issues and mental barriers. It ALL started coming together. I began to have more understanding of my healing journey and yet I don’t understand all the ruminating and I went through this terrible phase where I was dreaming and constantly imagining thoughts of Andrew stalking me…. I googled what it all meant and it said possibly my mind was trying to make sense of the relationship…. 😓❤️‍🩹

A situation I can’t talk about happens with my in laws in February of this year and it’s very very traumatic and just an overall nightmare. It began to feel like my life was a series of events full of trauma… but why? I can’t explain or answer that, I can only say I am still growing as a person and this event has actually opened doors for my mom in law and myself to talk but I fear we could be trauma bonding and idk how I feel about that….

Also, I have way more understanding for my mom in law than most would and yet she always thought becuase I was homeschooled, that I lived under a rock and never experienced anything major in life, yet, I’m the one understanding her situation and helping her out…. Life is crazy for sure.

You don’t realize how deep the wounds are truly. Last night, I had thoughts flashback in my mind of just the amount of confusion I had with my ex Andrew, how truly I can’t believe anything about him becuase he wore this false face and just the whole thing is super hurtful and makes me question my perceptions of my past. I thought I knew him but I don’t and that’s just hard to wrap my head around it. As these thoughts were going through my head, I just felt like “Oh gosh the wounds are soooooo deep.” And it feels like this huge mountain I’m climbing up that I’m healing but one day at a time truly is the only way to approach this phase in my life.

This healing journey feels long, never ending and sometimes crazy but I’m working my way through it. It was enough for Jake to exploit me, then Cody ghosting me but then for Andrew to know I’ve been ghosted and heartbroken and yet to continue to deceive me regardless…. That just pushed me over the edge. Only by prayers and God’s love have I even begun to rebuild myself and my life. It’s been super difficult because it’s no different than pushing your body in the gym to get fit. It’s painful. Growing pains are always painful.

I’ve experienced so many different health issues, emotions, struggles, you name it. I’ve been in and out, up and down. The will to survive and the will to love is what keeps me going. Knowing I have these emotional barriers trying to block me from my present life and yet believing God is helping me each day learn more about the past and the present too. Helping me to forgive myself and my exes. Actively teaching me as I blog, I consistently make new discoveries and find more breakthroughs.

I’ve never talked so much about trauma in my whole life till I am older and finally understand myself. Yet it’s not stopping here. I’m continually under construction and think I’ll always be until I leave this world. I’ll never be a finished project down here. I’m always becoming more self aware each day. I’m more aware of people around me and I’m adjusting to constant change, growth and new outlooks on life. My life will NEVER be the way it was when I was younger. I will forever see the world differently now that I know about emotional abuse and trauma. Yet, the trauma is just experiences I’ve faced and yeah they’ve affected me in various ways but they don’t define me as a person. Just parts of my story. One day I hope to not talk about trauma anymore AND I pray I don’t experience anymore traumatic events but can’t predict the future. Can only ask God to protect me and be with me every where I go. I know I’m making progress even if I don’t always feel as if I’ve gotten anywhere. Patience is key. 🔑

[cartoonsaint]

800 words, contains swearing and mention of benrey's canonical foot fetish, based off of this post (which happens to be deep in my queue rn). this will hopefully become something longer but we'll see!

Sunkist reaches the emergency meeting button before Benrey's kill cooldown is up. Under the sound of the blaring alarm he hears Gordon in the other room shout, "God, DAMMIT," but by the time everyone's audio kicks in he's composed himself well enough to sound almost convincing when he says, "What, what? Who called the meeting, it's barely been a minute, what happened?"

Benrey exhales through his nose, lips pursed. Not bad, but it's not gonna be enough.

"Grrrawf," Sunkist says, sniffing wetly at her mic for a solid five seconds, and reverse-sneezes twice.

fuuuck, Benrey thinks, watching her cast her vote and Tommy immediately follow. Feetman's screwed. Time to jump ship.

"W-wait, what?" Gordon says, voice way too high to be believable. "What'd she say, I, can someone translate—"

"i saw him too," Benrey says. "in electrical. feetman vented— me n' sunkist saw."

Gordon makes a strangled noise, and the sound of a socked foot kicking the wall between them echoes through reality and Benrey's headphones. He bites his lip to keep his growing smirk from somehow becoming audible.

"Really, Benrey? Did you really?" Oh, man, he's pissed. "Are you— are you sure that's what you saw? Benrey? Because I, I wasn't anywhere near there, so—"

"yyyup," Benrey says, casting his vote. "had to bodyguard sunkist all the way to the button, you were, uhhh—" He considers his words as Gordon laughs in disbelief. "chasin' us with a biiig knife."

"No, no, that— there could be an impostor!! And, also, what you said doesn't even make fucking sense, Benrey, because the game doesn't even—"

"There's two impostors, dumbass, that's how the game works," Bubby says. "I'm voting for you just for that."

"NO, I meant— the fucking, the Shapeshifter, they could have—"

"Well if the... person... they saw, wasn't… you, Mr. Freeman," Tommy's dad interrupts, "then where. Were. You?"

"I— I dunno, some hallway," Gordon says. "You guys are all jumping down my throat, how am I supposed to remember when I can't even catch my breath—"

"Iiii dunno," Darnold hums. "I was on cameras the whole time and I haven't seen you in any of 'em. Also, have we noticed that Forzen's dead?"

Benrey grins, imagining that twerp whining uselessly into his mic as a ghost. Benrey'd merc'd him in the cockpit. He hopes seeing Benrey pass as a crewmate now is eating him up.

"I'm the Scientist, it happened almost immediately," Bubby offers.

"Hmm!" Coomer says. "Gordon, didn't you go off with young Forcebeam early this round?"

"No! I— I mean, yes, but I didn't even—" He'd helped Benrey' corner him. Benrey'd smacked a kiss to his mic as Gordon vented away afterwards; he'd never loved the man more.

Oh well. Priorities change; shouldn't have gotten caught so early. Benrey picks at the scratched edge of his game cartridge as votes are cast and Gordon fumbles.

"It— guys, how do we even know they were telling the truth in the first place?? Both of them could be in on it, together, partners! There's two impostors, right? I bet it was Benrey who got Forzen, we all saw him go that same direction, right, and he and Sunkist could be—"

"Mr. Freeman!" Tommy sounds scandalized, hurt. Benrey bites his lip and pinches his nose shut so he doesn't laugh and spoil the whole thing. "Are you suggesting Sunkist would lie? :("

"I�� Tommy, she was literally impostor the LAST ROUND. She killed you. She's been lying this whole game—"

Sunkist chuffs into her mic; the G-Man hums. "I'm afraid I… agree, Mr. Freeman." A checkmark appears next to his name as Gordon groans.

"Nooo, no, I— listen, okay, I, I didn't want to say earlier, but I'm actually the Engineer—"

"Nope!" Coomer casts his vote.

"FUCK," Gordon says, kicking at the wall between them again. Benrey hopes he's not hurting his toes too bad, though he supposes if he is then maybe Benrey'll have to help tend to them later… Maybe if he's good Gordon'll even let him try out the new nail polish he got. It's gonna really pop against Gordon's skin tone. "Did you all already vote for me? God, dammit, you guys, it— I DIDN'T EVEN KILL FORZEN, IT WAS BENREY."

"dude," Benrey says as Gordon casts the last vote, revealing: six beans for Gordon, one orange bean for Benrey, and a lime one for Bubby.

"Oh, Harold, how could you?"

"You claimed to be the Scientist, dearest, when I know well you're really the Professor—"

"BENREY'S THE OTHER IMPOSTOR," Gordon shouts. "WE WERE WORKING TOGETHER, VOTE THAT FUCKER OUT IMMEDIATELY, HE—"

His mic cuts off as his little orange bean falls off-screen. "FUCKER," Gordon hollers in the other room, followed by the crunch of delicate equipment. Red text pops up on Benrey's screen: Gor2inspanish has left the game.

[catreginae]

Ghosts of the Past: Goodbye

Warriors gets a chance to say goodbye and finally get some closure.

This is the first part! Please read it first or this will not make sense.

“They're corporeal enough to hurt him but we're not corporeal enough to do anything about his bleeding? This is bullshit!”

“I'm sure that Laine will come back with help.”

Warriors slowly opened his eyes to find two transparent figures looming over them. One of them was a woman with blue eyes surrounded by freckles and auburn hair that was pulled into a tight bun. The other was somebody with dark hair cut short with dark-brown eyes, and it took a second for Warriors to remember that they didn't identify with any gender... wait where did that come from? How did he know that? He blinked away the grogginess. He knew them.

“Hariette... and Jay... I'm so sorry.”

They were good soldiers. They survived the war with him, only to die in this forsaken field. He could see the injuries that did them in too. Hariette still had a giant gash in her neck and he supposed that being a ghost was the only reason why she could talk at all. Jay had a hole between their eyes from an arrow.

Jay smiled. “Welcome back to the world of the living, Captain,” they said with a playful salute. “But you don't have apologize for anything. Our deaths are not your fault.”

“But-”

Hariette frowned and made to smack him, only for her hand to phase right through him. He let out a hiss at the sudden chill that went through his body. She glared at her hand before opting to just cross her arms with an exaggerated pout.

“I think she agrees with me. Although I would rather have not died, I don't regret any of my choices in life. I'm glad I got to serve one more time too...”

“Yeah, what Jay said! We all knew the risks, Captain. We all knew what could happen. We could have backed out of the military after the war when we got the chance but we stayed because we wanted to keep protecting our kingdom. We were there because we wanted to be. I can't speak for everybody else, of course, but that's the way it is for us.”

Warrior closed his eyes, resisting the sting in his eyes. They shouldn't have to say those things, they should have survived. He should have been able to pull everybody through to the other side but he failed. He failed everybody. Even the ones who survived had a hard time staying in the miltiary, the battle forever haunting their memories.

“I'm-”

“Don't say anything. You're losing a lot of blood and we can't help you,” Jay said, putting one of their hands through his leg to emphasize their point. Warriors shivered in response. “Save your strength.”

“We won't forgive you if you join us tonight!”

“Keep your eyes open if you can though, so we know you're still here. Laine went up to find help.”

Opening his eyes took more effort than it should have. Warriors was well aware of that fact that his strength was starting to wane. He was dizzy, cold, and sore, from from well.

“WARS?”

He blinked. That wasn't from Jay or Hariette but he knew that voice regardless. It shouldn't be taking this long to remember something. It was a voice he knew heard just hours ago...

“Warriors!” Two figures joined his side. Ah, Wild and Twilight. “Dammit, he's pale,” Wild muttered, his hands instantly going to the wound on his leg. Twilight had a hand over his arm wound and Warriors hissed in pain at the new pressure. If they could see the ghosts, neither one of them mentioned them.

“Heading to the old campsite was a good idea, Jay. I found a couple of friends who were already looking for him.”

Another figure, this one with blonde hair tied into a braid that wrapped around her head. Her eyes were brown and kind and easy smile graced her face, despite the fact that there was a giant wound that stretched from her left shoulder down to her right hip. Laine. He could remember her being one of the mother hens of the group. Of course she would find the others.

“You're in good hands now,” Laine continued. “We should get going. If we're going to stay, we shouldn't burn ourselves out.”

“True, true,” Hariette mumbled, standing up. She saluted. “It was good to serve once again, Captain! Keep kicking monster butt for us, got it?”

She vanished. Jay was the next to stand, also offering a salute of their own as they began to fade. “It's been a pleasure. Don't grieve too much for us – just do your best for us.”

Instead of saluting, Laine bent down and unlike Jay or Hariette, he actually felt her hands as she placed her hands on both sides of his head, tucking his hair behind his ears. His eyes stung again as tears welled up in his eyes. “You're doing great, Link. We're all so proud of you.”

With that, Laine was gone. All of them were.

Suddenly, he was being lifted up and a bottle was placed at his lips. He drank the potion that felt way too thick and before he knew it, everything went dark again.

~+~

Warriors opened his eyes and immediately closed them once he found the sun directly overhead. He tried to turn so that he wasn't looking directly into the sun when he opened his eyes again, but more than one pair of hands stopped him and rolled him to the other side instead. Oh yeah. His arm. Even if the potion did close the wound, it would still be sore for a bit. Once comfortably situated on his side, he opened his eyes again. Wild was beside him.

“Where... are we?”

“Twi took you back to camp,” Wild said. “Can you sit up? Hyrule and Sky said you should drink some more potion if you can manage.”

He blinked as he processed his words. He rolled back on his back, planted his hands on the ground and tried to push himself up but the pain in his arm made it difficult to do so. It was only thanks to Wild supporting his back and taking some of the weight off of his arm that he managed to sit up. He muttered an apology as the cook was forced to bear more of his weight, letting him rest on his chest as he pried the cork off of the bottle to pass to Warriors. Thankfully, he had just enough strength left in his body to take bring the potion to his lips and drink the potion on his own.

It didn't taste like a red potion he was familiar with, and it made him feel drowsy as well but he suspected that more to do with the blood loss and exhaustion he already had. He sagged into Wild's arms and chest.

“It's alright, you can go back to sleep. You're safe now.”

He frowned but he couldn't fight how heavy his eyelids were...

~+~

Warriors woke up feeling a lot better than he did before. It was still bright out, so he hoped he was only asleep for a few hours. He was well enough to untangle himself from his blankets and join the others at the campfire where Wild was cooking lunch, so he was thankfully correct about the fact that he didn't sleep all day. He found a seat beside Sky, because he knew Sky was the one person who didn't care if anybody used his shoulder for extra support. Everybody greeted him, asking him how he was doing, but he could tell that they were hoping for more.

And he owed them more.

He didn't know if everybody saw Laine or if it was just Wild and Twilight. He did know they would have seen his sorry state when he was carried back to camp, though.

“About last night...” he started, wringing his hands.

“You don't have to say anything if you don't want to,” Sky mumbled.

Warriors elected to ignore him. “The field we were on last night before I took us here? It was the sight of a brutal battle. We won but the causalities were pretty devastating,” he started, avoiding the gaze from the others.

“Was this during the war?” Time asked. Warriors merely shook his head.

“No, it was afterwards. The fighting didn't stop just because the war did. There were many monsters still out there at the time, still are a lot of monsters, and they're opportunistic. The monsters in my era aren't necessarily smart but they know an opportunity to attack when they see one. The war wiped out our supplies and many of those who survived were too injured to continue to fight or left the military to go back to their day jobs. We were trying to assist with the reconstruction as well. We were stretching everything pretty thin. So when a large group of monsters attacked.... we weren't prepared.”

“So the memories were getting to you last night.” Wars didn't know who said that but he nodded along.

“I wasn't only the one either. I guess none of the soldiers who died that day really moved on. I saw them again last night as ghosts. Some of them blamed me for their deaths and attacked me, actually landed some hits too, but when I was starting to struggle, some of them came to my defense... I'm not sure where I would be without them.”

Warriors didn't consider it before, but there was a good chance he could have died that night if people like Jay, Hariette, and Laine hadn't shown up last night to defend him. He was tired and injured and for a while there, horribly outnumbered. The odds weren't in his favour, especially when he lost consciousness before the battle was even over.

Sky put a hand on his on his bicep and pulled him closer. “It's not your fault they died, Warriors. I hope you know that.”

He wasn't too sure about that. Logically, he knew there wasn't much more he could have done at the time, not with the fact that they didn't have much time to respond, they didn't have the supplies to respond, and without the number of soldiers he was used to. All around, the situation sucked for everybody. However, there was that little voice in his head that wondered if he could have done more. What if he had more soldiers doing patrols and scouting to find the monsters earlier? What if they had a different formation once they were one the field?

What if what what if what if what if what if what what if what if what if what if what if

Then he thought of what Hariette, Jay, and Laine said, and their words pushed the little voice in his head back a bit.

“Wars?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“If this place has bad memories for you, do you want us to leave?” Four asked. “You should probably rest up a bit more but if you can't rest here, we'd be happy to move.”

“The memories are unpleasant, that's true. Yet... I actually want to stay. Just for one more night.” He didn't need to look up to know that everybody was confused. His response was weird, even to him. A bunch of people made it clear that they didn't want him around, but for some reason, he felt like he still had some unfinished business, something he still had to do and he couldn't stand the idea of leaving without doing it. He needed something that felt like closure.

“If you're sure, that's what we'll do,” Time answered.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. He sat in silence, trying to figure out what would settle his heart.

~+~

Warriors still felt a little weak when he woke up the next day and forced himself through his morning routine. He washed his face, brushed and styled his hair, and frowned at the bags under his eyes. He had some lotion that made them look less like he got punched in the face but he knew the only thing that would really hide them was makeup, which he did not have on him at the moment. Warriors made a mental note to stock up.

Once he was dressed and mostly ready to go – ideally he would rest another day to be battle ready but he was at least fit for travel – he shoved a ribbon into his leather satchel and located Wild, who was sitting with Twilight as both of them looked down at the slate. Twilight was looking at it in suspicion, glaring at the slate like it insulted his mother.

“Wars!” Wild said with a grin as he looked up from his slate. “How are you feeling? You were still kind of out of it yesterday.”

“Well enough to travel, at least.”

“Good! We're glad you woke up early, there was something we wanted to ask now that it's just the three of us,” Twilight started. “When you took a long time to come back, Wild and I went to go search for you, and that's when we came across the ghost. We couldn't hear her but it was clear that she wanted us to follow her and well, it was a good thing we did. Who was she?”

Warriors looked at his feet for a moment. “That was Laine. She was one of the mother hens... she liked fussing over us after a rough battle or trying to send us to bed if she thought we weren't sleeping enough. You don't know how much you appreciate people like that until they're gone...” He rubbed at his face with his hand. “The other two were Jay and Hariette. They were in my platoon for the entire war, even when others decided to betray us, and they died in this field. Jay had a good head on their shoulders and they were one of the voices of reason. They were good at mentoring the new soldiers too because they were good at easing their anxieties. Hariette... she lived her life putting her all into everything. Whether she was happy or angry, she was never really quiet about it. She brought a lot of energy wherever she went.”

“It sounds like they were really good people,” Twilight said softly, taking a glance at his own feet. Warriors just let out a sigh and instead of trying to continue that conversation, he tried to circle back to why he wanted to talk to Wild in the first place.

“Wild, do you have an old sword or halberd you're not using and wouldn't miss?”

Wild simply responded by tapping on his slate a couple of times and producing a cracked but not yet broken sword. He quirked an eyebrow as he handed it over. Warriors thanked him and headed back down the hill and to the field where he had to fight for his life for the second time. He walked to the middle of the field and stabbed the sword into the earth, then tied the ribbon he stashed in his satchel earlier to the hilt. It was a simple marker but as far as spontaneous markers went, it served its purpose well enough. It was fitting for soldiers too, at least in his own personal opinion.

Warriors stepped back, taking in the sight of the small sword in a large field, the ribbon he tied on blowing gently in the cold breeze that welcomed him to the field the night the portal took them to the field. It seemed so small, but he knew that if the battle was recognized by historians at all, it would probably just be a footnote. It was only big to him and everybody who fought in that battle, whether they survived or not.

“I'm sorry so many of you died...” he started. “I'm sorry I couldn't help more people. I'm sorry more of you aren't here today. I was your captain, your deaths were my responsibility.”

He knew his words meant little to those who died, assuming any of them were actually listening to him at the moment. After all, he was the one who was still alive and that was more than he could say for any of them.

“But... I'm not ready to join you any time soon. I'm not sorry that I'm still alive. I intend to fight and protect Hyrule and all who live in it until my last breath. I'm not going to let your deaths be meaningless. I'm not asking for forgiveness... just the chance to keep fighting and try to do right by you guys.”

Suddenly, the cold wind from before was suddenly warm. The breeze that previously chilled him to the bones suddenly felt like a comforting campfire, the kind of campfire that he used to sit at with people like Hariette, Jay, and Laine. Warriors glanced at the sword again, blinking in confusion.

“Wars!”

He turned around and found Wind, waving his arms.

“It's time for breakfast, come on! Time says we can't leave until you eat!”

Warriors looked at the sword and the little ribbon tied to the hilt once more. He managed a small smile. “I'll be back one day, with something a little nicer. I won't forget any of you, I promise.”

“WARS!”

“Coming!” he called, running back towards the hill to rejoin Wind.

“What were you doing?” Wind asked.

“Just... saying goodbye for now,” Warriors said softly.

It's finally done! I don't like jumpy it is but… it is what it is. I hope everybody likes it.

[awesomelyanxiouspanda]

A Fiercely Bleeding Heart (Lucifer/OFC): Chapter 5

Story summary: Emery (Our lovely OFC) owns a thriving coffee shop smack dab in the middle of Monroe City, Mo. She’s well known for her unique coffee drinks and her “coffee charity”. What happens when a woman with too much heart- and not nearly enough common sense- comes across the fallen archangel in his mostly human state? Will Lucifer behave, or will he bite the hand that (quite literally) feeds him?

