#gotta fix one of the other tags in a previous post

[coincidentallyafandomblog]

You know I had to do these ones.

[bloopitynoot]

Xichen Centric Fics

This is a list of fics for @ladyprophet !

(If you are ever looking for a specific flavour of fic and want recs- DM me! I love recommending fics. Also check out my active tags for other rec lists. )

Some specifics about this list:

the pairings are not so important (this list will have a variety of Xichen pairings because most of the fics I have read and love with him are him in some sort of relationship)

Complex portrayals preferred!

pre-canon if possible (I dont know how many I have with pre-canon, most of what I have is aftermath or modern au's).

Favourites encouraged (most of this list)

I have broken this list down into cultivation era and modern au's just for some differences. I have includes all varieties of fic rating and topic. Some of these are very crack! energy, some of them are heartbreaking; gotta have balance LOL.

Cultivation-Era Xichen Centric Fics

1. After Each Midnight Begins A New Day (54401 words) by Eleanor_Fenyx

Chapters: 10/10 Rating: Explicit Relationships: Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao/Nie Mingjue, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Additional Tags: Threesome - M/M/M, Angst, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, No beta we die like wei wuxian, Everyone's tender and kind, technically a time travel fix-it but like. Not in the way you're thinking, The time travel has already happened the fix-it has already happened, LXC wakes up into it and has to reconcile what he knows with what he's learning Series: Part 1 of 3Zun Fixit AU Summary: "'Count your blessings', they'll say. And after each midnight begins a new day. But don't place your bets on a word that they say - they'll put your life to rest…" When Lan Xichen wakes screaming from a nightmare in the middle of the night, it's unusual but not unheard of. In the five years since the collapse of everything he thought he knew in a temple in Yunping, nightmares are his nightly companions after all. What IS unheard of, though, is the startled exclamation from his left and the grumpy reply from his right. Nie Mingjue on his left. Jin Guangyao - no, Meng Yao on his right. What the fuck? Or: What happens when Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have already gone back in time to fix everything that went wrong and Lan Xichen has, apparently, just been dragged along to share in the 'happily ever after'.

Thoughts:

This is one of those that has the balance of a happy ending but also a LOT of trauma that Xichen has to work through.

The time travel fix has already happened and for some reason, Xichen keeps the memories of the previous timeline.

There is so much healing but also mind the rating and tags!

2. All of Our Memories Gather (72700 words) by geethr75

Chapters: 43/43 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Jiang Yanli & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan & Lan Jingyi & Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Nie Mingjue, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan & Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst, Heavy Angst, Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, not Jin Guangyao friendly, not jin guangshan friendly, Not Su She friendly, Not Xue Yang friendly, jin ling and his jiujiu, Golden Core Transfer (Modao Zushi), Golden Core Reveal (Modao Zushi), Canon Rewrite, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin-centric, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen-centric, jiang cheng friendly, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji Friendship, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Reconciliation, Established Relationship, established xicheng, Depression, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, canon can go fuck itself, let my boys be happy, Good Sibling Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Good Sibling Jiang Yanli, Good Sibling Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Good Sibling Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Good Sibling Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Good Uncle Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Good Uncle Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Good Uncle Lan Qiren, Good Nephew Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Major character death - Freeform, only Jiāng Chéng enthusiasts allowed, Let's give Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen nice things, Don't Like Don't Read, Queernormative society Series: Part 18 of MDZS AUs, Part 12 of Xicheng AUs, Part 3 of MDZS Time Travel fix-it, Part 1 of Xicheng post canon time travel etc, Part 1 of Xicheng fix it Summary: Twelve years after the events of Guanyin temple, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen are married and contemplating retirement when they along with their nephews somehow find themselves in the past immediately after the Sunshot campaign. They have to start over, and this time make different choices with the help of their nephews, and make sure that everyone they lost last time will stay alive this time Warning: THIS FIC IS NOT JGY FRIENDLY EXTREMELY JIANG CHENG FRIENDLY

Thoughts:

This definitely falls into the category of crack! fic. It is quite funny

Canon occurred, xichen and wanyin got married, 12 years later they go back in time.

Xicheng are absolutely shameless post time-travel selves and everyone else's reactions are so so good.

There is a bunch of angst though, but I promise it works out

3. A Bit of Ruthlessness (110111 words) by jirluvien

Chapters: 15/15 Rating: Mature Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Epistolary, Angst, Slow Burn, Courtship, Asexuality, Asexual Jiang Cheng, canon mashup, Author Is Overly Fond of Italics, No beta we die like wwx, JC is a sarcastic bastard and we respect that, LXC is ice outside hot mess inside, in this house we acknowledge Lan Qiren's hardships, and the existence of fabled fourth junior Ouyang Zizhen, character study turned story about healing and growth turned romance, choice and (dis)honesty and family as recurring themes, Hurt/Comfort Summary: When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proved time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts. Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch. A story about grief, determination, unexpected friendships, abandoned watchtowers, and letters. So many letters.

Thoughts:

This is one of several "epistolary fics where Jiang Cheng helps:

This one is a verion in which Jiang Cheng aggressively loves someone/bullies them into healing themselves

I am weak for fics where Xichen is very broken but heals, and this is one of them.

4. Picture of the Turning Sphere (168484 words) by omphalos

Chapters: 18/18 Rating: Mature Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren, Lan Jingyi, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Nie Huaisang, Original Additional Tags: Background Relationships, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Reconciliation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drunkenness, Part Epistolary, Mental Health Issues, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, past xiyao, Demisexual Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Healing, Blatant Plot Device, Post-Canon, pretentious titles taken from ancient Chinese poetry, too much use of Pinyin, Footnotes, CQL-heavy multicanon, British English Summary: Lan Xichen is a broken man no longer able to trust his own judgement. Jiang Wanyin was broken long ago, and he healed… badly. The cultivation world is off-balance, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. In the middle of an icy winter, a comet appears in the sky. Is it a warning? A celestial dragon? Have the gods, weary of waiting for cultivators to sort out their own mess, decided to take action? Over the course of three seasons, the two sect leaders are forced closer as they attempt to appease the gods and rebalance their land. Perhaps, in the course of their adventures, they will also find a way to rebalance themselves. TLDR: In which a fiery plot device in the sky forces two lonely, broken men to sort their shit out and find everything they'd been lacking in each other.

Thoughts:

Another healing fic, but not what I expected it to be.

This is both xichen and Wanyin working through healing together but also the fate of the world may rest on them doing therapy

this includes some really neat astrology elements

such a solid fic.

5 Children of the River (83938 words) by Achromos

Chapters: 28/28 Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Original Female Character(s), Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post Mpreg, Slow Burn, Family Fluff, Children, Canon-Typical Violence, Magic, Falling In Love, Depression, Healing, Past Relationship(s), Light Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Translation Available, links to translations in author's note Series: Part 1 of Children of the River + Extras Summary: XiChen emerges from secluded cultivation after five years, feeling he has accomplished nothing in terms of mending his heart's wounds. But then he hears that something happened to YunmengJiang sect, and he thinks maybe helping them can distract him from the grief and self-doubt that threatens to consume him. However, he does not expect what he finds in Lotus Pier, which may just be what he was looking for this entire time.

Thoughts:

I am once again here with another Xichen healing fic. This one though was different than the XiCheng seclusion healing trope.

There is mpreg in this- but it's less about gender/ABO and more that strong cultivators regardless of gender can do this- if that's important to you. I think the mpreg is pre fic but more might happen later I am not 100%

Anyways xichen goes to lotus pier, healing happens

6. This Is Not A Courtship (Said the Bridesgroom to the Suitor) (132165 words) by midnightsnapdragon

Chapters: 9/9 Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Epistolary, Slow Burn, we're talking Austen-level slow burn here, because these idiots are living two different kinds of period drama repression, Touch-Starved Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Asexual Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, version 12.4 of the "jc sends him letters in seclusion" fic you've all read before, yunmeng shuangjie have already reconciled no I will not elaborate, Queer-Normative World, Implied Past Xiyao, Pining, a cup of grief a cup of healing and oh god oh fuck I dropped the oblivious potion Summary: “Why doesn’t Hanguang-jun just ask his brother if he’s all right? Write him a note, or something?” Wei Wuxian winces. “You’re not technically supposed to do that when someone is in seclusion.” “So? This is his brother. Shouldn’t that be more important than Lan Clan’s three thousand rules?” “Aw, Jiang Cheng, would you write me notes if I were in seclusion?” “Yeah, to tell you to stay there.” “Jiang Cheng!” “Well, so what? It seems like Zewu-jun just wants to be left alone.” And Jiang Cheng can’t blame him. Sometimes it takes every ounce of self-control he has not to wade into the lily fronds and join the frogs in their screaming chorus at dusk. “What am I supposed to do about it?” In which Jiang Cheng proves to be a questionable grief counselor but a faithful correspondent, and no one has seen Lan Xichen since his little brother's wedding.

Thoughts:

This is the fic I was debating reading (I read it after same moon shines) and omg, I think it's one of my fav healing fics.

Both Xichen and Wanyin heal through the power of letters

They are idiots (miscommunication due to personal traumas), but the story ends well.

Xichen-centric Modern Day Au's

1 Beneath Your Skin (147201 words) by Wrenwolf

Chapters: 24/24 Rating: Explicit Relationships: Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoos, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Sexual Humor, Bad Humor, Slapstick, the things we do for love, Wangji has plans that keep getting derailed, Xichen is terrible at shipping but tries really hard, Wei Ying has plans that epically fail, Nie Huaisang is done with everyone's shit, Brotherly Love, feelings are good, Love Makes Everyone Stupid, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, explicit sex eventually, disaster humans, chaotic gays, Two POVs, Way more angst than I anticipated, much swearing, A touch of kink, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Found Family, Xichen's love is a dangerous thing, Nie Mingjue suffers (quite literally) for love, Rabbit-babies, I say again - rabbit-babies!, Eventual WangXian, Surprise relationship that will remain spoiler-free here, HEA because dammit the boys deserve it Summary: It really hadn’t meant to turn out this way, to get so out of hand but what could he do when faced with that smile? The sparkle in those stormy eyes that lit like lightning down Wangji’s spine? Say yes, of course. Every. Damn. Time. Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen have moved to a new town, away from the reach of their uncle. Everything's going well until Wangji is literally bowled over by the love of his life, local tattoo artist Wei Ying. Wangji isn't good with words and feelings, but Wei Ying is good with tattoos… and, well, that might be a way for Wangji to get his message across because love has made him an idiot, it seems. OR Love is hard, but tattoos are easy?

Thoughts:

Okay this is more wangxian than xichen, but xichen is in it and the mingjue/xichen relationship is a mess (in the best of ways)

Xichen's love language is accidentally injuring mingjue (too flustered to function)

it is very cute, a little crack!

2. Heartstrings of Home (42704 words) by WaitForTheSnitch

Chapters: 4/4 Rating: Explicit Relationships: Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Nie Huaisang, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Qiren, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Nie Huaisang, Nie Huaisang & Nie Mingjue, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen & Lan Jingyi, Lan Jingyi & Nie Mingjue Additional Tags: POV Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Needs a Hug, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen Adopts Lan Jingyi, Good Sibling Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Protective Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Pining Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Pining Nie Mingjue, Friends to Lovers, the act of raising an entire kid together without confronting your feelings, Moving into your best friend's house and just never moving out, Good Uncle Lan Qiren, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary: “Lan Xichen?” the voice on the other end belonging to an unknown caller asked. “This is he,” Lan Xichen said, as he poured his congee into his bowl, as he brought it, and the tea he’d prepared earlier to the table. “I’m very sorry to be the one to inform you. Your cousin and his wife were involved in a hit and run last night, where their car was hit head on at an intersection. I’m sure the detectives can give you more information about the accident. Neither of them made it. They passed away on the scene. I’m calling you in regard to the custody of their son.” And just like that, he felt the world begin to spin. - Or Lan Xichen is thrust into the unexpected role of parenthood, as he and Lan Jingyi attempt to navigate their new waters together. He's just lucky to have such a good friend like Nie Mingjue by his side. And staying in his house. Indefinitely. To help him out, of course.

Thoughts

Lan Xichen get's custody of JIngyi after his parents die

The relationship development between Mingjue and Xichen is absolutely stunning

You do see Xichen go through it for a bit though, a little grief, a lot of "i don't know what the fuck i'm doing" but he get's through it

3. save face (46139 words) by detachedwanderer

Chapters: 11/11 Rating: Explicit Relationships: Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BDSM, Submissive Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Dominant Nie Mingjue, Bottom Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Top Nie Mingjue, Oral Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Rope Bondage, Subdrop, Aftercare, ruined orgasm, handjob, Praise Kink, Degradation, Nipple Clamps, Misunderstandings, Masturbation, Phone Sex, Spanking, Cock Cages, Chastity Device, Multiple Orgasms, Fluff and Smut, Background Wei Ying/Lan Zhan, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui is a Wen, Child Wen Yuan - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Developing Relationship, Getting Together, Love Confessions, Collars, Bratting, Biting, Cockwarming, Semi-public masturbation, Top Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Bottom Nie Mingjue, Sir Kink, Birthday Sex, NMJ is still domming btw, regardless of if he's topping or bottoming, bottom NMJ top LXC is only for ch 8, Autistic Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Good Sibling Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Married Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue, Blindfolds, Riding, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Sex Toys, Orgasm Control, later chapters are heavy on the smut and light on the plot, Possessive Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, Desk Sex, Office Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Gags, Prostate Milking, Exhibitionism, but like just as a kink, not one sees/catchs them, Insecurity Summary: Across the conference table was the man who'd seen him cry on his cock and listened to Lan Xichen's whines. Their eyes met and Lan Xichen was filled with dread. - Lan Xichen meets with a stranger for a scene, expecting to never see him again afterwards. His life becomes more complicated when he ends up working with Nie Mingjue.

Thoughts

This is VERY explicit so be warned, but it is very well written. If this isn't your cup of tea though no worries!

Xichen's personal life starts leeching into his professional life and it gets complicated.

Happy ending with Xichen and Mingjue BUT be warned there is an ex appearance who does not respect boundaries.

4. Faire thee well (77622 words) by Scrippio

Chapters: 8/8 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wen Qing, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Nie Mingjue/Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Renaissance Faire, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, No beta we die like wwx, Slow Burn Summary: In which Wei Ying does magic tricks, Lan Zhan sells flower crowns, and Mingjue is a blacksmith, because the whole gang works at the Renaissance Faire and no one quite knows how to function.

Thoughts:

Scrippio is one of my fav writers in the MDZS fandom and this fic is wholesome as heck

It is more wangxian centric, but the whole gang is there at the renn faire

A really comforting read- I cannot express how wholesome this entire fic and au is.

That's what i've got :)

If you have fics you've loved, I will always take recs back! I read like a fiend and love getting recommendations.

I hope you enjoy at least some of the ones on this list!

[jaemified]

SNOWED IN ! [ep. i] | first time

“eyes on a certain someone.. whats his name?”

a barista xu minghao x receptionist reader smau

‘welcome to first class resort’

previous | MASTERLIST | next

updates ; every saturday or sunday !

synopsis ; trying the cafe in the hotel you work at for the first time, you realize the baristas are quite literally as hot (maybe even more) then your friend had described. yet a certain barista in particular manages to pique your interest the most.

🏷️; @minhui896 @minghaossv @snowcake666 @kissesfrmwonwoo @kokoiinuts @wonqr

couldnt tag ; @/heelariousx

read below the cut !

“hi, i can help you over here?” one of the guys spoke from the counter, y/n not realizing someone was already waiting for her.

“oh hi, sorry. you guys have boba as a topping right?”

“yeah, we do. so, what would you like to drink?” he asked patiently as he finished setting up the ipad to put in your order.

“right. could i get a large caramel latte with boba? extra whip, light ice, and aloe.”

the guy rose a brow in surprise. “caramel latte with.. boba?” he asked for reassurance.

“yeah. sorry is that weird? cause if it is i could just do a strawberry milk tea-” “-no no not at all. just a bit taken aback. your total is ₩10,000.”

“thank you,” you spoke as he handed you your receipt which read ‘order number 32’.

“oh and what was your name again?” you quickly asked as he was about to hand the order to one of the other baristas.

“chwe hansol, but you can call me vernon.” he smiled. “do you, by any chance, work here? like at the hotel, not here here.”

“yeah, im assistant manager at the front desk. did my uniform give it away?” you chuckled.

