#and he doesn't know i hate christmas/christmas color together

[stellaricwriting]

Beloved i just gotta tell someone sjnce im just getting goosebumps from the happiness and the angst thats gonna come out of the finale

I am so proud of my boy

(Have a nice day! (≚ᄌ≚)ℒℴѵℯ❤)

hell yeah!!!!

your boy!!!!!

[tastesousweet]

⭒ blurb : fwb!hamzah x grumpy!reader

summary: short lil fic for these two lol , based on this request thank u for ur patience anon!!!!!

warnings: friends with benefits relationship, mentions of sex, um yk what hell yea

a/n: hamzah is way more high energy here than irl but this is a character based on hamzah (and with his face) so !!!!!

hamzah is freezing his ass off. it's actually unbearable. he's got to the point where he's mumble-lecturing (with a slight uncontrollable chatter to his mouth) himself as he walks down the crowded sidewalk, "shoulda' put another fuckin' layer on" or "no hat? really? it's 26 degrees and i don't even have protection for my poor ears" or a dragged whine under his breath of "i'm sooo cold."

he wastes no time, practically ramming through the cafe's petite glass door with a gentle but welcoming "we're open!" sign. as soon as he’s inside he holds his hands up to his mouth and hoards any heat he can into them as he sifts through the lingering line. hamzah is always grateful for your strict earliness (or more so allowance for his tardiness) that gets him a hot coffee and fresh everything bagel without having to wait in an egregiously long line, though he honestly thinks he wouldn't mind standing and taking in the delicious coffee bean scents and twinkling, colored christmas lights dripping around the walls.

he approaches the table you sit daintly at with ease (he'd recognize your unapproachable and blunt aura in even the most comforting places), "hello m'lady." he slouches into the chair across from you; with your scarf wrapped perfectly around your neck and knit sweater warming you well.

your gaze doesn't leave your book as you reply, "awe, you showed up."

hamzah has both hands wrapped around his mug of coffee in hopes that his fingers recover quickly, "uh huh. and this is why i always say don't ever let an alarm clock rule your life. i hit snooze three times and my coffee's still hot." he raises his mug towards you.

you dismissively breathe a laugh and finally look at him; he's leaning back casually in the somewhat small chair, his legs spread without a care, he's wearing the same wrinkled shirt with his old high school mascot (he must've worn to bed) and nothing but a zip-up hoodie thrown over. though his hair somehow remains curled into its perfect brown swoops which you simply can't spite. you tilt your mug towards his to give them a soft clink together, making hamzah smile. "you look cold," you comment.

"'m fucking freezing. don't know what i was thinking- a fifteen minute walk feels like hell when my toes are frozen in place and the wind is ready to blow me away." he speaks through his bites of his bagel. "mm! did you finally try their coffee?" he points to you as you sip.

you look into his large doe eyes, "you know i hate coffee, hamzah-"

"see, you always say that but the coffee here is like no other!" he taps the table in excitement and you smile slightly.

"i'm glad you like it but i'll stick with my hot chocolate," you take another sip of the rich drink and finally tuck your thick book back into your bag.

༉‧₊˚.

you both agree that friends with benefits simply works best for the two of you. there's a reliability you both get from knowing you'll always have a best friend- a wingman, a supporter, a person to have movie marathons and early morning cafe talks with, the person who knows your deli order by heart. but in that friend you have someone you can makeout with when life is too frustrating to even think and your eyes can't leave their lips, someone who knows your body, someone who can go out to a bar with you and would like nothing more than to fuck you afterwards (if no successful hookups come out of the trip).

it's beautiful. it makes you believe in true friendship, honestly.

you're sat with your legs crossed and nothing but a hoodie that swallows you whole and boy-short underwear on as you squint at the flashcard in front of you with a slim red pen dangling between your lips. you try to remember the exact definition for the drawn out vocab word but your mind can't focus anymore. you've spent the past three hours studying notes, writing out flashcards, and going over endless slideshows. your brain hurts and your mouth is dry and it's all just sort of pissing you off now.

you throw the pen from your mouth and climb out of bed, the sudden movement scattering and mixing the cards that were once separated based on your knowledge into one big mess. it's times like this where you wish you were obnoxious enough with your emotions that you'd just scream and yell to get this feeling over with, but instead you walk into your bathroom to rinse your skin with water and stare at yourself for an extra second in the mirror.

you breathe in deeply when you hear an infamous ringtone coming from your bedroom (hamzah stole your phone once and created a ringtone specifically for himself involving a cover of paparazzi performed by him with adlibs of you laughing in the background). sure enough when you walk back into your room, hamzah's face lights up the screen and you accept the facetime call as you sink down onto the bed.

you're surprised he called, you know he had a badminton game tonight and went out afterwards with the team- you figured he'd be to busy to talk and would just end up texting you "im home" close to midnight like usual.

hamzah's distracted when you answer the phone, his face turned the opposite way as he laughs with wide eyes. you just stare, "hamzah."

he's quick to look down at the phone in his hand, his eyes a little puffy, "oh shit! hey." his grin is huge and you can't help but smile slightly which he notices, "a smile?! my god, you must be happy to see me or somethin'!"

"shhhh," you hush him and lay down on your bed, making yourself comfortable.

he's surrounded by blue lighting and randomly-timed white flashes, which give you a proper look at his features, all coated in the large bass of the overbearing pop music. hamzah gets close to the screen to ask, "did'you get my text?" he pulls back from the phone to quirk his eyebrow curiously.

"no, i'm studying."

"where?!" he laughs at his own joke. you quickly turn your phone in your hand to show him the mess of books, cards, and your laptop scattered next to you on the comforter. hamzah sees it all but smirks a little extra when he gets a glimpse of your soft legs curled up and your pair of light blue underwear peeking from beneath your hoodie. "right, right." he nods, "how about you look at my text now that you're here," he exclaims over the music.

you sigh, "mmmkay."

the text reads: mangomango mango plzzz

mango, being your code word for leaving events- or simply just meeting up, to ultimately have sex.

when you return to the call you have a reluctant smile, "you can come over after you're done."

he smiles and raises a thumb up in agreeance.

"don't come over drunk, please."

he kisses his teeth and rolls his eyes, "alright, girl. i'm gonna go do some karaoke and then i'm headin' your way."

"oh i'm jealous i wish i could be in the crowd."

"i know." he jokes, "byeeee." he flutters a few fingers at you.

"bye, h."

༉‧₊˚.

hamzah shows up two hours later (he got caught up in the extravagant environment; he ended up taking a couple more hits from a teammate’s bong, talking to strangers, and dancing to trashy music you’d probably hate), climbing from the rickety brass ladder onto your tiny patio (he was a mess: laughing to himself and only laughing harder when he thought of how inappropriately loud he was being for one in the morning) and opening the glass door with a key hidden inside your old watering can.

he giggles through his declaration as he throws his large coat off onto your small couch, “i’m home!” he wipes over his cold yet clammy face before calling out your name.

hamzah tucks his lip into his mouth as he walks through your dark hallway, toeing off his sneakers and pulling his shirt over his head before he even reaches your bedroom.

he finds you at your sweetest- despite your grumpy, cold attitude, you’re laying down on top of your comforter with a small smile placed on your lips. he takes a few more seconds watching your figure move with your breaths before closing the door behind him and climbing next to you in your bed.

he whines a quiet, “mmm-sorryyy” into the kiss he places at your temple before leaning away to tug a blanket over the two of you. he knows that in the morning he’ll have to properly apologize for keeping you waiting like that … preferably with his tongue.

[clockwayswrites]

Masked in Amity

CW: Sam doesn't come off great in this, but not Sam bashing. She just has a lot of growing up to do still and knee jerk reacts badly. (I also don't want to listen to any Sam bashing please and ty.)

Sam’s room still looked the same as always. Danny supposed that’s what happened when someone moved out for college but still came home again— especially to a home like Sam’s. There were only a few posters, a few photos, and a knickknack or two that had changed between high school and now. Danny sat on the edge of the bed like always.

“So how’s school doing?” Danny asked into the awkward silence. Silences never used to be awkward between them, or was that just looking back with rose colored glasses?

“Ugh,” Sam gripped and flopped back onto her bed next to Danny. “Why would you even ask me that? You know I hate it.”

“Because it’s what you’re doing right now? It’s a huge part of your life, you can’t just… avoid it.”

“Watch me,” Sam said, bitterly. Her snarled lips looked weird without the dark purple lipstick. “I’m going to get my stupid law degree my parents are paying for and work at some stupid corporate firm Dad has connections at and when my trust fund has made enough in interest I’m going to quite and go open a non-profit and sue all those fuckers I was forced to work for over how they’ve fucked up the environment.”

“Okay,” Danny said. He didn’t want to argue about this. He just hoped this plan worked better than the last three Sam had had before her privilege knocked her down a peg.

“Can I ask about, I don’t know, your time in Chicago at least?”

“Chicago is amazing,” Sam said, wistfully. “Being in Chicago, I mean, I’m sure you know how it is, it really makes it clear how backwater Amity Park is. The things people worry about here are so small compared to what’s out there!”

Danny just hummed in response. He didn’t exactly know what to say to that. It didn’t feel completely wrong, but it wasn’t right either. Worries weren’t a competition like that.

“And the bands!” Sam continued, thankfully changing the topic. “I have got to see so many amazing bands. The local scene alone is amazing and no one knows about them so you can be right up close and a lot of times even talk to the band after. You should come for a show sometime.”

“I can try to,” Danny said. Sam’s music wasn’t usually his thing, but something like that might be fun. It would be different at least. Danny gave her a little smile. “Maybe Tucker could make it out too.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “You know he won’t. When was the last time you talked to him not on the computer or the phone? He’s only here at Christmas when you aren’t.”

“You know how I feel about Christmas, Sam,” Danny said, holding back a sigh. Sure Tucker had been busy lately and that had made him more distant, but he was still one of their trio. “And if we plan something then Tucker can schedule for it. Don’t count him out just because he’s busy.”

“Alright, fine, we can plan something for a bigger show with Tucker,” Sam agreed, “but you still need to come out to something local. They’re really better anyways. We’ll go out to eat first and hit up a bar or three after. I know some really great places— places like you’ve never seen.”

Sam reached up and wrapped her hands around Danny’s neck, pulling him down a little. “It can be a date.”

Something in Danny balked at that. It was an innocent enough comment. Sam and him had dated and then not and then dated again or just had fun together. They’d known each other so long that it was easy to just ebb and flow out of the different levels of a relationship like that.

This time, though, Danny found himself resisting the tide. “Or we can just hang out.”

The almost dreamy smile Sam had crumpled into a frown. “What? I mean, sure, it can, but why? Are you seeing someone?”

“Yes? No? I mean, I’ve been… sleeping with someone, but we’re not dating or anything.”

“That’s okay,” Sam said easily. “I’m not going to make you be exclusive. I don’t want to be either right now; we’re not around each other enough for that and You know that I’ve been sleeping with my roommate sometimes and I’ve met a cute person in study group now too with amazing fingers.”

“No, I know, just…” Danny gave a frustrated noise. Nightwing and him weren’t even close to being exclusive. Someone like Nightwing could have anyone they wanted and with how much he liked sex, Danny was pretty sure Nightwing did have whoever he wanted. Danny was just… convenient for the hero side and Danny didn’t begrudge the other that. It was convenient for Danny too. It was just…

Danny didn’t want to keep living the same cycle with Sam where he was her world for a few weeks or months and then just back to an occasional phone call. He didn’t want to keep being pulled back to Amity Park. Maybe meeting her in Chicago would be different enough, but Sam was still so tied to Amity and always would be by her parent’s money.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this again,” Danny said slowly, feeling the words out as he said them. “Maybe it’s time just to leave us dating in the past?”

Sam dropped her hands and sat up. “Excuse me?”

Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. “Just, we’ve tried being together in a lot of different ways and we always end up in the same place.”

“So you want to leave me in the past?”

“No!” Danny said quickly, trying to get ahead of this before Sam spiraled too badly from making assumptions. “I’d love to come to Chicago and see a band with you! Just… not as a date.”

“Because you want to leave that in the past,” Sam snapped and got up off the bed.

Danny scrambled off also.

“That’s not a bad thing. I enjoyed it and I know you did too. Just more, okay, maybe that wasn’t the best phrase? I mean maybe we shouldn’t go down that road again when we know where it’s going to end.”

Sam crossed her arms. That was never a good sign. “Right, because I’m always going to be a dead end, is that it? Not like you who’s off playing hero with the big names?”

“What? What does me being a Titan have to do with this?”

“Don’t play dumb, Danny, we both know you’re not. You left to go be a famous hero and hardly looked back at Amity Park or me or Tucker or your parents. What if the town needed you?”

Danny threw his hands up in the air. “Why would they need me? I destroyed the portal, came to an agreement with Vlad, made sure my parents couldn’t build another working one— it fixed everything!”

“And then left.”

“So I could help other people!”

“Sure it wasn’t so that you could be famous?”

Danny closed his mouth with a clack.

Sam winced at her own words. “Danny…”

“No.” Danny backed up a few steps from her. “No. You don’t get to— you of all people don’t get to come at me like that! I never wanted to be a hero, Sam! You’re the one who said I needed to protect Amity and you were right, sure, but it’s never what I wanted! You wanted it!”

“Danny, no—” Sam reached out for him and Danny stepped back again, hitting the wall.

“Yes you did, Sam! You did or I never would have had to die a second time after your wish! I lost everything again! I don’t have a future like you and Tucker, I just have being a hero. I just have being dead.”

“Come on Danny,” Sam tried. She moved close again, slowly, like Danny was some sort of feral animal.

Maybe he really was just a caged beast.

“I’m just— I better go. I’m just going to go,” Danny said. In a flash of light he was back to being Phantom. He let himself tip back and phase through the wall.

As he left Amity Park behind, he couldn’t help but think it really said something that he was far more comfortable being Phantom these day than Danny.

--

AN: Here's yous all voted on treat for the day! This comes before Danny showing up at Dick's door, quite upset.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

The Art of Etiquette Part 7 | Jeon Jungkook

Summary: Going gown shopping is proving to be a bit more difficult than you had expected and Jungkook doesn't make it any easier Pairing: f!reader x Etiquette instructor Jungkook Word Count: 4.7k~ Warnings: I don't think there's any need for warnings but so much teasinggg a/n: Sorry this too so long to get out 😭 I've lost motivation to write these days so it's been taking a bit longer for me to get chapters out but I hope you guys like it! p.s. kinda sorta edited lol I just wanted to get it out already Start from the beginning

After talking to Jesse last night about everything that happened between Jungkook and I, I've been even more confused than I was to begin with.