Warnings/Tags: Loosely based around S.13 E. 13! Plus size OC, OC is gullible and a big softie, Lucifer in his nearly human form, Soft Lucifer, Dean and Sam cosplaying FBI agents again, Canon typical violence, Non-Canon compliant story line, Soulmate AU-ish?, canon typical cursing, NOT a slow burn, not beta’d we die like our king Crowley, smut, vaginal fingering, oral sex (male receiving), unprotected smut, commitments are made, soulmate bonds are formed, praise kink, Luci can dirty talk with the best of them (we all know his sass would be sinful in bed),  drama coming up though because we can't be happy 24/7 amirite?

A/N: Come one, come all. We've got emotions. We've got sex. We've got... praise kinks?  Again, it's been a while since I've written smut so here's to praying (to Lucifer) that it's good!

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

“So… are you going to explain the soulmate thing?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me as I traced up and down his torso.

His stomach clenched hard, cock bobbing up reactively as my fingers traced the sensitive line of skin right above his jeans. I could clearly hear the heavy sigh from where my ear rested atop his chest but didn’t say anything, giving him the time he needed to reply.

“It’s a little hard to focus when you’re doing that, princess,” he groaned when my finger dipped just beneath the denim.

“Fair, but we’ve got some time to kill,” I replied cutely, “So, soulmates?”

I sat up carefully as he adjusted his position to lean up against the headboard then rested my against his belly, enjoying the prickly sensation of his happy trail tickling my jaw as I began trailing little kisses across his abdomen.

“Fuck, uh, okay. Quick rundown. Dad was big on giving the illusion of freedom of choice. This was one of the few things where he actually did give it though,” he started, breath catching as my lips ghosted over his navel, “Each human has a handful of possible soulmates, and they can choose to either accept or deny the bond, but before the decision is made, they experience an intense attraction to one another.”

“What would happen if you denied it?” I asked, eyes darting up quickly to read his expression.

“Nothing really. The attraction would die out eventually and their link would be severed,” he replied.

“And if they accepted it?”

There was no hiding the breathiness in my voice and I could feel my face warming up when he smirked down at me. A hand ran into my hair and pulled on my curls gently.

“Then the bond is created. Once humans are bonded with their soulmates, they experience a higher rate of shared emotions, higher sex drives, compatibility for future children, so on and so forth,” he explained, “And the bond can never be severed unless they both choose to end it or one dies early.”

“And… And Nick was one of mine,” I murmured.

For a moment, part of me wondered what it would have been like if I had met the human before the angel, but I just couldn’t picture it. I was sure Nick was great but there was just something about Lucifer’s personality that drew me in as much as his looks.

As his fingers massaged my scalp gently, I felt another wave of contentment wash through my veins and I couldn’t help but nuzzle my face against him.

“Wait,” I said suddenly, “But you’re an angel. It was Nick who I had the possible bond with, not you, so-”

“Why am I affected?” he finished with a sigh, “While in our human vessels, we still experience the same draw that the human would experience. Most choose to deny it, too focused on being good little soldiers for daddy, buuuutt… If an angel chooses to bond with their vessel’s soulmate, it means they’re bonded to the human.”

“Oh.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look up at him after that, my thoughts going a million miles an hour. Did that mean we were bound now? Or was there something else that had to be done for that? Of course, there was the chance that he wouldn’t even want to create that bond. He made it clear his dislike for humans. Maybe this was just morbid curiosity on his part.

As his fingers tightened in the hair at the nape of my neck, a flash of lust overtook the uncertainty plaguing my chest and a gasp escaped my lips.

“I can practically feel you overthinking, princess,” he sighed, “Do I need to fuck you dumb again?”

God fucking damn it. How did he know all the right things to say?! For a self-proclaimed almost-virgin, he sure could dirty talk. But then again, I do remember the bible talking about Satan’s silver tongue and he was quite verbose in every other matter concerning communication, so why should sex be any different?

Worrying my lower lip, I tried gently pulling away from his hold and let out a sigh of relief when he let me move. I quickly resumed my previous trek, pressing open-mouthed kisses and soft bites along his flesh until I came to the edge of his jeans once more.

“I think I’m rested enough,” I murmured against his stomach, “If you’re okay with this?”

The way his cock jumped against his zipper told me everything but I still waited for his answer.

“Yeah, go ahead,” he said, voice thick and low with obvious need.

A little grin crossed my lips as I curled my knees beneath me and set about popping open the button of his pants, wasting no time unzipping the fabric and jerking it down his thighs. Thankfully he helped me get it to about his knees before I abandoned the project, attention now solely focused on the noticeable bulge straining against his dark blue boxer briefs. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before leaning down once more, balancing myself with one hand on his meaty thigh while the other gently pulled at the waistband of his shorts. I made sure to pull to one side only to keep his cock covered while my lips explored the slight dip of his adonis belt.

The gasp he let out nearly took my breath away and I couldn’t resist trying to draw out another one. His skin was warmer here, though still cool compared to my own. It was an interesting sensation against my tongue as I traced the line. On my way back down, I let my teeth gently graze his flesh and he jumped in place with a soft curse.

“You’re killing me here,” he groaned as I moved to copy my motions on the other side.

“Tell me you don’t like it and I’ll stop,” I shot back quietly.

As I stretch over to take a soft bite of his hip, I was almost thrown off balance when one of his hands came up to smack my ass hard. The slap was almost as loud as I cry I let out, but I didn’t let it deter me from my destination.

“Just remember, as much as you tease me, I’ll give it back tenfold,” he threatened.

A little whimper filled my throat at the thought and I finally peeked up at him from under my curls.

“You wouldn’t,” I retorted quietly.

Lifting one brow, he smirked and asked, “Wouldn’t I?”

My eyes fluttered shut in shock as I felt his fingertips trace along my ass, deviating to follow the line between my thighs and cheeks, only to stop right before touching where I needed him most. A pitiful whine was all I could manage when I was finally able to look at him once more.

“Fine, you win,” I pouted.

Honestly, I wasn’t really all that upset. I was just as eager to please him as he had me. Fingers tugging on the elastic symbolically, I pulled at the offending article of clothing and was rewarded with a snap of his fingers, leaving him deliciously bare.

“That shouldn’t be as hot as it is,” I blurted out as my eyes roamed his long, lean form.

Of course, he was perfect everywhere. It had been obvious from the moment his jeans were down but now there was no denying his size. Thankfully, he wasn’t overly long, probably just a bit over average if I had to guess, but, gods, was he ever thick! He was also curved upward, slightly to the left, made even more evident by the puddle of precum dripping onto his belly. Fuck. If I was blessed enough to be able to actually fuck him, I knew I’d feel it for days after.

Nerves grew frantic in my stomach once more as I finally shifted into the perfect position, ass up and head down, balanced with one of his thighs as I leaned in close. I tried to throw out all worries of what could go wrong and instead focus on the now, on the literal perfection that I was granted to touch. With a steadying breath, I let my fingers teasingly trace up the underside of his cock. The way he shuddered made his dick tremble and I couldn’t help but smile. It was reassuring that he was actually into this too.

Leaning down further, I gingerly lapped up the evidence of his excitement and earned a gruff moan in response. I gave into temptation and wrapped my hand around him, marveling at the fact my fingers couldn’t even touch, though only slightly.

“Why are you perfect?” I scoffed under my breath.

Unfortunately, he heard me, evident by the snicker he let out.

“Far from perfect, princess, though I appreciate the compliment.”.

I made another note in my head, this time to tell him exactly how perfect he actually was later, then ran my thumb over his head. He shuddered again as I dragged the pearlescent liquid down his length. I took my time exploring him, tracing the veins and dips of his cock, making him twitch and gasp, before finally taking him into my mouth. It was a struggle at first, my jaw aching at the stretch, but the burn was so worth the sinful snarl he unleashed.

One of his hands came to tangle in my hair and the other found my bottom once more. There was no prelude to his touching this time. As I leaned forward to sink farther down his cock, his fingers hastily found my core and thrust in.

My moan was muffled around him but there was no denying he could feel it as well as he heard it with the way his hips canted up. I had to focus hard not to gag around his length as he thrust against my throat but I managed it, just barely. The next time I wasn’t so lucky, the little noise of discomfort apparently enough to get him to let me up some. I took a deep breath through my nose before going back down. I’d be damned if I wouldn’t make it work. This wasn’t the first time I’d deep-throated someone, although he would be the biggest.

He let out a huff of frustration before shifting his grasp on my hair, managing to pull most of the strands back and expose my face.

Fuck. He was watching. Of course, he was, what guy didn’t? But the sudden added pressure made me double my efforts. If he wanted a show, I’d give him one, though I wasn’t sure how nice it was with the tears streaming down my face.

Unfortunately, my concentration was broken when he hooked his fingers down and started fucking me at the same pace.

“You’re crying,” he grunted out shakily.

I popped up enough to explain that it was a natural reaction to my gag reflex and assured him I was fine before I swallowed him down once more with difficulty. His thighs tightened beneath me as I dug my nails into his skin, and, in turn, he started rubbing my clit.

“Sh-Shit! You can’t- I can’t focus when-”

“You’re doing perfect, doll, don’t stop,” he rumbled lowly.

A little whimper fled my lips as the pleasure started building once more in my core. It was hard not to fall into the desire to chase my own climax when he was working so hard toward it. I managed to shake myself free with a shudder and decided to change trajectory, letting my hand take over where my mouth left off while my tongue found the tender flesh of his balls.

“Oh fuuucckk!”

My scalp screamed with pain as he jerked unconsciously against my hair but I fought through the burning, my hand picking up pace until the slick sound was heavy in the air. There was no denying how close he was with the way his body went taut under me, his cock throbbing with each pass of my fist and his balls pulling up tight. I quickly shifted and wrapped my lips around him once more, letting my hand take over the gentle caressing of his sack. His precum was thick over my tongue and I had to keep swallowing it down to avoid drooling like an idiot.

“Stop, stop- Emery!”

I let him pull me up, panting heavily for air as I tried to ask what was wrong. Had I hurt him? Before I could fumble out a full sentence, I was suddenly thrown onto my back with him over me once more.

“Tell me yes,” he demanded, voice heavy with sex and need, “I need to hear it.”

“Yes, Lucifer, please fuck me,” I gasped out.

With his next breath, he thrust in.

Pain came first, burning at being stretched so suddenly and thoroughly, and I couldn’t help the yelp that escaped. My nails bit into his shoulders as I tried to remain calm and breathe through it. Despite the fact I was soaking wet, my body was having just enough trouble adjusting to his size to be problematic.

“Emery? Do you need me to stop?” he asked as he halted his movements.

I hastily shook my head no and managed to open my eyes enough to find his worried gaze. I was once again hit was a mixture of emotions for the fallen angel that made my heart twist in the best ways.

“I just need a minute. You’re bigger than I’m used to, and, well, it’s been a long time,” I admitted timidly.

“Of course, just tell me when you’re okay.”

Rather than sit and wait awkwardly as most would, Lucifer surprised me with a hungry kiss. My body instinctively clenched around him, tearing moans from us both as our tongues battled. It was strange to have such inexperienced kisses that felt so right. After a few moments, I could feel my muscles relaxing and it drew out a relieved sigh.

Giving a gentle bite to his lower lip, I whispered, “I’m ready, please move.”

Thankfully he didn’t waste any time, though he definitely took it much slower now. It was daunting to feel the way my body had to accommodate him. It was also the hottest thing I’d ever experienced. When his hips finally met mine, there was a simultaneous relief between us both.

“You okay still?” he asked softly.

“Very,” I assured him, sneaking in a quick kiss.

That was all it took. Given the go-ahead, Lucifer drew out and slammed back in. Gone was the pain, pleasure replacing it with ferocity.

“Oh g- Lucifer!” I whimpered into his neck.

I couldn’t help but cling to him as he set a steady pace.

“You feel sooo good, princess,” he growled.

My heart fluttered with joy and I hastily pulled him into another biting kiss.

“So perfect, Lucifer. Never felt this good,” I whimpered.

The way he shuddered and kicked up the rhythm told me all I needed to know. Lucifer was apparently as much a sucker for praise as I was. Leaning up, I fought through my lust-fogged mind and nibbled at his throat, clenching my muscles hard around him in a way that had him growling as loud as I moaned.

Every drag out left my core feeling empty and each thrust back in filled me beyond belief. It was overwhelming and I never wanted it to stop. I could feel the tears returning as I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts and chased that familiar high.

“Wha-”

He shifted back suddenly, much to my surprise, but my question was interrupted with the way he jerked my hips down. Spread open and back arched as my thighs rested over his, I felt beyond exposed. A flush covered my face as his hand slowly ran up and down my belly, arguably the plushest part of my body save for my ass.

“So beautiful,” he mused, almost as if to himself, “How did I get this lucky?”

Fuck, and there were the emotional tears. I prided myself on being pretty damn good at keeping my emotions at bay during sex but, with Lucifer, it was a whole other beast. Trying to push past them, I slipped my hand down and linked our fingers, earning a surprised look from the archangel.

“I should be the one asking that,” I teased back softly.

He smirked and gave a quick squeeze to my fingers as there was a shift in his gaze before grabbing my hips once more, holding my frame still, and giving an experimental thrust.

I nearly came apart in that instant, my hands tearing at the sheet in some attempt to hold onto my sanity. A debauched moan was all I could manage as my body arched back in search of more, my toes curling into the bedding behind him. The angle created a deadly combination of depth and pressure, his cock dragging oh so perfectly against my sweet spot with each movement.

“That good?” he asked cockily.

“Fu- You- You know it- it is,” I bit out, sounding more whiny than snippy as I had intended.

With a snap of his hips, he retorted, “Hmm, I don’t know. You don’t sound very pleased.”

Despite mortification clawing up my throat, I quickly moaned out, “Noo! Please, please, Lucifer, I need- I need you. Just-”

“Shh, okay, it’s okay,” he cajoled almost condescendingly, “I’ve got you, princess. I did promise to fuck you dumb, didn’t I?”

It felt hard to think, to breathe, to do anything other than exist when he started rocking his hips; And then he brought his thumb to my clit, stealing every bit of air from my lungs.

“Ooh, oh fuck, you’re going to come, aren’t you?” he hissed, “I can feel how tight you are. Do it. Be a good girl and come for me, princess.”

Hearing those words alone was enough to send me over. Lips parted in a silent scream, I scrambled to hold onto something as the torrential bliss coalesced. To my relief, one of his hands found mine, and he held on tight as he shifted over me once more, never once losing his rhythm. It wasn’t until he kissed me roughly that I found my voice once more, my scream finally coming to fruition.

“Fuck, that’s it,” he panted out against my lips, “So good for me, so good to me, only me”

One arm hooked under my lower back, bending me to his will, while the other pinned my hand beside my head as he panted open-mouthed kisses along my jaw.

“Only yours, Lucifer,” I agreed ardently.

Brows furrowing in disbelief, I held on tight as his thrusts grew hard and frantic, and I felt another orgasm coming on fast. The slap of bodies was loud in the room but the breathless noises and moans he let out were so much louder. So many men were silent. It was such a fucking thrill to hear the way my body affected his.

“Say it again,” he damn near begged.

“I’m- I’m yours, Lucifer,” I keened out softly, “As long as you’ll have me, I’m yours!”

He drew back just enough to catch my gaze before crashing our lips together, pulling his arm from underneath to grab bruisingly hard on my hip. The sudden ferocity sent my pulse racing but there was no denying I loved it, nor the way I was practically begging him for more as his thrusts grew violent. And then I felt it, the tell-tale stuttering of hips and the way his entire body shuddered, but for the first time ever, I could feel the flood of heat into my core as he came. That was the last push.

A broken cry escaped my raw throat as I bucked up to meet his stunted thrusts, soaking in the pleasure that rushed through every inch of my body. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to become oversensitive and I couldn’t help but collapse in on myself as he lazily thrust in once more.

To my relief, he seemingly understood my predicament and stilled his hips, still buried as deep as possible in me. As he relaxed above me, I wrapped him up with shaking arms and pulled him closer, enjoying the weight of his body settling on me. It took some massive focus to keep my hand steady enough to find his hair but I managed and began running my fingers through his blonde strands.

“Princess?”

My lips quirked up at the name and I responded, “Yes?”

“Were you serious?”

The question caught me off guard. It took a second to sort through what he could mean, but then I remembered my last words. Face warming, I let out a positive hum.

“You mean the being yours thing?” I asked to clarify.

“Mhm.”

“If- If you want that, yes.”

My voice was barely louder than my own heartbeat but I knew he heard me from the way the last bit of tension eased from his muscles.

“Good, because I don’t think I could let you go even if you wanted to,” he muttered, voice a mixture of amusement and darkness.

[otakween]

0-Sen Hayato - Volume 3

It feels like it took me a whole year to get through this one lol. It's boring, but not the worst thing I've ever read. Sometimes something spicy will happen (like someone dying or the romance side plot inches forward) and that's enough to keep me going.

Ch. 23

-In this chapter the gang tries to blow off some steam by goofing off and dancing (and getting drunk) but then their superior's superior comes in and chews them out. Hayato and Ishikawa get exiled (?) and sent to the jungle where they run into "a ghost." Meanwhile, the Americans plot their attack.

Ch. 24

-Hayato and Ishikawa find Ishiki in the woods wounded and bring him back to camp despite being exiled. Ishiki warns them about the encroaching enemy and then we cut to some sort of D-Day-esque scenario on the beach. The squad isn't allowed to participate in the battle because their territory is the skies, so they just watch on.

Ch. 25

-The boys continue to scramble to kill themselves for their country and for glory...this is seriously the least relatable thing I've ever read lol

-I don't really get how war works. If the air force can just attack the people on the ground, why didn't they just always do that? Lack of resources maybe? It kinda seems like an OP tactic...

Ch. 26

-This chapter was WILD. Hayato convinces the gang to kill a bunch of monitor lizards and dump their blood in the ocean. Then when the bad guys (Americans probably) attempted to storm the beach a bunch of sharks gathered and ate them all. That's wacky enough, but then they said that 10,000 soldiers were eaten!? Wtf...not possible. (I googled this and apparently there was a WWII incident where an American ship sank and 890 people were left in shark infested waters, probably the closest thing irl to this manga's ridiculousness).

-This manga has an anti-kamikaze stance, but it also shows its heroes as constantly ready and eager to die for Japan so...mixed signals.

Ch. 27

-I kinda liked this one, at least we got to meet Ishiki's sister (now a nurse). Of course everyone instantly has a crush on her because they're women-starved

-Wtf was up with the "muu" grass? It was strangely magical, like a tentacle monster? I guess since the last chapter jumped the shark (hehe) they feel like they can get away with this magical realism BS.

-Ishiki is WAY too committed to his rival bit. Someone needs to smack some common sense into him before he gets himself killed for real.

Ch. 28

-Ishiki continues to act recklessly, but I guess he's just getting away with it for now? Not sure if he just figured out how to compensate for his bad eye or if he got lucky and something bad will happen in the future...

-I think Hayato's dad just died? Hard for me to tell cuz all middle aged men look identical to me. Hayato did say "I sense a disturbance in the force" (paraphrasing). So I'm probably right. That seems like a pretty major character death for this series so I was a little taken aback!

Ch. 29

-Okay phew, I got it right. In this chapter Hayato finds out about his father's death and inherits his plane and katana. I thought the emotion of it all was handled pretty well without going into any melodrama. Since soldiers sign up knowing they might die (especially Japanese soldiers in WII) they'll probably react more stoically to that kind of news.

-We find out that it was the King Satan airplane that shot down Hayato's dad, because of course it was. Gotta give more fuel to the silly rivals plot. Ishiki acts like a douchebag again and is like "sorry about your dad, but I'm gonna make this about ME" lol. At least I can laugh at how cartoonishly shitty he is.

Ch. 30

-Hayato tries to figure out how to operate his Dad's plane which is "different from other Zero airplanes" (or whatever you call those in English). I didn't really get what he was saying about it, but I figured I probably wouldn't get it in English either so it's fine lol

-We get to see the nurse girls again which is always nice. The chubby one with braids is adorable. Of course they made each girl have a crush on their male counterpart (chubby girl likes chubby guy, skinny girl with a hooked nose likes the dude with a hooked nose, etc.) Whatever, there's so little body diversity in anime girls nowadays that seeing this lil bit of variety is refreshing.

Ch. 31

-The Bakufuutai's rival squad (the Shiuntai) get 35 new pilots but they are very inexperienced (only 150 hours of flight training). The Bakufuutai tries to be good senpai and stop them from flying recklessly, but the Shiuntai's leader is being a jerk as usual and tells them they can't tell his squad what to do. I should probably learn that guy's name lol.

