#a REAL rocker to put him in his place where he belongs

[seventeenjackson]

So I know this is weird. But I decided to make an oc x canon. I thought it would be fun, since Adam is so much into rock it’d be funny if he met someone of a famous metal band. Finally someone to put him in his place.

[iconoclast-infidels]

He felt a tiny bit better as he saw Dmitry's book be put back down without being ruined. Nico had been around too many spirits. Books being thrown about and pages whooshing and tearing out seemed to be a ghost specialty. He'd think more on the why's of that later. For now he felt better with his husband's book out of the tempermental ghost's hands.

Nico was very willing. Actually, it was more like Nico would have been very willing as the ghosts and the graveyard are basically his entire existence for the past years, his only comfort space. In nearly 4 years time he hadn't come across this Mr. He Was Here First.

He thought fuck he was here first. He existed in peace and harmony with the dead. He's got one modern asshole in an abanonded graveyard that otherwise looked so old it's long forgotten. It was more like who buried you where you don't belong? Nico didn't believe for a second that their abandoned ancient looking graveyard with all those weathered stones was ever meant to be Mr Emo Rocker's final resting place. Based on that alone he was picturing murder. Made him think this guy probably pissed someone off. He was certainly capable of making someone want to. Clues. Clues. Then again being a big ol' lost home out here in Michigan and the yard being attached to a home, he'd learned from the ghosts it was mostly a family plot that dated back generations. There were some exceptions from being on the freedom trail, but mostly family. Maybe he was some long lost relative that someone brought back home? Nico had many thoughts on the what ifs.

Either way, Death was Nico's whole countenance. He practically was one of them when he walked the tombstone rows. Hell, the depression he'd been in while his husband was missing only seemed to amplify that demeanor. He knew every plot by name and date by now whether their spirits lingered or not. Nico was part of the dark and gloomy atmosphere as keeper that roamed tending to every blade of grass with his vulture in tow. He fed the crows the way an old woman would the pigeons in a park. Nico would bring scraps for their scavenger style.

So, of course he was willing. What went wrong was this fucker came barreling in demanding shit with an attitude, name calling, and judging the person they wanted something from and the customer wasn't always right. So of course Nico went right into fuck off mode. Andy wanted to throw a fit over how the store was run well talk to the manager? Oh damn, Nico's the manager too. Maybe talking logical and calmly from the start would help because if not Nico will mirror a person times three to show them how what they're actually projecting whether they're meaning to or not. If anyone ever thinks Nico is being an asshole they should probably do a self check because they're probably right.

"Andy?" Nico's brain went through the stones in the filing system in his head. "As in Anderson?" It was his best guess because of the dates and the modern wardrobe.

But all the rest that came out of his mouth after? Nico nearly got a headache just listening to him. Here we go. He really was a Karen or at the least a nosey busy body. He fit the bill of someone that should run an HOA just to annoy everyone trying to enjoy and live happy lives on their own property. Live and let live?

Ha! Okay. Andy was dead. When that one came to Nico's head he inwardly chuckled. Live and let live indeed.

Nico's body language loosened up. His head did a little comical bobble channeling hobbits. "What about Second Christmas?"

"Julysies? Afternoon Tree?"

Nico was too full of himself and found himself too funny not to smile at his own joke. He was so vain. Geek vain, but vain.

He waved his hands in front of him trying to shake off his own teasing at this guy not getting it.

"Andy. It's Christmas in July. It's not my fault you're wrong. It is the right month. It's a thing. It's a real thing. It's happening. It's going to continue to happen because we're devout here. We practice every year. We worship the gift giving merriment of tomfoolery and ugly sweaters. We will take every excuse in the book to act as gay as all get out. Get me? It's happening."

Did he really want to explain the true origin of it when that wasn't why they did it? He wasn't in the mood to be self righteous, but the guy did ask.

"Okay, look. It honestly started off as a church thing because that's how early people start collecting stuff for the poor for when Christmas actually comes in December. Yes, July. It's hard work okay? Poor people only matter on Christmas to Christians. Don't you know that? So we gotta soak it up. Then there's this whole other capitalistic side to it where some lake had a party that got real popular in July with a Christmas theme so of course retail took off on it and it's become an advertising scheme ever since. Wild huh? Yeah, don't care about that. But, Christmas is fucking awesome. If you've ever been one of the poor kids that gets given shit from drives like that then maybe you'd not be questioning this right now? Hm?"

He tilted his head in a tsk tsk yes that's me judging you even though I know nothing about your life right now way. All Nico knew was that was that was pretty much how he got toys when Nova was his mom. Churches. He was being a sarcastic twit saying they only cared at Christmas, but that was his bitterness speaking. Churches gave him everything when he was raised with Nova. She was too busy protecting him from demons to work a full time job to take care of those kids.

"Christmas stays in July. That's the final ruling. Plus, my husband loves it too and I always love doing what makes him happy and truth be told, he picked the colored lights, not me. It's a me and him thing Second Christmas forever. You will not take his joy. Gavel slammed. HOWEVER-"

He said however much louder to gain Andy's attention to show the conversation wasn't over yet.

"However. However, I am willing to compromise if you stop being all-" He wiggled his fingers at him. "-boomery judgetastic, all Grinchy- Let your heart grow several sizes. I mean you literally just said you were able to ignore these colored lights if it was December, Karen. Don't make me get the Ghost of Christmas Future to come visit you, Scrooge. Instead, here's what I'm willing to do for you. A. put up white lights for a less invasive appeal. or B. possibly give you a corner as you suggested, but I mean that's negotiable terms. I don't know how big of a space you're talking here, or where. I'm not letting fuck with my holiday aesthetic. C. Maybe both because I actually like white lights and a corner with no lights so it's even less invasive all together? I don't know. I have to talk to my husband. I'm sure he won't care if we we use white outside if he knows it's bothering a ghost. I can text him right now. You can be Wednesday outside and he can be all Enid over here with the colored lights? It'll be like Nevermore Academy. I'll paint you a spiderweb logo for Second Christmas just for you. We can crack it in half. Ya'll can be besties or frenemies. Maybe the same thing? Take it or leave it."

Then he realized being dead Andy probably wouldn't have seen the newest Netflix series Addam's and wouldn't understand the sassy little reference, so he added, "Nevermind, you'll see. It makes sense. But, do you see how that works? This nice flow of conversation? Talking? Choices? Not demanding? Not being a dick about something we like maybe? Work with me here."

The book was something Andy could focus his attention on. It was a decent copy, evidently read more than a few times; nothing too fancy. Practical. Interesting. He pondered on the way the book had been cared for and worn through while also unwillingly tuning into Nico's thoughts. That guy was loud, and it wasn't just him that was making the noise. This was distracting, frankly. Hence, focusing on the book.

The word 'husband' drew his attention back out from the book, though. Husband, then? That, he understood. He'd have been the same if it were something of Ivy's. He held his hand up in surrender to that and carefully placed the book back where it had been. He did so with plenty of care, making sure no pages were folded wrong in the process, making sure the book was well-supported so its spine wouldn't suffer, being gentle even in arranging it so that no one would trip on that. Even through all his anger, he had space to care. He cared.

The guy kept on talking, and as much as his tone sounded like anger, Andy quickly caught that there was also some sort of... willingness? A chance. Okay, then. He'd take it. At any rate, what this man was really saying was that he cared for the grounds... and its residents. If that was so, Andy could give him the chance to prove it. He made the calculated move of backing off some.

"It's Andy," he offered reluctantly. It was a start. "And I was here first, Christmas Terrorist, so there is that. But fine. My problem is that it's the wrong fucking season and I like my graveyard spot nice and gloomy." Even when calm, he wasn't really one to employ a filter when speaking. He just spoke his mind. "Like, what's the big fucking deal anyway? Can't you wait for, oh, I don't know, December? Christmas lights in December, I ignore. It's December. I don't even hate Christmas. But it's not even Halloween yet and you're already skipping forward, I don't get it. Explain that to me."

[dannyphantom-justiceleauge]

This may be a minor gripe but something that has kind of bothered me about discussions and depictions of Dan is how often people seem to forget that Dan isn't just an older evil Danny, he's a combination of Danny and Vlad's ghost sides. Like people always talk about him like Danny threw away his humanity and turned evil but that's not even true. Sure, we can say that Dan is the result of Danny's action but that's a little unfair. (1/2)

(2/2) Him cheating on a test, coincidentally putting his loved one's in a position where they could be killed, is absolutely not his fault. Letting Vlad take away his ghost powers with a strange contraption might not have been the smartest move, but we are talking about a grieving CHILD here, of course he isn't going to make the best decisions. If anything Vlad's the one to blame here, and even then, it's not like he could predict what happened

---

you aren't wrong, my friend. it really isn't entirely danny's fault and the whole 'if you cheat on a test, you'll loose everything you love' moral is confused at best. i think as fandom we find it more interesting to look at danny's potential evil and moral struggle with himself. so simplifying it to be dan is a worse case scenario of danny makes the conflict less abstract.

particularly because when it comes to self blame danny isn't going to go easy on himself just because it was excusable mistakes.

i think another talking point should be how danny is the target of the time assassination more than vlad is, even though vlad is part of the evil whole. you could argue that danny is the catalyst of his friends death and vlad inventing the claw things. but vlad invented the claw things. maybe because his human side survived and acted relatively harmless from then on? or maybe it's because the observants based on the available evidence recognized danny as more of a threat. i think that fits actually, for all vlad tried to be an evil mastermind, his achievements outside of terrorizing a teenager and theft isn't particularly impressive. danny was the one who got shit done. all his fights he finished one way or another and i could see how that would bleed into dan defeating everyone.

the real question is how to we fix this. ideally we could shape this idea so it's less confused, though i do honestly find the dynamic of half danny, half vlad interesting. if for not other reason. than two half ghosts make a whole. actually that's something else to be said about dan. his self-loathing is what led him to killing his human half, another negative aspect coming from danny.

i wonder if we could frame it like fusion, from su. obviously dan isn't stable or healthy, or based on love. he's most comparable to malichite. but with less internal debate. dan took the best and worst of both of them. danny's determination, danny's fighting ability, danny's anger, danny's sarcasm, vlad's anger, vlads lack of morals, vlads schemes, vlad's control. heck, vlads desire to rule the world. i don't think we ever got that from danny.

maybe if vlad was more involved in the fight with dan it could have been used as an opportunity to compare and contrast their characters. to go we're not so different you and i. danny gets to recognize that he has that dark potential. vlad gets to be humbled by the fact that what he wants isn't good for anyone, especially himself. and to be fair, we do see some of that humbling with future vlad, but none of that character growth is given to present vlad, so, really it's just another vehicle for danny angst. it also depends on what you want to do with vlad though. he's a fascinating character and could be given redemption under the right circumstances or be a character who has the opportunity for redemption but chooses not to be redeemed every time.

that fits him and makes him both a more pathetic and despicable villain. it's hard to pity someone who ignores the opportunities to heal and grow.

as for danny, he becomes far more aware of the consequences his actions, especially his selfish and cruel ones can have. because that potential was always there. he has a history of abusing his powers. perhaps for this specific incident him abusing his powers can be something less understandable than almost cheating on a test that he couldn't study for through no fault of his own. (maybe i just have flexible morals?). maybe it could be something more character relevant, like he did something particularly vlad like, maybe he set up a prank at the nasty burger to get dash but it set off the explosion that killed his family. or maybe he did something particularly cruel and manipulative. there are better catalysts than a test. either way he recognized that he should never go that far again and strive to avoid being actively cruel.

he also has the opportunity to recognize that vlad does have a human half, even the one he's fighting everyday. he can face some conflict in it's not entirely clear what trait belongs to vlad and what trait belongs to him. he can empathize with vlad and he can recognize that situations aren't always in black in white. those who fly the highest, fall the hardest, after all.

it can be a growing experience. and while making it solely a danny goes bad and learns not to do evil kind of story. maybe we could cut vlad from the equation and just have danny face himself, full evil refection. i think exploring both vlad and danny through this fusion is far more interesting. especially because we can build on what's revealed about vlad in these episodes, in later ones. danny sees a future where vlad chills and that maybe his vlad could get their. later he see vlads past and what he lost to become who he is.

and then there's vlads turning point episodes. i don't know when motherly instinct took place but maddie fully recognizing he's a bastard and rejection him, was a turning point for his sanity, and danny helped it along. then we have danny rejecting him repeatedly, then we the clone episode, which we can all agree was a desperate move on his part, that danny once again thwarted. and we can all agree that this was the cannon turning point for his character where he stopped fighting for a family and started trying to be danny's villain. in that episode, i think danny could potentially pity vlad enough to try and reach out. he's not going to justify what vlad did and he's not going to apologize for stopping him. he went too far. he hurt danny and dani, he crossed a moral line that can't be justified even with his desperation. but if he changes...

he lost this time but if he changes, maybe they'll reach the point where they're ready to accept him.

i think the same thing could be said about his relationship with jack and maddie. if he changes, if he reaches out. if acts like less of a crazy fruitloop, his friends would be there for him. jack is still trying to be there for him, even if he's being oblivious about vlad's faults. vlads the one driving wedges into his relationships and pushing everyone away.

and that's so freaking human and understandable.it would be such a cool thing to explore with his character.

i could also see a potential arc where after valerie finds out vlad and masters are the same person she tries to get close to him, both to sus out how evil he is and to understand him as a halfa. afterall danny got her to acknowledge dani as human enough, the same would apply to vlad/plasmius, right? only he's a bad person and the more she uncovers about vlad masters the man, the more she realizes it's not the ghost half that's evil. but this is a double edged sword because, vlad is getting attached to her and encouraging her to be more evil. he's encouraging her to go darker and darker in her fight against ghosts and her fight specifically against phantom. to the point where she finally draws the line and says, i'm not doing that! boom exploring the moral ambiguity of her character and getting her to take a hard stance on her morals, because there's a line too far for her.

and boom a further breakdown of vlads character because he finally had someone outside the fentons to redeem him. she could have helped pull him out of the hole he'd been digging himself into. she wanted to help him. he got attached to her, but he and his bad decisions decided to dig himself deeper instead. so once again he's 'abandoned and betrayed'.

from that point, i think it'd be time for him to finally face jack head on. not through manipulative schemes. not through veiled threats and insults. but the full confrontation of 'i always hated you. you ruined my life. you're the reason i lost everything'. which is really just his own self loathing speaking. and jack... empathetic jack can see that vlad desperately wants help. and jack would offer it to him. jack would try to hug it out and apologize and give vlad the love and friendship vlad's been fighting to steal this whole time.

and vlad would reject it.

he'd probably lash out a jack and go into a full breakdown/world destroying attack. could finally put the stolen crown to use and try declaring himself king and embracing his megalomaniac thing and actually be a threat this time. and THAT would be our series finally. everyone teaming up to fight 'king vlad'. danny probably finding out that he's technically king because he beat pariah dark but the matter being a bit confused because he had help. val and danny trying to find the ring of rage or at least find someone who can make one. secrets are out. i imagine vlad, upon revealing himself to jack would out danny to make danny as sad and alone as him. except nope, his family still loves him and val has had the character development to come around to him. (she's still gonna punch danny for lying for so long.) the ghosts will come and help because no one wants another tyrannical kind and vlads obviously off his rocker.

ah, the could have beens

anyway, i didn't mean for this to become a full vlad character analysis and rewrite when we were supposed to be talking about dan, but hey, i'm a simple creature. i like good writing, and i have to rewrite things myself, so be it. - Hestia

[wolfstar-supremacy-innit]

"Tell who?"- Part 1

Remus smiled into his pillow. Why’s he so cute? He felt something rustle under his stomach. Reaching under himself, he pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment. His resolutions list. Remus flipped onto his back and squinted at the letters. Warmth was pooling in his chest. Something is missing here. He patted the bed in search for his quill and ink, then wrote:

5. Fuck this I wanna tell him I love him

The paper slipped to the floor as Remus’ arms gave out and he drifted into an instantaneous, profound sleep.

Alternatively:

The Marauders are in their 6th year at Hogwarts, it's New Year's Eve and Remus writes a New Year's resolutions list. Sirius finds it the next day. The story is written from Remus' point of view. It's wolfstar and lighthearted. Kinda inspired by this fanfic.

This is part 1 of the story. I will be posting the other parts separately here and also the full fic on ao3 (I will link everything when it's done, check this post for that in some time). Warnings: underage drinking and smoking, mentions of anxiety disorder.

Enjoy! :)

Part 2 Part 3

Remus sat on the windowsill in the 6th year boys’ dormitory rolling a cigarette with magic. Well, trying to. He carefully placed the tobacco and filter on the small paper and tapped it with his wand, but half of the contents plopped out. The spell needed perfecting, obviously. Remus had picked up the habit of smoking socializing with some muggle kids back home during that summer. He knew it was stupid, but he had thought it looked cool. Later, he also found out he quite liked the lightheadedness that followed smoking a cigarette quickly. And some more time after that, there was a boy at school to try to impress, but that's a little embarrassing to admit. A nicotine addiction was surely well on its way to becoming a reality, but Remus didn't like to think about that. And anyway, with the war looming over everyone's head, who cares if a 16-year-old werewolf is addicted to nicotine? The problem was that cigarettes were expensive and Remus didn't have a lot of money to spare, so he resigned to rolling as it was cheaper and lasted longer. With some practice, he'll be able to assemble them with magic effortlessly anyway.

"Hiya, Moony," James said, walking into the room, "you're not getting ready?"

"Yes, I am." Remus pointed at his cigarette rolling arrangement, although James was probably referring to the fact that he wasn't dressed for a party.

It was the 31st of December. The four of them were staying at Hogwarts for the entirety of the holidays, given that the full moon had been on the 26th. Well, that was the excuse they gave their parents. The real reason why they hadn’t gone to the Potters after the 26th, where they usually spent the Christmas holidays, was that Sirius had stumbled upon a flyer for a gig and party occurring in Hogsmeade that Friday. James and Sirius were ecstatic, but Remus was pretty apathetic towards the idea of going. With his crush on his best friend and all. In fact, he had been trying to steer clear of settings in which he was sure Sirius would look particularly, well, hot. However, there was a flaw in his thinking, he had realised. Day by day, Sirius was beginning to look extraordinarily hot to Remus in every setting, and there was nothing he could do about it.