"HE KISSED YOU?!?!" Jesse yells into the phone making me cringe as I pull it away to save my hearing but ultimately fail. 

"I don't know, kind of but not really. He leaned in and kissed my cheek but his lips did brush up against the side of my mouth so I don't know. I'm just so confused because at the start I thought he hated me. He was rude and demanding and always tried to intimidate me. I will admit that it worked sometimes but I just never know what he actually wants from me" I complain while switching to my airpods so I can walk around my room and talk to him while looking for an outfit. 

"I think you're over thinking things. I think it all comes down to the fact that he found you challenging at first so that might've been why you thought that he hated you" he explains. 

"Challenging? What's that supposed to mean?" I question, flipping through the clothes in my closet, struggling to find something that's comfortable but not too casual, easy to take off so it makes trying on dresses a bit easier but doesn't make me look like I didn't put in any effort. You would think I was getting dressed for a first date or something based off the existential crisis I seem to be having. 

"He probably thought you were some bratty rich kid that needed a real push to break out of that mold. I bet he's had to deal with a lot of divas in his time. Don't take it personally though, I'm sure that he just goes into those first few lessons with that mindset and then loosens up a bit as you go along. Or at least that's what I would think based off of what you've told me" he explains. 

"You're probably right" I agree while trying to choose between two colors of what sweater to wear. "Pink or Blue?" I question and without hesitation he chooses pink. "What did you end up putting together?" he asks, eager to know what I've settled on. 

"Pink sweater, white skirt with nude colored leggings and some white boots. Oh and I'm pairing it with the white pea coat James got for me last Christmas" I relay, going through the outfit in my head, leaving everything on their hangers so I won't have to worry about too many wrinkles tomorrow.     

"Why are you dressing so...girly? I mean you're a girl obviously but I figured you would go with something a little more...black" he chuckles, thinking about my usual choice in attire. 

"Jungkook would send me back upstairs to change before he would take me somewhere dressed in all black clothing. He wants me to remember to dress like a lady so I might as well go into it right off the bat so I can avoid another scolding. Plus I figured a skirt would be a lot easier to take off and put back on again since I'll be trying on a few dresses" I say while finally getting myself ready for bed.

"Fair enough. If I were you though I would tell him that the only way I'm taking these clothes off is if you take them off of me if he had a problem with your outfit" he teases, making me roll my eyes at him, amused but embarrassed by his nonsense. "Jesse he's my teacher" I point out for the millionth time, hoping to get him to back off but I know it's pointless. 

"As much as you would like me to jump his bones I need to remember the purpose of our relationship. I don't want to cause James any trouble with messing around with him. I could just see the headlines, 'CEO's step daughter sleeps with her etiquette teacher', I do not  want to have to deal with the backlash from my mother either. If something were to happen between us it could ruin his reputation, making people think that he sleeps with all of his students. Plus who knows, he could've slept with his past students based off of how forward he has been with me" I say while throwing myself onto my bed and staring up at the ceiling. 

"He may be an adonis but I don't think he's the type of guy that would do that. Like he's an etiquette teacher girl, if he was to have had a scandal with a student in the past I'm sure it would've come out by now" he reasons with me and I hum in acknowledgement. 

"I guess you're right" I mumble and soon wrap up our call so I can get some 'Proper beauty sleep' according to Jesse but for the life of me I can't sleep a wink. With all of these questions spinning round and round in my head I just can't seem to ease my mind until I'm jolted awake by my alarm. 

'I guess I was able to sleep a bit' I think to myself before jumping into the shower and rushing to get ready. This'll be the first time Jungkook has seen me bright and early in the morning and not run down after a long day at school so I guess it's best if I make a good impression. 

After putting on my lip gloss to complete the look I'm met with my mother barging into my room. "You do know that Mr. Jeon is going to be here soon and oh-!" she nags quickly spewing out her speech before finally taking a look at me. 

"Look at you! I guess you really are my daughter!" she says while walking over to my mirror to stand behind me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I say crossing my arms and giving her an unamused look through the reflection. 

"It means that you look very beautiful and you're showing off your femininity and assets very well" she says referring to the shorter skirt that she hasn't ever seen me wear before. "Very funny mom now can you please leave so I can finish getting ready?" I ask, shooing her away so I can get her out of my hair, literally since she had started running her fingers through it from the back. 

"Okay okay I'm going. Would you like me to let you know when he's pulling up outside?" she asks and I nod my head and at that she's off to no doubt stand and wait for the first glimpse of him by the door. 'She's more obsessed with that man than Jesse is' I mumble to myself and quickly slip on my boots and take another look at myself before I hear my mother yelling for me to come downstairs.

I open my bedroom door and hear that Jungkook is already somehow inside the house and speaking to my mother when I had anticipated for him to just wait for me by his car. "Oh good you're here! Hurry along I heard you have a very long day ahead of you so behave yourself and do exactly as he says" she lists off and I don't bother giving her an answer. 

"Don't worry Mrs. Hart, I know she's a good girl" Jungkook shamelessly responds for me. My eyes bug out and I watch the amused look spread across his face but it's gone in a flash when my mother turns her attention back to him. "Shouldn't we get going? I know how much you hate being late and I'm sure she's waiting for us already" I say in regards to the modiste that we have an appointment with. 

"Oh yes, I'm sorry I'm holding you up. Have a good day both of you and I'll see you later tonight" she says with a smile while opening the door for us. "Oh I don't think it'll take that lo-" "I won't keep her out too late" Jungkook jumps in and I shut my mouth at his response, knowing I really have no say in the matter but also losing my wording when he places his hand on my waist to guide me over to the car. 

Walking over towards it I realize that he's switched from a four seater car to a two seater and I can't help but wonder if his motives were to not give me any other choice but to sit next to him. "I didn't realize you had another car" I say while he opens the door for me and I sit down and almost squeak at the feeling of the seats sinking down a lot lower than expected and he smirks at my reaction. 

"I have a few but I tend to take this one out every once in a while since it does best on longer trips" he informs before shutting the door for me. I nod my head while he walks around the car and gets in a lot more gracefully than I had which makes me roll my eyes and turn my face away from him. 

"Here" he says handing me an iced coffee "Oh thank you but I don't drink coffee, it makes me anxious" I say politely rejecting. "I know, Matthew told me so I got you a chai latte since to his knowledge, tends to be your favorite" he says. I thank him and receive it with both hands, my cheeks showing a dusting of pink at the thought that again he bothered to make sure he got me something that I would like. He even got me an iced one since I like those better even when it's cold outside. 

I take a couple of sips as he pulls out of the driveway and onto the street before taking notice that I had forgotten something. "Mr. Jeon I'm sorry but do you think we could turn back around? I forgot to grab my coat" I admit, cringing at the thought of inconveniencing him and messing up the schedule for today. 

"It's alright, you can just borrow mine" he says with a slight smile, no hint of irritation or condescension. "But I don't want you to be cold I-" "Y/n it's fine, I don't mind. If anything we can get you another coat once we go looking for the shoes to match your dress" he says and relaxes into his seat. 

His left hand on the wheel with his right placed on his lap where I notice that he's spreading his legs a bit further than I've seen him do before, making me gulp at the sight and turn my face away from him. 

"Is that alright with you?" he questions, making me look back over at him. "What?" I ask, not sure if I had lost track of the conversation or not. "Do you feel comfortable borrowing my jacket or should we turn back around?" he questions glancing over at me. 

"Only if you're sure" I say, wanting to give him the option to change his mind. "If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have offered. I'm asking if you're alright with it" he says and I reply simply saying yes but that's not good enough for him.

"Yes what y/n? I thought we had agreed upon using our words" he taunts and my breath hitches at the fist sign of his flirtatious attitude for the day. "Yes Mr. Jeon, I would feel comfortable borrowing your jacket" I say but he presses further. "I thought we had agreed on being more informal with each other as well" he teases and I look over at  him with a confused face as to why it would make a difference for him.

"Say my name" he says darkly causing a fluttering sensation to bloom in my stomach. "I-, what?" I stutter, not expecting this sort of behavior from him this early in the morning. 

"Say. My. Name. Or would you rather us go back to addressing each other formally?" he questions while he stops at a red light and cocks his brow at me. "Yes Jungkook, thank you for letting me borrow your jacket" I say quietly after a pause, my brain not being awake enough to come up with any smart remarks.

He smiles at that and focuses back on the road and offers me the aux to play some music since the drive is so far. "Try not to fall asleep on me again like last time. Wouldn't want to have to clean the drool off your face again" he teases while holding the chord up for me and making our hands touch since he doesn't seem to want to let go right away. 

I bring my hand down to plug my phone in and he lets his follow mine, keeping them connected for a second, letting his warm hand rest on my thigh before bringing it back towards himself and placing it back on his lap. I clear my throat to get my bearings again and quickly plug it in and play some low fi music which gets him to glance over at me again. 

"What? You don't like it?" I question feeling insecure about my choice since I don't really know what his taste in music is. Unless it's just the ballroom music that we've been dancing to for weeks now but I highly doubt that. 

"No, I do. I'm just sure that a playlist like this one would be the exact thing that would put you to sleep" he says with a crooked smile. "Well I just wasn't sure what you would like and so I figured low fi would be a safe choice" I explain and see that he's still smiling.

 "What?" I question and he glances over at me, making me suspicious of him and all of his reactions. "It's just cute that you put thought into choosing something that you thought I might like as well" he says with a lilt in his voice. 

"I just wanted both of us to enjoy the music that's all" I say, crossing my arms over my chest as a defense mechanism to hide the fact that he's made my heart rate pick up with his simple words. "And that's what I found cute about it" he says, rubbing it in since he can clearly see that it's making me shy. 

"You know, you can be quite irritating sometimes right?" I say as a way to defend myself and make him stop teasing me. "Who me? Am I not allowed to compliment a pretty girl for acting cute?" he plays coy and before I'm able to respond he corrects himself. "Excuse me, a beautiful woman from acting kindly towards me" he finishes and I can't seem to come up with any response to it so instead I choose to angle my body away from him and look out the window. 

"You can put on something you like instead. I tend to enjoy all genres of music" he says, reeling in the teasing and giving me a break thankfully. I in spite, choose to go with one of my angsty playlists full of artists like Simple Plan, Blink 182 and Linkin Park, thinking that it would be something he wouldn't enjoy but to my surprise I catch him drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel to the beat. 

As the playlist shuffles through the songs I catch him singing along to the opening of Bring Me to Life by Evanescence and it's then when I turn my body to face him again. "You know this song?" I question, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You didn't think that you were the only one who had their emo phase did you?" he laughs and again I'm given another reason to see him in another light. 

As the song progresses we end up doing the call and response of it, with him settling on the guy's part and myself on the girl's and somehow it all just clicks. It's as if we were just two friends on a roadtrip together and it feels, nice? Right? I don't know but it's as if we'd known each other for our whole lives.

There's a comfortable silence once the song comes to a close and we both glance at each other a few moments later and laugh it off. "You weren't kidding when you said you had an emo phase" I tease and he laughs in response. 

"We promised to be honest with each other have we not?" he chuckles after calming down a bit with me, wiping away the few tears that had fallen in the midst of my laughter. "You're right, we have" I respond and again we settle into a comfortable silence before he asks me a question to keep me talking. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" he questions, glancing over at me before turning his attention back towards the road. "I mean there's not much to tell" I say, not having anything in particular stick out to me but he unsurprisingly presses nonetheless.

"There must be something going on in that pretty little head of yours" he teases I take in a sharp breath, his compliments always catching me off guard. "Why do you always compliment me and tease me like that?" I say quickly without giving my brain a second to stop me. "Tease you like what?" he asks with a huge smile, not expecting me to just come out and say it. 

"Why do you do that Jungkook?" I ask, using his first name to show him I'm serious about this question. "Do you not like it when I compliment you?" he deflects. "Answer the question Jungkook" I reiterate since he doesn't have a care in the world at this point. 

"Because you're beautiful" he admits as if it would have no effect on me. "I-" "What? You expect me to spend this much time with you and not come to notice how beautiful you are?" he asks, looking over at me as we reach a stop light. I sit there without an answer, not knowing whether I should acknowledge his words or just brush them off. 

We had agreed to be less formal with each other but did he think that was a green light to trying to pursue me? I've gotta talk to Jesse about this. 

"Looks like we made it just in time" he states a few minutes later as we pull up to the modiste, seeing that the kind woman that had helped us out before waving at us through the window. 

"You ready?" he asks, scaring me at the sudden concern in his voice. "You're scaring me" I laugh off and watch as he gets out of the car and comes around to open my door for me.

"Let's just say it's going to be a long day" he explains, holding his hand out for me to take and I graciously do. Seeing how low these seats sink down I would probably make a fool out of myself if I were to try and get out on my own. 

Once I stand up I stumble a bit and lose my footing leaving me bracing myself on his chest, my hands pressed firmly against his pectorals but I push off of them once I feel them flex under his incredibly tailored dress shirt and again lose my balance but he pulls me in close by the waist before I can manage to tumble back down into the car. 

"You alright?" he smirks with his hand still firmly against my waist and his hand pressed against the car behind me, placing us in a similar position we had been in just last night. "I'm fine" I say after clearing my throat and placing my hand on top of the one he has on my waist as a way to request for him to let me go. 

"Hey, are we okay?" He asks, tilting his head to meet my downward turned gaze. "Why wouldn't we be?" I question, felling on fire being this close to him. "I just hope I haven't made you feel uncomfortable. I really do think you're beautiful" he says, placing a hand on my cheek and bringing my chin up to face him. 

"Can we talk about this later? She's watching" I ask, nodding toward the dressmaker inside who is clearly enjoying the show. "I don't mind, I just want to make sure that we're okay" he says, deepening his gaze if even possible and I just nod and utter a quick yes before slipping out of his grasp and speed walking to the door. 