-The hairy dude with big lips gets his own big lipped girl who's in love with him. Unfortunately they used this as an opportunity to make her "ugliness" a joke. Hey! If dudes are allowed to look funky girls should be allowed too >:/

Ch. 32

-This chapter was far too dialogue heavy and I barely followed what was happening. All I got was that Hayato and Ishiki were begging their leaders to not send the newbies off on a mission and then Hayato and friends end up being sent off to Manila for some reason. The nurse love interest creepily talks about being prepared to die a bunch...

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 14

✨GT Stands for Grandpa’s Timing✨

Luud is at full power, which makes him bright red. Stupidly, Goku and Trunks continue to fight him in base form, despite the fact that they only really made any headway when they briefly turned Super Saiyans and attacked him together.  Now, Luud is stronger, but the good guys are holding back for no obvious reason.  Also, Trunks gets sidelined, so Goku ends up fighting alone for much of this episode.  At least, Goku’s alone on the outside.

Because on the inside, all of the victims Luud absorbed are beginning to wake up, starting with Pan.  I don’t entirely get it. At first she seems to be some sort of sleeping ghost, then a ghostly Doltaki tries to kiss her and when she slaps him he becomes solid.  Then while she smacks the shit out of him everyone else wakes up to see what’s going on. 

Practically everyone in here blames Doltaki for their predicament, so naturally they all want a piece of him, but he claims that he knows how to escape, even though he refuses to talk, since he seems to be more afraid of Mu than of being trapped inside Luud. 

Hey, did you miss the Para Brothers?  No?  Well too bad, because they’re inside Luud and they’re all over this episode.  Pan asks them to use their dance magic to force Doltaki to tell them how to defeat Luud, and it works.

✨ “Good” “Ideas”, Poorly Executed.✨

By this point, GT has introduced enough characters in one place that we’re now just sort of having them mingle together, which only compounds their individual shittyness.  So now we have the Para Brothers using their spell on Doltaki, inside Luud, in order to rescue the Luud cultists and thwart the evil scheme of Dr. Mu.  If any of these characters had been enjoyable, this might have turned out to be somewhat fun, but the Para Brothers are like one of those awful SNL sketches that uses repetition instead of humor, and Doltaki’s a sex offender, and Luud looks like a pile of tomatoes with half the charisma.  Oh, and Dr. Mu looks like a shitty knockoff of Dr. Gero.  I’ll have more to say about Mu down the line, but for now, you can rest assured that he sucks just as much as the rest of this clown show.

Doltaki points out a “cell” in Luud’s body.  When Mu created Luud, he began with that cell, which I guess is the thing he mutated to make Luud a “mutant”.  The term “machine mutant” gets used a lot in this series.  Dr. Mu, Luud, and I’m pretty sure Mutchy all called Machine Mutants, and I don’t think I’ve ever understood just what that is.  Anyway, if you take out that one cell, the rest of Luud will collapse, and everyone trapped inside will be freed. 

The catch is that you can’t just shoot it from the inside.  Pan can hit it easily enough, but that only dazes Luud for a moment.  You need someone to attack it on the outside as well, and those attacks have to happen simultaneously in order to make this work.  I’m just going to point out that this weakness never came up for any of the other Machine Mutant characters we’ll be seeing as the show progresses.

So Pan has to contact Goku on the outside and tell him what to do.  Fortunately, the Para Brothers have telepathic abilities.  Unfortunately, the Para Brothers have telepathic abilities, which means they have to set up another repetitive, unfunny gag where their power only works through song.  Then they stop singing their messages, and Pan calls them out on it, which would be satisfying except this wastes even more time.

But they do relay the message to Goku.  Luud’s weak spot is almost invisible from the outside, but Goku can sense Pan’s ki when she attacks it, so he knows where to shoot.  They tell him to look for a red thing on his body, which is maybe the most unhelpful thing ever. 

So Pan and Goku can both shoot the weak spot, but the problem is that they can’t hit it at the exact same time.  Goku apparently has difficulty with this sort of timed coordination, which is bullshit because he learned and mastered the Fusion Dance without having a partner to practice the steps.

So what’s Luud doing while all of this is going on?  Jack shit, that’s what.  This dumb monster was supposed to be the primary threat of this whole arc.  They devoted six episodes of this show to Luud and his cult, and now he’s finally at full power, but all he does is sort of stand around, occasionally flailing his arms and saying his name while he waits for Goku and Pan to kill him. 

Here’s a stupid question. Why doesn’t Goku just go Super Saiyan 2 and kill Luud by himself?  He was doing pretty well before, and he’s not fighting anywhere close to his full power.  You could argue that Luud can only be killed by attacking his weak spot, but if that were true then Mu wouldn’t have been worried about getting him up to full strength.  You could also argue that Goku might kill Pan and the others if he goes full ham on Luud, but they seem to be trapped inside Luud’s tummy, so I think that means Goku could blow Luud’s head off without hurting anyone. 

Another stupid question.  Dr. Mu waited twenty years for this?   Luud was supposed to be a doomsday weapon, but he can’t even kill one Saiyan.  Mutchy gave Goku a harder time than this, and he could actually talk and stuff. 

While “the god of destruction” swats at Goku and misses him with eye lasers, Goku talks to the Para Brothers and suggests using a chant to get their timing down, as opposed to a count of three.  It works, though I don’t see what the difference is.  Maybe this is just a “Goku likes food” joke.   Well, it works, so I can’t complain.

Man, that Machine Mutant is toast.  

Yeah, more like... burnt toast.

Once Luud falls apart, all of the people trapped inside are teleported back out, including Doltaki, who somehow slips away and takes off in a crappy little spaceship.  You know, that kind of looks like the time machines in the Xenoverse games, but not quite.

Anyway, Doltaki kind of doesn’t matter, since his sole purpose was to run the Luud cult, which is now completely destroyed.  I guess he could still be a menace if he hung onto that fleshlight that turns people into dolls, but I’m pretty sure we never see anyone use that power again from here on out. 

✨Is This Episode Worse than “The Roaming Lake”?✨

It’s got the Para Brothers and Dolltaki, so yes.  Yes, it is much worse.

✨Positivity Page✨

So, I don’t have a lot of good things to say about this episode.  I guess one bright spot is that it mostly managed to stay focused on a singular objective: defeating Luud.  Prior episodes kept getting distracted with nonsense like Giru eating the Dragon Radar, or Pan cosplaying as a bee, or Doltaki just ditching the main plot to hide in his playroom.  The final battle with Luud sucked, but at least we didn’t have to keep switching scenes to check in on some other horseshit happening someplace else.

More importantly, I think we’ve finally passed through the absolute worst of Dragon Ball GT.  I seem to remember Episode 15 being not entirely terrible, and The pre-Baby stuff is bad, but at least it’s not Zoonama-flirting-with-Trunks bad.  The Baby Saga is pretty weak, but I think most fans agree it was the high water mark for GT, so when you watch this series, you start to really look forward to Baby showing up, because the first 14 episodes are such a trash dump. 

On the other hand, it never actually gets good, and that’s sort of the trick GT plays on you.  Every time I’ve watched it, including now, I keep thinking that the episode I’m on right now is terrible, but at least the next one will be a little better.  And I keep watching and keep watching, and then I’m finally on the last episode and I realize that no, it just sort of sucked the whole way through.  That’s one reason I keep comparing each episode to “The Roaming Lake”, because I don’t have the patience to rank GT episodes from best to worst, but I still want to establish which episodes are good enough to stand alongside the original DB and DBZ. 

  ✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

Search Four Planets

To find just two Dragon Balls?

Sheesh.  Who booked this crap?

[vettir]

Ghost Restoration

Ghost Restoration Titles

NARRATOR: Welcome back to Ghost Restoration, here, as always, are our experts! Travis Roberts, Psychic, Medium, Empath, who will glare at you if you ask he's a cold reader!

Shot of Travis, dark hair with a streak of white, mild tan, with his hand against a wall.

TRAVIS: I sense a feeling of something that was hidden here.

Shot of the wall being dug into, and old documents found.

NARRATOR: Stacy Torres, researcher of electrical anomalies!

Shot of Stacy, red haired and freckled, setting up several electrical devices.

STACY: If anyone's here, please come in front of the motion detector.

Motion detector beeps and lights up.

NARRATOR: And Francisco Correia, home construction specialist.

Shot of cabinet door opening by itself, then Francisco, blond with a pale complexion, using level and other tools around it.

FRANCISCO: Okay, this door is enough tilted that a slight jar will cause it to open. It's just from one of the hinges screwed in too tight, I'll loosen it.

Shot of Francisco smacking the counter and the cabinet door opens, then another shot of him smacking the counter and the cabinet door stays closed.

NARRATOR: Together, they check out haunted houses for any cause they can find.

Montage of the group in various houses.

FRANCISCO: Okay, you've got a carbon monoxide leak, we're taking you all to the hospital for checkups, then a few nights at a hotel while I fix it.

STACY: Okay, you've got some EMF currents causing the lights flickering, I'll see if I can fix it.

TRAVIS: No, it's all your kid, have you tried paying more attention to him?

NARRATOR: And most of the time? The problem is mundane.

STACY: So, you literally have ants in the wires. It happens sometimes.

TRAVIS: I'm actually pretty sure you've got someone stalking the house. Stacy can set up some cameras.

FRANCISCO: Jesus Christ, that's Black Mold, no wonder you've all been seeing and hearing shit.

NARRATOR: But every so often, something weird does turn up.

TRAVIS: Okay, I actually think this is a legitimate haunting.

FRANCISCO: You only get this from animal rot behind the wall, but there's just dirt... We'll need to dig it up.

STACY: This is the most believable EVP I've ever recorded.

NARRATOR: Today, we're going to the Vargas family, who've been reporting seeing figures out of the corners of their eyes and hearing whispering voices, as well as feelings of pure terror.

Shot of Travis, Stacy and Francisco walking down a residential street. A lot of trees, primarily evergreens, are seen around the area.

TRAVIS: Well, whatever's going on, it sounds awful. I hope we can help them.

STACY: I mean, I can think of a few mundane ways this can happen.

FRANCISCO: As can I, but best to check it out ourselves, and not speculate.

We see the Vargas residence, an older house with signs of recent renovations. Out front is Trent Vargas, weatherworn and balding, with a thing dark crest of hair.

TRENT: Thank you all for coming. Let's go inside.

Inside shot of all four entering, signs of renovations stopped partway through.

TRENT: It started half-way through the renovations. The workmen as well as Anita, my daughter, kept reporting seeing figures out of the corner of their eyes. Then I started hearing whispers, and Alan, my son, refuses to enter his room. It's creepy as hell in there.

The three look at each other. Francisco starts.

FRANCISCO: Could I talk to some of the workers?

TRENT: Absolutely.

TRAVIS & STACY: We'd like to see your son's room.

Trent swallows, then nods.

Shot of Stacy stepping into the threshold of a room, then startling.

STACY: Holy shit, what is that?

Stacy quickly steps back out of the room, shot pans to Travis, looking concerned.

Commercial Break

[becauseplot]

Bro you and me 🤝 can't say I've been missing sleep like you have but brainfog Bad today. More like brainsmog ibr. It is clearing tho so I got that goin for me. Hope you're getting some sleep dude.

Ohhhh so you're like, a seasoned professional of the angstwhump horror. Hats off to you king. It shows in your writing, I'll tell you that much. The xcom fic with Cellbit getting his claws taken out comes to mind. Absolutely made my skin crawl and I was enamored with the effectiveness of the writing every second of it. Have you read if stainless steel could love you back? I tried and couldn't stomach it (only got through like the first like idk 4k words? lmao) but I think it would be right up your alley. Honestly I'd be surprised if you haven't read this already. Maybe I'll give it another shot one day... And yeah, the loss of self. That sure is. That sure is. It's a very personal horror, obviously. And very real. And such a broad concept that it can apply in many different ways, whether that be through more realistic means like being twisted by anger, grief, or loathing, or the more symbolic sense in that you're literally, physically being turned into something you're not. Lots of avenues to explore it.

Also yooo you were a notebook kid too!! Bottom cabinet of my bookshelf is just filled with all of my writing notebooks that I used to carry around with me everywhere and write in. I mostly played with OCs, adapting them from characters/stories in media that I liked, or even from fanfics I read. Ohhh I still remember some of them. Faze, Kahli, Null, Myles, Tempest, Ray, Professor Noctis, Roza, Sorin... Honestly there were so many of them, and the fact that I can only recall a handful of their names is so fucking sad hough. Gotta look through those notebooks again. At some point I decided that I was going to take all of the stories I had floating around in my head and just say "fuck it, these all exist in the same world and are actually happening simultaneously" and there was a shitload of worldbuilding about the magic systems and there was supposed to be this whole prophecy thing drawing them all together etc etc. I don't even remember all the details and funnily enough, I didn't write everything down simply because there was So Much. I know I made a few lore documents, but just writing the scenes was so much more entertaining to me.

But yeah, that's what I spent my time writing about. Just little scenes that would pop into my head now and then. I filled up notebooks so fast. I should honestly get back into notebook writing, even if it's not with OCs. It's been a real hot minute since I've written for myself and not ao3. The closest I get to it now is Roommates/Cellmates AU. I miss filling up notebooks.

Poor ghost child OC :( I don't even know them or what happened to them but I feel sorry for them.

Yes, something about a gentle ending, or a more fulfilling one... Like the Happy Ending AU? (Actually wow thinking back on it I think your Happy Ending AU was the first thing of yours that I read---that I can specifically recall was by you, at least. It was the first part, where Fit and Phil are discussing "Hey, so is this possible? Do you think we could actually do it?" It was *chefs kiss*.) I think all of the characters deserves a happy ending. That last fic in the xcom au with Pac, that one is. Houough <3. And yes the net for people to fall onto---that's all we want yknow? A net. Just. Something. It's a very human desire, I think. That one fic you wrote about Phil finding Cellbit eating a worker and all Phil was concerned about was figuring out who he could talk to to help him catch Cellbit when this spiral inevitably took him out. It lives rent free in my brain at all times, btw. Archivists. They. Them. The beloveds. (I still want to figure out an Archivists-centric AU to write but *shakes brain, smacks the back of it like a faulty flashlight* c'mon gimmie some plot here, an ounce of worldbuilding, something! (I do actually have something in mind but it's so fucking undercooked that the ingredients aren't even in the bowl yet, I've just got that shit sitting out on the counter. Rip.))

Also yeah, think your shit, king. Pop off. You're crazy. You're cracked. You're goated.

Yeahhh I did like half a whumptober once back when I was OC-writing. It was actually a lot of fun because I had all these OCs to work with in various settings so it was easier to figure out plots to fill the prompts. And real, February is and was like. So shit. March is here at least so we're on our way out yippee.

"I'm so sorry, but it wasn't enough. It found you." <-I looked up the clip again just because and HOUUGHH still gets my heart going. The way my stomach actually fully dropped into the center of the earth when that happened live. And Lucie just,,, She thought she was useless all her life,,,, Lucieeeeee ;-;

Arthur was just a guy!!!!!!! He was just a guy living his life playing in his band UGHGHHGH. And Ceasar yeah 0(-( Just when he was getting to bond with his father,,, All of these people were just People at some point and then they got roped into this shit, one way or another. I mean, in Arthur's case he really was roped into it. Thiago and Liz were already technically part of the Order but their first mission was supposed to be a simple one and it was decidedly Not. Chris' friend (Thiago's dad) was killed by this line of work, pretty sure it's implied that Joui's friends were killed by the stuff from the Other Side, and I'm not 100% sure about Ceasar? But like you said, 30 year old LoL player. Everyone is being destroyed by their work in the Order. They can suffer fates worse than death and they often do. All for the sake of protecting humanity and because of some twisted sense of duty to ensure that what happened to themselves does not happen to anyone else. (Wails Liz wails wails wails.......)

Reading what you said about your larp group and. Goddamn that is. Holy cats. This is all vvvv /pos by the way, just to be clear, I am just floored yknow? That sounds insane. And really complicated but also really cool?? There's just like, so many working parts to it. I'm in awe. I definitely appreciate it, thanks for taking the time to explain it to me, it's vvv cool. I haven't got much to say back because HOOOOHH THATS A BIT OF INFORMATION LMFAO, but I promise you I read every word and I loved it.

Yeah the End Poem! Without going too into detail, my school is Funky so all majors (even STEM majors) have to take certain classes that we would otherwise not be taking, including stuff in the humanities. So that's how the topic of Mysticism came up in one of my classes. It was hilarious honestly bc the prof would be lecturing about Mysticism (or some other spiritual thing, but usually Mysticism) and he would say something that I shit you not would be almost verbatim out of the Minecraft End Poem. And I was always thinking, "Yeah this is great and all but I literally learned all of this from a video game like 11 years ago."

So for one of our major writing assignments, he wanted us to tie a cultural artifact (book, movie, TV show, game, holiday, etc etc) to one of the major topics of the course, and he gave a list of options to choose from. Well, somehow, Mysticism was not on that list. So I had to gather my courage and swallow some of my dignity and email my professor like, "Heyyyyyy bestie so like are you okay if I write an essay about Minecraft [silly block game widely regarded as a staple of the world of middle schoolers] and how it ties into Mysticism [well-written and (usually) highly-respected form of spiritual belief dating back 200 years]." And thank god my professor was an open-minded guy because he said, "Sure why not!" (Which was fantastic because I had no idea what else I was going to write about.)

Yeah it sure is! It's a lot. I can explain a bit here but uh fair warning(?) I get into some stuff that is very much within the realm of spirituality so if that's not your thing then that is fair and I get you completely! Go ahead and skip the next 4 paragraphs :thumbsup:

The best way I can explain Mysticism succinctly would be (and I'm oversimplifying): So you ever been just chilling maybe outside or with friends or just really vibing and having a good time, and then you have this weird out of body experience of realizing something like, "oh holy shit, I'm here, and this is my body, and I'm breathing, and you're here, and that is your body, and you are breathing, and the trees are here too, and the stars are here too, and it's So Much, I think I might be a part of all of these things and I feel so small/big/wide/distant/alive"?

Yeah. So I know that not everyone has experienced something like that (so I'm making a bit of an assumption here, apologies), but it's called a "Mystical experience" and it's supposed to be your brain briefly attempting to connect with the "transcendent" (or the "ineffable", or the "More") and having this personal experience in trying to understand it. And according to Mysticism (or to some Mystics, at least), all of our "souls" have an innate tendency to try to understand and connect with this elusive sense of the "More." There is something out there beyond yourself, and at the same time you are connected to everything else, even if you don't understand the full scope of it yet---but given time, you can.

And that is where it all starts to sound an awful lot like the stuff that the blue and green entities in the End Poem are talking about. Not to mention that one of the entities literally describes something resembling a form of mystical experience: "Take a breath, now. Take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes, move your fingers. Have a body again, under gravity, in air. Respawn in the long dream. There you are. Your body touching the universe again at every point, as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things." (NOTE: not all mystical experiences are the same, what I explained and what the End Poem describes are two examples, but they've got common themes of realizing your place in all of these things and this sense of there being More.)

Anyway that is a very slap-dash shitty explanation of it lmfao. I actually pulled out my old lecture notes to make sure I wasn't completely butchering it. Again, this is very spiritual, and idk where you stand with those sorts of things, so no need to comment on this at all! But I personally find it very fascinating. It was a fun essay to write, even if the 4-page limit had me scrapping several paragraphs (wails).

Minecraft sure is a Thing, huh. I've been writing minecraft fic for so long now that it's almost impossible for me to imagine writing an entirely minecraft-less setting. I just. Love the worldbuilding so much. There's so much to pull from. A sandbox game fr.

Yeah I need to listen to more Bastille. I nabbed "Things We Lost In The Fire" from your xcom playlist a while back and I really like it. I don't really make character/au playlists, but I've got my main one I use for just vibing/daydreaming or running. For me I've been listening to a lot of the Killers (Somebody Told Me my FUCKING beloved it's so gender), LP, Florence + the Machine, and an iiiiitty itty bit of Hozier (I spent last summer listening to his music for hours on end while filing old blueprints and now I can only stomach a few of his songs lmfaooo). Also Mumford & Sons and Crane Wives are good, and I've been looping Who Are You, Really? by Mikky Ekko and thinking about qCellbit so so SO fucking much you don't even know.

