#but also. I’d honestly be chill with doing lecture notes for a while longer

[exopelagic]

kinda mad I figured out how to study literally 2 weeks before I’ll never have to do it again

[aellynera]

The Best Years of Your Life (Reeves x Reader)

THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE

(hey hey, this is my other submission for @wasicskosgirl and her 800 follower celebration! and yes, you read that right - it’s REEVES. i had a lot of fun writing it and i hope you enjoy reading it! CONGRATS Amanda!!)

Word Count: um like 6200ish oops it was supposed to be a blurb

Summary: They say the best years of your life happen in high school, but what do they know?

Warnings: Some language. Female reader implied but no pronouns/description. Teenage angst. Adult wistfulness. Mostly fluffy tho. No promises about proofreading. Frog murder. 

with the prompt - “Like what you see?”

It all started back in high school. Sometimes you wonder how often people say that, and if it’s really true or they’re just falsely remembering how things happened because high school is supposed to be the best four years of your life.

But in this case, it’s true. Because high school is when you met Reeves.

Sophomore Year. High School. A Friday. 

It was the third day of sophomore year, fourth period on a Friday morning, your last before the lunch break. Biology class was maybe the one you were least looking forward to, not exclusively because of the required frog dissection, but pretty damn close. Gross. And you never understood why the school year didn’t just start on a Monday, but you were new here in San Diego. Maybe they just did things differently.

It was bad enough being the new kid. It was worse when you walked into class halfway through the lecture, even if it wasn’t your fault. The timing of the move was weird, and you’d spent most of the first two days, and this morning, doing placement tests and talking to your counselor. 

And now you were being called out in front of the entire class.

“Ah, there you are,” your teacher announced as you walked in the door. “Everyone, this is our new student, please make them feel welcome. You can sit over there.”

Your eyes followed as she motioned to the empty seat at the lab table in the back of the room. Suddenly you weren’t sure if your face felt hot because of embarrassment or because of the boy in the other chair.

Dark, curly hair cut close on the sides but longer on the top. Deep brown eyes framed by long, long lashes. Full, plush lips curling up into his cheek on one side. A nose that, okay, maybe might be a bit oversized but for some reason worked on his handsome face and--

Well, shit. Definitely not the embarrassment.

You shuffled your way to your seat and slid into it with your head down. A few students watched you curiously but soon turned their attention back to the lesson. You tried your best to focus on what was going on, to not look to your left at the distraction next to you.

You weren’t very successful.

By now you thought you’d sneaked enough covert glances to know that we was wearing a leather jacket, had a small diamond stud earring in his left ear, a bunch of silver-studded brown suede wrap bracelets around both wrists, a silver ring on his right index finger, and oddly precise handwriting as he took notes. In between relevant facts the teacher was sharing, he was doodling tiny music notes in the margins of his notebook.

And he totally caught you looking.

“Like what you see?” he leaned over and whispered.

Your mouth felt drier than the Sahara but also somehow so moist you were afraid you might have actually drooled on yourself. You should have opened your mouth to respond but your brain refused to make the connection. Probably for the best.

At least, at first. When it finally caught up to you, the only response your brain could provide was, “Maybe?”

Now would be the perfect time for the floor to swallow you whole.

He just winked at you and his attention went back to the doodles around his notes.

You shifted your gaze back to your own notebook, but you don’t know if anything else of importance was said, and don’t remember writing anything down. The bell ringing sharply pulled you back to reality and you hastily shoved your books in your backpack, ready to escape.

Just as you were about to leave, a voice called out. “Hey, sorry about earlier. If I freaked you out or anything.”

You looked up. He was smiling at you, a little shyly. You bit your lip, your brain and mouth still refusing to connect.

He stuck his hand out. “I’m Reeves. You’re new here?”

“Um…” you smacked yourself internally. This was ridiculous, you weren’t really shy, you knew how to have a conversation, he was just introducing himself. You were going to have a serious conversation with your brain later about proper communication techniques.

It felt like hours had passed, but you finally pulled yourself together enough to respond. “Yeah. My- my dad got transferred for work, we moved here like a week ago. He literally dragged the family across the country. I’m originally from New York City.”

His eyes lit up. “Oh, cool! I always wanted to go to New York City!”

You found yourself smiling back.

“Do you...wanna sit with me at lunch?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “Maybe you could tell me a little about the city? And...about you, since we’re gonna have to commit heinous acts of violence on an amphibian together? I’d like to know who’s wielding a scalpel next to me.”

The giggle that escaped your throat could not be contained. This boy - Reeves - was adorable. “Oh. Okay, yeah. I’d really like that.”

The Present.

Poor Lenny the Frog never stood a chance. Then again, neither did you.

To be fair, Lenny was already dead when you and Reeves got your hands on him. Well, when you got your hands on him, because for the full first half of that specific class period, Reeves refused to touch him and nearly turned as green as Lenny once was. That’s when he insisted on naming your cadaver, because somehow giving it a name made it easier to deal with.

You were pretty sure Reeves was nuts.

By the middle of sophomore year, you were dead too, but not for the same reasons.

By the middle of sophomore year, you weren’t sure how you were still alive, because every time he looked over at you and gave you a sly smile during class, gave you that look, you felt your heart go taut and you forgot how to breathe and certainly, rightfully, should have been dead.

Your friend Alexis stuck her head into your bathroom. “Hey, we’re just waiting on Vanessa, and then we’re good to go. Drinks first? The show doesn’t start until 8 so we have time.”

You glanced up from your makeup and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Alexis grinned. “Aaaaaah I’m so glad you agreed to go out tonight! It’s gonna be so much fun!”

“Oh, it’s gonna be something,” you muttered, going back to your eyeliner.

Alexis had been the first one to see the concert announcement about a week ago. A benefit show at one of the clubs down in Greenwich Village, some punk revival thing (for charity) with a bunch of different singers and musicians. Not normally your scene, but Alexis scanned through the names and suddenly remembered you’d known Reeves in high school. You said yes, he was in your class, and you’d been lab partners once. Vanessa squealed in excitement and Alexis announced you were going to the show. There was never any actual agreement.

Because of course Reeves was going to be there. And of course, you had to be too.

Junior Year. The Parking Lot. A Tuesday.

“I’m just saying, it was a ridiculous foul, and it should never have been called,” Reeves groused as you walked out of the gym.

“We also should have made like twenty more of our own foul shots,” you pointed out.

The Lake Howell Silverhawks had fallen to their arch-rivals in a somewhat glorious fashion. You didn’t even like basketball that much. But that didn’t really matter. The games were just an excuse to go out for burgers before and hang out with your friends during.

It was definitely an excuse to hang out with Reeves.

Junior year, you were both disappointed to find you didn’t have any classes together, but you still almost always ate lunch together. He’d come over to your house to study during the week and sometimes just to chill out on the weekends. Over the past year, he’d shown you all around the city and taken you to his favorite places. You told him all about New York, how you missed it and one day you’d go back, and all the famous sites and which ones were tourist traps that he was only allowed to visit the very first time and then never again.

You spent so much time together, even your mother liked to tease you about why he wasn’t your boyfriend.

It took a while for you to find the words to tell her it was because he was someone else’s.

As much as you liked to pretend she didn’t change anything, Randie Rustenberg changed everything. It was gradual, like a creeping vine of ivy, and she slowly took him over. There was no malice; it was just one of those things that happened. Reeves spent less time with you, his best friend, and more time with Randie, his girlfriend.

The girlfriend you desperately wished was you, because ever since that first biology class you’d had the biggest, stupidest crush on him.

Eventually you had a boyfriend of your own. Theo was a nice guy, he really was. Polite, friendly, had a good sense of humor, liked your family. And your family loved him. Your mother was so happy that you had a boyfriend, she seemed to forget to ask how Reeves was and if you’d seen him lately.

Of course you saw him. You saw him every day, in the cafeteria, at his locker, passing by in the halls. Sometimes you could find him playing the grand piano on the stage in the empty auditorium. Yes, if your mother bothered to ask, you saw Reeves all the time. Now it was just always with her.

Except this week. It was a break of sorts, no classes, just some sports and other school activities. Randie was on some trip with her parents for some kind of church function, and Theo was fishing with his dad on some lake up north. He’d told you where, but you honestly couldn’t be bothered to recall. So when a bunch of your friends and a bunch of his friends all said everyone was going to the basketball game, there was no debate.

As if there was any way you’d say no.

Sometime during the game, your friends wandered off to the snack bar and never ventured back. His friends started a game of hacky-sack under the bleachers. And you found yourself pretending to understand all the finer points about hoops strategy, cheering and yelling along with Reeves and having a great time, just like you used to.

“Where’d you park?” he asked as you left the gym and headed out into the sea of cars. You vaguely pointed in the direction of yours and he grinned. “Oh, good, I’m that way too. Come on, I’ll walk you.”

The faint glow emitted by the lampposts in the parking lot bounced off his curls and his eyes, when you could catch a glimpse, were bright beneath them.

As if there was any way you’d say no.

The walk wasn’t very far, but it felt like it was over in a second. You hadn’t said anything on the way, just soaked in the comfort of walking next to him as he kept commenting on the game.

He was waving his hands everywhere, looking at them as he talked as if his hand motions would make things make any more sense to you, in the middle of saying something about your center and how they needed to get better about blocking out when you finally spoke.

“Oh, shit.”

Reeves looked up at you. “What, you don’t agree?”

You dropped your bag on the ground and rolled your eyes. “No, my car is locked and I left my keys inside.” You pointed to the passenger seat. Your keys stared back at you derisively.

You both stared back at them for a moment, then he grinned. “Hang on, I got you.” He held up one finger and trotted off to his car, coming back a minute later with something in his hand. “This should take care of it.”

You took a step back. “Reeves? Um. Okay, why do you have a coat hanger in your car.”

He rolled his eyes back at you. “For emergencies, duh.” He quickly twisted the hanger into a hook shape and went to your passenger side window.

“And why do you know how to break into a car with said coat hanger?”

“Like I told you,” his tongue poked out between his teeth as he worked, “for emergencies. You think I haven’t locked my own keys in my car once or six times?”

“Did Randie teach you how to do this?” The words were out of your mouth before you could think. She probably had. She might have been churchy when required, but she was also responsible for about half of Reeves’s stints in detention (the other half just being him making the wrong joke at the wrong time and pissing a teacher off.)

Thank god he didn’t seem to hear you as he kept working at the lock. Finally you heard a *click* and he pumped a fist into the air with a little “yessss!”

And then you’re not really sure what happened. You bent down to pick up your bag and then you were standing up and Reeves’s face was literally about three inches away from yours and for the eight thousandth time since you’d know him, you forgot how to breathe.

Neither of you said anything for what felt like days. You just stared at each other under the dim halo of the parking lot lights.

“Here you go.” He took your hand and dropped your keys into it.

“Thanks,” you whispered.

“Like what you see?” the corners of his mouth quirked up, just the slightest little bit.

“...Maybe.”

And the staring recommenced. Were you two getting closer? Physically closer, you meant, of course you were close, you’d always been close. Well, at one time you were really close but then Randie Restenberg happened and it wasn’t fair that she got to know what those lips felt like and did he always smell this good or--

“Yo, Reeves!” A pickup truck full of guys skidded to a stop behind your car and one of his friends - Jake? Jack? you barely remembered your own name right now - stuck his head out the window. “Fight to the death ping pong tourney at Matt’s house! You in?”

Reeves bit his lip and closed his eyes for a second before he pulled back with a soft “I’m sorry” before turning to his friends. “Um, yeah, sure. Sounds brutal. I’ll meet you there.” 

The pickup sped off, tires screeching out of the parking lot. Reeves turned back to you, but you’d already gotten into your now unlocked car and started the engine.

You rolled down the window a fraction and gave him a weak smile. “Hey, um. Thanks for saving my butt. Now go kick theirs at ping pong, yeah?” Your face felt so hot, and for once you were grateful for the dim lights in the lot.

“You could, um, come along if- if you want.”

“Nah, I’m...I’m tired, I’m just gonna...um, head home. But I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?”

Reeves looked like he was about to say something else, but he didn’t. He just stepped onto the curb in front of your car, smiled, and raised his hand in a little wave as he watched you drive off.

The Present.

A series of shrieks and the slamming of the door told you Vanessa had finally arrived. It sounded like they were jumping up and down on the tile just inside your front door, which was ridiculous since you’d all just seen each other the day before. But typical.

You smoothed a pinkie under your eye, checked your makeup one final time, and went into the living room.

“Oh, you look hot,” Vanessa gushed. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and plopped down on your couch. “Who are you trying to impress tonight?”

“Reeves, of course,” Alexis laughed, leaning on the kitchen counter. She sorted anything she might need from her big purse into a little evening bag as she talked. “You know we go to all his shows. And you know they went to high school together.”

You snorted. “That was a long time ago. I’m not even sure he’d remember me.”

Vanessa waggled her eyebrows. “You’re probably right, No offense, honey, but no one was that hot back in high school.”

He was, your brain supplied. Very helpful. You smiled wanly.

Vanessa continued. “But you were friends, right? You’ve never really talked about it. God, it must be so cool now to think that you were friends with Reeves back when he was an awkward high school teenager.”

“Reeves was never awkward,” you laugh. “It was kind of unfair.”

“But you totally had a crush on him,” Alexis offered.

Had? What do you mean, had? Oh my god, shut up, brain.

A pillow flew in your direction and you ducked as Vanessa giggled and Alexis rolled her eyes. “Come on, tell us something about him,” Vanessa goaded. “Wait. Was he, like, your prom date? That’s your secret! You totally went to prom with Reeves and you never told us!”

Senior Year. Prom. A Saturday.

The night was not supposed to go this way.

It was supposed to be limousines and corsages and dinner with dates and friends. It was supposed to be endless pictures while your mother told you how gorgeous you looked and how handsome he was and your father gave a thinly-veiled shovel talk about how he knew what happens on prom night and what would really happen if that actually happened. It was supposed to be punch and cookies and balloons. It was supposed to be dancing closer than the chaperones were comfortable with and kissing with tongue when they weren’t looking.

It was supposed to be the best night of your life. It was supposed to be fun.

Nowhere in your weeks of dreaming of this night did it involve sitting on a bench in the girls’ locker room, knees pulled up to your chest, while the party carried on in the gym just beyond.

It definitely didn’t involve crying.

The bass beats of the deejay and the harmony of laughter temporarily got louder as the locker room door opened, and then faded back into a muted thumping as the door closed again a second later. You could hear footsteps headed in your direction but before you could unfold yourself and wipe your tears away, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey, there you are!”

Being able to find the words to describe how he looked in his tux, his curls slightly tamed by some gel, the blue rose (of course it would be an off color, why would he pick something standard?) pinned to his lapel, his lopsided grin… Finding the words was nearly impossible.

Of course he would show up now. Because your night wasn’t already crappy enough and half the reason you were sitting there weeping instead of out there dancing was standing right in front of you.

You realized that wasn’t fair. It was probably more like, twenty-five percent of the reason, and it wasn’t his fault. But that didn’t make it any better.

