#it should come as no surprise that i was a theater kid in high school. this is what the national thespian society prepared me for

[southislandwren]

another star trek post sorry. its just that subspace rhapsody has permanently altered my brain chemistry and I'll never be the same. I've watched the episode 3 times and i keep refreshing spotify because I only have 1 thing on my mind (it's subspace rhapsody)

[cookeybg]

Unexpected Cohabitation a JonDami fic

Before we get to the story I have a few words to say...

First of all, Hello!

Not sure if this will reach anyone, but I had an itch to write, so I did. I almost never post anything. I have reposted a couple things but I'm mostly a lurker and enjoy others creativity and thoughts, I like to think of myself as a cat with few brain cells.

Anyways, I read a manga YEARS ago and enjoyed it greatly and thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be funny/interesting if Jon and Damian were stuck in this situation?" Let's see if anyone eventually gets what manga I was reminiscing.

Now, this is the first time I've ever posted anything I've written and I am not confident AT ALL if this is going to be any good, but I really hope someone out there enjoys reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it...Also not sure if I should post it on Ao3???

Well enough of my ramblings on to the story.

Title: Unexpected Cohabitation

Main Characters: Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne (some of the others show up too, the list is too long)

Eventual relationship: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne (my fave)

Stuff to know: No capes, reverse robins, high school AU, no smut, no Brucie Wayne, I know nothing about sports but it will show up, (aaand I think that's it, will add more if it comes up)

Part 1 - Chapter 1

Jon placed his lunch tray next to Kathys’ as he discreetly looked around the lunch room trying to catch a glimpse of his crush. He had only briefly seen him at the mall during summer break and in a panic hid from him behind a rack of clothes. He had regretted not saying hello and had daydreams of himself going up to him, all cool and complementing the brown eyed boy’s pink fluffy hair and then asking him out to watch a movie at the mall theater. Sadly, the daydreams would come crashing down when he remembered his mother placing shirts in front of him and trying to measure him up before heading into the dressing room. It’s not that he was embarrassed of his mom its just, he was wearing sweats and an old hoodie since none of his clothes fit him anymore due to his growth spurt and, well, his mom could be a bit much, sometimes. Throughout the whole shopping trip when she would meet an acquaintance or friend she kept gushing about how quick kids grew and how she wished they would just stop sometimes. Jon would have to bury himself if anyone from school had been exposed to that.

“Looking for Jay?” Kathy asked. Jon looked at Kathy like a deer caught in the headlights and immediately turned red. He sat down abruptly causing his tray to nearly tip unto him. He scrambled to right his milk carton before it fell. Once settled, he sighed and mumbled, “That obvious?” Kathy smirked and bit into her carrot stick making a loud snap. Jon squirmed while opening his milk carton, he took a big swing, pointedly ignoring Kathy’s stare. “Why don’t you just confess?” Kathy asked. “Confess?” Jon spluttered, “He doesn’t even know I exist!” “Jon, you two were in the same history class last year. He knows who you are.” “Yeah. But we never talked.” “Then, how about you talk to him?” That would be so awkward…” Jon bit into his chicken strip. Kathy rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. Jon smirked and leaned in conspiratorially, “But I have a plan.” “And that is?” “I’m joining the journalism club.” “What!” Kathy yelled in surprise and then moderated her voice when some people who she startled glared at her, “ I thought you were going to join the baseball team this year, since, you know, your not in a cast anymore.” “The doctor has given the all clear and physical therapy is all done. The doctor was very impressed with how quickly I healed.” “Will they even let you do both clubs?” “Yep, I asked!” Their conversation was cut short when a murmur spread through the cafeteria like a wave. The main players of the baseball team stepped through the open double doors, all nine wearing their letterman jackets. In the lead was the most popular guy in school, Damian Wayne. Whose father was nicknamed the Prince of Gotham. Who in turn married an actual princess from some far off land, giving Damian actual royal blood. Girls wanted him and guys wanted to be him, but from what Jon had heard, guys wanted him too. Damian’s bright green eyes stood out against his brown skin, his gold earring glinted under the florescent light. He scanned the cafeteria with what looked like a sense of boredom. Colin, Jon called him Damian’s second in command, had one arm casually draped around Damian’s shoulders gesticulating wildly with his free hand. The group laughed at whatever the Colin said, but Damian only smiled as he started walking towards their unofficial table. Colin and the rest of the group broke off shoving and cracking jokes at each other while making line to pick up food. Kathy whistled beside Jon, “Now he’s someone who doesn’t know you exist.” “He looks and probably is, conceited.” Jon said offhandedly. “Look at him, he has reason to be.” “Doesn’t mean it’s cool.” “Doesn’t mean he’s not hot.” Jon turned to look at Kathy, but she wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead she was looking in Damian’s direction. Jon looked around and noticed that many were doing the same. He dragged his eyes back to look at Damian. The dude sat straight backed, elegantly eating his homemade meal from some fancy lunch bag that was probably more expensive than anything Jon owned, and scrolling on his phone completely ignoring the many eyes staring at him. Colin returned with the rest of the group nudging Damian and dropping his lunch tray with a loud smack, receiving an unimpressed glare in return. Colin smiled and placed a fruit cup in front of Damian. Jon personally didn’t get the allure. The couple of times he had seen Damian interact with others it was usually acerbic. Somehow that did not lessen his popularity and it left Jon dumbfounded. I good person should be good to others and being polite was a given, his Grandma said so and she was never wrong. Jon shrugged and went back to eating his school lunch. The rest could keep Damian he very much preferred Jay.