Holy shit I've been here a hot minute. Uh. Whoops lmao. Needless to say my brainfog has cleared up. I was in a vvvv Blegh /neg headspace all day but this was nice!!!

finished ep 10 of osnf (long post under the cut oh lord)

crying sobbing kicking over chairs screaming CELLBIT IS AN EVIL EVIL MAN WHY WOULD HE DO THAT. FOR WHAT REASON. POR CUAL RAZÓN. LO ODIO. <-said with the utmost adoration and respect of a writer but the fury of a fan who just had to endure all of that my hearttttt 0(-(

god fuck i have thoughts and feelings regarding episode 10 of osnf. obviously. i don't even know how to start.

okay. first of all the way that he was able to orchestrate the like 57839 different POVs of the nightmare happening at the same time was actually pretty smooth, all things considered. being able to forcibly mute/deafen the others is a good thing to be able to do yesyes.

second, im losing my mind over how he hides the fact that "it's all a dream" WITHIN the "it's all a dream" trope by having the creatures be manifestations of dreams/guilt in "reality" themselves. idk if i'm making any sense, but like, you get it, right? like, it's the fact that we thought we had already discovered the dream-based deceit in the segment because of what the "Hotelier" told Joui at the start of it, but it turns out that THAT was a red-herring of sorts for the TRUE dream-based deceit, that EVERYTHING was a dream, not just the creatures. god there are fucking layers to this im foaming at the mouth that's soooo good.

i guess that's what makes the "it's all a dream"-style trope present here feel less cliche. because, you know, it is a trope, and it's not really a trope that i'm fond of, but because there's actually more going on, it feels less cheap. what certainly helps is that the fact that it's roleplay, so the reactions from the characters are so much more raw, and there are some irl stakes (character dead = out of the series = can't play anymore). that definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.

edit: something i forgot to mention—what i dislike abt the “it’s all a dream” trope the most is that it is very easily something that can be so, so cheap. all angst, no stakes or consequences, no lasting impact on the plot on the characters. however, not only is there a “physical” impact via several characters losing SHITLOADS of sanity (something not easily recovered) but we get to see a little more into the psyche of the characters. which i suppose is often the point of the “it’s all a dream” segments, but this dream—one with a lot of references to past major character death and itself contains major character death—rings especially true for the themes of the series: the world they live in is dangerous, and the work they do is lethal. people have and will die. and they do and will feel guilty, reguardless if they are at fault. it’s not a horrifying death dream just for the sake of being a death dream, it feels grounded in their reality, and i love that.

third, man he did not hold back. when Arthur was being beaten to a pulp by not!Brúlio, i was actually in shock, i was screaming. plus, i think the fact that Cellbit rolled a 001 when not!Brúlio attacked actually helped to hide the fact that this was a dream. it made it look like it was bad luck rather than the segment was designed to kill the characters (well, at least until he revealed that the damage was 1d4+1d6, but i'll get to that later).

gosh the narration of how not!Brúlio killed Arthur. holy shit. i don't. i don't even have words, that is DEVASTATING. that is probably one of the worst ways for a person to go. i know it's a dream but if i were Arthur i would be emotionally fucked up beyond belief. beaten to a bloody pulp by the father who once loved you so much, screaming at you for abandoning him and that it's your fault he died a horrible death. and then he drops your body on the ground like you're nothing but a pile of useless meat. god. damn.

and then Liz. ohhhh Liz. i just. i was devastated. her whole struggle with Alex, the man she treated so horribly. yes it's true the real Alex never would have said these things to you, but how do you know he wasn't thinking it? that he didn't want to? that what not!Alex says doesn't hold some truth? christttt. and of course the way she dies: in complete agony. and did she forgive herself? because, unlike with not!Brúlio, the creature turned into that weird wispy black thing just as she died, and i would assume that means she forgave herself (if those rules even apply considering this was all a result of the parasite's deceit (holy hell my brain is melting i am the man with the hand on the conspiracy board)).

fourth: the 1d4+1d6 thing! when he read that out, i was stunned. that is a LOT of damage considering all of the characters have ~10 HP. with an extreme roll, that's basically an insta-kill, or it's easily a two-hit-kill. i thought Arthur was unlucky, but when Liz also went down, i was---well, devastated, at first, because that's Liz, she's my absolute favorite and i love her, but i started going through all five stages of grief at once, and at some point i arrived at "no that can't be right" because Cellbit is a good writer. and to deliberately construct a scenario where it would be VERY hard for a character to survive while still in the middle of the story? yeah. and yknow the fact that there's still 6 other episodes fhdsjk. (then again the series continues regardless if a character dies and i haven't looked at other episodes' thumbnails or anything like that for this exact reason. so. i was going in as blind as i could reasonably be.)

in any case, realizing and connecting all of this and then hearing the "Hotelier" start yelling at Joui right after Liz died explicitly blaming him for it sealed it for me: this is a trick of some sort. this is a dream sequence of some sort. these aren't real deaths. (a smaller part of me was still scared that they were real because i know that Cellbit does not shy away from killing off his players' characters, if op and opq are anything to go by. but i digress.)

and then the characters turned to black goo. and i just about threw my computer. rip Luba who got absolutely targeted by the GM lmfao.

anyway uhhh that's about it regarding the dream sequence! loving luzidius!joui and how he just keeps switching back and forth. ((and it further supports my little side-theory that the mysterious blond woman last seen with Team Kelvin was a luzidious we win these.)) i was surprised to see Liz thinking it was so cool when she's been so suspicious of everything in Santo Berco since she got here, but i think she could definitely be using it as a distraction from what she just went through, and honestly she's just happy to see Joui is okay. (the way she gave on up words and just hugged him, the way she held his face in her hands, the way she dragged him down the hall to show Thiago and Thiago was just telling her to fuck off (/aff) because he was getting dressed, my heartttt i love these three, mentor-mentee dynamics my fucking beloved)

also new outfits! sweet! istg the new outfits are so Cellbit's way of apologizing for putting his friends through that. "hey sorry i killed your character in the most emotionally devastating way possible it will happen again wOAH LOOK AT THESE NEW CLOTHES AREN'T THEY SO COOL YOU SHOULD TRY THEM ON!!!"

i've been having mixed feelings about the sudden setting/genre change since the group arrived in Santo Berco. i really, really loved the urban horror-fantasy vibe that they had going on in op and the first 8 eps of osnf, but evidently, this is good as well. the genre is most definitely still horror yippee. i definitely miss the urban-modern setting, but i think i can get adjusted to this. (i'm just,,, not the biggest fan of the auto-heal crystals im sorry i had to say it they feel too op i know their use is limited to visiting the doctor but knowing they exist lowers the in-world stakes for me im sorry---)

anyway, ep 10! you beautiful monster! i have been typing for an hour! i need to go eat food! k bye!

[scarfacemarston]

All Epilogue Journals and Transcription

Note: This does not include the 100% completion spoilers. I really challenge you to read through this and still tell me that John is not as complex as Arthur. They just portray it differently. I’m not saying you have to like him - just that he is so much more than “just a dumb angry man”.  I still encourage everyone to play the game. It’s not the same through here. It’s a beautiful story and ties up nicely. 

Transcript:  Being back in this country made me dig up Arthur’s old journal again. Odd few years wandering. back here, this country that we ran to when things went crazy all those years ago  My mind is full of ghosts. Been a tough few years. Jack don’t like me and Abigail cannot  stand me or is it the reverse?

Killed a feller because he looked at me funny. Abigail wants me to settle down - To what? Everything I’ve tried has gone wrong, for so long now, ad now I’m back in old country. Well I guess the north didn’t turn out so good.

So now I’m a farm hand. Until I lose my temper again, I guess. Working at a place called Pronghorn Ranch. They seem to like me because I’m big and nasty and they surely ain’t. And some local tough guys seem to know they aint. Well I guess Abigail can’t have everything, but she won’t be able to deny I’ve at least got a normal job.

Pronghorn Ranch ^

I’m not much of a rancher but I can still give a big mouth a good smack. Abigail still seems to despise me. Jack ain’t sure but I reckon he aint none too keen.

She’s a gone - she went a - She went and left me. Gave me enough warning, I suppose. She weren’t wrong, I’d leave me, if I could. What now? No son, no woman and a no good rancher on a no good ranch. These rich bastards, the Laramie want old Geddes  dead. If I had a brainI”d go work for them. But I kind of like Geddes.

Good news - I now own a ranch. Bad news, I now have Uncle with me. Or is it the reverse? If he don’t shut his mouth, I’ll paint this place with his blood. I bought a dumpy bit of land for Abigail and she ain’t here.  Instead I get Uncle.

How the hell did this happen? I got the worst of all things. I miss Abigail. I’ve been a proper fool for longer than I can remember. FOR ALWAYS.

Went to Saint Denis with Uncle because Charles Smith was there and in trouble. Charles had taken to boxing and did not seem to be in too much trouble after all, until we stumbled into some local gangsters who wanted to shoot both of us But not he’s here and I’ve got a completely different family to the one I had a while ago. Not sure what to make of that.

This countryside is full of some of the worst scum and maniacs I’ve ever come access. Guess we fit right in. Went to buy lumber t build a new house. Got jumped by some local gang everyone is terrified by. A hand Charles had hired got himself killed. Wonder if these bastards will bring trouble  and how much.

Saw Sadie Adler again. Guess I thought she’d been dead. Maybe it’s just me that’s been dead. I don’t know. Was good to see her. She’s a bounty hunter and  suited to the work. Saw her put a knife clean through the hand of some big old boy she was fighting with. Ain’t seen her since she and Arthur saved Abigail and Arthur saved my life. We headed north and she  turned to this line of work

Built ourselves a place to live - never thought I would say those words. Now I just need a family and a way of paying off these debts. Went off bounty hunting with Sadie, who I’d met again after all these years, and whole thing turned crazy. Thank god Abigail weren’t around or she’d have skinned me herself.

Abigail and Jack came back. Whole of my life suddenly makes some kind of sense. If only I could pay off these damn debts - and if only I could have been a different man all these years I wasted being a fool.

I’M GETTING MARRIED. She thinks I’m a real fool and she’s right, only she don’t know quite why I am a fool.

We got married and we danced and Uncle made us laugh - and Jack seemed real happy. Sadie left, after she fixed herself up. Charles went off hunting something or other as I knew he would. Uncle ain’t going anywhere. Saw Dutch, damn near broke my heart again after all this time. Wanted to kill him, but I didn’t. Saw Micah was never gladder to see a man die. Whatever peace and happiness I can find in this world, I  know it’s a better place with him out of it. Storyline finished. 100% Game completion journal entries not included here - but in separate post. 

[dekalko-mania]

Hello! A bit late, but here's my @phandomholidaytruce gift for @charmingcritter ! I followed their prompt based on outsider POV of Amity/Danny, and a bit on Danno's obsession. Hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

....

Tourist Attraction (Ao3)

“I don’t like this.” 

“Danny, c’mon. It’s not a big deal.” 

He shook his head, arms remaining crossed. 

“I’m on your side for this one.” Sam flipped a page in her book, voice monotone as she addressed Tucker. Her legs were thrown over the armrest of her La-Z-Boy, looking completely relaxed now that she’d finished her allotted Team Phantom work. “Why don’t we just figure out a way to go around the obsession?” 

“See! Even Sam agrees!” Tucker pushed his laptop to the side, ghost files still taking up the screen. “You can’t go around mad dogging every new person that comes into Amity.” 

“Wanna bet?” Danny raised a challenging brow, shutting his own laptop closed. 

“Don’t.” Sam raised a finger before Tucker could so much as utter another word. “Or he’ll actually go out and do it.”

Tucker sputtered. “He’s gonna do it anyway! The guy’s got no sense, and that’s coming from me!” 

“I take offense to that.” Danny flopped back onto the dark hardwood floor. “What else do you want me to do? Sit back and let all these people we don’t know cause trouble in Amity?”

“We live in a semi-big city,” Sam stated. “People come by all the time.”

“Yeah, but not this many at once. Usually they’re here for like two hours and then leave. And it’s always the same people checking out a restaurant they like or something. These are…” Danny’s expression soured. “Tourists.”

Tucker shoved Danny’s shoulder. “You’re saying that like you’re talking about the plague.” 

“Might as well be.” Danny smacked his hand away. “These are strangers. Worse, they’re all curious about our lore. They’re all gonna be poking around where they shouldn’t and bothering the locals. Remember last year when some guy broke into Boxy’s warehouse and the entire city had a box shortage for a week?”

“That was some meltdown.” Tucker whistled. “Poor guy.”

“He set his most prized boxes on fire.” Danny glared. 

“Relax.” Tucker raised his hands in reassurance. “I’m talking about the Box Ghost. The other guy can suck it.”

Danny relaxed and sighed. “Yeah well, I don’t think he’ll be the last person to mess around where they shouldn’t.” 

“Okay, we understand. You wanna protect Amity, but you can’t stalk the tourists,” Sam reasoned. “We’ve barely gotten your approval ratings up to seventy.”

“I’m not going to stalk anyone.”

“Sure, you’re just going to go up to them and very kindly ask them to fuck off, right?” Sam tossed her book to the side, throwing him an unamused look. “Maybe scare them off with those spooky eyes of yours.” 

“Exactly,” Danny grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. “Glad we’re on the same page.” 

“Danny, I swear-”

“Wait.” Tucker shot up, conspiratory gleam crossing his eye. “We can’t stop all these tourists from coming in, but what if we use this to our advantage?” 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Danny frowned. “Don’t know if you missed it, but my obsession wants absolutely nothing to do with them.” 

“Because you don’t know who they are, and they’re not educated on Amity etiquette,” Tucker pointed out. “But, what if we could solve the issue and make a big buck out of it?” 

Danny focused somewhere on the ceiling and scoffed. “You want to try your hand at giving tours again?”

“Exactly! With some improvements, of course.” 

“Tucker, the last time we did that it was you and me lugging a group of ghost hunters on a bike.” Sam seemed very much not interested. “What could we even use that’s big enough to hold all these people?”

“Danny’s been legally driving the GAV for two years now. Illegally, since he was like twelve.” Tucker glanced at him for support. “How many can we fit in there?” 

“If I clean it up and adjust the seats, like ten probably. Not including me and whoever wants to be in the passenger seat.” Begrudgingly, Danny was starting to see the pros to Tucker’s plan. “We can also detract the back walls so the entire thing is one big window on either side.”

“See? Sam, you’re really good at keeping crowd control. You can man the line and all the finances. Meanwhile, Danny drives and we both give the tour.” Tucker waved a hand in one long flourish. “Easy peasy.” 

Sam eyed them both and then groaned. “Okay, whatever. As long as I do less of the talking.” 

“Yes!” Tucker fist bumped the air. “What about you Danny? Just think about it. We’ll be able to keep track of who comes in, and make sure we lay out some ground rules. Covering all the bases without you spazzing out on ‘em.”

Danny shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

“Great!” Tucker clapped his hands together. “Now, about the ticket prices….”

…. 

They had settled on calling their side job the most basic name possible. “Amity Park Tours” was as uncreative as it got, but at least their point went across fairly well. Most of their brainstorming had been Tucker trying to convince Sam and Danny that “A Nice Place to Die” would not make for a good slogan. In the end, he’d just barely gotten them to settle for “A Nice Place to Haunt” instead. 

Danny still thought their original idea was better, but whatever. At least their calculated funds would come back pretty good, with ticket prices starting at twenty-five for adults, and fifteen for kids. 

He was beginning to mentally applaud Tucker for his genius, until the final blow came just minutes before the tourists were set to arrive. 

“You did what!?” Danny didn’t have to guess what color his eyes were flashing. 

“Okay, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Tucker attempted to reassure. “Think about how high the tips are gonna be!” 

“I don’t care about that! What’ll I do if my parents find out?” 

“They haven’t shot at you in months!” 

“Yeah, cause the city’s on their case about it, not because they don’t want to!” It took everything in Danny’s being not to go ghost on Tucker then and there. “How am I ever going to explain this?” 

“Okay, wait.” Sam stepped in between them, clearly displeased at the turn of events herself, but calmer than either of them. “You promised them a tour led by Phantom, right?”

Tucker nodded. 

She sighed. “Then we’ll give them one.” 

“Sam-”

“No, wait.” She placed a placating hand on Danny’s shoulder, meeting him eye to eye. “If we change it now, we’re going to get into trouble and you won’t be able to put a lid on your obsession. If we go through with it, well…how often have we done something like this without your parents noticing?” 

“Many times,” Danny acquiesced. “But Sam, if they find out I supposedly let Phantom lead a tour in their assault vehicle….” 

“They won’t find out. We’ll make sure of it.” Sam said it with conviction. “Worst comes to worst, we’ll say that they can’t mention it to the Fentons or they’ll get…I don’t know. Cursed or something.”

“Cursed?” Danny frowned. “Really?”

“People will believe anything in Amity,” Tucker agreed. He began to fidget as voices started nearing the vehicle from outside. “C’mon Danny. Have a sense of adventure.”

Danny tsked, picking up the voices more clearly. He was able to distinguish distinct words in conversation, hearing a few people say they were excited to meet Phantom. He knew with a sinking feeling that he couldn’t say no. 

“Fine,” he decided. “But I’m getting a higher cut of the tips.”

“Deal!” Tucker grinned, preparing to open the GAV doors. “Now, do your thing, ghost boy.”

…. 

Danny was grateful that Sam had convinced the owner of the Skulk and Lurk to let them use their parking space. They had a pretty huge lot that was left mostly empty during the day, when their usual customers weren’t about. 

It had taken them about twenty minutes to get through all the autographs and pictures, all taken against the backdrop of the building so they could avoid evidence of him using the GAV. It was a familiar routine for Danny, and he very easily settled into his Phantom persona for all the enthusiastic customers. 

There was only really one incident that struck him as odd, where a ginger-haired girl similar to Jazz in height and build had used a flash for her first photo. Danny had thought to ask her why, but shrugged it off when another girl took her place. 

Once they had gotten through it, the first ten tourists settled into place, while Sam wished them luck on their drive from outside. The air inside the GAV was filled with excited chattering, crowd of people oddly full of energy for 9 AM on a chilly Wednesday. 

Danny’s core hummed as he looked over them, pleased that none of them radiated any sort of dangerous energy. More than half of them were teens or young adults in their early twenties, while the two outliers were part of a family. The red-headed girl from earlier, now identified as Jackie, was part of it, sitting next to an identical-looking mom. 

He nodded to himself, before pulling out a handheld mic for himself and handing the other to Tucker. 

“Alright,” Danny tried out. “Does this sound clear to everyone?”

“Whoa.” A bright eyed, sandy-haired guy in the back peeked his head behind a seat. If Danny remembered correctly, his name was Adrien. “An announcement I can actually understand?”

Danny snorted. “That’s Fenton tech for you. Now, before we start the tour, Tucker here and I wanted to make some, uh, announcements. Tucker?”

“Right!” Tucker’s mic blared for a little, and he winced. “Sorry. So, basically you all probably know about the Fentons, and you might be wondering, ‘why would they ever let a ghost borrow a car made to destroy ghosts?’ Short answer is, they didn’t. Their son Danny did, and he’s currently distracting them while we use the killer SUV.” 

“Then why isn’t he here if it’s his family car?” Jackie spoke up. “Why couldn't someone else distract them?”

“He, well…” Danny blanched.

“I have to be here cause I’m ghostly moral support. Danny can’t do math so Sam’s handling the tickets. And, um…” Tucker tried for a shaky grin. “Danny can’t drive?”

Said ghost boy glared. 

“Huh.” Jackie settled down, satisfied for now. “Valid.”

“Right, so. Don’t snitch or you’ll be cursed with….really warm pillows.” Tucker coughed. “And short battery lives on your phone. Yeah.”

“Anyway,” Danny interrupted. “We’re starting out at the Skulk and Lurk. Which ironically, is one of the few places in Amity not haunted by ghosts. They were nice enough to give all of you a Phantom discount for today, so stop by for some coffee after or some goth merch. Maybe stay for the poetry slam.”

Adrien’s hand shot up. “Do they serve coffee with ectoplasm?”

“That would be a hazard,” Danny answered. “So no.”

“Then what do the ghosts drink?”

“They don’t.”

Jackie frowned. “But I saw a video of you holding a venti frap from Starbucks the other day. If ghosts can’t drink anything, then why were you?”

“I didn’t say they couldn’t,” Danny backtracked. “Just that they don’t. Usually. You get the taste but it doesn’t do much in terms of sustenance.” He pointed at Adrien. “Though that ectoplasm coffee idea would probably do the trick.”

“So you eat ectoplasm?” The girl looked majorly grossed out. 

“Ghosts thrive off a lot of crazy things.” Tucker smirked. “Ambient ectoplasm, pure ectoplasm, emotions, their obsession, the souls of the innocent.” 

“You’re going to eat our souls?!” Adrien’s face went white as he pressed against the boy next to him. 

Danny smacked Tucker hard enough to dislodge his glasses. “No, I’m not the type of ghost to eat souls.” 

“But they exist?” Jackie pressed. 

“Sorry, can’t answer that. Gotta focus on the road now.” He did not want to get on the topic of the ghosts of the barren lands. “Speaking of, care to introduce our local botany?”

Tucker got the hint. “Absolutely! So right there is a really haunted bush. See the black one with the smoke coming off it? Looks like it's barely surviving a fire? Yeah if you ever see something like that during your time in Amity, stay away.” 