When Sirius had arrived at their train compartment at the beginning of that school year, Remus was very, very confused. Sirius had run away from home and spent the majority of the summer at the Potters, but in the two months, he had changed profoundly. Although they had been exchanging letters the whole summer, nothing could've prepared Remus for the feeling of panic bubbling up in him when Sirius had stepped through the sliding doors. After finally being released from his family's clutches, the freedom and eagerness to express himself had been immediately evident. Sirius had let his hair grow out longer than usual, past his shoulders, messier and curlier, but all the better looking (if that was even possible). He'd gotten taller and his shoulders broader, his muggle clothes sitting flawlessly on his lean figure. He’d looked cool, to say the least- chunky black lace-up boots, black trousers, a small silver loop earring in one ear and, of course, a black leather jacket. Remus had been perplexed and silent the whole train ride. What is wrong with me, he had thought. It wasn't envy or disapproval. It was excitement for his best friend's joy after years of trauma, of course, it was. But what the hell was that lump in his throat and the inability to look Sirius in the eye? Later that week, as Sirius had stepped out of the bathroom with his shirt hanging loosely around his neck exposing his prominent collarbones, Remus had realised with a sinking feeling that it all impossibly resembled a crush. A crush on Sirius?? I am so fucked, he had thought as he swallowed a lump.

In the following months, Remus had been desperately attempting to push his feelings into the deep dark depths of his mind and just forget about it. Still, as it turned out, Sirius' natural charm and charisma were impossible to look past. He would casually sling his arm over Remus' shoulders on their way to class or wink at him when James said a sentence without picking up on the innuendo of it. And it made Remus' heart jump out of his chest. On top of all that, Sirius was, in all likelihood, the most handsome bloke in the whole of Britain. So much so that talking to him made Remus' stomach twist with nervous energy most of the time. Anxious talking to my best friend of five years... He felt completely off his rocker.

In the present time, Sirius threw the dorm door open, stepping inside with Peter following and Remus jumped a little. "Lads," he said rubbing his palms together, "tonight's the night. We're getting plastered!"

"No," Remus said, still struggling with the cigarettes, now resolving to roll them manually. He wasn't very keen on his big mouth outrunning his drunk brain as it so usually happened after a few drinks. And now he had a dangerous secret to keep...

"Oh come on, Moony! This is our night off the chain!" There wasn't much Remus could say no to with those big grey eyes looking into his. Before he could say anything, Sirius asked: "Mate, could you roll me a few?" He had picked smoking up from Remus, of course. Sirius had said it looked "wicked" and “punk rock”. Remus was more proud of that than he was willing to admit.

"Sure," Remus replied.

"Cheers." Sirius winked at Remus and his stomach flipped. "Right. I'm going to get ready. We gotta clear off when I get out," Sirius said disappearing into the bathroom.

Remus successfully rolled up enough cigarettes for him and Sirius and placed them into his case. Oblivious to James' and Peter's conversation, Remus contemplated how he would survive the night. He'll have his cigs and the music, he concluded. He'll be fine.

He changed into his teal sweater and dark jeans and plopped onto his bed, gazing into the wooden board above him for a while. He sighed. In a few hours, 1976 would die and the illusion of a new slate in the form of a new year will be born. Remus was aware it was silly, but he liked creating little lists of goals for himself for the following year. They were never anything revolutionary, just a couple of small and realistic things he would like to accomplish. He thought about it for a few moments, then reached into the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out some parchment, ink and a quill. He wrote:

1977 New Years resolutions:

1. Get mum that record she's been talking about for months now

2. Master the cig rolling spell

3. Improve on non-verbal magic

4. Complete that muggle reading challenge Lilly and I compiled

Sirius then came out of the bathroom dolled up and with very discreet lines of black eyeshadow around his eyes. The parchment and quill slipped from Remus’ fingers. The deep grey now stood out even further than usual. "Should we get a move on, then?" Remus rolled on his bed, pressed his face into the pillow and groaned softly, pretending it was because of his reluctance to go. He didn't know how many more of Sirius' little surprises he could take before his head imploded. This was clearly one of those times Sirius would look just exceptionally fucking fit.

"You're wearing that, Moony?" Remus picked his head up to look at Sirius, not being able to suppress the disappointment that was creeping up.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, you wear sweaters every day, don’t you? This is a party we’re going to!” Remus sat up and peered at him silently, allowing himself to take a better look at the eyeshadow that suited him wonderfully.

“Where did you get that?” James piped in, finally noticing Sirius’ make up.

“Borrowed it from Marls. Now, Moony, let’s see...” He started rummaging through his wardrobe and emerged with a dark grey shirt with a band logo on it. “Here you go, mate.” Sirius held it up for him to look at, then tossed it on the werewolf’s bed. Remus loved that shirt, especially because it was one of Sirius’ favourites.

“It’s December,” Remus said, but excitement was swirling in his stomach at the thought of wearing Sirius’ clothes. “Well, wear your coat.” He flashed Remus a smile. As the other boys started pilling their belongings into their pockets and putting on jackets, Remus reflected on changing into the shirt. Then he did it, quickly. Heat rose swiftly up his neck and cheeks at the realisation it smelled like Sirius. It felt like he would melt into the carpet any second now. Maybe he could allow himself to simmer in his infatuation just for tonight.

“Looking good.” Sirius smiled at him in the mirror as Remus checked himself out. The blush intensified.

The four boys crept down hallways using the Marauder’s Map to avoid Filch and the teachers and made it safely to the One-Eyed Witch Statue on the third floor. Sirius and James were practically skipping down the secret passage leading to Honeydukes. Even Remus felt a little giddy, but that may or may not have been because of the shirt. They arrived at the pub without hindrances and made their way inside. The place was loud and crowded as they pushed their way to a round wooden bar table. There were decorative lights of different shapes and sizes everywhere as well as tiny glass lanterns with magical flames flickering inside. The atmosphere was bewitching.

“Right,” Sirius clapped his hands, “what’re we drinking?”

Remus wanted a Butterbeer, but it was decided on his behalf that he would be having Firewhiskey. After all, Sirius was now of age and this was his first opportunity to take advantage of it. And so, Remus was coerced into his first glass of alcohol. He downed it quickly when the first girl approached Sirius. This was nothing new, of course. He was showered in attention from girls at school all the time. What was different now was that it gravely bothered Remus. However, Sirius paid no attention to the lady and instead turned to Remus to ask for a cigarette. Sirius smoking was a work of art; Remus could testify to that.

After the first drink, it was no trouble following up with more and the boys wanted to try weird sounding beverages from the menu. Thick, white smoke covered their table when James brought over the Simison Steaming Stout. Later, Remus had a shot (or three) of something called Checker’s Quick Everclear which made him inexplicably snap his fingers a few times after swallowing it. It was incredibly amusing and enough to get him rather half cut. After that, things became somewhat fuzzy. The band was fine, so they danced and drank and Remus felt just swell. It could’ve had something to do with Sirius ignoring the girls or plainly the amount of alcohol in his blood. By the time people began counting down from ten, Remus had half lost his ability to comprehend what was going on. He caught sight of James hugging Sirius when the clock hit midnight as the two of them shouted: “Happy New Year!” A couple seconds later Remus felt hands around himself and realised James hugged him next, yelling the same words, frankly a bit too close to his ear. It seemed that James was either holding his drinks well or just hadn’t drank that much. Sirius’ eyes, however, were half-closed, Remus noticed, as he moved to embrace him. It was just a smidge underwhelming. Remus was numb all over and barely felt the touch of Sirius’s arms over the colossal spike of adrenaline that flashed in his insides. He likely held him tighter than necessary and reluctantly pulled away when Sirius did too. Their cheeks brushed briefly in the process. When Remus looked at him, Sirius was smiling. His hair was messy, lips full and smooth. The eyeshadow hadn’t moved. Remus almost leaned in, but chose to just smile back instead. I have a secret to keep. Big secret. Scary secret. He slyly avoided hugging Peter (who was really sweaty) as his stupid, drunk brain kept repeating: Big. Scary. Secret. Secret. But he had already forgotten what was so confidential. He was really fuckin’ pissed, wasn’t he? Remus sniggered to himself.

Sirius and James wanted to go to the dancefloor and Peter followed them. Remus, however, wasn’t quite sure he could stand very well without having a table to hold on to once in a while. So he stayed put, fetched a cigarette from his case, lit it with his wand and leaned on his forearms on the table. Reveling in the fact that that he was allowing himself to feel all his forbidden feelings tonight, Remus observed Sirius in a manner he hoped was subtle. Sirius was dancing with his eyes closed, smooth, controlled movements, face tilted upwards. Christ, Remus banged his forehead on the table, why does he have to look like that?! It felt strangely pleasant, so he stayed in that position for some time. His head was swaying lightly and he got an inexplicable urge to laugh.

“Alright, Moony,” a voice brought him back to reality. Remus forced his head up.

“Splendid,” he said. Sirius smiled at him.

“We got any more fags?”

“Yup.” He pulled out the case out of his back pocket and handed it to Sirius, just as he asked: “Having fun, Moony?” Remus’ mouth stretched into a stupid, crooked smile.

“Oh, I’m having a brilliant time.”

“Good.” Sirius struggled pulling his wand out of the pocket of his tight-fitting (Sigh...) jeans. Remus brought his own wand to the cigarette hanging from the other boy’s lips and produced miniature blue flames. Sirius sucked in the smoke, held it briefly, then exhaled. “Cheers.”

Remus downed whatever it was leftover in James’ glass. Then his mind blacked out. The next thing he was aware of was being dragged up the stairs by James to their dormitory. “You’re a miracle,” he mumbled, thinking how James could have possibly snuck him through the castle in this state without getting caught. James laughed softly.

“Okay, Moony.”

Remus plopped on his bed face first and let out a long, loud half-sigh, half-groan. He heard Sirius laugh from his own bed. “Nooo, we’re not getting plastered tonight! No waaay,” he said in a teasing voice. Remus smiled into his pillow. Why’s he so cute? He felt something rustle under his stomach. Reaching under himself, he pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment. His resolutions list. Remus flipped onto his back and squinted at the letters. Warmth was pooling in his chest. Something is missing here. He patted the bed in search for his quill and ink, then wrote:

5. Fuck this I wanna tell him I love him

The paper slipped to the floor as Remus’ arms gave out and he drifted into an instantaneous, profound sleep.

Part 2 Part 3

[rigmarolling]

Historical Holiday Traditions We Really Need To Bring Back

Here comes Santa Claus, and also a bunch of annual holiday Things we do to ensure he commits a truly boggling act of breaking and entering and leaves goods underneath the large plant in the living room.

Because I’ve always got a hankerin’ for the days of yore, here are some historical holiday traditions we really need to bring back:

1. Everything that happened on Saturnalia

Saturnalia was the ancient Roman winter festival held on December 25th--which is why we celebrate Christmas on that day and not on the day historians speculate Jesus was actually born, which was probably in the spring. 

Saturnalia was bonkers. As the name suggests, it celebrated the god Saturn, who represented wealth and liberty and generally having a great time.

Above: Their party is way cooler than yours could ever hope to be.

During Saturnalia, masters would serve their slaves, because it was the one day during the year when everybody agreed that freedom for all is great, actually, let’s just do that. Everyone wore a coned hat called the pilleus to denote that they were all bros and equal, and also to disguise the fact that they hadn’t brushed their hair after partying hard all week, probably.

Gambling was allowed on Saturnalia, so all of Rome basically turned into ancient Vegas, complete with Caesar’s Palace, except with the actual Caesar and his palace because he was, you know. Alive. 

The most famous part (besides getting drunk off your rocker) was gift-giving--usually gag gifts. Historians have records of people giving each other some truly impressive white elephant gifts for Saturnalia, including: a parrot, balls, toothpicks, a pig, one single sausage, spoons, and deliberately awful books of poetry. 

Above: Me, except all the time.

Partygoers also crowned a King of Saturnalia, which was a predecessor to the King of Fools popular in medieval festivals. The king was basically the head idiot who delivered absurd commands to everyone there, like, “Sing naked!” or “run around screaming for an hour,” or “slap your butt cheeks real hard in front of your crush; DO IT, Brutus.”

Oh, wait. Everyone was already doing all that. Hell yes.

(Quick clarification: early celebrations of Saturnalia did feature human sacrifice, so let’s just leave that bit out and instead wear the pointy hats and sing naked, okay? Io Saturnalia, everybody.)

2. Leaving out treats for Sleipnir in the hopes of avoiding Odin’s complete disregard for your property

The whole “leave out cookies and milk for Santa” thing comes from a much older tradition of trying to appease old guys with white beards. In Norse mythology, Odin, who was sort of the head god but preferred to be on a perpetual road trip instead, took an annual nighttime ride through the winter sky called the Wild Hunt. 

Above: The holidays, now with 300% more heavy metal.

Variations of the Wild Hunt story exist in a bunch of European folklore--in Odin’s case, he usually brought along a bunch of supernatural buddies, like spirits and other gods and Valkyries and ghost dogs, who, the Vikings said, you could hear howling and barking as the group approached (GOOD DOGGOS).

That was the thing, though; you never actually saw Odin’s hunt--you only heard it. And hearing it did not spark the same sense of childish glee you felt when you thought you heard Santa’s sleigh bells approaching as a kid--instead, the Vikings said, you should be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

Because Odin could be kind of a dick.

Odin was also known as the Allfather, and like any father, he hated asking for directions. GPS who? I’m the Allfather, I’m riding the same way I always ride.

And that was pretty much it: “I took this road last year and I’m taking it again this year.”

“But,” someone would pipe up from the back, “there are houses on the road now--we’re gonna run right into them. We could just take a different path; there’s actually a detour off the--”

“Nope,” Odin would say. “They know the rules. My road, my hunt, my rules. We’re going this way.”

So if you were unlucky enough to have built your house along one of Odin’s favorite road trip sky-ways, he wouldn’t just plow right past you.

He would burn your entire house down--and your family along with it.

Kids playing in the yard? Torch ‘em; they should have known better. Grandma knitting while she waits for her gingerbread Einherjar to finish baking? Sucks to be her; my road, my rules, my beard, I’m the Allfather, bitch.

Above: Santa, but so much worse.

To be fair to Odin, he could be a cool guy sometimes. He just turned into any dad when he was on a road trip and wanted to MAKE GOOD TIME, DAMN IT, I AM NOT STOPPING; YOU SHOULD HAVE PEED BEFORE WE LEFT.

To ensure they didn’t incur Odin’s road trip wrath, the Vikings had a few ways of smoothing things over with Dad.

They would leave Odin offerings on the road, like pieces of steel (??? okay ???) or bread for his dogs, or food for his giant, eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, because the only true way to a man’s heart is through his pet. 

People would generally leave veggies and oats and other horse-y things out for Sleipnir, whose eight legs made him the fastest flying horse in the world and also made him the only horse to ever win Asgard’s coveted tap dancing championship. 

(Side note: EIGHT legs...EIGHT tiny reindeer...eh? Eh? See how we got here? Thanks, nightmare horse!)

Above: An excellent prancer AND dancer. 

And if Odin was feeling particularly charitable and not in the mood for horrific acts of arson, children would also leave their shoes out for him--it was said that he’d put gifts in your boots to ring in a happy new year.

If all that didn’t work and the Vikings heard the hunt approaching, they would resort to throwing themselves on the ground and covering their heads while the massive party sped above them like a giant Halloween rager. 

So this holiday season, leave your boots out for Odin and some carrots out for his giant spider horse or you and your entire family will die in a fiery inferno, the end.

3. Yule Logs

Speaking of Scandinavia, another Northern European winter solstice tradition was the yule log. Today, if you google “yule log,” something like this will pop up:

...which isn’t an actual log, but is instead log-shaped food that you shove into your mouth along with 500 other cakes at the same time because it’s CHRISTMAS, and I’m having ME TIME; so WHAT if I ate the whole jar of Nutella by myself, alone, in the dark at 3 am?

But that log cake is actually inspired by actual logs of yore that Celtic, Germanic, and Scandinavian peoples decorated with fragrant plants like holly, ivy, pinecones, and other Stuff That Smells Nice before tossing the log into the fire.

This served a few purposes: 

It smelled nice, and Bath and Body Works scented candles hadn’t been invented yet.

It had religious and/or spiritual significance as a way to mark the winter solstice.

It was a symbolic way of ringing in the new year and kicking out the old.

Common belief held that the ashes of a yule log could ward off lightning strikes and bad energy.

Winter cold. Fire warm.

Everybody loves to watch things burn. (See: Odin.)

The yule log cakes we eat today got their start in 19th century Paris, when bakers thought it was a cute idea to resurrect an ancient pagan tradition in the form of a delicious dessert, and boy, howdy, were they right.

In any case, I’m 100% down with eating a chocolate yule log while burning an actual yule log in my backyard because everybody loves to watch things burn; winter cold, fire warm; and hnnnngggg pine tree smell hnnnnggg.

(Quick note:  The word “yule” is  the name of a traditional pagan winter festival, still celebrated culturally or religiously in modern pagan practice. It’s also another name for Odin. He had a bunch of other names, one of the most well-known being jólfaðr, which is Old Norse for “Yule father.” If you would like to royally piss him off, or if you are Loki, feel free to call him “Yule Daddy.”)

4. Upside down Christmas trees

I just found out that apparently, upside down Christmas trees are a hot new trend with HGTV types this year, so I guess this is one historical trend we did bring back, meaning it doesn’t really belong on this list, but I’m gonna talk about it, anyway.

Side note: Oh, my god, that BANNISTER. I NEED.

Historians aren’t actually sure where the inverted Christmas tree thing came from, but we know people were bringing home trees and then hanging them upside down in the living room as early as the 7th century. We have a couple theories as to why people turned trees on their heads:

Logistically, it’s way easier to hang a giant pine tree from your rafters upside down by its trunk and roots. You just hoist that baby up there, wind some rope around the rafter and the trunk, and boom. Start decorating.

A Christian tradition says that one day in the 7th century, a Benedictine monk named Saint Boniface stumbled across a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree. So, instead of minding his own damn business, he cut the tree down and replaced it with a fir tree. While the pagans were like, “Dude, what the hell?” Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to explain the concept of the holy trinity to the pagans. Some versions have him planting it right-side up, others having him displaying a fir tree upside down. Either way, it’s still a triangle that’s a solid but ultimately very rude way of explaining God. Word’s still out on whether anyone was converted or just rightly pissed off that this random guy strolled into their place of worship, chopped down their sacred tree, and plopped HIS tree down instead. Please do not do that this holiday season.

Eastern Europeans lay claim to the upside-down tree phenomenon with a tradition called podłazniczek in Poland--people hung the tree from the ceiling and decorated it with fruits and nuts and seeds and ribbons and other festive doodads. 

(God, who lives in these houses? Look at that. That’s like a swanky version of Gaston’s hunting lodge. Where do I get one? Which enchanted castle do I have to stumble into to chill out in a Christmas living room like that?)

Today, at least in the West, upside-down trees are making a comeback because...I don’t know. Chip and Joanna Gaines said so. 

Some folks say it’s a surefire way to keep your cats from clawing their way through the tree and then puking up fir needles for weeks afterward, which checks out for me.