He braces both of his hands on the roof on the car I had just been leaning against and lets out a dry chuckle before pushing off and closing the door, catching the last glimpse of me scurrying into the shop. 'Cute' is the only word that comes to mind for him at our whole exchange and my reactions to it all and it would continue to be his reaction throughout the whole day as he watches me try to find the perfect dress. 

~~~~

"Welcome back dearie" she greets me with a knowing smile, not even bothering to pretend she hadn't seen everything that transpired between Jungkook and I. "Good to see you again" I say, meeting her with a shy smile, hoping she won't address the topic, or at least with Jungkook right on my heels. 

"I'm sorry ma'am in all of the excitement from the first time I had been here I never managed to catch your name" I say, scolding myself for forgetting to even ask. "You can call me Genevieve dear. And remember, I said you could lose the formality with me, especially since I would love to have some girl talk with you about Mr. Jeon" she teases with a wink and before I'm able to protest she's already greeting Jungkook right behind me.

"Mr. Jeon how lovely to see you again. I see you've both become better acquainted with each other since the last time you were here" she says, stopping Jungkook in his tracks and leaving me clearing my throat and awkwardly requesting that we get started. 

I glance back at Jungkook and see how the tips of his ears have turned red, not having expected her to come right out with it but it makes me smile nonetheless, seeing once again that I'm not the only one that gets shy in this dynamic we have going. 

~~~~

After trying on dress after dress after dress we can't seem to find the right one. "What about the dress you picked out when we first came here? That one won't work for this event?" I yell to Jungkook from behind the curtain as Genevieve helps me out of what feels like the hundredth dress. 

"It doesn't fit the season nor the occasion. Just try on a few more and if we can't find one we can look through the catalogue and order one and come back for a fitting later on this week" he responds without a care. 

"It'll be a bit of a tight squeeze in terms of time if we were to do it that way though" she warns me as she zips up the next dress and before I can even take ten steps out of the dressing room Jungkook has already disapproved of it.

"You don't like this one?" I question looking down at it, but then after having seen it in a different lighting realize that I hate it too. "You really want to ask me that question again?" he cocks a brow at me. I let out a sigh and my whole demeanor droops as I walk back into the dressing room. 

"Hey" Jungkook says, walking up on me before I'm even able to close the curtain. "Don't scare me like that" I say, placing a hand over my chest as an automatic response. "Why don't we take a break? There's an Indian restaurant down the street from here so we can have lunch and then come back. That sound alright to you?" he asks and chuckles at seeing my face light up at the idea.

"I'll take that as a yes" he says with a smug smile. "Can you help me get out of this? Genevieve had a hard time with the zipper so I think her hands might be getting a little tired of doing this" I ask, turning my back to him and giving a perfectly innocent excuse as to why I'm seeking his help but I can see his amused smile in the small mirror that he doesn't seem to notice that's placed right in front of me.

"Of course Pretty" he smiles and he takes his time dragging the zipper down and his brows shoot up at the realization that I'm not wearing a bra with this dress and once he's finished he runs his finger along my spine, seeing a slight red mark from the constant rub of the zippers of multiple dresses and I see his brows draw together at the realization.

"Let's get you out of here. We can come back another day to continue but I think you've had enough" he says running his finger along the line once more, causing a shiver that I had been trying to hold back to run up my spine but at his concern for the slight marks the dresses had left on my skin he decides to ignore it.

"It's okay, let's go eat and once we're done I'll try on a few more. I feel like the both of us will be able to think a bit straighter on a full stomach. Don't you think?" I ask, turning around to face him with one arm placed over my chest to hold up the dress being the only space between him and my bare skin. 

"If that's what you want" he says, his eyes tracing the slight bit of bare skin he's able to see on my chest and up to my eyes. "I'll just ask her to get a few more dresses ready for us while we're gone" he says and tells me through the curtain minutes later that he'll meet me outside. 

"You're a sly one love" Genevieve says as I come out of the dressing room fully clothed. "What makes you say that?" I question, tilting my head in confusion. "You knew I was coming back in a few seconds but asked him to unzip the dress for you anyway" she says and I widen my eyes, surprised that she has seen that exchange. "Nothing goes on in this shop without me knowing love" she chuckles at my reaction and gives me a little jar of salve. 

"What's this?" I question curiously, turning the jar over in my hands. "Mr. Jeon noticed the red marks the dresses left on your back and got worried so he asked me if I had anything that might with that" she says giving me a quick wink. "Now hurry along love and I'll see you soon" she says ushering me out and watching as I walk up to Jungkook leaning against my side of the car and looking up when he hears me coming. 

"You sure you want to come back today? I can ask her to schedule another day for us to come back" he says, still leaning against the car with his arms now crossed over his chest and observing my form to see any signs of discomfort but the only thing that has me nervous are his wandering eyes.

"I'm fine Jungkook I promise" I say while looking down and pulling on the sleeve on my sweater in an effort to warm up my hands a bit and shield them from the cold. He hooks his finger under my chin and brings my eyes up to him and studies my features before making the decision that I'm still up for the task. 

"Okay" he agrees, caressing my face for a second before using that same hand and places it on my waist and turns to open the car door and helps me in again. He places his coat over my lap, noticing that I'm shivering. I murmur a quick thank you before he closes the door, going around the car to get to the driver's side, waving at Genevieve before getting in the car as well. 

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[sidekick-hero]

I didn’t know that it could be easy

(steddie | rating: t | wc: 3.071 | cw: none | Part 2 to this one | tags: Christmas Day, modern au, found family, marriage proposal, fluff | @steddiemas prompt "Christmas Day")

When the wonderful @sentient-trash sent me this beautiful steddie art I knew I needed to write something for it. So why not fix the heartbreak I caused with this ficlet here? Thank you again, Simon, I love your art so much 💜💜

"It has to be perfect, Wayne. Do you hear me? Perfect."

Eddie knows he's overthinking this, obsessing over things that probably won't matter in the end, like the color of the tablecloth or whether the scented candles smell like cinnamon or vanilla. It's just...this is Steve and he needs this to be perfect because Steve deserves nothing less. Eddie almost screwed up this thing between them once, and he's been terrified of doing it again ever since.

It's a miracle and a half that they've made it this far. Their third Christmas as a couple, living together in their cozy apartment with their cat Garfield and their dog Bowie. That they made it to the point where Eddie has a ring hidden between his Dnd dice set, waiting to be placed on Steve's hand if he wants it.

God, what if he doesn't want it?

Because four years ago, Eddie had foolishly pined for Steve. Worst of all, he’d done so after pushing the other man away himself after a drunken night together early in their friendship slash roommateship. At the time, he'd thought his feelings had been one-sided, telling himself he'd done it so he wouldn't lose Steve completely. Eddie had never been the kind of guy you would choose to be with after a quick tumble in the sheets, so why would someone as sweet and funny and gorgeous as Steve?

As he discusses his plans for the evening with his uncle, so goddamn determined to make it the perfect Christmas for his boyfriend, he thinks back to their fight that had almost ended it all. Steve had been with someone else after Eddie had made it clear that their night together had been a drunken mistake and that he wanted them to be friends. Eddie had been dying inside, even as he tried to be happy for Steve. Things had come to a head when Eddie had come home and found Steve and his boyfriend Sam making out on the couch. He had reacted badly and Steve had followed Eddie to his room and confronted him about his behavior.

God, he can still see Steve's face, the tears forming in Steve's eyes as he told Eddie that he couldn't do it anymore, watching Eddie disappear before his eyes. Telling him that he fucking missed him. Steve's boyfriend had interrupted their fight before anything else could be said, and Eddie had left their apartment to wander aimlessly through the night.

"Don't forget the pecan pie, it's his favorite. And the banana ice cream. Yeah, I know I hate banana everything, but it's his guilty pleasure. I made some toffee and caramel beans to put in it and some chocolate topping and whipped cream to go with it, so - I don't know why you’re laughing at me, but I don't have time for this, he'll be back from walking Bowie any minute and I still have to put the presents under the tree. Just. Will you help me make this the best Christmas he'll ever remember? Please?"

He's an anxious mess, and he knows his uncle can tell, because instead of teasing him further, he just confirms in a warm and gruff voice that he will help Eddie make this the best Christmas for his boy. They end the call and Eddie rushes into their shared office and recreation room. It is actually Steve's old room from when they were roommates instead of boyfriends. Nowadays it's used as a guest room when one of their friends or his uncle sleeps over, and as a storage room for all the stuff they don't want lying around the apartment taking up space.

It's also where they keep the Christmas presents.

Eddie carefully carries them over to their Christmas tree and places them underneath it. All except one, which he puts in his pocket. Playing with the simple gold band in his pocket, Eddie couldn't help but think back to that night over three years ago.

He had snuck into their dark apartment, assuming that Steve was staying at Sam's to avoid Eddie. He had decided to tell Steve the truth about his feelings during his long walk, rehearsing what he would say, playing out a hundred different scenarios. Still, he hadn't been prepared to find Steve lying on Eddie's bed, apparently asleep while waiting for him, with Eddie's favorite hoodie clutched to his chest.

The sight had hit him hard, making his breath catch in his lungs and his heart stutter in his chest. He had just stood there for what seemed like hours, watching Steve's sleeping form on his bed. Steve had looked worried, even in his sleep, a slight crease between his eyebrows and the hand holding his sweater had been clenched into a tight fist. His whole body was hunched up as tight as it could be, his knees pressed against his chest as if protecting himself from the cold and empty room. That was what finally made Eddie move.

He went back into the living room and grabbed the afghan off the couch before making his way over to Steve. But as he placed the blanket over the sleeping form, Steve had stirred.

"Eddie?" He had mumbled, his voice slurred with sleep.

Unable to help himself, Eddie had knelt by his side and started to stroke his hair. "Yeah, it's me. Go back to sleep, Stevie. We'll talk in the morning, 'kay?"

But when he had tried to get up, he had been stopped by Steve's hand on his arm, his eyes searching Eddie's with surprising clarity. "Stay. Please."

Maybe it was the late hour or the emotional exhaustion. Maybe it was because Eddie had no fight left in him to deny himself or Steve what they both obviously wanted. Maybe it was just the way Steve had looked at him, the memory of the tears in those eyes still clear in Eddie's mind. Whatever it was, Eddie had just slipped out of his jeans before crawling onto the bed right behind Steve, pushing the sheets out from under them to pull them over their heads. With their bodies pressed together and Steve in his arms, they had both fallen asleep.

The next morning they'd woken up late, still tangled under Eddie's blanket. Everything had been warm and hazy, perfect really. When he felt Eddie stir behind him, Steve had rolled over in his arms and they had just looked at each other for a long moment before Eddie had broken the silence between them.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I don't even know where to begin to tell you how sorry I am."

Steve had just taken his hand, his thumb caressing the back of it in small circles, and it had given Eddie the courage to go on.

He told Steve all the things he had been too afraid to say before.

They had talked for a long time. Steve telling him how much he had wanted Eddie that night, drunk or sober, that he had liked him for a while and had hoped they would get together afterwards. But then Eddie had called it a mistake and asked Steve to be friends. So he'd tried, but he'd never gotten over Eddie. Sam had known that Steve was nursing a broken heart when they got together, and after seeing how Eddie had reacted to their relationship and how it had gutted Steve to see Eddie pull away, he had put two and two together. He wished Steve good luck, but said he couldn't wait for Steve to get over someone who clearly wanted him back.

"I fucked up bad, huh?" Eddie had asked with a pained smile, looking at their intertwined hands between them. He couldn't believe that Steve was still here, holding him close and lifting their joined hands to his lips to plant a soft kiss on the back of Eddie's.

"Kind of. But I think we can fix this."

"And how do you suggest we do that, oh wise one?" Eddie had asked, hope blossoming in his chest at the warmth of Steve's smile.

Pulling Eddie impossibly close, Steve whispered against his lips, "Would you just kiss me, you idiot?"

Eddie had never been happier to be called an idiot, as it led to them exchanging soft kisses that soon became more heated, tongues sliding against each other to take each other's moans right out of their mouths.

When they finally stumbled into their kitchen, it was late noon, but that didn't stop them from making breakfast together before spending the day lounging on their couch, exchanging kisses and soft whispers of how happy they were to finally be here.

That day, Eddie had vowed to work hard to never let something so precious slip through his fingers again.

Since then, they'd adopted a grumpy orange-and-white cat with one eye and a mutt, moved Steve's stuff into Eddie's room ("Because that's where we finally got our shit together, Eds"), and Wayne had all but adopted Steve into the Munson family. Robin, Steve's best friend, had taken a little longer to warm up to Eddie because she had a front row seat to Steve's heartbreak thanks to Eddie being an idiot. But she had come around, as had Steve's little brother Dustin, who was away at college, a fact Steve didn't take too well. So Eddie had invited Dustin and his mother, as well as Robin, without telling Steve, hoping it would be the perfect surprise for him.

As if his thoughts had summoned them, the doorbell rang, alerting Eddie to the arrival of his guests. Opening the door with a flourish, he found Dustin and his mother standing there, along with two large suitcases.

"The Hendersons! Welcome to our humble abode, please come in." Eddie greets them cheerfully before leading them into the warm and cozy apartment.

He gets them settled in their guest room and is about to make them both some hot cocoa when the doorbell rings again, this time revealing Robin and his uncle, who happen to have arrived at the same time. They also gather in the kitchen, with Wayne taking over the cocoa duties. They all shove more presents into his arms, which he dutifully places under the tree as well. And in a wider circle around it, because holy shit, that's a lot of presents.

The only thing missing is Steve, who takes their dog for long walks whenever he has the time and hasn't been back yet.

Wayne is in the middle of telling a rather embarrassing story from Eddie's childhood, which the man himself tries to stop, but to no avail, when he is saved by the sound of a key turning in the lock of their front door. Eddie mimes for everyone to be quiet as he makes his way to the door as quickly as possible.

"Stevie, light of my life, you're back!" Eddie calls out in excitement as soon as the door opens to reveal his boyfriend and their dog.

Steve, on his knees letting Bowie off the leash, looks up at Eddie with suspicion. "What have you done now?"

"I'm wounded, Steven. Wounded! Why do you accuse me of some unknown crime before you even give me a kiss?"

Steve grabs Eddie by the collar of his Christmas sweater and pulls him in for a kiss, smiling so hard it can hardly be called that. "Because you get extra loud and dramatic when you're trying to hide something. So what have you been doing?"

"A special Christmas surprise, honey." Mrs. Henderson speaks up, making Steve whip his head around to face her.

"Claudia?" And then his eyes land on the other guests gathered in their kitchen. "Dustin? Robin? What...why? How? I thought you had to spend Christmas with your parents, Robs?"

"That was all Eddie. He arranged for all of us to come here and spend the evening with you. I have to leave later to drive over to my parents, but not for another four hours or so."

After hearing Robin's words, Steve slowly turns back to Eddie, and this time the tears in his eyes are from happiness, not heartbreak.

"Eddie," is all he says before he slams into him, his arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and his face nestled in his favorite spot just above Eddie's collarbone. "I love you." Steve whispers, his voice choked with emotion.