“Why are you in the girls’ locker room, Reeves?” you sniffled.

He furrowed his eyebrows and his nose scrunched up in concern as he took in your mascara-streaked cheeks and puffy red eyes. “One of your friends said you came in here like half an hour ago and nobody’s seen you since. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine.”

“Clearly not.” He sat down next to you. “Wanna talk about it?”

A deep, shaky sign left your chest. You didn’t really want to talk about how, earlier in the evening, you’d excused yourself to use the restroom and come back to the gym to find Theo dancing with...you didn’t remember her name, nor did you care. You didn’t mind that he was dancing with another girl, in theory, but it was another matter entirely when his hands were on her ass and she was sucking a deep purple mark into his neck. And he was laughing. 

A short, vicious argument ensued in the coat room after you’d cut in and dragged him off by the elbow. And it turned out that he’d been seeing whats-her-name for months, somehow, behind your back while pretending that everything was perfect with you. When he was supposedly visiting his grandparents? He was with her. When he had to work an extra shift? He was with her. When he got off the phone with you, saying he needed to get to bed early? He was calling her.

Prom wasn’t supposed to involve a very public break-up.

And things didn’t get any better when, deciding you needed something to drink, you went back into the gym and immediately saw Reeves and Randie, dancing cheek to cheek, arms snugly wrapped around each other as a soft, romantic song wafted through the air. Because of course he was with her. She was his girlfriend and Reeves wasn’t a detestable cheating asshole.

There was always another her.

You couldn’t handle it.

So you took off to somewhere almost guaranteed to be empty. You figured the locker room wasn’t really the kind of place kids would want to make out, and you were right. It was blessedly empty. Until now.

But you couldn’t tell him the second part, so you just went with the first. His eyes got wide as you blubbered through the sordid details of Theo being a complete and utter twat. Another quivery sob half-burst from you and Reeves got up. He grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and handed them to you as he sat back down.

“Thanks,” you hiccuped.

“I never liked him,” Reeves announced.

You found yourself choking on a huff of air. “What? Yes you did! Everybody loved him. That’s what makes it extra shitty.”

“Did you?”

“What?”

Reeves cocked his head and looked at you with an expression you couldn’t quite place. “Did you love him?”

Your mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Why did you always seem to forget how to make words when Reeves asked you questions?

“What?”

He shrugged. “Everyone else loved him. Did you?”

You used every last ounce of willpower you had to not jump up on that bench and shout that of course you didn’t love Theo, you idiot, because I love you.

That would not make this night any easier.

The next thing you knew, Reeves put an arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his chest, hugging you soundly. He rested his cheek on the top of your head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re better off without him.”

You dabbed at your eyes. Nope, still couldn’t make words.

Minutes, hours, days. You had no idea how long you stayed like that, pressed to him and feeling him breathe beneath you. You no longer had any idea how long it had even been since everything crashed around you and he’d come to try and help you pick up the pieces. You just listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady, as the muffled music and joyful shouts of classmates went on past the closed door.

Finally he spoke again. “Hey, you wanna get one of those complimentary pictures?”

“What?” Oh, great. You were finally able to answer his question but you could still only come up with that one word? Stupid brain.

“Well, I…” he sat up straight and, after the briefest look into your eyes, he glanced away. Was he blushing? You weren’t sure. “I always kind of...I kind of thought we’d have a prom picture together. I mean, I just figured, y’know, we’d go with a bunch of friends, but I always hoped I’d get a picture with my best friend.”

The sniffles were back in an instant. Damn him. “Reeves, I...you really want to get a picture now? I look horrible, I can’t get a picture taken like this!”

He took the paper towel from your hand and gently dabbed at your cheeks. “You couldn’t look horrible if you tried. Come on, it’ll be fun. And just think how excited your mom will be when she gets a copy of it.”

Despite your best efforts, you had to laugh. “Okay.”

You headed to the photo area after you washed your face, Reeves helped you wipe off the stray streaks of mascara, and you reapplied just a bit of makeup to make yourself feel better. You were never sure what Reeves said to the photographer before the shots, but he seemed quite happy to take multiples. Reeves stayed pressed against your back with his arms down around your waist, hands clasped together in front of you, for each and every one.

At some point between the second and third shot, he leaned just a little closer into you and you suddenly felt his breath against your ear. “Like what you see?”

For maybe the first time that entire night, your face broke into a genuine smile. “Maybe.”

For a few minutes, your night was absolutely perfect.

The Present.

It was the greatest date that never was.

“No, Reeves was not my prom date,” you told your friends with a shake of your head.

You left out most of the other details, partly because you didn’t want to answer eight hundred questions from Vanessa and partly because, well, you just wanted those moments for yourself.

After the pictures, Reeves had asked if you would like to dance. Until then you didn’t realize it was possible for eyebrows to shoot that far up a person’s forehead, but yours were up for the challenge. You’d mumbled something about if Randie would mind, because you were sure she absolutely would, but he brushed it off. Randie had gone off with her friends when he came to find you, and he really wanted to dance with you, just one dance with his frog murder accomplice. And he said that with a straight face and a twinkle in his eye and there was no way you could refuse.

As if there was any way you’d say no.

One dance turned into two, and then several, until the girlfriend in question finally did show back up and Reeves was pulled away, leaving you with a soft smile and a mouthed “sorry”.

Definitely the greatest never-date.

After prom, life returned to what vaguely resembled normal. Your love life sucked and Reeves still had a girlfriend that wasn’t you, and you didn’t see him much. To be fair, the end of senior year and graduation did creep up pretty fast so there wasn’t a lot of time anyway. Graduation was there before you knew it; he cheered for you and you cheered for him as you each walked across the stage. You made brief appearances at each others’ graduation parties and talked a bit and then, once again before you knew what happened next, it was time to leave for college.

You went back to New York. Reeves stayed on the west coast.

And over the years, like so many other people before you and after you, you just fell out of touch.

“And anyway,” you asserted, “we were just kind of friends. Yeah, like I told Alexis before, we were lab partners sophomore year, and we hung out sometimes, but that was it. Really.”

Alexis snorted and Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “Mmmhmm.”

You threw the pillow back at her. “Mmmhmm.”

“All right, you two,” Alexis chided. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Somehow, you managed to get down to Greenwich Village without further interrogation and minimal shenanigans.

The Present. One Hour Later. Another Saturday Night.

The bar inside the club was pretty packed. Granted, it was a Saturday night down in The Village, so it wasn’t too uncommon, but you were honestly surprised that this many people showed up for a punk retrospective.

There were a few other relatively big-name acts you recognized on the bill, and a fair number of people were wearing t-shirts with Reeves’s most recent album cover on the front. There were even a few that had shirts with his face on it, which was frankly kind of weird.

“Looks like you’re not his only number one fan,” Vanessa smirked.

“I just enjoy his music,” you said off-handedly as you tried to flag down a bartender. “But anyway, tonight isn’t even about him. We’re just here to support charity, right?”

Alexis pretended to agree with you. “Right.”

You glared at both of them before turning your attention back to the bar. Yes, you came to every one of his shows in the area. When you had time. When you could take the night off. When you could rearrange your schedule and switch shifts at the last minute and promise favors to be able to attend them. When you maybe once or twice just called out sick because nothing else worked. So what.

They were really starting to get on your nerves. 

The bartender finally noticed you and took your order, and you looked around the club again while you waited.

Lots of people, ranging from just-allowed-to-buy-booze to mid-sixties businessmen. A few folks that looked to currently be in their golden years but were clearly once punks in their prime. Many people in black and chains and mohawks and neon hair and piercings, to the point where you honestly couldn’t tell who was a performer and who was a patron.

The one person you were looking for was the one that you couldn’t pick out of the crowd.

“He’s gotta be here somewhere!” Vanessa’s voice shouted from somewhere behind your shoulder.

“Vanessa, you’re getting a little weird about this,” you called back as you grabbed your drink and turned around.

“Like what you see?”

Eyes wide and mouth slightly hanging open, you almost dropped your full glass.

Vaguely, nearby, you heard the sound of glass shattering and shot a glance to your left. Alexis really had dropped her drink, and Vanessa was clutching onto her arm for dear life. She was holding her glass at a slightly odd angle and the contents were dripping onto one of her shoes.

The crowd silently pulsed backwards as one, clearing out around the four of you for a respectable distance. Several people watched curiously; surprisingly, they just stood back and stared instead of trying to get involved.

Reason Number One why you really couldn’t blame them: Reeves stood there, right in front of you. Literally less than two feet away, looking right at you. His mouth pulled up into his familiar lopsided grin, his hair still dark but shot through with strands of silver, curly on the top and shorter on the sides. His nose with the little dent, perfect on his face under those dark, luminous brown eyes and...holy shit, was he wearing eyeliner? He was wearing eyeliner.

Reason Number Two why you really couldn’t blame them: Leather pants. Under his old, faded t-shirt and black leather jacket (you were used to seeing him in brown, but you had to admit the black looked good) he was wearing leather pants.

Reason Number Three why you really couldn’t blame them: Quite simply, Reeves was standing in the middle of a bar in New York City and he was talking to you.

You blinked once, then twice. You may have blinked more times but all you could think about was the fact that, after all these years, your brain still couldn’t make words when Reeves asked you a question.

That same old question.

Suddenly you were grinning back, completely ignoring your friends and their dumbfounded squawking and sputtering next to you. You were smiling because even though your brain couldn’t make full sentences of words, it could pull one particular word out of the void and let it come out past your lips.

“Maybe.”

Reeves grinned fully now, his eyes lighting up and the crinkles at the corners deepening.

Someone - maybe Vanessa, maybe a total stranger, you couldn’t be sure - might have swooned from the sidelines.

“Always told you I wanted to come to New York,” he said.

“Always told you I’d go back.”

And the next thing you knew, the next thing that made any sense anywhere in your mind, was that Reeves had stepped forward, wrapped his arms around you, and placed the softest, sweetest, most heart-achingly gentle kiss on your lips.

You pulled away in a daze, felt the heat rising in your cheeks, as you heard a muffled choking sound halfway behind you. Definitely Vanessa.

Alexis and Vanessa’s eyes, already bugging out of their faces, nearly fell out of their sockets when Reeves turned to address them.

“Hey, ladies. I’ll come talk to you after the show, but for now, I just need to borrow your friend for a few minutes, okay?”

There were somehow still more bizarre, mostly inhuman noises that came out of your friends and even later, when they’d deny ever acting like that in front of a famous rock star (and rolled their eyes at you when you corrected them that he was a musician, not a rock star), it wouldn’t matter because you weren’t paying a single bit of attention to them them anyway.

You only had eyes for one person.

He took your hand and pulled you past the bar, into a little room in the back; the office, presumably. The second you were both inside, he wrapped his arms around your waist and looked you in the eyes. He just stared for a few minutes, or maybe hours, you weren’t sure.

It really didn’t matter.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?” he whispered.

“Third day of school, fourth period biology class, sophomore year?”

Reeves smiled softly. “The second you walked in that door.”

“Why didn’t you?” you tilted your head to look at him. Okay, to gaze into his eyes. You tilted your head to gaze into his eyes and your subconscious hoped to any gods that would listen that you did not have actual hearts or stars in your pupils.

Not that it really mattered.

His arms never left you but he gave a little shrug. “Never seemed to be the right time. And then I had a girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” you laughed. “And I ended up with that lame excuse for a boyfriend. But do you know how long I’ve wanted you to do that?”

“When you couldn’t stop staring at me when you sat down at the lab table next to me?”

“Hmmm, maybe. But definitely when you told the teacher we had to have a funeral for Lenny.”

“Hey, Lenny was a fuckin’ hero,” Reeves batted his eyes at you innocently. “He performed a brave and great service to his country.”

“I am oddly happy you’re still an idiot,” you giggled.

“I’m ecstatic that you kept coming to all my shows in the city.”

You pulled back slightly and looked at the ceiling. “You noticed?”

Reeves gave you that look. That look he always gave you, when you were teenagers, when you said something either completely ridiculous or completely profound. That look he gave you when he thought you might not be looking, even though you were always looking. That look that said he always had your back and you were his best friend. That look that you thought you’d be lucky to see one more time but probably never would.

That look.

“Of course I noticed. I thought about having security make you stay back, but that’s just...no. You always looked happy, and I don’t know...I just didn’t want to intrude, I guess? Just always wondered why you never stuck around after the shows, never stayed to talk to me, never came knocking on the dressing room door.”

You thought about that for a minute. You really did try, but you couldn’t come up with a decent answer. You were happy. Just seeing him was enough, you told yourself. Just hearing him sing was enough, just being in the same room with him, just being near. Just like it was back in high school.

Only it wasn’t high school anymore, and now that he’d finally, finally - after years of would’ve and should’ve and maybes - kissed you, you knew enough wasn’t going to be, well, enough.

So that’s what you told him.

And Reeves pulled you close, leaned in closer, and kissed you again.

You pulled apart, breathless again, and rested your foreheads together.

After minutes, or maybe days, or maybe hours, and definitely years - it didn’t really matter - Reeves was there. You were there. And for once, you were really there together.

“Like what you see?”

“...definitely.”

The Future. Any Day. Every Day.

You always thought, and your friends always said, that the best years of your life happened in high school. And to a certain extent, that was true and you believed in that notion for a very long time.

But ever since that night, that one glorious night in a Manhattan bar, you realized you were wrong.

The best years of your life were still happening.

~end~

Taglist:  @anetteaneta @autumnleaves1991-blog @be-the-spark-flyboy @deeandbobbymcgee @huxdameron @itspdameronthings @jitterbugs927 @nathan-bateman @poedjarin @rosemarysbaby13 @sergeantkane @spider-starry @woakiees @writefightandflightclub @veuliee2 @yourbucky084 @waatermelon-sugaar​

>>Join my taglist here<<

[noona-clock]

DaySense: Winter ❄️ - Part 2, Final Chapter

A Day6 collab series with the lovely @cramelot 💋

Genre: College & Soulmate!AU

Pairing: Brian x You

By Admin B

Part 1, 2

You thought it was an average Friday afternoon.

As usual, you’d woken up earlier that morning and had gotten ready for class.

As usual, you’d stopped to buy a hot chocolate at the coffee shop in the student center.

As usual, you’d sat through a couple of lectures and a chemistry lab.

And, as usual, sometime in mid-afternoon, you’d packed up your bookbag and headed back to your campus apartment.

So... up until now, it had been average.

But then you had walked through the quad on North Campus, and the ‘average’ part of your day flew out the proverbial window.

It took you a few seconds to realize that the music flowing into your chilled ears was not just someone blasting their tunes on a Bluetooth speaker but an actual band performing. When you did realize, your gaze shifted from the sidewalk in front of you to the source of the pleasant sound.

At first, it was just the sweet and soothing notes of a keyboard playing. It was already enough to intrigue you, but then a blonde guy started singing. His vocals were honey smooth, just like the color of his hair, and you took a few steps in that direction to get a better look at who this band was.

When you were about halfway there, another voice began to sing.