I hope you enjoyed it! Will post more soon, hopefully.

[buggyboba]

Greetings, I hope you had a great weekend. If its okay with you I was wondering if I could please request a Dhawan!Master x reader (or you can choose another master instead if you want.) The reader is at a Halloween party dressed as Christine Daaé (from Phamtom of the Opera.) The reader sees someone dressed as the Phamtom and is almost compelled to follow the person and the reader ends up alone in a locked room with this person and a mirror but by the time the reader works out that it's the master it's too late and the reader is already hypnotised/captured

(Sorry if this is too details, please feel free to ignore or feel free to alter the characters' costumes.)

I hope you have a great day

AN 𓏧 ↳ ○ Hi hello! I need you to understand the speed in which I got out of bed to write this.You just unlocked some Buggy lore~  I also need you to know I am an ex-theater kid, (big surprise there right?) Phantom Of The Opera was the second musical that I latched on to in middle school and high school, my first HUGE special interest, so much so that I consumed every poto media I could and was allowed to growing up in my strict as fuck house. I went to some weird places, some off-broadway musical simply called ‘Phantom’, the sequel Love Never Dies, the novel, and a horror film where Robert Englud, played Erik. I used to be a first soprano, and Carlotta was my dream role, I used to be able to do her part in “Notes/Prima Donna” then I bruised my vocal cords, stopped singing for a while, and yeah as I got older my voice deepened significantly, and I am an alto now���and I am so out of practice.   Anyway my point is, yeah of course I’ll write this! The costume I had in mind was very specific, and absolutely foreshadowing. I also went a little hard, do you guys like the little graphic I made, should I start doing that? 

Trigger warning 𓏧 ↳ ○ hypnosis, but none other than that! ayo this is a sfw drabble! ✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The Doctor had brought you back to earth for Halloween; it was one of your favorite holidays, and you were excited. You had the perfect costume picked out, and you had been working on it for weeks, putting together pieces from the Tardis’s wardrobe to get the perfect mix to make the perfect costume. You spent countless hours finding the right references to match exactly what you wanted. You wanted Christine Daaé, but from a specific scene, you wanted the costume from the Hannibal opera, leading into the Phantom of the Opera and Music of the Night. It was a very specific costume, but the ornate gems across the chest, the reds, greens, and golds of the dancer costume in that scene—every detail recreated with love and accuracy, covered by the long-sleeved white almost lacey overrobe. It was perfect, and you looked stunning in it; even if people didn’t know who you were dressed as, you knew, and it was sure to turn heads. You had invited The Doctor and Yaz to come with you, but The Doctor opted to spend it with Yaz, wanting to go to a haunted maze or something. It was fine; you wanted them to have some alone time anyway. 