5. Incredibly weird Victorian Christmas cards

So back in the 19th century, the Christmas card industry was really getting fired up. Victorians loved their mail, let me tell you. They loved sending it. They loved getting it. They loved writing it. They loved opening it. They loved those sexy wax seals you use to keep all that sweet, sweet mail inside that sizzling envelope. (Those things are incredibly sexy. Have you ever made a wax seal? Oh, man, it’s hot.)

The problem, though, was that while the Victorians arguably helped standardize many of the holiday traditions we know and love today (Christmas trees, caroling, Dickens everything, spending too much money, etc.) back in 1800-whenever, a lot of that Christmas symbolism was, um...still under construction. No one had really agreed on which visual holiday cues worked and which...didn’t.

Meaning everyone just kind of made up their own holiday symbols. Which resulted in monstrous aberrations like this card:

What the hell is that? A beet? Is that a beet? Or a turnip? Why is it...oh, God, why does it have a man’s head? Why does the man beet have insect claws? 

What is it that he’s holding? A cookie? Cardboard? A terra cotta planter?

And then there’s this one:

“A Merry Christmas to you,” it says, while depicting a brutal frog murder/mugging. 

What are you trying to tell me? Are you threatening me with this card? Is that it? Is this a threat? How the hell am I supposed to interpret this? “Merry Christmas, hide your money or you’re dead, you stupid bitch.”

Also, why is the dead frog naked? Did the other frog steal his clothes after the murder? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS?

Victorian holiday cards also doubled as early absurdist Internet memes, apparently, because how else do I explain this?

Is this some sort of tiny animal Santa? A mouse riding a lobster? Like, the mouse, I get. Mice are fine. Disney built an empire on a mouse. And look, he’s got a little list of things he’s presumably going to bring you: Peace, joy, health, happiness. (In French. Oh, wait, is that that Patton Oswalt rat?)

But a LOBSTER? What’s with the lobster? It’s basically a sea scorpion. Why in the name of all that is good and holy would you saddle up a LOBSTER? I hate it. I hate it so, so much. Just scurrying around the floor with more legs than are strictly necessary, smelling like the seafood section of Smith’s, snapping its giant claws.

This whole card is a health inspector’s worst nightmare. It really is.

I gotta say, though, I am a fan of this one:

Presumably, that polar bear is going in for a hug because nothing stamps out a polar bear’s innate desire to rip your face from your skull than candy canes and Coke and Christmas spirit.

This next one is actually fantastic, but for all the wrong reasons:

I know everyone overuses “same” these days but geez, LOOK at that kid. I can HEAR it. SAME.

If you’ve ever been in a shopping mall stuffed with kids, nothing sums it up better than this card. This is like the perverse version of those Anne Geddes portraits that were everywhere in the late 90s. “Make wee Jacob sit in the tea pot; everyone will--Jacob, STOP, look at Mommy; I said LOOK. AT. MOMMY--everyone will love it.”

Actually, you know what? Every other Christmas card is cancelled. This is the only card we will be using from now on. This is it. 

Wait, no. We can also use this one:

Merry Christmas. Here’s a fuckin’...just a dead fuckin’ bird.

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 11 Review/Remix

Not the most action packed chapter we’ve ever had, and certainly not as dramatic as Chapter 11s from past Volumes. But this week had some wonderful surprises and existential dread and depression in equal measure and I think that’s a formula for a pretty damn good watch.

Despite the devastating energy bomb Oscar delivered last episode, we open with the city of Atlas overrun with tons of Grimm. The people are still hiding in the subway, fearing for their lives twice over now that Ironwood’s monologue is playing and showing just how off his rocker he is. Those in the crater mines take it far worse, though we see some of the humans and faunus who had previously seemed on edge with each other holding one another in solidarity and comfort. Fiona breaks down in tears and is pulled into a Happy Huntress group hug by Joanna and May, so it’s a small comfort to see they’re all still alive.

Ironwood and Winter walk the halls of Atlas command together, and Winter can’t help but notice the fearful reverence the general’s presence instills in lesser officers. The Ace Ops are talking things over in the wake of their boss’ ultimatum, and Elm is of the belief that Ironwood was just bluffing about nuking Mantle if he doesn’t get what he wants. Vine agrees it may very well be the kick in the pants Team RWBY and the others will need to finally see the right path, but we the audience are getting pretty sick of hearing this shtick. Marrow thinks Ironwood is taking this too far, and Harriet is just angrily indifferent about the whole thing. Ironwood rounds the corner and addresses the squad with their new orders: get some drones ready to drop the bomb. Winter asks why exactly they need to actually make those kind of preparations, and he makes it clear that he really does intend to remove Mantle from the equation if he is prompted to. He actually thinks committing this massacre, nay genocide, will make Penny more willing to return to his command if she no longer has an alternative job. No, dumbass, she’ll only want to defy and even kill you more! This is how he believes they will save Atlas, but Marrow has had more than enough and calls him on his shit for a line like that. All this is doing is helping Salem in her mission to divide and destroy the world, and it’s spitting in the face of everything Marrow thought the Atlas military stood for. Harriet threatens to clean his clock if he doesn’t shut up, and Vine again suggests that this would be a necessary sacrifice for the good of the Kingdom. Elm tries to agree, to say that this should be their top priority whether they like it or not, but Marrow has more to say. He can’t believe any of them actually buy the nonsense they’re spouting, and wants to know if there’s anything his teammates actually believe in anymore. With so many moral compromises, where do they draw the line of patriotism vs fascism? The faunus man gives a pretty good clincher to his tirade by calling his badge and rank nothing more than a collar. Say what you want about the writing of the faunus discrimination subplots in the prior volumes, I think this was pretty good. Ironwood isn’t about to let Marrow walk away from a rant like that without consequences and we can hear his cocking his gun. Marrow hears it too, but before he can react Winter comes in from his right with a sucker punch that knocks him to the floor. As she drops a knee on Marrow’s back to cuff him for insubordination we see Ironwood was a second away from shooting this man, one of his few trusted elite soldiers left, in the back of the head for an execution without mercy or hesitation. She just saved his goddamn life and that makes her an MVP for this Volume. The other Ace Ops realize this close encounter with death too, and they all share the same expression of shock fear dread and confusion. Not even Vine can hide how much he doesn’t like what could have just occurred. Winter says she’s going to take this “traitor” to the brig where he belongs and Ironwood allows her to leave and do so, only taking his finger off the trigger once they’ve walked past him. Those with a better understanding of trigger discipline than I could probably make something poignant out of that, so have at it if you can. What is abundantly clear to us is that Winter will be taking Marrow no such place. She has absolutely had enough and she’s about to desert with him in tow. The remaining three have to get back in line and spend a little time rethinking their positions on this job. Well, at least one of them will be, I don’t think Harriet is gonna change course after what she’s already done.

From one tense situation to another, we go to the Schnee manor dining room where Team RWBY are trying to figure out their next moves with Oscar and Emerald. They know they don’t want Ironwood getting his hands on Penny, but they don’t know what to do instead that won’t result in mass casualties. They don’t know that Robyn and Qrow have flown the coop and might come to their aid soon, and under Ironwood’s watch there’s no way to try and evacuate the people in the crater before he drops the bomb. It’s a real bad situation with no clear solutions or backup plans. Emerald can’t help but be snarky and say if the perpetual optimism engine that is Ruby can’t think of what to do then there’s no right answer at all. Weiss is annoyed that Em is giving them sass when they really don’t need any, but Yang is downright furious and her to GTFO if she doesn’t like trying to help them solve this. Emerald tenses up when Yang stomps towards her with clenched fists, and her hands go to her weapons in case she needs to defend herself. We know Yang wouldn’t actually throw a punch even if she’s mad like this, but Em doesn’t. Probably because the most substantial thing connecting the two of them was the time Emerald used her semblance to make Yang look like a heartless brute who would break a leg for no reason on live TV. Also Emerald doesn’t have the best role models for how to handle frustration... Oscar continues to insist they all just take a deep breath and remember the big picture rather than lose it over small disagreements, and reminds them that Em is going to be staying on their side cuz Salem won’t let her safely be anywhere else. But when he tries to reassure the group with a reminder that Oz is back to offer help too it just tenses the situation further. Ruby’s got her head in her arms on the table, and she’s really having a hard time of it all. Oscar muses about all the negative personal energies keeping them from a productive cohesion, and Ruby pops off. A day’s worth of their best efforts, hard fought battles and painful consequences, and nothing has gotten better. Just like at the start of the Volume, all they’ve been able to do is argue over what to try and do while Atlas heads towards its demise. Yang tries to put an encouraging hand on her shoulder but she brushes it off and runs out of the room in a huff. Everyone silently realizes how much they’ve fucked this up if Ruby is so hopeless and desperate, and Yang follows her sister out of the room.

Upstairs, Jaune is doing his best to boost Nora’s Aura and help her heal faster, but it’s not doing anything about her lightning scars. Those babies are here to stay, and I don’t mind it. It shows history, survival and a damn good story about what she’s been able to power through. Ren is sitting at the foot of the bed, and the best he’s able to offer is how glad he is Nora is okay. She seems indifferent and even passive aggressive at the diagnosis on her scars, claiming it’s just another example of her being classic dumb Nora. Ren tries to object that this wasn’t her being stupid or foolhardy, but she bites back at him with all the resentment she seems to have been holding in since they split ways yesterday. He’s got no right to say what it was or wasn’t, he wasn’t there to see it. He pushed away from her when things went wrong because he didn’t want to have to feel anything he thought would be too hard to deal with. Ren makes no effort to argue, he knows she’s right and he apologizes profusely for how he wronged both her and Jaune. He regrets the things he said to them, or more likely the things he said to Jaune out on the tundra since he and Nora haven’t exactly talked much. He admits he’s been mad at himself for not measuring up to their mentor figures in the Ace Ops, for how little he could help when Tyrian came a’ slashing at Robyn’s election rally, and for slipping up and letting Neo get away with the Lamp. Mentioning the rally of course gets Nora’s attention away from her pissed off brooding, and she does start to listen a little more sympathetically. Ren says that he tried to tunnel vision on getting stronger in the hopes it would mean he wouldn’t fail again and bring the team down with him. We know from Ironwood how bad tunnel vision is, so I’m glad Ren is realizing it was a bad choice. Ren has realized now that by doing all that he failed the worst of all, that being in his role as a member of this team and as a partner to Nora. The two of them lock eyes, and Jaune notices the deeper meaning behind this prolonged eye contact and knows he should make himself scarce for now so they can have this more important conversation sans his third wheeling ass. Good boy, but a bit over the top excusing himself.

All Nora can find the words to ask is why Ren hadn’t said anything about these personal doubts sooner so they could try and deal with it and grow as a team, and he says he wanted to try and solve it himself because it was his problem and he was the one dragging the group down because of it. She disagrees on the grounds of her own perceived failings, being silly of mind and strong of muscle and little else of value. Ren won’t hear that kind of self depreciation sitting down, so he moves further up the bed to sit by her lap. He tries his best to give her affirmations by rephrasing her qualities as great things but she’s just not willing to hear it... until he gets a little more passionate about it than he may have meant to. These are the things he loves about her. Because he loves her. Lie Ren tells Nora Valkyrie “I love you”. Nora knows in her heart he really means that, but she has some things she wants to get off her chest. In the single sentence of backstory we get, her mom apparently abandoned her and fled from a Grimm attack before she ended up in Kuroyuri meeting Ren. SInce then they’ve always been an inseparable pair, and she wouldn’t give up a day of that for anything. But now she realizes she needs some time to really learn who she is as her own person and fighter, and going back to being as close as they were wouldn’t allow that kind of growth. Because Nora loves Ren too, always has. And she can tell their separate missions have done him some good too, but she needs a little more time before she’s ready to be the partner a great guy like him deserves. She just wants to know if that kind of request is okay with him. He puts a hand against her cheek and lovingly wipes away the tear she had shed. Of course that’s okay. He’s proud of her for being mindful of her own happiness and growth, and is willing to put the relationship they both very much look forward to having on hold while she grows as a person. This is a very healthy dynamic and all meming aside we really love to see it portrayed so naturally and acceptably in media. And for good wholesome measure, Ren Boops Nora. They laugh and smile and press their foreheads together because Rooster Teeth loves showing us that as a sign of proximity and intimate comfort.

Cutting to something far less happy, Qrow is retrieving Harbinger and Robyn’s gauntlet crossbow from a locker in what I assume might be evidence lockup. He asks Robyn if she’s got the security cameras running on loop, presumably so they can sneak through the halls undetected, but she is currently distracted. At least one screen is feeding audio of Ironwood’s threat to Mantle, and others are showing he really is gearing up to do so. Qrow tries to reassure her by resolutely saying they’ll stop him before he has the chance to, but she doesn’t seem to pleased with that plan. Regardless, they make their way through the halls and head for an elevator to take them up to the Academy. After avoiding being spotted by guards, they make it to the elevator but Robyn stops Qrow before he can hit the call button. She tries to advocate for a better way to solve this, he insists there isn’t one. Robyn says it’s not just about Qrow so it isn’t his choice alone to make what is or isn’t the only solution. Qrow just keeps insisting that this is what he’s gonna do and when he does it’ll all be safe and over with, but Robyn tries to suggest success isn’t guaranteed and if they fail it’ll only doom hundreds more than if they try something else. Qrow doesn’t give a damn, he just yells that Ironwood deserves to be killed, because in case the pronoun game was too hard Qrow is dead set on doing a murder. Robyn claps a hand over Qrow’s mouth and pushes him against the wall because they ARE still trying not to get caught remember? I really have to admit on my first watch I thought this was gonna be an eruption of some kind of romantic tension I just hadn’t noticed til now and she was going to shut him up with a kiss. But no, thank god they didn���t pull that tired trick. After making sure the coast really is clear, she gets to the heart of things. She can tell Qrow is in pain, he’s mourning, and its a shroud he’s well accustomed to. But don’t act like this is righteous justice for the people at large, Qrow wants blood on his hands purely for personal vengeance. She acknowledges that Clover had a lot of qualities worth looking up to the way Qrow had, but she thinks that at the end of the day Qrow has proven to be the better man and the better Huntsman. I feel like she could have phrased that a touch better so as to not speak quite so ill of the recently deceased, but the pep talk is there. He’s got the will to fight for what he believes is the right course of action rather than just what a higher up says he needs to, and that is the sort of strength of character that’s worth a whole lot in this world, so she hopes he won’t go abandoning it now that the going is even rougher. He seems to be calmed and inspired by this, but before any more words are said the elevator pings that it’s stopping on this floor so the two ready their weapons to fight whoever emerges. The doors open, but we have the perspective of whoever is inside looking out to see the two hunters drop their guard in confusion. As that is the end of that scene we will not be finding out who they saw for at least another week, but I think it’s most likely to be Winter and Marrow and the four of them will form an unlikely alliance.

Back in Schnee manor, Yang reaches the foyer to see Ruby sitting on the stairs clutching a banister. Instead of going right up to her Yang goes past to take a look at the collapsed suit of armor. She’s heard by now how Ruby and the others managed to kill the Hound, and tries to give her little sis amused props for doing what the elder sibling couldn’t. Instead Ruby just asks if Yang knows what they saw inside the Grimm. Yang says she does, and tenses up like she wants to brush past this very depressing topic Ruby is hinting at. Ruby is having none of that and just says what we’ve all been thinking. Summer Rose was most certainly turned into a Grimm too. Fearing the possibility in her head was one thing, but to hear Ruby say it aloud with a voice so hollow and hopeless is too much and Yang falls to her knees sobbing in a second flat. Yang tries to wipe the tears away, to be calm and strong like always, but Ruby isn’t stopping. They know Salem used to want Silver Eyed Warriors dead because of Maria’s brush with death years ago, but now Salem wants Ruby brought in alive and it seems obvious why. So why wouldn’t it be the case that Summer was the turning point, that fighting her was when Salem realized she could do so much more with her mortal foes? Ruby has had enough of lying to themselves for the sake of optimistic hope, her hope that Amity could get a message out got them nowhere but further failure and she blames herself for being childish. Yang takes her hand and assures her that it wasn’t childishness but rather optimism and hope. Those are things they desperately need in this struggle, but to be blindly optimistic can certainly be bad so they need to be smart about which risks they take. Ruby still isn’t about to concede this point because the risk she took was a failure and their message didn’t bring any help. I should like to remind the reader/viewer that it took about a week for Team RWBY to get from Mistral to Atlas and this message went out... 12 hours ago? Maybe 16? You’re giving up the ghost a little soon there sweetie, though they do need that help ASAP so better late than never isn’t really a viable option. Yang reminds Ruby that her plan was a bust too, but she kept trying to do good things that weren’t part of the plan and they did some good there. Summer took a risk too, by leaving for the mission she never came back from. And there’s little question that went according to plan either, but she still did her best and Yang still considers Summer her hero. As she embraces her little sister, I get the strong feeling that Summer isn’t the only Rose she considers her hero either... and by the tears that start welling up in Ruby’s eyes she clearly knows that.

Their sweet moment is shattered by the sound of equally shattered glass, and Jaune comes rushing down the stairs to tell them to get outside immediately. Penny woke up and the virus is in control again to make her head for the Vault without delay. Ruby bursts into her path to beg her to stop, and it does get her to start struggling against her digital orders. She begs to be stopped, and Ruby wraps her arms around her because honestly she’s just trying her best and with a weapon like Crescent Rose she’s gotta have some upper body strength. But that’s pretty meaningless against Penny’s rocket boots as she takes off with Ruby in tow. Blake and Ren use Gambol Shroud and Storm Flower (thank god for the grappling hook upgrade last Volume) to try and pull her down by each arm with the rest of their teams providing tug of war style support. Weiss uses a black glyph to really hold her in place once her feet are on the ground again. Before anyone can figure out what to do to properly subdue her Penny uses her magic to summon a cold vortex and blow them all off guard so she can start flying away again, still repeating her orders to open the Vault and self-terminate, though now she sounds emotional and conflicted about it due to her mental struggle. Before she can get any farther, a new set of chains grab her shoulders. Emerald has joined in, and even if it was a small gesture I found myself very enthusiastic to see her pitching in for the rescue. She yells for someone to do something already, and Jaune lets go of Blake’s side of the struggle (guess it would have been off balance if him Nora and Oscar were all helping Ren) to boost Weiss’ Aura so she can make a stronger inertia glyph. Back on the ground, Ruby hugs Penny again and asks how she can help her friend. And Penny says Ruby should kill her. If she does, Penny guarantees Ruby will be the one she gives the Winter Maiden powers to. None of the group like hearing this idea one little bit, but she thinks it’s the only way since she can’t fight the virus. But once again Nora swoops in with the sage words about it only being a part of you and not letting that be the end of it. Penny’s more than just a robot receiving orders, she’s got human spirit and willpower that’s been resisting for so long. This gets the gears in Ruby’s head turning and she realizes the human part can be what saves her. Jaune needs to boost her Aura, which he rushes over to do immediately. It seems to do the trick, and her soul is doing a much better job of keeping the virus contained, though it’s not gone forever. Everyone comes in for a happy group huddle, and she is assured that she is far more than a machine and that humanity is what will keep her going in spite of the remaining virus. It’s a very soft and touching moment. 