And you froze.

Immediately, you had the very strong feeling you’d heard that voice before. It seemed so familiar, and as you started walking again, you were absolutely certain you would recognize the voice’s face at once. 

Maybe it was someone you went to high school with or had previously been in a class with. Either way, you knew that voice from somewhere, of that you were positive.

But when you finally got close enough to see their faces, when you slowed to a stop next to a couple of girls already standing and watching...

You had never seen any of them before in your life.

I mean, maybe you’d seen one or two of them around campus? But none of them looked familiar like you’d expected. And the voice you’d just heard was no longer singing, so you didn’t even know which one it was.

Okay, well, actually. The guy playing the keyboard was currently belting out some sad, sappy lyrics, and his voice was not the voice you’d just heard. So at least you could eliminate him.

And you also knew it wasn’t the blonde guy because his hair had made it possible to pick him out even from far away.

Your eyes searched the other three guys, waiting to see who would sing next and if his voice would be The Voice.

The other guy holding an acoustic guitar, the non-blonde, began to sing then, and you let out a soft huff of frustration. So, it wasn’t him, either.

That meant it had to be either the guy sitting on the wooden box or the guy holding the microphone. Your eyes flitted over the two of them, and you realized pretty quickly you didn’t even need to hear them sing.

The guy sitting on the wooden box had no mic stand in front of him. Obviously, he didn’t need a mic because he didn’t sing.

So that left --

Your gaze flew to the dark-haired guy closest to you, and you waited with bated breath for him to sing again. You wanted to make sure there really was something about his voice and that you weren’t being absolutely bonkers.

But, lo and behold, the next time he brought the microphone to his lips and delivered his line of lyrics... you knew.

You knew you had heard that voice somewhere -- somewhere before right here, right now. 

It just... something about it filled your heart with comfort, and you felt like you were... home. It was so strange, but you couldn’t deny that’s how you felt.

As the song ended, you found your feet were glued to the spot and your eyes were glued to the owner of this familiar voice. Even though you knew you were bordering on creepy as you stared at him, you couldn’t look away. Not only did his voice stir some unknown but very pleasant feelings in you, it was also legitimately really, really, really good.

Before you knew it, the dark-haired guitarist was thanking everybody for listening and introducing who they were. Your mind was too wrapped up in figuring out just why you felt like you knew the guy you’d been staring at for almost twenty minutes now, you didn’t even hear what the name of their band was.

But you did snap out of your slight trance when The Voice himself told the crowd his name, smiled, and waved at everyone.

Brian.

His name was Brian.

And... you were confused yet again because you really, truly didn’t know anyone named Brian.

So how did you know his voice?!

How had you definitely heard it before?! How had you --

Oh, god, he was coming over here.

Your eyes widened slightly, and you almost felt like walking (or running) away. But the look on his face was too friendly, too inviting - and let’s face it: you were far too curious to figure out why his voice sounded so familiar.

“Hi…” he said a bit cautiously once he was close enough to you. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but notice…”

You gulped, and he tilted his head slightly as your eyes gazed up into his. 

“Have we met before?” he asked.

Your lips parted slightly, but you found you had to lick them before you could speak properly. The air was too cold and dry, and you were just a little bit breathless from this whole situation. “I -- I don’t think so,” you answered with a whisper of a chuckle.

His own eyes widened then, his brow furrowing in confusion, and he took another step closer to you.

“Okay, I’m pretty sure we’ve met before because -- I thought you seemed familiar, but hearing your voice -- I definitely know you.”

You shrugged helplessly, your heart racing because he was literally saying out loud what you’d been thinking since the first second you’d heard him singing. “I honestly don’t think we have? But -- but I feel the same way?”

He looked a little relieved at your words, letting out a soft breath as a very attractive smirk tugged at his lips. And then he held out his hand to you, still looking at you as if he was trying to figure you out. “I’m Brian,” he told you.

You returned his handshake, and to be honest, you were expecting some sort of electric shock when you actually touched him, but... nothing. It was nothing compared to hearing him speak to you.

“Y/N,” you replied.

Brian chuckled quietly, shaking his head to himself. “Yeah, I don’t know anyone named Y/N -- except for you, right now.”

“So then --” you stammered. “Why do we both -- I mean, we both feel like we know each other. Why would that be?”

“Maybe you’re soulmates,” another voice piped up, sounding extremely smug.

You jumped a little, not realizing anyone else was standing close enough to hear you. When your eyes shifted to see who had spoken, you saw it was the blonde guitarist.

He was standing with the girl next to you, his arm slung around her neck as a very confident and cocky smirk appeared on his lips.

“Ex -- excuse me?” you laughed breathlessly. “What do you -- soulmates?”

“Thank you, Jae,” Brian said before his bandmate could explain further. He then put a hand on your shoulder and turned you away from the couple, leading you over to a nearby bench.

“Soulmates?” you asked after sitting down, your brow furrowed deeply. “Why would --”

“Do you... already have one?” Brian asked a bit bashfully. The way he was looking at you made your heart clench. It almost seemed as if he was worried.

“No,” you replied immediately with a shake of your head. “No, I don’t, I just -- I always thought a Soulmate connection was something more... concrete. Like having their birthday tattooed on your arm. So when you meet them, you know instantly because they have your birthday on their arm, too. Y’know? Not something like -- like we think we know each other already. That’s -- that’s ridiculous!”

Brian bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes unfocused as he gazed over your shoulder. He was obviously thinking about something, and you yearned to hear him tell you.

In fact, you yearned to hear him say anything.

And then -- it hit you. You let out a little gasp, almost jumping out of your seat.

“It’s your voice!” you told him with eyes suddenly blazing.

“My... voice?” Brian asked, sounding adorably confused.

“The second I heard you singing, I just got this feeling. I felt like I’d heard your voice before, and I just -- every time you speak, I feel --” You swallowed down your nerves because, while it was the truth, it was still a little embarrassing to admit. “I feel like I’m --”

“Home,” Brian finished.

You nodded, tamping down a giddy, goofy smile. “We’ve never met, but I know your voice. I can’t explain how or why I know it... I just do,” you shrugged.

“I do, too,” he admitted, the smile on his lips now matching yours.

“Hey, soulmates!” Jae called out. “Afterparty at the cafeteria! You comin’?”

Brian lifted up a hand, immediately telling you, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I won’t --”

“I would love to,” you interrupted with a grin. “Just promise me you’ll keep talking.”

“Oh, believe me, that won’t be a problem.” he chuckled.

You stood from the bench, feeling Brian follow suit, and the two of you walked back over toward Jae, his girlfriend, and his other bandmates (plus another girl clinging onto the dark-haired guitarist’s arm -- man, you wish you had paid more attention when they were introducing themselves!).

“So, I’m guessing that song will be finished soon, huh?” Jae asked in a teasing tone, reaching out and punching Brian’s arm playfully once he got close enough.

“What song?” Jae’s girlfriend asked, voicing aloud the exact thought in your head.

“Nothing, nothing,” Brian blushed, swatting Jae’s hand away.

“The song about meeting someone and --”

“Guuuyyyyssss!” the keyboardist called out from a nearby car. “Come on! I’m hungry!”

As you followed everyone over to two parked cars, you wondered if you would ever get to hear this song Jae was talking about. You wondered if the other guys in Brian’s band were nice. You wondered if the two girls hanging around would become your friends.

You wondered why, of all things, the universe decided a random Friday afternoon would be the best time to change your life completely.

And all because of Brian’s voice.

Jae (Summer), Sungjin (Fall), Wonpil (Spring), Dowoon (Summer Finale)

[chrisbbaegopayo]

Hold Your Breath (Stray Kids: Stalker AU) ➻ Chapter 3 (part 1)

....

Genre: Thriller, Angst, Gore, Mystery, Suspense Characters: All of Stray Kids, reader, OCs. Word Count: 1.2k Warning: This story will contain elements of gore, on- and off-screen abuse, torture, mental illness, and stalking. It will feature themes that are not suitable for all ages, readers discretion is advised. Each chapter will have its own specific warning.

Sorry for the short post. I’ve managed to hit a very bad case of writer’s block, as well as other things, more on that below. (updates will now be once every two weeks)

Chapters: Premise | 01 Prologue | 02 Chapter one | 03 Chapter two | Chapter three (part 1) | Chapter three (part 2)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

She and Hyunjin ended up getting along really well in class, as they introduced themselves in the timeframe that the professor had given them. She learned that he had been here to earn himself a bachelor’s degree in literature, much like his parents wanted. He had been a pretty hardworking student and liked to participate in extra-curricular activities, although he didn’t really elaborate on which clubs he had joined since attending the university.

It had come to a surprise, then, that he knew who she was. It was kind of strange for her to introduce herself to someone who had already know of her—he did say that he knew of her and knew who she was, but never made an attempt to say anything to her, which, to her, was understandable. University could be somewhat of an intimidating place. And Hyunjin, who kept to himself during classes unless he was asked to participate in group work or class discussions, was naturally relatively inside his head. 

He had a small circle of friends, she learned, of which he had dropped after coming to this university. He told her that he stayed in touch with most of them through social media and that he had missed them. 

They didn’t manage to get too deep into their conversation, although he did tell her that he was in a few of her classes back in first and second year, and much of the reason of keeping to himself most of the time didn’t say anything to her, as they were practically strangers.

Professor Lee stopped the discussion then and then began his first lecture. Much of it had to do with what goals to set at the beginning of the semester, what they would be covering throughout the semester, as well as the many assignments they were expected to do and their due dates that accompanied these assignments. Much to her displeasure, every week, there would be a test that summarized the terms they learned the week before, just to keep them on their toes, apparently. This was probably the most for her, as her memorization skills weren’t the best…

…this would also mean that she would have to do a lot of reading. And note-taking. As much as she enjoyed reading, the mind-numbing technical terms might just defeat her.

However, the silver lining was that there would be some hands-on case studies and there might be field trips planned in the course, although the professor did not specifically say if they were definitely included. As for these field trips, they were still in the process of negotiating some plan, of which professor Lee did not specify.

They also had to write two essays throughout the semester. Great.

As the professor started lecturing, he covered what the meaning of crime was, what each term meant, and how it integrated into society on a very base level. As for the rest of the two-hour lecture, Professor Lee merely just taught through most of the time with interesting examples and various experiences that he had encountered. He made things interesting, and the majority of the class was completely engrossed. The mid-lecture break had gone by and soon, had buzzed by without much of a fuss. 

“All right, remember, class, make sure to read up on chapter 2, pages 60 through to 90! You will be expected to go through it with your teaching assistant in your tutorial later,” Professor Lee said. “Feel free to visit during my office hours should you have any questions or problems regarding class! See you next week!”

She placed her notebook in her bag and looked over at Hyunjin, who looked rather pleased with the class. “Tutorial, huh?”

He nodded and leaned back against his chair. “Yeah, it should be exciting. At least the professor was interesting, hopefully, the teacher assistant will be just as interesting. When do you have yours?”

She pulled up her schedule, and scanned it, trying to figure out which day she had her tutorial. Turned out that she had her tutorial at 11:30 a.m. in two days with a person named F. Lee. And upon showing it to Hyunjin, she was surprised to learn that he also shared the same tutorial. It seemed like a pretty pleasant surprise, she thought. To be in the same class and tutorial—it was as though something was being conveyed to her through this strange arrangement. Or not. It just seemed like a pretty interesting coincidence. 

But life didn’t have coincidences, did they? 

Regardless, the two left the lecture room and went their separate ways after swapping numbers. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

She had never been so glad to be home. After that stalker fiasco earlier on in the day, she was ready to retire to bed. However, she cracked open the textbook she was required to read for the class and sat at her desk, trying to make some from sense from the lectures. She got a few paragraphs into the reading when her phone buzzed with a text message.

>> Hey I’ve got food Open up OMG bless thank you <<

Jisung seemed to know exactly when was hungry because her stomach grumbled a bit. She went downstairs, and as soon as she got to the door, the doorbell rang, and she opened the door, letting her best friend in.

“You always come at the best time, ever,” she said, ushering him into the house. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Seriously.”

He laughed. “That’s why I’m your best friend, right?”

The two of them ate and chatted about their day and by the time they finished their food, Jisung had gotten up to toss the containers into the recycling bin. 

She stared at her phone for the time being and sighed. She should go back to reading, but she really didn’t want to do any reading that night. It seemed like a great time to just lay back and chill for a little longer until it was time for her to go to bed.

It was still relatively early in the evening—or late afternoon, and perhaps she could just put her feet up and catch up later on.

But then her mind wandered off to the letter she got—it was unsettling.

“Jisung?” 

He made a noise of acknowledgment, while still staring at his phone. 

“I got another letter.”

His fingers that were once tapping away, seemingly mid-text stopped. He placed his phone down and faced her. “What did it say?”

“It was...something like ‘a new semester will start new things’ or something...and then something about more gifts to come,” she recalled.

Something about Jisung’s expression worried her. 

“Did you file the complaint to the school like I said?” He asked.

She shook her head, but then upon seeing his concerned expression deepen, she held up her hands and reassured him that she was going to file it in the upcoming days.

“I haven’t exactly had time, you know, I promise I will—I’ll even let you know! I promise!” 

He sighed, and with a heavy tone, he said, “fine, as long as you know.”

She was about to say something when he leaned over and put his hand atop her head, almost in a maternal gesture.

“I’m just really worried about you, you know? These are just some precautions that you have to take, okay?” 

She nodded. “Yeah, thank you, Jisung, you’re always looking out for me...”

He chuckled, “that’s what I’m here for, remember?”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sorry about the lack of updates lately. I’ve managed to land myself in a really deep ditch called writer’s block, and it’s honestly really draining to write when my motivation is zero most of the time. Sorry, it’s been pretty hard most of the time, especially balancing both work and creative writing at the same time. I do writing for my day job too, and every day I’ve pretty much felt like I’ve exhausted most of my writing into work, and the creative juices are NOT flowing into what should belong to creative writing. Hashtag excuses lol.

However, I did find a good way to keep my motivation up—the story is planned out, I know what’s going to happen in the bigger picture, but the details aren’t exactly set. Sometimes if I see an opportunity to implement new ideas, I will, such as relationships between certain characters and their history and such. I do have several pages of notes of the character’s relationships and backstories.

I will be publishing their backstories starting with Hyunjin, and I think it will make for interesting future plot segments. 

As well, I will be changing the updates to every two weeks until I can get out of this really bad writer’s block. 

Whether or not people like to read it or not, I’ll just keep on writing anyway because I genuinely do love creative writing. As well, I have been planning this story for wayyyy too long and even though my execution of the story might be slow and not what my mind wants me to write, I think I want to continue regardless. I’m just really grateful for the readers that I do have, and appreciate the time you invest in my story. Please feel free to poke me/talk to me about the story and let me know what you think of it. I know I haven’t advanced enough into the story for people have a true understanding or grasp of it, but I will be publishing the character’s relationships with each other and how they’re all connected. Because they are.

If I have any jumping tense problem—I’m sorry, I do try my best to catch them while writing, and I will improve and do my best not to disappoint too much.