You got ready, curling your hair, doing your makeup, and making sure everything was fitted properly. When you were ready, The Doctor dropped you off, telling you to be careful and to be back to the drop-off spot by midnight. You laughed and joked, "Okay, mom,” and headed off to the party. The night air was cold; you clung to the lace tighter; perhaps you should have brought a jacket, but the party wasn’t too far of a walk. When you got there, it was an old theater; how fitting. The theater put on an annual Halloween party, and it was apparently a big thing; you hadn’t recalled hearing about it before, but then again, you had been traveling sometime with The Doctor. You slipped in, and the venue was filled with people. You tried to relax some; there were definitely more people here than you were expecting; the music was loud, and there was a smokey haze from a fog machine. It was decorated, but it felt disconnected. There were some scary props and the normal fake cobwebs and fake spiders, but then there were also cheerful cut-out skeletons on some of the wall. You saw where there were drinks and some snack food, but you didn’t want to risk spilling anything on your costume, not with it being so white and how long you spent on it. Your eyes scanned the room; people were dancing and talking, enjoying merryments, and then your eyes fell on him. 

Atop the staircase he stood, he wore a bone-colored skull half mask that covered the top of his face and a heavy crushed red velvet tailcoat and pants with elaborate gold and black embroidery. Over his shoulders a heavy red velvet cape with a dark orange silk lining. You blinked; you knew exactly who he was dressed as—the phantom, but the red death costume from the Masqurade scene. It was stunning, the attention to detail was so fascinating. You tried to push through the crowd, but when you got to the stairs, he was gone. You frowned, trying to ask some of the people around the stairs if they had seen where the man had gone, but no one seemed to know what you were talking about, which was frustrating because that was not an easy-to-miss costume, the reds and oranges hard to ignore, yet no one seemed to recall seeing a person like that. 

You frowned and rejoined the crowd. You caught a glimpse of that red tailcoat again towards the drinks and moved to get over there as quickly as you could, but the man was gone again. Were you seeing things? You couldn’t be, he was stunning—his tanned skin, the clean-cut beard, his dark slicked-back hair, his costume. God, you wanted to meet him; talk about his costume. But he seemed to be as elusive as the opera ghost he was dressed as tonight. You sighed and looked around; your wrist was grabbed from behind, and you felt a heavy presence, but it wasn’t scary. The leather was cold against your wrist as you turned, looking over your shoulder, coming face to face with the man you had been looking for, his dark coffee brown eyes staring into yours, his movements graceful as he waltzed you through the people. 

You opened your mouth to speak, feeling your cheeks burning at being this close to him. “Nice costume,” you mumbled, and then felt like dying of embarrassment. ‘Nice costume, you dumbass. You had so much to comment on, but his hand against your waist and how he was looking at you made it near impossible to think. “I, um… Red Death, Phantom… It’s a good costume...very thought out...authentic.” You said trying to regain your composure. 

“And you are Miss Daaé,” he murmured into your ear as he pulled closer, dancing you closer to the stage. “How fitting… It’s a beautiful costume, accurate. You are stunning tonight, my dear,” he grinned against your ear. He pulled back to look at you again. He sounded familiar; why did he sound familiar? Maybe he just had one of those voices. He seemed to notice your thoughts and tightened his hand on your waist, bringing you back to the present. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite...hard,” he grinned that cheeky grin, but something about his voice, his look, your body started to relax. “You are a very pretty little bird,” he continued. Once he got you close enough, he pulled away, keeping his hand in yours as he pulled you towards the backstage area. You felt you should run, felt you should get away, but your body betrayed you; it was a simple suggestion, ‘Come with me’, one that your body couldn’t help but follow. “I knew you were going to be dressed like this tonight, dressed for the occasion; the red death is fitting, isn’t it?” He asked, his voice soft, whispering like if he spoke louder it would break whatever spell you were under. 