“maybe. sorry, i gotta keep the line moving. have a good one though.” hansol smiled before handing the order over to the other barista behind him.

damn. and you thought hansol was cute. not that he wasnt, but this guy was really cute.

“woo, look at this shit.” the person who was responsible for making your order whispered. “who orders a caramel latte with boba??”

wonwoo turned around and saw you sitting in a corner on your phone, grimacing as he didn’t think you were actually serious about your order.

“its a receptionist thing, hao. you wouldnt get it.”

“im a barista not a clerk. and just cause you dated one for a few months doesn’t mean you have the experience of one.” minghao rolled his eyes before reaching over to grab a new cup.

as he got your drink started, you couldn’t help but notice how cute the black haired boy was. his facial features really were something you couldn’t take your eyes off of. you could tell he was experienced as he didn’t even need to read the recipes before pouring in all the right measurements.

he jerked his head backwards as he read the bottom for extra info not realizing he missed it earlier, “aloe? who the hell puts aloe in a caramel latte.”

“you seem really fixed on her drink preferences.” joshua murmured as he reached over minghao for a napkin to clean the spill he made after knocking over the chocolate sauce.

“its just weird. like yeah they’re all good by themselves but altogether? its like vanilla mixed with cotton candy.”

“vanilla goes with everything.”

“he thinks he’s an expert on tea ‘cause his cousin’s boyfriend made him the manager at a tea house in china.” seungcheol scoffed.

“whatever.”

minghao finished up your order and went to the desk to call out your number before he thought of something that really bothered him.

he grabbed a post it near the register, quickly scribbling down something before sticking it on your drink and calling for you.

“who ordered the latte with boba?” he called our halfmindedly as hansol handed him the next order, not realizing he unprofessionally forgot to call you by the order number instead.

“hi, that’d be me.” you spoke as you walked up to the counter quickly, putting on your customer service face so it isn’t so obvious you find him attractive.

you didn’t even notice how his face twisted as your black heels clicked against the wooden floorboards.

“yeah okay, have a good one or whatever.. yoon.. y/n?” he mumbled as he skimmed over your name tag.

“yeah thanks.” you smiled while grabbing a straw and some napkins from the organizer next to him, your hand briefly grazing his as he set your cup down.

“you’re a receptionist?” minghao asked, crossing his arms as he watched you take an experimental sip.

“yeah, why?”

“then how come i never see you here for lunch?”

“i go to the restaurant instead of the cafe. less crowded and i have more friends up there.”

“such as?” “why does it matter?”

“i cant ask my co worker who her friends are?”

“we are hardly that close.” you tilted your head in confusion.

“yeah whatever. and stop fake smiling when you’re not helping customers. it’s annoying.” he whispered into your ear before you got the chance to walk away.

you rolled your eyes in faux annoyance, trying to hide your excitement at the fact you just talked to a really cute guy.

‘he’s lowkey more attractive when he’s mad. its.. kinda hot?’ you thought to yourself before pulling out your phone to text soyeon.

note ; hear me out bc a caramel latte w boba is my favorite 😭😭

[besthimbomachine]

masterlist

please be mindful I'm currently on hiatus, trying to climb my way out of it. no, "my love when it counted" is not finished, I want to try to finish it but that's not exactly an easy task. my current plan is to go through the posted chapters to update them, and on the way get myself writing again. it's a slow process but I gotta get myself to write again by starting small. please be kind, that's always the best way to make an author feel comfortable with writing again.

Oh hey wanna read the fics and get the nice pictures but not see any of my rants, asks and other stuff? Block the tag #Maria speaks

inbox!

tag lists!

request rules!

as of right now requests are: CLOSED

[s] - smut

[f] - fluff

[a] - angst

close call [s]

Kenny returns to his dressing room after a match he and the Bucks won only to find his girlfriend there waiting for him, and she has a gift she wants to give to her champ.

slow morning [f] [s]

Kenny spends a lazy morning with you in bed and it makes him feel that there is something important he wants to ask you about.

my love when it counted [series][s][a][f]

one . two . three . four . five . six . seven . eight . nine . ten . eleven . twelve

When Kenny's ex girlfriend is hired to work at AEW he is forced to face his mistakes, his feelings, and the mess he'd made of something he once treasured. Trying to fix a bridge he burnt and show he'd become a better person, even if you wouldn't forgive him for it.

(there was no abuse, violence, or cheating in their previous relationship)

what my hands and my body done [s]

After his win against Jon Moxley in the death match, Adam feels the weight of what he had to do hanging heavy in his chest. He goes out to a bar to try and find relief at the bottom of a bottle but finds something else instead. His relief comes in the form of the bartender who knows nothing of who he is or what he has gone through, just what he needed to be able to wash out the savagery from his body.

[alatabouleau]

Why the Beach divorce is unfixable (and why it doesn't work in Good Omens 2)

I think we can all agree that XMFC is a ...~flawed~ movie. I mean, I could write long, long posts about the inherent sexism and racist implications. But today, I want to talk about one thing that actually worked. That made so much sense and hit so hard, it single-handedly saved the whole film for me. Something that I've seen come up recently, again, under the cherik-tag because of another fandom and show. Where something very similar happens, only that in this case, it doesn't work at all.

(if you haven't watched GO S2 yet, spoilers. Also, if you enjoyed the second season, good for you, but this post is going to be highly critical of it. Gotta be my last post about that, since I believe in getting it out of your system but not continually spreading negativity and holding a grudge.)

So, with this post, I would like to dissect *why*: What makes the Beach Divorce (TM) in First Class work so well is its preparation in the previous events of that film and even before that. The thing about First Class is, while not being the perfect prequel timeline-wise with the previous motives of the first X-Men-trilogy, it still works *because* it is a prequel. At least the very specific part about Professor X and Magneto. Because from the start, when Charles pulls Erik out of the ocean, we, the informed audience, know how it's going to end. But for some moments you tend to forget, when they go on a trip to recruit mutants, training them, working so well together. And even when the small cracks are already visible in the way they discuss the issue of mutant integration into society, one could still hope that maybe this time, they'll find a way, settle their differences and keep building the future. Together. But it's still the same story. It's still the same characters. And both Erik and Charles could never change their core values. Their lives have already shaped them into who they are inherently, and they can't change what they do because they can't change what they *want*. Which is why the line "We want the same thing." - "Oh, I'm sorry my friend. But we do not." hits so hard. Because both is true. On a broader level, they *do* both want the same thing. A better future for mutantkind. Yet just as equally true is the fact that they will never want to choose the same path to get there.

To point it out directly, what makes the Beach Divorce (TM) so brilliantly devastating is that it makes 100% perfect sense for the two characters to behave that way. It makes sense that Erik, who sees someone he clearly cares for (loves) being shot, again!, can't initially accept that it's his fault. It makes sense for him, after taking an unimaginable amount of courage to make himself vulnerable in front of Charles, for the very first time on screen in front of ANYNONE mind you, laying down awkwardly but raw in its honesty how much this man in his arms means to him, to immediately close off and become cold again after being utterly rejected, in his PoV. It makes just as much sense for Charles who spent this movie trying to show Erik that there could be other ways to deal with issues than violence, would perceive how Erik takes on a helmet that cuts him off, kills a man while Charles is IN HIS HEAD, tries to kill "innocent" people and ultimately, shoots him, to conclude that his friend (love interest) has long since chosen a path where he could never follow him and therefore see choosing different sides (breaking up) as the only available option. And you can try to "fix" this. You can make up any scenario you can think of, and it still would play out like that because you can't change how each Erik and Charles perceive the world without changing inherently who they are as characters. That's what makes it so gut-wrenchingly tragic.

The whole tragedy of the tale of cherik is laid out in this one scene: That if the two of them looked into the mirror of erised, they'd see the same vision. Them being together and leading the mutant race in a bright future for them. But in reality, the means they choose to get to that end will never be compatible. Its tragedy defines itself through a subversion of the trope "Love on opposite sides". Because they *choose* to be that. It's not external circumstances that keep them from being together, it's their own values and convictions. Which is what keeps me so obsessed with these two, since that is so uniquely ~them~. So why do I think that this very similar scene, which I described as so brilliantly heartbreaking in one context, doesn't work for Good Omens 2? well... BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR *THESE* CHARACTERS! Because Crowley and Aziraphale are the exact opposite of Cherik. They too, may be a couple that finds itself on different sides, but in their case, that's entirely an external circumstance, while their internal values and convictions align almost perfectly (depending whether we talk book omens or S1GO). Because the core of Ineffable spouses ship is that they are on the same side when they shouldn't be. They have their orders to obey, they have their instructions to despise each other, but they simply don't care enough since They are more interested in earth (and each other) than their respective head offices. That's what makes them work as friends, as a couple, as a ship. So when season 2 pulled a beach divorce à la Cherik, I was mad and disappointed because for me, it tears apart what their relationship is all about. And I'm ok with that kind of sacrifice when it gives you something valuable narrative-wise, which it didn't. And I have no hope of season 3 paying off for that. There was just not a big enough reason for me to break off the backbone of the entire story. That it is possible for you to make your own choices and be with the people you want to be with even if an oppressive system tells you no. It just doesn't make sense.

(So yeah, does this post only exist because I tried to get my head off from the destruction of a very dear ship of mine but also not wanting to spoil anyone's fun, by scrolling through the cherik-tag on Tumblr instead of the good omens tags and seeing so many posts comparing these two scenes, thinking "can you escape this *anywhere* on this page?" while also getting annoyed since how I pointed out in this post, it doesn't work at all in the second context? Maybe. But that's just me. ;))

[maythearo]

Hi, I saw your drawings of JamiKali Spider-Man AU, and I LOVED IT!!

How is this AU? And what do you think of JamiKali's Shipp?

OH you just reminded me to add the tag for this AU on other previous posts where I was chatting about it with ppl who sent me asks! The general tag for my blog is ".twst into the spider verse" if you want to check mine and other people's ideas on it in more detail over there!

Second question first: I'm not really into shipping im general, so idk, I don't think about JamiKali much tbh skdndwknd 🏃

And for the first question I'll take this ask as an opportunity to sum up some hcs I have for this AU 👍 but some important notes first:

I personally rather imagine this AU as a magicless/not-so-magic-central kinda world just for simplicity sake, but the rest of twst og lore pretty much remains the same.

I just talk abt scarabia here bcs they are my faves!

Since what inspired me to ramble about this AU was across the spider-verse, I do make a brief mention canon events and a bit of multiverse stuff

Also there is major character death here 🧍

Scarabia into the spider-verse, headcanons under the cut!

Earth 2506 - Kalim as the spider-man of his dimension. Can also be referred to as the desert-spider!

uhh (making up an origin story on the spot right now) considering he comes from a family of influential merchants, maybe they got a great deal to partner up with some sort of scientific corporation, to deal with the business side of their new technologies. Kalim was for the first time invited to one of the meetings, as the heir to the family business, it was about time for him to check in person how things worked on this field. In short, it did not end well. As they walked around the corporation's main labs, one spider subject went loose, and Kalim stood right under its web.

he's very fitting to be a spidey, considering his happy-go-lucky personality, he'd be the type of spider-man to mess around and have a lot of fun playing the role of a hero

(Fight goes silent)

Kalim: well! that was another easy adventure for spider ma-

(Big explosion)

Jamil is the first one to know about this secret identity of course. He covers up any potential slips, as to not reveal this secret to anyone else

One notable thing about spider-man!Kalim is that he can afford whatever hero gadgets he needs. Gotta fix his web shooters? Want a nice improvement on his hero constume? No problem. He got a fair share of contacts from people who'd easily do all of these for him. Even though it is Jamil the one who usually runs after this stuff in his place...

Canon event stuff being losing a best friend? Jamil in this universe actually becomes Venom (maybe he found a symbiote from the same lab the spider came from) and yeah they had to fight. Jamil probably snapped for the same reasons he got his overblot. And this is the part where Kalim learns that with great powers comes great responsibility...

What would happen next? Does he move on eventually after the fight? Will there be other villains for spider-man to stop? How will he keep the secret identity now that Jamil's gone? Well, these are great questions, because- (runs away)

Earth 1209 - Jamil as the spider-man of his dimension. Idk if he'd go by any other variant of a spider-man name

Now that I think about it, his own universe is probably an accidental breach from Kalim's. As in "what if Kalim didn't get bitten at the lab, and instead brought the radioactive spider back home by accident?" then when Jamil took Kalim's backpack he was the one to get bitten instead

Ace happened to be the first one to find out about Jamil's powers after an incident on a basketball game. Their dynamic is funny. It's not like Ace wants to be the "guy in the chair" but if Jamil's secret identity is ever at risk, he'd volunteer to help, no questions asked. And aside from him, Najma is the only other person who knows about this as well. The very moment spider-man made his first appearance in public she knew! She says it's a "sister instinct", or something like that. She'd even offer to help him and make him a proper hero uniform... but ONLY if he agrees to do all the house chores for her for a month.

Najma: you gotta say it first :)

Jamil: (sigh) callforbackup

Najma: what? :)

Jamil: .......callforbackup

Najma: come onn :)

Jamil: PLEASE just call for-

Najma: yeah I already called it :)

Perhaps spider-man!Jamil has a puppeteer-like skill that he can use to control a small number of people with his webs!

Leona could be a mentor type of character in this universe. Like Jamil already kinda looks up to him in canon, but this time they are a little nicer to each other loll and I only bring this up because there is no "uncle Ben" for Jamil to lose, but Leona is the closest thing he could have to one, so...... canon event. That also ties up to that spider-man story trope of the hero finding himself in the wrong place wrong time, by the side of the person they just lost, only for a third party to walk in and assume it was spider-man the one who killed them. Having people assume this masked man to have killed a person as prestigious as Leona immediately makes spider-man public enemy #1

And edit: just remembered the point abouve could be Kalim alternatively. Which would be even more tragic to think both Jamil and Kalim lose each other in their respective universes

But what do we do after that? How does Jamil redeem himself after this misunderstanding? What if he just gives up being spider-man? Well, uhhh these are also good questions.... look over there! (runs away again)

[duckwhistle]

ok I have like an idea but. I don't know.

I really really despise the Tribe in the canon. I hate how they tried to make an Indigenous American culture and used every last droplet of stereotype they could. I hate how they could make another cat group and while they did not make them evil, the writers made them incompetent and clearly worse than the Clans. I hate how everytime someone's gotta fix something it's the Tribe asking the Clans for help. I hate most TNP books just for that reason.

.... but it's iconic. It's important for a lot of arcs. I can't just axe it away completely...

BUT I also needed a way to introduce Skyclan that was different from the other books, especially since Firestar cannot go and recreate it for a lot of reasons, and I wanted Sandstorm to go instead, but it needed to be after Squirrel and Leaf were a- born and b- old enough to survive without their mom for months. Also I am anti Lake-Skyclan not because I don't want them there, but because it feels more interesting to have a Clan separate from the others.

So here's the idea: The Skypoints, a group hailing from ancient Skyclan (as ancient as it gets) dealing with the curse of a Rat King. They live in a gorge close enough to a town, and twolegs are common to see because there's a lot of small trails. They use the naming system from the ancient Clans, the rule being that they get named after what color thay are. Roles are chosen at birth, but the only role that is different from Medic or Warrior is Deputy. Yes, Deputies are chosen at birth, you can imagine the main problem from this decision. This sets up a few things: -they need help from someone with Skyclan blood (Feathertail) -the mountain lion is gone, but there's a threat that is just as big because the rats try to overtake the gorge constantly. -their numbers are dwindling after a surge of rats and a bad epidemic happening at the same time. I kinda want to have the Shadowclan journey cat (that is not Tawnypelt) get flashbacks from the Carrion Disease, before realizing these rats do not carry it. -in this moment Squirrelpaw gets the idea: "why don't you ask for help from the kittypets? My dad was one and he's become a hero." -recruiting time, I wanna make it clear that not everybody's sold on living with the Skypoints, either because they're stupidly aggressive towards others (Clear Sky propaganda) or have family and friends back in town. -Dappled Leaves comes out with a compromise (she's Leafstar, but not yet considered a great match for a leader because she's not Clear Sky-esque and also a Warrior) that those who might have families can either bring them with, even if they're not able to fight, or go back after helping during the day. Daylight Warriors babeyyyyy -may or may not begin a small moment of civil unrest, that does not tip into a war just because there's a bigger problem at the moment. -in the end, Feathertail dies to the Rat King while slaying it, but I wanna make it clear she's not the only one to be honored in death. I want something like seven or eight cats to die. Stormfur gets a crush on Cherry Tail, and in the Great Migration will be staying behind... alongside Sandstorm, who's found companionship in Dappled Leaves hehe. Leafpaw gets the idea that Starclan might communicate with them through water by seeing the Starcave, where the Stoneteller, the eldest medic, goes to commute with Starclan. Also here medics are a lot more than the usual, and some of them have families (hint hint) -Sandstorm and Dappled Leaves become, through omens and Starclan's approval, Leaders of the new Skyclan, and are named Risingstar and Shootingstar (read one of my previous posts about the renaming in the #duck! tag). Skyclan becomes the first clan to have two leaders, but also begins to make various pairs of deputies for that reason. This sets up Sharp Claws and Darktail as a deputy pair later on hehe

[vore-scientist]

I still haven’t finished reading everything you wrote on the mystical forest, but I love the concept and will surely read everything you create on it.