Then Emerald has something to say. They’re wrong... about being in the same place they started yesterday. They’ve made progress even though they can’t quite see it right now. They’ve taken some hits, and she admits some of that has been her fault, but that’s war so you gotta roll with the punches and fight on. She just really won’t like it if they give up the moment she decides she’ll fight by their side, okay?! It’s not like she likes these friendly, kind, understanding and emotionally complex fellow teens that are willing to take her in, baka!!! Oscar points out that she’s admitted she wants to stay with them and they all have a happy laugh realizing she’s got a softer side after all. Oscar helps her back to her feet, then addresses the group. Ozpin has some things he wants to say to them all, if they’re willing to hear it. They all share a look and decide that yes, they will listen. Oz comes forth and immediately launches into a speech about a fairy tale. Typical. We can presume these are further details about “The Girl who Fell Through the World”, and he says that girl took her grand trip to run away from consequences of a choice she has to make. But her problems only grow because the initial issue was never resolved. That’s the very thing he’s done here, his problem being the consequences of the truth and his past coming to light. He regrets not trusting them with the whole story and he regrets retreating into Oscar’s mind when he was found out. The group decides they understand where he was coming from a bit since in that interim they had to make some impossible choices about trust too. Trusting in someone is a risk, and they decide they’ll take that risk on him one more time. From the look of things, that second chance is going to Emerald too, and I hope she makes them proud. Penny winces again and it’s clear that one way or the other they will need to take her to the Vault. Ruby thinks on that for a second and realizes that’s actually worth a shot considering who they have at their disposal and the likelihood of it not going exactly how Ironwood thinks it will. To that end we see Ironwood down in the Vault receiving a call from Ruby saying Penny will be there. He sets the stipulation that Penny meet him at the entrance of the Academy and she has to come alone. I’m sure no green haired illusionist will play a hand in whether or not she really is alone... But either way there will be unexpected company because Watts hooked up a broken Scroll to the wiring of an Atlas robot to listen in on Ironwood’s call and know where the meeting will be. Neo arrives in the alley where the doctor and Cinder waiting, and it seems miss Fall has a scheme to get the ice cream psycho precisely what she’s demanding of them.

But what exactly these carefully laid plans will be has to wait a little while, cuz that’s the end for this week. Great job all around for this well balanced episode with many kinds of scenes and many ways to make my heart hurt...

[toenialls]

hi ! here’s a fic rec i made bc what better time to read fics than a quarantine. i’ve ordered them below from longest to shortest. :) 

these are all the fics i’ve read/re-read this quarantine

hiding place by alivingfire  @alivingfire (365k)

louis never wanted a soulmate, didn’t really care for the whole Bonding thing at all, really. enter harry styles, who’s wanted to be Bonded for as long as he could remember. with one fateful meeting in a x factor bathroom, louis gets a dagger on his arm and the realization that just because harry is his soulmate doesn’t mean it’s mutual.

from the x factor house to madison square garden, from the fountain studios stage to stadiums across the world, louis has to learn to love without losing himself completely, because someday his best friend will Bond to someone and replace louis as the center of his universe. meanwhile, harry begins to think that maybe fate doesn’t actually know what it’s doing after all, because his other half has clearly been right in front of him the whole time. all he has to do now is convince louis to give them a chance.

or, the canon compliant harry and louis love story from the very beginning, where the only difference is that the love between them is literally written on their skin, and there’s only so much they can hide.

relief next to me  by dolce_piccante @haydolce (333k)

au- what happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific craigslist post? fate, friendship, food, and maybe more. 

young & beautiful by velvetoscar @mizzwilde (227k)

louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name zayn malik means something, niall horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and harry styles, only son o a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes 

now in a minute by thealmightyavocado @avocadolouie​ (150k)

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for louis it actually was.more than anything in the world, louis tomlinson dreams of growing up. simply skipping over all the awkward embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life, real life.

so when thirteen-year-old louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected his adult life to be picture perfect. and maybe it is. he has it all…or so it seems. 

except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, harry styles, is totally missing from the equation and louis doesn’t understand why. he has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feel so empty.

or, the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

walk that mile by purpledaisy (149k)

harry stares at him, the line of his jaw standing out scarily. “i wanted to get the most out of this trip so i planned it carefully.” his voice is low and steady and somehow that’s worse than when he was yelling. “so far, you’ve put your sticky fingers on everything i’ve tried to do.”

"sticky fingers?“ louis repeats. offended. “are you saying it’s my fault you got stung by a bee? had you been alone you would have gotten halfway to the dotty diner and ran the car off the road because of an allergic reaction, so don’t go blaming me.”

"polk-a-dot drive in,“ harry spits before getting out of the car. he slams the door shut with a deafening reverb and louis rolls his eyes.

or, a route 66 au where falling in love was never part of the plan.

own the scars by crinkle-eyed-boo @crinkle-eyed-boo​ (144k)

“but i don’t belong here,” louis insists.

"why do you say that?“ james asks.

"these people are all drug addicts and alcoholics,” louis shrugs. something sparks in james’ eyes. “and you’re not?”

louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friends, for the life he’s supposed to want. after an accident that nearly costs him his life, louis’ parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to make his own decisions. on the long and difficult road to recovery, louis must confront the truths he;s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

wear it like a crown by zarah5 @zarahdetand​ (141k)

au- as a part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in buckingham palace, louis expects prince harry to be a lot of things –  most notable a royally spoilt brat. never mind that the very same prince harry used to star in quite a number of louis’ teenage fantasies.

unbelievers by isthatyoularry @isthatyoularry​ (136k)

it’s louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. however, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifying uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life that much worse. mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

or, the one where louis and harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything

empty skies by green_feelings (134k)

for three years, harry has been running from his past. now, he is moving to london and pledges to fulfill only his dream – making it big in the music industry. not everyone has a place, though, and the competition is tough. as is his past catching up to him.

louis is part of the biggest boy band of the world, and getting there meant a lo to hard work, as well as sacrificing parts of his heart and soul. he’s still happy. maybe not as happy as he could be, but who is he to complain?

featuring perrie as harry’s adorable flatmate, niall as his manager, and liam and zayn as louis’ bandmates.

love is a rebellious bird by 100precentsassy @100percentsassy​ gloria_andrews @gloriaandrews​ (134k)

au. in which the boys still make music. louis is the concertmaster of the london symphony orchestra, harry is the new! and exciting! interim conductor / ex-cello prodigy who “has made mozart cool again” according to esquire magazine (louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and niall is the best. zayn and liam are around too.

don’t hum Bolero

wild love by  purpledaisy (130k)

“good,” julia says, clearly pleased to have them both uncomfortable and unable to look at each other. “now, i only have one more question before you can go. what are you planning to do when this experiment ruins your friendship?“

 "we said we’d stay friends no matter what,” harry says smoothly his chin lifting in defense.

"that was our one thing going into it,“ louis agrees. “stay friends no matter what.”

julia raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow, “that’s all fine and good. but i hope you realize your emotions aren’t going to realize this is an experiment in the end. if one of you falls for the other and finds out those feelings are not reciprocated you’re not going to be able to laugh it off as a social experiment. i’m not saying you shouldn’t do this, i’m just hoping you’ve considered all of the possible outcomes.”

or, two friends try to date each other for forty days. it’s supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated

got the sunshine on my shoulders by hattalove @hattalove​ (124k)

five years ago, harry styles left his tiny home town to make it big as a recording artist, he didn’t have much regard for what he left behind– a life, a family, a husband, who woke up one morning to find him gone.

now, harry has everything he could possibly want. he’s rich, famous, and adored by everyone he meets, including his boyfriend. but when said boyfriend proposes to him, he’s forced to face the uncomfortable facts of his past– and louis, who’s spent the last five years returning every set of divorce papers harry sent him.

or, au based on the movie sweet home alabama.

california sold by isthatyoularry (123k)

notoriously closeted boyband member harry styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile louis, as his best friend, is back home in manchester living the typical life of a 24 year old. when harry needs louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

or, a fake-relationship au between two lifelong best friends.

the finish line (is a good place for us to start) by loadedgunn @loaded-gunn (122k)

louis tomlinson, one-time formula i world champion, is looking forward to the 2013 season, he’s got zayn in his garage and liam in his ear, he’s got cowell racing backing him despite former indiscretions, he’s got experience and the best race car out there. not to mention he’s the only racer they have, after oliver dropped out late last year.

it hasn’t occured to him that oliver would have to be replaced by february. that is, until he finds himself at a party celebrating harry styles leaving ferarri for cowell. harry hotshot styles, who broke a record last year and is probably looking to make a big splash. harry styles, who is talented and somewhat intimidating. harry styles, who left ferarri for reasons unknown and seems kind of lonely and harmless in person. lonely, harmless, hot as fuck. whatever.

the first thing louis does is take him under his wing. from there it’s nine months of slow-burning romance, the past catching up to them, turning into the human puppy pile that is ot5 and a lot of feelings until, of course, reaching the finish line.  

tired tired sea by mediawhore @mediawhorefics​ (113k)

as a b&b owner on the most remote of all the british isles, louis tomlinson is used to spending the coldest half of the year in complete isolation, with his dog and the sea as sol companions. until one day, a mysterious stranger on a quest to rebuild himself rents a room for the winter.

here in the afterglow by fondleeds @fondleeds​ (88k)

"if you hadn’t noticed, i don’t have many friends,” louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing his way into his throat.

harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes louis’ stomach shake. “i’ll be your friend.”

or, 1970’s au. in a tiny town in idaho, louis’ life changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

chasing empty spaces by domesticharry @domestic-harry​ (79k)

the year is 1934 and harry styles was to inherit the largest tobacco firm in the south. his parents have picked out the “perfect” girl for him to marry and he has the privilege of receiving the highest education possible. the problem was, harry hadn’t realized that he didn’t want nay part of the future until he met a mechanic named, louis tomlinson.

don’t want shelter by kingsofeverything @kingsofeverything​ (76k)

louis and harry have known each other all their lives. friends as children, they danced around each other as teenagers, and have spent the last twenty-five years either screaming at each other or not speaking at all. except for that one time ten years ago...

when hurricane nicole threatens the coast, they end up stuck together in their families' old vacation home that they begrudgingly co-own.

during the storm, and in the months after, they’re both forced to reevaluate their history and what they mean to each other

money moves by mmaree @zqua1d​ (74k)

"i’ll cut straight to the chase,“ liam announces. he leans forward, and zayn is met with steely eyes and steepled fingers. "i’m willing to offer you fifty grand if you’ll enter into a small…partnership with me. this would be in addition to your salary at payne innovations, of course. think of it as a bonus.”

zayn narrow his eyes. “what kind of partnership?”

"a fake engagement.“

"oh,” zayn says, relived it’s nothing illegal. “wait–what?”

“a fake engagement,” his boss repeats slowly, as if he’s convinced zayn’s comprehension skills are significantly lacking. “for six months. maybe less if i can pull it off sooner but don’t worry– you’ll be paid the full sum regardless of how long it takes.”

zayn’s suspicious, and he doesn’t even know why. there’s nothing to be suspicious of because, clearly, liam’s lost the plot. zayn’s having a conversation with a complete nutter. there’s no other reasonable explanation.

he clears his throat, searches liam’s eyes for a sign he’s taking the piss. “how long what takes?”

a smile plays at liam’s lips. “for me to be hired as the cto at titan technologies.”

to the ends of the earth by stylinsoncity @aliensingucci​ (68k)

during a yearlong hiatus, louis visits harry at his cabin in idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

lend me your hand by quickedween (63k)

society has long since decided that the soulmarks everyone is born with are entirely unfashionable. they’re just another way for people of a lower class to scam their way into marrying above their station.

lord louis tomlinson viscount loring, on the other hand, has always believed that he will find his soulmate one day. despite preparing for a match his whole life, he is entirely unprepared for the arrival of gemma styles’ younger brother.

harry styles has been travelling and away from society for over a year. coming back, he intends to spend time with his sister, and slowly reacquaint himself with life in town. he doesn’t need to wait around for a soulmark to determine how his life will play out.

small doses (loving you it’s explosive) by quickedween (40k)

louis tomlinson finds himself at vitality fitness to try and turn his life around after having left his cheating boyfriends of four years. the gym’s owner, liam, quickly becomes a good friend but his right hand man is rude and dismissive from the get-go.

louis and harry continue to clash all while harry is trying to move his way up the ranks in manchester’s amateur boxing circuit, but they can’t seem to stay away from each other.

learning to eat by photo41 (28k)

celebrity chef louis tomlinson has a problem, he’s opening his first restaurant in 9 week . and he has yet to hire a pastry chef- apparently people think he’s “standoffish” and “rude” and “quick to temper” . whatever. he ends u saddled with an annoying, happy-go-lucky rookie who also happens to be obnoxiously good looking. his tv presenter and pop star friends only add to the drama, and for fucks sake would everyone please stop quoting julia child?!

these roads we stumble down  by onewasturning @onewasturning​ (18k)

he’s completely drenched, not one milimetre of him covered in rain, and the old sheepskin cover over the seat is probably going to stink afterwards from the damp. but even with what seems to be a constant tremor shaking his body, brown hair plastered to his forehead, and a blue tinge to his skin, he’s still probably the most gorgeous person that harry has ever seen.

or, harry picks up a hitchhiker in oxford, and it’s a long ride to glasgow.

[shirtlesssammy]

2x11: Playthings

Then:

These brother have seen some things

Now:

This episode starts off real comforting. Aside from the exposition of a family moving out of an old inn, we’re greeted to a room FULL of creepy old dolls. A show doesn’t even have to try when dolls are thrown in the mix. The room of dolls belongs to Tyler, one of the little girls in the house. She has a dollhouse --a replica of the inn-- that would have made a younger me faint with jealousy. 

The dolls in this dollhouse move around mysteriously though. One moment she places a doll in a rocking chair, and the next he’s sprawled on the floor in front of the stairs --head on backwards. 

She hears a scream and comes out to see her mom calling 911, and the moving guy near death on the floor in front of the stairs. 

(Sidenote: Anybody remember reading The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright as a kid? I loved that book.) 

The brothers, meanwhile, are trying to find Ava. Typical Sam can’t just sit and spin his wheels, and wants to work a case about deaths at an inn in Connecticut. Dean wonders why Sam doesn’t want to wallow --”more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows”. AND I HAVE TO STOP AND POINT OUT THAT DEAN HAS DONE ALL OF THIS WHEN HE’S THOUGHT CAS DEAD. Projection looks awful on you Dean. 

They get to the inn and Dean’s pumped about working a haunted house case ---possibly running into Fred and Daphne. Bby boy eventually DID run into Fred and Daphne and I have EMOTIONS. (But, like, real ones. Our little show got a crossover with Scooby-doo!? It’s still surreal to think about sometimes.) 

Sam notices a powerful charm warding off enemies outside the inn. 

The brothers check into the inn. Susan, the owner, tells them that the inn is closing and asks if they’re in the area “antiquing”. Dean readily agrees to go along with their cover. She then asks if they want a king sized bed. Sam corrects her and she apologizes, but poor, poor, repressed, stressed Dean can’t let it go and asks her, “What’d you mean we ‘looked the type’?” 

They get room 237 --and Dean, film buff and noted Stephen King fan-- has no reaction. Boo. 

Sam reviews the deaths so far: a realtor and mover. Someone doesn’t want this family to leave. Dean is more focused on the vibe he’s sending out to the world that makes them think he’s into dudes. Sam succinctly sums it up by saying, “Well, you are kinda butch. Probably think you're overcompensating.” Dean’s nervous reaction kills me every time. 

Walking around the inn later, Sam finds more hoodoo markings. They then go to talk with Susan. In order to talk with her more, Dean sees her collection of antique dolls and tells her that Sam’s a collector.

Sam checks out the dollhouse and notices the doll with the twisted head. Tyler comes in and Sam asks about it. She said that she found it like that. She says that neither Maggie or her would do that because Grandma Rose would be mad. These are all her toys. 

Grandma Rose is upstairs, in a wheelchair, and Sam is forbidden to talk to her about the doll collection. The brothers set to digging up dirt on the grandma. 

Susan learns that the new owners plan on demolishing the hotel. 

Tyler has a tea party while the visiting attorney sits on his bed. There’s a doll sitting on the dollhouse bed as well. Both the dollhouse door and real door to the attorney’s room open. Tyler looks over to the dollhouse and sees the doll hanging from the ceiling. 

The doll’s real life counterpart is likewise occupied. 

Sam watches as the guy is hauled away in a bodybag. Dean asks Susan about what happened. 

He then finds Sam, who is REALLY DRUNK. Sam’s upset he couldn’t save the guy --and Ava (lol, are you sure about that one Sam?). Sam’s deeply upset about Dean’s earlier confession about saving him or killing him. In a moment of clarity, Dean tells Sam that John should never have laid that on them. Sam gets a promise from Dean eventually though. 

Dean heads to the bar and finds Sherwin (the butler?). 

He asks Sherwin about the history of the hotel. Sherwin walks Dean around and shows him pictures of the family in “happier days.” Sherwin notes that Rose will have to live in a senior facility and the only home she’s ever known will be demolished. They look at old pictures, and Rose’s nanny also sported a hoodoo symbol on her pinafore. 

The next morning, Sam’s worshipping at the porcelain throne. Dean checks that Sam doesn’t remember his promise to kill him and then proceeds to tease him mercilessly, Big Brother Style ™. 

The Winchesters head up to talk to Rose, who lives in the attic not-at-all-creepily. (Note to self: live in the attic when I’m extremely old and infirm and invest in a good, old, creaky rocker.) Rose can’t talk, which seems to rule out hoodoo on her part (which requires motor and speech control).

Susan finds them and kicks them the hell out. 

Back inside, the two girls are playing together and not packing. Susan tells her daughter that her friend (!!!) is IMAGINARY!!! Yesssss creepy ghost child time, baby. 

Susan is 100% DONE with Tyler’s buddy Maggie and tells her she’s too old for an imaginary friend. (Somewhere, young Sam is shouting HOW DARE.)

Later, Tyler plays with her dollhouse when the swing on the swingset starts to move.

A cold breeze blows across Susan as she packs the car and she notices the swings moving on the real swingset outside. The teeter-totter starts to move and that’s DEFINITELY NOT THE WIND. While she’s distracted by the haunted playground, her car heads straight for her. It’s R-E-D-R-U-M time. 