“What happens if I eat it?” The boy Adrien had been clutching asked, still patting the back of his friend’s back. 

“What was your name again?”

“Nick.”

“Okay, well Nick.” Tucker clapped his hands. “Someone did actually try that out last fall and they landed a permanent stay in the Ghost Zone.” 

“Word?” He was oddly unphased for someone not from Amity.

“No, he’s alive.” Danny cut in. “He just had a really unhealthy obsession with Ember and ended up nearly setting the nearby high school on fire ‘cause of the shrine in his locker. It took a whole day of Khan Academy lessons to snap him out of it.” He gestured out the window. “She’s the one that planted these with another ghost’s help. If you try to blast them, two more grow in their place. For now everyone’s just trying to avoid them until we can figure out what to do. As long as you don’t touch them, you’ll be fine.” 

“Ember?” Nick frowned.

Before Danny could explain, Jackie cut in excitedly. “She’s a ghost in her late teens whose obsession is having others chant her name. Or that’s the simplified version at least. It's said that what she really wants is to be remembered. Since ghost deaths are tied to their obsession, you only have to do a little digging into her background to realize why. The other day I checked out the Amity archives at the library and found out there was a girl named Amber McClean who died mysteriously in a house fire. She was alive during the mid eighties, and no one knows much about her except that she wanted to be a musician. I was hoping to maybe see her and ask-”

Jackie stopped suddenly, eyes meeting Danny’s in the rearview mirror.

“First lesson here.” Danny tried hard to keep his voice from shaking, but he couldn’t resist his harsh grip on the wheel. “Never, ever seek out a ghost to ask them about their death. Don’t think about it, don’t approach them, and don’t even ask about their obsession. Those two things are off limits, understand?” 

“But, I’m just curious….” 

Danny could see that he’d shaken her up somehow. Her eyes were downcast, and a part of him felt bad, but he knew this was important. It was the whole reason they’d planned this out in the first place. 

More gently, he tried to explain. “Aside from it being a touchy, painful subject to the ghost, their reaction is unpredictable. They could haunt you, or lash out if they’re less sympathetic to humans. Ember would definitely not take it well.” 

“But you’re supposed to be a good ghost, right?” Jackie’s mom ventured to ask. “Would you react the same way?”

Danny knew that tourists were bound to be curious, but he honestly hadn’t been expecting it to get so personal. With a sigh, he nodded. “I’d like to think so. I mean, I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I try my best to stop the ghosts that like to cause trouble. But I might act a bit more hostile, and I’ll ask you to stop.” 

“Phantom here doesn’t pick fights with regular people,” Tucker added. “But he will scare the absolute shit out of you if you get him mad. What he means by ‘hostile’ is ‘you’re gonna wanna cry for your mom.’” 

“Language,” Jackie’s mom warned. 

“Sorry ma’am.” 

“Oh c’mon, don’t exaggerate.” Danny rolled his eyes, turning a corner over to a seemingly innocuous brick building. “On a level of scariness, I’m probably a six on a good day.”

“Oh my god.” Adrien gasped, crawling over Nick to get a view outside the window. “Is that Casper High? I saw all the fight compilations on YouTube! It’s like, super super haunted!”

The rest of those in the GAV broke into heavy chatter, pulling out their phones to snap pictures of the school from multiple angles. Some were gushing over the scorch marks on the side of the building, while others craned their heads to try and catch a glimpse of a ghost. 

Meanwhile Danny and Tucker shared an equally amused look, the former shaking his head in wonder. It was times like this that reminded Danny that while a place like Casper High could be lame to him, it was practically a national monument to others.

“Like Adrien said, this is Casper High.” Tucker motioned for Danny to drive closer. “Land of expired lunch meat and weekly ghost attacks. We’re on winter break so don’t expect much action. The ghosts here only like to attack when the building’s actually full.” 

“And before you ask, no we’re not exactly sure why. Closest theory is that a lot of obsessions rely on the presence of humans. It’s empty right now for the most part, except for, well…” Danny paused for dramatic effect. To his delight, everyone leaned closer. “Sidney Poindexter.” 

“Sidney’s here?!” Adrien and Nick both shouted in unison, eyes gleaming.

“I follow one of his fan accounts, he’s so cool!” Nick pulled up a Twitter page and showed it to those around him. “We’re his biggest fans, but we didn’t expect to see him. Ever since Phantom declared him an ally, he’s been going around interacting with everyone.” 

“I thought he would only be there when school was in session,” Adrien agreed. “The last video I saw of him was posted before winter break. Some guy was stuffing a kid in a locker and Sidney shoved him into it instead.” 

“You know, he’s got some of the most interesting powers among Amity’s ghosts,” Jackie chipped in. “While a lot of them get most of their strength from their defensive powers, Poindexter’s telekinesis and overshadowing abilities are tougher than most. I’d say he practices possession if anything. His control and the length of time he can hold it out for is pretty impressive.”

Danny raised a brow in her direction. “You know a lot for someone not from Amity. How’d you even figure all that out? It’s not exactly common information.”

Jackie grinned. “Conspiracies and the supernatural are really popular in my family. Me and my mom are both super into Amity lore.”

“I think she beats me in that one, I’d say I have more of a passing interest,” her mom chuckled.

“Okay, maybe I’m more into it. One of my favorite cousins lives here and he tells me all the details, he’s super smart.” Jackie shrugged. “As for how I know, I don’t. It was all just my guess based on videos I’ve compiled. But your reaction confirmed it!”

It was quickly becoming apparent to Danny that the girl had much more than a slight similarity to his sister. The way she rambled about ghost lore reminded him of Jazz when she spoke about psychology. Though, she also reminded him of someone else. He just couldn’t figure out who. 

“Well, I wish I could call out Sidney for you guys to meet him, but he can’t stray much from school grounds. Even the sidewalk is pretty far for him, unless he’s got a host.” Danny frowned at Nick, prompting him to put his hand back down. “And no, we’re not taking any volunteers for that. But I’ll see if maybe I can get another video of him for you online.”

“Worth a try,” Nick shrugged. 

“Don’t worry, the next stop is way more interesting,” Tucker promised. “Skulker blew a hole into the ground there the size of a small car. Maybe we could even get down for a group picture!”

…. 

They did eventually end up taking multiple group pictures. The route they had mapped out for the tourists ended up including the Skulk and Lurk, Casper High, Amity Central Park, the Nasty Burger, the abandoned houses on the edge of the city, Axion Labs, the observatory, and North Mercy Hospital. There were a few other stops along the way that were lesser known, but not any less haunted in Danny’s experience, that they had given the tourists backstory on. 

Some of them had asked why they hadn’t stopped by the GIW Headquarters or Fentonworks, until Danny very dryly reminded them that he was what they got their funding to get rid of. Some seemed genuinely shocked, making Danny wonder if they really did forget he was supposed to be dead, despite his glow and neon eyes. 

By the time they had finished the tours, it was nearing five o’clock, taking about an hour for all five groups of ten. They didn’t cover nearly all the visitors, but Danny at least felt better now knowing that the majority of people that came were either fans or simply curious to get to know Amity. None so far had been actual ghost hunters intending to do harm. 

Even with all of them, he had a soft spot for their first group, which left with a promise to greet him when they saw Danny on patrol. 

He was so lost in thought about his day, that it took him longer than usual to realize the dinner table had gone quiet. 

“Sorry, did you say something?” He looked at both his parents, practically vibrating in their seats with anticipation. 

“We were saying that we forgot to tell you some very important news,” his mom exchanged a smile with his dad. “Your father and I got a very generous grant in exchange for a small tour of the lab.”

“A what!” Danny dropped his spoon, hoping he hadn’t heard correctly.

“I know, isn’t that great? We get to blab about our tech, and get paid for it!” His tone was completely lost on his dad. “The only downside is that they were only able to come in tomorrow. And you see, we already had a conference planned a few cities over with some fellow ghost hunters.” 

“Which means?” Danny wasn’t liking where this was going. 

“You get to do it!” His dad pointed a potato-filled spoon at him. “My own son, taking up the helm of Fentonworks!” He wiped away a stray tear. “Feels like just yesterday when we grounded you for missing curfew.”

“That was yesterday,” Danny groaned. “And I can’t. I’ve, uh, got a fear of public speaking?”

“Even better, you get to face your fears! Too bad we never found that hazmat of yours, it would’ve been perfect.” His dad frowned. “Or not, you’ve had a pretty big growth spurt.”

“Mom, you can’t be serious too, right?” Danny tried for the more reasonable parent. “I’ve never given a tour.”

That they know of.

“Oh sweetie, I’m sure you’ll do great. You’ve grown up on our tech since you were born!” His mom seemed to have already made up her mind about it. “Who better to do it?” 

“Will you unground me?”

“Is that a yes?” 

Danny sighed. “I guess.”

His mom grinned from ear to ear. “Good! Now, we’ve decided to stow away the more dangerous-”

Danny listened halfheartedly, keeping mental note of his own plans. If he was going to do this again, then he had to make sure it was completely safe. He’d have to put the portal to sleep temporarily so it wouldn’t open, but it would be best if he wanted to avoid any accidents. 

He momentarily considered calling Sam and Tucker for help, but pushed it away when he realized it would look suspicious if anyone from the day before saw him with them again in human form. 

It was just him, a group of strangers, and Fenton tech. What could go wrong?

….

Jackie had gathered a series of notes since her stay at Amity. For one, the population was quite nonchalant for being under constant attack. For another, their resident ghost hero was not like the rest. 

Putting it simply, Phantom was fucking weird.

She wasn’t one to wholeheartedly believe everything the Fentons said, one of those claims being that ghosts were unfeeling and mindless. She knew that was false based on the multiple eyewitness accounts and video evidence she had gathered of the Amity Park ghosts. They definitely had their own thoughts, feelings, values, and passions. 

They weren’t inhuman monsters, but they also weren’t entirely human either. They didn’t need human functions, they had supernatural abilities, and they had their own society. They were also fixed on the time period at which they died. 

Sydney Poindexter still talked like someone from the sixties, and the more ancient ghosts stayed rooted to their own cultures. It made sense, that’s how it should be. They were trapped in time while the world kept going. 

Except for one. That’s where Phantom came in. 

Though there was some flimsy evidence of him having existed for centuries, Jackie suspected he died around the time Amity became ghost central. That was two years ago. He should’ve stuck to the slang and the trends of the time, but he didn’t. 

Everything he did contradicted his kind. He evolved, he knew current trends and jokes. Phantom didn’t struggle to keep up with modern society like the others did. He didn’t awkwardly stick new words into phrases like Technus, or struggle to remember words like Yungblud. 

She’d gathered it all and compared it while he had given them the tour. It was the entire reason she had gone in the first place, when she could honestly have just asked her cousins to show her around. Jackie wanted to observe and make discoveries.

And she did, many of them. 

Phantom acted as naturally as a human did when he was around them. He sat firmly in the driver's seat, he blinked, and most importantly, he breathed. He hadn’t at first, she was sure of it. But after a while, she noticed his chest rising and falling, as if he’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to do it. 

His explanation about the coffee made no sense either. He said it had no function, that he only drank it for the taste. But unlike the other ghosts, Phantom could look tired. He hid it under a veneer of cockiness during the fights, but closer up, she could see the eye bags. 

He drank coffee like someone who was running on little sleep, when again, ghosts weren’t supposed to sleep. In the videos she’d gathered, he would have multiple different caffeinated drinks throughout the day. It wasn’t just coffee. He drank Red Bull and Monster, both of which were absolutely not satisfying in taste at all. At least not to her.

Most damning of all was his picture. She’d read somewhere that flash photography often revealed strange things in supernatural environments. Jackie hadn’t thought much of it, but tried the trick anyway out of habit. 

What she ended up with was a photo where Phantom’s eyes looked closer to icy blue than his typical neon green. She could attribute it to his ice powers, but these looked duller and more humane. 

Phantom was an enigma. He was friendly, and somewhat snarky. He had the charm his hero persona warranted, but he was also entirely too human. It was unnerving.

It was wrong. 

Something was off with Phantom, and the part of her that loved a mystery wanted this one solved. There had to be a reason why her cousin scowled whenever the ghost was brought up, why he talked to her about so many other aspects of Amity Park, but not about Phantom. 

It was what led her to convincing her dad, an avid supporter of the Fentons’ inventions, to call in a favor. She rarely liked to use her family’s wealth to her advantage, but she needed more information, and there was only one group of researchers in this town who were willing to give it. The GIW was out of the question. 

It was meant to be simple and relaxing. She’d even invited the two guys from the Amity Park Tours, Nick and Adrien, after they hit it off. Jackie would go in, ask her questions, and leave. That was it. 

Except, she had made a new discovery, and it was that Danny Fenton was fucking weird too. 

Somehow, he managed to be more unnerving than Phantom. He really shouldn’t have been, not when he was so lanky and seemed pretty harmless overall. Although he was giving them the tour in place of his parents, he had opted to stay in casual wear, donning an oversized black hoodie, some loose jeans, and some red converse. 

He looked more like he belonged in a skate park if she was being honest. She tried telling herself that to push away the discomfort, but it hardly made a difference. 

The same went for his personality. He was pretty funny, and somewhat dorky, but he also always seemed on edge. She’d always thought that your own home is where you should feel the safest, but he very much contradicted that. He was the type to check his corners when he entered a room, and held a tightness to his posture even when he seemed slack. 

Danny was currently leading them down to his basement, where most of the magic apparently took place. He did the same thing as before when they crossed the threshold, looking side to side, then up and down. 

When the coast was clear, he nodded to himself and turned to them with a grin. “Right, so we’ve introduced ourselves upstairs. Anything else you want me to know? Specifically, are any of you scared of needles, sharp tools, otherworldly fluids, or anything along those lines?”

“Um, all of the above?” Adrien answered. “But I’ll put it aside for science and cry later.”

“Disassociation, love that.” Danny nodded. “Well, my parents didn’t exactly tell me what you were most interested in seeing, so I decided we would just do a general sweep. Maybe check out the Ops Center if that’s what you’re into.”

He pointed his finger upwards and Jackie balked. “That’s what that giant UFO thing attached to the roof is? How’d you even convince the city to let you install it?”

“Convince is a strong word,” he grimaced. “More like, we just kept ignoring their warnings and eventually they gave up once it actually ended up being useful.” Danny shrugged. “I honestly don’t know how my parents manage to get away with half of the things they do, but I do know how their tech works, so-”

He led them over to the first item lined up for them, a giant dream catcher with a green and black color scheme. 

“This,” Danny started. “Is the Fenton Ghost Catcher.” 

He proceeded to explain its function, answering their questions with ease. All the while, Jackie noticed how he seemed to keep his distance from the contraption. Sure, she understood why caution was necessary in a lab, but from the sound of it, the Ghost Catcher was relatively harmless. 

All it was meant to do was pull out a ghost from an overshadowed human, or target any ecto-contamination that one might have. It wouldn’t hurt a person who accidentally stuck their hand inside. The worst it would do was nothing at all. 

Yet, it might as well be a loaded gun with the way Danny was treating it. The behavior continued when they moved onto the next item, which sounded just as harmless as the last. It looked intimidating, easily being the biggest machine in the room, but it ended up being more of a disruptor than an actual weapon. 

“The name’s honestly not all that great. Dad said he would get around to changing it, but, well, it hasn't happened yet.” Danny grimaced. “It’s called the Ecto-Stoppo-Power-Erfier. And can you guess what it does?”

“Blasts ghosts into a million pieces?” Nick suggested.

Danny blanched. “Um, no but….good guess? It temporarily stops a ghost from accessing their powers. My parents meant for it to work on all of them, but after trial and error, they found out that it’s more unpredictable. It might cut off their ectoblasts, but they can still fly. Or vice versa.” He shrugged. “Honestly, a lot of their inventions are a surprise. They don’t always do exactly what was intended, but they’re still more advanced than nearly every other ghost hunting organization you’ll come across.” 

“Why do you think your parents are so much more ahead of everyone else?” Jackie hadn’t meant to let the question slip out, but she was genuinely curious. In her own research she’d realized that despite how silly the Fentons seemed, they were legitimate geniuses. No one did it quite like them.

Danny seemed to agree, a fond smile crossing his features. It was the first time since being around him that the slight chill in his eyes seemed to clear away completely. 

“I think they’re not afraid to go places others don’t even try going into,” Danny confessed. “They don’t care about looking silly or being wrong. They know they can just try again, that it’s better to be wrong than to not have tried at all. They’re pretty creative with their stuff honestly.”

Jackie nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I’ve got one!” Adrien smiled when he got called on. “You said this one doesn’t completely remove the ghost powers like it was intended to. How come it doesn’t? And why do some of the others not work either?”

“Oof, getting deeper here.” Danny paused. “Okay, keeping in mind I’m definitely not smart like my parents, and this is all just me guessing. One thing my parents have is that they know a lot about ghosts physically, but not mentally. What goes on up here-” He tapped the side of his head. “Is super important. Their obsession, how death has affected their psychology, or just how their mental state affects their powers in general. You have to take it all into account.” He waved at the power blocking machine. “Like this here. I don’t think it actually physically gets rid of a ghost’s powers.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “It’s a mental block.”

He nodded. “Exactly. They’re still there, they just can’t access them. It’s why I think it doesn’t cancel them out completely. Some powers are just like muscle memory and you don’t really have to think about them once you know. Others require a lot more mindfulness.” 

“So if the Fentons knew this, they could improve their inventions so they would be more accurate,” Nick observed.

“Exactly.”

“Then how come you know and they don’t?” Jackie couldn’t help but think Danny sounded like he was speaking from personal experience.

That odd glint was back in his eye again. Wariness. 

“My parents don’t exactly believe in theories like this. They’re things you’d have to figure out by talking to a ghost,” Danny said. “And they wouldn’t be exactly thrilled if they realized I talked to the one they hate the most.”

“Phantom,” Adrien whispered. “I totally forgot you’re the one that lent him your parents’ SUV.”

“Yup.” Danny didn’t seem too thrilled to elaborate. “Anyway, this next thing is called the anti-creep stick. Any guesses what it does?”

It looked like a regular bat to Jackie.

“Does it electrocute ghosts? Rip their souls out of their body?” Nick gasped. “Turn them into Jell-o?”

“Okay, maybe you’re creative too.” Danny snorted. “It’s just a bat with the word Fenton on it, I was just messing with you.”

While the other boys laughed, Jackie wondered how they didn’t notice the obvious avoidance tactic Danny was using. There was something there, something they were getting close to that made Danny uncomfortable. She figured she’d poked around enough for now, but she kept her guard up as they walked.

Danny led them over to the rest of the inventions he had laid out for them, all pretty interesting if Jackie was being honest. But more interesting to her were his mannerisms. He was extremely expressive, his whole face an open book and his arms moving in wide arches. 

There was also a tendency there to downgrade himself slightly. Every intelligent remark would be quickly followed by a ridiculous joke or pun, and his otherwise tall height was hidden away by the heavy slouch of his shoulders. They were things that could be easily attributed to shyness, but Jackie didn’t think that was the case.

It was like he was doing it on purpose, like he had all these brittle attempts laid out to try and hide anything out of place. It made it tough for her to pinpoint it, but she knew some things were off. She didn’t know what, couldn’t place her finger on it…

“Look Jackie, I think this is the ghost portal.” Adrien’s whisper caught her off guard. She was so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t even realized her feet were following behind the group. 

When she looked up, she saw what he was talking about. It was a large metallic doorway with black and yellow stripes going across it diagonally. It loomed above them, and even closed, she could feel heavy energy emanating from behind it. The boy’s beside her stared at it in awe, and she couldn’t help doing the same.

“Can we see what’s on the other side?” She blurted out. 

When she looked, she saw Danny shake his head. “No can do, sorry. I put it on sleep mode specifically for the tour of the lab. The moment I open it, some ghost is bound to come in.”

“What if we turned it off?” Nick suggested. “Just to take a look inside.”

Danny stiffened, expression taking on a darker quality. Jackie swore she felt the temperature drop a few degrees. 

Adrien’s shivering form beside her confirmed it. 

“Doing that would be a huge hazard,” Danny responded, sounding like he was forcing the words out through clenched teeth. “I can’t do that. I can’t…” He sighed and tried again. “It’s dangerous. But I can show you a 3D model of what it looks like when it’s on? It’s over on this computer.”

None of them denied the offer, Adrien specifically seeming all too eager to get rid of the tense air. From her position, Jackie was able to inspect Danny’s side profile, body going numb when she finally found what exactly had made her tick.

Danny was a very expressive person, from head to toe. But looking back on it, and seeing him now, she noticed there was an odd pattern. In between all those gestures and nervous habits, he had moments where he was completely still. Unnaturally still. 

Subtly eyeing his chest from her peripheral vision, Jackie realized he wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t be, not when he was making such a great effort to resemble a marble statue. The only thing moving was his hand on the computer mouse, and his eyes as they flitted across the screen.