As for my question, I just arrived at the part where Sophia’s brother learned she is most likely going to be the next ruler over the forest and I got thinking. If she gets to be the next ruler I would believe she would end up giving some freedoms to Yonah when it happens on the distant future, one of which being able to take vacations from his evil wizard job so he could leave the forest once in a while.

And that got me to another little devious thought of Yonah going in one of such vacations on the far away future and encountering some of the thief’s he previously ate on his journey, which would lead to them thinking he wanted another taste, before he explained he wouldn’t eat anyone when he wasn’t on his “evil wizard” role, also, they would be way older and wiser as to not spread word of the giant and how he would let them scape to others. Yonah might even find some who would agree to giving another taste or even to be a little snack in exchange of a healing potion or something.

Anyways, this is just me getting too exited over this story and creating some fics on my head, but would love to see this in your wetting if you ever feel like it! I just love the way you write.

Also, it really is comical that Sophia has a higher body count than Yonah on writing, when we know it’s actually the opposite. It just is really funny in my head.

AHHHHH IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY YOU ARE LOVING MY STORIES!!! Warms my heart. makes it all worth it. By the way: you are free to write fanfiction. You would not be the first one to do so. toss in your own OCs even, my world is a sandbox for anyone to play in. dig holes, build castles, make mud. Or just keep tossing out the ideas to me. i never tire of hearing them, though as a grad student i have little time to write >.<

So! about King Sophia: I actually wrote a post-main storyline short so unless i failed to properly tag that, you'll read it eventually. Also i need to find the post but i KNOW i posted Yonah's contract with king ben. idk why i cant find it. here's the google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LBv5yCWyIanLrWLrUgWQUfa2kXLzdM8P/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106643572354206944350&rtpof=true&sd=true

As the contract states: Yonah's "employment" ends with either his death or king ben's. You can guess which condition is met XD in that INSTANT yonah's tether to the tower is gone, he is no longer contractually obligated to be the evil giant/wizard.

He becomes sophia's second in command and chief royal wizard.

I also did a funny comic with King Sophia once: LINK

i hecking LOVE your idea however yonah is an ASS and he WILL eat thieves again even if he's not an "evil giant" anymore he loved being evil and being evil suits him so he keeps some of those tendencies. Though he wouldnt eat every thief he meets again, and writing a story where he meets a previous thief and doesnt eat them again would be very fun too! I copy and pasted your idea into my MW idea/prompts google document.

[also just so you know, according to AO3, and keep in mind I have not posted all of MW to AO3 bc i just... missed some... i gotta fix that... but according to AO3 there are 215,577 words and 34 stories (with many of the thief stories being counted as one story with many chapters...) so yeah not surprised you havent read ALL OF IT]

[something-tofightfor]

Competing For Christmas 6: Let It Snow (The Aftermath)

Pairing: Modern Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 6,387

Rating: M. Language.

Summary: You and Din have laid it all out and established some ground rules ... where do you go next - and how do you cope with the looming end of the competition ... and the lack of a legitimate reason for the two of you to see each other? 

Author’s notes:

Still plugging along on this - please accept this first half of the 6th part as I finish the second half - and cover the final event. Thank you again for your patience. 

Questions, concerns, comments? My inbox is open!

I’m so glad that everyone still seems to be enjoying this story, it’s definitely taken on a little more of a life of its own than I anticipated - but I’m still having fun with it. 

To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares​ and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)

Masterlist  / Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5.1 / Part 5.2 / Din’s POV Interlude

Din’s desk was empty and his office light was off when you stopped by on Monday afternoon. 

At first, you thought that maybe he’d stepped out to go and complete a work order, but when you looked around the room and saw his powered off computer and completely closed blinds, you realized that he hadn’t been in at all that day. 

“If you’re looking for Djarin, he called out today.” Turning at the sound of the voice, you saw one of the other IT guys across the hall, arms crossed over his chest. “There something I can help you with?” 

“No.” You fought the urge to cross your arms, too, and just shook your head. “I was just stopping by to say hello, I didn’t know he wasn’t here.” 

“Yeah, he sent an email this morning that said he was taking a personal day. Should be back tomorrow.” The man nodded. “I gotta get back to work. If you need anything, I’m here and so’s Mike.” Thanking him, you turned back toward your office, biting back a frown. 

You hadn’t expected Din to clue you in to everything he was doing after the discovery of the picture the previous day, but you’d thought that he would have at least let you know he wouldn’t be at work. 

Making your way through the hall, you let yourself get lost in your thoughts and hoped desperately that no one would stop you and try to start a conversation, because you were in no mood. 

He’d frozen the previous morning, eyes fixed on the glowing screen of your phone - but instead of getting mad about it, Din had only reached for the device, taking it from your hands and setting it down before turning to face you. 

“Hey.” His hands framed your face, Din saying your name quietly. “It’s not your fault. I’m not mad at you. We’ll figure it out.” 

“But this is exactly what you didn’t want to happen, Din. It’s why we have to be careful. We just talked about -” He cut you off with a kiss  - just a quick press of his lips to yours, but it was enough to stop your speech. 

“I’ll fix it.” Mumbling the words against your mouth, he wound his arms around you. “Give me some time.” 

You didn’t know what he meant by “fix it”, but when you’d left fifteen minutes later, Din assuring you that it was fine for you to go, he’d watched from his front window, waving at you while you backed out of the driveway. 

You’d spent the remainder of Sunday worrying, though you hadn’t reached out because you figured that you’d either see him at work the next day, or he’d get ahold of you to give you an update. Neither had happened, which was what brought you to his office door once things had calmed down in your afternoon … and led you to the realization that he hadn’t come in. 

Against your better judgment, you pulled your phone out to stare at it,  trying to decide whether or not you wanted to text him. He’s not mad. The worst he can do is ignore the message. It would crush you to know that that’s what he was doing, but you didn’t think Din would shut you out - and so you typed a quick message, hastily shoving your phone back into your pocket when you were done. 

Hey. Just tried to go to your office and saw you’re not here. Hope everything’s alright. 

Keeping yourself busy, you didn’t check for replies until almost an hour later, the weight lifting from your chest when you saw his response. 

Working on it. Was going to let you know but I’ve been on the phone all morning. 

That made sense - if Mandalore was in a different time zone, he’d need to take care of things whenever was convenient for everyone involved - which meant making things work across an ocean. It wasn’t an explanation, but it also wasn’t a dismissal, and that was enough. 

Just before you stepped out of your office to meet with a coworker about a project, your phone vibrated again. 

Can I stop over tonight after you’re done with work? 

You didn’t even think about it - typing back a message immediately. 

Of course. Bring Grogu if you want. My yard’s fenced in. 

He sent back a thumbs up, and you stowed your phone and locked your office door, trying to push your growing anxiety down. It’s going to be fine. It’s got to be. 

— 

He showed up at a little after 6, standing on your doorstep with Grogu’s leash in one hand and a take out bag in the other, and with no hesitation, you let them both in. “You didn’t need to bring dinner. I was just going to make -”

“Now you don’t have to.” He set the bag down and unclipped Grogu’s leash from his collar, hanging it over the back of one chair. “I guessed about what you like, so I hope that I did alright.” He held the bag out to you and you took it from him, eyeing the contents.

“Looks good, Din.” Pausing to glance up, you bit your lip. “Plates? Or just eating out of the containers?” 

“Is that something you do here?” You laughed at the sincerity of his question, Din’s lips set into a frown. “I didn’t know that.” 

“Sometimes.” You shrugged. “But if we wanted to share, it’s easier to use plates.”

“Whatever’s easier for you.” He ran a hand through his hair, unblinking. “Can I help you with anything?”

You told him no, and only a few minutes later, the two of you were seated on your couch and using the coffee table to eat from, your tree and the TV the only lights on in the room. 

You ate in silence for a little while, Din only speaking to tell Grogu no when he tried to jump on your loveseat. “It’s fine, he can lay there.” You were smiling at the sight - the dog standing in front of your tree, backlit by the bright lights. “It’s just dog hair, Din. As long as he doesn’t chew the cushion, I don’t mind.” 

“Maela, Grogu.” Din’s voice was quiet, but as soon as he spoke, the dog jumped up and onto the furniture, curling up so that he could still watch as the two of you ate. “I’m really sorry I didn’t let you know I wouldn’t be in today. I was on the phone with Boba for hours last night, and then this morning, I had a call with him and Fennec and the Council, and then we had to -”

“You don’t need to explain.” Swallowing a bite, you shook your head. “As long as you got things taken care of, you don’t owe me an explanation.” 

“I do, though.” He set his fork down, turning his body toward you and resting his hands on his knees. “Because this involves you. Have you looked at the site today?” You hadn’t - though the page was still open on your phone, you hadn’t refreshed it. “Go ahead.” 

Pulling your phone from your pocket, you did what he asked - refreshing the page. The pictures were still there - people gathered by the gazebo, all of you beneath the warming tent before the competition started, the different teams throughout the night. Why is he making me… But when you got to the pictures from after the end of the competition, you were shocked to see that even though the one of you and Din and the snowmen was there… the one of you kissing was gone - and so was his name. “It’s gone.” Looking up, you widened your eyes. “Din, how did -”

“A lot of phone calls. A lot of explanations.” He sighed, rubbing at his forehead, and for the first time, you realized how exhausted he looked. “The event organizers were much more understanding than I thought they’d be, but I’m also almost positive they never thought they’d have a King calling them, so…” You laughed at that, wetting your lips and waiting. “Have you heard anything from any of your friends? Did any of them see it?”

“Not that I know of.” You’d texted both Stacy and Cara to catch up that morning, and neither of them had said a word about seeing a picture of you and Din kissing. “And my friends would have been the first to say something if they’d seen it. I don’t know about the rest of the town, but -”

“The page views were really low after they uploaded. They didn’t even post anything until yesterday morning, so I think we caught it pretty fast.” He scooted closer. “I have to be careful, though. Really careful moving forward, because even though Boba understands, he wasn’t …”

“I know, Din.” You tilted your head. “I didn’t even save it, so if it’s not on that site, then … then it might as well never have existed.” I should have saved it. 

“Oh, it existed.” He reached for you, his fingers trailing over yours. “I’m sorry that I had to have it deleted. I don’t … I don’t like the idea of …” You knew what he was trying to say, and could tell that he was having trouble getting the words out, so you saved him, moving closer and putting your free hand on his knee. 

“I know why you did it.” You met his eyes, holding his gaze. “You don’t have to explain that part to me. I’m just glad you didn’t get in trouble with Boba.” 

“Trouble? Nah. No way.” He grinned. “And it wouldn’t really even be trouble, it would just be … more explanations if the Mandalorian press got ahold of it - now or later.”

“Yeah, especially if I’m not in Mandalore with you, right?” You squeezed his hand. “I get it, Din.  It’s what we’d consider a wake up call over here. Actions have consequences, and -” He said your name, shoulders rising and falling. “What?” 

“Why are you so understanding about all of this? The secrecy, me being next in line to rule, the limited time we have… it’s a lot to take in, and you’re just … acting like it’s nothing.” 

“What do you want me to do?” You snapped at him, the reaction an unconscious - but immediate - one. “Get mad about it? Tell you that you need to make a choice between doing what you’re obligated to do and me, someone that you’ve only really known for a few weeks? Try to make you feel guilty for doing exactly what we agreed we’d do?” You pushed to your feet, moving away from the couch. “Believe me, I want to, Din. I want to look you in the eye and tell you how unbelievably unfair this is - how shitty it’s going to be when you tell me that this has to end because you’re going back home.” You spun back to face him, Din frozen in place on your couch and looking up at you with wide eyes. 

He looked beautiful in the low light of the room and it gave you pause, your anger and frustration abating slightly before it rushed back full force. But it’s the truth. And he asked. 

“It’s not nothing, Din. But if I let myself get emotional about this, all it’s going to do is make us feel worse and give us more of a reason to cut this off as soon as the competition ends instead of in a few months.” You wiped away a tear, squeezing your eyes shut. “And I definitely don’t want that because I’d rather have a few months more with you than nothing at all.” 

Din stood, fingers flexing as his arms hung by his sides, but he didn’t move closer to you. He wanted to - you could tell by his posture. But at the look on his face, you understood that he wouldn’t, because he didn’t know what to say or do after he did. Yeah, I don’t know either. 

“I shouldn’t have asked you to be my partner.” You covered your face with one hand, lowering your head. “But fuck, Din, I wanted to get to know you. And because I was attracted to you even when I was with James, it felt disrespectful to do it before we broke up. Not because I would have acted on it, but -”

“You … were attracted to me before?” He did step closer at that, surprise written all over his face. “I had no idea.” 

“You’re a good looking guy, Din. Physically, yes. I thought you were very attractive. And we didn’t talk much, but from what I knew of you, you seemed … nice. And you’re smart, and like I said, I wouldn’t have done anything about it when I was with someone else, so…” Sighing you rubbed at your temples. “So I was respectful of James and our relationship, and did what every other woman in the office did and admired you from afar.” Trying to crack a smile, you shrugged. “Kept the work days interesting, that’s for sure.” 

Din closed the distance between you, reaching out and waiting until you’d taken his hand to speak. “I know you’d never ask me to choose. And it is unfair, and it is going to be kriffing awful when I have to go back, but I’m glad you asked me.” He squeezed your hand, raising his other one and dragging his knuckles over your cheek slowly. “Because these last few weeks have been … the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” Yeah, me too. “I hate seeing you so upset though. I’ve been… trying to make you smile.” 

“Yeah, well.” You rolled your eyes upward. “I’m horrible at hiding what I’m feeling, so get used to it.” He didn’t have a reply to that right away, Din keeping his eyes on your face. And the silence was charged - you could feel it. The two of you were at a tipping point; your irritation and sadness at odds with his cool and collected demeanor, Din’s posture loose as you stood in your living room, barely any space between you. 

It would have been easy to lean in and kiss him then - to give yourselves the moment you were so familiar with from TV and movies; emotions winning out, the physical pull toward each other too much to keep at bay any longer. 

You had condoms in your bedroom - an almost full box that had been purchased only a few months prior. Even though you didn’t want the first time you and Din got physical to be the result of an almost-argument, you could feel that neither of you would stop things once they got started. Should I? I shouldn’t. This is - 

“Not like this.” He murmured the words, groaning. “Every single thing you’ve said tonight is what I want to hear, but …” He swore under his breath - the words a mixture of English and Mando’a, straightening his fingers against the side of your face and cupping your cheek with his palm. “We are supposed to hide our emotions. And I’m pretty damn good at it, but with you, it’s… muun. It’s hard.”

“I’m sorry.” You had your hand on his hip, fingers tightening as you spoke. “Din, I didn’t mean to -”

“I’m not.” He tilted his head then, taking a deep breath. “And you shouldn’t be either.” His mouth glanced off of your cheek, his mustache tickling your skin. “But we’d both be sorry if we let them get the best of us right now.” 

“That’s a nice way to say you don’t want to -” 

“Stop it.” He nearly growled the words, his grip on your hand tightening further. “You think it’s hard now? If we … You deserve better.” There was finality in his voice, and even though you were thankful for it, you were surprised. 

You weren’t used to men being the ones to shut down the progression of a physical relationship, but Din was - yet again - exceeding your expectations in every way. “So do you.” Wetting your lips, you lowered your head, resting your forehead on his shoulder. “We should finish dinner. Otherwise we’re just going to keep going around in circles, and … that won’t help anything.”

“It won’t.” He let go of your hand and then moved both of his to your arms, his thick fingers wrapping around your biceps. “I wish it wasn’t like this. You have no idea how much I wish you and I could… do this normally.” 