“Why is... how did you know?” You asked, your eyes still locked on his as he guided you effortlessly. He chuckled like he knew something you didn't, like the choice in the red death costume was an inside joke, like it was ironic, but he didn't give an explanation; instead, when he opened his mouth to speak, he bypassed the comment all together. 

“Of course I would know, you worked on it so long, didn’t you?” he said, patting your hand with his other hand, leading you into the cast wings. “You talked about it a lot, with her other human pets.” He rolled his eyes at the thought of The Doctor and her ‘fam’. He was annoyed that she managed to keep you so close, so hidden from him, but he still had his ways. He had fancied you since his Missy days; you were feisty and so unafraid of him–her–him. Still unafraid, you had willingly gone off on your own on Halloween; without The Doctor, it took a lot of work to set this up; every aspect of this was his doing; he did love the long con. “You put so much effort into it, your browser history, my my, you wanted it to be perfect, for who?” He mused, pausing at a greenroom. His hand moved to your cheek, his eyes searching yours. “Me? No, but it is for me now,” he smirked a bit. “Come with me,” he vocalized this time, his eyes burning into yours. You felt your resolve fading faster. Your mind tugged, but it was like he was surrounding you. You clued in as soon as he talked about the doctor; you knew why his voice sounded familiar—the one time you had met him in this regeneration, when he was pretending to be the m16 agent, ‘O’. The Master. 

You couldn’t pull away; you wanted to, you needed to escape, but he was thick in your mind; you hung on his every word, his command. “Don’t worry, pet, I’m not going to hurt you; that would be counterproductive; I need you.” he paused. “To get to her, of course, and you need to be alive for that, don’t you?” he said, almost like he was trying to convince himself more than you. He opened the door, motioning. You walked forward and into the green room. You felt him take your hand again as he led you towards the full-length mirror. 

“I’m sure you will enjoy being my companion for a while; oh, I have such things to show you.” He said, “You will love it, dying stars, burning planets, and I just know you will stay of your own free will once you see what I have in store." He said his hand pressed against the mirror; it opened to reveal the inside of his Tardis. “She doesn’t pay attention to you like I will... She has Yaz, just like she had Clara before; that one was my doing, but god, it was perfect, wasn’t it? In a way, I am saving you from the terrible things that are to come,” he mused, motioning for you to enter the Tardis. You obediently walked in. 

"Oh, we will have so much fun together.” He kissed your cheek before he closed the door and walked over to the console. He had such plans and you were going to be key in some of them; he now needed to keep you away from the Doctor and her meddling until he was sure you were on his side without the need for hypnosis. He knew he could charm you to his side; he could show you he was worth it.

[lightofraye]

All About Glen

I'm in the mood for something... easy.

Or, rather, I thought this would be easy. Then I went deep diving and have yet to surface. This post will likely edited a few more times in the next few days (maybe? I'll let you know either way), so keep an eye out!

So... who is Glen Powell? Besides a possible new rising star in Hollywood. (Certainly his upcoming projects say he's in high demand!)

Come with me, and I shall tell you!

Also, I had so much fun diving into his background! Learned more about this guy than I realized!

(And I also turned my daughter into a Glen Powell fan! I'll explain why/how in a bit!)

Raised in Austin, Texas, born on October 21, 1988, to Glen Powell Sr and Cyndy Powell, he's the middle child of three. And the only boy. He has an older sister named Lauren and a younger sister, Leslie. Named after his father, the Original Glen (no, seriously, that's his Instagram!), Glen was a child actor. He started performing with the Austin Musical Theater program when he was in the fifth grade, learning to tap dance--according to Leslie, there is video evidence--and appearing in The Music Man and 42nd Street.

Oh, he explored all sorts of extracurriculars' growing up. Football, lacrosse, all sorts. However, his passion and fascination were movies.