Even that didn’t match though. Everything joint down was turning, but the rest of his arm was completely still. And his eyes, they were moving, but something was missing.

They weren’t blinking. 

Feeling a sense of deja vu, Jackie itched to ask the one question she hadn’t been able to the previous day. “Yesterday, Phantom told us that it’s rude to ask a ghost about how they died.”

Danny hummed, clicking open a folder and pulling up a multi dimensional model of the portal, but with a churning mass of green where it was now metal. 

“And see, I’m really curious about something.” Jackie could feel both Adrien and Nick’s eyes pinning her from either side. “There’s no ghosts around, and with the portal disabled, there won’t be any time soon. So, I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

Nick made a neck slicing gesture beside her but she ignored it. 

“How did Phantom die?” She blurted out. 

This time, she was certain she wasn’t imagining the rapid chill. Her breath fogged in front of her, goosebumps crawling all along her arms. Danny stopped moving altogether, and had she blinked, she would’ve missed the moment when his eyes flashed a colder blue. 

It wasn’t in her head. The eyes in the picture, they were the exact ones that were facing her now. 

Wait, when had he turned to face her? 

Jackie’s lungs suddenly felt like they had filled with water, and she stepped back. Still, Danny’s eyes bore into hers, pupils shrunken so intensely that his iris almost seemed made up entirely of blue. She didn’t know how to react, what to say to make him seem less like he was going to rip into her any minute. 

Nick’s hand abruptly shot over to grasp onto her arm, as if he were ready to jump in front of her any second. The movement seemed enough to snap Danny out of whatever trance he was in, body slowly relaxing from its stock straight position. 

“I don’t know. He’s a ghost, he doesn’t exactly advertise that information.” Danny’s form seemed to blur for a moment, forcing Jackie to squint just to look at him. “But I’d prefer it if you didn’t ask me a question like that again.” 

“Why?” Adrien chuckled nervously beside her. “It’s not like there’s a ghost here, right?” 

“We’re in Amity.” Danny reverted back to looking more normal, shoulders slouched as they were before. At least, it was what Jackie thought, up until his lips curled back in a grin. “Always assume there’s a ghost around.” 

There was no denying that his canines could tear through skin. 

….

“Thank you, I’ll leave a five star on Yelp!” Adrien laughed hysterically at his own joke, waving frantically back at Danny as all three of them rushed down the front steps of Fentonworks. 

Jackie threw her own polite thank you and goodbye as a precaution, snapping her head forward as they quickly walked away. She could sense that Nick was bursting with the urge to say something, but she sent him a warning glare, daring him to open his mouth before they were completely out of earshot. 

It wasn’t until they had rounded the block corner that she led them both onto the steps of a stranger’s house and groaned. “I wasn’t the only one that thought that was freaky, right?” 

“It wasn’t just you.” Nick was leaning forward, hands on his knees. “That was so confusing. Like one second he was really nice and chill, and the next I felt like I was being targeted. What the fuck?” He frowned, shooting her a glare of his own. “And what was that? Were you trying to get us killed?”

“It was only a question!” She crossed her arms defensively. “We didn’t go there to not ask questions.” 

“Holy shit.” Adrien seemed to be in his own world. “Does this mean we got two tours with a ghost?”

“Is that why he was so defensive about Phantom?” Nick’s eyes widened. “They’re afterlife friends or something? But that doesn’t make sense. He can’t be.”

“No, you’re right.” Adrien shook his head, chuckling in little puffs of air. “‘Cause that would be insane. A ghost can’t live with ghost hunters.”

“Yeah, what were we even thinking?” Nick huffed, standing up straight. “And walking into a lab like that so casually? Doesn’t make sense.”

Jackie bit her lip, not quite sure about that. 

Something was beginning to take shape in her head. It was a thought so ridiculous, so out there, that she didn’t feel bold enough to say aloud. It wouldn’t make sense, would make her seem like the crazy one. It just wasn’t possible.

Even as she tried convincing herself, another part whispered, “But what if it is?”

“Shit, my mom’s here to pick us up.” Nick stopped wherever he was in the conversation to look behind him, where a honking sound had rung. “You want a ride with us, Jackie?”

“No, no I’m good. My mom’s picking me up too.” She smiled, trying her best to appear more put together. “Thank you though.”

“Hey, no problem. Thanks for inviting us over with you today.” Nick looked over again at another honk. “Just text us whenever okay? It was cool meeting you.” 

“Same here.” Jackie waved to both of them, noting that Adrien still seemed the most out of it. 

Whatever conclusion he decided on, she hoped he would be okay. Perhaps she could check in on him later, make sure that he wasn’t losing his mind nearly as much as she felt she was losing hers. 

Jackie waited for the pair of friends to get into the car before pulling out her own phone. She was only there for another few days, destined to leave the crazy city of Amity behind eventually. She could forget her past few days there had ever even happened, that it was just a regular tourist visit to any regular city. 

Jackie could, but it wasn’t in her nature. She was a Weston after all.

Determined despite her shaking fingers, she dialed a familiar number and waited for the voice on the other line to answer. 

After a few rings, she heard a monotone “hi” and the shuffling of papers. 

“Hey Wes.” Jackie checked around her, making sure she was completely alone. “Can we sneak out of your place today? I need you to help me investigate something.” 

“Depends.” He sighed. “Is it worth me getting grounded over?”

“Maybe. Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I need you to help me figure out the connection between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. I have an idea but…I want to make sure before saying it.”

The shuffling on the other end went completely still. “You figured it out?”

“That they’re….” She didn’t need to finish the statement. 

“Yeah. You did!” There was the screeching of a chair and choked out laughter. “Forget that. I have all the proof compiled here. I never thought I would see the day when someone-shit.” More laughter. “Come straight to my room once you and Aunt Maddie get back.”

“What’re you gonna show me?” She fidgeted, catching her mom’s car approaching.

“Everything.” Wes’ voice grew conspiratory. “All the proof you’ll ever need to prove Phantom and Fenton are one and the same.”

[otptings]

Bear & Bunny

→Idols: Lee Haechan & Na Jaemin (only picture that I could find with Haechan & Jaemin, sorry Jeno Stans)

→Requested: yesss Hi!!!! I wanted to know if you could write a something along the lines of dancing to bachata with jaemin and haechan and it gettin really steamy and you end up speaking in Spanish with them and it really turns them on 😳😳😳 and they end up really whiny and needy . Haechan gets bratty and grinds up on y/n and jaemins whining starts to get annoying so y/n needs to put them in the toilets but someone walks in so they have to be quite but end up leaving to finish off at home and y/n ends up punishing them at home by overstimulating them and making them cry by straping them up with ropes and putting viberators on them while you just watch them and messing with the controls but ends up feeling nice and takes it off them and cuddles them oop thanks in advance:)

→Genre: Smut

→Word Count: 3k+

→Warnings: semipublic sex , three some m/m/w (there is mxm action in here), shibari, deepthroating, edging, brat!Haechan, sweet!Jaemin, overstimulation, sweet aftercare, degradation, female masturbation, oral (m receiving), fluff towards the end,

→Synopsis: Dancing with your boyfriends was a great date idea, having sat through multiple dance practices and knowing that they could keep up. But after your brat affects your good boy you need to take matters into your own hands

→A/n: this took a good minute for me to write, and it took me a while to get a consistent theme going for the writing, I still am not too proud of it, but I like the ending well enough so I'm still happy with it. this is my first mxm anything on Tumblr I believe, so I really hope that you guys enjoy it. if you did please like, reblog, or donate to my Ko-Fi in my bio. If you like this you can request they are open for NCT, Enhypen, SVT, and Treasure.

You loved your boyfriends, it was glaringly obvious. No matter how much you jokingly rolled your eyes at their sometimes extreme displays of affection when it came to you, or jokingly threatened to change the locks on your apartment so that they would finally sleep in their respective dorms it was clear to see. You were completely and undeniably smitten by them, and who could blame you? Haechan and Jaemin were two of the sweetest people you know, and always knew how to woo you. Maybe that’s why the both of them courting you was successful when you had zero plans to date an idol.

Maybe also do to the rare elaborate surprises they planned for you when both of their schedules coincided enough to have a day free. Like when they convinced the company ( and Chenle) to rent out - Haechan’s expensive ass idea - Lotte World for the three of you on your three month anniversary , or when they take you on a really sweet date that causes them both to tease you relentlessly over your crying, like the time when they created the perfect picnic area - Jaemin’s idea -  curated with your all three of your favorite snacks and drinks just to gift you promise rings on your two year anniversary along with a picture book - Haechan’s idea again, occasionally his ideas are cute, and cheap- of random moments from dates over the years.

Their complicated and meticulous dates always made any that you planned pale in comparison. Despite this the boys were always ecstatic when you convinced them to take a day off for a date night. This time you were able to book a practice room - with the help of Taeyong - for two hours and were planning a special date that you hoped would even be on the sama radar as theirs. You were going to teach them how to dance. Not just any dance, bachata. They were constantly wanting to know how to learn Spanish, so why not teach them a special dance?

That was the original plan at least, spend one hour teaching them, and one hour dancing along with them. You’ve sat through many of their practices, including some routines that were bordering on inappropriate for their fan base, so you knew that they would be able to keep up where friends and exes failed. Sure, the dance tended to be more on the sensual side with how close you had to be and the soft music, but you really only had dancing in mind when you planned this.

However, dancing along with them with Jaemin behind you, he likes back hugs and holding you around your waist, and Haechan in front, he gets handsy when he thinks you can’t see them, and you were starting to regret it. The first hour passed quickly, both of the boys catching on quickly due to their lifestyles, so when you joined them the three of you moved in sync. Despite your hips being pressed against Haechan, and Jaemin’s grip on you bordering on painful, they were perfect dance partners despite the unconventional method. The three of you were in casual conversation and you were grateful that they had agreed to dance with you.

“Mis buenos chicos. Tan orgullosa de ti.” Jaemin started to giggle, squeezing your waist twice while Haechan’s jaw dropped, causing a giggle to escape you too. You’ll never understand why the boys are so amazed hearing you speak Spanish. Hell, they speak three languages almost fluently to your measly two.

“What’d you say? Say something else in Spanish.” Haechan’s voice started taking on the whiny tone that you ‘hated’, pouting all the while.

“It sounds so nice.” Jaemin spoke up from his spot behind, placing his head in the crook of your neck so you could feel his breath ghosting over the sensitive skin. Having both of their attention on you tended to be intense, especially now having them pressed so tightly against you with the sensual music playing softly over the speakers.

“Los mimo demasiado a ustedes dos.” You hated how easily you gave in to them, but their shared amazement made it a little worthwhile. “You guys are always so amused. It’s not that impressive.”

“It’s sexy when you speak Spanish.” You smacked Jaemin’s arm jokingly, giggling when his grip on you tightened. Surprisingly through this whole exchange you’d hadn’t stopped dancing, faltered temporarily at the beginning but were still smoothly dancing against each other. Though this dance isn’t supposed to be sexual you couldn’t help but admit that having two extremely attractive men dancing against you, and ones that you were lucky enough to call your boyfriends was starting to get you worked up, and you could feel the fire starting to grow in your stomach.

Haechan is known for his bratty behavior with his groupmates on camera, if only his fans knew how far it truly goes. Like now, his knee sliding in between your legs, purposefully pressing against your clothed cunt. You know that all he wants is a reaction out of you if the smug smirk on his face is anything to go by. Jaemin wasn’t a brat but something about Haechan made him want to act up. That’s the excuse he’ll try to use when you inevitably punish them later. For now all Jaemin can think about is relieving the building pressure in any way possible, even if it means rutting against you accidentally causing you to grind on Haechan’s thigh. That pulled a shaky gasp out of you, and made you come to your senses.

“Stop.” They instantly backed away from you, giving you enough space to take a deep breath without the smell of both of their enticing colognes. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Jaemin had the nerve to at least look ashamed, staring down at his shoes while holding his hands behind his back. Haechan on the other hand wanted to irritate you, smug smirk still painting his face.

“I wanted to have fun. Wasn’t that the point of this?” A pout replaced his smirk, but his tone told you everything you need to know.

“Bunny? Any excuses?” Jaemin only shook his head quickly, knowing that they wouldn’t help the situation. Smart bunny.

“You still want to have fun, bear?” Stepping closer to Haechan you grabbed his chin harshly, forcing him to make eye contact with you and the brat inside of him faltered a little. Knowing that he wouldn’t like whatever outcome.

“I do. If I can’t have fun with you then I'll just have fun with Jaemin. He’ll let me touch him.” Laughing you pulled your hand back, before smacking Haechan’s cheek. A shocked gasp left his mouth from the impact but it got him to finally shut up.

“We still have 20 minutes until your manager comes to take us back to your dorms. I’m going to the bathroom down the hall, you two will pack everything up and meet me. You have five minutes.” Turning around you briskly walked out of the room, smiling when you heard the two of them scrambling to get their stuff. First thing you did was set the timer on your phone for three minutes and 30 seconds - who said the boys really needed the full five - the second thing was making sure the bathroom was completely clear. Last thing you needed was for there to be another scandal about your relationship with the boys.

Excitement ran through you as the timer ticked down, closer to their inevitable punishment. It was down to the last 30 seconds when the bathroom door opened and Jaemin peaked in. Once Jaemin saw you he quickly walked into the bathroom followed by Haechan with 17 seconds to spare.

“Good boys, you’re on time at least.” Jaemin shyly smiled while dropping his bag and kicking it to the corner. Haechan followed suit, not wanting to get in any more trouble than he already was.

“Lock the door bunny. Haechan, on the counter, hands on your thighs. No touching.”

Jaemin locked the door while Haechan hopped on the counter, a pout evident on his plump lips but he knew that he was in no place to argue. Jaemin crossed the room in two steps, tugging his lip in between his teeth while wringing his hands nervously. Grabbing his shirt you pulled Jaemin closer to you until he was pressed against your chest, wrapping one of your arms around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss, ignoring the way that Haechan whined at the lack of attention.

Kissing Jaemin was always soothing even when he knew he was in trouble. Jaemin allows you to lead, constantly relenting all control to you. It wasn’t in him to try and change the tempo or take it further. He was at your mercy and only moved at your pace, sliding his tongue over your bottom lip only after you’d already nipped at his. At first the kiss was awkward, too nervous over where to put his hands, still wary of his punishment but they finally made their way to your waist. Sliding your hand up into his hair you tugged lightly, swallowing his high pitched moan. When Jaemin started to rut against your leg, finally losing the slightest control was when you pulled away.

His blown out eyes, and bright blush lining his cheeks made you want to devour him but you had to pace yourself, and him. Last thing you wanted was for him to cum before you got home and truly played with him. Grabbing the top of his sweatpants you looked up at him, waiting for his subtle head nod before pulling them down to the top of his thighs. Just enough to release his pretty cock.

“This isn’t fair.” Haechan whined from his spot on the counter. How dare you forget about him? Sitting here not getting any attention while Jaemin got everything. Wasn’t this supposed to be a punishment for the both of them? “Why is Jaemin getting all the attention from you? He was bad too.” Haechan was falling right into your trap and didn’t even know it.

“You're right. Maybe you should give Jaemin attention instead. Come here.” Haechan pouted again, realizing that he still wasn’t getting any attention from you before jumping off of the counter and replacing your spot. “You play with Jaemin all that you want, but don’t let him cum.” Haechan being a complete cum slut, already wanted to complain despite getting exactly what he wanted. You were no longer playing with Jaemin, he was.

“That’s not fair.” Haechan whined again but shut up when he saw you rummaging around in your bookbag. He went quiet when you pulled out the pretty vibrating plug, one of his least favorite toys due to your tendency of plugging him before leaving the apartment and sporadically turning it on until his knees turned to jelly.

“Think about it like this. If you make him cum then you’ll be wearing a vibrator until we get home.” Haechan rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Jaemin, looking up at him with his pretty brown eyes that constantly got him what he wanted outside of moments like this. Jaemin gulped loudly when Haechan placed his hand around the base of his cock, not lube or spit, just the roughness of his palm as he started to slowly move his hand.

“How does it feel bunny?” Jaemin wanted to whine at your taunting tone, used to your near constant praise for him.

“G-good.” You giggled at his voice cracking. Haechan never stopped working him over his hand, now placing his pouty lips around the head, causing Jaemin’s hand to fly from his side where he had them balled up by his side to Haechan’s hair, fisting it tightly as his mouth dropped open. Haechan’s tongue darted out and licked over the slit, tasting the salty pre cum as he suckled on the tip.

There was one thing that Haechan did best, and that was tease. Which is why you weren’t surprised when he pulled off Jaemin’s cock, and licked a broad strip up his balls to the head. A loud moan left Jaemin’s mouth, which quickly multiplied and reverberated off of the tiled bathroom walls when Haechan took as much of his cock down his mouth. Jaemin’s cock may have been longer than Haechan’s, but it was skinnier, enough to satisfy you but still leave you wanting more. Explains why Haechan easily made it to the base, pubes tickling his nose while he took a deep breath to relax his throat, the smell of Jaemin’s favorite body wash and slight must from dancing for so long. Haechan looked up at Jaemin as best he could, causing Jaemin’s hand to drop from his hair down to his cheek, stroking it sweetly with his thumb. Jaemin spared you the first glance since Haechan started blowing him and wasn’t shocked to see you sitting on the counter, one leg propped up showing off that you were two fingers deep in your soaking wet cunt, eyes just as blown out as Haechan’s. Smiling sweetly at him you pulled your fingers out, rubbing them over your clit.

The moment was interrupted by someone rattling the bathroom door, causing all three of you to nearly jump out of your skin. Haechan gagged quietly as Jaemin unconsciously bucked his hips. Silence fell over the bathroom as none of you dared to move until you heard the sound of quiet cursing and footsteps heading back down the hallway. Haechan pulled off, coughing lightly as he wiped the drool and tears off of his face.

“Too close. Let’s get home so I can punish you two properly.”

-

The boys deserve their punishment, Haechan actually craves them. You couldn’t allow them to think that if they teamed up against you they could be in control, that they were suddenly the doms in the relationships. Especially when they looked so pretty as your subs.

Like right now, the both of them were kneeling on your carpeted bedroom floor. Both of them tied up - Jaemin with his favorite light pink rope, Haechan with his favorite dark red - the ropes contrasting their skin tones perfectly. It was a simple tie, something to keep their hands bound behind their back, looping over their chest just for a little more stability. A pair of scissors was resting on the dresser safely out of their reach unless they used their safe word. That wouldn’t happen tonight though.

The boys were playing with their favorite toys, Haechan’s vibrating plug and Jaemin’s vibrating cock ring, and the results were already better than you thought they’d be. You’ve already turned down the vibrations multiple times, postponing both of their orgasms until you felt that they deserved it. Climbing off the bed you cupped both of their cheeks, relishing in their flushed faces and bright blushes spreading over their chests. Jaemin’s moans were music to your ear, almost harmonizing with Haechan’s needy whines, both of them wiggling around in their ropes. Jaemin’s moans were beautiful but you needed him to be quiet, both of them actually, if you didn’t want the neighbors to hear.

So you did. Pulling your hand away you slapped Haechan on his right cheek, feeling a twinge of arousal in your stomach at his loud gasp at the feeling. Placing your hand softly on his cheek you turned to Haechan, rubbing his bottom lip with your thumb.

You couldn’t help but feel warmth blooming in your chest at the sight in front of you, Haechan nuzzling into your palm as you rubbed his cheek, soothing the burn from the slap while Jaemin opened his mouth, taking your thumb into his mouth.

Seeing the sight of your two beautiful boys, completely vulnerable to whatever you decided to, red marks appearing on their skin where the rope loosened enough to rub over the exposed skin. Lips puffy and bright red due to their kissing and biting. Knowing that they trusted you enough to let you punish them, neither safe wording even if their knees are getting rubbed raw, and they were shaking from the constant edging.

Though you were punishing them for trying to team up against you, truthfully both of your boys held all of the power.

“So pretty. My beautiful baby boys.” Jaemin ran his tongue over the pad of your thumb, sighing as he sucked on it aggressively. “Wanna come for me?” Pleads of ‘mommy’, ‘please’, and ‘need to’ left Haechan’s lips, Jaemin letting out a garbled moan around your thumb.

“Cum for me then.” Reluctantly you sat back, letting go of them and turning the settings up.

They always know how to put on a good show, even when they’re not trying. Like now, Jaemin was the first to cum, squirting all over his thighs and lower stomach with a loud cry. Quiet sobs leaving his mouth as overstimulation set in before you cut off his vibrator and turned your attention to Haechan. Haechan’s loud moans have only gotten louder since you turned it up, achieving impressive pitch as he finally came. Leaning forward to place his head on the edge of the mattress as his body continued to shake. Turning off his vibrator you allowed the both of them to catch their breath, combing your hands through their hair as they’re quiet breathing filled the room.