"I love you too, Stevie," Eddie whispers back, right into Steve's ear, the words meant just for him.

After that, they all gather around the improvised dining table Wayne had set up. It is a simple construction with another table the same height as their kitchen table, so they could push them together and decorate them with a large tablecloth to make it look like one. They eat the roast Steve had prepared, everyone praising his cooking skills, making him blush and his eyes glow with pride.

For dessert they have pecan pie, much to Steve's delight. "Eddie insisted it had to be pecan," Wayne reveals, earning Eddie a wet kiss on the cheek from Steve.

"You're spoiling me, Eds."

"It's not spoiling when you deserve it. Besides, the pie is for everyone, it just happens to be your favorite." Eddie deflects, suddenly self-conscious. Maybe he'd overdone it, just a little, in his quest for the perfect night. But what is it they say? In for a penny and all that. "I might have something just for you, though."

Before Steve has a chance to say anything to that, Eddie is already up from the table to get the ice cream from the kitchen. By the time he comes out with it, everyone has stuffed themselves with the pie, leaving none for Eddie. Putting the ice cream in front of Steve, he complains loudly about it. "That's how you thank me, I see. Scoundrels, all of you."

A plate with a large slice of pie is placed in front of him. "I saved you a slice, baby."

Eddie presses both hands to his heart and pretends to melt. "Aw, you do love me."

Instead of answering, Steve just kisses him before looking down at the bowl in front of him. "What's that?"

"Banana ice cream with toffee and caramel beans, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce."

Steve plunges the spoon into the creation and takes a big bite, letting out a moan that's downright pornographic. "Oh God, please marry me."

Across from them, Wayne nearly chokes on his coffee at Steve's words, and Eddie gives him a warning glare. Wayne is the only one in on Eddie's plan, which Eddie begins to regret. But he needed someone to organize some things, especially the custom-made rings.

After dinner, everyone gathers around the tree, including Garfield and Bowie. Garfield is sitting on Claudia's lap, having taken an instant liking to her, while Bowie is sleeping at Wayne's feet. As usual when their little family gets together, the gift exchange is a cheerful and chaotic affair. Eddie gets new guitar strings from Robin, a new set of custom-made Dnd dice from Dustin and Claudia, and Garfield slippers from Wayne, as well as a can of motor oil with the promise to change Eddie's oil together next weekend. Steve's gift, however, was the most treasured: two tickets to a Metallica concert right here in Chicago.

Throughout the night, Wayne had been taking pictures of everything, claiming that they would be glad to have some memories later on. So when all of the presents have been handed out, he leads Steve and Eddie over to the tree for a picture.

"We need Garfield and Bowie here, too, if it's a family photo," Steve exclaims, his cheeks rosy from equal parts eggnog and joy. "Come here, Bowie. Good boy." Bowie, who is just as much of a sucker for Steve as Eddie is, promptly follows. Eddie knows that Garfield would not be so easily persuaded, so he walks over to Claudia, plucks him from her lap, and places him at Steve's feet.

What Steve doesn't know is that this is all part of Eddie's plan. The two pose in front of the tree with Bowie between them and Garfield weaving between Steve's legs. Just as Wayne's about to take the picture, Eddie turns to Steve and, seemingly outta nowhere, grabs a Santa's hat and puts it on Steve's head. "There you go, now you look all dressed up for the occasion."

"How...where did you hide that?"

"Pulled it out of my ass. You better check to see if I have any more Christmas stuff stashed there later, big boy."

Eddie can't know it yet, but he hopes Wayne captured the exact moment Steve's face scrunched up in surprised laughter. But even if he hadn't, Eddie hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from it anyway, as he memorized every single detail of that very moment.

As his laughter subsides, Steve opens his eyes again to look over at Eddie, only to find him kneeling with his hand outstretched and something small on his palm. A simple golden ring.

"Oh my God."

More than one gasp of surprise could be heard from those around, but the only person whose reaction matters to Eddie is Steve. Who looks at Eddie with big, shining eyes and an open mouth, completely taken by surprise.

"Steve, I have rehearsed this a million times and I still do not have the words to tell you what you mean to me. What our life together means to me. I love you so much it scares me, because surely people aren't supposed to feel that much, but I do. And I want to be scared every single day for the rest of my life because it means I get to love you. I get to cherish you and laugh with you and take care of our furry kids together, and Steve, sweetheart, I want to marry you and promise you forever. And I can't wait for nothing to change, because the life we have is already perfect. And if that didn't make any sense to you, I'm really sorry. The most important thing is that I love you. So, Steve Harrington, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

Steve has tears streaming down his cheeks, but he’s smiling. In fact, he’s smiling so big it has to hurt, and when he kisses him, all Eddie can taste is happiness and love. After that, Steve peppers his whole face with kisses, each one pressing another "Yes" into his skin.

Their love story might not have begun like a perfect fairy tale, and Eddie had no idea if it would end like one. But the middle? It was pretty damn perfect, if you asked him.

[katakosmos]

I am gnawing at the bars of my enclosure desperate for more rosier twin thoughts!!! they make me so insane #ineedpandora

they make US so insane!! when i write about the twins in my fic, i'm always super super careful, because everything they do or say is part of a code in my head. some things that happen don't make sense to the reader, but they actually do (little details that are for me and me only. and occasionally beth).

here are some of them tho + some little things that happen in the fic :)

evan's love language is buying and giving clothes, and he only does it for the most important people in his life. pandora always dresses very well, but actually she doesn't care about fashion at all: it's evan who dresses her. every morning, he wakes up early and goes into pandora's room, where he helps her get ready. he'd always buy her clothes if he could, but pandora asked him to do it only on special occasions (birthday, christmas, etc). not knowing it, everyone simply assumed that pandora loved fashion; unfortunately, she's forced to receive only jewelry, shoes, perfumes from anyone who knows her. she only likes evan's gifts, because she knows that he chooses them carefully. no one knows that in reality she'd like to receive anything, except clothes.

pandora also has a tradition of gifting the same thing to evan every year, which is fancy socks. and he actually wears them. it's not that weird when you consider that evan is the same guy who has a handkerchief embroidered with little flowers (he did the embroidery).

evan's pet is a spider, pandora's is a pomeranian.

when evan has his first time with barty, he RUNS to tell pandora.

i've said it before, but they love gossip. their favorite thing to do together is going to the theater, but mainly to eavesdrop on the conversations of gossipy old ladies.

pandora was born first.

they never carry pens with them. evan does it on purpose, because the first day in his life that he forgot a pen was also the best day of his life, and he seriously believes that it was due to that. then, he forgets it even more on purpose if he can turn around and ask barty for it, so he can look at him for 5 seconds. pandora never has a pen with her because she hates them, and that's why she writes all her notes with colored markers or pencils.

there's a scene where pandora reveals to barty that she likes science, and that if she could go back in time she would never choose philosophy again. barty asks her how many people know about this, and she says three. evan is not one of them.

evan talks in his sleep. pandora sleeps on her stomach with her face in the pillow, and that's why evan insists that they share a room (despite the male/female separation at hogwarts): he fears that she'll suffocate.

evan thinks in french but pandora in english.

[mayuichi]

“If I die in the process, will you join me?„

Nikolai Gogol x Reader ⟡ Warning : slight yandere behavior (kinda) I suppose??

note: i'm sorry for every Nikolai simps if i made him ooc, i really tried my best (and i think he's okay??). i still hope you can enjoy it!!

Official art from the anime.

You were pouting at him when he shoved a candy inside your mouth. It makes you gasp, chewing on it. He laughs at you, clearly mocking. You are about to make a comeback when he stands up to go to the bathroom. You blink a few times.

You don't even remember how you two ended up befriending one another. Wasn't he supposed to piss you off ? Well, he still does. But there was something more perhaps. You are his safe space, one where he can act however the hell his heart tells him to. And he is your home.

Wherever you are, as long as he's with you, then it means you belong there. You could be on the other side of the earth, if he's there, you'd be fine. You aren't properly dating though. You know, that step where no one dares to make a move.

It's so obvious though. The feelings you have for him are pouring out of your heart. Even a blind man could see it. And the way he acts with you is nowhere close to how he can even act toward Sigma. Not even close to how he treats Fyodor.

There is something about you he couldn't explain, yet he wants to comprehend it. No, he needs to. He can't spend a day without thinking a hundred times about your expression, your shy laugh whenever he's around. But he wants to hear you burst in laugh. Why can he only hear it when there's the others ? Can't he be the only one to hear it ?

He needs to know why you can't act entirely like yourself. But he knows. He knows but he doesn't understand. If you love him, can't he be the only one who sees your brightess smile, hears your most sincere laugh?

He'd be a liar to look in your eyes and say he doesn't want to wake up next to you every morning. You are the reason why he's feeling weaker recently. And he loves it. He craves for that sensation, that safety near you. Why are you so special ? He had so much plan with the Decay of Angels, why did you joined and ruined it all ?

But he can't bring himself to push you away. He wants you as much as you do. You're addicted to one another, and there's no way back now. He would kill you if he couldn't be all you need.

... You were supposed to hate each other. You were finding him over the top, and he was thinking you're too simple. But there you both are.

Sitting in his apartment for the last few days before changing place. Picking on each other, just to be annoying. He is the best though, he always manages to piss you off. But do you actually mind ? Probably not.

You sigh, walking up to the small tree. In fact, it was a tiny Christmas tree in a pot. You couldn't do a big one when you need to leave each place so often. You all did it. You managed to all be here to make it and have dinner together. For once you wouldn't be at one another's throat, trying to strangle them. It's hard to get along with them.

Nikolai insisted on placing sweets around the pot, and some candy canes with the garlands. They all let him do so. Why would they say no anyway? It isn't like they'll be the one to be in the apartment a lot.

You stare at the red and white sweet. You can't lie, the colors remind him somehow. He haunts your mind, isn't he ? You reach out to take one in your hand. He's like sugar, addictive and intoxicating. He would definitely be more likely to be the reason of your death. But you don't mind it.

Hearing footsteps coming closer to you, you turn around to see his tall figure hovering over you. He leans closer, to take a candy over the table. At the same time, he skillfully steals the one in your hand. Placing the small candy on his tongue, he inspects the one that caught your attention earlier.

He hums, a faint smirk appearing. “It reminds me of you. You are as sweet as this candy cane. I want to cherish it, and devour it. Just like with you. I bet you'd taste as good. Sugary like, or perhaps more like a cotton candy?„

He approaches, until you become stuck in between him and the wall. His hand creeps to your jaw, gripping tightly on it as the playful light in his eye disappear. “Why can't you laugh the loudest with me ? I'd do anything for you. I'd even die. Wouldn't you do the same ?„

Any sane person would try to escape that situation. Perhaps you aren't as sane as you thought you were, compared to them. You may be as bad as them. Your gaze faltering, your shoulders sagging, you can barely keep looking at him.

“No.. I would. Of course I would... But I may be scared to make you think I am not good enough...„ you admit. After all, who could be enough for a clown?

A deep, low chuckle emits from him. His finger tracing your face, and stops at your nose. “Do you think so ? Have I not been clear enough?„ he gives a gentle pinch, freeing you. He picks a few candies on the table, sitting down on the sofa once again.

He pats the seat beside him, hurrying you to join him. “If I die in the process, will you join me?„ you don't expect such a dark talk around such a joyful period. But he is right. You take place beside him, hesitantly placing your hand over his.

Without even speaking, he already knows your answer. It's so obvious. A playful smile covers his stern look, and he leans to press his head against your shoulder. “That's what I thought. That's why you are the only one who'd suit me.„

Everyone is sure of his feelings for you. If anyone were to deny it, they'd be such fools. But yours, even if pouring out, you would deny it. You know they're real, but you can't trust your feelings. You want to deny them. And he knows it.

He undoes the paper around the candy cane, before tapping it against your lips. “I'll be waiting for you to be sure. Even if it takes years, I'll be waiting. But don't let me die without letting me know I haven't been delusional.„ he half heartedly jokes.

You could guess what was going in his head. And why he left to the bathroom for several minutes earlier. He didn't wanted to snap at you, not when you are so vulnerable. So he had to bring himself back together.

He squeezes your hand, and you squeeze it back. “... I won't. I promise. Let me just a few more days...„ you breath out, and he nods.

“If you can make someone such as I, a clown, be so weak, then you shouldn't be fret about the truth in my words.„ he closes his eyes, sliding the sweet past your lips.

“Thus is the truth about your clown, lovesick for you.„

/ᐠ - ˕ •マ Ⳋ mayuichi's property. do not repost, copy or translate it without permission.

[therantsofawriterrr]

The Umbrella Academy Final Version

Part Eight: A Sinister Christmas

Overview: As Ben finds the girl he kept drawing back in his timeline, the rest of the gang finds the seemingly quaint town growing hostile.

TW: mature language, stuff about people bodyshaming others, Klaus and Ben bromance (deserves tw for rhe cuteness yk), mention of gun, tell me if i missed anything!

Pairings in the chapter: Ben × Jennifer, Diego × Lila

A/N: Hello, hope you enjoy this new part!!!

Masterlist

Till they reached New Grumpson, the colorful sky had turned into a gloomy winter morning sky. It made everyone more tired than normal.

"Well, the hometown theory's busted, because there are no Grossmans listed here," Five said, coming out of the telephone booth. Everyone was standing outside, stretching their muscles and feeling much better than the previous day.

"Yeah, well, we'll just have a look around," Allison said plainly. "If he's here, we'll find him."

"I'm sorry, who made you the spokesperson around here?" Luther asked, the frostiness in his voice sending shivers through everyone.

Allison stared at him and blinked twice at the tone, showing her hands up in surrender before shoving one into her pocket to take her phone out to call Raymond.

"Yeah, this is why you do recon, assholes," Ben pointed out.

Viktor turned to him with a bemused look on his face. "Recon? Why are you saying 'recon'? We're not the A-Team."

"Oh, really?" Ben asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Shit. You fooled me."

"Benerino," Klaus called out soothingly, tapping on his shoulder once. "Shh. It's okay. We'll figure it out. No assholery, alright? Remember what we talked about back then."

"All that was bullshit," was his lying reply which only made Klaus smile knowingly as he ruffled Ben's hair.

"At least we still have a team, man," Diego asserted.

Clementine, who had her head inside the window, ruffling through her handbag, finally got out. "Hey guys, which one looks better on me?" she asked, holding blue plastic framed glasses one one hand and a silver metal framed one on the other.

"The silver one," Lila immediately answered.

"Yeah, definitely the silver," Viktor agreed, making Clementine nod her head as she wore the silver glasses and put the blue ones back in.