“That’s my luck.” You looked up at him, trying to smile - and succeeding, at least partially. “I’m just being dramatic, Din. It’ll be fine.” He didn’t look like he believed you, but he nodded nonetheless, flexing his fingers before he let go. “Am I allowed to ask you what Boba said about the picture? And how should I refer to him? I don’t want to be disrespectful,and I know that I probably won’t ever meet him, but …”

“You can call him Boba when you and I talk about him.” The two of you settled back onto the couch, picking up your containers again. “And in public, I refer to him as Lord Fett, which is acceptable. You, as someone not from Mandalore, could call him either that or just Lord Mandalore. He isn’t very picky about it, but he keeps up with tradition when it comes to Mandalorian culture.” I’ll remember that. “And he was just … surprised. Especially since for the majority of the time I’ve been out here, I haven’t been interested in anyone like that.” 

“I find it hard to believe that you haven’t found anyone out here, Din.” Chewing thoughtfully, you waved your fork in his direction. “Eight months, and there was no one?” 

“I had drinks with a few people, but I never considered them dates.” He took another bite, glancing over at Grogu before he locked eyes with you. “I was just trying to enjoy my time here, and my last months of freedom, so dating never … I couldn’t run the risk of getting close to someone and then having to tell them about Mandalore and the fact that I had to leave.” But you told me.

“But there are people that get married in less than a year, Din. So if you’d met someone right when you got here, it wouldn’t be out of the question for you to tell them and then invite them back with you to keep the relationship going, right? Or is that not allowed? Does Mandalorian tradition require you - as someone on the throne - to marry within your -”

“No.” He set his food container down, dropping the fork into it. “We can marry whoever we want. Most people do choose to marry other Mandalorians, including people in positions of power, but there’s no laws that that has to happen. And …” He sighed. “There are political marriages, just like anywhere else. But they aren’t as common as you’d think, because the number of…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You don’t want to listen to this.”

“I do.” Reaching forward, you settled your hand on his knee. “Tell me, Din. I asked, and I wasn’t just doing it to be nice.” He was quiet for a few seconds and  then shifted on the couch, leaning back and getting comfortable before turning his head to look at you. 

“There aren’t a lot of noble families left in Mandalore, but there are a few, and everyone’s always looking to increase their influence, you know?” You nodded, though you stayed quiet. “It’s not like Game of Thrones where everyone’s trying to overthrow the Mand’alor and restructure the way the country’s run, but there are … families that we have to look out for, families that feel that the highest positons should be one determined by birthright.” 

“That makes sense.” You finished your dinner, too, mirroring his position as you leaned back. “But you said Boba isn’t married? So he avoided all of that?’

“He did. And I plan on doing the same, unless … unless I find someone that I want to marry - that can handle the requirements of my title and the demands of this kind of life on Mandalore.” He looked away, his eyes lingering on Grogu. “There’s not separate terms in Mandalorian for husband and wife - a partner is just called a riduur, and a wedding is a riduurok, and there hasn’t been one of those for the Mand’alor since before I was born. So I’m sure the people would love to see it, but …” Din sniffed. “It’s not something I need. I can be a good leader without a wife.”

“I’m sure you can.” Tracing over your lower lip with the tip of your thumb, you nodded. “And you don’t seem like the type that would settle for a political arrangement, Din. So I… I hope that never happens to you.” 

It wasn’t what you wanted to say. The idea of Din marrying anyone was enough to make your stomach twist uncomfortably in your belly, but there was no way you were going to tell him that. That’s too much. Even if we’re being honest with each other, that’s too much honesty. “There anything else you want to know?” 

“Yeah, a ton of things.” You laughed, running a hand over your hair as you exhaled. “But I think that’s enough for tonight.” 

“If you say so. I meant it the other night, though. You can ask me anything, and as long as I can tell you, I will. I won’t lie to you, but there are some things - “

“I get it.” Holding up a hand to stop him, you nodded. “No explanation necessary.” 

“Thank you for understanding. This is the Way. I wish … I wish it wasn’t, but …” He trailed off, and for a few seconds, the room was almost completely quiet. You didn’t know how to fill the silence, and when Din spoke up again, you were thankful. “So, what’s the rest of this week look like? I know the scavenger hunt is the 23rd, but is there anything on Christmas Eve?”

“No. The 23rd is the last day of events, and the winners are announced that night at the Winter Carnival. We have from 11 am until 4 pm to complete the clues and turn everything in, and then while they tally up the points, we have time to go home and relax and get changed and all that before the carnival kicks off.” 

“So we’ll know who wins as soon as they announce the winner of the hunt, right?”

“Yes and no. They don’t always announce the rankings for the scavenger hunt before they announce the overall winner, because usually the winner of the hunt wins the contest, and that’s anticlimactic.” He grinned. “So they’ll probably tell us who won overall and then release the points for the different clues and the scoring for the day. We’ll know how many points we get, but it won’t be until we already know the outcome.” 

“And the carnival is only for that night?” You gave him a nod, staring at him where he sat on the couch next to you. “Is it a real carnival?”

“No rides, but yes. There’s food and games and sleigh rides. There might be a band, depending on if they can find someone to play and what the weather’s like. It’s usually from 7 to midnight, but I don’t think I’ve stayed past ten in five years. They announce the winners between 8 and 8:30, so there’s not much reason to stay really late.” 

“Maybe we can have lunch together for the rest of the week.” Din sat straight up, blinking slowly. “We can come up with a list of possible clue answers, and -” Shit. He doesn’t know. 

“I’m… I’m actually not going to be there all week. Tomorrow’s my last day for the year, because I saved vacation time to take.” His face fell, eyes clouding over briefly. “I’ve gotta finish my last minute shopping, Din. I do this every year.” 

“Well, then we’ll have to get a lot done tomorrow.” He winked at you, the smile returning. “We’ll figure it out.” 

“Is it alright? With the picture, I didn’t want to push it, and -” 

“Yeah. It’s fine. We’re partners, so of course we’d have lunch together. I’m not worried about it.” He sighed. “I will not be kissing you in the cafeteria at work, though.”

“I think I’ll cope.” Wrinkling your nose, you held back a laugh. “It’ll be hard, but…” He leaned forward and wound his arms around you, pulling you closer to his chest, Din laughing, too. It’ll be hard, but it it’ll be worth it. 

— 

You finished your Christmas shopping on December 22, right around the time you would have gotten off of work. The weather had held out - though there’d been snow overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, it stopped in time to let you get things done, and you were thankful. 

Your final stop was a trip out to Peli Motto’s shop for a basket of assorted goodies for Grogu - more of the frogs that he’d had at the tree lighting along with something called a Bantha bone, a bag of dried meat treats, and toy that the woman assured you was chew-proof: a shiny silver ball with a ridge around the center to dispense treats that you loaded into the core via a dark blue circular opening. 

The woman threw in a small bag of freeze-dried shrimp that she’d promised he would love - “Bright eyes is gonna love these. I can tell. I know these things. He won’t want to stop eating them.Trust me on this and make sure that man who owns him brings him to see me next time.” 

Grogu’s present had been simple - but Din’s? That was a struggle. 

You hadn’t wanted to  get him anything big that he wouldn’t be able to take back with him. You didn’t want to spend too much on him, since you didn’t want to seem like you were trying too hard, though you wanted to let him know that you were thinking of him. 

And so you’d put together a stocking for him, including a few practical things that had been the norm for you growing up - a new toothbrush, a pair of thick socks, complete with strands of Christmas lights on them, a tin of mints - along with a few other items like a gift card for the coffee place downtown, a replacement tube of the styling product you’d seen in his bathroom, a bag of assorted beef jerky … and the one thing you were still uncertain about. 

As you finished wrapping your presents later that night, you paused with his actual gift in your hands, staring down at it. It was more sentimental than you’d intended, but it was a good gift, and one that you knew he’d understand the significance of. 

You planned on giving him his and Grogu’s gifts the following night after the carnival, and telling him that he could open his then or wait until Christmas morning - but there was no part of you that assumed you’d see him on the actual holiday. Even though I want to ask him what he’s doing. If he’s going to be alone, I can … I can make it so that doesn’t happen. “Shit.” You set the gift down, covering your face with both hands. “He’ll say no.” 

Doing Christmas activities together was one thing, but actually spending the holiday together was another. Not only would it raise questions with your family so soon after your breakup, but it would mean needing to be careful with what you and Din said throughout the day… and that was something you were unsure you were ready for. 

So giving a gift - even one that was arguably heartfelt - was something that you could do, and you hoped that no matter where he was or who he was with, he’d take it with him so that he could remember his time in Mistletoe. 

You wrapped it in glittering silver paper, creasing the edges around the small box and carefully taping them shut before you tucked it into the stocking with everything else and carried both up to the kitchen table, setting them aside from the other wrapped gifts under the tree. 

Glancing at the clock, you groaned when you saw how late it was - and that you’d be rushing to finish getting ready in time to meet your friends unless you immediately got into the shower. 

Sending a quick text to Cara and Stacy, you eyed the stocking with Din’s name on it for a few more seconds while you waited for a reply, one finger idly running over the soft white fur of the trim. 

Getting ready to shower. Still meeting at 7:30? 

It would be the last time you saw them before the holiday, and the three of you were meeting to exchange gifts over dinner - and to gossip about everything that had happened since the last time you’d seen each other. 

Yep. There’s a pitcher of margaritas with my name on it. 

Laughing, you set your phone down and turned toward the bathroom, some of the unease leaving you. You needed the distraction - and even a few hours out with friends would help immensely. 

— 

“Can you believe it? She’s on her third job in the last two months. I don’t think she knows what she wants to do.” Cara held her drink in one hand, gesturing with the other. “I want to be supportive, but it’s really hard when I can’t even keep up with what she’s doing.” 

The three of you had finished dinner and exchanged gifts before switching over to the drinking portion of the night, and as always, Cara’s stories were full of updates from her life away from Mistletoe and the people she interacted with on a daily basis. 

You didn’t mind, because the more she talked, the less you had to, but you knew that it would eventually come back to you - and what you’d been doing with Din for the last few weeks. “So are you ready for the scavenger hunt tomorrow?” Stacy leaned in. “I can’t believe the competition’s almost over.”

“Yeah, neither can I. And yes, I think I am. Din and I met for lunch on Tuesday before I left work for the year and made a list of a bunch of the popular places in town that have been clues in the past, and -”

“Wait, so you haven’t talked to him since Tuesday?” Cara set her drink down, laying her palms flat on the table. “I’m shocked.” 

“Why?” You dipped a chip into the table’s salsa - the fourth refill that the three of you had requested - and popped it into your mouth. “It’s not like we’re dating. We don’t need to talk every single day.” It was the truth - you hadn’t actually spoken to Din since Tuesday but you had texted back and forth. “I’m going to call him when I leave here tonight though, we have to figure out where we’re meeting tomorrow morning.” 

“Because you two were getting close.” She leaned in. “I mean the two of you kissed, and -”

“Yeah, about that.” You drummed your fingers against the tabletop. I’m going to have to do this sooner or later, so why not now. “I found out why he put a stop to that the other night.” Both of your friends widened their eyes and waited, neither of them speaking to interrupt you. “He doesn’t want to get involved with anyone while he’s here because he isn’t staying. He’s going to have to go home in a couple months for work - not what he does here but what he did there before he took this time off.” 

It rolled off of your tongue smoothly, and you were proud that it wasn’t quite a lie, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. “What did he do over there? His friend’s the King’s bodyguard, does Din -” 

“No. He doesn’t work for the King or anything like that.” You waved her off, eating another chip. “But he basically arranged to take a year or so off to be able to travel, and that year’s going to end.” Lifting your glass, you sipped your drink. “So it’s easier not to get involved when keeping something going is … next to impossible.”

“But you like each other.” Cara shook her head. “We can all see it.” 

“We do.” Shrugging, you looked away for a few seconds and then met her eyes again. “But we’re both being realistic.” 

“So after tomorrow, you’re just going to stop seeing each other? Just go back to whatever your friendship was before this competition? You’re going to skip out on -”

“Cara.” The woman was getting annoyed, her eyes flashing as she whipped her head from side to side. “No. But we were both very clear about what this is and what it can and can’t be. So … we’re going to be friends. And whatever happens with that happens, but I’m not under the impression that he’s staying around long term, and we both … we’re both alright with that.” Or at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves.

“Bullshit.” You had to admit that she was right - and it sounded incredibly false coming out of your mouth, but as long as you stuck to what you were saying, you thought you’d be alright. “God, that’s unfair.” 

“It is what it is.” Finishing your drink, you leaned back. “And like I told him, it might be better right now to know that there’s nothing long term on the table. This is easy, This is … what I need.” You wondered if you’d ever convince yourself that it was the truth, or if it would just be words coming out of your mouth, the same thing repeated long after Din had left for Mandalore. “It’s good, guys. We’re having fun together. We talked everything over on Saturday night and Sunday morning after the snowman c-”

“Sunday…morning?” Stacy raised an eyebrow. Shit. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“No. Well, yeah. I spent the night, but nothing happened. I went over to decorate the tree with him, and by the time we were done it was snowing really hard, and he offered me his spare room.” They didn’t need to know that you hadn’t used the bed, or that that night and morning had been a definite shift in your feelings for the man, despite everything you’d learned. “And I woke up the next morning, the streets were plowed, and after he shoveled his driveway, I went home.”

“I don’t know how you slept in the same house as him and didn’t try to jump his bones.” Stacy groaned. “I know I’m married, but he’s … he’s really good looking, and -”

“I know.” You glanced down at your phone, checking the time. “Believe me, it was hard, but all we did was sleep.” Cara muttered something under her breath that you didn’t catch, Stacy rubbing at her forehead while she stared at you. “You guys, I promise you. This is fine. I know where he stands, he knows where I stand, and this is just … fun. It’s two people getting to know each other without expectations.” But no expectations doesn’t mean there’s no feelings. 

“If you say so.” Cara tipped her head back finishing the last of her drink. “But you know we’ll always be here, right? If you ever want to talk, or ever want to tell us what he’s like in bed, or -”

“Believe me, if it ever comes to that, you’d be the first two people I talked to.” Winking at them, you started to gather your things. “I really do need to get going, though. I want to get to sleep early so that I’m not slow tomorrow.” 

All three of you stood, tossing money onto the table for a tip after you’d packed your presents up, Cara leading the way out of the restaurant and into the parking lot. She held the door open for a couple walking in as you exited, the red-haired woman giving you a nod and her dark haired companion thanking your friend as you passed them and stepped out into the parking lot - and the softly falling snow. 

A few steps into the parking lot, you paused, glancing back over your shoulder. I know her from somewhere. But they were already inside, the door shut behind them, and so you let out a breath, following your friends until you reached your cars. 

Once you’d said goodbye and exchanged one more round of “Merry Christmas” between you, you were seated in your car and waiting for it to warm up. You used that time to message Din, a smile on your lips as your fingers flew over the keys. 

Heading home from dinner now. Going to get to bed early. Want to meet at my place at 10 tomorrow? 

It didn’t take him long to answer, the reply short and simple. 

Sounds good. I’ll bring the coffee

As you typed out a reply, another message from Din came through. 

I hope you had a good night with your friends. You’ll have to tell me what you got tomorrow morning. 

In a perfect world, you would have sent back another message - telling him that you were on your way over and you could tell him that night. You would have asked if you could bring anything, or requested that he light a fire and pick a movie before you got there.

But instead, when you pulled into your driveway - and then into your garage, closing the door behind you before you stepped into the silent, dark house, you finally replied, closing your eyes to stop the tears from spilling over once the text had sent. 

Yeah. Just remind me tomorrow when we see each other. Goodnight, Din. 

— 

maela = go on

muun = hard

spouse = riduur

ridurrok = love bond (marriage)

--- 

Tag list reblog coming soon! 

[andreafmn]

12 Days of Ficmas - Day 8

Prompt (by @12-days-of-ficmas): my family is coming for christmas but i didn’t want to tell you bc i thought they’d cancel and yeah they don’t know we live together

Word Count: 719

Story Description: (Y/N)'s family is flaky at best, and expecting them to visit for Christmas was not something they were looking forward to. Until they confirmed they would be visiting them. Only problem, (Y/N)'s boyfriend Derek doesn't know them and they don't know they're living together.