Looking at the boys now, cleaned after their shared shower and in fresh pajamas, sleeping practically on top of eachother - Jaemin loves sleeping on someone’s chest - that same warmth grew again from your place in the doorway. Blessed is the true word you could use, that these two amazing boys were all yours. Walking over to the bed you lifted the blanket up, snuggling in behind Jaemin and sighing as his warmth seemed to surround you.

“Bear?” Jaemin’s sleepy murmurs surprised you, having assumed the boys were already asleep.

“No baby. Go back to sleep.” Jaemin groaned lowly, turning around and throwing his arm over your waist, pulling you closer to him.

“Night. Love you.” Jaemin’s sentence faded off towards the end, followed by a deep sigh as he fell back asleep. Reaching over to Haechan, you pushed his hair out of his face, smiling softly as Haechan moved closer to your hand.

“Love you too. Both of you, so much.”

[beomglocks]

happy (very) 'belated' father’s day

summary : the only father willing to come to the dinner

pairing : dilf neighbor!soobin x (legal)!reader x beomgyu (?)

warnings & other: i wrote the day after fathers day, the title is edited bc im posting this like WAY later LOL, threesome (?), degradation, some beomgyu (no incest), sub!beomgyu if you squint like really fucking hard, definitely not a normal relationship, slight exhibitionism, some possessiveness, DON’T read if you’re uncomfortable with age gaps, edit: REwriting this, this one is for the dilf soobin stans, eat up, don't say i don't feed yall, enjoy <3, kind of proofread

w/c : ~4k

you realize it now.

after living side by side with mr. choi soobin and his son, beomgyu, for a couple of weeks, you’ve started to realize something quite interesting.

1. your mother has a liking for tall lean men.

2. she also has a liking for trying to set you up with the tall lean mens’ son.

now, you wouldn't say you're exactly opposed to getting close to beomgyu. he's conventionally attractive and he seems like a nice boy but you're very much more attracted to the one who created him. it made sense after all.

"give these to mr. choi for me?" your mother all but shoves the roses and chocolates in your arms. you look down quizzically at such gifts. "it's not valentine's day.." you trail off.

you have a strange feeling that soobin would be put off by such acts, not seeming to be as out there as your mother. she doesn't care.

"it's fathers day..well it was...yesterday," she shrugs, fixing her bombshell red lipstick. why was she doing herself up? well a certain mr. choi was coming over.

despite the fact that your own father was out of the picture, that didn't stop your mom from wanting to celebrate every holiday in existence. unfortunately, the only willing father in town to partake in your mother's antics was mr. choi.

he liked to rile her up, you notice. soobin liked to toy with your mother's clear affection towards him, just as he did you. he also liked to throw it in your face sometimes. you didn't say what you observed but you knew he liked to make her feel wanted by a much younger, much more handsome man.

without another word, you decide to give the outlandish gifts to your neighbor. you sigh, looking down at the gifts. some assorted chocolates, nice flower arrangements, and what seems to be a sealed note? you want to roll your eyes but a part of you wonders if soobin would really like these kinds of things.

when you get to the door and ring the bell, the door swings open and there's stands the man himself. he's more put together than you at the moment so you feel out of place even at the front step of his house.

"always a pleasant surprise~" he smiles. his eyes trail down to the gifts in your arms. "for me?" his eyes grow wide and his pouty lips, the ones which you suddenly can't stop staring at since they seemed to be stained cherry red, lay slightly agape.

"from my mom," you deadpan, holding the gifts out. "she's generous~" "overbearing," you correct. "we seem to have different views then," he shrugs. "where's my gift from you though? this can't be all," he ponders in faux thought.

you smile shyly, looking down in embarrassment. "what did you get me baby?" he teasingly leans down closer to you to properly see your face. "could it be perhaps-"

before soobin can place a hand on you, beomgyu comes from downstairs. he's looking sharp, which suits him a lot, you admit. his hair is parted, giving you a teasing view of his forehead. regardless of the fact that he's wearing casual clothes, a stark contrast from his father who dawns an all black attire, beomgyu still manages to make it work for him.

"we'll be seeing you at the dinner," soobin clears his throat, noticing your apparent staring at his son. you can tell that he feels off put by your slight attraction to beomgyu. however small or minuscule it may be its still there to him.

the dinner goes almost exactly how you thought it would. soobin and your mother hit it off, talking about whatever they could to distract themselves from their children for a while. to your surprise soobin barely interacts with you. he seems too occupied with entertaining your mom to pay you any mind.

you're not sure why but this bothers you. beomgyu is occupied in the bathroom at the moment so you can't help but glance in their direction every couple of seconds. your mom is currently leaning against soobin's broad shoulder, laughing at something he's previously said. so he’s a comedian.

you watch as he looks down at her with a satisfied smile on his face. you bite the inside on your cheek and as if on cue, soobin looks up in your direction and smirks. it's almost as if he's taunting you. you bite down harder until you taste something metallic in your mouth.

you're not sure where this feeling of jealously is coming from and you know it's not healthy but you can't help it. maybe you've gotten too attached to your older neighbor in these past couple of weeks.

beomgyu comes out of the restroom with a sigh, walking back into the living room where you are. he can feel a weird tension in your general area but decides not to comment on it. suddenly you stand up, catching beomgyu off guard.

"come on beomgyu!" you say loud enough for everyone to hear especially soobin. the man in question practically pauses in speech midway to look over at you and his son. he eyes you both, mainly giving you a glare that will be engraved in your mind but you don't care. he needs a taste of his own medicine.

"come on let's go to my room, i need to show you something~" you urge him along. meanwhile, you say those words while staring straight at soobin. you hear your mom assure him that it's ok, "the kids are doing their own thing." you knew you were being childish and petty but if soobin wanted to fuck around with you this is what he would have to deal with as well.

you drag beomgyu along to your room who seems quite eager to be in this position. all he knows is that there's a weird tension between you and his father but that's as far as his knowledge goes.

when you both arrive at your room you close the door behind you and lean back on it. "is everything alright?" beomgyu hesitantly asks. you sigh, ushering him along to sit on the bed with you. he looks around subtly at all the little items in your room. everything seems to reflect you well, in his opinion. "well.." you try to stall.

you look up at him through your lashes. "you like me right?" beomgyu stares at you with wide eyes, "i-i mean yeah?" he stutters at your boldness.

"then lets try something," you smile at him, casually pulling your shirt over your head. "let's see how long it takes for your dad to come see us in this position," you say to yourself.

soobin doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to know what's going on here. he knows you're being a brat on purpose but he doesn't care because it makes it all the more fun. he will say he's surprised that you're using beomgyu, his own son, to get to him.

at first, he was getting annoyed with how you seemed to take a liking for his son which is why he wanted to rile you up by seeming extra interested in whatever your mom had to say. now, however, he knew he had a plan for that. you were not going to outsmart him, he wouldn't allow it and he would just have to put you in your place.

"excuse me but i need to use your restroom," soobin makes up a bullshit excuse to get to where you are. "oh of course!" your mom nods at him, instructing him towards the one upstairs. perfect.

"ill just finish up the dinner then!" your mother offers. "great that's enough time to put this slut in her place," he thinks. he smiles at your mom heading for upstairs.

"beomgyu you look like you just saw a ghost," you chuckle lightly, looking down at him. "y/n," he groans at the sight of only seeing you in your bra. he reaches up to grab your breasts, fondling them as delicately as possible. "you can be rough," you offer.

without even bothering to knock on the door, soobin opens it to see you both on the bed in a lewd position. you shirtless on top of beomgyu. he sucks his teeth when you both look back in alarm at the door being burst open. "y/n," he chuckles, almost sadistically.

you can already see the look in his eyes and suddenly you feel bad for not only yourself but beomgyu as well. you try to subtly grab your shirt again in shame but soobin's glare stops you. "what do you think you're doing little slut?" he folds his arms over his chest. not even caring that beomgyu is in the room, he walks over to you and grabs your hair causing you to yelp in surprise.

"s-sir.." soobin narrows his eyes at you then they flit over to beomgyu. "sit over there," he motions to the beanbag in the corner of the room. "i want you to learn something from this." without another word, beomgyu scrambles over to the seat, his heart beating in fear and excitement strangely.

you feel heat rising up your neck and to your cheeks as well as your dripping pussy. "don't be embarrassed, im sure this was your plan all along," soobin tsks, shoving your face down into the sheets. you breathe out when he rips the skirt and underwear from your body without a second thought. the racy thong that was supposed to be his surprise for father's day discarded in a second.

"soobin-" a smack to your ass. "that's not my name."

he doesn't even give you a chance to correct yourself, messing with your sticky juices before entering his cold fingers into your hole. you try to stifle your moan by burying your head further into the sheets.

"god you're so wet," soobin comments. he slowly moves his finger in and out for a while, practically torturing you with how meticulous and slow he's being. "please," you whine pathetically. "please what?" he slows his movements to stare at you with a raised eyebrow.

"please f-fuck me, please, i need your cock," you beg shamelessly. beomgyu breathes heavily, trying to forget about his growing boner but not being able to ignore it. he painfully wants to do something about it but he's not sure if he's allowed to touch himself.

he opts for subtly dragging his hand to his clothed crotch and palming himself through his pants, as uncomfortable as it is. in the meantime, soobin rids himself of his own pants, shaking his head.

he lightly smacks your throbbing pussy and you jolt. "do you seriously think you deserve it? fuck, look at you, can’t wait to be fucked like a bitch in heat~" you whine, wiggling your ass wordlessly in his face to hopefully get what you want.

soobin rubs your clit with narrowed eyes, making sure beomgyu is watching. he could care less that beomgyu is touching himself. he drags some of your cum from your hole to your clit and sighs. "alright then.."

he aligns himself with your hole and without another word slips his cock in with ease, completely bottoming out.

you want to scream at how big he is but you're only left with ragged pants as you know you're unable to make any loud noises. it seriously feels like you could be torn apart at any minute but you love the feeling of soobin’s cock filling you out.

"you're so tight seriously," soobin breathes. he can barely move at first. the way his dick fits inside of your pussy perfectly. he almost wants to comment about how you were practically made for him. he's sure if he flips you over right now, he would see the outline of his cock in your womb.

after waiting a bit for you to adjust to his length he finally starts moving. "shit-" he breathes. you have to grip the sheets to stop yourself from yelling. soobin's hands find their way to your waist and when you look to the side just for a split second you can see beomgyu fighting for his life to not moan out loud.

"look beomgyu-" soobin says in between jagged breaths. "if you wanna fuck around with his pathetic slut this is how you treat her." a moan gets caught in your throat when soobin pounds into you at once. "ah- i-" a part of you wants to apologize and is trying to but he won't give you a chance to speak.

"isn't that right my slutpuppy? did you have something to add?" at the sound of the nickname your walls tighten around him and he sends a harsh smack to your ass. "you're enjoying this aren't you?" he rolls his eyes and sighs heavily.

soobin thrusts start getting faster and faster, beomgyu watching with his mouth agape at his father kissing and sucking at your neck to muffle his own moans. beomgyu can only bite his lip and noises from his throat barely pass his lips as he reaches his high.

soobin growls at seeing your eyes focus on beomgyu so he starts slamming his cock into you at an animalistic pace and you think you might break.

beomgyu bucks into his hand as he cums from the sound and sight of skin slapping added with the tiny noises you'd make. not too long after you feel yourself shudder, unable to warn soobin that you had come you squeeze your eyes shut and let out a whine instead.

"fuck- ok baby," soobin understands as soon as your walls squeeze around him. he pants a couple a times and as soon as he reaches his high he pulls out, pumping his cock to let his cum shoot out on your ass.

"s-sir," you moan. "shhh it's ok." soobin sighs heavily, coming down from his own high to tend to your broken state. he looks over at beomgyu, who's head is lulled to the side as he gazes at your sweat and semen covered body.

soobin sucks his teeth deciding not to say anything to the boy and let him chill for a minute. he shrugs his pants back on and carries you in his arms to the nearest bathroom.

you cozy up to his warm embrace, letting out a sigh. "baby we need to clean you off.." you hear him whisper. you almost completely forget that there's a dinner that's supposed to be happening and you cant just go to sleep with soobin like you'd want.

a sudden coldness hits your body and you shiver. "ok," you agree. his cum is already starting to dry on you and you want nothing more than to be cleaned like he offers. you're not sure how you'll explain your change of clothes to your mom but you're sure you'll come up with something later.

no words need to be spoken after what happened and you're glad because you're not sure what to say. soobin doesn't seem keen on talking at the moment either, too focused on cleaning you off, so you decide to stay quiet.

it's silent in the bathroom until you both hear your mother all out. "dinner's ready!"

you chuckle, breaking the silence as soobin looks up at you with a questioning eyebrow. “happy father’s day.”

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Dark Shenanigans - Nandor x (f)reader

Summary: It’s Nadja’s something hundredth birthday, with that said, you’re on a mission to make it great.

Warning: fluff, general vampire nonsense

Masterlist

“Yeah being a half vampire half human does have its perks. I mean for one I can do all that cool vampire shit and I can go out in the sunlight...so that helps for when they’re all being really annoying.” You admit with a casual shrug to one of the documentary cameras before turning to an isle of party supplies. “So anyways we’re at this store.”

The camera shifts to the multiple arras of supplies and materials at the local supermarket in Staten Island that you and your vampire lover’s human familiar, Guillermo, currently are. Specifically on the hunt for birthday decorations for Nadja and ghost Nadja who’s possessed a strange looking doll for the time being.

Since the other four actual full vampires can’t shop for themselves at this time of day or really in general, you and Guillermo have been given such an honorable task in making Nadja’s birthday the best one yet. Considering she’s the most well balanced in the head out of the four of them and is the only other lady of the manor.

“Hey Y/N, how’s this look?” Wonders Guillermo as he holds up a bunch of Mardi Gras beads of yellows, purples, and greens. “Comments, questions, concerns?” He adds with a small smile.

Eyeing up the beads, your head shifts over to the other various colors, “Hrmm, G I’m feeling the vibe you’re going for this year and I like it, but let’s go with Nadja colors.”

Guillermo’s dark eyes light up at your positive suggestion, “Right! So the red and black ones then?”

“Yup. She’ll love that shit.” You state with a satisfied nod of approval, “Let’s get some black and gold confetti from over there and oh, those masquerade masks look cool as fuck.”

You pick up and test out various masks in the background as Guillermo adds some bits of dialogue for the documentary crew, “Um yeah she’s really cool isn’t she.” He says with a smile while glancing at you then back to the camera, “Which is kind of odd since Y/N’s been with Nandor since 1793 so you’d think she’d be a little more like them but no, she’s super chill and really nice.” Suddenly his face goes a bit serious as he leans in to whisper, “But she did kill a whole street gang once when they threw a slur at me so I wouldn’t mess with her. For your safety.”

The camera pans back over to an oblivious you who’s put on a masquerade mask and is swinging a plastic light saber around with a whole lot more accuracy and grace then would a normal person. The camera then pans back to Gullimero, “Um, I’m just gonna....make sure she doesn’t smack anyone.”

——

Arms full of groceries of food for you and Gullimero, as well as random party decorations for Nadja’s birthday tomorrow night, you use the bottom of your boot to skillfully open the door as the documentary crew and Guillermo follows suit. Guillermo now on the verge of falling over with the large heart shaped pillow in his arms that’s covering most of his body.

You don’t feel tired in the slightest due to your half vampiric abilities so this is nothing to you, “Alright.” You state, turning on your heel to face the crew and Guillermo, “They’re asleep so we gotta be extra sneaky now, I don’t want Nadja catching us with all this cool spooky birthday shit. Everyone to the attic!” You whisper yell before leading the charge to the attic.

They all follow as quietly and as quickly as they can and then soon enough in no time are you and Guillermo back outside in the sunny garden trying to figure out if you should blow up the giant sea monster pool floaty.

“I mean it would look cool as hell and no doubt out-do whatever the fuck boring thing Lazlo probably has planned.” You quip with a shrug while the two of you stare thoughtfully at the small gloomy dark pond. “He’s got no chance with us. I’ve won best decorator and card maker for two hundred years in a row.”

Guillermo side eyes you in honest amazement, “Wow that’s a lot of years. And cards.”

“I know. I was an artist in the 12th century but my no good terrible good for nothing piece of garbage trash sexist human husband, who I was forced to marry when I was only sixteen, took all the credit for my artwork in that era.” You confirm with a growl, “But it stings less because once I finally grew into my powers and strength at eighteen I simply made his untimely demise look like an accident.” You add with a smirk.

“Oh, wow.” Mutters the intrigued familiar.

“Precisely. The old fool was thrown off his horse because I told Philip, the horse, to throw him off. And he did. Which killed the idiot so I got the house and all of his money.”

“That’s......neat.” Mutters Guillermo as he shoots the camera crew from behind you and him a nervous look. “Uh the suns going down so I should probably help Nandor out of his coffin.”

Raising your head to the sky you immediately see how the sun has begun to paint the clouds in beautiful colors of oranges, reds, light pinks, and darkening purples. “Oh, how bout that. Yeah alright let’s get inside.” You nod to Guillermo before turning to walk towards the manor’s giant mahogany doors.

——

Turning the handle and walking a couple feet into the large main room that holds itself as a sort of crossroads for all the other various connecting hallways and staircases. You don’t make it even three more steps towards the left ascending staircase before you hear the highly recognizable voice of your one and only.

“Y/N! My lovely wife and favorite person still ever so lovely!” Announces Nandor loudly with a grand smile showing off his pearly white fangs, “How I have missed you and your morning kisses. Where have you been off to?” He wonders softly as you smile a big dumb love-struck grin right back up at him, you’d absolutely die to hear that accent one last time.

“I can’t tell you right now it’s a secret!” You whisper yell back, causing his thick dark brows to scrunch up in confusion.

“But I am your lovely strong puff dragon Y/N.” Whines Nandor adorably as you roll your eyes at the cameras before looking back up at him.

“Fine. Come here then.”

In an instant he’s at your side, excitedly awaiting what secretive news you will tell him, “Okay, so we know it’s Nadja’s birthday tomorrow right?”

“Yes. I remember because she hasn’t shut up about it.”

“Right. So me and Gullimero got some fun surprise birthday party decorations and they’re in the attic and we can’t tell Nadja.”

Nandor gives you a knowing look of affirmation as he leans in closer to you, his demeanor suddenly shifting into a more saddened one, “You went shopping without me?” He says quietly.

Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek your hands instantly find his, “Just for a little while, but I still need to find more stuff so....you wanna come?”

Nandor’s big dark eyes light up with joy as you hand him a kind smile, “Yes! Let us go in search of unknown treasures for our lady friend Nadja so she will not be mad at us for terrible dull gifts of friendship.”

Laughing you give his hands a playful squeeze, “Come on I’ll race you to Party City!” You say before leading him past the camera crew and Guillermo who simply watches the two of you leave, glad to have an hour of peace.

“There’s a whole city for partying? Y/N why have we never been to this place?”

——

“Y/N there are no people partying here.” Whines your vampire lover in puzzlement as he follows you from the entrance to a side isle. “You said this was a city for partying.”

“That’s just the name of the store Nans.” You retort with a small chuckle as he looks from right to left at all the color coded party plates and napkins galore.

“Well the title is very misleading.”

“Agreed.”

Turning to the right you guide him towards the decretory pirate themed isle in search of something that will peak his interest. Also you wanted so badly to make it to this spot but Gullimero was a man on a mission so your intention was thwarted for when you had Nandor with you.

Speed walking down the pirate themed isle you quickly halt all movement as Nandor’s large body stops within less than an inch from your back. Smiling brightly you snatch the desired object in front of you and as swift as a cat turn to face him.

“Have you come for a dual my old enemy?” You speak slyly, eyes narrowed as you hold the foam sword right in front of his face. “I sense a nervousness about you. Tell me, are you ready to face your inevitable bloody end?”

Staring at the pointy foam, his dark puppy eyes shift over to you as an adorable fangy grin breaks out across his pale face, “Seems you have come prepared, oh radiant and alluring seductress. Well, so have I!” Shouts Nandor before grabbing two foam swords from off the rack and swinging them in both hands like a mad man.

Taking a cautious step back you hold your pathetic five dollar sword in both hands like a true warrior ready for battle, “Only one shall leave this place alive.” You affirm with a smirk, “And it’s not going to be you.”

“Arrrrrggg.” Bellows your lover as he charges you like the true conqueror that he once was. But all to soon do you swiftly duck under his arms and swat him over his stomach with a confident thwack sound.

He makes a puny little “oww” as you turn around to face him once again, “Y/N you hit me kind of hard.” He complains, looking rather defeated and genuinely hurt that you could have intentionally injured him on purpose.