"Wait, why weren't you wearing them all this time?" Five asked.

"I had contacts on," she said and cringed. "Unfortunately, I forgot to take them out and slept with them."

"You hate contacts," Five stated. Clementine blinked, stunned for a second before she gulped.

"Maybe I did, then. But, y'know, I kinda realized that glasses make me look like shit, so."

"You know what? Screw this," Ben announced. "But all of you together? You're just a bunch of drooling stunted toddlers. I'm going back to my penthouse downtown."

"Doesn't that penthouse belong to the federal government now?" Luther asked.

"Shut the hell up, Luther," was the reply he got, as he walked. A tentacle fell out of his shirt, making everyone chuckle and guffaw.

"I'll catch up to you!" Klaus yelled out to him in a sing-songy voice.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Ben responded in the same tone.

"Must've been an ex," Lila whispered to Diego, as he readied up his gear, as they both stood beneath the door of the trunk.

"What?" Diego whispered back, as he started to wear it.

Lila tipped her chin to Clementine, who was currently bickering with Five over her prior hatred of contacts.

"Y'know, sometimes, people like someone so much that they change their ways and not in a good way," Lila speculated. "Must've been something like that with her. Man tells her she looks ugly in glasses, she changes to contacts, man accepts her..." she sighed as she trailed off. "That kind of thing sticks, y'know. Even after a break-up?"

Diego paused in his process of strapping on his gear, his eyes catching on to the faraway look in hers. He'd always cared about his fitness, which is why he went to the gym every evening.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Anyone ever made you feel that way?"

"Hmm, once," she replied absentmindedly. "It was during a mission, I think. A woman had commented on how bad I looked that night. I was wearing a shimmery black short sequin, I think. She said that my legs looked ugly in them. Haven't really liked to show my legs since."

His eyebrows furrowed in anger as he thought about a younger Lila hiding her legs because she felt embarrassed. He tipped her chin up with a finger her pupils dilating a bit as they looked into his. "Have I ever made you feel that way?"

Her breath caught in her throat as he waited for her answer. "What? No. Of course not, Diego. Why would you think that?"

"Just wanted to make sure," he said, flashing her a relieved grin as he continued with his gear. "Wouldn't be a good husband if I made my wife feel ugly, now, would I?"

With that, he fully turned to face her, arms wide open to show her his outfit. Lila gave him a proud smile, looping her arms around his neck.

"Handsome as ever," she said, making him glow as he swept her up into a sweet, passionate kiss.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Five called out in a disgusted voice. "Have your makeout session later. We gotta plan how to look for this guy."

As soon as they rejoined the group. Luther started reciting the plan.

"All right. Let's split up and look for this man. Let's be discreet. If you find him, don't do anything on your own. Let's just wait for the team."

They all walked past the town board, not really knowing what to expect.

New Grumpson was a quaint town, currently having a Christmas-themed fair. It was nice, to say the least, with everyone having a jolly good time.

Ben walked briskly down the road, Klaus soon running to catch up with him. Ben sighed in forced exasperation but made no move to drive him away. There were choirs cheerfully singing Christmas carols, almost making him nostalgic of the time he used to go to church just to listen to them when he was small.

He stopped and Klaus stopped just before bumping into him and followed his gaze to a diner named the Cosy Corner Diner. When they entered, their moods were immediately brightened up, for there was Christmas lightings put up and the song Jingle Bell Rock was playing inside.

Klaus immediately went to the seats, but Ben sat at the counter. Klaus's hands were uncovered, but he didn't seem to mind, deciding to try to get over the fear of dying rather than keep living like that. He didn't want to be a human sippy cup like Five had said.

"First time at New Grumpson?" a man sitting beside him asked.

Not having the strength to speak, Ben just scratched the back of his head and nodded. The man smiled, and tipped his head in welcome.

"Welcome to town, then," he said, making Ben nod thankfully to that as well.

He tipped his head down, feeling his upper back throb in pain. He pressed his lips together, tears welling in his eyes as he tried not to scream in pain.

"Hey. What would you like to eat today?" a nice voice asked, a hand sliding a menu under him. He lifted his head up and paused, his heart starting to pound loudly in his ears.

Jennifer, his mind immediately registered a name, even though the name tag on the woman's right shoulder said the name 'Rosie'. This was the girl who'd started to plague his dreams ever since he'd turned seventeen. There was no reason for the dream, just the girl, a name, her captivating smile, and a pretty face. He'd gotten into drawing because of her. He'd drawn endlessly, trying to get her smile, her hair, and her face just right. He'd never succeeded, though.

"He would like a grilled sandwich and a cappuccino," Klaus said, settling down beside him. "And I would like a grilled sandwich with a hot cocoa."

"All right," she said, taking the menu back and going to the kitchen window.

"Y'know, Ben, I get that it's been four years since you've seen a woman, but you can't just gawk at the first one you see," Klaus said, setting his elbows down on the counter, and chin on his hands.

Ben, turned to him, leaning close and whispering, "That's Jennifer."

Klaus's quirky face changed into a confused one. "Who's Jennifer?"

Ben turned fully to face him, knowing that he was pretty much the only one who'd listen to him. "When I turned seventeen, I started dreaming of this girl. She was the same age as I was. I saw her grow up, in my dreams. But then, she used to die because someone shot her in the head."

"Hmm. The only Jennifer I know is from the Jennifer Incident."

"What's the Jennifer Incident?" Ben asked, not getting how it ties up to this.

"Well, it was a tragic accident," Klaus said, almost like reciting words on paper. "Ben, our Ben, I mean, died because we failed as a team. Nobody was responsible, yet we were all responsible. Ben Hargreeves represented the best of us. Ben was the Umbrella Academy."

Ben just stared at him with a bewildered expression. He caught on to the way it turned almost monotonous in the second sentence. It was like he was speaking, but also like someone else was at the same time.

"Why'd you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you had to memorize it in school, and now, you can't forget it."

Klaus just blinked at him once and said, "Y'know, Ben, there are times when the words coming out of your mouth make no sense. This," he paused, pointing vaguely at his face. "Is one of those times."

Ben groaned through his teeth in irritation, turning back to face the counter, looking at the girl talking to one of the customers with the same smile, contours that were still ingrained in the muscles of his fingers and arm.

Some distance away, Luther stood outside Dottie's Antique shop, staring at some of the stuff kept outside. "Sloane would've loved it here," he mumbled absentmindedly, tracing the craftsmanship in one of the candlesticks.

Viktor and Allison looked at him with some concern and a tinge of pity in his eyes, before turning away.

"You know, it's, um... It's good to see you," Allison told Viktor awkwardly. "I'm happy that you're doing well."

Viktor shrugged, the action just as awkward. "Thanks."

Allison's expression turned regretful and serious, kicking a stone on the road. "Viktor. I don't know if I have the right to say this, honestly. And I'm not even expecting anything from you, but... I'm sorry."

Viktor looked up at her with surprise, not expecting that.

"I know that Harlan was important to you, and I was hurting, but that doesn't justify what I did, or how I treated you," she said softly. "I regret everything I said and did.

Viktor gave her a small smile. "Yeah. I know you do. It'll just take time for me to get there, y'know."

"That's alright," Allison said, returning the smile. "Anything to get one of my favorite brothers."

Meanwhile, Diego was winning toys to take back for the kids in the fair while the choir sang Deck The Halls. He smiled at Lila as he threw a second axe, and she only smiled knowingly. And after a third axe, he won a third reindeer stuffed toy.

"All right," Diego said, tenderly holding the toys in his arm. "I got the kids covered. You want one?"

She just shook her head with a smile, squeezing his shoulder softly before walking off, sipping on a coffee as she discreetly looked around. Diego looked at the shop, finding a pretty teddy bear with a bead bracelet on one of its paws. He was reminded of their time in Texas, and fished out more money to pay for another round.

Back in the diner, Ben knocked on the table where Rosie was sitting.

"Can I sit here?" he asked.

She gave him a bemused look. "I thought you didn't really want company."

He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged as she nodded and tipped her chin toward the seat across from her, gesturing him to sit. He sat down and she set her chin on her hand.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere," she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I got caught up in this international wire fraud thing," he said. "Well, not directly, but, well. It's been a rough couple years."

"Wait, you're the SparrowBit guy?" She asked, surprise lacing her voice.

"I was a partner in it, yeah," Ben said with a sigh. "But, I swear, I didn't even know that my partner was upto all that shit. I actually wanted to help people."

"Huh. Then, why didn't you plead innocent?" She asked curiously.

"It would've involved a look into my past. And my past is... complicated, to say the least."

"So what? You just spent your time in jail because you didn't want them to look into your past? That's kinda stupid, if you ask me."

"Yeah, well. I wanted to mogul up, and this is what I get for it, I guess."

They both shared a chuckle. "What about you?" He asked. "Is your plan to just stay in town? I mean you look smart, you could probably make something out of yourself out there."

"There was a time I wanted to leave town. See what's out there," she said ruefully. "But, well, that ship has sailed. I bought this place, rent is cheap. Uncle Gary's weird, but he's family."

Ben smiled at the sentence, looking at Klaus chowing down his sandwich and guzzling down his coffee. "Yeah, I get that."

Clementine was also standing in the fair, eyes subtly scanning every face she could see. Suddenly, a woman ran into her, making her power act up again, as she saw the woman fastening a gun in the holster in the back of pants.

Clementine's breath hitched as she smiled and apologized to the woman. She needed to find the others. Something wasn't right here.

Elsewhere, Five was trying his best to blink, trying to summon his powers. "Blink. Dammit, just... blink."

Lila, who was approaching him, sipped on her coffee and asked, "Doing your Kegels in public now, are we?"

He turned with a start of surprise before composing himself. "Y'know, just trying to stay limber. Not give myself deep vein thrombosis."

She hummed sarcastically in response. "At your age, you gotta look out for that."

"How worried do you think we have to be about this Cleanse thing?" He asked her after a beat of silence.

"Hard to say," Lila said speculatively, coming closer a bit and lowering her voice. "You know, I used to think the Keepers were 90% batshit, but since I've been roofied with the marigold, and I'm shooting laser beams out of my eyeballs, I'll give 'em 50/50."

"Right. Well, after this, I'll go back, find Jean and Gene."

"I'll come with you," she said and he shook his head in response.

"You either tell Diego, or keep out of this," he hissed.

"What're you two talking about?" Diego asked.

"Trying to decide which festive drink to partake in," Lila replied.

"And?"

"Well, mulled wine for myself, cocoa for the lady."

He looked around once more catching an eye of an elf staring at them, no, watching them.

"That elf," he said suspiciously, making the couple turn. "He's staring right at us."

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he ignored it. He could feel someone's burning gaze on the side of his neck and turned to see Clementine, holding her phone in her hands her thumbs hovering over the screen.

He whipped his phone out, looking at the text she sent him.

I've bumped into about five people in this fair yet and they all have guns. something's going on.

He looked back at her in question, to which he only got a confused shrug.

She purposefully bumped into another stranger, closing her eyes before anyone could spot them going black. When they opened a second later, she tapped furiously on her screen, causing his phone to vibrate again.

We have to get outta here. Now. They have big guns.

Five's face twisted in confusion as he looked at her, but she was focussed elsewhere, mostly at the people starting to surround her.

Outside Dottie's Antiques, there was a crowd starting to gather. Allison was the first to notice as she called out for the attention of Luther and Viktor.

Five's phone pinged again, this time, message in caps.

FIVE WE HAVE TO GET THE FUCK OUT THIS IS A MILITARY TOWN.

Another A/N: Helloooo, so just an announcement here. So I'm changing up some of the things about what happened to Allison in s3 because idk first of all it doesn't make sense and second it's not sitting right when it comes to the fic.

So in s3, in my head the assault scene doesn't happen, she just doesn't like him going for Sloane. Plus idk man they did her dirty last season. Like ok, she was hurting and grieving, but i feel like she wouldn't assault Luther like that. Just doesn't sit right w me yk? Sorry if this goes against any hcs.

Anyway thanks @auxiliarydetective for letting me borrow your concept with the music haha. I hope you're liking the foc so far. Go read her tua fic too guys, it's basically a rewrite from s1, but it's rly good.

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated 💖💙💜

[dsireland86]

The Third Day Of Christmas:

Frosty The Snowman

Tag list:

@philomenie @supersquirrel1996 @foliosgirl @angelmarie89 @fadingintothegrey @thisbicc @lacy1986 @dominuslunae @shayzillaaaa @mrsnoahsebastian @flowery-mess @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @stardustsirenmelody @romanreigns-supreme @anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey @rumoured-whispers @myownthoughts12 @sister-sebastian @nyxthedestroyerofworlds-deactiv @missduffsblog @bngurngheart  @somebodyllelse @xxkittenkissesxx @fadingangelwisp @dizzylmwahh @Youlookforultraviolet

The snow hasn't stopped since we got here yesterday morning. From the time we pulled up to the lodge and unpacked early in the afternoon, it started falling, locking down everything and everyone in place. Y/N steps out onto the porch where I'm standing, watching the snow fall silently. It's peaceful and quiet, unlike the thoughts running around in my head. She looks beautiful, all bundled up in her thick blue ski coat and red scarf. Her brown hair is covered by the brown beanie over top her head, bringing out the color of her porcelain complexion. I can't help but stare at her as she talks on the phone to her boyfriend, I assume. 

She notices me, and gives me a faint smile that makes my heart skip a beat, bringing out a smile of my own, but she’s upset about something. I can tell from the look on her face. Her boyfriend must be saying some stuff again that’s messing with her head. He’s such an asshole. I’ve never met him, but from the conversations I've heard Y/N have with him, he treats her pretty badly, which makes me angry. She really deserves so much better.

"Nicky, where are you! Oh," my girlfriend yells, walking out onto the porch. "Ugh, this snow is disgusting. I hate it."

Groaning, I roll my eyes.

"It's really not that bad, Nina." "Speak for yourself, Nicky. These heels aren't meant for snow."

Her two inch heeled shoes are the absolute worst thing to wear at a ski lodge. I tried telling her, but Nina is stubborn. I sigh loudly, shaking my head.

"Next time, wear boots." "Next time, don't let her come."

My eyes snap up.

"What?" "You heard me."

My brows draw together.

"Nina, really?"

She gives Y'N, who's still on the phone and looks as if she's on the verge of crying, another dirty look. My heart falls to the pit of my stomach.

"See what I mean? You can't look at her without drooling!" "What!"

My outburst causes Y/N to glance over at me, confused. But then a soft grin sweeps over her lips briefly before she turns away.