The actor recalled that he would be “picking dandelions” in the outfield while playing baseball as a kid, and his parents, Cyndy and Glen Sr., were ready to let him try something else.

“I played violin for a bit, and all of a sudden, I was like, ‘No, not into this anymore.’ They let me give it up,” he continued, noting they were supportive until Powell found something he “really loved.” That’s where his acting career comes in.

At the precious age of 5, his father took him to see Steven Spielberg's megahit, Jurassic Park, in the summer of 1993. Glen ended up watching the movie multiple times in theaters, and again on home video, trying to figure out the secrets of the film's special effects.

In an interview with Austin Monthly, Glen said he began making his own science fiction films growing up. He'd use a home video camera, computer, recruited his friends to be actors, and searched for props in his family's basement. Seeing this, his parents encouraged him to enroll in acting classes.

His second grade project was on Steven Spielberg's use of practical effects in Jurassic Park. In 2003, when he was 14, he got his first movie role as "long-fingered boy" in Spy Kids 3: Game Over. His location in Austin helped him land the role. Director Robert Rodriguez discovered Powell, then 14, while looking for "local hires" to accompany the primarily Los Angeles-based cast.

"You're just trying to find someone locally that won't get nervous, that'll give a performance that kind of measures up to the other actors. He walks in with a stature and confidence and just nails it," Rodriguez told IndieWire. "So now, it's no surprise to see [he made it as an actor], but he already had that quality at 14 and clarity of vision that that's what he was supposed to be."

Two years later, he played a paperboy in The Wendell Baker Story, a part that required him to get hit by a car, which he practiced with his mother in a church parking lot.

In 2006, everything changed. His mother, Cyndy, drove him five hours to Shreveport, La., to audition for Denzel Washington, who was directing and starring in The Great Debaters. Powell got the part--and a powerful agent: Ed Limato, who represented Washington.

Powell also starred in Fast Food Nation (2006), and The Hottest State (2006) over the next few years.

Still in high school at Westwood, Powell even considered deprioritizing his acting career until receiving a pep talk from Denzel Washington during the filming of The Great Debaters. In the movie, Powell played Harvard University student Preston Whittington and impressed the two-time Oscar winner. "Denzel Washington really pushed me out of the nest a bit and said, 'You should double-down on yourself. You should give [acting] a shot'," Powell said.

A year later, Limato called Powell in his dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin.

"Ed said, 'If you're going to spin the wheel on an acting career, now is the time to do it'," Powell said.

Taking a chance, Powell dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles in 2008. “Ed always told me, over and over, that the definition of a movie star is somebody who guys want to grab a beer with — fun, not threatening — and who women want to date and bring home to meet their parents,” Powell said.

Limato had a history of helping turn actors into big stars--among his clients? Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, and Kevin Costner. Limato also gave Powell a crucial career tip: Don’t take on a role in a big franchise too soon, however tempting the paycheck; stars are built in smaller movies of varied genres.

Unfortunately for Powell, Limato died two years later, leaving him without an advocate.

It was a rough and learning time for Glen. He supported himself through coaching community sports and small acting jobs (a Dockers commercial, an episode of The Lying Game, a cable series).

Not long after Powell moved to Los Angeles, Limato introduced him to Lynda Obst, a fellow Texan and a producer of hits like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Contact, and Sleepless in Seattle. She hired Powell as an intern, a job that involved reading scripts and giving feedback.

It helped him learn how Hollywood ran.

Obst recalled, "He was adorable--charm off the charts. But that is not what impressed me, and it's not why he's succeeding." She went on: "Actors can turn on charm, but they can't turn on intelligence. Glen is smart and learned about developing scripts and the structure in movies. It made him independent and wily."

He eventually got dropped by the William Morris Endeavor talent agency. He began to question whether superstardom was even achievable anymore. He took to writing scripts and sold several to help keep himself afloat during his shaky start.