Bringing the plastic weapon down to your side once again, your face suddenly softens as you walk over to him, “Come here you big baby.” You quip sincerely as he leans down so you can give his cheek a quick kiss.

Rising back to his full height, Nandor almost blushes as the corners of his eyes crinkle into a happy smile, “Actually it didn’t hurt at all I just wanted you to kiss me.” Reveals the vampire with a proud grin as you simply roll your eyes.

“Should have known.” You add before turning and snatching up four more plastic foam pirate swords for the others. “Alright let’s get outta here, follow me my love, to the checkout line we shall purchase our weapons of war and partying on the high seas.” You announce with gusto as Nandor stands proudly at your side, ready to follow you anywhere.

“Yes. To check out.”

——

Kicking open the unlocked door, Nandor bursts into the vampire residence with bags full of goodies for Nadja’s birthday party. You right behind him but less dramatically, “We’re back!” You shout to no one in particular as Colin Robinson suddenly appears from out of nowhere, looking ready to leave with his funny little hat and usual beige jacket.

“Oh hey guys,” He starts with a friendly nod, “I’m just heading out on the town tonight. I guess there’s a fair or something in the park and I wanted to test my skill at the ball toss. I’ve been reading up on the body mechanics and how the game is set up which seems pretty basic all in all. Also I really want to win a stuffed bear this time, it might add a little pizazz to my room. Welp see ya’round.” Adds Colin before walking past the two of you without another word and out into the night he goes with some of the camera crew following close behind.

Nandor turns to you with a look of annoyance, “Jeesh I thought he would never leave. Let’s go to your room I want to kiss you some more now.”

“Why my room?”

“Because since you are half vampire you get to sleep in a bed and because I am a full vampire I sleep in a coffin.” Inquires Nandor while looking at you with those big beautiful dark eyes of his, “And my coffin is too small for cuddles so your room will suffice.”

“Yeah that’s a fair point.” You shrug before following him to your room.

After many cuddles leading to other more rated R type activities that lasted until just about sunrise, you finally got some well needed rest while the sun shone high in the sky until she began her dramatic descend back into oblivion. Opening your eyes you slowly rise from out of your comfy bed, already missing the presence of your obsidian eyed lover.

He gets too nervous about your closed windows for fear that the sun might burn him which would be impossible because you black out the glass. But alas, he’s very cautious about these types of things and won’t risk it for anything, though he feels bad about leaving you in the morning, you understand.

Suddenly it dawns on you that today or perhaps tonight, is Nadja’s birthday and you completely forgot to set up any decorations. Shit, how stupid. Throwing the blankets off of you, your feet move quick as you speedily change yesterday’s outfit for something a bit nicer and more clean.

Racing out of your room and into the dimly lit manor hallway, you make a bee line for the attic but before you’re able to reach the steps, Guillermo runs into you, just about knocking you into a wall of various stolen ancient weapons. Sharp ones at that.

That was close.

“Y/N are you okay!” Worries the familiar as you quickly gather your bearings.

“Guillermo! The decorations! Nadja’s birthday!” You whisper yell as the human man simply smiles. “Why are you smiling, this situation does not call for smiles.”

“Don’t worry. While you were sleeping I set up all the decorations.” He replies with a shrug, “No problem.”

“What? But that must have taken you all day, you could have asked me for help. I would have come.” Your brows furrow as he shakes his head, though you still feel bad for not helping with anything.

“Well I did try, but um,” Gullimero awkwardly clears his throat, giving the camera a quick glance, “Nandor was with you and last time I asked for you while you and him where having alone time he threatened to carve out my eyeballs and force feed them to me.”

Pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance you take a deep breath, “Sounds like him. Very creative when he wants to be, alright, well....where’s everyone?”

“Oh, they’re not up yet. I was actually on my way to get you. I made blood popsicles and the pool floaty is all done and in the pond.” He says with a sense of pride for his decorating skills. “I think she’ll like what we’ve come up with this year.”

-

Standing in the living room with your three fellow immortals you search a dresser for her card, “Oh shit where’s my card? I could have sworn I had it yesterday on my dresser but I don’t remember seeing it there in the morning. Maybe it’s in this one?”

“Witches!” Hisses Nadja as you huff in frustration, where the hell did you put that damn card?

“Oh, Y/N my love,” Intervenes Nandor with a gentle tug of your sleeve, “I took it with me when I left your room before sunrise because I wanted to put my name on it too so she would know it’s from us.”

“What?” Replies Lazlo dramatically, “Now hold on just a damn minute, this card competition is individually scored so I won’t be having any of this nonsense. I worked really hard on mine this year.”

“Oh lick a donkey’s arse, look here,” You retort with, quickly holding up the card for Nadja, “there are two separate drawings on ours so either way if one of us wins she gets both our pictures. So you better hope your drawing doesn’t resemble a night clubs bathroom wall.”

“Yeah.” Mutters Nandor, who’s hiding behind you while resting both hands on either one of your shoulders as you glare at Lazlo.

“Fine.” Agrees Lazlo begrudgingly, “And mine will be amazing, this bitch of paper took me a whole six months to plan and produce. Can’t get quality this good anywhere else I guarantee it.” Adds Lazlo with a firm nod of self approval as you glance at the nearby camera.

“Right, okay everyone sit it’s time for presents. I want to know what you all got me.” Beams Nadja excitedly as she smiles a fangy grin in delight, plopping herself down in one of the arm chairs. Lazlo quickly finding the other one while you and Nandor seat yourself on the large couch. Colin and Guillermo finding somewhere to sit close by respectfully.

“Well, all I can say is hold onto your socks my dear cause this is going to blow you away.” Smirks Lazlo as he pulls a small box from out of his jacket pocket.

“If it’s a self made business card that says invitation to sexy town I will puke.” You deadpan while Nandor laughs from beside you, causing Lazlo to lose his smirk as Nadja hides her amusement the best she can manage.

“He he, sexy town, nice one Y/N.” Mutters Nandor with a proud grin as you raise a brow at Lazlo who’s giving you a hard glare.

“Oh, my dear pumpkin pie love, don’t listen to Y/N I will love anything you gift me.” Encourages Nadja with a bright welcoming smile, no doubt immediately boosting Lazlo’s once irked mood.

Rolling your eyes you shift a bit to find yourself leaning into Nandor’s body as Nadja opens up the rest of the vampire residents various gifts. A joyous fangy smile gracing her pale features every single time, revealing this birthday party was a thrilling success.

After much more fun that just about lasts throughout the whole night, and some rare but hilarious attempts at dancing between the five of you vampiric individuals. You’re feeling rather sleepy and you can tell Nandor is ready for a trip to dreamland as well.

Swaying to the lowly playing record instrumental, you hold Nandor tight while simultaneously enjoying the feeling of him so close, him doing just the same as he keeps you firmly pressed against his chest. His long dark hair tickles your face as he presses his head to your cheek, doing his absolute best to keep the flow without tripping up.

Sensing his growing fatigue, you gently squeeze his hand, “My love the sun will be up soon, let’s get you to bed, yes?”

A small lazy smile tugs at the corners of his lips while he looks down to meet your gaze, “But my dark angel I’m not tired. I want to dance with you a little longer.” He whines adorably before failing to conceal a big yawn.

Giggling, you lean back to slowly lead him towards the door, “That yawn says otherwise.”

“That wasn’t a yawn Y/N, I was just smiling really big.” He protests, though he still follows your lead to the door.

“I’ve never seen anyone smile like that.” You add with a raised brow.

“Well maybe that’s just how I smile.”

Letting out a breathy snort, you pull away from him to at last take his one hand, “Come. I can’t have a single ray of that dreaded sun to get a taste of your precious skin. Not on my watch.”

Glancing at the closed front door, Nandor squeezes your hand, “Well um, now since you’ve mentioned the sun...I think I’d like to go to my crypt now.” He says, the flash of worry crossing over his face for only a brief moment.

“You sure? I mean a sunrise is pretty beautiful if I’m being honest and I know you never get to see them...”

“Not funny Y/N. And not fair, you know I can’t because I am full vampire.”

“And you’re missing out.”

“And I’d like to stay alive Y/N.”

“Aren’t you dead?”

“Yes and I am your only husband so I need to stay not burnt to a crisp.”

Chuckling, you follow him down the hallway, “Oh really? Don’t want me finding myself with another vampiric lover? Some new beast to sweep me off my feet and take me away into the night.” You tease.

Side eyeing you, he frowns, “No. Don’t I sweep you off your feet?”

Stepping into his crypt you stop him with your hand against his bicep, “Always.” You whisper sincerely with a quick wink, causing him to break out into a big fangy grin.

“Good. And if anyone would try and whoo you I would make sure there would be no more whooing again!” Exclaims Nandor, making the candles rise in flame for only a short second at his rise in emotion for how much he loves you.

“I don’t doubt they would fall by your blade. Not for a second.”

[robininthelabyrinth]

Lao Nie and Nie Mingjue have a good day together and bond. What was their relationship like before the qi deviation?

Boys - ao3

“Two paths, hmm?” Lao Nie said, squinting at the road markers in front of him. “Well, I don’t see why we can’t go down this one to the right –”

“No.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because little uncle asked me not to let you meet any new dangerous women,” Nie Mingjue said, looking as serious as ever – only his little hands, swinging to the side, revealed that he was just a ten-year-old. Still a child, no matter how mature he tried to act. “And a place called the Springtime Ghost Valley sounds like it probably has dangerous women.”

“Hey,” Lao Nie protested mildly. “Who’s the father here, me or you?”

“If a-die wants a new wife, little uncle will find one that isn’t inclined to kill him.”

That sounded like a recitation.

“Then what’s even the point,” Lao Nie grumbled, and reached out to ruffle his son’s hair, enjoying how Nie Mingjue yelped when he did, glaring up at him with offended dignity.

In all honesty, Lao Nie had no idea how he’d ended up with a son as serious and sincere and earnest as Nie Mingjue – he himself hadn’t taken anything seriously in years. Probably it was his mother’s influence.

Now that was a woman.

Not that his foxy second wife hadn’t been woman enough to blow him away either…

Hmm.

Perhaps they had a point about his taste in women.

“How about men?” Lao Nie suggested. “If it really means so much to you, I could swear off of women entirely –”

“A-die.”

“Mm?”

“Leave Sect Leader Wen alone.”

Lao Nie cracked up.

-

Because Lao Nie was the father, however easy-going he might sometimes be, they ended up heading down the right-hand path regardless. They were supposed to be night-hunting, after all – it was the perfect bonding experience according to Jiwei, though Lao Nie suspected his saber of having selfish intentions there – and deliberately avoiding a place with ‘Ghost’ in the name was hardly appropriate for scions of a Great Sect like theirs.

Although the reference to springtime was admittedly a little worrisome.

If it turned out to be a brothel, with the ghost thing being just a clever if somewhat tonedeaf marketing ploy, Lao Nie was turning around and taking them both home at once. He wasn’t going to risk little Nie Mingjue turning out anything like that awful Jin Guangshan – or, nearly as bad, having to explain anything more about the joys of sex to those earnest little button eyes and dimpled cheeks with no time to prepare first. He still hadn’t recovered emotionally from the last few times Nie Mingjue had asked him a question like that.

When they finally reached the end of the path, turning a corner to behold a clearing that was probably completely ordinary during the daytime, Lao Nie found that he’d been both right and wrong.

“It’s a ghost brothel,” he marveled. He’d never seen anything like it in his life.

“Dangerous women,” Nie Mingjue reminded him.

“A-Jue! Let your father live a little!”

Nie Mingjue rolled his eyes.

Lao Nie virtuously ignored his slightly judgmental brat of a son. It wouldn’t do him that much harm to go visit for a while, with the risk of Jin Guangshan-ness being relatively minimal; they were ghosts, after all. It was the duty of every cultivator to fight against evil, wherever it lived, no matter its form –

“Fighting? Is that what it’s called?”

“Who taught you sarcasm?” Lao Nie asked, knowing perfectly well that the answer was himself. “I ought to smack them.”

Nie Mingjue crossed his arms over his chest and pouted at him. “Fine, it’s fighting, we’ll go fight them. Do you want me to start drawing ghost-repelling talismans?”

“Liberate first!” Lao Nie sang out. “Come on, let’s go see what they’re like – er, that is, I mean, see what grievances they have that are keeping them here, of course. There’s no harm in dangerous women. Just don’t let them eat your yang energy!”

“It’s not my yang energy that I’m worried about, a-die…”

-

The ghostly madame was an extraordinarily charming person and Lao Nie liked her at once.

Not liked her liked her – he’d fallen head over heels with both of his wives from the first word, and that hadn’t happened here – but still, conversing with her was an extraordinarily enjoyable way to spend time.

She was witty and clever, with a broad range of knowledge and a gift for keeping a conversation lively and exciting; she could meet every verbal riposte with ease, and looked utterly gorgeous and composed the entire time. Sure, she kept trying to lure Lao Nie into an orgy in which all of his yang energy would be slowly sucked out before his body was ripped to pieces and his bones cracked open so that the ghosts could consume the marrow within, but what a way to go, right?

Nie Mingjue spent his time making friends with the ghost prostitutes.

Lao Nie wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting.

Well, he supposed he’d been expected a range of things – anything from Nie Mingjue getting suckered in by one of the ghosts and needing to be rescued by his father to Nie Mingjue just pulling out his Baxia and trying to stab them because he felt offended by their existence. He wasn’texpecting his ghostly conversational partner to suddenly frown mid-sentence and say, “What is he talking to them about?”

Lao Nie turned his head slightly and started listening.

“– just because you’re a ghost doesn’t mean you have to work allthe time, surely,” Nie Mingjue was saying, completely serious and earnest in the way he so often was. Lao Nie’s son had in fact inherited his sense of humor, only it tended to be buried fairly deep down and make its way up to the surface in an understated way in the most unexpected times; the rest of the time, he was straightforward to a fault, treating everything sincerely. “The birds in the trees, the animals in the fields – even among prostitutes, even the street-walking ladies know they need to take time to rest! I can’t believe you really have to work every single night. How long has it been since you had a night off?”

The ghost prostitutes around him had contemplative looks on their faces.

“Isn’t the whole point of becoming a vengeful man-eating ghost that you have more power than regular humans? I don’t know, it kind of seems like a bad deal if you have even worse conditions after all that –”

“I’m sorry,” the ghostly madame said, looking irritated underneath all her carefully painted smiles. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment…”

Lao Nie had to bite his hand to keep from laughing out loud.

-

“I think we’ve all learned a valuable life lesson today,” Lao Nie announced.

Nie Mingjue was pouting again.

“I don’t think we did,” he said, sounding profoundly skeptical. A filial child like Nie Mingjue shouldn’t sound so skeptical of his beloved father’s words of wisdom, really; if Lao Nie wasn’t so heartless, he might be offended. Of course, the skepticism might have originated from the heartlessness, so it was all six of one, half a dozen of the other in the end. “Those poor ghost ladies! They were still fighting each other by the time we left!”

“I’ve never seen a ghost pull another ghost’s hair before,” Lao Nie conceded. It had been brilliant. “One day, someone’s going to figure out a more reliable way to use ghosts to fight ghosts, mark my words.”

“Isn’t that demonic cultivation?”

“Oh, sure,” Lao Nie said, still cheerful. “If whoever it is does too much of it, eventually it’ll build up into a backlash that’ll kill them in some grossly horrific manner. Probably ripped into pieces by the backlash. And that’s not even counting how they’d be ostracized and hunted by the cultivation world first! But still, imagine how exciting it’d be in the meantime!”

“A-die…”

Lao Nie patted Nie Mingjue on the head again, earning another glare. “Immortality is a lie, A-Jue. We’re all here for a short time, each and every one of us, and only the length determined by fate and man. All that matters is what we do with the time that we have, and whether we’ve used it well.”

“To fight against evil wherever it lives, no matter its form?”

“To leave the world a better place than when we entered it, and to let our memories linger in the hearts of those that love us,” Lao Nie said. “Fighting evil is the best way to accomplish the former, and living a good life the latter. And you might as well have a good time doing it, if you can! Everything else is just extra.”

Nie Mingjue thought about that for a moment. “And a-die likes to have second helpings of extras?”

That was true. Lao Nie was a man of prodigious appetites of all sorts.

Despite that, he protested, “That wasn’t the point I was trying to make. I was being serious for once.” Seeing Nie Mingjue’s skeptical look, he made a face. “I can be serious, sometimes!”

“Can you?”

“It’s been known to happen! A date written on a wall will be right once a year.”

“Not if the wall gets painted over.”

“Ouch,” Lao Nie said. “I don’t even understand the metaphor you’re making, and I’m still going ouch.”

“Uh-huh,” Nie Mingjue said, utterly unimpressed. “You know, if you wanted one of the ghost ladies to be Third Mother, you would’ve been better off with the one playing the qin, not the ghost madame. She was much more powerful.”

Lao Nie arched his eyebrows. “Was she?”

Nie Mingjue nodded. “She had claws like a lizard.”

Lao Nie tried to remember which one of them had been the ghost girl playing the qin. He couldn’t quite remember at first – the women there were all surpassingly lovely, almost to the point of over-saturation – and then suddenly an image came into view, a beauty with a veil and sharp sword-like eyebrows, leaning over the qin with the shining pearl hanging in the center of her forehead dipping down.

And, yes, claws like a lizard.

“Hmm,” Lao Nie said. “That might have been a dragon, actually. You should be careful of those, they’re tricky.”

They’ll rip you and three dozen other cultivators besides into more pieces than can be picked up without blinking an eye, he meant, and you won’t even know what hit you. Avoid at all costs.

“Oh,” Nie Mingjue said, blinking. “Oops.”

“…what do you mean, oops?”

“Nothing bad! If I’m not supposed to interact with her, does that mean I should go and give back the gift she gave me?”

“She gave you a – give me that,” Lao Nie said. “This instant.”

“But a-die, you said there’s no harm in dangerous women –”

“For me, you foolish child!”

-

“I suppose it’s fine,” Lao Nie finally concluded, having inspected the dragon pearl from all angles several times over. “I don’t know how you do this, A-Jue.”

“Do what?”

Lao Nie thought about how his foxy second wife had cooed over his eldest son with a (slightly disturbing) fervor that she otherwise reserved only for eating snacks, and how viciously she’d dealt with anyone who’d even thought of interfering with Nie Mingjue in any way. He was fairly sure he himself had only survived his second marriage on account of having such a charming son.

“Don’t worry about it,” he finally said, mostly because he wasn’t entirely sure how to explain – or if he even entirely understood. “Anyway, it’s nothing dangerous. Rather the contrary! Dragon pearls like this are given to baby dragons to protect them.”

Nie Mingjue frowned. “What feeds on baby dragons?”

“…I think it’s mostly to protect them from themselves,” Lao Nie said, feeling a little uncertain about it himself. “And if it’s not, I don’t think I want to know, to be perfectly honest. There’s fighting evil, which is only right, and then there’s suicide, which is a waste – a wise man should know how to judge the difference between them. Anyway, that wasn’t the point I was trying to make.”

“It wasn’t?”

“It wasn’t, and you aren’t allowed to start worrying about the fate of theoretical baby dragons – I forbid it.” Nie Mingjue scowled. He’d probably started worrying already. “My point was actually that a pearl like this is a remarkably powerful protective tool for cultivators – one of those things that can only be found by chance and not made. Keep this on you, and you’ll never have to fear your opponent in battle.”

Nie Mingjue looked thoughtful.

-

“What do you want to do with that pearl, anyway?” Lao Nie asked after they’d gotten home and split up just long enough to take a nice long relaxing bath and gobble down dinner. “Do you want to put it in the treasury?”

Nie Mingjue blinked twice, which for him was practically the same as looking terribly shifty-eyed.

“You already did something with it,” Lao Nie deduced. “Something that isn’t using it as intended.”

“Oh, no,” Nie Mingjue said, looking shocked at the mere suggestion. “I’m definitely using it as intended.”

Lao Nie looked him up and down. “You’re not wearing it.”

“Well, I wouldn’t use it. Protection from your opponents in proper battle – that seems like cheating!”

Lao Nie felt a slight headache coming on. People who said they wanted a good boy for a son had no idea what they were getting themselves into, he reflected. Why couldn’t he have birthed a complete rascal instead?

“All right,” he said, instead of saying any of that because at the end of the day, bewildering as he might be, Nie Mingjue was his son and he loved him more than anything. “So what did you do with it?”

“I gave it to Huaisang.”

Lao Nie blinked. He supposed that really was using it for its intended purpose – protecting babies from themselves – although he suspected the dragon lady had been thinking of Nie Mingjue as the baby.

“Although…”

Lao Nie raised his eyebrows.

“…I think he may have swallowed it.”

My boys, Lao Nie thought, and had to sit down and hold his ribs because he otherwise feared he might split his sides from laughing so hard. Only my boys.