"Whatever, Nicky. I'm going back inside," she scoffs, turning around and heading for the door.

I glance over at Y/N only to find her already staring at me. Quickly, she wipes away the tears sliding down her cheek and turns away from me. My jaw clenches at seeing the tears, knowing her boyfriend's hurting her, again. I've had enough.

"Nicky! Are you coming?" Nina yells. "Later," I yell back. I’m too focused on Y/N.

The door slams shut, indicating just how mad Nina is, but I could care less anymore. I'm over her shit.

I walk over to Y/N and she just stares at me, wide eyed. Even though she dried her cheeks, around her eyes are still wet. I reach over and with the sleeve of my jacket, dry them, seeing her face soften. Her boyfriend is hollering on the other end of the phone as I take it from her, hitting the "end call" button without a second thought. Y/N doesn't argue or protest as I slip her phone into my coat pocket.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes, dabbing the corner of her eyes.

I absolutely hate it when she apologizes for her feelings. 

"You can cry if you want to, Y/N. It doesn't make you weak," I tell her softly.

Her face scrunches up as she fights to hold back her emotions. Letting out a deep breath she turns and surprises me by placing her forehead on my chest and instinctively, I wrap my arms around her. Her arms tighten around me and she starts to cry, and I let her, holding her comfortably and securely while stroking the back of her head, doing my best to soothe and comfort her.

I'm suddenly filled with a rage I've never felt before, one that could cause me to do something irrational if that asshole was standing here, right now. I hate him with a deep, penetrating hatred.

"You don't deserve this, Y/N, you know you don’t. You deserve someone who wants to make you his priority because he knows how much you're worth. Someone who understands you and wants you the way you are. Not someone who only chooses you sometimes or comes and goes as he pleases or is indecisive about wanting you or not."

"Someone like you, Nick?"

Y/N's words hit me right in the gut, almost taking my breath away.

"I, uh, I didn't say, I mean, I didn't mean that," "I didn't say you did."

I can hear the smile in her voice and I relax a little. Y/N pulls away from me, so I lift her face, slipping my finger beneath her chin to look at her.

"God, you're so beautiful."

The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them. Y/N smiles shyly, looking back down at her feet. I laugh, feeling like an idiot.

"I'm sorry. That was out of line." "No, it wasn't," she shakes her head. "No?"

Y/N places her hand on my chest and moves a little closer into me. The small gesture makes my heart race.

"No."

I take her hand, loving the way it fits in mine; perfectly.

"Do you," I chuckle, pinching the bridge of my nose feeling so stupid for what I'm about to ask her. "Would you build a snowman with me?"

I have no idea what in the hell has possessed me to ask Y/N such a stupid, random question, but to my surprise, as her eyes grow big with excitement, she says yes, taking my hand and pulling me off the porch out into the cold, wet snow. Y/N squeals from the sudden feeling, making me laugh out loud.

"Hush!" she chuckles. "What? It's cute. I love that sound."

Y/N turns and looks over at me, smiling really big.

We walk around the porch off to the side of the house where she drops down right where she's standing, and begins scooping up as much snow as she can in an attempt to make a perfect circle. I join her, unable to process that this is actually happening, and silently we begin building our version of Frosty. Neither one of us speaks, knowing we don't have to. We just sit and work in unison to bring our mutual creation to life. Once we have our three circles, Y/N searches for items we can use for the face and buttons, coming back successfully with a handful of dark pebbles. One by one I place them on Frosty and watch as he comes to life in our imaginations.

Y/N face is bright with a smile. She claps her hands once he's finished.

"He looks amazing, Nick!" "Yeah, he just needs a hat."

Y/N takes off her brown beanie and places it on top of the snowman.

"There. Perfect." "Yeah, it is," but I wasn't looking at the snowman.

Y/N looks over at me and the air around us is suddenly thick with a good kind of tension. I'm aching to kiss her lips, to feel her skin beneath my fingertips.

She clears her throat and smiles nervously, dropping back down into the snow. She starts rolling more snow into a ball, packing it tightly to the ground. I stoop down next to her, curious.

"What are we building now?" "You'll see," she grins, nudging my shoulder. I can't help but grin back.

Pretty soon she has an odd shaped body. She waits as I catch up. Mines taller than hers and has two little balls for feet. Y/N grabs more snow, creating a smaller ball and places it on her body. What she has resembles an animal. I make my head and place it on my body, giving it two pointy ears.

"Oh, I love that," Y/N giggles, copying my art.

In the end we have two little creatures resembling monsters.

"They're cute. Faceless, but cute."

Y/N quietly giggles again.

"I can fix that," she tells me, laying her hand on my arm as she stands up, coming back shortly with another handful of pebbles and handing me some. Our eyes meet, creating an instant burning feeling deep inside my chest

"Your face." "Huh?" "Make your face," she says pointing to my creature. "Oh," I laugh, looking away feeling like an idiot.

I place mine, making it menacing yet playful, looking over at hers and smiling.

"That's cute." "Thank you."

I help her up, and we take a moment to admire our masterpieces.

"I love them." "Me, too," I agree, taking a quick picture.

The sudden coldness of a snowball hitting the side of my arm, splashes onto my face.I gasp from the coldness, freezing the instant I feel the wetness on my cheek. Y/N's sweet laughter chases away any trace of negative emotion. I turn to her and I'm instantly taken away by the rosiness of her cheeks and how the tip of her nose matches. And that smile; god she has a smile worth dying for.

"Really? A snowball fight?" "Bring it, Ruffilo." "Ohhh, baby, I love a good challenge."

Rolling up snow, I make a ball and toss it her way, hitting her in the side. Y/N squeals with joy, moving out of the way as I do it again, this time hitting her in the leg. Moments later I receive one right in the chest. I look up at her and see her eyes wide with fear and it makes me grin big as I take off running after her, chasing her around in the snow. She screams and laughs as I reach for her from behind, Snatching her by the jacket. She slips out of my grasp and turns to laugh just as I tackle her causing us both to fall right into Frosty, knocking him down entirely.

"Oh, no!" Y/N's cries, laughing at the same time.

Our snowman is laying in shambles beneath us, Y/N's brown beanie buried under the snow.

"Nick! We killed Frosty," she pretends to cry.

I'm laughing too hard to say anything in return.

"It's all your fault," she accuses, tossing some snow at me, making me cringe.

I'm laying on top of her, our faces so close and lips a mere inch or two from each other. My heart is pounding, and I know hers is, too. We're anxious, both of us obviously wanting what's about to happen. The way she's looking at me has me mesmerized, and I can't look away.

"I really want to kiss you," I whisper. "I want you to kiss me."

Y/N's breath warms my lips, but her words warm my heart as I lower my face to hers, pressing our lips together. The entire world around me explodes as the fire in my abdomen ignites, creating the warmest feeling inside me. I pull back, looking at her in complete amazement, only to feel her pull me back down into her. This time, the kiss is more passionate and full of meaning, and through the gloves, I can feel her touch melting away the coldness of what Nina made me believe was love. Her tongue swipes across my bottom lip, implying she wants in, so I give her access, unable to hide the moan that escapes me. After a few moments, she lets me go, and instantly, I miss her.

"Everything is going to be different now, isn't it?" she asks. "Maybe. Yeah, I guess I might be. Is that a bad thing?"

She's quiet for a moment.

"You have a girlfriend, Nick. I have a boyfriend." "Yeah, a boyfriend that treats you like shit." "Your girlfriend doesn't treat you any better." "At least she doesn't make me cry or throw my fist through a wall."

Y/N blinks a few times as if what I just said stunned her.

"Nicky!"

Nina yells for me from the porch, making me cringe. Y/N panics, trying to push me off of her, but I don't move. I just continue staring at her.

"Nick," she whispers. "Y/N," I say. "You really want to do this?" "Do you?" "Nicky! Where are you?"

Y/N's eyes search mine, looking for the right answer.

"I want to say yes," she whispers.

I grin then kiss the end of her nose.

"Then say yes, Y/N. You deserve someone that's sure of you, and that you're sure of." "So do you, Nick." "Well then, I'm sure of you.” 

Another big smile lights up her face.

"I think I'm pretty sure of you, too Nick. I want to do this."

I kiss her again, then help her up out of the snow, walking her towards the front of the lodge. Nina isn't thrilled when she us. She knows. Rolling her eyes, she walks back into the lodge, but not before flipping us both off. Y/N is worried, but I tell her not to be. Nina and I will figure our shit out.

Her phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out, seeing that it's her boyfriend. I hand it to her, watching closely at what she's about to do. To my relief she hits the end button.

"The good thing is we don't live together," she smiles. "That is a very good thing," I agree. "So, now what?" "So, we finish our vacation. We have Christmas and New years, and then we go home and figure out what's next." "What's next?" "With us," I assure her.

With a light laugh, Y/N leans in and kisses me. I lean into it, feeling that fire inside me again. "Come on," she says, nodding towards the snow, "let's go make another Frosty." "Okay," I agree, throwing my arm around her, letting her lead me back into the snow.

[thetownwecallhome]

TNBC Shower Thought: Comparing the worst to best TNBC posters

((OOC:

I know how much you love my pedanticy-pedantics about unimportant TNBC details and reviews. Or, at least, I think you like em and none of you have told me to can it yet...

So I figured in the spirit of that and Christmas season, why not compare some of Nightmare Before Christmas's movie posters? Comparing posters and covers is a fun activity for me. There different kinds of posters and cover art throughout the years for all sorts of things that are great at subtly, creativity, minimalism or just being a good cover overall. One day I hope to compare some of the Walt Disney features' many fantastic poser art for their films, but for now lets stick to Nightmare.

I'm starting from the bottom to work my way up into the GREAT stuff. Lets not waste anymore time...

This is easily the worst cover for the film and what I hate is that it's the most current cover. I already hate when they try to make the clipart we're used to all shaded and three dimensional-like, but just...LOOK AT THIS?!?!

Who thought THIS looked good? Honestly?!? The characters are all way too colorful and smooth and it's plastered on top of the film cel like it fits together...it DOESN'T!!!

Next we have the 2008 DVD cover.

I'll try not too be too harsh on this one in case anyone here grew up with it...but I'm sorry I am so not a fan. It tells you nothing about the film and is more of that '3D-ish take on the og lineart that looks ugly to me.

The 2023 30th anniversary art is...fine?

Like there's nothing WRONG with it, but it feels incrediblly lackluster compared to some of the screen-capped and colored up artwork I've seen on things like T-Shirts and even fan made posters.

Also, and I hope this ISN'T true, it's so basic I worry that it at some point was made by or with AI or at least with an artist who wasn't paid that much in a short amount of time. Like, the composition is all there: Sally and Jack in the forground, Lock, Shock and Barrel under them and above the title, Oogie in the moon behind them all...but I don't know why they didn't do something really cool like make all the intricate purple and blue-shapes into silhouettes of the other characters and other iconic imagery or scenes?

Look at how...ALONE Zero feels off the side there!!

This is another older image I remember on the back of my VHS growing up, though I never knew it was used for an actual cover of the movie.

It does INFINITELY look better than the first shaded-lineart image (this was done in the 90s...how...) but while I love the composition of Jack and Sally and them walking around in Christmas Town, I never liked the colors of the image at all.

I also never got why Lock, Shock and Barrel are there, chillin and watching them like they're Belle and Beast and they're Beasts' servants trying to wingman for him...Where's Zero? Everyone knows HE'S jack's wingman.

This is an image I found on IMDB that took my by surprise. To be honest I have no clue if it's an actual film poster or a fan poster, but I like the composition of it all as a Universal Horror film poster. Doesn't work as well as Frankenweenie, but still...

And now, the classic. The one you most certainly grew up seeing everywhere or around the place regarding this movie in the 90s or 20s. It's the cover to the soundtrack and VHS I had. This is obviously the most famous version.

But there's also this slightly different version with Jack's arms in a different pose 'to receipt Shakespearean quotation'. This is the same version of the cover used on our "The Film, the Art and the Vision" book as well.

But, for my own PERSONAL favorite cover of the film (even if it's just a simple photoshop), I have to go with the original 'special edition' DVD my sister and I still have.

Somehow Sally just being on the spiral hill next to Jack and holding his hand is so sweet and doesn't feel like the cheap and quick edit it is. I think it's because, despite being a reference to the scene I never saw this cover as directly portraying "Jack's Lament", that this was Jack having a nice moment of peace after the events of the films somehow and waxing his poetics in reference to the film...so somehow the idea of Sally coming up to join him in that with his other arm let out to her is ADORABLE.

Here's a different version on a French DVD.

Lastly, since it does technically count as a poster for the movie itself, I'd be remissed not to mention Nightmare Before Christmas 3D's poster. This this was great back in the day and it's still great now. I'm fairly certain they just photoshopped stills and photos of puppets themselves but y'see kids- THIS vvvv

This is how you photoshop. Everyone has a unique face and pose. Everyone's doing something you think that character would be doing if they were going to MT3K their own film (Sally that's rude!) and they're all drenched in theater accurate lighting. That's more like it!! Besides Oogie being smol, this is the perfect poster to catch the eye of a rerelease!

Hope you enjoyed!

))

[wttcsms]

WTTCSMS EGOIST BIBLE !!

while i'm gone on hiatus, i thought now would be a good time for you all to get to know me! i thought the egoist bible questions were so silly but so good at getting some insight into how a person is, so here are my answers <3 i did change up some questions pertaining to soccer, but for the most part, these are all the questions asked from the egoist bible 🤭

BIRTHDAY ► april 21

AGE ► 21

ZODIAC SIGN ► taurus

BIRTHPLACE ► houston, tx

HOUSEHOLD ► dad, mom, older sister, me, younger brother

HEIGHT ► 5'2

SHOE SIZE ► us women's 6.5, eu 37

BLOOD TYPE ► o negative (i actually really enjoy donating blood)

DOMINANT HAND ► right

AGE YOU STARTED WRITING FANFICTION ► 11

MOTTO ► it's cheesy, but i really like nike's "just do it"

WHAT YOU THINK IS YOUR STRENGTH ► my personality must be pretty agreeable because no matter the setting (different workplaces, school, concerts, waiting in a long line, etc.) people always seem happy to talk to me. i'm happy about that because i love listening to people yap and encourage it.

WHAT YOU THINK IS YOUR WEAKNESS ► i get scammed easily. i don't like saying no when i see people asking for money, even if i know they're feeding me a lie. usually, there's a thought in the back of my mind that goes "what if they're not lying and they really do need the money??" it'll all come back to me, anyway.