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Pairing: Derek Hale x NonBinary!Reader

A/N: i was gonna post yesterday on time but I was too tired and went to bed rather than finish the story so once again I'm off schedule (but at least I'm posting😬) I will try to get the other one out, but it's my birthday so I don't know when I'll have a chance.

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Just Family Things

One thing Derek Hale was adept at was not talking about his family. Which is why he never pushed the topic. Even entering a whole year with (Y/N). He was simply grateful they were by his side.

Though, there were times he felt like they were ashamed of him and that was the reason they had never introduced him to their family. Still, he didn’t feel it was his place to bring it up. They were happy enough together and he didn’t want to ruin it.

As the Christmas season started to make itself known, Derek noticed (Y/N) growing restless. They were hyper-fixated on cleaning their home, overstocking their food, and setting up their Christmas decorations perfectly. It was an obsessive behavior he had never seen before in them.

Even when hunting and fighting supernatural creatures, (Y/N) was always level headed, astute, and they never let their guard down. But as they ran from side to side, fixing things no one else would have thought were wrong, he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on behind their actions.

They were stress cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush one morning, kneeling on the floor, sweat forming on their forehead.

“(Y/N), what are you doing?” Derek asked leaning against the doorframe. “You’ve been stressed out these past few weeks and I know it’s not because of the pack coming over on Christmas.”

“It’s nothing, babe. I just need to clean up. Make sure everything is perfect. “

“Why though?” he chuckled. “It’s not like they would honestly care.”

“Ugh!” (Y/N) yelled out. “Okay, look. My family is coming over for Christmas.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. They were gonna come on the first week of December, but I knew they were gonna flake, so I didn’t tell you.” They finally confessed. It felt like a weight had lifted from their shoulders. And now that they had started, they continued. “And they did cancel, so I just let it be. But they called me and told me they were going to be here for Christmas week. Now I gotta make sure this place is rid of anything they can criticize because they honestly will judge even the tiniest speck of dust.”

Derek was shocked. It was the first time (Y/N) had spoken about their family freely. Normally, they would avoid the topic, focusing on anything but that.

“So, I’m finally gonna meet the family,” he grinned. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Honestly, neither did I. They don't even know we live together.”

“Did you, um… did you not want them to meet me?” he finally said, his true feeling sprouting out.

“Oh, god no,” (Y/N) was quick to respond. “I didn’t want you to meet them.”

“Why not?”

“Look, I love my family. I do,” they continued. “And though I know they mean well, they are a very – how do I put this – a quite rowdy bunch that can offend just about anyone. They can get on your nerves very quickly, and I didn’t want you to look at me differently because of them.”

With a smile on his face, he extended his arm and propped them onto their feet. He wrapped his arms around them, engulfing them tightly. He placed a kiss atop their head and chucked slightly.

“I could never judge you for who your family is. I’ve had my fair share of embarrassing family members,” he spoke against their hair. “If I had any say, you would have never met Peter. But our families don’t define us, babe. And I’ll do the best I can to help you through this week.”

“Why couldn’t they have come on thanksgiving?” (Y/N) whined against his chest, letting out a deep sigh. They were frustrated, tired, and nervous. Feelings that always arose when speaking to and about their family. “Maybe we should just say we have no space here. You think they’ll cancel again?”

“I promise I won’t let them bother you,” Derek told them before giving them a comforting kiss. “We’ll get through this Christmas together, babe. I’ll help you with your family, and you’ll help me get through a whole night with the pack here.”

“Thank you, Der. I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Maybe, just maybe that would be their best Christmas yet.

Taglist: @bellabadacadabra @winter-soldier-101 @zheezs14 @cevans-winchester @andreiaafaria @bluetreecloud20 @sunshine2894 @sunsetcurvej @sapnapsbandana @mushroomelephant @she--walks--in--moonlight 2 @Gracelynn318 @swidkid @skyesthebomb @esposadomd @blueshoelacess @then-worship-at-my-altar @six-call @Yuki254 @beckiej0073-blog @baebeepeach @cecehensonn @catgirlpwr @magimtz23 @perle-noir22 @adaydreamaway08 @hufflepuffobsessedwithmarvel @thatgirljayy @sugasthreedollarkookie @laylaskywalker @fandomonetwo @fruitylilfuck

[mprosperossprite]

This post contains discussion of racism, misogyny, and intersection of these ideas in the TOG fandom.

Though the conversation around the racist tropes sometimes employed in depicting Joe is valuable and important, I do not have anything productive to add to that particular conversation. Instead, this post aims to examine the ways in which Nile has largely been overlooked by fan created content for The Old Guard and suggest ways in which each of us as individuals might make this fandom a more inclusive place.

One last preamble: I’m an white woman. I am speaking here from a place of ally-ship. And I am still learning how to best be an anti-racist ally in all elements of my life. This post is coming from the best of my knowledge at the moment, hoping that maybe it’ll make a difference to somebody.

Alright.

I want to begin with a story: a couple of weeks ago in the Book of Nile group chat one of our members noticed that the stories and AU’s and ideas we were constructing for each other the previous week had focused on Booker, had given Booker the extensive backstories, had articulated Booker’s complexity more thoroughly. She posted that she had noticed this along with a note along the lines of “we can’t do better if we don’t recognize the patterns.”

So here’s a pattern that I’ve noticed that is particularly disheartening to me: Nile Freeman, a black woman and the main character of The Old Guard, has the least amount of fanworks created about her.

On AO3 she has the fewest tagged fics. On tumblr, there is much less fan art created for her. In discord servers, Nile is rarely mentioned.

This fandom has become dominated by Joe and Nicky.

I do not mean to discount Joe and Nicky. Their depiction in an action movie is groundbreaking queer representation. They are fascinating individuals and fascinating in how they make their work partnership, romantic and sexual relationship flourish for an unimaginable length of time. Their story touches on themes that have long excited storytellers: the power of love above all, fate’s matches and soulmates.

Nevertheless, the way this fandom has diminished and ignored Nile Freeman is a collective act of misogynoir. All of us are complicit.

Racism is structural. Misogyny is structural. It is no one person’s fault. It is no individual’s moral failing. None of us can single-handedly fix it.

Nile’s erasure from the TOG fandom is nobody’s fault. As the opening anecdote illustrates, even those of us who actively seek out fan communities focused on her are guilty of backburnering Nile to a white man.

But, my experience working in one of the most racist systems in the US has helped me learn that though I can’t individually end racism and misogyny (and other structural inequalities), I can be aware of how my actions might reinforce these structures, and I can make deliberate choices to make my own actions as anti-racist and as feminist as possible.

So, TOG fans who are reading this, I ask you to pay attention to the content you’re creating and consuming in this fandom.

How many stories have you read or written recently that have included Nile as a full, complex character in her own right (and not a catalyst or ancillary support for Joe or Nicky or Booker)?

How much fan-art with Nile has crossed your dash recently? What percentage of it is just Nile reacting to Joe and Nicky?

How many conversations have you had in group chats and discord servers that examine Nile’s backstory, her journey in the film, her future with a fragmented and hurting Old Guard?

How many headcanons have you crafted about Nile’s role in the guard’s little family, about the way her principles and desires might reinforce the others’ views or change them?

Furthermore, I hope that as you do this, you’ll notice the reasons that you haven’t seen or engaged with content about the film’s main character. I urge you to push beyond superficial explanations.

I just like the romance aspect of Joe and Nicky. Okay, but who’s to say Nile can’t have romance too? Booker, Andy, Quynh, heck, even reincarnated Lykon or OC’s or characters from other franchises, are all available to appreciate and love on Nile Freeman.

I usually just have one ship in a fandom. Okay, but what about fic celebrating the joys of an intercultural found family or fic delving into Nile being a badass millennial warrior? Those and others are all stories that are interesting and exciting too!

I just love that Joe and Nicky are canonically queer. Absolutely! Me too! But this isn’t a reason to shun or ignore a character whose heart and intelligence and courage drives the plot of a movie we all claim to love.

And then, once you’ve paid attention, I urge you to make a change, to work against the misogynoir in our fandom. Even small things make a difference.

Reblog just one piece of content where Nile is the focus each time you log into tumblr

Read a fic once a week in which Joe and Nicky aren’t the primary characters

Write a subplot in your current fic which explores an element of Nile’s character

When I said we can all do better, I meant it. I’m not excluded from responsibility. In case you're curious how I’m taking my own advice, here’s my plan:

I’ve been bad about reblogging anything lately, considering reblogs are the lifeblood of tumblr. I’m going to seek out some of the Nile fanart I’ve skimmed over recently and queue it up. This blog is gonna have more Nile than it even did before.

I’m going to keep writing Book of Nile and Joe/Nicky, but I also want to consider Nile’s relationship with Andy and Quynh if it was sexual and romantic and fabulously queer and polyamorous. Gotta finish my current long-fic first, but then there are some fic ideas percolating I hope to get down on paper this summer.

I’m going to seek out Andy/Nile and Andy/Quynh fic on AO3. I haven’t read very much of either of these ships and I want to see more of what these authors have to offer. (If y’all have recs, hit me up!)

So to conclude, we can’t do better if we don’t recognize the patterns. I hope you’ll join me in consciously thinking about whose narratives with the TOG universe are being prioritized and whose narratives are being ignored. I hope you’ll join me in taking action, as small as they might be, to lift up those narratives that have been overlooked due to racism and misogyny that, again, is nobody’s fault but is everyone’s responsibility.

Finally, if you’ve made it to this point, thank you for your time and attention. What we pay attention to matters, and I’m grateful that you decided to pay attention to this.

[sparxymcfly]

Do you have any bttf fanfics or crossovers that you'd recommend?

I CANNOT BEGIN TO APOLOGIZE FOR HOW LONG THIS ONE HAS TAKEN TO GET TO but simultaneously. :) You bet your butt I do! I've read... quite a few BTTF fics and combed through, I am fairly sure, a large chunk of what's on Ao3. Which ah! Does leave quite a considerable pile. But lemme give you some of my favorites!!

Fanfictions

‘Cause I Might Not Make It Back by Rose_of_Pollux - I feel the need to give small descriptions but also I ought to keep it brief! A post-game multi-chapter adventure following Marty sent back to 1932 with amnesia and both Emmett and Doc have to work to figure out what’s happened and how to fix it, all the while the perpetrator- after Doc’s time travel research- is still at large... It’s well written and very fun!

No Little Plans by cleflink - Another grand adventure! While not multichapter, this one is still a bit of heft at 11k, but MAN is it worth it. In which Doc takes Marty on a fun little road trip that turns WILD. But then, whaddya expect out of these two? It’s a seriously fun ride and as I don’t intend to try to spoil more than what’s in descriptions I’ll be leaving it at that, but I very much recommend it!

Future Boy: In The Beginning by Anonymous - Wow! A trans Marty fic? From moi? Who’d have thunk it. There’s many different takes on trans Marty, but this one is one of my favorites. There isn’t terribly much to be said that isn’t on the tin- Marty deals with realizing he is trans and going forward with that in the American 80s. There’s also a second fic in this series and you should read it too- do be warned of the tags, of course, but have fun!

Becoming Marty by butchcassidy - TWO trans Marty fics? Methinks there’s a trend here. Well, there is. This one is a lot lighter than the previous one, for what it is worth, but it’s just as lovely a take. As opposed to a stalwart fight, it’s more of a rocky road, so to speak. As it says on the tin- Marty becoming himself, and it’s very enjoyable :)

Fireworks, Family, and other post time travel Phenomenon by Moonyssoliloquy - Mouthful! But here’s a lovely little number about PTSD and Marty’s wonderful little found family. There isn’t much to be said without just spoiling the whole deal as it is rather short and sweet, but I gotta say, the writing is crisp and makes it very worth the click. Especially if you wanna read something that’ll just make you real soft for a minute :)

In Case of Emergency by Knickynoo - MMM SOME OF THESE WERE DIFFICULT because I’m endeavoring to pick just one fic per author when it comes up. PLEASE do look into these authors I’m linking bc honest to god very good work, every single one of em. Anyways I picked this one because I have a penchant for reading and rereading softer and easier things more than heavy ones and I would have liked to reread longer things before I recommend them and <3 not quite ready yet. Which, a bit of a laugh considering some of my earlier picks, but like a certain little time traveler I find grand adventure easier than confronting the hard stuff. Who knew! BUT EVEN THEN IT’S HARD. This one is cute and it’s about Marty calling Doc for help and it’s just. Give it a read just trust me, Nikki’s good at this stuff <3

He Ain’t Heavy. He’s My Brother by TaraTheMeerkat - OHHH my goodness I really do love this one. I’ve got a soft little spot in my heart for the 2015 kids and man if this doesn’t deliver so darn well. Trans Marlene? Check. The twins just being there for each other and loving each other? Check. Lovely characterizing on both of them? Check. Give it a read if you like them also :)

Doctor Fix It by Kharasma - ITS SO. This one’s another rather short and sweet, following a little snippet of Doc and Marty in 55. It’s so. It’s very nice and cute and only a little bit sad but then it’s soft again I PROMISE it’s worth it go read it :)

Crossovers

I don’t actually read that many crossovers tbh! And those I do, I typically prefer short and sweet ones, and/or crossovers that include things I Know about, although I’ve dipped my toes in the proverbial pool once or twice before. All this to say, here’s a few cute ones I’ve found, and do investigate yourself if you’d like! [Which is true of the non-crossover fics too but I feel Especially I should say here, since I don’t dabble in it much]. Most of em are short and sweet, so I’ll just be listing what the crossover is and you can decide whether you’d like a little smile about it <3

Departmental Affairs by kesomon - Back to the Future (Movies) x Star Trek: Next Generation.

It Could Have Happened by Kitschgeist - Back to the Future (Movies) x Clue (1985).

An Unusual Meeting by jedipati - Back to the Future (Movies) x Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies).

Back to the Falls by lemonhead - Back to the Future (Movies) x Gravity Falls.

little high, little low by mrFutureBoy - Back to the Future (Movies) x Stuart Little (Movies).

Also, did you know Marty features in the most infamous fanfiction of all, My Immortal? I learned this because someone posted it spell-checked to Ao3, turns out Marty randomly appears for 2 lines to help ole Ebony time travel. The more you know :)

In Closing/A Warning [under a read more bc this is gettin LONG]

Mostly! A warning! Do be careful when exploring if you choose to dive into the Ao3 tag yourself! The fandom is wonderful and I've read so many amazing works since becoming a fan, but while investigating some of my old favorites and, notably, their authors for other works for this ask, I, ah... made the unfortunate discovery that one of said old favorites was written by someone who also writes. Ah. To put it delicately some of the most atrocious things I’ve ever seen! Especially within the BTTF tag itself! To keep it vague. They're incredibly present, it seems, in both writing and reading- it made me a little ill to learn, and I'm a tad bit upset I cannot take the kudos back on any of their fic I read but <3 I can at least put forth the warning to you all to Be Careful venturing in, if that kind of thing bothers you. Every author of the fics I've linked here is of course fine though! Checked them myself and they're cool, at least in regards to BTTF content/things easily checked. You should check them out too also because not only is checking authors good for That Sort Of Thing but also you get to see more of their work that might otherwise be swallowed in the swaths! Which I’ve said once already, but like, can’t say it enough methinks.

If you WOULD like to check out the tag yourself for more though [and you aren’t already some measure of connoisseur of the site], here is a link to a search I've already applied careful filters of my own to! Granted, there is.. nothing I can do about untagged ships, but I've at least "seen the belly of the beast" so to speak and chopped off as much as I can. It's extremely barebones- removal of the most upsetting content, really. Typically I myself would remove things like Major Character Death [nothing wrong with it! I'm just soft and need to be in the right mood to handle it], or would filter for English [since that's the language I read ^^;]- or perhaps you'd like to filter out crossovers!

Which, points of warning for that is that on one hand, if you don’t filter them out I can’t? Guarantee you might not find a weird thing or two? As I didn’t exactly go through every single page of these. But on the other if you DO filter them out, careful to note that this is the filter for the movies, and filtering out crossovers Will also get rid of any that include the game. [WHICH UH! Here is another link if you’d like the same filters but with non-bttf crossovers removed- may still remove results from individual non-movie continuities, but it’s a good jumping off point and also I’m Rambling] But this is just some basic starters to help you not have to want to burn your eyes out like I do when I do my occasional tag checks for new works <3

Sorry again for the long wait, but thanks for asking!! And I hope you enjoy what I've set out- stay safe out there!