Sam saves Susan just in time. They all head straight for the booze. Dean tells her their theories: they thought it was hoodoo but now their money’s on ghost. In response, Susan takes a big swig of liquor. #Relatable

Now their theory is that Grandma Rose was using hoodoo to ward off a malicious spirit, but couldn’t once she had a stroke. Sam tells Susan that she needs to clear the house, including her two daughters. RECORD SCRATCH. Susan only has ONE daughter! They race off to find Tyler and her imaginary friend.

Upstairs, Maggie confronts a terrified Rose. 

Maggie’s going to keep Tyler for herself. MuaHAHAHAHA. “We can have lots of tea parties. Forever and ever and ever….”

Upstairs, the adults are met with a horrifying scene of unbelievable carnage.

For Someone Had Fun with Eyeballs Science:

Susan remembers that her mother had a sister. Would you say a………..twisted sister? Maggie died in the pool and her ghost now haunts the place. 

Cut to Maggie and Tyler dangling from the balcony railing over the pool. Tyler’s scared, but Maggie promises that after she jumps they can be together forever. The adults arrive at the pool just in time to see Maggie hurl Tyler into the pool. Tyler gets tangled in the plastic pool cover (SHUDDER) and breaks free only for Maggie to duck her back underwater. 

Suddenly, Maggie hears another voice! It’s a young girl calling for “Margaret.” Maggie fades out. Sam breaks the glass at last and dives into the pool to save Tyler. 

He hauls Tyler out and to the edge of the pool. There’s a lot of slow motion sorrowful looks between the adults (instead of instant first aid smh) when Tyler spits out water! She’s alive! Tyler reports that Maggie’s gone from the pool. 

Up in the attic, Maggie talks to Rose. They’re striking some kind of deal in order for Maggie to let Susan and Tyler go. “You kept me away for so long,” Maggie says. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore.” She caresses Rose’s cheek.

A little while later, Susan screams from the attic room. Rose is dead! The paramedics declare it another stroke. (A stroke of MURDER.) After Tyler and Susan head out for their new not-at-all-traumatized life, the Winchesters head off as well.

(I planned to put in a caption where Dean comments on Sam getting some MILF action and then Dean just comes right out and SAYS it right in the goddamned script.)

At the Impala of Feelings, they talk about the good times: the case is solved! And...the bad times. Sam reminds Dean of his promise to kill him. 

Back in the house everything is super fine and extra great. Two girls play in the family apartments while Maggie’s doll looks on fondly. 

The Dollquote Murders:

Son of a bitch. … Maggie said it first!

I just figured after Ava there'd be, you know, more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows…

You are kinda butch. Probably think you're overcompensating

You're bossy. And short

That car didn't try to run you down by itself, okay? I mean, I guess it did, technically

Think you could have hooked up some MILF action there, bud

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[one-d-library]

Longer Fics

Here are some longer (mostly Larry) fics, most have multiple chapters: Organized by length, this is mainly chaotic but oh well. 

Longer Fics (2) can be found here!

~

TGIF by dinosaursmate {explicit, 20k, smut, friends to lovers, childhood friends, OT5 friendship}

“So, you moved in today?” “Yeah.” Louis huffed. “I’ve had to leave all my friends behind in Donny and move here because my mum got a good job. And this house is bigger than the one we were in, so that’s good. But I just… I was popular, I had loads of friends, I was captain of the football team. I don’t think the school I’m going to even has a football team.” “What school are you going to?” “St. Mary’s.” ”That’s my school!” Harry stopped, and the ball hit his foot. “I’ll be your friend.” Louis smiled, and something about it made Harry’s stomach twist uneasily.

“That’s sweet, Harry. But I can’t exactly hang out with an eleven year old.” Harry’s mouth twisted into a frown, but he kicked the ball back anyway. “Okay.” “We can hang out here, though.”

Louis, 13, moves in next door to Harry, eleven. They immediately hit it off and quickly become best friends, but as they get older, things get a little complicated.

~

The Melody You Never Heard by bananasandboots {explicit, 30k, smut, friends to lovers, slow burn, OT5 friendship, camping AU}

It's one last adventure. One last chance to be young and carefree. One final weekend before they take up their internships, their corporate positions, before they enter the real world, fresh out of university. Niall's his best mate. Liam's been there for him since they were lost, little freshmen, trying to find their ways through an overwhelming first year. Harry can't disappoint them, even if it means enduring four days with Louis. 

Louis, who he does share a history with, a history he's never told anyone about, not even Niall, a history he hasn't brought up in three years because it's stupid and embarrassing and confusing.

Or, the one where Harry gets roped into a four-day camping trip with the boy who kissed him and never called back.

~

Long Before We Both Thought The Same Thing by allasavedtheday {mature, 36k, smut, friends to lovers, slow burn, OT5 friendship}

“So are you admitting you love Harry yet?” Louis pauses in the middle of his story about the movie he and Harry went to see last night to raise an incredulous eyebrow. “What are you on about? Of course I love Harry.” Has Zayn lost his mind? He’s been friends with Louis for nearly seven years and Harry for six, under what circumstances did it appear like they didn’t love each other? “Okay, let me rephrase,” Zayn says, an amused little quirk to his mouth like he knows something Louis doesn’t. “Are you admitting you’re in love with Harry yet?” Louis stares at him in bewilderment, mouth working as he tries to form a response. “I…what?”*

Or, Louis maybe, sort of realises he's in love with his best friend of almost twenty years and he maybe, sort of thinks that said best friend could love him back?

[there is a sequel to this written by the same author, it is If You Asked Me If I Love Him (I’d Lie), it’s really good!! they hide their marriage from their families at Lottie’s wedding but fail miserably]

~

Promise Not to Fall by dimpled_halo {explicit, 38k, 2 chapters, smut, friends to lovers, slow burn, hiatus fic, canon divergent}

Louis raises his eyebrows. “You want to be friends with benefits?” Harry shrugs, “If that’s what you want to call it then, yeah. Why not?” Louis brings his hand to rub the stubble on his jaw, seeming lost in his own thoughts. “Okay, I’ll agree on three conditions.” “One: no sleep overs.” Harry nods, “Okay." “Two: if either of us finds someone else we call it off no questions asked.”Harry isn’t sure why his stomach turns at that, but he agrees anyway.“ And three,” Louis’ face hardens, “you cannot, under any circumstances, fall in love with me.”Harry snorts, “Yeah, okay,” he chuckles lightly.

or- When One Direction goes on hiatus, Harry and Louis reconnect, becoming the friends they once were during their days in the X Factor. It doesn’t take long for their friendship to evolve into friends with benefits, unable to resist the physical attraction between them. Things get complicated when feelings get in the way.

~

The Sound of Your Voice From Far Away by pukeandcry {explicit, 39k, smut, friends to lovers, slow burn, canon compliant}

It'd be perfect, he convinces himself. Things with Lou are – well. They're the way they are, and there's no point dwelling on why it's got that way. But he thinks this would help -- not fix them, because they're not broken. They don't need to be put back together, they're just. Out of sync, maybe. It would help. He thinks it would, anyway, if they could just be the two of them again, to be alone together with no outside influences pressing claustrophobically in on them, just for a bit. And driving down an empty highway with nothing else but Louis beside him is the best way to do that that he can imagine.

Or, after the U.S. leg of the Take Me Home tour, Harry and Louis drive from L.A. to NYC. They figure some things out, like how to deal with the distance that's been growing between them.

~

All Eyes On You by rainbow_kings {explicit,49k, 2 chapters, smut, slow burn, established relationship, road trip AU}

Harry and Louis have been married for ten years and they have three children. When their relationship is threatened with a divorce, they pack their belongings and go on a road trip in means to save their relationship. They promise to stay on the road and only returning once they've sorted through their problems. 

~

Never Let Me Go by loveisalaserquest17 {explicit, 55k, 3 chapters, slow burn, angst, pining, friends to lovers, OT5 friendship, smut}

“Harry! I’ll tell you what,” Louis exclaims, clapping his hands together. There’s a big grin on his face. “If both of us are still single by your thirtieth birthday, we’ll marry each other.” Harry’s head snaps up, eyes widening. “What?”

Harry and Louis have been friends forever, but they couldn't be more different. One night, with a little too much alcohol, they make a pact to marry in ten years if they're both still single. Now, one month before the deadline, Louis is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid ending up with his best friend. But is he, really? | Loosely inspired by The 10 Year Plan

~

Here In The Afterglow by fondleeds {not rated, 88k, 3 chapters, 1970s AU, highschool AU, period typical homophobia, angst, fluff, slight friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, OT5 invovlement}

“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.

Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

~

Unbelievers by isthatyoularry {explicit, 136k, 10 chapters, smut, slow burn, football AU, enemies to lovers}

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

~

And Then a Bit by infinitelymint {explicit, 158k, 14 chapters, smut, friends w benefits, fake relationship, canon divergent + compliant, OT5 friendship + involvement}

“We’d like to give the fans what they want.” Magee states, placing his hand on the table in front of him and leaning forward. “We want to give them Larry Stylinson.”

Or, take a parallel universe where Louis and Harry were never together, mix in a two year hiatus and an impending comeback, pour in a dash of lost fans, two tablespoons of strong friendship and a Modest! employee with a good idea. Add a squeeze of pretending to be a couple, lots of kisses and a tattoo or two. Stir. Serve: the mother of all publicity stunts.

(aka Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.)

~

Given a Chance by fabby  {explicit, 173k, 12 chapters, smut, slow burn, angst, fluff, nouis friendship, exes to lovers, canon divergent}

Five years after One Direction took their last tour, the last thing Louis Tomlinson ever expected to happen while on a tea run at the local Piggly Wiggly was to run into his ex-boyfriend and ex-bandmate Harry Styles.The odds of them ever running into each other again had to be super slim, right? Wrong.

What happens when you mix ex-boyfriends with a large serving of Small Town America? Will Louis and Harry be able to set aside their differences, or will Louis be able to stay breezy as fuck in the wake of Harry’s arrival?

(or, the one where Louis and Harry run into each other five years after One Direction ends and learn how to love each other again. Featuring: Reggie as the overweight labrador, Niall as Louis’ last grip on reality, and Nowheresville, North Carolina as the setting for Louis’ worst nightmare to come true.)

~

Young & Beautiful by Velvetoscar {mature, 227k, 34 chapters, slow burn, angst, uni AU} 

Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn't stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

~

more fic recs can be found here!

[johns-prince]

Music Mix: John Lennon

1st || 2nd

The Hills || The Weeknd

I only fuck you when it's half past five The only time I'd ever call you mine I only love it when you touch me, not feel me When I'm fucked up, that's the real me When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, babe

In The Night || The Weeknd

He sang a song when he did it He was cold and he was so unforgiving Now she dances to the song on the minute Yeah, all the time, all the time It make her weak when she hear it

Uncomfortable || Chase Atlantic

I'm coming down heavy from the Adderall Borderline drowning in these messy thoughts I'll come down once I get some more This substance got a hold on me, I'm insecure 

I'm hearing voices, what the fuck's that sound? I'm going through problems I shouldn't talk about I'm thinking it's over but, shit, I'll ride it out

No Friends || Chase Atlantic 

I ain’t got no friends in this You should stay away, I fell aggressive I know I asked politely but I’m anxious And I don’t need you preachin’ ‘bout whatever I might lose my shit and leave forever

I ain't got no friends On the guest list, no I ain't got no friends On my mattress, no I ain't got no friends Oh, you an actress? Act this Walk the fuck away and don't look back, bitch 

Heartless || The Weeknd

'Cause I'm heartless And I'm back to my ways 'cause I'm heartless All this money and this fame got me heartless Low life for life 'cause I'm heartless Said I'm heartless Tryna be a better man but I'm heartless Never be a wedding plan for the heartless Low life for life 'cause I'm heartless

I lost my heart and my mind I tried to always do right I thought I lost you this time You just came back in my life You never gave up on me (why don't you?) I'll never know what you see (why won't you?) I don't do well when alone (oh, yeah) You hear it clear in my tone

Therapy || All Time Low

My ship went down in a sea of sound When I woke up alone, I had everything A handful of moments, I wished I could change And a tongue like a nightmare that cut like a blade

Give me a therapy, I'm a walking travesty But I'm smiling at everything Therapy, you were never a friend to me And you can keep all your misery

Arrogant boy Love yourself so no one has to They're better off without you (They're better off without you)

Arrogant boy 'Cause a scene like you're supposed to They'll fall asleep without you You're lucky if your memory remains

I’m Still Here || John Rzeznik

I am a question to the world not and answer to be Heard or a moment that's held in your arms and what do you think you'd ever say I won't listen anyway you don't know me and I'll never be what you want me to be and what do you think you'd understand I'm a boy no, I'm a man You can't take me and throw me away And how can you learn what's never shown Yeah you stand here on your own They don't know me Cause I'm not here

And I want a moment to be real Wanna touch things I don't feel Wanna hold on and feel I belong And how can the world want me to change They're the ones that stay the same They don't know me Cause I'm not here

And you see the things they never see All you wanted I could be Now you know me and I'm not afraid And I wanna tell you who I am Can you help me be a man They can't break me As long as I know who I am

They can't see me But I'm still here

Silhouette || Owl City

I'm tired of waking up in tears, 'Cause I can't put to bed these phobias and fears I'm new to this grief I can't explain; But I'm no stranger to the heartache and the pain     The fire I began, is burning me alive But I know better than to leave and let it die I'm a silhouette asking every now and then Is it over yet? Will I ever feel again? I'm a Silhouette chasing rainbows on my own But the more I try to move on the more I feel alone So I watch the summer stars to lead me home I'm sick of the past I can't erase, A jumble of footprints and hasty steps I can't retrace, The mountains of things that I still regret, Is a vile reminder that I would rather just forget (No matter where I go) 

Get Off My Back || Bryan Adams

Well you think that you can take me on You must be crazy There ain't a single thing you've done That's gonna phase me Oh, but if you want to have a go I just wanna let you know

Get off my back! And into my game Get out of my way! And out of my brain Get outta my face! Or give it your best shot I think it's time you better face the fact Get off of my back!

I’m Born to Run || American Authors

I'm gonna live my life like I'm gonna die young Like it's never enough, like I'm born to run I'm gonna spend my time like tomorrow won't come Do whatever I want like I'm born to run I wanna see Paris, I wanna see Tokyo I wanna be careless even if I break my bones I'm gonna live my life like I'm gonna die young Like it's never enough, like I'm born to run

Mad Hatter Cover || Toogla

I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad The craziest friend that you've ever had You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong Over the bend, entirely bonkers You like me best when I'm off my rocker Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed So what if I'm crazy? The best people are

Déjà Vu || 3oh!3

Mister bartender, you will kick me out And the blond girl in the back, you'll put your tongue down my mouth And the greaser in the jacket's gonna pick a fight And they'll probably kick my ass 'cause I'm drunk every night

Officer, officer, tell me the truth How many times can I get in trouble with you Before they lock me up for all the bad things that I do But you don't and that's why this feels like déjà vu

Everywhere I Go || Hollywood Undead

When I start drinking My dick does all my thinking Hoes want to be scene with me And I like their big fake titties D cup with extra filling Take it out let me lick it quickly Calm down its just a hickie I'll blame it on this whisky sipping gets me tipsy Drink fast and enjoy your buzz Take back street to avoid the fuzz I wanna take you home but your friends won't let ya I gotta 40 in my ford fiesta Buy beer Or pay the rent My signing bonus was quickly spent So I beat my meat like I'm a fucking butcher And I punk the pussy like I'm Ashton Kutcher!  

Afraid || The Neighborhood

All my friends always lie to me I know they're thinking You're too mean, I don't like you, fuck you anyway You make me wanna scream at the top of my lungs It hurts but I won't fight you You suck anyway You make me wanna die, right when I

When I wake up I'm afraid, somebody else might take my place

Being me can only mean Feeling scared to breathe If you leave me then I'll be afraid of everything That makes me anxious, gives me patience, calms me down Lets me face this, let me sleep, and when I wake up Let me breathe

Take What You Want || Post Malone ft. Ozzy Osbourne

I feel you crumble in my arms down to your heart of stone You bled me dry just like the tears you never show Why don't you take what you want from me? Take what you need from me Take what you want and go Why don't you take what you want from me? Take what you need from me Take what you want and go

I never needed anything from you ...And all I ever asked was for the truth (all I ever asked was for) You showed your tongue and it was forked in two Your venom was lethal, I almost believed you (almost believed you) Yeah, you preyed on my every mistake Waited on me to break, held me under hopin' I would drown Like a plague, I was wasting away Tryna find my way out, find my way out (find my way out) 

Mantra || Bring Me the Horizon

Before the truth will set you free, it'll piss you off Before you find a place to be, you're gonna lose the plot Too late to tell you now, one ear and right out the other one 'Cause all you ever do is chant the same old mantra

Breaking the Habit || Linkin Park

I don't know what's worth fighting for Or why I have to scream I don't know why I instigate And say what I don't mean I don't know how I got this way I’ll never be alright

Bleed it Out || Linkin Park

Filthy mouth, no excuse Find a new place to hang this noose String me up from atop these roofs Knot it tight so I won't get loose

Truth is you can stop and stare Bled myself out and no one cares Dug a trench out, laid down there With a shovel up out of reach somewhere

Mama, help me, I've been cursed Death is rolling in every verse Candy paint on his brand new hearse

Can't contain him; He knows he works Fuck this hurts, I won't lie Doesn't matter how hard I try Half the words don't mean a thing

Figure.09 || Linkin Park

Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them Sometimes I wonder why this is happenin' It's like nothing I can do would distract me when I think of how I shot myself in the back again 'Cause from the infinite words I can say I Put all pain you gave to me on display But didn't realize instead of setting it free I Took what I hated and made it a part of me

....

Hearing your name the memories come back again I remember when it started happening I see you n' every thought I had and then The thoughts slowly found words attached to them And I knew as they escaped away I was committing myself to em n' everyday I regret saying those things 'cause now I see that I Took what I hated and made it a part of me

Lying From You || Linkin Park

When I pretend Everything is what I want it to be I look exactly like what you had always wanted to see When I pretend I can forget about the criminal I am Stealing second after second just cause I know I can, but I can't pretend this is the way it will stay, I'm just (Trying to bend the truth) I can't pretend I'm who you want me to be

....

I remember what they taught to me Remember condescending talk of who I ought to be Remember listening to all of that and this again So I pretended up a person who was fitting in And now you think this person really is me and I'm (trying to bend the truth) But the more I push The more I'm pulling away

Lithium || Nirvana 

I'm so happy because today I've found my friends They're in my head I'm so ugly, but that's okay, 'cause so are you We've broken our mirrors

...