FAVORITE FOOD ► a ny strip, cooked rare.

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD ► salmon. i hate it; i dislike most fish, but i gag every time i eat salmon. it doesn't matter how high quality it is, how it's prepared, what dish it is — i can't stand the taste. which is a total bummer because salmon has hella omega-3s, and i #needthat (i buy fish oil vitamins because of this)

BEST SIDE DISH WITH RICE ► not a traditional side dish, but i really like bacon and rice. my uncle opened my eyes to this

HOBBY ► playing nitrotype (my average wpm is 127, with a personal best of 144 wpm)

FAVORITE SEASON ► winter, i love cold weather because i live down south & it's christmas season!!!

FAVORITE SONG ► changes all the time, but my current fixation is "packing it up" by gracie abrams.

FAVORITE MOVIE ► 1917; i watched it once a day for two weeks straight.

FAVORITE MANGA ► blue lock, with haikyuu a close second

CHARACTER COLOR ► baby blue

FAVORITE ANIMAL ► labrador retrievers <3 growing up, we had one

FAVORITE BRAND ► new balance, i swear by their shoes

BEST SUBJECT ► english + history; i was on a full ride scholarship during undergrad and wanted to take advantage, so i maxed out my schedule's credit limit by taking a "history of english language" class. it combined my favorite subjects together & apparently it was a required course for all english majors at my uni. funnily enough, i was the only business major in the course but after silently stalking the groupme & looking at the canvas lowest v highest score scale, it turns out i was doing better than all of them. business majors 1, eng majors 0 😋

WORST SUBJECT ► math. i like it and always made A's. sometimes i regret not majoring in math, but it's one of those subjects that didn't automatically click for me.

MAGAZINES YOU READ OFTEN ► national geographic. i can't help but buy the newest issue whenever i'm in the checkout line of barnes and noble. wall street journal

SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY ► when strangers compliment me

SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU SAD ► seeing people mock neurodivergent people for their mannerisms.

FETISH ► hands. specifically, guys with big hands. you know when athletes grip the ball with one hand? wooooooow. or when a guy is reversing and has one hand on the steering wheel

YOUR TYPE ► someone driven & disciplined who also makes me laugh (whether it's unintentionally or because he really is just that funny)

FIRST TIME YOU RECEIVED A CONFESSION ► when i was 14. he admitted to liking me since middle school, and suddenly i was aware that i am capable of being perceived which is scary

HOURS OF SLEEP ► 4-5 hours (i stay up late but wake up very early)

WHERE DO YOU WASH FIRST IN THE SHOWER ► my face. i heard you're not supposed to wash your face in the shower, but idc. it's easier that way.

WHAT YOU UNINTENTIONALLY ALWAYS END UP BUYING AT THE CONVENIENCE STORE ► it used to be an energy drink, but now it's those bottled smoothies.

MOST USED APP ► tiktok. im working on that NOT being my top app.

MUSHROOMS OR BAMBOO SHOOTS ► mushrooms

LAST TIME YOU CRIED ► last night, i was watching sad tiktoks

HOW OLD WHEN YOU STOPPED RECEIVING PRESENTS FROM SANTA ► maybe 8? my parents never did the "from santa" schtick, but i stopped believing in him at around 8 years old

WHAT DID YOU ASK FOR AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM SANTA ► probably dolls. i liked playing with barbies and polly pockets and bratz

WHAT WILL YOU DO ON THE LAST DAY ON EARTH ► spend it with my family

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU RECEIVED $650,000 ► 10% to my church, 50% in savings, 25% to my brokerage accounts + roth ira, 15% to spending!!!!

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAY OFF ► play nitrotype, color, clean

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU HADN'T STARTED WRITING FANFICTION ► probably (definitely) study more, but i feel like i wouldn't be as happy. writing fanfiction makes me more connected to a fandom, and it adds to my overall enjoyment of media. i met really cool people online because of my fanfiction

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE HISTORICAL FIGURE ► Jesus

IF YOU COULD TAKE ONLY ONE THNG TO A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT WOULD YOU BRING ► my dad, he'd know what to do. if i can't bring a person, an expensive emergency survival kit (loophole logic; an emergency survival kit is usually sold as one unit).

IF THERE WAS A TIME MACHINE, WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO THE PAST OR THE FUTURE ► the future. somehow, i don't think i'd get treated right if i went to the past, and besides, i can read a textbook. i can't see into the future.

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Could you recommend me some enemies to lovers? I love this trope! Thanks for your work ^^

Here's quite a few suggestions, I forgot how much I love this trope. ~Jen

True Like (or Looks Can Be Deceiving) by dualwielding

Kurt loves his job at the off-Broadway theater. As for Blaine Anderson, Kurt might have to work with him, but he doesn't have to like him.

~~~~~

Feel my heart's intention by @kurtsascot

Blaine started to hate Kurt on his first day. And it was a shame, really, because they could have been cute together. 

~~~~~

Clinging to this hating game by notarelationship (justpracticing)

Based on this prompt from the Klaine-prompt-a-fic blog on tumblr:

Kurt and Blaine couldn't stand each other in high school, maybe one was a jock/cheerleader and the other a nerd/glee clubber. Or they were bitter rivals for competition solos if they were both in glee club. Now they both live in NY and their friends set them up on a blind date, not knowing they went to the same high school.

~~~~~

Home away from Home by @lilyvandersteen

Cooper buys a hotel sight unseen and asks Blaine to run it for him over the summer. Only, the hotel is a health and safety hazard and Inspectors Hummel and Abrams are hell-bent on closing it down. Can Blaine spruce the hotel up in time and save Cooper's investment?

~~~~~

Make Food and War by @kirakiwiwrites

What if Blaine and Kurt met another way?  AU Meetings with the theme of: Food. We all know how our boys met on the show. For this creative challenge, let's play with how the boys might have met in alternate universes. And this time, use the topic of food to be the through line of your creations.

~~~~~

Living Haphazard By @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion Anna_Timberlake

Have you ever thought of getting cheated by a house broker and getting to know that you had to stay with another stranger who was also cheated? What if you are getting stuck up with the stranger in the apartment due to unavoidable circumstances? What if you hate him as well as have a crush on him? What if you had to fight your inner self and the stranger? What if he agreed on helping you which can only happen in dreams? This is a real living haphazard, isn't it?

~~~~~

The Hating Game by orphan_account

Blaine can count on one hand the amount of people he has hated in his life. But Kurt Hummel is definitely The Worst.

Or: That co-workers AU where they hate each other (until they don't)

~~~~~

Anyway, Here's wonderwall by @honeysucklepink

Inspired by the story of the Oasis cover band and pub goers who got stranded at a pub in a snow storm.

Adam Crawford is the proprietor of a tavern and music venue in the English countryside. Just before Christmas, he hosts a Battle of the Bands, unaware of a forecasted winter storm. A blizzard traps the patrons, the final bands standing, One Three Hill and The Warblers, and their bickering leaders, Kurt and Blaine. The two have been rivals since their NYADA days, but their friends and bandmates can smell the unresolved sexual tension a mile away. If circumstances had been different, so too would their relationship. So their friends decide to give fate a little nudge...

~~~~~

About-Face By @quizasvivamos

At the start of the Marching Band season his sophomore year, Blaine is the youngest Drum Major in McKinley High history. However, none of his peers believe he deserves the title, especially a handful of embittered upperclassmen, including one particularly stubborn Color Guard Captain, who challenges him in more ways than one.

~~~~~

Mendacious By @forabeatofadrum maanorchidee

Blaine Anderson is McKinley’s biggest star. Everyone in school loves him. And he’s gay. Blaine Anderson has what Kurt Hummel wants. When Kurt finds out that Blaine’s hoping for the same scholarship at the prestigious NYADA, Kurt knows for sure that he deserves it more, but no one seems to agree. There has to be something wrong with Blaine. If Kurt could expose that, it’ll all be over for him. With a scholarship at stake, Kurt’s willing to go very far to find some dirt on everyone’s favourite student.

~~~~~

Turn Into a Pose by @little-escapist

Singer-songwriter Blaine Anderson wants to come out of the closet. When his publicist sets him up with movie-star Kurt Hummel, he’s ready for anything, but the last thing that Kurt wants is a relationship with anyone, let alone Blaine. He hates his publicist for setting him up, hates the idea of lying to the world, and hates letting the world invade his personal life. But maybe Blaine Anderson is exactly what Kurt Hummel needs.

~~~~~

French fries and Milkshakes by BlurglesmurfKlaine

Cheerio!Kurt and Nerd!Blaine don't exactly get along. So what happens when they get paired for a glee club assignment? They're polar opposites. They're voices shouldn't work together, neither should their personalities. Or their chemistry, for that matter. They're two very different things that shouldn't blend together, but do. Kind of like French Fries and Milkshakes.

~~~~~

Bites by foxxed

Kurt Hummel is a Chef de Cuisine with a tongue as sharp as his knife. But when the restaurant across the street finally opens, Kurt is confronted with an old culinary school rival - the always smiling and opera-singing Italian Chef Blaine Anderson and things are about to heat up faster than the average stove.

[alouiadina]

White Christmas au (Version 1)

As suggested in the title, there will be two versions of this au and this is version one.

In this world, Bucky and Gale don't meet in basic training, just some passing meetings, and the same goes for Ken and Curt. Passing meetings.

Assuming Harding's gallbladder was impacted close to Christmas, Curt and Bucky decide to put on a Christmas show/celebration of Harding's recovery and getting discharged from both the hospital and the army. Harding makes a surprise visit to the performance as a way to say goodbye to the boys. He does, and they sing the goodbye song, and while they sing it the light goes red and they stop. During the chaos, Bucky gets distracted trying to get men to safety, and Curt has to tackle him into safety, breaking his arm in the process.

While Bucky is visiting Curt in the infirmary, Curt suggests that they do the act that they performed a bit before. Bucky agrees after some cajoling from Curt, guilt tripped by the broken arm. From then on it's Egan and Biddick, performing skits and duets, gaining popularity. There are newspaper headlines talking about the possibility of the two of them settling down, and Curt is reading a paper on this when a letter comes in. It's not signed with a name or anything, just signed "an old army friend." He doesn't recognize the writing, but he reads it with Bucky anyway. It's an invitation to watch an act for two people that he and Bucky flew with: Ken Lemmons and Gale Cleven.

Bucky and Curt remember Ken as a curly haired kid constantly covered in grease and dirt, and Gale as a bit of recluse who refused to go out drinking and hated talking about sports. With nothing better to do, they go and attend the performance. What they don't expect is that the performance is done in drag. The eye color argument is now done about freckles.

("I never knew he had freckles" "He doesn't have freckles." "Yes he does" "No" "Yes" "N- oh, yeah, freckles")

Curt and Ken end up going off dancing while Bucky and Gale end up talking. Gale tells Bucky that Ken wrote the letter for them, Bucky makes the angle comment.

The whole thing with the landlord happens, and it's actually Bucky who convinces Curt to do drag and perform Gale and Ken's dance, and is the one that gives away the tickets.

They end up going to Vermont with Ken and Gale, and are greeted by a familiar face, Jack. He tells them because there's no snow, Gale and Ken likely can't perform, and that he'll pay the cancellation fee. Then Harding and his daughter come in.

The four of them get the rundown that Jack is his fella, then introduces his daughter, that he owns the place, and that Ken and Gale will perform, even if it's just him and his family.

With the sad outcome of the first performance, the four of them scheme, while they each pair off to get the other two together. They each have romantic moments, and maybe when Gale and Bucky are having their buttermilk and sandwich moment, Ken and Curt take the opportunity have sex.

Then the whole misunderstanding happens, Curt and Ken stage an engagement (bc they haven't told the other two about their relationship yet) then Bucky chases Gale to a club. Gale's performance is in a revenge suit, and used black pomade to make his hair dark. Bucky drools through the entire performance, and tries to be respectful when Gale comes to talk to him. It's very hard though, especially with his shirt unbuttoned slightly and his small waist accentuated. He tells him that the engagement was fake, that their friends were trying to push them together, though Curt and Ken are actually dating/together.

Bucky's announcement makes Gale realize he misunderstood what Bucky and Curt were doing, and comes back, surprising Bucky in the opening performance.

harding and Jack wear their dress greens down (maybe the plan is to surprise both of them, and only their daughter/step-daughter knows what's up)

They're surprised to see most of the 8th Air Force there, and maybe Harding tears up a bit. They do their performance, Gale gives Bucky a knight on a unicorn, it snows, they all kiss behind the tree.

(I'll post v2 tomorrow)

[an-au-blog]

Just craving fluff and imagining College Au Shuggy celebrating the holidays by just doing very unchristmassy things together. They both seem like the type to like certain aspects of Christmas only to then be hit by waves of depression when the actual holiday arrives, so they just huddle under the covers together and watch Christmas classics such as “Die hard” or Gremlins together instead while eating Pizza and drinking eggnog till they can’t stand this stuff for another year. Buggy gives Shanks his gift at 2 am in the morning, an extremely ugly and old tacky sweater he found at a thrift shop a while ago. Shanks can immediately tell that it was cheap and Buggy most likely just went out and got him… SOMETHING, but also it’s hideous in a way he just adores and it has one of his favorite childhood cartoon characters on it and the fact alone Buggy went out and got him something is PERFECT and to Buggy’s horror that thing is gonna be his favorite sweater till the end of time. Buggy on the other hand suffers a mild mental breakdown and “Oh god I am the scum of the earth” reaction because Shanks actually went into a makeup store and got him an expensive eyeshadow Palette that Buggy has been eyeing for a while now. Kicker is Shanks didn’t even know that’s the Palette Buggy wanted, he legit just spent an hour in there with a picture of Buggy describing what Buggy looks for in makeup and what colors he likes and such and such and accidentally just landed on the correct one and rightfully deducted that he would probably like this one.

“WHY DID YOU GO AHEAD AND BUY ME THAT YOU HORRIBLE, UNFLASHY FANTASTIC BOYFRIEND?!” “I thought it would make you happy.” “IT WOULD IF I GOTTEN YOU ANYTHING GOOD AS WELL!! JUST A BED BATH AND BEYOND GIFTCARD WOULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!!” “Come on Buggy I love this thing-“ “THIS IS LIKE GIFT OF THE MAGI IF IT SUCKED EVEN MORE THAN IT ALREADY DOES!” “You could always kiss me to make up for it.” “I ALREADY DO THAT.” “Then let me kiss you… AND you’ll have to let me do it for the entire day without telling me I’m being sappy or disagreeing with me when I talk about how much I love you.” “…. Okay but you’re not allowed to say weird shit about my nose.” “…Can I kiss your nose?” “Ugh. I’ll allow it. But not in public!” “Deal. I won’t talk about how cute and kissable your nose is and I especially won’t talk about how cute and kissable it is in front of other people.” “YOU JUST- AUGH! You’re horrible! An absolutely awful boyfriend!” “Glad to have landed someone as amazing as you then.” “You-“ “Ah! We agreed on not disagreeing when I talk about how great you are!” “….fine.” “I love you... and I love how hard you blush when you can’t answer with a sassy comeback” “….mmmmnnnggghh!!! loveyoutoo.”