Thank you! c:

[linhkcao]

The moment I realize I can move on

As someone who is not naturally articulate and thus take the comfort (sometimes misery) of holding back thoughts and emotions, I’ve forced myself to record this time, no matter how broken it may end up sounding. What a transitive moment I’m in now, a mental milestone. A deep, great sadness of realization as it may be, I know it’ll help me reach the next level of freedom and self-acceptance. After a chain of exhausting days, I’ve allowed myself to be “officially sick” today. I’m gonna slow down. Thinking about what I’m thinking. Before throwing myself back into the madness of life.

I’m a wallflower to the core. The one that always watch, but never get involved, they say. Or am I? There are many moments where I was absolutely expressive and cheerful, like I’m living the time of my life. And I share that positive vibe to everyone I interact with. But there is no expected pattern of how and when that more attractive version of me show up. Recent recall was a couple weeks ago when “she” came to the rescue at an interview and secured me a job offer, I walked out of the building with an impression of “what the heck just happened? Was that me?!”. The thrilled joy, though, is short-lived. As I quickly realize that the worse-in-nearly-all-aspects version now will have to figure out how to meet high expectations from both myself and other people, built by “her”. It’s like “BOOM!!! Surprise biatch~ just saved you clumsy nerd from an awkward situation, congratulations we made it and now YOU take care of the rest! buh byeee~” every time.

Among expectations built, many I’m still fighting for, and for some I realized it’s time to give up for good. And you guess right, the tone is set up for the latter. The record of yesterday events in sequence, though not and end-to-end story, is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Here it goes...

I woke up with an annoying headache from a shortage of sleep as usual, rushed to the Turtle lake and took the school bus to Binh Duong, the place I would only travel to when I have to. It was kinda my favorite moment of a day though. I would always end up at the most front seat on the the right. Settled down. Eyes half-closed. The squeezing feeling all over my head and in the back of my eyes starts to soften thanks to the blend of gentle air-con wind and early morning sunlight, a cleanliness of smell, and my chill love song playlist aka the sleeping therapy. It is opposed to travelling by bike or taxi, now I actually hope the distance was longer! Normally that could be enough extra energy charged for me to survive a normal day at school. But yesterday was no ordinary day. I had no lectures but instead a group project in which we were struggling with an unfamiliar software. I was in charge of running the software while the other two did the writings. Just the night before I felt like a loser and almost gave up, but as the next morning, sitting down with the team, we gradually figured out everything. I felt so relieved. Perhaps it was not difficult after all. Maybe I was just freaked out with something I’m not used to and assume it's unsolvable.

Midday time, accompanied by the brutal sun, is when my tension headache gets at its worse. I skipped lunch and walked some heavy steps to the first-aid office, only to find it was being locked. Right, the lady must've been having lunch. Lying down at the feather chair in front, I pretended to get absorbed into my Iphone like a normal youngster nowadays instead of staring into nowhere and letting out my fatigue like a depressed person. Crazy how I still cared about what other people think even when it felt like my body was about to give out! And there she came from afar, the first aid staff lady; I turned my head and gave her the “I was waiting for you” smile (most honest smile ever), and she returned the “You’ll be okay now kiddo” smile. The first aid office is where I often come to take a nap after a test, or anytime I’m about the “shut down”. I call it VGU 5 star hotel.

The nap didn’t go well as I hoped, still I had to get up for the mini concert rehearsal, and apparently there are other people like me who are waiting to get their battery charged too (there are only 2 beds). The rehearsal was smooth, was no stress, and eventually better than the actual performance (what a shock). But then came the freaking rain. I blamed it for my bad mood, for my guitarist’s bike’s breakdown. And as we was just starting to come back to Saigon, his bike even had a flat tire. This is it, I thought, can’t get any worse!

I appreciate that my friend was very patient handling the situation, he was searching for mobile repairers and called each one of them. So I was resolved not to show any impatience although I was burning inside, the unfinished project still awaits me at home and seriously I was so desperate for some real sleep so I could make it to class for the presentation. I told him that I’d wait on the pavement to relieve the weight so he could go fixe his bike then come back afterwards. 30 minutes passed by... It was dark and remote as hell, and the last open restaurant which I sat nearby may close very soon. I made up my mind that I couldn't take a taxi or grab bike alone with such a far distance at this time of the day, so my only hope was that the guitarist friend woud have no further trouble and come back pick me up soon. My bestie even asked for the location details, in case I get kidnapped she could know how to report to the police lmao. And my professor was very worrying; she asked why I didn’t just simply stay in the dorm overnight...

Then it strike me how much I wanted to go back to Saigon, nearly at all costs. Even just for another 4-hour sleep then going to Binh Duong again, even when it’s super late and rainy. Am I crazy? I didn't care about rationality. I just wanted to go back.

But the actual turning point goes back to the concert, held at BD Conference & Exhibition center. It was prepared with dedication, passion, hard work, and joy, by tons of members from 2 biggest clubs in VGU. I’m thankful to be a small link in the whole chain.

The vocal quality as well as songs selection this year was really amazing. I sang “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran with anh Nguyen, the guitarist mentioned above. And although the performance was far from being perfect, I heard from several friends that they enjoyed it “beautiful singing”, “u still lit”, “it made me happy”, they even recorded and sent me... And trust me, I’m only glad because I could make some of the audiences happy, it was the only consolation at the end of the day. I personally and honestly didn’t understand those compliments, nor did I feel anything about the song, about the fact that I was a part of this concert. I came onto the stage, the extreme light beamed at us and all I could see are black-colored audiences. I didn’t see their faces, I didn’t have a clue how they were feeling. Were they bored or satisfied? It’s not about what the answer is, it’s about me having absolutely no belief in my performance. It was all acting, no emotions. Why can I say so, because I know what is like to “have belief” while singing. it’s when you just sing your hearts out and don’t give a damn on how the audience look like because you know they’re feeling with you, you don’t need to make sure by checking their facial expression and guessing if they’re satisfied or not.

I always talk to myself, no matter what bad things happen during the day, if at the end of the day when I lie down and about to sleep, I feel good, then it means I’ve had a good day. It was the same expectation towards the concert. I was hoping it could be a happy, memorable ending to my 4 boring years at VGU.

I know for sure there are many students like me at VGU who don’t feel any connection to the school nor other people at the campus. I’m not alone. But instead of being cool about it like many could do (you just simple seek another environment where you fit in), I was freak out. I was longing for the sense of belonging to this university, after I made a tough choice to leave home, leaving a mess behind me and move forward, I was an excited fresh who wanted VGU to be a happy, inspiring part of my youth. At the same time, I was all by myself. My brother was at the time struggling with his own marriage. Vi Anh is in Hanoi and we only chatted once in a while. My is in Japan, for years we nearly had no contact and I thought at some point I must let her go... Doug and Nhi went to BYU and I thought I might lose them as well... Other close friends were also away. I was lonely, i was desperate, i was ashamed.

For the record, there was an only truly happy and long lasting moment relating to VGU. It was the trip to Binh Lap with anh Quan, anh Huy, and Thien Tam. If you guys ever come across this note, I wanna thank you. It was the best thing happened to me during my VGU years.

This fourth year has been mind-blowing to me. I skipped the first semester to stay in Saigon for a part time job. And in the second semester I travel between 2 places. And suddenly I’m not a wallflower here in Saigon. For the first time in so many years, I don’t just watch, I am actively involved. For the first time in many years, the better version I talked about in the beginning and I, become one. I plan out my life, learn new things by my choice, meet new people and, many of them I make great friends, we exchange information and experiences, we help each other growth professionally and as a person. And above all things, My has decided to come back to Vietnam, and I realized after all the lost years, we still get each other's back. We reunited the gang along with Vi Anh and it was full of laughter. Many other friends have also recontacted and so it happened that we still exist in each other's life.

I love Saigon, for that it has been sweet and healing to me. I feel a sense of belonging, of living not just surviving. I guess the only reason for me to insist not staying overnight in Binh Duong was that after so many troubles, the fact that I could be back to the city for just a few hours sleeping, makes me feel safe, like “I’m at home at last”.

Of course, I didn’t get over VGU or Binh Duong easily. I wept out like a little girl but knew it was a “letting go” kind of crying. You know when you wish so much that things would work out between you and that person, it takes a while for you to accept that you’re not meant to be and you can move on and still live happily. Last night was the end to all my unrealistic hope. I felt absolutely nothing. No fun, no connection with the people, the atmosphere there. As soon as I finished the performance, I sneaked out into a dark conference room, playing with my phone while waiting for my friend to drive me back to Saigon.

I’m happy for those young and fun people I saw yesterday who has found themselves there, congrats to you, you will be like a close friend of mine who left VGU and his friends with tears of farewell. It’s also nice for me to be assured that people like me could still build beautiful memories elsewhere and be happy. In the end, we’re the only negative force of ourselves, no one can force us to do things we don’t want to.

[yoshimickster]

RWBY VOL 6 Episode 3 “The Lost Fable”-THE ULTIMATE ORIGIN OF ULTIMATE DARKNESS-Recap

HEY EVERYBODY-how’s you’re day going? My computer blue-screened RIGHT BEFORE I could hit save so I’m gonna redo the WHOLE thing. Remember to save folks. EITHER WEITHER-let’s get to Mickster Recap!

The episode starts out with BACKSTORY TIME-where its revealed Salem was a princess locked away in a castle by her cruel father during the good old days, where the only thing keeping her busy is manipulating arcane magic.

2:07 Salem: *SIGH* What good is being able to shoot energy blasts if there’s no bad guy to blast them with?!

BUT LUCKILY-a HERO arrives on the scene-TO RESCUE THE FAIR DAMSEL-and his NAME-

-was OZ...ma. Ozma was his name...does he just happen to reincarnate into anyone with the syllable “oz” or “ma” in their name? THAT is a weird rule.

ALSO-look at confused as fuck Qrow here, he’s all “Uh...hi.” OH-he’s gonna drink himself into a coma after all of this is done.

BUT-not only does Ozma BRAVE the evil forces of the castle to reach Salem for ONLY pure motives(Jinn said so so its true)-HE ALSO-

2:49 LET’S SALEM IN ON THE BLASTING-like a TRUE gentleman!

The act of kindness of giving her her freedom, and Salem...just being Salem, cause the two to FALL in love!

3:13 ....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand kiss! KISS! KISS DAMMIT! Seriously, what IS IT with this show and its “No-kissing” policy, its WEIRD.

Either weither, Salem and Ozma go off on LOADS of adventures-UNTIL-

3:36-when Ozma got sick with a FATAL case of “Unnamed TV disease”. CURSE YOU UNNAMED TV DISEASE-you’ve taken FAR too many lives!

Salem in her grief decides to seek out the god of Light and Creation in the LAND of light(what is this Homestuck?)to bring him back to life-AND-

4:38 -it is DOWNRIGHT beautiful, obviously inspired by Japanese scenery and it just WORKS. SHAME this is where the doom of man kind came to begin.

The god of light than reveals himself to Salem, WHO REVEALS HIMSELF TO BE-

4:51 ANTLER JESUS-a WEIRD mix of Japanese deer spirits, and as I’ve said-JESUS-

-SEE?! Water-walking, full package.

Antler Jesus than gives Salem the same spiel we’ve heard about ressurecting the dead we’ve heard a million times, gotta respect the balance what-not, bla bla bla-GIVE HER BACK HER HUSBAND YOU MONSTER!

BUT-ol’ Mr.Light rose petals her away telling her to let it go, but ain’t NOTHIN’ gon’ stop her from getting her man back, so its time to make a DEAL with the devil in REMNANT HELL-

-which is also in its own way VERY beautiful, nice use of dark colors and purple, kinda looks like Cybertron when it was infected by Dark Energon!

Salem’s here to seek  out the God of Darkness, whom after seeing Antler Jesus’ striking albeit minimalist god form, I’M SURE-the god of Darkness’ form isn’t utterly creep-

6:20 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND welcome to your nightmares for the next few months folks, Purple Satan is here and he is HERE FOR YOUR SOUL!

Salem then asks Mauvisto(Get it, like Mephisto but with Mauve?) to bring back Ozma, ALL while not bringing up that she asked Antlers first. The dark being agrees because he’s just SO happy someone is giving him praise for once, why does his BROTHER get all the praise JUST because he didn’t create a race of empathic eldritch beasts whose only purpose is to cause as much misery and destruction as possible? Un-GRATE-ful is what those humans are!

Purple Haze than brings back Ozma-WITH-

6:57 THE POWER OF PURPLE! PRAISE HIS GRAPELY EMINENCE! 

After Oz has a BRIEF freak-out over no longer being in the land of the dead-GUESS WHO SHOWS UP?!

*CRACKA BOOM*

7:12

Mauvisto: OKAY EVERYONE-party’s over, AJ’s gonna kill it with ANOTHER of his lectures.

AntlerJesus: Don’t you give me that tone.

Mauvisto: WHATEVER YOU’RE NOT EVEN MY DAD-GAH!

I joke, but that is BASICALLY how it went down.

AJ than rose-petals away Ozma to preserve order-

Oz:...S...Salem...I don’t feel so good.

Seriously y’all, I BETTER see some Thanos memes from this episode.

BUT-the elder brother forgets the younger brother still has the POWER OF PURPLE!

PRAISE TO THE PURPLE! Either way, Mauvisto is NOT happy about that which starts-

8:19 A DRAGON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT-or does it?!

ACTUALLY no, AJ tells Mauvisto that Salem went to HIM first, and after he told her he wouldn’t resurrect her hubby, she tryed to manipulate him into going behind AJ’s back. Mauvey than apologizes to his best bro the BEST way possible...WITH A PURPLE DEATH BLAST!

8:48

The Purple giveth, and the purple taketh away.

Salem is NOT happy about this, and EVEN tries to THREATEN the god’s with her magic-BUT-AntlerJesus than gives her a chance to cool off by-

9:15 ...drowning her from a million miles in the air. MAN-the Super God Bros don’t fuck a-ROUND do they?

9:26 ACTUALLY no, by dunking her in the pool of light, the Gods curse her with immortality, unable to see her sweet Baboo Ozma EVER again, and will only die once she accepts the importance of life and death. 

Salem than does the most logical thing after being cursed by two immortal beings who think cursing someone with immortality is a COMPLETELY rational response to wasting like...WHAT five minutes of their time, AND RALLIES AN ARMY to take on the gods!

11:24 It should also be noted that this army...and all of humanity are just TWO WEEKS from retirement!

The army than BLASTS Mauvisto, with a beautiful display of firework-I MEAN-magic attacks-

11:56 I’m just gonna assume since it was the old days, people weren’t as creative with magic as they could be. BUT-because Mauvisto is a friggin’ GOD-

-he PURPLIZES all the magic into one handy dandy ball! What the hell CAN’T purple do?!

Either way, as an ancient omnipotent being, I’M SURE he’ll give them all a just and fair punishm-

12:12...OR just nuke everyone, whatever works for you Satanic Purple Beerus!