I'm so lonely but that's okay I shaved my head And I'm not sad And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard But I'm not sure I'm so excited, I can't wait to meet you there But I don't care I'm so horny but that's okay My will is good

[kpop---scenarios]

Upcoming Projects:

Lee Hoseok: (Fluff, Smut) - COMPLETED

Summary: No matter what he does, he can’t seem to finish a song lyric or make a decent beat. When the other members suggest he take a little vacation due to being burnt out, he decides to go for it. He books himself a week trip to a ski resort in Norway, perfect place for R&R. On his way there, he had no plans on having someone catch his eye, but that’s exactly what you did. The week vacation will be a little more fun.

Playboy! Song Mino: (Angst, Smut)

Summary: He thinks he knows what kinky, and doesn’t appreciate you laughing when you overhear his conversation. Is going to be able to keep his play things after being with you, or will your kinky side have him crawling back for you?

Social Media Star! Hyungwon: (fluff, smut)

Summary: You’ve watched his YouTube videos for months and are a huge fan. When you finally get to meet your idol and sparks fly, where are things going to go?

Bad boy! Ten:

Summary: coming soon..

Dom! Mark Tuan: (smut) - COMPLETED

Summary: He’s jealous that you’ve been spending so much time with Jackson. During a party at the dorms, he finally snaps and drags you into the bedroom to show you who you really belong too.

Frat! Baekhyun: (SMUT)

Summary: He’s been trying to get people to join his group, The BCB all year. (The Big Cock Boy’s) but amazingly, no one shows any interest in it. Baekhyun talks about it again one night at a party, the one you decided to attend. You and Baekhyun get into an argument about why no one would join that group and it ends with you deciding to be the judge on if he should even be able to participate in the group.

Vampire! Kyungsoo: (angst, fluff, smut)

Summary: You’re on the run from the cops for possibly killing your abusive boyfriend. It was all in self defense, but no one cares. Murder was murder. At every stop you find, there’s always the same man staring at you. When you finally get fed up enough to talk to him, he tells you you’re now running from something much bigger, and the fate of the world is now in your hands and in the pendent around your neck.

Hanahaki! Baekhyun: (angst. Just angst)

Summary: you’ve been in love with him for as long as you can remember but he always has a girl that’s not you. The flowers you cough up increase everyday, the suffering becoming unbearable. Will you tell Baekhyun in hopes he may love you back, or will you suffer in silence until your peace finally comes?

Werewolf! Suho: (angst, smut)

Summary: He didn’t know anything about the wolf life until just before he turned 16. How will he face having to be the Alpha to men he’s never met, and a mate that wants nothing to do with him?

Dancer! Yugyeom: (smut)

Summary: You’ve always been the world’s worst dancer. But when you get a dance instructor that’s probably the hottest man you’ve ever met, you try your best do not have two left feet. When he offers some after class help.. things might get a little steamy.

Demon! Kai VS Demon! Kris: (EVERYTHING)

Summary: You’ve had vivid dreams about two men you’ve never met, until you do. They both pamper you and make you feel loved, as well as fuck you right. At the end of the day, who will you choose?

CEO! Kris: (Smut)

Summary: You’re tired of your friends and family always trying to set you up. So much, that you beg your boss to be your fake boyfriend just to please them. Is it all for show, or will real feelings become involved?

Good boy! Baekhyun VS Bad boy! Baekhyun: (Angst, Smut)

Summary: You’ve been dating Baekhyun for a few years, and you’re well aware of his powers and his work with the government. But when he gets a call from the Government late at night that his clones escaped, he needs to help bring the clone he never knew existed down. When you mistake the bad clone for your good boyfriend and partake in a night of passion, you’re going to be forced to choose. Good boy or bad boy?

Cam boy! Mark Lee: (SMUT)

COMPLETED

Summary: You and your friends have watched Mark on live cam for a while, and you’ve always kept to yourself how much you wanted him. When you finally meet him and you hit it off, you feel like you’ve won the jackpot. When he asks you to appear on his cam page with him.. will you agree?

Idol! Lucas Wong: (Smut)

Summary: you take a leap of faith one night while drunk and DM Lucas on Instagram. You’re shocked when he replies, and even more so when he asks you to come to the meet and greet in your home town. You find yourself standing outside his hotel room door after.. will you be able to knock?

Rocker! Young K: (Angst, Fluff, Smut)

Summary: You’ve given Young K chances time and time again, but he always seems to let you down. The last time for you, was the last time but now he’s finally realized what he had. Will he be able to win you back?

Soulmate! Jinyoung: (Angst, Fluff, Smut)

Summary: soulmate marks only appear in the place where your soulmate first touched you. You made a lapse in judgement when you fucked your enemy, Jinyoung one night at a party. A few nights later your crush kissed you for the first time. When you put your hair up, your best friend notices your soulmate mark behind your neck, where both men had first touched you. Who will your soulmate be? Your enemy or your crush?

(If commissioned)

Brothers Best friend! Mingi: (Smut, Angst, Fluff)

Summary: you were carted off to boarding school when you were 12, leaving you to watch your brother San grow up and become famous through a screen. You happen to run into his best friend, Mingi when you finally move to town years later and sparks fly. Will your brother San be happy for you, or forbid your love?

(If commissioned)

Heartbreaker! Jiyong: (Pure Angst & Smut)

Summary: You wanted nothing more than for it to work out with Jiyong, but he continues to just break you. His friend Simon witnesses it all but only silently stands by.

(Will be 2 parts)

King! Kihyun: (Angst, Fluff, Smut?)

Summary: Kihyun had never wanted to marry a princess, he always wanted to marry someone he loved but his father refused. He doesn’t care much for you, as he has the one he wants on the side. Everything changes when the towns people begin targeting you for not baring the Kings children and you continue to keep your silence. Kihyun begins to see you in a new light. Will that help with your relationship, or will it leave him to be with the one he wants more?

CEO! Lucas Wong:

Summary: You've been Mr. Wong's secretary for a few months now, and the attraction between the two of you was instant. Neither of you said anything to eachother about it, because he was your boss. After months of small flirting, accidental touches and lingering heavy sexual tension, the two of you are working late one night when things get heated. Will you be able to stop it?

Soulmate! Kwon Jiyong

Summary: All you've ever wanted was to make music and be with your soulmate. What do you do when yout soulmate doesn't want you and has made it very clear, but is around you constantly?

These stories are in no particular order on when they'll come out. Just letting you know what's coming.

[rangoatemybabynsfw]

Rock artist and sever klance ! Kieth can be this big rockstar who just wants some piece and quiet after a performing at a huge venue so he escapes to a run down diner. There he meets this cute af sever called lance and they y’all about life and music and end up hooking up in lance’s car !

Haha, I like the image this evokes. But I’ma go soft with this one and save the NSFW stuff for another time ;) [LONG READ]

The concert is over but Keith’s ears are still ringing, not from the music but the crowds. This venue was huge, bigger than any he’d done before. And he had a backstage meet and greet with some of the backstage pass people afterward. He keeps up the facade of badass punk rocker to help sell his image. Takes dozens of selfies with his fans. But before long he’s exhausted and not just emotionally.

He wants to get out of there before another fan sees him. Keith gets to his dressing room and changes clothes. Or rather he just pulls on a hoodie over his leather jacket. Then tucks his loose locks of hair under a ball cap. It’s funny how much that fools people, including the bodyguards assigned to him. He slips out the back (making sure to tell his agent he’s going out to get a bite to eat and some goddamn peace and quiet) and hops onto his motorcycle to take off.

He sees a cheap dinner and decides it’s perfect. No one would ever expect him there since most think him the seedy bar type. It’s unlikely any fan of his will be here. So he parks his bike and heads on inside.

The sign says to ‘seat yourself and a server will be with you’. Keith takes a seat in an empty booth and tosses off his hat and hoodie, ruffling his hair before browsing the menu. Reuben sandwich with fries and a drink. Ask the server for the soup of the day and we’ll substitute it for your fries. And milkshakes too, five different flavors. Sounds good to him.

“You in the right place, buddy?” the server asks and Keith looks up from the menu.

Handsome guy. Tan and slender with a black apron tied around his waist. He’s got a pen behind his ear and a pad of paper in the front pocket of his apron. Keith stares for second before reading the name card. Lance.

“Right place?” Keith asks with a little worry. Does this guy recognize him?

“You look like you belong at the Hard Rock Cafe down the street,” Lance smirks. “But hey, maybe you like 50s jukebox music.”

“It’s alright,” Keith says, relaxing a little in his seat. There’s no recognition in Lance’s eyes.  “Nothing wrong with the classics.”

“Ha, you only say that because you don’t have to listen to it every day,” Lance snorts then pulls the pen and pad from their respective places. “I’d shoot that jukebox if I had a gun. What’ll it be, biker boy?”

A nickname already? He…kinda likes it. It’s better than being referred to by his stage name.

“Cheeseburger, well-done with extra onions. Soup of the day instead of fries. And a vanilla milkshake with chocolate syrup and cherries,” Keith lists off, wondering if it’ll be enough to fill him up.

“Got it,” Lance nods and calls out over his shoulder. “A hockey puck and make it cry! Soup of the day! And a vanilla milkshake with a hot top and maiden’s delight!”

The person in the kitchen confirms the wacky sounding order. Keith thinks Lance will head to the kitchen but instead he takes a seat in Keith’s booth with a sigh.

“It’s so dead around here tonight,” Lance frowns. “Boss said there was a rock concert not far from here. Said there’d be extra customers looking for a place to eat but…guess it’s too far from the venue. No one’s showed up and now I’m working a shift without tips.”

“Sounds rough,” Keith tells him and leans leisurely back in his seat.

“Mind if I chew your ear for a while? ” Lance sighs.  “I’m bored as hell and you at least look interesting to talk to.”

“Sure,” Keith manages a small smile. “I could use some good company.”

They talk for a while. Even after food has been brought out. They talk about movies and music. Keith finds that he likes the way Lance lights up as he talks. He’s genuine and kind and he isn’t fawning over Keith just because he’s famous.

Lance isn’t up to date on current rock music trends. Doesn’t even know who the big players are since all he listens to is pop. He asks Keith about the concert and if it was any good. Keith just shakes his head with a smile.

“It’s the same as every concert he’s done in the last three years,” Keith shrugs. “Big. Loud. Fake.”

“Fake?” Lance raises a brow.

“He used to be good. It used to be about the music. But now it’s…about staying at the top of the charts,” Keith frowns. “He used to do venues with barely a hundred people in them just because he loved music. Back then it was authentic. Real.”

“But now?”

“Now he just…wears what he’s told. Sings what he’s told. Acts how he’s told. And goes where he’s told. Venues with thousands of obsessed screaming fans that don’t know a thing about him beyond the clothes he wears and the pandering songs he sings now,” Keith sighs and sips the last of his milkshake. “All for money and a fame he thought he wanted. Hell, he has to hide his face just to go and get coffee now. Not worth it.”

“Sounds like you’ve been a fan since before he was famous,” Lance says.

“I’ve known him all my life,” Keith says cryptically. “And right now…he’s not that great.”

The door to the diner opens and half a dozen people walk in. They say the diner looks pretty cheap and after all the money they spent on merch, this looks like the place to eat. Keith barely gets a look at them and he knows where they came from. His concert. He raises a hand to hide his face and discretely looks away. Then he clears his throat.

“Could I…get the check?” Keith mumbles.

“Sure, just a sec,” Lance nods and goes to greet the new customers. “Welcome to Sal’s–”

His sentence cuts short when he sees the face printed on the guy’s tee-shirt. It looks just like his mysterious biker customer. Within seconds he’s put two and two together. He looks back at Keith’s booth and he’s already pulled on his hat and hoodie, keeping his hand up to block his face.

Lance apologizes to the customers saying that they’re actually closing up now but the cafe down the street should still be open. They complain about the hours not being posted correctly but they leave. As soon as they do Lance subtly flips the sign to CLOSED.  Technically it’s not supposed to close for another two hours but…Lance darts his eyes to Keith and gives the back of his head a small smile.

Keith didn’t flaunt his fame. He hid who he was so he could have a normal conversation for once. And while Keith being seen at their diner would be a boom for business…he’d rather protect Keith’s anonymity out of respect.

He returns to the booth with Keith’s check. He’s sure Keith wouldn’t want him to treat him differently so he doesn’t. He’s just a guy after all. A hot guy who just happens to be famous. Keith pays in cash and leaves a huge tip showing that he’s not only humble but generous too.

“Thanks for the company. And the conversation,” Keith tells him, adjusting his hat to tuck away his wild hair. “I uh, don’t get the chance to do stuff like this often. Because I travel a lot. So thanks again.”

“Sure,” Lance smirks. “Call me,” he adds, pointing down at Keith’s receipt. It has a phone number. “Anytime. I can talk for hours, trust me.”

“Yeah? Okay…sure,” Keith sort of smiles with a shrug. “I’m…busy a lot but I’ll do that. Thanks Lance.”

“And if you’re ever in town again for one of your concerts, look me up,” Lance winks. “I know all the best places in town. Perfect for getting away from all your crazy fans,” he adds and Keith snorts out a short laugh.

“Ha, yeah I–”

Keith blinks with realization. Lance said ‘your crazy fans’. So Lance knows who he is now, probably thanks to those fans. But he’s not treating him any different. That makes him smile for real. And now he doesn’t want to leave this charming server in this dinky diner.

He pockets the receipt and rubs the back of his neck, like he has something to say but he’s nervous. A world famous rockstar nervous in talking to some diner waiter. Lance could laugh if it weren’t so cute and endearing.

“What time do you clock out?” Keith asks, a blush starting to color his cheeks. “I won’t be back this way for a while so if you want…we could get away tonight.”

Lance grins at that and calls out over his shoulder, “I’m out of here Sal! Good luck closing up shop!”

Lance doesn’t even wait for Sal to respond before throwing off his apron. He grabs Keith by the hand and the two of them run out of the diner. The yanking actually knocks the ball cap from his head but he doesn’t seem to care. Keith tugs Lance over to his motorcycle and passes him his helmet before hurriedly gesturing him to get on. Someone on the street points with gasp the moment Lance takes his seat behind Keith.

“It’s him! That’s Thunderstorm!”

“No way!”

“Oh MY GOD! It is!” shrieks another. “Thunderstorm Darkness! Hey!”

“Who’s that with him? Another singer??”

“Can I get a picture? I went to your concert!!”

Keith’s glad that Lance is wearing the helmet. Means it’s not likely they’ll know who he is and won’t go looking for him to find out about Keith. The last thing he wants is to cause trouble for his new…friend. He then revs his engine and looks over his shoulder as the fans start to approach with their camera phones.

“Ready to get out of here?” he asks Lance.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

They peel out of the diner and take off down the street,  both of them laughing as they leave screaming fans behind.

(I might write more but this is hella long already haha.)

[taetaespeaches]

You opening request? If yes can you make songfic based on taylor swift you belong with me? The member can be jimin or jin, you pick it. Thanks!!😁

“Dolly Parton’s a real jerk, huh?”

Jin x Reader

Word count: 2.7K

a/n: So this is very loosely based on “You Belong With Me”. It mostly just uses the general idea of the song and the whole “Hey isn’t this easy,” line. I hope you all enjoy! Thank you for reading :) 

The rain was getting heavier, drops increasing in amount and weight as they drummed against the car roof and windows. Pulling up behind the Big Hit dance studios, you opened up your messages, tapping on the most recent conversation, finding your way to the call option. You put the phone on speaker, the ring back tone echoing throughout your car as you leaned over the center console to rid the passenger seat of your junk- various papers, a few food wrappers, your gym clothes, and a water bottle.

“Jesus, I need to clean this,” you mumbled to yourself, “I’m disgus–”

“Hello?” Jin’s voice cut you and the ring back tone off.

“Hey, I’m here,” you replied happily. “Out back.”

“Ok, we’re packing up now,” Jin spoke into the phone, seemingly distracted.Sitting back in the driver’s seat, you looked out the front window, focusing on the patter of raindrops against the glass. “Yeah, cool, I’ll be here,” you said, pushing down on the windshield wiper switch, sending the blades into a single swipe. “Wanna get some snacks bef–” Jin abruptly hung up the phone, making you flinch at the sudden silence. Scrunching your face in confusion, you began to think that maybe tonight you wouldn’t be getting your fun, carefree best friend.

After a few minutes went by, the doors of the building opened up, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jimin pouring out, all hurriedly headed towards the same vehicle to escape the rain as Jin, sporting a hoodie with the hood up, hung behind them, breaking away to head to you. The others waved to you, flashing small apologetic smiles, you waving back tentatively. What the fuck happened?

When Jin opened up your backdoor, a water bottle that was lodged against the backdoor rolled out, bouncing on the wet street near his feet. “Jesus, you really need to clean this,” Jin told you with a huff, throwing his practice bag across your seats before bending over to grab the water bottle, tossing it onto your car floor, pushing your door shut. You pouted as he opened the passenger side door, hopping inside the vehicle, grabbing the seatbelt, pulling it across his body, clicking it into place, all while not sparing you a single glance.

“Um, hi?” You questioned, your tone laced with confusion and sass. Jin slowly turned to look at you, raising his eyebrows at your expression and tone.The gears visibly turned in Jin’s head, as he strategically decided his next move.

“Hi love,” he smiled, though it didn’t quite meet his eyes, which you took notice of.

“Hi love?” You mocked. “You come into my car clearly in a bad mood, criticize my cleanliness, and then toss me a hi love?” You were teasing, your tone dripping in dramatics, but you were studying his features as he let out a light chuckle. “Ok, what’s up?” Jin’s eyebrows pulled together as he looked at you, avoiding meeting your eyes. You cocked your head as you observed him. “You seem off,” you frowned, “What’s wrong?”

Shaking his head slightly, Jin looked ahead, watching the raindrops trickle onto the windshield, streaming down the glass, collecting into larger drops of water.

“Just dance practice,” he sighed, “Stressed me out.”

Leaning forward, you tried to catch his gaze. “Nothing else?” When Jin responded with a little head shake, you hummed. “You know what this calls for?” Your best friend looked at you with a raised eyebrow. “Sad Bitch Hours.”

Reaching for your phone, Jin let out a breathy chuckle. “What bops do you have in store for us tonight?”

“Oh, you’ll find out, just you wait,” you said as you looked over your shoulder out the window to check for oncoming traffic before pulling onto the street. As “You Make Loving Fun” by Fleetwood Mac filled the car, a smile spread across Jin’s face. You snuck a glance at him, smiling when you saw his expression. “There’s my boy,” you cooed with a fond grin, causing him to bashfully snicker, shaking his head as red tinted his cheeks and ears.

“Sweet wonderful you,” you sang with the song with a little shoulder shimmy, causing a small breathy chuckle to escape Jin’s lips. “You make me happy with the things you do.” Looking to Jin for a moment, you smiled widely before whining, “Jinnie,” you dragged out his name. “Sing with me,” you giggled.