[youngbeezer]

For the tiktok stories waking up early to watch the sunrise with Nolan Patrick

Referenced Post

Prompt-- 12. Waking up early to watch the sunrise

A/N: Here's another blurb from the 14 oddly romantic things blurb set. Sorry it has taken me so long to post another one, I've been having very little motivation to write lately so hopefully this isn't too bad.

Thanks for requesting this, hope you like it :)

Word Count: 975

Warning(s): none i dont think, ending kinda sucks

join my taglist :)

Quietness surrounds me as my mind awakens before my body. I lay motionless for a few minutes trying to even out my breath once more, but my mind does not seem to want to cooperate. Realizing there is no chance of me falling back asleep, I roll onto my side where my bedside table is to focus my bleary eyes on the clock to check what time it is.

4:58 AM.

I throw my head back onto the pillows in annoyance. Rolling onto my side once more, now in the opposite direction, I find my boyfriend still in a deep slumber. I contemplate wanting to either stay in bed and to try to force myself back to sleep, or just cave in and get up and start my day. Going for the latter, I carefully peel the comforter and sheets off of my body, trying not to disturb my tired boyfriend. As soon as my bare feet hit the cold hardwood floors, I hear Nolan grumble a little bit before eventually rolling to the other side.

I let out a sigh of relief and then made my way to the bathroom to do my business and wash my face. Before heading to the kitchen, I grab my phone and my favorite fluffy blanket off the corner chair in our bedroom and slip on a pair of slippers.

While starting a pot of coffee, I check my phone to see what time the sunrise is. Seeing that I have a good 25 minutes before the sun begins to ascend, I take my time making my coffee and looking through some of my social media. Once I start to hear the first few chirps coming from the birds outside, I decide to then go ahead and make my way onto the balcony that will give me the perfect view of the sunrise over the Philly skyline. The air still smells of the night time as I shiver a little, basking in the last bit of quietness before the sun arises and the hustle and bustle of the day begins.

I’m broken out of the quietness when I hear the sliding glass door of the balcony creak open. I crane my neck to find Nolan-- with his crazy bedhead and bleary eyes, walking out into the crisp air.

“What are you doing awake?” I croak out my first words of the morning.

“I could ask you the same thing.” His already deep voice intensified from just waking up.

I give him a little shrug. “My body just decided to wake up now. Did I wake you?”

He lifts his arms above his head and does a big stretch while shaking his head no.

I ignore the way his shirt lifts up a little revealing a slither of his v-line and focus my eyes back on him giving him a questioning glare.

He huffs at my expression and finally relents, “I wanted to cuddle with you, but you weren’t there.”

I coo at that whereas Nolan blushes and rolls his eyes at my antics. He motions for me to get up, which I do, where he then takes my previous place and pulls me into his lap. I fix the blanket to where it is now covering us both and immediately snuggle closer to Nolan’s body. He gives me a little kiss on the forehead, where my head is currently laying on his chest, and wraps his arms tighter around me.

Slowly the first few rays of sunlight peeked over the edge of the Philly skyline casting pinkish/goldish hues in the sky. The first rays of the sun are cool and bracing to our tired eyes. As the golden disc seemed to be rising more and more, you could hear the birds singing their morning tunes, and there was a quick moment of serene and calmness as the world around us felt like it was stopped in time, allowing us to capture this peaceful moment. Finally, as the sun gets higher in the sky, the day’s activities begin. You can hear the early-risers already up and at them bustling through the streets, the cars whizzing through the traffic lights, and the beautiful sounds of the trash truck making its way through the town. Gotta love city life.

I sigh contently in Nolan’s arms, reveling in the last few moments of peace before we go and get a head start on our day.

“Thank you for staying out here with me.” I whisper to Nolan.

He responds by giving my forehead another kiss and then mumbles into my hair, “Of course. I’d do anything if it meant starting my mornings with you by my side.”

I sit up a little and bring my hands to play with his overgrown hair. I smile at the slight blush that currently overtakes my boyfriend's cheeks after his last confession.

“Ya know mornings make you all lovey dovey and say all these cute things.” I tease lightly.

His blush turns an even darker shade of pink at that and he turns his face away from me to try and hide it. I gently grab hold of his chin and bring his face back towards mine to bring our lips together. The kiss is sweet and short since neither of us have yet to brush our teeth, and it is still very early in the morning for things to get too heated. But it’s still all we need. As we pull apart, I mumble against his lips,

“I love you,”

“I love you too.” He drawled, bringing me back in for one more kiss.

“Hm, wait. Does this mean you’ll wake up with me again tomorrow to watch the sunrise?”

He groaned, and I let out a light laugh while snuggling back into his chest already thinking about how today is going to be a great day.

Tagging a few people so this doesn't flop,,,

@heatherawoowoo @barzysandmarnersbitch @matbarzls @barzy-xoxo @joelfarabeezer @luukasreichel @lovereadinghockeyy @only-goalies-allowed @rosesvioletshardy @bb-nhlqueen7 @yungbeez @youngbeez @cherrybarzy @2manytabsopen @carepriceisgoodathockey @prettyboyjackhughes @turcsandzegras @iwantahockeyhimbo @farabees

[gamerwoo]

Seventeen: Welcome to Caratland (End)

Characters: Seventeen x reader (gender neutral)

Genre/warnings: horror/halloween au, choose your own adventure au, horror au, angst, murder, major character death, 

Summary: The night before Halloween, you and your 13 friends decide to go explore the infamous abandoned amusement park: Caratland, where it’s rumored that rides start on their own, empty mascot suits are seen walking around, and people don’t return the same as when they left. Can you and your friends survive the night in Caratland?

a/n: realizing halloween is coming up, i’ve decided to FINALLY finish the au i did last halloween. for those who kept up with it: i’m sorry for discontinuing it. there was hardly any interaction with it so i just lost interest and motivation. and the lack of interaction is why i decided to just put all the choices in this part so you can see all the endings and whatnot. i’m sorry it took so long to wrap things up and there will probably be mistakes so i’m sorry about that, but i hope you all still enjoy it. ALSO LMK WHICH PATH/ENDING YOU GET FIRST TIME AROUND!!!

Tag list: @sadienita @xummie @mingoats @xxbluestrifexx @kwanseo @junhaoshua @allegxdly​ 

Previous | Caratland Masterlist

[NOTE: there will probably be mix-ups with paths and endings because i literally just did all of this in 3 days and posted without anyone proof reading it. i will go through everything later to fix and edit things, so please be patient with me!!!]

»»————-　　————-««

16 -- A

“It’s probably best to go back to the breach, right?” you decided. “We know it’s there so it’s the best way to get back.”

“_____ has a point,” Wonwoo shrugged.

“Alright, everyone head back to the hole -- and don’t get split up,” Seungcheol stated before deciding to take the lead.

“Okay, but if I see one of those glorified Chuck E. Cheese mascots coming toward us, I’m leaving all of you behind,” Seungkwan muttered as he followed with the group.

All of you were glancing around trying to keep an eye out for the animatronics, while also trying to quickly and quietly make your way back to the way you’d gotten into the park. You kept mentally kicking yourself for convincing your friends to come here. If it wasn’t for you, you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. You were just lucky everyone was still here...

The gates were starting to come into view, and you felt relief begin to course through you. Your legs were starting to move faster on their own, just wanting to get out of this living nightmare.

Seungcheol shooting his arms out to stop the group was what had you skid to a stop. He whispered loudly for everyone to get down behind the nearby shrubs and two trash bins. The fourteen of you poked your heads around to see what had gotten him to act like this, and your heart sank at what you saw

Serenity was blocking the hole in the fence.

“Fuck,” Jeonghan hissed.

“We’re gonna die here...” Seokmin whispered, but Wonwoo was quick to comfort him.

“What’s the plan now?” Hansol wondered.

“I know it’ll risk us going to jail or something,” Jihoon began, “but I think it’s time we just cave and call someone.”

“No, I’m not going back there!” Seungkwan whispered intensely.

Your eyebrows furrowed as your turned to look at him, “Excuse me?”

“I’d rather get arrested than get murdered,” Mingyu insisted. “At least we know we’ll be safe and alive in jail.”

You made a face, “Will we, though?”

“Listen,” Hansol interrupted as he pulled out his phone, “I’ll just call my parents -- they’re really chill. And worse case scenario, they just lecture us.”

But as he went to make the call, all his phone did was beep at him like the line was busy. He took the phone away from his ear and looked down, furrowing his eyebrows.

“We had service all night, right?” he asked.

“Yeah...?” Joshua replied.

“Well now I don’t for some reason,” he said, turning his phone screen to show his friends.

Mingyu’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding.”

Then everyone, including you, were taking out their phones and checking for service. Just like Hansol, you had no bars.

Unfortunately, everyone else was in the same boat.

Now, Seokmin was on the verge of tears, “We’re going to die here!”

“Don’t get hysterical yet,” Minghao told him. “There’s gotta be a way out of this. Even if we have to wait around until morning, we can probably out-run these hunks of metal.”

“Y’know, I heard a friend of a friend snuck in here once,” Soonyoung began. “Some dude Changkyun knows. He said there’s apparently some sort of underground exit under the food court.”

“At this point, we’ll have to try anything,” Wonwoo sighed.

“So back to the food court?” Seungcheol practically whined.

You took a deep breath, “Unfortunately, yeah.”

[GO TO: 17 -- A]

»»————-　　————-««

16 -- B

“Does anyone even remember where the hole in the fence is?” you asked.

Everyone either gave you blank stares or shook their heads. You let out a sigh.

“Alternate way it is,” Minghao shrugged.

“Let’s just hang here until someone thinks of something,” Seungcheol suggested. “We’re all here, and I think those things are still hanging around wherever we were before. It’ll take a while before we see them again.”

So the fourteen of you hung out at the merry-go-round. Most of you leaned up against the horses or found yourselves sitting down on them. A few of you sat on the two steps of the platform. Chan and Wonwoo were sitting in one of the carriages that most families or parents sat in. All of you were scrolling on your phones or looking at someone else’s phone, trying to research anything about Caratland that might help you find a way out. Maybe a map or a blueprint or something might come up. 

Suddenly, the ride jerked. You almost fell over onto Junhui as the ride began turning slowly, the music trying to play but the wiring was too old and worn that it just sounded demonic at best.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Jihoon scoffed. “Who turned on the ride?”

The question was overlooked by Mingyu’s shriek. Every head who was on his side of the merry-go-round whipped over to see Bongbong sitting on a horse only a few rows away from the tall boy. But another scream from Seungkwan was what brought attention to the answer to Jihoon’s question.

Eight was standing at the controls of the ride, his never-changing smile on his face as he slowly waved.

“Run!” Joshua called, leaping off of the horse he was sitting sideways on.

“Run where?” Seokmin called as he scrambled to get off the ride and jump the short fence.

“Food court!” Soonyoung shouted as he pumped his legs as fast as they would go. “It’s a long shot...but I have an idea!”

“I’d rather know the idea first!” Jeonghan called after him as the group ran together away from the merry-go-round.

“One of Changkyun’s friends apparently broke in before!” he tried to explain between breaths. “He said there’s an underground exit there! Who knows if it’s legit, but...”

But it was the only plan they had.

[GO TO: 17 -- A]

»»————-　　————-««

17 -- A

All of you had to squeeze through the tiny basement windows to get back in after finding the doors to be locked once again.

“How’d those fuckers get out in the first place?” Jeonghan huffed as he landed on the concrete floor of the basement. “The doors have been locked this entire time.”

“We’re being chased by animatronics that haven’t been functioning for years, and they’re out to kill us for some reason, and that’s what you’re going to question?” Soonyoung pointed out.

“Can we focus, please?” Seungcheol whined. “The sooner we find this secret eit, the sooner we’re free.”

“Everyone start searching,” Hansol said, waiving for everyone to scour the basement.

All of you searched every inch you could. The floor, the walls, shelves, behind old cupboards and props -- but there was nothing.

“What if it’s not here?” Chan suggested.

“Yeah? And where else would an underground exit be other than in the basement?” Jeonghan shot back.

The youngest frowned and rolled his eyes, “Soonyoung just said it was underground, he didn’t say under what part of the food court.”

“I mean...Jeonghan has a point,” Seokmin admitted hesitantly. “The basement is underground.”

[TO GO UPSTAIRS TO THE FOOD COURT GO TO: 18 -- A]

[TO CONTINUE SEARCHING THE BASEMENT GO TO: 18 -- B]

»»————-　　————-««

18 -- A

“It can’t hurt to check somewhere else,” you spoke up, moving to stand beside Chan. “We’re looked everywhere down here. What if it’s not in the basement? There could be some secret tunnel under a different location and we’re just going to be here wasting our time.”

“I mean...yeah, that makes sense,” Jihoon decided with a shrug. “Alright, we’ll try back upstairs.”

“I don’t wanna go back up there...” Seokmin whined, clinging to the nearest person -- it happened to be Junhui.

“We’re all going,” you reassured him with a soft smile. “Let’s go. Nothing’s going to happen.”

You led the way up the stairs this time, but you found yourself going slow. You strained your ears for any noise on the other side of the basement door but the food court seemed to be quiet. Maybe the animatronics couldn’t get back in since the doors were locked.

You pushed the door open cautiously, poking your head out to glance around. It seemed empty, so you opened the door wider and let everyone else out.

“Is that e--”

SLAM!

All of you jumped back and turned around hearing the basement door slam shut behind the last person out. 

“Fuck this, I want out,” Mingyu stated, shaking his head as he began to quickly walk away from the door.

“Hold up,” Wonwoo reached out and grabbed Mingyu’s wrist to keep him with the group. “We should stick together.”

“It probably just closed from the weight of the door anyway,” Minghao figured before going to pull on the door handle.

It didn’t budge.

“Move out of the way, toothpick,” Seungcheol smoothly pushed Minghao out of the way before trying the door himself.

Still nothing.

“D-did it...lock?” Chan asked slowly.

“Haha, would you look at that?” Seungkwan said, checking his wrist that very clearly didn’t have a watch on it. “I actually have to get the fuck out of here. Bye!”

“Maaaaybe,” Hansol grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him back, “don’t do that.”

“Yeah, nobody goes running off, got it?” Jihoon checked, shining his light at everyone to make sure they agreed to the new rule. “Shit’s too weird to be splitting up.”

“I think our best bet would be to hide in the security room until morning,” you spoke up. “It’s probably the safest place in here.”

“_____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “Let’s go -- and stick together.”

As a group, all of you made your way to the security room, with you, Jihoon, and Soonyoung leading the way. All of you had your lights, shining them around to make sure the entire area was safe until you made it to the security room and barricaded the door closed.

“Jesus Christ, I hated that,” Mingyu panted as if he had been holding his breath the entire time you were walking.

“I think I almost shit myself,” Soonyoung admitted.

“Imagine your last words being ‘I think I almost shit myself’,” Junhui snorted.

“Hang on, shut the fuck up,” Seungcheol snapped, holding a hand up as he quickly scanned the group in the room. He was trying to count heads while all of you were talking, and as he quickly recounted, his blood turned to ice. “Why are we one short?”

“One short?” Jeonghan asked.

“Someone’s missing,” he said urgently.

“Alright, let’s run attendance real quick,” Jihoon decided, trying to stay level-headed. He pulled out his phone and went to the group chat. “Obviously I’m here. Soonyoung?”

“Here.”

“Seungcheol?”

“Here.”

“Mingyu?”

“Unfortunately here.”

“Hansol?”

“Yup.”

“_____?”

“Here.”

“Joshua?”

Silence.

Jihoon looked up from his phone, repeating, “Josh?”

You and your friends looked around, trying to find Joshua’s face in the crowded room. But nobody spoke up, and the silence following Joshua’s name became deafening.

“Oh fuck...” you breathed, trying to not completely lose your shit. “Did we really lose Josh?”

“We have to go back for him,” Jeonghan insisted.

“What? No!” Seungkwan shouted. “That’s suicide!”

Then everyone was bickering. While everyone of course wanted to hope Joshua was safe, half of the group felt that going back out to look for him would mean all of them would get killed. The other half, on the other hand, were willing to risk their lives to go on a rescue mission.

[TO GO OUT LOOKING FOR JOSHUA GO TO: 19 -- A]

[TO STAY IN THE SECURITY ROOM GO TO: 19 -- B]

»»————-　　————-««

18 -- B

“I mean...how would it be under anywhere else?” you asked slowly with a shrug. “No offense, Chan. But like, this is kind of the only basement in the place.”