Glen took Washington's advice and gradually began appearing in more prominent titles, including the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, in 2012 as an unnamed Gotham Stock Exchange Trader. He also appeared in the ensemble movie, The Expendables 3, in 2014, appearing alongside action stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 2016, he played astronaut John Glenn in Hidden Figures. Glen was cited as saying that upon viewing a rough cut of the film with unfinished special effects, he was critical of his performance. "I just remember being like 'I ruined this beautiful movie, the legacy of these amazing women'," he explained in an interview with Variety.

Fortunately, critics and the audience disagreed--the movie made more than $230 million at the box office and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

He took a detour into comedy for his next roles, including the teen movie Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), and the Netflix rom-com Set It Up (2018).

In between all that, he went onto a recurring role on Scream Queens (Ryan Murphy's show on Fox), and appear in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. He's even done voice roles, such as the Netflix cartoon, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and an episode of Rick and Morty.

How he got the huge leap to everyone's attention was something he nearly turned down. He lost out on blockbuster roles including Captain America, Han Solo in Solo, in addition to pieces in films ranging from Friday Night LIghts to Cowboys & Aliens and The Longest Ride.

His break was something he nearly missed out on.

When Miles Teller beat him out of the part of Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick, and Tom Cruise and director Joe Kosinski offered him the role of Hangman instead.

The problem?

"If I were editing this movie, I would cut him out immediately," Powell said to British GQ. The original version of the character was a lousy pilot who made it to Top Gun through nepotism, a storyline Powell thought did the film a disservice.

Luck was with him. Cruise and Kosinski decided to hear him out and ended up convinced, rewriting the character based on Powell's notes.

“What we were talking about is, how can Hangman service the story and give the flavour of the original Top Gun that you need?” Powell said.

“I said my piece to Tom about what I do and what I do well, and he listened. Tom’s a listener. He listens to the crew members, he listens to his collaborators, and he hears people.”

And good thing he did — Top Gun: Maverick went on to become a box office phenomenon, and Powell’s career got the kickstart he had waited so long for.

2022 was his year. He appeared in the war drama Devotion, the Netflix animated comedy Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, and Top Gun: Maverick. The latter, the sequel to the 1986 vehicle--became the biggest movie of the year, grossing nearly $1.5 billion at the global box office.

Powell underwent extensive training for the film, including underwater escape simulations and flights in F-18 aircraft to prepare for the G-forces he would experience on camera. Cruise even paid for the actor to complete flight school as a Christmas present, allowing Powell to earn his pilot's license.

We all know what happened after this. His role with Sydney Sweeney on Anyone But You brought him even more attention. His future projects will keep him busy for at least a couple of years. (He did tease he has a start date for Top Gun 3, but has refused to say more than that.)

He's been romantically linked to Nina Dobrev in 2017, Australian TV host Renee Bargh from 2018 to 2019. He began dating model Gigi Paris, starting in 2020. We know in April of 2023, they broke up for good.

Glen Powell Sr, his father, was an executive coach. His mother? A stay at home mom. Leslie is working on her career as a singer, and was fortunate enough to have had a song be used for the Olympics!

Both parents have trolled the hell out of Glen during the premiere of Hit Man. In a way, his family is what keeps Glen grounded.

Amusingly, Us Weekly described his parents as the first ever nepo parents.

“The greatest gift that my parents gave me is never making me sit in things I didn’t want to sit in and letting me chase the passions I wanted to chase, no matter what,” Powell, 35, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his new movie Twisters. “I am really grateful for my parents for not trying to deter me from a job that has such a low success rate.”

As his fame continued to rise, his parents have made various cameos in his movies over the years.

His Instagram is full of photos of behind the scenes, with family, and of course, Brisket.

There was a rumor that Glen was opening a restaurant in Austin. This has been researched and debunked. I did go into detail about his future projects here.

--

So how did I convert my daughter into a fan?

Because I was talking to her about the gossip regarding him and Sydney Sweeney. I showed her the photos, then I showed her how he was with his other female costars.

With Adria Arjona from Hit Man.

With Daisy Edgar-Jones from Twisters.