As you sang along with the chorus, Jin started to bob his head to the groovy beat. When the guitar solo kicked in, Jin couldn’t hold back from rocking out.“Ooh, Rocker Jin, get it,” you cheered, bursting into giggles. Watching Jin fully commit himself to the guitar solo, arms in position as his left hand slid along the imagined frets, his fingers wildly moving along the non-existent strings, you couldn’t help but think how easy it was to just be with him. Even when one of you was in a mood, neither of you could ever stay upset for too long when around each other.

Returning your focus to the road, you nodded towards the small convenience store to your right. “Hey, I’m gonna stop up here for snacks.” Jin nodded as he finished out his guitar solo, both of you joining in on singing the chorus.When the second verse kicked in, Jin’s singing faded out as he watched you groove, your head smoothly moving from side to side to the beat, your voice belting it out with Christine McVie.

Don’t break the spell,It would be different and you know it will,You make loving fun, And I don’t have to tell you but you’re the only one.

Too into your jam session and your focus on driving the vehicle, you didn’t see the mix of a sad expression and an adoring smile plastered to your best friend’s face. Straightening his form, he settled further into his seat as he kept his gaze on you. 

The outro of the song played out as you pulled into the convenience store lot. Parking the car, you looked at Jin, who was already staring back at you. Eyes widening, you pointed to the store. “You coming with?” Shaking his head, he pouted his lips in a frown. Eyeing his features for a moment, you could feel your heart break, knowing there was something wrong but also knowing he wasn’t planning on opening up any time soon. 

With a sigh, you unclicked your seatbelt. “Want anything in particular?” You stared out the windshield as your mind raced over the possibilities of what could be wrong with your best friend.

“No, I’m good,” he said, making you turn to look at him. “You always choose the best stuff anyway,” he said with a small smile. If you were anyone else, you may not have noticed the heaviness in his tone, reflecting the heaviness in his mind.

“Yeah, I have good taste, huh?” You smirked, opening the car door as the piano intro to Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” started playing.

“Dolly Parton?” Jin asked in confusion, you staring at him blankly. “Since when is Dolly on Sad Bitch Hours?”

“Hey, Dolly speaks to my soul,” you shrugged, hopping out of the car. “Yeehaw bitch,” and with that, you slammed the door shut, leaving Jin alone to fondly gawk at you and your antics.

Jin settled into his seat, blowing on the cold passenger window, drawing little squiggly lines on the glass as the song played.

He tried not to think about you and what the 95s had told him not even twenty minutes ago, he really did. But as the song went on, he slowly starting to process the lyrics.

All you gotta do is smile that smile,And there go all my defenses.Just leave it up to you and in a little while,You’re messing up my mind,And filling up my senses.

He pressed the previous button on your car stereo, restarting the song. The piano intro started sounding as he focused in on the song, staring at the stereo.

Here you come againJust when I’ve begun to get myself together.You waltz right in the door,Just like you’ve done beforeAnd wrap my heart ‘round your little finger.

He didn’t even realize he was crying until you ripped the car door open exclaiming you got all the way to the candy aisle before you realized you didn’t have your wallet. “Fuck, I’m a mess, I really need to get my shit—Jinnie?” Your voice got quiet as you stared at Jin, his eyes wide and pointed at you, cheeks damp as more tears built up on his water line.

“Jin, why are you crying?” You stood frozen, in shock, rain drenching your form though you hardly took notice.

“Huh?” Jin snapped into consciousness, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. “I’m not.”

“Jin,” you started, “my love, you’ve got to talk to me.” Finally coming to terms with what was happening, you hopped inside the vehicle, shutting the door and turning your full attention to your best friend.

“Dolly Parton’s a real jerk, huh?” He said with a small laugh as more tears appeared in his beautiful orbs.

“You’re crying because of the song?”

Shaking his head, he waved you off. “No, I’m just stressed, the song must have hit me weird tonight. I’m ok,” he forced a small smile in a poor attempt to assure you.

“Ok, you’re my best friend, I love you, you are not ok,” you said, reaching out to touch his arm, only to have him pull away. He saw the hurt flash across your face at his action and he felt all control and resolve crumble.

“You belong with me,” he said suddenly. It was whispered but it rang loud and clear in your ears, however you couldn’t hold back the shocked “what?” that slipped out. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He said louder, this time accompanied by an angry tone.

Flinching a bit at his change in resonance, you pulled your eyebrows together. “Tell you what? What is going on?”

“That you’re seeing someone,” he yelled, not at you but out of frustration.

“Huh?” You said in utter confusion. “Where the hell did you get that idea from?”

You looked around the car as if you were searching the perimeter for answers to your own question. “Wait, did you say I belong with you?” You asked in surprise, suddenly hit with the meaning behind those whispered words. Dolly’s voice faded out as the song ended, though neither of you noticed.

Jin looked at you sadly, defeated, as Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby” started playing through the car speakers, still neither of you taking notice. “It’s so easy with us,” he spoke quietly, tears welling up again, your eyes mimicking his.

“Jin–”

“You talked to Tae and Jimin about some dude you were interested in,” he explained in a sudden loud voice. “Why were you keeping it from me?”

Realization slowly came to you, resulting in a scoff escaping your lips when you figured out what had happened.

“Did they tell you that at practice tonight? That I talked to them about some dude? That I’m seeing someone?” You chuckled, shaking your head, your focus shifting to the two morons, momentarily getting distracted from Jin and the possible confession that just took place.

“Why are you laughing?” He asked you, hurt written in his features.

“Because those two morons are as big of idiots as you are, jesus Jin, you think I wouldn’t tell you if I was seeing someone?” You looked at him with scrutinizing eyes.

“You didn’t tell me though—”

“What did they say?” You asked impatiently, already preparing yourself to kick their asses next time you saw them.

Jin looked at you a bit taken aback at your hasty tone. “What? Th-they,” Jin stuttered. “You asked Jimin about some guy. Him and Tae said you’re dating him.”

“Ok, first of all, I didn’t even willingly talk to them, they practically forced me to after they caught me pathetically watching you play guitar.”

Jin’s look of confusion only set further in as he repeated your words, “Watching me play–”

“Second of all, I only told them that there is a guy I like, that’s it. They came up with all the other shit on their own, I guess they have some wild imaginations,” you said frustratedly. “How the fuck could they have even gotten all of this so wrong? I was literally pining after you right in front of their eyes, it was obvious what guy I–”

“Pining after me?” Jin’s eyes practically bulged out of his head as he tried to figure out if he was somehow hearing things, officially having gone mad, or if you somehow actually just said those words.

“I didn’t tell you I’m interested in someone because I didn’t think you felt the same way,” you confessed quietly.

Jin stared at you blankly as his mind carefully considered everything that just happened. “You like me?” He asked for clarification, wanting to be completely sure before he prompted his next question.

“I do,” you told him genuinely, your eyes locked on his own.

Nodding slowly, he took a few seconds to process. “Can I kiss you?”

It felt as though the oxygen within the cab of the car disappeared as you nodded quickly, a whispered, “Yes,” slipping from your vocal cords.

Leaning towards you, he placed a hand on the side of your neck, fingertips digging into your wet hair, his thumb brushing over your jawline. Your mouths were a mere inch away from each other, your noses bumping together as he rubbed his against yours, a small smile on his face, before he tilted his head opposite to yours and connected his lips with your own.

As soon as his plump lips met your own, the oxygen rushed back into your lungs and you felt more alive than you think you ever had before. He deepened the kiss and you happily responded, getting lost in the moment, the rain still pattering against the car, and him, kissing you after all that time.

Interrupting the intimacy, Jin groaned, “this song,” as he chuckled into the kiss. “Why is this song playing right now?” He shook his head lightly still laughing as you pressed small pecks to his lips and the corners of his mouth.

“This is our song now you know,” you teased, giggling against his lips. Jin’s hand cradled the back of your head, pulling you more firmly against his mouth, kissing you hard.

“Absolutely not,” he mumbled into the kiss.

“We’re gonna have our first dance to this at our wedding,” you continued to laugh at yourself causing Jin to pull back just enough to see your face clearly. 

“Already planning our wedding?” He smiled widely. “You really have been pining after me huh?”

Groaning, you turned away from him, pulling your seatbelt back on. “Nevermind, call it off,” you said as you positioned one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the gear shift as you pretended to prepare to drive. “You ruined it,” you joked, a smile toying on your lips. Jin laughed loudly as he leaned over the console, placing a hand to the side of your face turning you towards him, capturing you in a needy kiss. You responded easily, your hand moving off the gear shift to grab at the material of his hoodie, your lips moving perfectly with his.

It was always so easy with him. Almost as if you really did belong with each other.

“You’re all wet,” he suddenly spoke, pulling back a bit.

“Jesus, you’ve got a filthy mouth,” you teased, Jin sighing as he flashed an embarassed smile. “Give it to me, baby,” you giggled, sliding your hand from his chest to his neck, holding your palm against the warm skin.

“Stop it,” he laughed, shaking his head, his face tinted red. “I just meant we should head to the dorm so you can–”

“Nuh uh,” you interrupted. “If I go to the dorm and see those two idiots I’m going to kick some ass and I don’t want to do that tonight. Tomorrow maybe, but not tonight,” you smiled as you put the car into drive, pulling out of the parking lot.

Jin strapped his seat belt, laughing at you fondly. “Ok, to yours we go then.”

So fucking easy.

[crowkingwrites]

Battle of the Bands (Ch.12)

Pairing: Robb Stark x Reader, Jon Snow x Reader, Viserys Targaryen x Reader, Ramsay Bolton X Reader

Summary: You just moved into the city for the first tie all by yourself. After you get your dream summer job working for a small magazine, you find yourself in the middle of the city’s rock festival: Battle of the Bands. Local rock bands throughout the city compete to win a record deal that could change their lives. Your job? Get close to them and write about them online.A single girl in the city surrounded by rocker boys during the summertime. What could possibly go wrong?

Words: 2053 // AO3 Link

Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four // Chapter Five // Chapter Six // Chapter Seven // Chapter Eight // Chapter Nine // Chapter Ten // Chapter Eleven

You know those days where you’re running around endlessly and it seems like you couldn’t catch your breath? Like one of those days where everything just went to shit? This wasn’t one of them. Instead, you sat back in Jon’s apartment watching a movie character suffer through the worst day of her life over and over again.

“You know, this wouldn’t be happening if she had at least gone on a date with that guy,” Jon said, passing the blunt to you.

You placed the blunt between your lips, but didn’t smoke it. You reached for the remote to pause the movie. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“I mean, she should give him a chance.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s at fault for all of this? If she went on a date with him, she wouldn’t be living her worst day over and over. She should’ve just given him a chance.”

“So, I should go out with Ramsay Bolton on a date or else he���ll kill me?” you said flatly. Jon nodded.

“You’re right. You’re right,” he unpaused the movie and then paused it again. “Ramsay Bolton asked you out?” Oh no. Today was going really, really well. Jon moved closer to you. His hand landed on your ankle.

“Did he bother you? I’ve punched his face in the past, but—

“No, please. I’m just…weird today I guess.” You moved his hand away, and then Jon sat closer to you. His fingers brushed your arm.

“You are being weird. Where are you right now?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, facing him. Jon’s big brown eyes always did you in. You didn’t want to tell him, but if you didn’t you felt like you were lying to him.

“I know Robb really likes you and all, but—

“Ramsay does too,” you came out with it. “We hooked up not too long ago, but that was before you! It was just a one-time deal and I’m not even sure if it’s gonna happen again.” Jon looked down to the floor, digesting everything you told him.

“Do you still like him?” he asked.

“It’s complicated,” you said honestly.

Jon nodded and held his arms out for you. You laid into his chest, feeling his deep breathing soothe you. His arms held you against him on the couch while Jon played the movie again. The main character in the movie gave the guy the middle finger while you silently cheered on.

“I’m not mad, you know,” Jon said aloud. “I’m a little jealous if anything, but I’m not mad. He was your past. I mean, Robb saw you two together. He told me you were with him in a sense, but he’s not your ex-boyfriend. You never dated him. You’re with me now.”

“Wait,” you sat up. “Like I’m with you? As in girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” Jon smiled. “You slept over last night. You know how I feel about you. Right? Doesn’t all of that make you my girlfriend?”

“Jon, I never said I was—

“You never said?” Jon’s eyebrows knitted together. “I thought you had feelings for me.”

“I do! It’s just—

“You have feelings for other guys too, right?” Jon finished the harsh sentence for you. Stark men. Quick to anger always. He rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen. You followed the potential werewolf explosion.

“Jon, please don’t be mad.”

“Mad? I’m not mad,” Jon grabbed a knife and started to cut open an orange. Each cut was louder than the last.

“You are mad. Please. I don’t want this to be like your brother—

“Then go out with him then. Everyone does. Or better yet, why not piss us both off and go fuck off with Ramsay somewhere. Clearly, you have great taste in men.”

“Now, you’re being mean.”

“I’m being mean?” Jon slammed down the knife and faced you. “I defended you in front of Robb. I told you exactly how I felt about you, and you don’t even want to be with me.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Jon—

“Answer the question. Do you want to be my girlfriend or not? Because I don’t know what we’re doing here then.” Jon’s brown eyes turned cold with every second he stared you down. The Stark boys weren’t like Viserys or Ramsay. They were a different kind of dangerous. One that should be taken seriously, not played around with. You held up your hands in a surrender. You exhaled all of the air from your lungs, maybe if you worded things carefully, Jon would understand.

“After what happened with Robb, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to jump into a relationship with you this soon. I’m not even sure if I want a boyfriend anymore. I don’t want to hurt Robb. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s not the answer you want, but it’s the truth.”

Jon closed in the space between you. “You’re right. I can’t be mad at you for telling me the truth. If you want to wait, I can wait. I’ll wait as long as you tell me to. Just as long as I still get to kiss you.”

Jon’s lips brushed yours again. He tasted like the oranges he just cut. His hands wrapped behind your head as he leaned into you. Your hands found his chest and they rested there. You could hear a bird singing outside and you swore your heart knew the same song. His lips were soft and hungry. You opened your mouth for more access, and he took advantage.

His hands slid down to your hips and picked you up to place to on the kitchen counter. You found yourself in a happy embrace until

“Y/N? Jon?” Robb said from the doorway.

“Fuck! Robb!” Jon pulled away immediately. You jumped down from the kitchen counter and faced Robb. He stood there frozen to his spot. You couldn’t tell if you shocked him or broke him entirely.

“I have to go. I have to go,” you pushed past Robb and left Jon’s apartment. You put your face in your hands and groaned loud. Okay, maybe you were having a bad day. One person could sort this out.

You to Margie: [Guess who landed herself a restraining order from the Starks? Hint! Its me.] Margie: [What happened? Also! I think I met someone today ;) ] You: [Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Who?] Margie: [His name is Podrick. His dick is…oh my god. I think it’s the best dick ive ever seen.] You: [Girl you did NOT] Margie: [No! Not yet anywaysss…I did get some good pictures from him. But tell me what happened!!! You’re with jon and??] You: [Robb discovered us. We were kissing and he just walked right in.] Margie: [Oh. Fuck. Did Robb know that you two were?] You: [Nope.] Margie: [And??] You: [And I walked out. What else was I supposed to do?] Margie: [Hmph. You right. Issa mood.]

You rolled your eyes at your best friend’s slang. What else were you supposed to do? Stay and explain why you were kissing your boss’ brother at his place? After Robb just gave you front page? Didn’t fucking think so. Your phone buzzed again.

Ramsay: [What the actual fuck is this?]

[Sent Image]

You saw a picture of the headline from The Scene. ‘Viz Targaryen: A Real Dragon or a Low Snake?’ You smiled and watched the typing balloon pop up on your screen. Come to think of it, the famous Viz himself hadn’t texted or called you yet. You wondered if he knew.

Ramsay: [Are you coming after me too? What the fuck is this?] You: [Aw, is somebody scared of the writer now?] Ramsay: [If you’re gonna pull that me too bullshit with me, I will remind you that we had very consensual sex and I did some happy biting on you, bitch.] You: [You call me a bitch like that’s supposed to offend me.] Ramsay: [I could call you a whore, but you seem very comfortable fucking me and then lying about it.]

That one cut deep. You closed your eyes before you responded to the asshole that made you skin crawl and head confused.

You: [What do you want?] Ramsay: [Are you writing articles like this about me? Did you fuck my band over?] You: [No. Why would I fucking do that?] Ramsay: [My father is in his office with Viz right now. Viz is fucking pissed off at you. He’s going to try take you to court.] You: [Whoa. What? How do you know that?]

You saw the typing bubble come up again. You had time to get to The Scene’s office and warn—shit. Robb was at Jon’s place. Renly. Renly would be at the ‘The Scene’ office. Your feet carried you four blocks in on direction and two blocks in another direction. Your phone buzzed again with a block of text from Ramsay.

Ramsay: [I told you. I cut a deal with my dad. Battle of the Bands was my last chance to get anywhere in the music scene. I had to quit and clean up my act. I work here with my dad now. Viz and his band came in here 15 minutes ago. They want you to stop writing. You have so much dirt on everyone in the battle. That’s how I know.] You: [You…youre a lawyer? You have a law degree?] Ramsay: [I told you that I was awful. I never said I was stupid like Viz was.] You: [So you agree? Viz is stupid.] Ramsay: [He’s stupid enough to piss you off. Three brands dropped his band today. Because of that article, he could lose both the battle of the bands and whatever record labels that were looking at him.]

You smiled. Fucking over toxic men was your calling. You knew it. Ramsay sent another block of text over to you.

Ramsay: [Look, I don’t know who fucked over my band. It could be Renly. But it could be you.] You: [I had nothing to do with your band being disqualified. You belong up there on a stage. I saw what you did to your crowds. You’re really talented.] Ramsay: [How do I know youre not lying to me?]

When you reached The Scene’s office, you found Bran manning the record store again. He quietly played with his old Gameboy.

“Hi Bran,” you said to him.

“Don’t eat Chinese tonight. You might regret it.”

“Oh..okay Bran. Nice seeing you?” You made your way up to the office. You heard Bran once more going up.

“Even dragons have their endings, Y/N.”

You spoke about Bran a couple of times with Robb. You weren’t sure what was up with him and his…way of speaking with people? Robb usually shrugged it off and told you that’s just how Bran was after an accident where he fell out of a tree. When you asked Jon about it, he simply told you “if you’re asking me if I believe in God, then yes I do, because I don’t know what Bran is but something made him that way.”

You turned back to your phone. How would you prove to Ramsay you were on his side? When you looked around, you found the office mostly empty save for everyone’s pet goldfish, Jules, who swam to and fro in his bowl on Renly’s desk. You made your way to your desk and found the perfect proof.