At first I was like "awww this is so adorable:')" but thwn I got to the dialogue part and went "ok, so we're assuming they're gonna get together, now are we ahahah"

I'm guessing you're the same anon who sent me a couple other college au asks - so first off: Thank you, you honestly keep me productive and remind me to finish this fic lol (since I named some of the others, maybe I can call you ogan - bc og anon or something idk, you can refuse or give me another nickname if you want...)

But also... have I given any indication that this will be a story with a happy end? Because, I've written ends with a doomed one sided love triangle, one of the main characters being hated by the love of their life and in a hospital, while the one the other was chasing rejected them indefinitely... it was my magnum opus for quite a while, so who's to say I'll give this one an ending like that?

I'm joking, I'm joking... or am I >;]]]

Anyway, I love the idea of them spending the holidays together! Buggy doesn't really have any close relatives to go to, all his friends went home, and thinks that Shanks is the same way, because why else would he stay behind with him?

Shanks is just so happy that he can finally be with his boyfriend. He makes hot cocoa (and it's horrible, but Buggy remakes it), he buys a cardboard cutout of a Christmas tree and they put stickers on it instead of decorations. At one point they start printing out memes and pictures of themselves and stick them on there as well. (Shanks secretly writes a wish, something cheesey like how he wants them to be like this for the rest of their lives, on the back of some of the photos)

In all reality, I believe that "Die Hard" and "Home Alone" (because these two franchises are basically the same, just one is kid coded lol) would be both Shanks and Buggy's favourites. I mean look at how they turned out ahahaha tho I must confess, I've never seen Gremlins, so I'll just trust you on that one':)

I also think thay Buggy would get horrible gifts very purposefully. Like he would look for hours to find the most raggedy and washed out looking sweater with the ugliest print of like... a green cow on red mars with a Christmas hat on both the cow and mars saying "moo-ry christmas" in comic sans or something horrifying like that. Like that one video of the guy who bought a card for the wrong occasion, for wrote a message to someone else and scratched out the name to look like it was a second hand card. I couldn't find the og video but I found this tiktok, hope it helps with the explanation.

In my mind Buggy thinks it's hilarious. Him and Shanks both love pranks and just jokes like this in general, so he would get it, right? Shanks liking it unironically wasn't in the plan. But then bad comes to worse and Shanks takes gift giving seriously - Buggy is caught off guard.

I love the image of Shanks standing in the cosmetics section of a big store that was one of the best according to google. He's just staring intensely, and color checking, and googling, and staring again - trying his best to remember everything Buggy had told him about make-up.

At some moment in the time he's searching, one of the workers there goes up to him to see if he needs help thinking "aw, poor lost man looking for something for his girlfriend, he looks like he needs help" and then Shanks shows her a picture of an honest to God clown going "I want the best for my boyfriend". And they have a little "This is your man?" "yeah" "Look at the picture" "that's mine :')" "and you're ok with this?" "imma stick beside him " moment. And then they just start looking together. Before they notice it's a whole horde of helpers and Shanks going all, "is that teal? I think he said he loves teal, but not one with glitter, wait, bring back the cherry red. Can you compare it to the sour cherry. Which one would match his lipstick best? This one's his favorite." and they're like a council, super invested at that point.

I also like to think that on new years eve, they're watching a marathon, and Buggy just falls asleep on Shanks's chest halfway through. He does that often and Shanks loves it. He doesn't even care that much that sometimes his make-up would be imprinted on his shirt .

Shanks showing love to Buggy's nose, despite his insecurities, makes me melt. (spoilers ig:) I was going to have a little dialogue/confrontation that portrayed that, but I was going to make it a "Shanks not caring about it and just acting like it's not there" thing, but him actually thinking it's cute and being all loving towards the one thing he's most insecure about is actually way better. I might utilize it later on lol :))

[free-boundsoul]

It's been awhile since I did some headcanons. So why not the best fiery boi that I really wish we could get some noncanon audios of

Damien Headcanons

I know I've said this in a post earlier, but he's the shortest of the DAMN bois. He's actually around average height, the other three are just taller. Gavin likes to tease him about it by purposefully putting things out of his reach.

He's very invested in eating healthy and making it delicious. Meal preps for the week so he can just grab something on the way to class so he doesn't have to stress about making or buying food between classes.

He gives really good massages (I still think Hux gives the all time best, but Damien would come in second) I can just imagine him focusing warmth into his hands to help relax muscles as he works through knots. He and Hux give each other massages after workouts and they each swear the other is the best.

He's the designated 'mother hen' of the group. Makes sure everyone wears sunscreen (Yes Gavin, that includes you, I don't care if you say demons don't have to worry about UV rays. Set a good example for the children). He packs extra snacks and water. (If anyone mentions it, he just says he wanted extra weight in his pack for strength training) he's the one who holds onto any tickets or passes for events and makes sure everything is scheduled to a 'T' and keeps everything running smoothly.

On that note, he will bail any of his friends out of trouble. But he will remember it. And probably use it as blackmail

Speaking of blackmail. He keeps a record on all the professors he's had. He keeps track of every time one of them has made a negative comment on demons or vampires. If they refused to help a humanborn student with something they're struggling with. He records everything with dates and it is in order and he's ready to use it.

He likes to do Sudokus, word searches and crossword puzzles when he's bored. Especially the difficult ones that take forever. Freelancer gifted him a bunch of different books of them for Christmas one year. (Along with those mandala coloring books and pens because actually finds those relaxing)

He hates the thought of owing someone money so he tends to pay for things a lot. (He might also have anxiety that he has to pay the crew back for being friends with him because he's not used to people sticking around)

Before he and Hux started dating, he had a little succulent garden that he got so annoyed with because it was always close to death no matter what he tried. It wasn't until Hux saw it that he was able to tell him how to properly care for them.

He has a coffee mug for each member of the DAMN crew that he saw while out and about and had to get it and that's their designated mug to use while they're at the house. (Freelancer and Huxley found a mug for him while they were hanging out together and Hux brought it home so Damien wasn't let out because he wouldn't pick a mug for himself)

[darling-to-death]

i would like penelope lore 👀

Hi! Thank you so much for taking an interest in my OC! I will update this post with little pictures one day, but I'm in the middle of graduate school finals and it's 1am. :3 Please accept this gigantic, rambly wall of text until I can craft something more visually appealing to tell her story!

For basic information, her name is Penelope Campbell, because I thought it would be funny if I could shorten it to PC. She's mostly a self-insert for this trauma simulator game, but because a big game mechanic is that the longer you exist the more beautiful you become, I gave her all the physical traits I wish I had: big blue eyes, tiny waist, incredibly long hair, huge gadonkahonkaroos, etc. She's nothing like me fr. Lol.

As far as backstory goes, it's sort of subject to change as I continue to make stuff up, but this is what we're working with thus far! Even before the game began, I think she was traumatized by her experience of growing out of an adoptable age. I picture her as one of those children you see in movies that DREAM and PRAY that one day they'll get adopted and live happily ever after with a family that loves them. <3 But the years passed, and she never got adopted. Year after year after year after year, no one wanted her, and I think that majorly fucked her up.

She wants that unconditional, unending, unchanging love of a parent so badly, and she never got it, and because she's now an adult, she'll never have it. So she's just DESPERATE for love of some sort, because in her mind the person she is wasn't good enough to be loved and adopted. Thus, she hates the person she is, which is why she's so willing to change her personality to suit any of the love interests' desires. She'll become whoever she needs to be in order to be loved.

This is inspired by my play style. I know a lot of people in the fandom have various saves for all the love interests, but I just keep trekking on romancing everyone in a single playthrough where I do roughly the exact same actions each time, because I am set in my ways. Haha.

I think she would've latched onto Bailey as a kid. There are some lines that suggest that the kids don't know the full extent of how evil Bailey is until they reach adulthood. There's lines during Christmas I think about the younger kids not knowing Bailey's true colors yet or the lines about the nursery that suggest PC was never allowed out of the orphanage without supervision. I don't think she ever viewed Bailey as a nice person, but he was a father figure to her, because he was the closest she had to one.

I think that first week she would've been totally in denial and thought the payments were a joke until the first time she was sold. Then reality comes crashing around her like broken glass she'll never be able to put back together. I still think she has a soft spot for Bailey as a person who raised her (in the vaguest sense of the word), and she has a bit of a delusion that once her bill is paid off he'll go back to just being a grumpy, short-tempered old man and not an abusive, greedy, human-trafficker we know him to be.

She does love Robin, but I do think she views him as more of a brother. However, upon realizing he had feelings for her she felt obligated to return them. She knows how traumatizing it is to want love and not receive it, so if it makes Robin happy to have her love, then she'll give it to him. But she'll never love him as much as he loves her. It's an unfortunate fact. Penelope wants to be saved and loved and protected, and Robin is just too burdensome. She'll always feel love and loyalty and obligation to protect him, but because he needs to be protected she can't fall for him. He's not her ideal knight in shining armor. She's his knight if anything. Robin is a damsel in distress that she cares for, but will never adore.

Penelope just doesn't like Whitney if we're being honest, because I do not like Whitney. I know they have some really cute content if you get their love up high enough, but I am not willing to trudge through the tsundere bullshit to get to there, and neither is she. There is a part of her that likes all the attention, even if it's just physical (from her point of view at least), but his personality is just too abrasive.

Penelope and Kylar get along very well! I think Penelope relates to Kylar a lot. They both have an obsession to recieve love, but where Penelope will change her personality to recieve "love" Kylar can only be authentically himself. Penelope admires that about him. Even if it makes him the target of bullies or if he lacks social skills (i.e. reading love poetry to a classroom of his peers), she respects his ability to have a personality and stick to it. She pities him, because she sees so much of herself in him.

As troublesome as Kylar can be, she always sticks up for him, and is honestly flattered by his obsession of her. I think she has a tendency to romanticize his mental illness, because it's what makes her so special to him. She loves being special. I think this is another case where she'd be happy to just be his friend, but because he loves her, she will love him back.

I'm not entirely sure how she meet Eden, whether she gets kidnapped in the forest or gets sold off, but either way she has a fondness for Eden. As self-sufficient as he is, she sees him as a person who could protect her… you know… if he weren't the one causing harm. Because she's sick in the head, I think she almost views the rape as a compliment. Like he's so overcome with affection, he just can't help himself! So she'll justify his actions that way, but the justifcation doesn't erase the physical pain he causes her, so she can't ignore his cruelness entirely.

However, I think mostly she recognizes Eden as someone very lonely and someone with no one to love. She fears she'll end up like Eden, all alone with no one to love. I do think she genuinely enjoys his company tho! Eden is pretty quiet, but he does talk about his books and his interests, so they infodump at each other and she has a lot of fun doing that.

Avery is probably the saddest relationship, because Avery initially presents himself as such a nice person. Their introduction is always him helping her get lichen for the science fair and then inviting her to a free drink at the cafe. She recognizes him as someone with money and power, someone who could save her, and she so, so, so desperately wants him to save her. She thinks if she's obedient enough, one day he'll actually take her away from her troubles and make her his real girlfriend instead of just his sugarbaby. I think Penelope thinks she loves Avery, but in reality I think she loves the idea of him. It really hurts her feelings when he's upset with her, so she tries her best to behave. I think she finds it quite natural to act exactly how he wants, because she's basically doing that with the other love interests. Avery is just more direct about it. But deep down, she wants him to love her for her real personality… whatever that is at this point, and she's burdened with the knowledge that Avery views her as a tool and not a person.

There's a comment on Vrel's blog that if the PC were ever disfigured Avery would be the only love interest to abandon them, and I don't know if I'm cruel enough to give Penelope a disfigurement, but just know him abandoning him would resurface all the shallowly buried abandonment issues that plague her mind.

And then there's Sydney. <3 Beloved Sydney. <3 I think Sydney is the one Penelope genuinely loves. That's not to say she doesn't love the others, because in her own way I think she does. But a lot of her love is just a response to the love she gets from them. She wants love, so she'll love in order to be loved. And because she's so desperate for love and has no love for herself, she's trying to gorge herself on as much love as she can hoping that will fill the void in her heart. (It won't.) But I think she really does love Sydney. He's everything she wants to be. He's pure and protected and kind and intelligent and faithful. He has a father who loves him. He's perfect. Like all her relationships, it isn't healthy. She does idolize Sydney and put him on a pedastal, but I think if she HAD to choose someone, she'd choose Sydney.

I think for her canon, she fell in love after she yelled at him and he comforted her. It was so shocking to her, so discongruent with everything she'd known about people and the town and her world. His kindness in reaction to her cruelty really flipped a switch in her, and she just viewed him as the most perfect, wonderful person in existence. But because Sydney is so perfect in her eyes and she's so worthless in her eyes, she lives in constant fear of losing his love. She's torn between bringing him down into sin with her so they're on more even footing, but she also wants to keep him pure so he never has to lose that innocence she envies so much. Also, Sydney has a lot of lines about faithfulness, and unfortunately for Penelope it's the one thing she can never be.

Not only do the game mechanics almost require her to cheat on him, she can't bring herself to stop seeing the other love interests. She needs to love them, because they love her, and she can't be someone who withholds her love. She thinks that's the cruelest thing in the world, to know you are loved, but refuse to return that love. She feels very guilty, but she doesn't know what else to do. She wants to be loved, so she loves, but does she love? Is what she's doing love or is it just addiction or obsession or transaction or whatever else she could call it? She doesn't know if she's capable of love, because as a child she wasn't capable of being loved. The two go hand in hand in her eyes. Sometimes she thinks she's just a doll who can change her face depending on what she wants to play pretend. Who does she want to be today? A sister, an object, an ingenue, a housewife? She'll be whatever. As long as she gets "love," she's happy to be something. She wishes she could be loved for being her, but she doesn't think that's possible, and after pretending to be others for so long, she doesn't have a concrete idea of what her real personality is anymore. Penelope the Malleable.