Salem of course due to her immortality is NOT ONLY the only one in her army to survive the blast, but ALSO the only HUMAN who survived the blast! GEEZE-Mauvisto, ain’t that a little harsh? I get it, you hate Salem, but what did all those side-characters who DIDN’T go against you do? BUT-enough about that-NAME ORIGIN TIME-

12:51 AntlerDragon: This planet, was a beautiful experiment, but it is merely a Remnant of what it once was. 

DAH-they said the name of the continent-HUZZAH!

Either way, both bros decide to leave the planet to create OTHER Avatar meets Soul Eater meets X-men meets Harry Potter worlds. AJ leaves in a BEAUTIFUL yellow mist-

13:08

While Mauvisto leaves in the most OVER THE TOP way he POSSIBLY could.

Mauvisto: SUCK IT SHORTY!

13:21 HUH-guess Atlas Arcadium Rex DIDN’T destroy the moon from Rwby. Sorry folks, your shared universe headcanon is DEAD! DEAD!

13:41 Salem than takes a GOOD long walk throughout ALL of the planet now named Remnant, until after an ETERNITY of walking decides she deserves a GOOD soak!

14:04 IN the God of Darkness’s POOL of darkness! MMM-look at those bubbles, bet they’re NICE and warm!

But seriously, after EONS of roaming the Earth alone, she figures that since the fountain of life gave her eternal life, the pools of Grimm with finally kill her, ending her suffering...but we WEREN’T all so lucky were we?

INSTEAD-the pool recreates her from a being of infinite life, to a being of infinite life who wants PURE destruction!

14:33 DAMN she looks scary, and that’s not even her FINAL form!

A THEN CUT TO-

14:43

OZMA-having himself a NICE nap in the eternal void of nothingness! Honestly if I died, brought back to life, killed, brought back to life, and then killed a SECOND time I’d want one hell of a nap as well.

BUT-for realsies, AntlerJesus pulls Ozma into a void between worlds to curse him for all eternity to fight his now corrupted wife-I MEAN-give him a chance to return to the land of the living! Yeah...THAT! Where APPARENTLY humans will come back again in time...presumably...NOT made by the god of creation? SO...is this a world where humans are made by gods...OR evolution? HUH-well if THAT ain’t a neat bit of science-fantasy!

15:56

Its ALSO here where we learn what happens when all four relics are brought together, that they’ll summon BOTH god brothers back to Remnant and judge humanity. If they’s chill, its ALL good, but if they AIN’T chill-BYE BYE REMNANT!

Either way, despite hearing his honey Salem won’t be the same anymore, OZMA accepts and REINCARNATES INTO-

17:40 THIS GUY...whose name iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis?

18:01

Oz?: GRIMM STAB!

QUIT DODGING THE QUESTION YOU-what’s your name?!

Rando: Thank you! Please, tell me your name, who are you?

SEE-he’s got the right ideal-TELL US DAMN YOU!

18:17 Oscar:...he didn’t know.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH that sucks. I’m not sure if it means he over-wrote his host’s memories or what, either way the reaction on Oz’s face says it all.

AFTER the Grimm attack, Unnamed Ozma reincarnation takes a page out of his lady’s book and GOES on a walk, where he sees the world has CHANGED completely!

With LACKLUSTER architecture-

-enSLAVEment of the new Faunus race and WORST of all-

18:33 -PEOPLE HAD TO USE DUST INSTEAD OF MAGIC!

Blake:...why wasn’t my people’s early enslavement not saved for last? Like it was only the SECOND worst thing?

Jinn: Look I just put it in order of what he saw okay, gimme a break!

Turns out, only Ozma2 and a MYSTERIOUS woman known only as “The Witch” could do magic, WHERE SHE IS FOUND-

18:41 In this GHETTO ass shack! COME ON SALEM-you’re immortal, you seriously tryna tell me you don’t got time to make a nicer house?!

Ozma2 than logically assumes the witch is Salem and goes to see what she has become, AND IT IS REVEALED-

Ozma2:(OH NO SHE’S HOT!)

19:27 AND it turns out that both of them recognize each other-CAUSE THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE!

Salem and Ozma than tell each other all the CRAZY shenanigans that have been going down in their lives while hiding their SECRET backstories-WHILE THEY ALSO-

19:40 -FINALLY fix up that old shack! Fixed up the windows, got a deck table and chairs, re-varnished the wood, if THAT don’t help out property values I don’t know WHAT will!

Also during their convo Salem fearing Ozma would hate her, blamed the end of the world SOLELY on the gods...well...I mean TECHNICALLY it was, she raised only ONE small army against the gods, and instead of punishing JUST those humans they killed EVERYBAH-I feel she could be honest.

The days went by, Salem and Ozma enjoyed their happy lives, having logically an INFINITE amount of sex, until one day SALEM SAID(paraphrased)

20:18 

Salem: Okay hear me out, WHAT IF-we act like gods, and be the NEW AntlerJesus and Mauvisto?!

Ozma:...okay I am SO sure that won’t work but I am INSANELY attracted to you so LET’S DO IT!

21:07 SO it appears they live on as gods and nothing else crazy happe-

21:33...bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbby MAIDENS! THE FOUR MAIDENS WERE THE DAUGHTERS OF OZMA AND SALEM! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY god damned shit-THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING-probably, for all we know Oz gave four COMPLETELY DIFFERENT young girls magical powers. But enough about that-

21:38 LOOK AT THEM! LOOK AT HOW LOVING THEY LOOK! CURSE YOU ANTLER JESUS AND MAUVISTO-the world is FUCKED because you refused to let my new OTP be HAPPY!

But sadly, all good things must come to an end, as during their plans Ozma has second thoughts on their quest to reshape the world given the destruction they cause, which PROMPTS Oz-

22:02 -to start, with the maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan in the mirror (OH YEAH) and he’s asking him to chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaange his ways(COME ON CHANGE)!

But for realsies, he then remembers the great quest the god of light gave him-BUT THEN-

22:21 DAW-baby’s first use of the dark arts!

HRNGH-LOOK AT HER! LOOK AT HOW PROUD SHE IS OF HER BABY GIRL! DAMMIT SALEM-you’re supposed to be the evil Sorceress Supreme, you have NO business looking adorable!

SO-I guess they go their magic powers from their parents, I wander what else they go-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT IF-Oz’s daughters didn’t just inherit their magic...BUT ALSO-Oz’s CURSE to forever reincarnate across the Earth like he did?! THAT’S WHY THEIR CONNECTED TO THE FOUR RELICS-probably, like I said there’s still the possibility of the story still be being true-HELL-maybe the maiden spell merged the four girls souls with those of his daughters?

AFTER the adorablenes, Ozma FINALLY decides to be an honest husband for once and tells Salem of the four relics and the judgement day that would occur if they were ever brought together, which Salem basically responds with-

22:51 Salem: You know what?! Let’s take the relics and make our OWN human race, with BLACKJACK! AND HOOKERS! And you know what? FORGET THE HUMAN RACE! KILL ALL HUMANS!

Yes, I am now headcanoning Salem as witch Bender from now all on-TRY AND STOP ME!

This logically upsets Oz, so he decides to calmly and rationally talk with his wife-

...OR take the kids and run without telling her only to get caught, because LORD KNOWS he couldn’t just get a marriage counselor to talk about their problems...seriously, this was ye olden times, the concept probably wasn’t invented yet.

22:34And sadly, it appears this is where everything ended between Ozma and Salem-

23:42 LITERALLY EVEN-everything between them in the castle has been destroyed! INCLUDING-

...don’t...don’t make me make a joke about this sub-conscious...tis too sad.

The battle/divorce ends with Salem winning RIGHT before saying this-

23:58 “...we finally...had freedom.”

AND...there’s TWO ways to look at that. That either A.) With the knowledge of the god’s relics, they could do the same thing the god’s did but without their rules or the metaphorical outlook B.) They were free BEFORE Oz told her about the relics...because than the god’s power wouldn’t keep controlling their lives. The latter I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean but to me...I think that’s true.

Salem than finally takes out Ozma2-

-with a Super SMASH bros meme no less! Don’t lie, you know who you are Gifmakers, AND YOU DISGUST ME! PERISH IN FLAMES!

After this, Oz takes the break up PRETTY badly-

24:10 -going on sad graveyard walks-

24:17 Drinking near paintings of empty liquor bottles.

24:21 ULTIMATELY getting out of his funk when he reincarnates as a nice swarthy individual and a bad ass new cane!

Even finally starts dating again and settles down with this nice lady, WAY TO GET BACK ON THAT HORSE BUDDY! BUT-just like in real life, the evidence of his ex STILL haunted his life-

24:37 In the form of monster raids no less! That’s break-up aftermath for ya.

Oz than realizes he has to bury the ex(literally) and goes out to find the FOUR RELICS-

25:00 ...in his next life as a hipster for some reason! Cleh, he’s an immortal soul-symbiote, he has time. 

He seeks out knowledge first and asks her where the other relics are, what could they do, and how could he kill Salem(in that order)? The first two answers we don’t know...but the THIRD one one we do-

Jinn: You can’t.

And the episode ends-

-with Oscarpin giving himself a good sit in despair.

So...yeah...HOLY SHIT-there’s a lot to take away here! For ONE-its interesting noting how tragic a villain Salem was, and how Oz spent so much time avoiding his fate because he just wanted to be with the woman he loved. FURTHERMORE-its neat how Salem is now like, Lord Garmadon in that destructive impulses BURN through her veins...but also like Lord Garmadon, she was still able to love. Sadly though...her worse impulses got the best of her, and now she has nothing to do but move forward and Thanos the planet, because there is NO going back to the good old days.

I’m Yoshimickster, and this was Micksterecap, and I hope your lives are filled with joy and happiness, and that you don’t become the toys of fate. Thank you, and have a pleasant night.

Paypal                                     Ko-fi.

[t0m0kii]

FANFIC: The Christmas Party [Edd/Eddy]

And here we are! This is a special Christmas fanfic I’ve been working on since late November, and now that I’ve finally finished it, I’m posting it here. Even though my writing skills are sub-par, I hope you enjoy! ((Read below)) 

It was a slightly chilly Winter morning in Peach Creek. Even though Christmas wasn't going to be until a few days from then, the holiday spirit was still quite prominent. The only thing missing was the snow, but that didn't really matter. Alas, even with all the holiday merriment going around, school still hadn't gotten out yet. We move our focus over to the Ed Boys, who were talking on their way to school.

“What's even the point of going to school the day before Winter Break?” Eddy put his hands in his pockets in an attempt to shelter them from the morning chill. Alongside him walked one of his best friends, Edd (or “Double D”), who looked as if he was preparing to give a lecture.

“You may not believe it now, Eddy, but school is a crucial part of-”

“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before. At least we get out a few hours early today!” He interrupted, grinning. He looked back at his other best friend, Ed, who was busy chasing a tree squirrel.

“Surrender, creature of the netherworld,” Ed shouted at the squirrel. “ For you are surrounded!” As you could guess, this didn't faze the squirrel at all.

Double D's eyes widened as he quickly walked over to him. “Refrain from terrorizing nature, Ed!”

The squirrel quickly scampered into a nearby tree, disappearing from view. Ed frowned, facing downwards. “But he took Sheldon Jr., Double D!”

Eddy walked over, looking up into the tree.“Ha! Good riddance!” The reminder of Ed's decaying piece of cheese made him shudder. The stench on that thing was the stench of nightmares. However, Ed still looked sad about the fate of his cheese pal. Eddy patted his friend on the back. “Aw, relax, we'll find ya another one.”

This seemed to cheer Ed up. Upon seeing this, Double D smiled warmly and said, “That was very sweet of you, Eddy.”

“Y-yeah, I guess...” Hearing his friend say this made the shorter boy blush. This had been happening more and more often. What was it about the sock-headed boy that made him feel this way? I mean, it's not like he liked him or anything...Right?

Nevertheless, the three began walking again, and before they knew it, they had arrived.

When they walked in, they were greeted by the other neighborhood kids. Ever since the whole thing with his brother, Eddy was on good terms with everyone, even Kevin. Although he still wasn't quite on his level, Eddy considered himself “cool”, and when you're cool, you get invited to stuff, which is exactly what happened here.

As the three boys entered the room, Nazz approached them with a stack of envelopes. “Hey, dudes! I've got something for you.”

She picked up three envelopes out of the stack and handed them to the Eds.

“Telegram!” exclaimed Ed, returning to his usual antics.

“Nah, it's just an envelope, Ed, but whatsit for?” Eddy examined the small, pink envelope. Whatever this thing is for, he thought, boy, does it look girly.

“It's an invitation to my Christmas party tonight! Go ahead and open it up.”

The three opened their envelopes.

Inside was a tiny blue slip of paper with all of the party info on it. From what he could gather from the paper, it was basically just explaining that it was a party at 6:30 to celebrate Christmas and Winter Break and all that, and there'd be music, gift exchanging, blah blah...

It sounded sappy and boring, but at least there was gonna be free stuff!

“Well, I guess I'll see you dudes there!” With that last sentence, Nazz smiled and walked away, presumably to distribute invitations to everyone else.

Eddy turned toward his friends, grinning. “You hear that, boys? A Christmas party! There's always free stuff galore at Christmas parties!”

Double D carefully inserted the slip of paper back into his envelope and tucked it safely into his messenger bag. “Precisely, but it's an exchanging of gifts, which means that you have to get someone something, too!”

“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, guys.” said Ed, pointing to his teeth.

Eddy gave him a confused look. “You've already got those!”

“Ed's in the right mindset, though,” said Double D. “Christmas presents should be something one could keep forever and ever. A keepsake, if you will.” As he spoke, he had a faraway look in his eyes, as if he had some sort of idea forming in that smart head of his.

The shorter boy observed him as he talked. He almost looked cute.

...He didn't really just think that, did he?

Suddenly, the talking ceased. “Goodness me! My rambling has made us nearly late to class! Quickly, gentlemen, we must hustle!”

The three hurried to their homeroom class.

Math class was always boring, no matter what day it was.

Eddy looked up at the clock constantly. It seemed that time moved the absolute slowest when you needed it to move quickly. He figured that he now had a lot of free time since he had finished his homework.

As he sat there, waiting for class to end, he considered this time a good opportunity to observe his surroundings.

He looked straight ahead to the seat in front of him. There he saw Ed, who had fallen asleep. Double D was turned around, desperately trying to wake him up, but it was no use. Ed was out like a light. He couldn't help but smile at this amusing scene.

However, he began to think about things.

Ed fell asleep, which would normally cause him to get in trouble (if the teacher wasn't out of the room, that is). Even when this happened, Double D tried to wake him up, also risking getting himself in trouble for talking, just because he's that good of a friend.

Even though he wouldn't admit it, Eddy didn't know what he would do without him sometimes. However, ever since their journey to the amusement park to meet his brother, he had been starting to feel a lot of weird feelings. He knew it wasn't the type of feelings his brother had told him about, though. It felt like something different, something more meaningful; The type of feeling he got when he and Double D would touch hands by accident, or when Ed would joke about them liking eachother, or even the short moments where their faces would be inches apart.