“See?” Jeonghan sneered.

Chan just frowned and rolled his eyes.

“There’s gotta be something we missed,” Soonyoung said, trying to stay calm. “Let’s just sweep the place over again.”

But after more looking, you still came up with nothing.

“At this point, I’m about to just dig through the boxes of old animatronic parts and just hope there’s a portal at the bottom or something,” Joshua sighed, slumped against a wall with Jeonghan beside him.

“Good luck,” Jeonghan scoffed. “I already tried picking one up to move them away from the wall but they’re super fucking heavy. It’s literally impossible.”

You turned your head to look at the large stack of boxes. There were piles of various sizes, but the ones at the back pressed up against the wall went up the highest. It was a long shot, but behind the boxes was the only place nobody checked because it couldn’t be reached. But with everyone giving up hope, it didn’t hurt to try, right?

“Hey, Gyu,” you spoke up before pointing to the boxes. “Think you can move those?”

Mingyu shrugged, “Yeah, probably.”

He walked over to the wall and began lifting boxes one-by-one. He grunted as he picked them up and moved them away until he called everyone over.

“There’s metal behind here!” he called over his shoulder.

“Ooh, is it the door?” Soonyoung asked excitedly, pushing himself off the floor.

“Told you it was better to look down here,” Jeonghan said once more.

Jihoon groaned, “Can you let it go? Leave Chan alone already.”

Seungcheol started assisting in the box-moving until the metal door was accessible. Seungcheol tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge. He tried harder, but still nothing.

“Can I try?” Mingyu asked.

Seungcheol stepped out of the way, gesturing for the tallest to give it a shot.

Mingyu threw his shoulder into the door a few times before it finally swung open, leading to a narrow corridor that looked like it would bring you straight to Hell.

“Okay,” Soonyoung breathed out, “let’s see if this is the way to freedom.”

[GO TO 20 -- A]

»»————-　　————-««

19 -- A

“Why is this an argument?!” you shouted over the bickering. “Our friend could be dead! I don’t care if nobody comes with me, but I’m going to find Josh.”

“I’ll go,” Jeonghan stated.

“Me too,” Hansol volunteered with a slight raise of his hand.

“Plus, I highly doubt an animatronic got him,” Minghao scoffed as he went to join your group as you went to open the door.

“Well...good luck with that,” Seungkwan nodded.

In the end, it was you leading the way, with Jeonghan, Hansol, Minghao, Seokmin, and Seungcheol tagging along -- the latter two clinging to each other as you opened the door and went down the short hallway to the door that read EMPLOYEES ONLY on the other side.

“Why would he split off from the group?” Jeonghan wondered. “If he were trying to prank you guys, he would’ve had me in on it.”

“Maybe he just--”

Your sentence was cut off by a scream -- your own scream. Your eyes saw the scene before you: Joshua’s body laying just in front of the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, a bloodied mess. All you could do was scream.

Standing over him, covered in what you could only assume was your friend’s blood, was Bongbong.

“_____, run!” Minghao shouted, grabbing your arm and yanking you away from the door.

He quickly reached for the door and slammed it closed as you and the others ran back down the short hall. Jihoon had poked his head out the door to see what the noise was, and you crashed right into him, hyperventilating as tears welled in your eyes.

God, that image was going to be burned into your brain forever.

“What happened?” he asked.

“J-J-Josh!” you sobbed.

“Those things are in here,” Minghao panted, closing the door to the security room and pressing his back. “Th-they got Josh.”

“You’re fucking with us,” Seungkwan said quietly and very unsurely.

“Would Minghao fuck with you?!” Jeonghan cried. “If you don’t believe us, why don’t you go out there and check for yourself, Kwan? Go get yourself traumatized!”

“Okay, don’t scream at him, it won’t help anything,” Wonwoo spoke up, trying to somehow keep the group put together.

“Let’s just focus on finding a way out,” Seungcheol decided in a shaky voice. 

“U-um...guys?” Mingyu spoke up, staring into the monitors.

Everyone gathered over to see what he was looking at.

Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.

They knew where you were.

“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”

“I get it’s scary, but we have to stay calm and--”

“Hey!”

Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He smirked, gesturing to the door.

“While you guys were shitting your pants, I found the underground exit,” he stated.

“Well fuck, kid,” Jihoon whistled under his breath.

“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.

Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”

Jeonghan just rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”

[GO TO 20 -- A]

»»————-　　————-««

19 -- B

You felt like a shitty person for not wanting to risk your life for Joshua. You felt extremely guilty that you didn’t want to go out and look for your friend, but truthfully, you were afraid to die -- and that’s why half your friends didn’t want to go looking for him. Not everyone was brave enough to be a hero, and while you always told yourself you would be when putting yourself into the shoes of horror movie characters, it just wasn’t the truth.

But in the midst of the argument of whether or not to go out to search for Josh -- the argument that you stayed silent for -- Mingyu spoke up in a shaky voice, “U-uh...g-guys?”

Everyone turned toward him to see he was staring into the monitors. You all gathered over to see what he was looking at.

Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. However, the monitors had gone fuzzy so you couldn’t see anything in any of the rooms.

Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why are the cameras suddenly down?”

You wished they stayed that way after seeing what was displayed next. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.

They knew where you were.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most disturbing thing.

You could see on one of the monitors, Bongbong was standing in front of the camera holding a familiar body. Joshua was being held up by his neck, and blood was coming out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and even his ears. 

You weren’t the only one to let out a scream and flinch away from the camera, hiding your face as you started panicking and crying.

“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”

“We have to find the fucking exit!” Seungcheol said in a panic. “Everyone go--”

“Hey!”

Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He was just staring at you like he hadn’t just witnessed what all of you did -- and maybe he didn’t because he was too busy searching.

“Way ahead of you,” he stated.

“Thank god,” Jihoon said under his breath.

“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.

Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”

Jeonghan just glared at him, “I’m not in the fucking mood.”

And then he went down the ladder.

[GO TO 20 -- A]

»»————-　　————-««

20 -- A

Other than only being wide enough for one person to walk through at a time, it was also very dimly-lit. It definitely looked like something straight out of a horror movie that would 100% lead to the characters’ imminent death.

Needless to say your heart was pounding in your ears.

There was another metal door, but this one was far easier to open. The squeak of it echoed down the corridor as the thirteen of you filed into the room. It seemed to be where they kept the spare mascot suits that actual employees would wear. There were a few of the bodies of the suits hanging up, with heads scattered in corners and on shelves, along with gloves and feet strewn about.

“I hate this,” Jun stated, looking around the room. 

“I know these things are empty, but looking into their empty eyes is somehow worse,” Jihoon mumbled, staring at an Eight head.

At the opposite end of the tiny room in the right corner was another metal door. You were starting to wonder how many more metal doors you’d have to encounter in this place.

To the left of the room, there was a tiny wooden door that seemed like it would lead to a crawlspace. You assumed there was just more storage back there, but nobody cared enough to look back there, anyway. The focus was to get out of this place and get to safety.

“C’mon,” you nodded your head toward the other metal door that you assumed would lead to the exit, “let’s keep going.”

As Seungcheol went for the door, you and your friends heard banging. You all paused, Seungcheol’s hand on the handle. You listened for the banging again, and then looked to where it seemed to be coming from.

“Guys?” Joshua’s voice called from behind the small wooden door. “Guys?! Oh my god, guys! C-can you hear me? Hello?! Help me!”

“Josh?” Jeonghan took a step toward the door.

[TO HELP JOSHUA GO TO 21 -- A]

[TO CONTINUE TO THE EXIT GO TO 21 -- B]

»»————-　　————-««

21 -- A

“Joshua!” you cried as you ran to the small door.

You knew what your eyes saw, but was it possible none of it was real? How else would you be hearing Joshua’s voice? He must’ve been alive somehow. Anything seemed possible at this point.

You got down on your knees, opened the small door, and crawled your way through. You stood up as your friends tried to get in behind you, but what you saw made your heart fall into your stomach as your hands went to cover your mouth, muffling the loud sob that came out.

Joshua’s body was slumped against the left wall, looking just as you had remembered.

He was still dead.

Your friends had similar reactions to you. Seokmin even threw up. 

Seungcheol shook his head slowly, eyes full of tears while some streaked his cheeks, “We... W-we have to bring his body...”

“He’s right,” Jihoon said solemnly -- his body seemed to be shutting down now, almost uncapable of processing his emotions. “We need evidence of what happened tonight. Nobody will believe us otherwise.”

“I-I hate to say it, b-but...it’ll s-slow us down, though,” Wonwoo interjected through his sniffles. “What if we don’t make it out?”

[TO TAKE JOSHUA’S BODY WITH YOU GO TO 22 -- A]

[TO LEAVE WITHOUT JOSHUA’S BODY GO TO 22 -- B]

»»————-　　————-««

21 -- B

You quickly reached out and grabbed Jeonghan to keep him from going any closer to that door. He turned to look at you, a pained expression on his face.

“Jeonghan, that’s not Joshua,” you told him. “You saw what happened to him. Whatever it is, it’s not him.”

“I think _____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “We need to keep going.”

You kept your hold on Jeonghan as all of your began filing out of the mascot room into another narrow corridor like the other one. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.

But this door didn’t budge.

Soonyoung was at the head of the group, and he groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”

You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...

...Or maybe it was closer and closer.

Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”

Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.

“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”

Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.

“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”

“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”

“There’s fou-- thirteen of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”

“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.

[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]

[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]

[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]

»»————-　　————-««

22 -- A

“We can’t just leave him here,” you stated. “Not only for the evidence, but because he doesn’t deserve to rot away here. His family doesn’t deserve to wonder what happened to him.”

“I’ll grab him,” Seungcheol offered, swallowing his fears and stepping forward to scoop up his friend. “Let’s get him home.”

Chan was the last into the tiny room, so he turned to go. But the wooden door was suddenly closed and wouldn’t open back up.

“What the hell?!” he grunted as he continued to try the door.

“Why’d you let it close, dumbass?!” Jeonghan demanded.

“I didn’t!” Chan shouted back. “It was just open!”

“Ugh, leave it to the fucking baby to--”

“G-guys?” Seokmin asked.

“Can you get off my fucking case?!” Chan huffed as he stood up and went to stand toe-to-toe with Jeonghan. “You’re always such a fucking asshole to me! Why can’t you--”

“Guys?” Seokmin tried again, looking between the left and right walls.

“Are you two really going to argue right now?” Jihoon groaned. “We’re literally--”

“Guys!” Seokmin finally shouted over everyone. “The walls!”

“What about the--”

Jihoon’s question died down as soon as all of you began looking at the walls. They were moving in toward each other, which would crush all of you between them.

Everyone was suddenly in a panic. Everyone was throwing themselves at the door, trying to tug it open before the walls could do anything. Some of you -- such as you and Wonwoo -- decided to spread out so you had more room. But some -- like Jeonghan and Chan, who grouped up by the door with a few others -- created a big human-lump that would be crushed faster. You heard their cries and pleas before they were crushed to death with a sound you couldn’t get out of your ears.

It was only a moment later you met the same fate.

[GO TO ENDING B]

»»————-　　————-««

22 -- B

"Nobody wants to be the asshole that says it’s better to leave him behind, but...” you trailed off.

Wonwoo was right. Joshua would more than likely slow you down. Besides, you knew Josh would want all of you to have the best chance of getting out alive as possible.

“Th-then you go ahead,” Seokmin spoke up, almost like he was afraid to.

“What?” Jihoon asked.

“I...” Seokmin looked at Joshua as more tears welled in his eyes. “It makes me sad to think he’d just be down here alone. I don’t care if he’s...gone. He can’t just stay down here.”

“I’m not leaving my best friend down here,” Jeonghan agreed.

“Seokmin, he’s--”

“Look, just go,” Hansol interrupted whatever Jihoon was going to say. “I’ll help them with the body. You guys just go on ahead.”

Minus the three who wanted to collect Joshua’s body, the group turned and left the small room and went back to the mascot room. Soonyoung tugged on the metal door and led the way down another corridor that looked exactly the same as the one that had led into the mascot room. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.

But as you were walking down the hallway, you heard the yells and screams of your three friends. All of you turned on a dime and ran back toward the mascot room but the metal door was already closed and wouldn’t re-open for some reason. All of you were yelling and trying to open the door until you heard a sickening crunch, and then silence.

You all fell silent. You didn’t know what to do now.

“We--” Jihoon’s voice cracked so he cleared his throat. “We should just...keep going...”

Following behind Jihoon, you all turned one by one and went back down the hallway. You turned the corner and walked down that long hallway toward another metal door.

But this door didn’t budge.

Jihoon groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”

You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...

...Or maybe it was closer and closer.

Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”

Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.

“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”

Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.

“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”

“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”

“There’s fou-- nine of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”

“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.

[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]

[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]

[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]

»»————-　　————-««

23 -- A

“Mingyu, keep trying the door!” you called to him. “We’ll try to hold them back.”

“We?!” Seungkwan repeated.

Mingyu continued to try to pull the door open as the animatronics slowly turned the corner and began walking toward the nine of you. You weren’t sure how to prepare yourself for this at all, but you knew you couldn’t just turn your back and die.

But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against eight fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.

Well, not you specifically.

Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward Mingyu, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.

That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.

“I got the--!”

Mingyu’s exclamation of finally getting the door open was cut off by Bongbong’s arm swinging out and clotheslining him into the wall and cutting off his oxygen. 

The attack that was meant for you, but you had ducked underneath.

The light flooded into the corridor, and just like that, the animatronics just shut down. The light turned off in their eyes, and they were frozen with their hands reaching out for you.

Except Bongbong’s arm that was now frozen in place, keeping Mingyu strangled against the wall. 

You could hear Mingyu gasping for air as you slowly opened your eyes that you’d squeezed shut when you ducked. You looked up and saw the animatronics were lifeless now, and then you shot up and turned to try to help Mingyu. You pulled and pulled on Bongbong’s arm while you had to watch Mingyu slowly die. It was like watching a movie in slow motion, the way his body went limp and the life drained from his eyes. Still, you stood there and sobbed and told him you’d free him as you continued to pull uselessly at the animatronic.

When it finally set in that you didn’t stand a chance, you ran out the back parking lot where the door opened to. You ran out of the park and to your car -- which was still parked near the other 3 that belonged to your friends that were no longer with you -- and drove off toward home with tears still streaming down your face.

The clock on your car radio said 6:08am.

[GO TO ENDING A]

»»————-　　————-««

23 -- B

“The door’s useless!” you cried. “We’re not going to just turn our backs and die. That’s not how I wanna go out.”

Nobody had any faith, but they knew you were right. Laying down and dying after all of this wasn’t worth it. If you died, at least you would die fighting.

But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against nine fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.

Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward the door that wouldn’t open, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.

That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.

[GO TO ENDING B]

»»————-　　————-««

23 -- C

“The door will work!” you swore “Like the basement, remember? Just keep trying!”

Sure, this was different in the way that you had to pull and not push, but it had to give eventually, right?

You continued to face the animatronics that were now starting to close in on all of you. Seungcheol tried to squeeze in besided Mingyu, grabbing the handle and pulling with him. Jihoon crawled between Mingyu’s legs and stood in between the taller boy’s arms, both of his hands wrapped around the handle and tugging with everything he had.

You moved to put yourself in front of your friends. You got all of them into this mess, so you deserved to be the first to die.

As Bongbong closed in on you, you closed your eyes.

“_____--!”

The darkness you saw behind your eyelids suddenly seemed brighter, and you felt a gust of wind from behind you.

There was a couple seconds of silence.

“Holy shit,” Minghao breathed.

You opened one eye just enough to see Bongbong’s face just inches from yours. But...why were the lights in its eyes off?

You opened your eye wider. Then the other one. Its arm was only a hair away from you, but it made no move to actually touch you. There was also light flooding into the corridor from behind you. You whipped your head around to see the door was open, and you looked back at four animatronics. Were they off now?

“Oh my god,” you sighed in a shaky voice, taking a step backward toward the door.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Wonwoo said as he grabbed your hand and all but dragged you out the door.

The door opened to the back of the parking lot. All of you ran as fast as you could toward your cars, only stopping at the hood of the closest one to catch your breath. Seungcheol pulled out his phone.

“It’s 6am,” he reported.

“Maybe that’s why the door didn’t open,” Wonwoo panted, hands on his knees.

“I don’t care to speculate,” Jihoon said as he went to get into one of the four cars. “Take me the fuck home.”