You took a picture of your playlist on your computer at work. It was a mix between Ramsay’s favorite music and Bloddy Bastard’s first album.

You: [There. If that’s not proof I didn’t do shit, I don’t know what is.] Ramsay: [You really liked our first kiss, didn’t you? ;) I see American trash playing in the corner. Alright. I believe you. I’ll text you later. I’m going in. I’ll tell you what happens afterwards. You might want to warn Robb what’s about to happen. Viz is out for blood. He might want to tear down the entire magazine.]

You sighed in relief knowing you had a bad boy lawyer on your side, but it didn’t last long. Robb had to find out about this soon. And you just got caught kissing his brother, Jon, who you couldn’t decide on dating or not.

Note to Self: Your father taught you how to get yourself out a pickle…this is a VERY DIFFERENT PICKLE.

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[taesbetch]

17 or 15 with Hoseok please! (I also just realized we are so close in age! Idk why that made me happy but it does ☺️💕)

TIMES UP

“Is this normal?” & “I fucked up, i’m sorry”

Genre: Angst Breakup!au

Word Count: 822

A?N: OMG YAS WERE CLOSE IN AGE AHHH! AND GURL I SEE YOU ALL THE TIME SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL DE LOVE ❤️️ I HOPE YOU LIKE IT ❤️️

Again. 

He was late. Again.

 Every day he promised you he would stop coming home at ungodly hours during the night, he promised he would stop partying like he was eighteen and would be there for you in your time of need.

 Your job had gotten increasingly difficult, though the money was good you didn’t know if the many tears and stress were worth it. As the silence of night filled your small apartment you waited patiently, having mastered the skill due to hoseoks antics. At first, you hadn’t been bothered by your boyfriend’s absence. He was a busy man with a busy job; but when he started ditching you to dance at clubs, get wasted with strangers, your opinion had changed.

 You stared at your phone that sat on the coffee table in front of you, you knew in your heart that this was the last time you would be able to do this with him. The anticipation of a simple text was getting too much for you to handle, though your heart begged you to hold out you knew this was the last straw. It was time to end it.

 You rose from where you sat, heading off to your bedroom with a backpack in your hand. Though it was your place, hoseoks possessions lay everywhere. With teary eyes you started cleaning out your place, shoving his clothes and belongings into the backpack knowing that the decision you were making was one of the hardest ones you’ve ever had to make. 

Trying to push memories of beautiful moments and loving kisses to the back of your mind you continued on, trying to get it done quickly and hoping to erase him from your mind. The smile you once loved had become a privilege to see and you were sick of it. You had prioritised him for too long and you hadn’t received the same treatment. As you finished packing his things, you returned to your seat on the couch and waited for him to get home. You knew the boy would be drunk off his rocker so you called Namjoon to come to pick him up knowing that you wouldn’t want to spend any longer with the man who became a stranger. 

Wiping a tear that fell from eye you took a deep breath as you heard the front door of your apartment open. Though the area was dimly lit you could clearly see how dazed his eyes were. you knew this wasn’t a good time to break up with him as he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to argue his case, but you already knew what he was going to say.

 “Hoseok” You called as you stood, your voice cracked, but you knew he wouldn’t notice. 

The boy looked down at the backpack in your hands before looking back at your face. He seemed to sober up real quick. He looked around the apartment seeing things that were there before gone. 

“Y/n? what’s going on?” He asked as he stumbled towards you. as he tried to put his arms around you placed your fist with the backpack strap squished in against his chest. You bite your lip anxiously as your brain tried to formulate a sentence.

 “You need to go. Namjoons outside waiting for you” You stated, not being able to say the words you needed to say. “…what? Why? y/n I thought everything was fine and normal!” He exclaimed, taking the backpack from you. you could he was trying to hold back tears but you needed to ignore the fact that he was hurting for your own good. 

“tell me hoseok. Is waiting for your significant other to want to spend time with you normal? Is fighting every week about the same thing normal? Is crying my self to sleep normal? I’m stressed as it is and you aren’t helping, you’re making it worse! Look what fucking time it is! Is this normal?” You stated, your voice raising as you continued.  His head dropped as you took a deep breath in.

 “I fucked up, I’m sorry…just please give me one more chance” He whispered as he gave up on holding in his tears.

 You looked away from him, reminding yourself that this needs to happen, that may be in his next relationship he’ll remember and change for them. 

“Hoseok, you’ve fucked up too many times” You sighed. Your eyes looking over to the door signalling to him that it was time to go.

 He looked at you one last time before shuffling towards the door, his lips quiver and you knew that when he fully sobered up you would be receiving text messages from him, but you would deal with that later.

 As the door shut behind him you felt your world fall apart. The end of a one-year relationship had ended. And though it hurt like hell, it needed to happen. Time was up.

[beinfriends-a]

word count: 2,911 characters: Eoforwine, Claus extra notes: follow-up to this thread with @antcmbra (<3).  I don’t think you need to read that thread to understand the plot here, but you could (and should bcs it’s a good thread)

He hasn’t been back to civilization in four years.  That’s kind of crazy to think about, now that he really thinks about it.  It’s not really mattered up to that point-- not in a way he particularly cared about, anyhow.  Somehow, he manages to make himself more than decent with surviving on a whole lot of nothing, and hey, it’s certainly tolerable.  It could be worse.  He could be living in Tazmily, after all.

Speaking of, Tazmily is his destination today.  Honestly, it actually didn’t take him too much time to make up his mind on what to do about the whole Commander thing.  For has never really been the indecisive type, but there was something holding him back for a day or two before he finally settled on going.  The curiosity was just too much for him to put up with-- he had to know what had become of his Commander since the end of the world.

Compass and Toffee had indicated he’d gone sort of off his rocker, didn’t they?  Or-- well, they used a more formal word than that; “unhinged,” though Toffee seemed more forgiving of whatever faults this kid had.  It wasn’t even really the kid’s fault if he ended up a basket case.  He went through so much more shit than the average Pigmask did, and as a little kid, too... it’s sort of a vile life to be given, but he was relieved that Claus was, at the very least, still kicking.  He deserved that and a whole lot more.

The only thing really holding him back from going is merely the fact that he has no idea how Claus is going to react to seeing him again.  It sounds awfully like he’s super hostile to Pigmasks now, and Eoforwine wouldn’t blame him for being hostile to old members, including himself.  They may have gotten along all right before, but that could have totally changed since.  He wouldn’t know until he tried, so....

Well, he may as well give it a shot, right?  It wouldn’t hurt to try.  Tazmily is a hour or two’s walk from his home in Unknown Valley, so hopefully it’d be worth something good, but For wasn’t holding his breath.  He was prepared for the worst, but he hoping for the best.  It’ll be nice to confirm that the Commander-- no, Claus-- is doing well.  That would be closure enough for him, he supposes.

It’s so, so strange how slowly, the world starts to civilize itself again amidst the cracks and upturned trees.  They build around the signs of their god’s emergence, though seem to leave all the old Pigmask hangouts alone... funny.  Guess they really can’t acknowledge that part of the world anymore.  He’s surprised they haven’t bothered cleaning up the rubble, but some of them would definitely be impossible to clean up fully, like the Thunder Tower.  Maybe it’s just best that they forget it entirely-- still, it’s interesting.

For’s only been to Tazmily once or twice in his life before now.  It was just a little blip on his radar, really, and was mainly Fassad’s turf.  That was their job, and For’s was mainly in New Pork and at the Thunder Tower.  He didn’t bother all too much with those backwater hicks, aside from checking in on the progress of the new grunts at that little boot camp in town.  Other than that, not really.  And maybe that’s for the best.  He’d heard some things about the village back in his Pigmask days.  They were pretty easy to control-- and they weren’t the brainwashed ones.

Funny how things like that happen.  Hopefully they’d learned their lesson since then, but For seriously doubted it.  Really. it’s his intention to avoid them as much as he can until it occurs to him that he’s not exactly sure where Claus lives.  Yeah, that’s kind of an important detail, isn’t it?  He definitely gets a weird look for asking, but For tries not seem too suspicious in asking.  That seems kind of inevitable, though, given how big he is and how unusual it could potentially be to ask for the ex-Commander.

It could just be his nerves, though.  It’s fucking bizarre to be back among living, breathing human beings again.  Maybe it would have been even more jarring if he hadn’t talked to those Pigmasks the other day, but that’s not really enough to truly prepare a hermit like him for reintroduction to civilization.  He really can’t help but continually get this feeling that they’re all... watching him.  Like they already know that he doesn’t belong here.  And he know he doesn’t belong, but he won’t be here too long-- nor will he make it a habit.

It’s just one attempt to see what the fuck has happened to that kid since the reset.  It still really surprises him he’s still alive, but that’s good.  Very good.  Alive up on the little hill just outside of town.  Not too bad a view, far as For can see as he’s heading that way.  Climbing up the hill, there he is-- that kid, tending to sheep with his dog-- a very familiar dog, too-- laying out in his doghouse.

With an awkward clearing of his throat, For simply says, “Uh, hey,” just loud enough for Claus to hear.  he sees the ginger jolt slightly, perhaps surprised by the sound, before he turns to meet the sight of For and just freezes.  It’s not exactly fear that For sees, just pure and utter shock, frozen in time, though Claus definitely seems to shrink away the longer this moment goes on.  The familiar dog takes notice and clambers out of his doghouse, pacing forward to stand in front of Claus with a soft growl in For’s direction.

Softly comes his voice, somewhat unconfident, but still strong enough for Claus to establish that he’s serious when he speaks.  “What do you want?”

“I just want to talk,” For replies quickly.  “No funny business, all right?  I have no bone to pick with you or anybody in this town.  Promise.”

Claus averts his gaze, looking away towards nothing for a moment to consider it.  The dog’s growling ceases, but he remains defensively postured.  Then Claus responds, “Why?”

For blinks.  “Why I--?  Uhh, ‘cause.  I haven’t seen you ‘n’ I just heard the first confirmation you were alive from anyone and I wanted to know you were... all right.”

“Who told you that?”

Pause.  He knows Toffee and Compass told him how hostile he was to the both of them, so it may not be wise to namedrop them, but it isn’t wise to be dishonest, either-- that’s unwise far more than any anger Claus may feel in knowing the Pigmasks told For about him.  “You know those, uh, Pigmasks?  Real tall guy--” For makes the motion to indicate Toffee being taller than him-- “and a kinda short Commander--”

And that’s when Claus gets all the more defensive.  “The fuck were you doin’ with them?”  His voice is soft but harsh and hateful.  “They put you up ta this, huh?  I should’a fuckin’ known--”

“No, no!  They found me by total fucking accident.  Or I’m guessing it was.  They just showed up on my property and I talked to ‘em a bit is all.  I have no idea what kinda beef you dudes have with each other, but this has nothin’ to do with them.  They were just the ones who told me about you, and that was the end of that.”  Claus looks clearly skeptical, but For continues on.  “Look, I know it’s been a long-ass time, but you can imagine-- I mean-- people ain’t too friendly to Pigmasks around here, are they?”

“‘Course not,” Claus snaps back.  “All they do is cause a bunch a’ fuckin’ trouble.”

“But they... kept you?  I mean, you were kind of the biggest troublemaker of all, technically.”  He gives Claus a gentle smile.

The ginger narrows his eye, crosses his arms.  “Don’t try to git all funny with me, For.  It really ain’t the fuckin’ time or th’ place for that shit.  I-- I dunno why they let me stick around, but someone must feel real fuckin’ sorry for me, I guess, but they just feel sorry enough to not tell me ta fuck off outta town.  I’m sure a lotta them would sure like it, though.”

For puts his hands up to show he’s not trying to upset the other.  Boy, they weren’t wrong about this kid being tough to deal with. “Hey, I’m sorry.  I’m not trying to piss you off or anything.  I’m just... trying to get on the same page with you, kid.”

“Same page, huh?  Well, here’s what you missed, For: everyone fuckin’ sucks, no one likes Pigmasks ‘n’ especially not me, everyone tries ta pretend like the whole Porky thing didn’t happen.  End a’ story.  That good enough for ya?”  In spite of the situation, a chuckle escapes For, though he regrets it immediately.  Claus flushes slightly and raises his voice when he snaps, “What?  What the fuck did I say that was so goddamn funny?”

Even still, a dumb smile is stuck to For’s face, though he tries to be serious.  He’s not trying to mock Claus, honest, but this just seemed so... very him.  The Commander had a temper on him from time to time-- apparently that didn’t change any from then to now.  Claus is definitely more abrasive and defensive than the Commander ever was by a long shot, but this just seems like he’s finally expressing the full range of his emotions.  Certainly no holding back with this one.

In a weird way, it makes For nostalgic to see this angry teen, even if he’s hurting himself by not taking this as seriously as he needs to.  This one is certainly more vulgar and loose than the Commander, but there’s still those beats of personality there.  With another soft, unmistakable laugh, he covers his mouth as if to hide that shame, before For finally replies with, “Ahh, you haven’t changed a fuckin’ bit, kid.”

That was... really not the right thing to say, and For realizes that the second he see Claus tear up at those words.  Then that smile is gone and For sobers up his expression.  The dog whines and looks towards his master, pressing up gently against Claus’ legs.  Okay, yeah, that was kind of a terrible thing to say to someone in Claus’ position for sure.  For wouldn’t have taken offense if someone called him the same as before, but it made sense why it would bother Claus so much specifically.

“No, I’m not,” Claus snaps back, voice shakier than before.

“You’re not,” For agrees with a gentleness.  “Sorry-- I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it like-- in a bad way.  There’s just... parts of you... that remind me of the old days.  But that’s not a bad thing!  It’s--”

“Stop,” Claus hisses.  “Just stop, For.”

For throws his hands up.  Yeah, maybe Claus is right.  So he stays quiet and waits for Claus to say more instead.  After a pause and Claus clearing the tears from his visible eye, he continues.  “I dunno what the fuck you thought you was gon’ get from this, but I don’t think you’re gittin’ it.”  The ginger studies the man with great scrutiny.  “Now, why the fuck you here?  Not all that ‘oh, I wanted know you were all right’ bullshit.  What do you want?”

The man frowns.  He takes his time with this answer, though Claus clearly expects a prompt response.  He needs to think through these answers more before he opens his mouth.  It’s not just that For is saying stupid shit, it’s that Claus will take it personally regardless of what he says.  Tough crowd.  Really tough.

“I’m being honest when I say I wanted to know if you were all right.  I understand if this doesn’t mean anything to you now, but I like to think we were pretty good friends back in the Pigmask days, and whether you choose to believe it or not, you meant a lot to me.  I had no idea if you were dead or alive this whole time till those dudes told me, and it was going to drive me up the fuckin’ wall if I didn’t check up on you after that.”

“Well, you know now, but somehow I think that ain’t gon’ satisfy you.”

A soft exhale of a laugh-- hardly one, really.  “Yeah.  I mean, it’d be nice to catch up and see what--”

“No.”

“Yeah, figured you’d say that.”  Sigh.  “That’s okay-- I get it.  I know this wasn’t a welcome visit or whatever.  Uh.  I’ll leave you be.”

“Thanks.”

Claus is no longer even really looking at For.  It’s clear he’s checked out of this conversation and just wants it over with.  For predicted this outcome, but it still bruises his feelings a touch.  He really wanted it to go well for the both of them so they could actually really talk.  There was a lot to catch up on-- at least on Claus’ side of things.  For’s side would be short-- built a house.  Live on a farm now.  The end.  But Claus would be fascinating to talk to more, if For could just sincerely connect to the ginger somehow.

At least he wasn’t yelling at For anymore.  That was something.  For sweeps a foot behind the other in preparation to back off and head home, but not before he pipes up again.  “Hey.  If you ever want to come see me...”  He expects Claus to interrupt, but he doesn’t.  “I live in Unknown Valley.  Maybe ten, fifteen minutes east of where the old club used to be.  Little farm.  Can’t miss it, ‘cause it’s the only thing out there.  Drop in and say hi if you feel up to it sometime.  Or don’t.  That’s up to you, kid.”

No response, just Claus keeping his eyes trained at the ground.

For nods to himself conclusively.  “All right.  Well, be good, kid.  See you later.”

And there he goes, back down the hill and through town and out into the northern outskirts of town.  He’s heading by the way he came-- through the forest-- till he hears that familiar voice ring out again.

“For, wait.”

For turns to meet Claus, jogging up towards the older man.  Claus takes a moment to collect his thoughts and breath.  “I realized I didn’t git ta say most a’ the things I wanted ta say, so I’m gon’ say them now.”  This time, For resists the urge to smile, keeping a curious, but neutral look on his face instead.  He gestures for the ginger to continue.  “First off, you ever see those fuckin’ assholes again, don’t fuckin’ talk to them about me, got it?  I ain’t none a’ their fuckin’ business, or yer business either.  Okay, secondly, we ain’t friends just ‘cause you say we are.  We ain’t friends, and we ain’t never been friends.  You feelin’ sorry for me don’t count as friendship.  And third,--” Claus jabs a finger in For’s direction.  “Quit actin’ like you know a single thing about me, ‘cause you don’t.  That kid you knew?  He’s gone, For!  I’m nothin’ like him, ‘n’ don’t you ever say I am again.  Got it?”

For shakes his head slowly in disbelief.  “Did you really just chase me down to insult me more?”

“I’m not insultin’ you, I’m just tellin’ you like it is.  What, is that a crime or somethin’?”

For’s face just slowly grows a deeper and deeper frown, until he finally nods.  “Yeah, okay, Claus.  I get it.”  Shrugs.  “Well, the offer is still open on that visit thing.  Maybe we could actually get to know each other then and become real friends, huh?”

Claus scoffs and rolls his eye.  “I fuckin’ doubt it.”

“Hey, you never know what’s in store, kid.  Maybe we’ll become friends.  Maybe you could learn to stop bein’ such a fucking asshole.  Who knows?” Claus opens his mouth to argue, but For silences him with a raised hand and continues on.  “Whatever you think this is, I promise I wasn’t tryin’ to cause trouble.  I really care about you, and that’s not going to change, whether you like it or not.  What you decide to do with that is up to you, but you gotta let that bitter shit go, man.  Like, I get it!  But I didn’t ask to be a Pigmask either.  We’re in the same boat, man.  So please.  Just think about it, all right?  I’ll be waitin’ if you change your mind on anything.”

For turns away for a final time and begins to wander off into the forest.  He’s surprised that Claus isn’t arguing, but maybe he’s got too much to think about to actively do it.  With a blind wave to the ginger behind him, he disappears into the forest, and back in the civilization-less part of Nowhere again.  As shitty as that went, For sincerely hoped that Claus would take him up on the offer and come visit sometimes-- and he would know what Claus had chosen soon enough based on if he ever bothered to show up.  He wanted this to be good, really good, for the both of them.  As stubborn as Claus was, For wanted to be a part of his life again.