The feeling felt familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was...

All of a sudden, the loud noise of the bell pierced through his thoughts, bringing him back into reality. At that moment, he sort of wished class was longer.

“Incoming air strike!” exclaimed Ed, who had been startled awake by the bell.

Double D began one of his lectures. “Honestly, Ed, you should really try to stay awake! Of course, I had attempted to awaken you, but I didn't succeed...”

“Ya might as well had been trying to wake up a rock, Double D.” Eddy joked.

“Did I turn into a butterfly?” asked Ed, smiling.

Double D giggled. “Not quite, Ed.”

On that note, the three boys walked out of the room to their next class.

About an hour or two later, it was lunchtime.

The three had already eaten their heavily processed cafeteria food (which was unsurprisingly disgusting), so they had time left to talk. Their conversation eventually shifted toward the subject of the Christmas party.

“Do you think there's gonna be scary movies?” asked Ed, looking eager.

Eddy laughed. “You ever seen a scary movie at a Christmas party?”

“I dunno, the mushy ones are pretty scary!” he replied.

While the two had been talking, Double D had decided to tidy up the space around him. “I do believe that the party will be quite enjoyable, but thinking of what sort of gifts to get is going to be challenging.”

“Ah, don't worry about it,” said Eddy. “Besides, we've got 'till 5 five o'clock.”

“You have a point,” he said. “Well, I'd best go prepare for the next class.”

The sock-headed boy stood up and hurried out of the room. Eddy couldn't help but think that he was planning something. After all, there was still ten minutes left of lunch!

Shrugging the idea off, he turned to Ed, who was messing around with a spoon. “Uh...Ed, can I ask ya somethin' real quick?”

The taller boy turned to face him, putting the spoon down. “Wait, let me guess: You want to know what happens in the last issue of 'Robot Rebel Ranch: The Comic Mini Series'. Welp, sorry, Eddy, I can't tell you!”

His eyes narrowed. “No, that ain't it. Besides, I've read that issue already!”

Ed grinned, but still remained focused. “What is it, then?”

He looked around to see if anyone was listening. When he was sure the coast was clear, he spoke again. “It's about Double D. He, uh, makes me feel weird. Like, every time I look at the guy, I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster or somethin'.”

Ed thought for a moment. After a second or two, he said, “I don't get it.”

Eddy began to question if he really knew what he was talking about. “I mean like that feeling you get when you go up and shoot back down, and your stomach feels all funny.” He made a motion with his hands of a rollercoaster going down. “And every time I think about him, I just start smilin' like an idiot. I dunno what's goin' on, and it's freakin' me out! So, uh, I wanted to ask if you knew...”

Suddenly, the biggest smile appeared on his friend's face. “Ooh, I knew it! Eddy is a smitten kitten in mittens!” he exclaimed.

Oh. So that's what that feeling was. “Y-you mean I...Like him?” The shorter boy was confused for a second until he finally spoke again. “Yeah, I guess I do.” Then again, it wasn't that bad of a feeling. He wouldn't mind going out with Double D. In fact, it'd probably be fun.

You could tell from a mile away that Ed was absolutely overjoyed. “Double D and Eddy, sitting in a tree,” he chanted a bit too loudly. “K-I-”

“Pipe down!” Eddy's face turned red. “He can't know about it! I bet if I told him, he'd be so grossed out that he'd never wanna talk to me ever again.”

Ed gave him an encouraging smile. “But I think he likes you, too, Eddy.”

“You kiddin' me?! He's got a whole line of chicks waitin' to date him! Why the heck would he wanna get with me?” He faced the ground. “I dunno, maybe I'm just weird...”

For a second, Ed was deep in thought. Suddenly, he said, “Hey, I've got an idea! You should get him a present and tell him that way!”

His eyes widened when he heard this brilliant idea. “Of course! It's so incredibly sappy, it just might work!” However, he realized that this might be a challenge. “But how the heck am I gonna do I do that?”

His friend shrugged. “Make him a sandwich?”

“Since when has-” Right as he was about to launch into a sermon of how stupid he thought that suggestion was, he was interrupted by another moment of clarity. “Wait, that's it! I'll just make him somethin' and he'll like it so much that he'll have to like me back! Ed, you're a genius!”

“No, I am Ed.” It seemed he was back to his dim-witted self.

Suddenly, the bell rang. The two boys, leaving the cafeteria, met Double D at the door.

Eddy raised an eyebrow, smiling a little bit. “Have you been standin' there waitin' on us the whole time, Sockhead?”

“N-no, I just happened to be standing here when you arrived!” He looked away, blushing. “Oh, no matter. It's nearly time for our last class of the day! We'd best hurry along.”

And so they did. All the while, Eddy began to think about what type of present to get his friend. After a few minutes of thinking, he had the perfect idea.

After their last class, school was finally over! The Eds moved through the hallways, grabbed their bookbags and headed out of the door. As they walked home, the neighborhood kids followed behind them.

“Yo, Eddy!” said Kevin, raising his fist toward the boy. Eddy raised his fist in return, colliding the two in a fist bump. “You guys are goin' to the party, right?”

“You bet!” The shorter boy replied. “It's gonna be super cool!”

Shortly after Kevin approached, Rolf appeared. “Rolf would agree more had he not heard that the terrifying Kanker dames were going to be there!”

When the name “Kanker” was uttered, it silenced everyone. Eddy's eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“He's right, man,” said Kevin. “We heard 'em talkin' about crashin' the party.”

This was the worst thing that could possibly happen. Of course, after the whole thing with Eddy's brother, the Kankers had stopped being so forceful with their affections, but they were still quite the bother sometimes.

“Oh, please,” said Double D. “If they did attend, heaven forbid, what's the worst trouble they could cause?”

“You think this is a game, brainy Ed-boy?” said Rolf, obviously highly distressed. “They are plotting as we speak!”

Kevin nodded. “Well, yeah, more or less. They didn't get into a whole lotta details, but they're definetely plannin' on doing something.” He shrugged. “I dunno, man, but if Nazz found out, she'd totally freak!”

“Ehh, they're probably makin' stuff up to scare us!” Eddy tried to act calmer than he actually was. “Don't sweat it, Kev. Everything'll be fine.”

“Because sweating is bad for your compulsion!” said Ed, raising his index finger in an attempt to act like Double D.

“Erm, I believe you mean 'complexion', Ed.” Double D replied.

Rolf looked somewhat calmer. “Anywho, I must be going now, as Wilfred has most likely gotten into the egg stash! Let us hope for the best, yes? Farewell!” He picked up his pace and walked briskly ahead.

“Hey, Rolf, wait up, man!” said Kevin. Before he went off, he looked back at the three Eds and said, “I'll see you guys later!” And with that final note, Kevin hopped on his bike and sped away.

Before they knew it, they had arrived back in the cul-de-sac.

Since Double D's house was the first house on the left, he was the first one to bid farewell. “I have a feeling this whole party endeavor is going to be quite thrilling!” he said as he walked toward his doorstep.

“Well, duh, Sockhead! It's a party! 'Course it's gonna be fun!” Eddy smiled to himself. His friend had no idea what he was planning. Speaking of the plan, it was almost time to follow through with it.

The two waved goodbye to their friend, and once he was out of earshot, Eddy explained his plan to Ed, who appeared to still be very happy about the whole situation.

“So I'm gonna need some cardboard,” he said, counting the items, “Some red paint, maybe a fancy lookin' ribbon or somethin', an' some scissors. You can get that stuff, right?” He looked up at his taller friend, who nodded enthusiastically in response. “Well, then, whaddya waitin' for? Get movin'!”

Ed sprung into action, and was hot on the trail in a flash. Eddy watched in awe as his friend scuttled around the cul-de-sac, scooping up each item he needed one by one. Say, where did he get all that stuff from, anyway? Oh, no matter. Once Ed was finally finished gathering all the items, he brought them back to his friend. “Special delivery!” he said, beaming. Upon looking at what he had brought, Eddy observed that it was, in fact, a pile of all of the things he had listed; a few pieces of cardboard, a bucket of red paint, a few strands of ribbon, and a green pair of scissors.

“Yeah, this oughta do it.” He looked down at the pile, quite pleased. “Well, I'm gonna bring it back to my place, take a nap and worry about it in a few hours.” he said, picking up the items. Although, he really didn't feel all that tired.

“Dream of cauliflourication, Eddy!” said Ed, clearly satisfied with himself for doing such a good job.

“It's californic-” He was about to correct him, but he realized that doing it would be pretty pointless. “Ah, whatever. See ya later, Ed.”

The two parted ways, and once the items reached his room, Eddy set the items down on his bed and quickly got busy.

He wasn't really certain what he was getting himself into, but he hoped that it would work.

We fast forward a few hours later.

The present was finally finished. Eddy took a second to sit back and admire his work. He was almost certain that Double D was going to love it. He looked down at his watch.

It was 6:28.

“Shoot!” He put the present in its small, painted cardboard box, sprung from his bed, grabbed his coat and rushed outside.

He was greeted by a gentle breeze, and, to his surprise, his friends. He hurriedly put the present in his coat and turned to face them.

Double D's eyes lit up when he saw him. “Goodness, Eddy, we've been waiting for you! I was beginning to ponder whether you were attending or not.” Eventually, his eyes moved down to the box in his hands. “Oh, what's that you have?”

Embarrassed, he put the box into his coat so it couldn't be seen. “Aw, forget about it, Sockhead. Anyways, let's get goin'! The party's gonna start soon!”

They walked down to Nazz's house and knocked on the door.

Once the door had opened, Nazz greeted them and let them inside.

Eddy observed the party. It seemed very Christmas-like, as the lights were turned slightly down low, and there was a tree and some lights, but the other kids talking and messing around drowned out the sound of the Christmas music playing in the background. There was a table with presents on it, and a table with assorted snack foods. There was even a bowl of gravy for Ed.

As his friends had their backs turned toward something in the distance, Eddy discreetly strolled over to the present table. He took the present out of his coat and placed it neatly on top of another box. It looked tiny compared to the others, but that didn't bother him. After setting the box down, he went back to where his friends were.

He smiled to himself. So far, things were going all according to plan. Not a Kanker in sight!

Until there was a noise coming from the entrance, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Crap, he thought. I jinxed it,

In walked the three Kankers, looking the same as they always did, most likely thinking of several ways to wreak havoc. The room emptied in an instant as the other kids escaped out of the back door, leaving only the Eds.

“Hey! Where the heck's everyone goin'?! Come back, guys!” Eddy attempted to bring everyone back, as the absolute last thing he needed was to be in a room with the Kankers in such an important time. Sadly, it was no use. Accepting defeat, he turned to face the three.

“Wow!” said May, perceiving the scene. “There's some sort of party goin' on!”

“No duh, stupid!” retorted Marie. “It's a Christmas party.”

“And we weren't even invited!” Upon these words being said, the most fearsome (to Eddy, at least) Kanker out of them all moved into view. He couldn't see her eyes, but he knew they were looking straight at him from the start. She flashed a smirk in his direction. “Well, well, well, look who it is, girls!” She looked at the other two sisters, who were practically exploding with glee at the sight of their “boyfriends”.

Ed moved behind Double D. Even he was frightened.

“Come on, let's get 'em! It ain't Christmas without a bit of love!” said Marie, giggling. The girls were just about to go running at the boys until they were halted by their oldest sister. “We ain't here for them, remember? We're nabbin' the presents and getting' the heck out! Right?”

The two girls nodded begrudingly, and they began a brisk walk over to the table.

Eddy's eyes darted toward the present table. Double D's gift was still sitting at the very top, and if he didn't figure out a way to get it, fast, it would be taken by the Kankers and most likely ruined.

There wasn't any time for an elaborate plan. He had to make up something quick.

Right as he was about to think of a plan, he turned back toward the table. The Kankers had already picked up all the presents and started to amble toward the exit. As May was following the others, one of the boxes she was carrying fell down.

As she was trying to pick it up, Marie looked back at her with narrowing eyes. “Just leave it, May. It's too tiny for it to have anything good inside of it.” At first, May looked disappointed by this, but in the end, she just left it.

“Thanks for the loot!” said Lee, launching the other two into a chorus of laughter. The laughter made an echo into the night sky as they got farther away.

Once they were gone, Eddy looked down to see which box May had dropped.

It was Double D's present, surprisingly still in good shape. He snatched it up and swiftly put it inside his jacket.

The back door opened, and the neighborhood kids returned. Upon seeing what the Kankers had done, Nazz burst into tears. Kevin was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't doing much. “I've been planning this party since late November, Kev! How could it have gone so wrong?” she said in-between sobs.

“Cool it, babe! It's not that bad. 'Least we still got the snacks.” Kevin pointed over to the before mentioned object, which was, thankfully, still intact.

She wiped her tears, sniffing occasionally. “Y-yeah, you're right. I guess it's not all totally wrecked.” She got up and got right back to merrymaking with the others. This went on for about another half hour.

The Eds, who had observed all of the previous mess, turned to eachother and began to talk.

“Poor Nazz,” said Double D. “It's so very unfortunate that such a thing would occur.”

“Yeah,” agreed Eddy. “At least the party's still goin'.” He saw this as his chance. He motioned for Ed to go somewhere else.

“Aye aye, captain!” said Ed, saluting and disappearing into the crowd. Once he was gone, Eddy and Double D were alone.

“Well...It is quite a nice party. Wouldn't you say so?” said the taller boy, looking down at his friend.

Eddy could barely hear him over the sound of his racing heart and the cheesy Christmas music. “Y-yeah, sure. It stinks about the gift exchange thing, though.”

Upon hearing this, the other sighed and said, “Ah, yes. It would've been nice to receive a Christmas gift. Mother and Father often forget, so I rarely get any.”

This was the time. He was going to make his big move. “Well, uh, I've got somethin' for ya.”

His friend perked up, his eyes glowing. “Really?”

“Yeah, but you've gotta shut your eyes, okay?”

A little bit of the glow in his eyes vanished as he glared at the shorter boy. “Oh, come now, Eddy.”

“Just shut 'em, Sockhead! And ya better not peek!”

Double D emitted a sigh of surrender, and brought his hands up to his eyes. Eddy looked up to make sure he was really shutting them, and when he thought the coast was clear, he brought the small box out of his coat.

“Alright, and...Open 'em!”

Double D lowered his hands to see a red and green box with the words “To: Double D, From: Eddy” painted sloppily onto it. He took the box into his hands, then looking at Eddy.

“Well, whaddya waitin' for, an invitation?” he said, blushing. “Take it outta the box!”

The lid of the box was removed, exposing the item inside.

It was a three-dimensional piece of cardboard in the shape of a heart. It was painted red and laced with a crimson ribbon, with the words “For Double D” on it written in permanent marker. Eddy watched anxiously as his friend's expression changed from a look of curiousity to a look of mild confusion.

“W-what is it?” said Double D, his voice quavering.

Eddy looked up at him humbly, gazing into his eyes. “It's my heart,” he said. “And it's yours now.”