[GO TO ENDING C]

»»————-　　————-««

ENDING A 

You weren’t sure what to do about the texts from the group chat when you got home. You swore everyone was dead. You watched them die in front of you.

Soonyoung said he was tripping balls the whole night.

Jeonghan agreed, saying he was sure there was something in the air making them hallucinate.

Even Jihoon was saying something weird had happened that night, because he thought he saw everyone die.

So...maybe they were right?

But when you inevitably went to school Halloween day, something didn’t seem right. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you. 

Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the florescents.

And why did Junhui wink at you?

[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]

»»————-　　————-««

ENDING B

Get dressed.

Brush your teeth.

Brush your hair.

Go downstairs and converse with your parents.

Drive to school.

Say hello to your friends.

Laugh at what Soonyoung said.

Promise to walk to class with Seokmin and Seungcheol after you go to the bathroom.

Go into the bathroom.

Use the mirror to fix your outfit.

Use your fingers to brush through your hair one more time.

A light reflects off the mirror.

You are the only one in the bathroom.

[NONE OF YOU ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND BUT SOMETHING ELSE DID]

»»————-　　————-««

ENDING C

(NOTE: i know some people might’ve only had josh die while other had more people die. so this part will mention multiple people who didn’t make it home but i will only mention josh by name. sorry if it seems kind of confusing)

You didn’t even want to go back home after everything that happened. But you needed to shower and change, so you dropped your friends off before going home. After getting out of the shower, you checked your phone. Your heart dropped and your stomach was doing flips at what it saw.

One series of texts was from a group chat that was all of the people you were positive made it home from Caratland. All of them were wondering what the fuck was going on.

The other was the original group chat, with a text from Joshua asking if everyone made it home okay. It made a shiver go down your spine. How could he be texting? He died.

Those that had died started having a conversation about hallucinating, insisting something weird must’ve been in the air to make everyone trip and see things that didn’t actually happen. Nobody knew if it was possible. Minghao suggested that at this point, anything was possible. But still, why did all of you have the same hallucination?

The group decided it was best to ignore the message.

When Wonwoo offered to give you a ride to school, you said yes.

The two of you walked to homeroom together and saw the usual group of your friends sitting at the left side of the classroom. But seeing the friends you thought had died now just sitting there like nothing happened made your skin crawl. You wanted to turn around and walk out.

Wonwoo squeezed your hand and continued forward.

You sat and chatted with the group, and everyone seemed to be dancing around the fact that things were...weird. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you.

Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the fluorescents.

And why did Joshua wink at you?

[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]

[babyjamiebarnes]

Build-A-Bear

Part Eleven

Featuring: Bucky x Stark!reader, dad!Tony, Steve, Sam, Peter, OC background characters

Warnings: language, sexual implications and references, blackmail

Summary: Bucky decides it’s time to come clean to Tony, consequences be damned. Steve has his own bombshell, of sorts.

Author’s Note: Hi. I’m a lazy piece of crud. I wanted to post this earlier but I suck. It’s kinda short too, at least compared to previous parts. There will probably only be a couple parts left, maybe 2-3? I’m posting these chapters as I write so tbd in length lol. And as always, feel free to buy me a coffee!

Tags: @amourmarvel @fangirlvoice @kennedywxlsh @devilswaldorf @what-the-hap-is-fuckning @alyispunk @fredweasleysbitchh @wearegroot @sunflowerbebe107 @prestigious-tea @brckenmemories @angelbabymed @charmedbysarge @cruelsummer-s

Series Masterlist

“Are you fucking insane?”

Everyone moved back to your apartment to avoid freaking poor Matt out any more. And now there was a standoff in your living room.

“It’s the only course of action that makes sense,” Bucky said in his defense.

“Buck, her dad will skin you alive if he sees those pictures,” Sam said. “Even if he’s somehow fine with it, she’ll lose her job!”

“If we don’t do this, that kid downstairs loses his family!” Bucky shouted back.

Sam groaned in exasperation and ran his hands over his face. “There’s gotta be a way to get the money.”

“There’s not,” you said defeatedly. All eyes turn to you. They initially looked to you for guidance, but your reliance on Bucky gave him the wheel on your own personal highway to hell. “Even if we do give this person the money, there’s only one person we can get that kind of cash from. Bucky’s right. We have to tell my dad.”

“[Y/N], maybe we should brainstorm some other options,” Peter nearly whispered, keeping his voice soft in the midst of the chaos. “I don’t want you to lose your job.”

“I’ll quit,” Bucky said suddenly. “I’ll quit being an Avenger and just do, fuck, private security? Or something.”

You could see the stress and fear and frustration written on his face. In a couple steps, you were standing in front of him and were able to cup his scruffy cheeks as you spoke.

“We’ll figure all that out later.” You perked up on your toes and gave him a short kiss. “But right now, we’re on a bit of a time crunch. I’d like to end this sooner rather than later so… let’s tell Tony.”

With Peter willingly sitting in the open trunk area of the Jeep, everyone was able to fit in one car back to the Tower. The tension inside the vehicle could’ve been cut, sliced, and diced with a knife. No one wanted to say anything, but no one really knew what to say anyway.

Steve was still silent. He didn’t say a word when you discussed telling Tony, but you could practically see the gears turning in his head. He had something to say, he just wasn’t saying it.

By the time you got to the Tower, you felt like you were gonna throw up. You held the envelope with the letter and media tight in your grasp, only letting go to open your door. The second your feet touched the garage floor, Bucky was right beside you.

He kept a firm grip on your hand, squeezing a little extra so you knew he was there with you and wasn’t going to let anything bad (worse) happen. Knowing he was willing to risk his entire livelihood for you made you love him even more. But you knew if it came down to it, you’d give up your position with the Avengers. Even with only two years spent at Stark Industries — just under a year spent with the Avengers (and nearly a year with Bucky) — you’d have no problem getting a new job with any other company. Bucky’s skills were put to the best use saving the world.

As the elevator approached the floor with your dad’s office, Sam finally broke the silence.

“Do you want us to be in there with you? I’m thinking it might be better if it’s just you two.”

You turned to see Peter wringing his hands, subconsciously agreeing with Sam — he clearly didn’t want to be in the room when all this went down but was putting on a brave face to be a good support system. Steve still stood silent with his arms crossed over his chest. Whatever was going on in that head was still festering.

“I think you’re right,” you agreed with Sam. “We’ll come find you once he gets the news.”

Your eyes met Bucky’s and even though he was trying to remain confident for you, there was fear behind those baby blues.

“We’ll be okay,” you said just loudly enough for him to hear.

When you reached the floor you’d been dreading, Sam, Steve, and Peter all turned to go to their designated rooms, partially because it had been a while since all of them had been back, partially to stay far away from the impending outburst.

You took a deep breath and started toward Tony’s office, just to be pulled back into Bucky’s arms. He held you tight, nuzzling his face in your hair and just holding you. You gripped the back of his shirt in response and just took a moment to appreciate the hard muscles of his chest and the weight of his arms around you.

“We’re gonna be okay,” you whispered.

Bucky let out a breath and kissed the crown of your head.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

This made you pull back and look up at him.

“Lose me? Bucky, I’m not going to let this affect us. No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere. I love you too much, Bucky Bear.”

The affectionate nickname made him smile, even if it was just a little quirk of the lips.

“I love you too, Build-A-Bear.”

You let him hold you for a couple more minutes before leading him to your dad’s closed office door. When you slowly pushed the door open, you saw Tony sitting behind his desk with half a dozen holographic screens open in front of him.

“Hey pumpkin, what are you doing here?” he asked, barely taking his eyes off his work for a second.

“Um, I kind of really need to talk to you.” Despite being on close speaking terms with your dad — the kind where you felt comfortable swearing in front of him and joking with him, even sharing some of your secrets — you felt like this was crossing a line.

Of course it was. You were in bed with (his perception of) the enemy.

Tony could tell something was wrong by how timid you sounded. You were always loud and bubbly with him — a quality you definitely got from him. He swiped all of the screens closed and walked around the large desk to stand in front of you. He briefly met Bucky’s eyes as the super soldier stood close behind you.

“What’s going on?”

“You-you should probably sit down for this,” you said shakily. Tony took the seat nearest you instead of walking back behind his desk. “So… you know how I’ve been dating James for, like, 10, 11ish months now?”

“And I still haven’t met him?” Tony said with a quirked brow.

“Yeah.” You forced a chuckle. “Well, when we were going through mail this morning, I… I got this.”

You held up the envelope before sliding out the letter and handing it to your dad. His expression went from curious to furious in seconds as his eyes scanned the entire page.

“They sent pictures. Pictures taken through my apartment windows of me and James. Being… intimate.”

“James who?” your dad asked, still staring at the letter. When you didn’t reply, he looked you in the eye, his expression hard as he demanded, “[Y/N], what is James’s last name?”

You took a short breath, the most your anxiety-gripped lungs could handle, and avoided his gaze as you replied.

“Barnes.”

Tony shot up from his seat, his eyes moving from you to the man behind you. The familiar feeling of a metal hand on your lower back helped ease the anxiety coursing through you at your dad’s reaction. When Tony took a step toward Bucky, you countered with a panicked step between them, looking up at your dad and pleading.

“He didn’t know who I was.”

“Bullshit,” Tony spat. He and Bucky were glaring at each other over your head.

“He didn’t, I swear. He found out the same day everyone else did.”

The grinding of his teeth let you know he was seething. But trying to hold it together for now.

“Let me see the rest,” Tony said calmly, holding his hand out. You reluctantly dropped the photos and DVD into his open palm. Bucky didn’t want to get too affectionate, so he just rested his hand on your hip while Tony flipped through the photos.

Everything was back in order, so he went through the same sequence you did: pap photos, to apartment photos, to sex photos. You could tell when the pictures turned raunchy by the way Tony’s face contorted, tossing the photos down shortly after.

“Friday, play the disc,” he commanded. The video played against the only blank wall in the room, the audio of you and Bucky playing through the speakers.

“Dad, you really don’t need to —” you started, quickly stopped by a sharp glare from your father.

“What are you gonna do to me?”

“I’m gonna put a baby in you. I’m gonna cum inside this tight pussy until you can’t take it anymore.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Tony nearly growled. “Friday, shut it off.”

“I tried to tell you,” you murmured under breath, though not loud enough for him to hear. Bucky did hear it though, evident by the way he squeezed your hip.

Tony leaned forward against his desk, hanging his head in clear frustration. You knew better than to speak up while he contained his emotions, so you stood in silence with Bucky as your dad sighed heavily and spoke to himself under his breath.

“You just have something against me, don’t you?” Tony said accusingly to Bucky.

“Don’t do that,” you scoffed. “You don’t get to do that. If you’re going to get mad at anyone, it needs to be me.” You never got snappy with your dad, but everything weighing on your shoulders frayed your nerves and his attitude didn’t do anything to fix it. “I’m the one who knew full well what we were doing. I’m the one who had all the details. I’m the one who chose to risk everything for this from the start. So if you’re really that mad, take it out on me. Otherwise, help us. We’ll get to the semantics and firing and all that bullshit later. Right now, there are literal lives on the line.”

Tony was still fuming until he heard the last line.

“What do you means ‘lives on the line’?”

Bringing Steve, Sam, and Peter in helped all of you explain what happened, from the note you received to the first viewing of the photos and video to the confrontation with Matt, but not without Tony grilling all of them about when and how they found out about you and Bucky. Peter looked nervous about keeping a secret from his boss, but you knew your dad wouldn’t do anything too bad to the kid. Maybe kick him off a couple missions, but nothing noteworthy. Steve and Sam looked like they really couldn’t care less, especially since Sam was the last to know.

Despite still wanting to rip Bucky’s arm off and beat him with it, Tony remained civil for your sake, at least until all of this was sorted.

The first step was getting Peter, Happy, and Pepper to try to track down where the letters came from, which likely meant scanning for fingerprints (despite how many hands held it that day alone). The second step was for you, Bucky, Tony, Sam, and Steve to scope out your building and any neighboring buildings someone may have been scoping your apartment from. There was no one someone could’ve been dangling outside your windows without you noticing. The third step was meeting with your doorman again to try to piece together some answers.

You all agreed to keep local law enforcement out of it so the culprit didn’t catch on as quickly. Having a few Avengers and Tony Stark show up at Tony’s daughter’s apartment wasn’t out of the ordinary so you could still stay under wraps. There was no reason to draw attention to your place and possibly trigger the mystery person into accelerating their plans.

With your dad’s confidence in the plan, you gradually grew more and more optimistic about the plan. If all else failed, Tony would get the two million and continue tracking the fucker down. It wouldn’t be hard to sneak a tracker into the cash and watch where it goes once it’s out of your hands. That’s when you could bring in local law enforcement.

It felt like things were finally going your way.

As you and your crew headed downstairs to drive back to your place, Steve grabbed your arm and tugged you to the side.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asked quietly.

You nodded and followed him down the hall; Bucky was busy talking to Sam and Tony was on the phone briefing Rhodey so he could stand guard outside your doorman’s place for a while, giving you the perfect opportunity to step away for a minute. When Steve pulled you into a side room, you finally spoke up.

“What’s up? Is everything okay?”

Steve crossed his arms and huffed. That signature frown of his softened when he met your concerned gaze.

“I know we’re not necessarily close, but I consider you a friend. You know that, right?”

“I consider you a friend too,” you said with a nod.

“What I’m about to say... I need you to keep it between us. Don’t tell Bucky or Sam or Peter or your dad. Just between us, at least for now. Okay?”

“O-okay...? You’re making me nervous, Steve,” you admitted. “What’s going on?”

“I think I know who’s blackmailing you.”

[marc-spectorr]

hi Callie! My tumblr is stuck on a random fic of yours so I’ll have to fix that later but I had question that’s been marinating for a while!!

Although I’m still new to this whole tumblr stuff, I was seeking some advice for newbies who want to start writing? I’ve always been inspired reading yours and other fic writers’ fics!

I’ve written fics in the past but never published them cus I didn’t know any platforms to post them on back then

One day I might post some and become a fic writer like you!!! Gotta build up that courage and knowledge somewhere first though 🤧🤧

love you always, hope you’re taking care of yourself these past few days 😮‍💨

woo!, moonjin xx

hiya moonjin !!!

sorry for taking almost an entire day to respond ;-; but wowoow i’m incredibly honored that you’ve come to me for advice as well as being part of your inspiration to start writing :))

okay, so i went through my previous asks about writing and tagged them as #writing advice. but here are the most important tips that i would say:

plan out your fic– to make the process easier, i would suggest creating an outline! outlining is a great way to visualize the story you’re telling and plan out any research you might need to do. it doesn’t have to be super detailed or anything. you can just put down what exactly you want to happen from start to finish, note any dialogue you might want to add, or describe the scenes you want to include. 

no matter how many times the idea has been done before, write that fic! when i first started, i remember not wanting to write a fic solely bc there’s already one out there with a similar plot. but don’t let this discourage you! everyone’s writing is one of a kind, which makes each fic special. for example, the best friends to lovers trope is something that’s been done a million times, but your take on it will be unique as it’s your words and your dialogue. 

quality over quantity always– don’t worry too much about how short (or long) your fic is! focus more on how you deliver the story rather than aiming for a specific word count. some writers can produce amazing fics in just under a thousand words. it’s all about the quality of your work, not the length of it. for any first-time writers, i would suggest writing something small to test it out, have a feel for what it’s like and use this to discover your writing style.

proofread your work– this one is obvious, but it’s essential! i know that feeling at the end after typing out the last line of the story. you’re happy that you’ve finally completed it and are excited to post. but don’t forget to read it over once or twice before uploading to make sure your spelling is correct and your grammar is the best that it could be. yes, no one’s perfect. you may not catch every mistake, but you can try fixing most! you can also run it through sites like grammarly to find those errors.

have fun with it– i can’t stress this enough, writing should be fun. remember that you’re allowed to step away and take a break. you can always come back to it once you’re ready! it might seem scary to post in the beginning, but it’s such a rewarding experience when you do. writing takes a lot of time, effort and love, and sharing it with thousands of readers on this platform is an outstanding achievement in itself. so far, this whole community has been lovely and very supportive! i can assure you that they’ll be thrilled for more stories!

hopefully this helps, darling! i can’t wait to read the wonderful fics you have in store for us :) i’m always here if you need any more help!

(also i really love that pic of oscar *swoon*)