It seemed like a wave of astonishment had washed over him. Since he wasn't speaking, Eddy decided it would be best if he went into detail.

“Look, uh, I like ya a lot. More than a friend should. Y'know, without ya, I probably would've stayed a dumb jerk forever. I really do owe a lot to ya. And...It feels like...Without ya, I probably wouldn't be anything.”

There was silence. He felt like Double D was waiting for him to say a certain thing.

“Alright, look, ya big egghead,” he began. “I've liked ya for a while. A long time, actually. I don't mean 'like' like friends, I mean 'like' like...Y'know! So I love ya and stuff! There, I said it! Sheesh...” He crossed his arms, then looked in another direction, blushing.

Double D was as still as a statue, holding Eddy's heart with shaking hands. There was nothing but silence until he finally smiled and said, “I've been waiting for you to say that.”

Eddy turned to face him. “D-does that mean that you like me back?”

He nodded. “Your feelings of love and affection are mutual!”

“If ya could say it in English, that would be nice.” said Eddy, totally confused by the boy's extensive vocabulary.

Double D sighed. “I mean to say that I love you as well.”

He smiled. “Oh. That's good.”

Suddenly, little white flakes appeared in the window. They seemed to be dropping slowly from the sky.

“Lookit, guys! It's snowing!” said Ed, reappearing.

The whole room erupted into a symphony of cheers. The kids rushed outside and began to frolic in the newly discovered snow.

Eddy looked at Double D. “Do ya wanna, um...Go out?”

“I suppose we should,” he replied, giggling. “Literally.”

And so, the two walked outside to join the others, hand in hand.

And that was the fic! I might post my writing stuff more often, so if you wanna see that, or if you liked this one, just let me know! 

[blackhatcannons]

Casual Black Hatcannons

The people have decided. The list is long (so it’s under the read more.) Happy 324 <3

Prior to arriving on Earth, Black Hat didn’t need sleep. He can still go much longer than a normal human without rest, but his mood can become fouler and fouler without the occasional break from having to do so much stuff/be around other annoying people

He’s able to have dreams (even though they’re often weird and narcissistic), and will sometimes spend time sleeping just to see if his subconscious can generate any ideas for new inventions to sell

Honestly as long as he gets some time to just sit down and not have to do anything (or even keep up his normal physical form) he’s basically asleep. For eldritch abominations like himself, it basically means letting his consciousness wander freely as he shuts down any physical functions. His form tends to get a little... less human-ish looser, when this happens

Black Hat doesn’t brush his teeth. (or floss.) First of all, his body is self-cleansing, so he normally doesn’t have to worry about showering and hygiene in general. Particles of dirt and blood and other toxins are normally absorbed through his clothes and skin, and then broken down inside his body.

Not to mention he has semi-acidic saliva. It’s not extremely corrosive, but it works well enough to keep his mouth clean between meals.

That being said, he’s lost teeth before. Chipped them, broken them, misplaced them– It’s fine though. he has teeth like a shark. literally, there are so many of them holy shit. They grow in rows and the new ones can replace the old ones very quickly.

When he transitioned from existing in a multidimensional plane to a less-multidimensional one, he never really realized that human bodies and clothes were two separate things. When he first designed his physical shape, he made his suit out of, well, the same material as himself. The clothes are just as sentient and sensory as the rest of him, and if someone touched his coat he’d turn around and be like “what.” It’s like having really snazzy looking skin that doesn’t have to be fully attached to your body and can also start growing eyes and teeth whenever you’re mad.

He never really got a full course in human anatomy, but it’s close enough, he thinks..? it’s just missing like all the organs. and a soul.

As a consequence of not knowing what the fuck a human is, BH also doesn’t know what the fuck gender is. He just sees humans, and humans are fucking morons so honestly who cares what they call themselves. it’s just easier to go with whatever pronouns they say than actually try to guess their genders (congrats BH on not being transphobic)

The old flash shorts (pilot version) of Black Hat was actually BH’s first attempt at making a human form. He later reshaped himself to “be more edgy”: becoming taller, narrowing his face, changing the design on his hat, etc.

After a hard day’s work, Black Hat can sometimes be so lazy that he wears his coat (and hat) to bed. Won’t even take off his shoes. Nasty. (Ofc he has his edgy villain pajamas he could change into but, eh. too much time.)

He can still take his clothes off, but they’ll eventually dissipate if separated from him long enough. It’s easier for him to just change the appearance of whatever his clothes (skin) currently looks like. He can still feel sensations through them, but it becomes harder to categorize them as “good” or “bad” the further away from his nerves they get

BH used to eat food like an amoeba. (He normally eats as a way to regain mass if he’s injured or needs to shapeshift.) But when encountering “prey”, his physical form kind of turns to a fleshy goop of teeth and eyes and blades that encircle whatever food it is; then he reforms. He only stopped eating like that bc it wasn’t classy enough. Utensils and etiquette are crucial for fancy villains- only dinner parties

BH likes to stay unnaturally light though. more mass makes him slow and he doesn’t like it when people are faster than him. He can also rapidly change the density of the particles in his body, mostly for fighting. It’s hilarious to see a hero break their hand trying to punch you.

BH’s body temperature depends on the environment he’s in. In the summer, he absorbs light really easily and is therefore around 90 (it’s the closest he can naturally get to human-temperatured without purposely changing it), while in the winter, he can be 30 or 45 degrees. Normally he will be 70 degrees (around room-temp), which still means his body is unnaturally cool. He can modify that as well though, and can decide if he wants to basically be a walking black ice cube or the temperature of hell’s oven. BH can’t feel temperature though, so it doesn’t really matter to him.

Those claws on his hands are a fucking pain. He can’t use a smartphone bc he doesn’t have fingerprints and his skin can’t conduct electricity. So he uses a fucking Nokia flip phone or a Blackberry, anything with buttons he can actually press

then again he sucks at technology in general, he knows more about gramophones than iPhones. Flug has been teaching him, but it’s a ...work in progress….. (”FLUG I BROKE IT AGAIN.” “Boss you shouldn’t play Flappy Bird if you have claws that can pierce through phones....”)

His hands are kind of like cat paws, the claws will normally slip out if he’s angry (99% of the time) or if he’s actually relaxed enough to just let them go (1%– you may now picture BH kneading a blanket and accidentally fucking eviscerating it)

His toes are just like his fingers, but he can’t afford to let them slip out. Otherwise he’ll pierce through his shoes and then it’s a pain to get them unstuck; he hates it.

(He let Dementia paint his nails ONCE (it was her birthday) and still hasn’t taken it off tbh. Ofc he can never tell her that.)

Once he caught Flug watching “How It’s Made” and he was about to go on one of his angry lectures again. but then he got distracted bc “wait, THAT’S HOW THEY MAKE FILIGREE GLASS?”

BH actually sits down next to Flug on the couch and they just silently watch it together. “How… how the hell do they get that all the same diameter?” “It’s really incredible, boss.” “They just, change the shape like that?? What the fuck???”

BH doesn’t speak of it again. Flug forgets about it until he walks into his office to deliver a report and hears something about “now they set the haggis out on cooking trays, and pierce each casing so–”

Black Hat thROWS HIS COMPUTER OUT THE WINDOW. TRYING TO ACT CHILL.

“Boss were you watching–” “AH YES FLUG HELLO WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU.” “Boss, it’s okay. I mean, the haggis episode is disgusting, but i really don’t care. here’s the report... Should I buy a new computer?” “……..yes.”

when he’s not watching How It’s Made he watches cheesy telenovelas WHAT

Don’t you dare fucking tell me these guys dont all watch telenovelas together on the couch with a fuckload of snacks as they all eagerly await the next moment BH loses his shit

“JUAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HOW COULD YOU BETRAY MARIA LIKE THAT?!?! That man is the most evil character i’ve ever seen, take notes 5.0.5″ “Boss... you’re crying” “WHAT NO I’M NOT HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT WHAT THE FUCK”

BH’s favorite genre of music is classical (you know. like a nerd.) Apart from that, he’s also tried listening to screamo and death metal. While he enjoys screaming in general, he’s not really a fan of the genre, but he can appreciate the effort

in his spare time he probably sips at a glass of wine and reads his fucking quarterly profit reports in a comfy chair by the extremely scary-looking fireplace haha. He likes the sound of thunderstorms as well, mostly bc of the villain aesthetic he’s gotta keep.

Speaking of the villain aesthetic, he used to have a cat. A nice, fluffy white one that he could have sit on his lap while he sat in his desk chair facing the window, just so he could do the thing where he turns around like the most cliche villain ever

unfortunately, he can’t keep that act up for more than a week. by then the cat really looks like it’s living up to the name “Appetizer” and, well. you can tell what happens next. (5.0.5 cries, that’s what. BH coughs up white fur later.)

BH’s room is, like the entire house, very edgy. he has a massive 4-poster canopy bed, various sculptures and paintings of himself, and an enormous walk-in closet. Why does he have a closet if his clothes are part of his body, you ask?

The only reason his room looks so clean is because he hides all his personal belongings in the closet. Confiscated materials? Closet. Assorted skeletons? Closet. His secret collection of scented candles? Closet.

The girl scout cookie hoard goes under his bed. there’s also always a pentagram or two on the floor, some with notes saying “5.0.5 DO NOT ERASE”

One of the huge marble busts of himself has a keypad hidden under the hat, with a code needed to open his vault. but that’s only one half of the key; he also needs to perform a small ritual in his demonic circle to fully unlock the vault and disable the alarms on it. then he can enter the secret room where he stores all his money

(Sometimes he’ll just go inside it and roll around in his piles of cash for fun. it’s very therapeutic)

all those pictures of himself BH either had commissioned or gotten as gifts. I’d say he painted the all himself, but he’s not patient enough to actually spend time getting better at art. instead he just hires artists to make his vain af portraits.

He can also see through any reproduction of himself, including sculptures, shitty post-it note drawings, and yes, fan art. (So don’t call your fanart bad, or else BH will be offended you called him ugly!! he doesn’t care what it looks like, he’s vain enough to accept any art of himself no matter what it is haha)

Once Flug got him a metal paperweight as a gift. Jokingly, he told BH it was a stress ball.

BH fucking crushes it in one hand

(“Huh, some stress ball.” “B-boss that was made out of tungsten!!” “So? You said it was a stress ball!” “That’s stronger than steel!….Boss are you okay”)

Black Hat actually suffers some pretty bad migraines. he’s not supposed to exist in such a “low-res” plane of reality. Most of his kind exist in at least five dimensions, and it’s kind of hard to have made the switch over without losing some of his power. Shunting your consciousness between planes is kind of painful, and BH frequently receives physical reminders that he really should not have done that.

The migraines are painful and make BH crabby for the rest of the day; "dimension sickness" is awful for his mood. Flug has been trying to work on a cure to help him, but it's hard when the only materials you can work with are eldritch blood, flesh samples, and any liquid void goop BH coughs up.

Black Hat actually would work with a hero, only if it was to stop a villain that was a greater danger to his company. He’ll go against his Villainous principles to keep his business secure from any outside threat. Anyone targeting his corporation and friends employees is an enemy, and enemies will be destroyed.

BH has no idea how to: change lightbulbs, replace smoke detector batteries, use a microwave, or clean literally anything. (In that sense, 5.0.5 is more competent than him.)

Surprisingly, Black Hat actually files tax reports for his company. He believes that despite being a governmental institution, the IRS is "the most evil organization to ever exist" and appreciates how much pain it inflicts upon people each year.

Black Hat is a master of paperwork and legal documents. He could have probably been more successful as a lawyer than an arms dealer tbh. Suing people copying his patents is actually a breeze for him, and he doesn't pull any fucking punches when it comes to penalties for reselling his property

This also explains why he hasn’t been arrested yet. Can’t prove that his corporation isn’t just a hat factory when all the evidence, tax reports, and products lean towards that conclusion

BH can't cook for shit. That doesn't mean he can't enjoy human food though (even if he doesn't need it). Some of his favorite meals are humans, raw meat, rare steak (only when 5.0.5 cooks), black caviar, black truffles, black food in general, live mammals, that one cake Flug bakes sometimes, any red wine that actually tastes good, souls, foie gras, expensive food, candy (when taken from babies), ice cream (when taken from 5.0.5), and anything that really fits his dark aesthetic.

Black Hat doesn't really have a birthday. But that doesn't stop Dementia, 5.0.5, and Flug from celebrating. They use BH’s “entering the human world” anniversary as his birthday, and celebrate despite all BH's protests to not  (he secretly enjoys it, the vain bastard.

Flug normally works on an invention for him in his free time, little things that he thinks BH would find useful in his daily life. Like filing cabinets with auto-organizational systems, a voicemail system that can better filter out his calls, ballpoint pens that can write in blood. Stuff like that

Dementia makes coupon books. Things like "one free 'go away'” or “Shut up and be quiet for five minutes” or “stop destroying things for an hour.” BH always runs out of these within the month.

5.0.5 gets him cute things like mugs that say "world's best boss" and ties with nice patterns on them. BH throws a hissy fit about them, but it doesn’t stop him from wearing them

And finally, at the end of the day, even though his life is full of chaos and disasters, BH really doesn’t regret leaving his original plane of reality for this one. It’s weird and painful and he’s surrounded by annoying people, but he’d do it all again if he had to......... foR THE MONEY, OF COURSE. YEAH. BECAUSE HE’S A VILLAIN. GOTTA SELL THOSE DEVICES AND ELIMINATE HEROES RIGHT. YUP. THAT’S IT, THAT’S WHY HE STICKS AROUND WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S BC OF HIS FRI-- EMPLOYEES, WHAT? fucking wild

[imaginaryculturepress-blog]

TFTP: Shadow of You’s “Venom” Launch Show

In which we welcome the new year and Shadow of You welcomes their new single.

Hi, hello, and welcome!

My name is Skyler and yES I'M ALIVE STOP CELEBRATING MY DEATH. Yes, I stopped posting the Christmas spectacular (more like the Christmas fail), updating, and like, breathing, but I'm here! I'm alive! Sorry to ruin the festivities.

Anywho, let's skip all that stuff that I was supposed to post and fast forward to January 6th, 2018. T'was the first week of the new year and I was already failing my resolutions and wanting to shoot myself, when I remembered that that evening I was photographing Shadow of You's single launch.

It was over two months ago and I honestly don't remember much of what was happening - besides the fact that I had begun writing a novel and stalking my neighbours - so let's just fast forward to Grill'd:

Leederville's weather was being its usual shy self, avoiding the promotion of any sinister moods, just casually chillin' in the sky, when we found ourselves awaiting the burger chain's classic vegan burger. Okay, that's a lie: we're actually those weirdos who "customise" their orders, so it's the Veggie Vitality with the vegan meat swapped for a giant freaken mushroom. It's amazing and expensive as fuck. Use the promo code IMNOTSPONSORED to get a discount. (Disclaimer: don't sue me, Grill'd. It's just a joke. I'm not allowed to offer discounts. False advertising. Don't kill me.) Y'know what isn't a joke, though? The fact that those mushroom burgers are the best thing ever. Also the fact that I'd really like a sponsorship. And the fact that someone should seriously start a petition to get Imaginary Culture Press sponsored.

But I digress.

I would honestly do some random challenge thing where they'd give me generously discounted vegan burgers for a year if I reviewed all their WA locations. It'd be a road trip solely based on mushroom burgers and I can't think of a better thing to add to my bucket list.

But again, I digress; we're here to review the single launch, not beg a company for food.

So after that lovely meal, we headed to HQ, just in time for Curbside Drive.

The dudes had it rough; their crowd was initially two people, myself included. But they persisted, playing on and pulling a camera stunt... or five. At one point, I forgot what depth perception was and thought I'd get my D750 knocked out by a guitar. Evidence that I hadn't shot anything for a while.

Anywho, by the end of their set, a few people bothered to show up. That was nice of them. Late, but there nonetheless. Supportive regardless. I wish school was like that; y'know, just show up when you want and be like "Yeah awesome five-minute lecture, teach'. See ya next week... after the test..." With free entry, though.

Intermission. More people turned up. A lot more people.

Up next were the lovely lads in High Rise Estate. Their set was strong, with each member demonstrating passion and skill. They did really damn well and actually had an audience! (Side note: not the band's fault about late audiences. If everyone just hurried up with their Grill'd ventures and arrived on time, we wouldn't have these issues.) For real, though, their musicianship was wonderful and I'd love to shoot their future sets.

Intermission.

Gone by Morning are those super nice dudes who you don't exactly expect to go full on rip-your-face-off hardcore, but then they do and you're just there like, "I didn't know this would happen but I'm glad it did." Because, let's face it: they're bloody incredible. Their performance was wonderful and they've definitely got talent. They're certainly on my list of "bands that'll definite

Intermission.

Name a super chill band with immense talent and 11/10 performances. ShadowShow seems to fit this description perfectly. They're this calm, soulful group who manages to incorporate not-so-calm elements every now and again and I'm 182% there for it. They had the audience mesmerised and played exceptionally well, and it kind of made it weird to be the awkward photographer who runs around but it's fINE. There's also like three of them in the band, but they have this ability to make it seem as though there's a whole bunch of musicians just... music-ing... y'all know what I mean.

Their aesthetic is this mix of Tumblr and Reddit with a hint of 4Chan... if that makes sense... anyway, I freaken love their music and I'm sure you would, too. So check 'em out.

Intermission.

You know those bands that you think you're ready for, then they come onstage and you're as shook as that time Shane Dawson posted a conspiracy trailer and took a two week break? Yeah, Roses for Ghosts are one of those bands. They're also one of those few bands that give Those Who Dream a run for their money; after all, their singer rolls on the ground, in the middle of the crowd, looking like a student during the end-of-year exams. RFG move around more in twenty minutes than I do in a month, their instrumentals are phenomenal, and their stage presence is not to be underestimated.

I cannot think of anything negative about their performance, except the classic "it could've been longer". But that line is far too stereotypical and makes me want to throw a brick at myself, so let's just say they were freaken awesome.

Intermission.

Shadow of You didn't hold back. They got up onstage, smoke machines in full swing and the whole crowd engaging with them. Hey, speaking of smoke machines... guess which idiotic photographer and their precious D750 managed to lean over the operating smoke machines and nearly die? Three times? Yep, me. I should apologise to my camera.

Anyway, as I chocked on red-lit smoke and tried not to die, Shadow of You were having the time of their lives, ensuring the audience were having the time of their lives. If that made sense... Regardless, they did really freaken well and were soon playing a cover of Set It Off's "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again: any band that covers Set It Off is amazing. And it wasn't one of those crappy covers that manifest YouTube searches, it was actually marvellous.

Before we knew it, the show was over and [insert camera name here] was pissed off at me for getting it caught up in the smoke.

And... that was that. Up next: Hasmatt at HQ.

MUSICAL SUMMARY:

Curbside Drive: deserved better/5

High Rise Estate: talent/5

Gone By Morning: didn't expect this but I'm here for it/5

ShadowShow: super chill vibes/5

Roses for Ghosts: yOU'RE LATE TO WORK, MATE/5

Shadow of You: yes. just yes./5

PHOTOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY:

Lenses: really cool and deserve more recognition/5 Camera: the only reason I haven’t off’d myself yet/5 Lighting: red. extremely red./5 Editing: underestimated/5 My sanity: aaaHHHHHHHHHHHHNO/5

Do yourselves a favour and check out all the aforementioned bands:

Curbside Drive

High Rise Estate

Gone by Morning

ShadowShow

Roses for Ghosts

Shadow of You

Live long and headbang,

xx-Skyler Slate

[theleftoverurl]

So let’s recap the past couple of days because I haven’t for a while I suppose haha.

Had a marathon convo with Nemoss that went from 9am on Monday to 8am on Tuesday rip and because of that I’m currently operating on 1h sleep but I haven’t really felt very tired yet and I think mostly I’m okay, surprisingly.

So this week is the start of like hell study week jam all the notes into your brain type thing but for some reason I don’t feel particularly stressed about it. I have 112 pages of notes to learn so I’m hoping that the stress kicks in soon. I spent most of Monday morning killing time by playing on my phone and pretending to study. I made a study plan and that’s it.

Then at 1pm I got ready for hospy, grabbed a Turkish melt (yom) and found Kate and friends in Dino. They were going to Coog cos it was pretty hot so I waited for them to get ready and walked with them half the way so I could go to hospy. Time to do my SOCA! I was sort of nervous because I it’s a catchup SOCA to make up for the fact that I fucked up the Effective Communications cap so I felt like I had to make it count but didn’t want to be nervous because I felt that would affect my communication with the patient? I like did a quick recap of the history via Google and then met George my assessor. He was super nice and we went to the cardio ward to do it. The first two patients were busy and I almost had to interview a prisoner (which I was not ready to do lol) but luckily the prisoner was asleep. He was with two policemen and I was made really uncomfortable because as a joke when we asked if we could interview him one of the policemen offered to kick him awake and then when he saw our like shocked faces was like “I was joking” quickly and then like laughed but I felt it was awkward because being mean to a sick patient, prisoner or not is kinda rude? Anyway I had the best luck because I ended up interviewing a patient who was a retired nurse so she like knew what I was trying to ask with the history and could fill in gaps when I forgot to ask about things with useful information and she was super friendly so rapport was good. It was probably the most perfect history I’ve ever done, like structure good and everything and it was definitely what I needed to like boost my confidence about the whole situation and remember why I wanna do med and stuff. George was pretty impressed too so I P+-sed my way through the assessment lol. He did say I should’ve been more like relevant with my questions about presenting complaint though, because she was in for breathlessness and I didn’t pick up that that’s a sign of heart failure so didn’t really ask about related symptoms to heart failure. But overall, it was a good history and I was proud of it.

Then I headed up to Edmund Blackett to attend my actual hospital session. We had this nice girl called Emily running the session and she took us to this patient who had serious scoliosis. It was good to practice the hand exam with my newfound confidence and I feel like I really got a lot out of the whole thing. Hei Wai’s history was a bit stilted but it was actually quite good and just the whole thing was good because it’s renewed my confidence for the OSCEs kind of at a good time I feel.

Then I rushed back to college to borrow a charger off Hamish because mine broke and grab Rid’s textbook before tutoring. Tutoring was pretty fun we were doing polynomial division which is fun to like go through the process. Me and Rid both made a stupid mistake with one of the questions and I got so confused lol but overall it was a really good lesson and I really am feeling the bond between myself and all my kids which is just so hard when I think about dropping them next year.

Then on a whim when I got back I thought I’d study on Floor 7 for some company to see if any of my friends were around. It was windy af but stinking hot and Max was holed away in the stuffy stuffy study room but I joined him for like 30min of studs before STUVAC supper! Because it’s official uni study week, Dino feeds us like supper for Mon-Fri this week and J&D do free coffees and honestly it was so lit. Brownies and fresh fruit (for once) and I ripped my undies by deciding I’d drink a large mocha. I knew the coffee would fuck me up but I was just excited about free coffee and toasties and ham and I was talking to Nemo anyway so figured I wouldn’t be like up and insomniac alone. Kate and Vron were there and we actually chilled at supper for a bit because Kate’s finished for the year so she’s so calm and like chill now – like it’s actually a bit freaky how noticeable the difference is when she doesn’t have a single stress cos uni’s over for her. Vron was saying how she needs to sell her clothes cos she’s so poor and I wanted her like nice conservative clothes for hospy so I was like YASSS I’ll come to your room and look.

So we went to hers and I put aside a potential buy pile and she’s gonna bring up more clothes for me to browse next time she comes back from Tamworth. Then we marched up to Kate’s room so I could relieve her of some clothes. I don’t even need more clothes I have plenty I just wanted to cheaply boost my wardrobe and chill with the two of them and procrastinate I reckon. Linley and Hadeel and Nicky G and Claudia joined us in Kate’s room eventually and it was like a whole party!

Eventually we drifted to the commo and I did some actual work but it was getting pretty late by now so I only got through a couple of lectures. Also my computer just blinked out and died and I freaked the fuck out inside a little bit and had to make my notes off Edward Rose’s notes (which I actually think I may prefer doing now anyway lol) but yeah so it took a bit longer. And so I was texting Nemoss about euthanasia ethics because I wanted to show off my tute and I can’t believe he doesn’t like ethics and philosophy cos I feel like we talk that sorta stuff all the time and I was talking just generally to Max and Claudia and Nick and it was such a good time and then we drifted to Claudia’s room and suddenly it was 3am and we were talking some serious shit about annoying people at college (which was really funny because we all agree but can never say) and about how state laws are stupid and some should be federal etc. and then suddenly it was 3:30am and Clauds had fallen asleep with the light on so we thought we should vacate her room and everyone decided to go to bed.

I was still riding my coffee high and had Nemoss so headed back to my floor and omg Riley had vomited all down the corridor. It smelt terrible and he must’ve vomited like 3x down the corridor at least because it reeked and like in a patchy kinda way too. And then I see Riley and I swear I have never seen someone look so fucked in his life he was white as a ghost his eyes were starey and red and he was shirtless holding his shirt in a crumple and there were literally drips of vom dripping off his shirt-ball onto the floor in front of the bathroom. It was disgusting. And he stared at me blankly and then was like ‘Georgia’ and I was like gonna spew from the smell and I was sleep-deprived and like I don’t really like Riley and I was just like rip rip rip I’m gonna bed so I left him to deal with his shit.

His vom was so strong I could smell it from inside my room with the door closed so it was a huge rip. Anyway by then it was getting kinda late to sleep because I had to get up early to meet corky for brekky so I thought I’d just rough it and stay up and like watch my caffeine doses and like crash sometime tomorrow so I was up chilling with Nemoss by phone till 8am when I crashed for an hour.

Corky woke me up by texting me 40min later to see if I was awake to get ready to go to brekky and she’d even researched the bus I had to take and everything I was like wtf. So I dragged myself outta bed and had to shower on the 4th floor because the 5th floor still reeked like shit and I wasn’t entering that bathroom if my life depended on it. 4th floor water pressure is probably the worst in all of college, I discovered, so after an unsatisfactory shower I grabbed my wallet dumped mascara on and dragged myself on a bus to Centennial park.

Queen’s Park Shed was where we ate and it was actually like very small and quaint, not at all what I expected for some reason but it was nice and had just like chill picnic in the park vibes. Corky and I had granola with poached pear and berries and it was like clearly overpriced for $12 for like a bit of muesli, yoghurt and sparse berries but it was healthy, filling and yummy so oh well. I also medicated with a coffee and I reckon that’s why I’ve made it so far tbh. Corky and I had good chats because I haven’t seen her in ages and she was like not as stressed about uni work as usual because she’d purposely like written time off study so we could hang out. It was really really good to catch up and we talked from 10am to 2:30pm in our procrastination type catchup and it was so good we probs would’ve kept talking except I had to get to class by 3 lol.

SG was boring af we watched 2 videos on like bereavement and palliative care. The first was just an explanation of palliative care and the second was following the life of this irish man who had a large stomach sarcoma and was going to die. It was quite emotional but there wasn’t much like discussion on it and as soon as the vids were over we were pretty much allowed to leave. I was so bored and like not coping (but not tired yet, weird) so I let Kuheli like read texts on my phone and it was kind of weird breaching my own privacy like that but at the same time not really caring because I’m just at that stage in my life where I’m really open cos I don’t give like a shit about anything.

After SG we wasted time with Fenton and Nguyen for awhile then Kuheli dragged me to the coffee cart cos she wanted tea. I stayed well away from that coffee cart because I wanted my sleep tonight thank you very much but considering it’s now 1:30am and I haven’t slept it’s all quite moot, isn’t it? And then I bussed off to tutoring with Ella. Kuheli walked me to the busstop which was nice and I almost crashed on the bus but by that time I was dangerously close to my stop so managed to stay awake. Tutoring Ella woke me up too. We made use of the NRICH site link I stole off Wayne when I used to tutor him and we started doing some problem solving. We were only doing extension Year 5 problem solving and she’s year 7 but I felt that like it was easy enough to ease her into the concepts and yet there were still some things which confused her so I think it was a good level to start and maybe we will build on it next time and go a bit up idk. HOWEVER her exams are coming up so I can’t get distracted by my get her to problem solve goals cos she really has to revise all her topics to do well and pass her test like as first priority. Anyway it was nice session and afterwards her Dad dropped me back at Churchies like right near uni so I didn’t have to bus which was so so so fantastic.

I went up to floor 7 because I think whilst I’m studying I should make the most of people being around and soak up some company too and Linley was studying in the study room. I got a decent amount done, but I’ve lost a lotta time due to wasting time on Monday and having breakfast with Courteney like all day today so I’m still behind but not too stressed. Headed down to floor supper and cos I didn’t have lunch or dinner I like went ham and had a double cheese and ham toastie, 2 donuts and fruit and it was honestly so lit. Stayed away from the coffee again though cos I ain’t that mad.

Then back up to the study room and honestly just threw myself into it. Like Max, Claudia and Nicky G were in and out I think but I honestly can’t say what was going on I was so focused. Kate popped in as well and I think her like meeting with Hugh didn’t go great but it was never going to so at least she was a bit prepared? Idk then we moved to the commo again and the chill cycle is repeating again as we speak with the same people. Hamish has lent me his charger again tonight thank god so I have my phone and now that I’ve successfully (and lengthily) recapped the past like idk 48 hours or so, I can head back for some chats before bed. Hopefully I can find the balance between sleep and chills but idk even if I don’t I just don’t wanna rek myself too much. There’s always a bit of coffee tho tomorrow idk.

Off to Woollahra library all day cos I wanna try a change of scene but also wanna get a lot done so should be like nice to go somewhere slightly different to hang for once. Kk that’s all for now, I know this is quite badly written but I don’t have the cognitive function to like fix it up or write it properly or anything on my limited sleep right now, so it will have to do. Till another day J