And her first thought: "He makes them comfortable. He's safe. That's why they're so relaxed."

In that instant, she became a fan. That's all it took.

So yeah. Got fans here.

We're looking forward to more about this green-eyed Texan!

--

BONUS: Glen also is rather hilarious on Twitter! Check this out!

Hilariously, he decided to run with it!

We love a star who can make a joke like this!

Sources (with blatant lifts when possible): New York Times (using web archive due to paywall) Entertainment Weekly Us Weekly Biography Los Angeles Time Variety *I freely admit/acknowledge I relied on existing writing to put all this together. I added, rearranged, edited, as necessary. I am grateful to the access of this information that allowed me to compile this biography!

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE - Episode 24: The Things You Have To Do

eng proofreading by myuntachis!

Sakyo: … Is that good?

Gaku: It’s perfect! Oh, man~! Thanks!

Gaku: Lots of the members of my club watch this anime, they’re gonna be SO jealous!

Sakyo: The boxing was also depicted pretty realistically.

Gaku: Ah! I’d also like a handshake!

Sakyo: I don’t mind but, you’re exaggerating now…

Gaku: Omi-nii, take a pic!

Omi: Yeah, I’ll do that.

Sakyo: You sure we can make a pro do that?

Omi: Ahaha, well, since we have the chance.

Kai: Omi-nii, is this much soy sauce okay?

Omi: Yeah, that's good.

Kai: By the way, that anime is popular in my club too.

Kai: Everyone was surprised when I told them an acquaintance of mine appeared as a voice actor.

Kai: So, I’d like one more autograph to display in the rugby club’s room… And dad said he wants one too, so make that two more autographs…

Omi: Hey now–

Sakyo: I don’t mind. It’s a small price to pay for the dinner you guys are making for me.

Omi: But still.

-

Kai: I’m sorry for serving you such simple dishes…

Sakyo: Nah, this is more than enough. You take after your brother in the cooking department, huh?

Omi: You can take a seat over there, Sakyo-san.

Sakyo: Thanks.

Omi: Again, thank you so much for making time to come to my family home.

Omi: Though, I told them I’d just bring the autographs myself…

Gaku: I mean, if I got a chance to hear that voice live, of course I’d ask for it~!

Gaku: He was just a guest actor, but everyone agrees his character was the best!

Sakyo: You started uni this year, didn’t you?

Gaku: Yes! I’ve been doing boxing since high school, so I joined my uni’s boxing club too!

Gaku: I was a senior till last year, but now I’m suddenly one of the youngest members, the transition’s been rough~

Kai: You’re the kinda kid seniors love doting on, so it’s fine. You didn’t even feel like a senior last year.

Gaku: That is SO not true! My juniors all cried and said they’d miss me when I graduated, I was a good and proper senior to ‘em!

Gaku: Oh!

Gaku: That reminds me, I gotta treat ‘em sometime, as thanks for helping Omi-nii with that thing he’s been looking into–

Sakyo: What’s he been looking into?

Omi: It’s no big deal. Kai, shouldn’t you be thinking about finding a job soon?

Kai: Right. Maybe I should ask if I can join Sakyo-san’s company…

Sakyo: We’re… not exactly the most ethical place.

Kai: But it’s amazing how both of you can juggle your day jobs and performing for the theater company~

Gaku: I’ve got my club activities and reports, and I’m going crazy. How do you manage?

Sakyo: … You gotta make sure to not spend a single moment of your life half-heartedly.

Sakyo: As you grow older, the things you hafta do even though you don’t want to keep increasing, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on the things you want to do.

Sakyo: And when you find something you want to do, you must go at it with full strength.

Sakyo: The only way to get to doing what you actually want to do is by giving it your all on the things you don’t want to do.

Gaku: Gotta do what you don’t wanna do, huh… That hit right where it hurts~

-

Omi: Thank you so much for today. And for what you said before–

Sakyo: Sure.

Omi: I respect how you don’t neglect your work at Ginsenkai, you balance everything and still manage to work as a voice actor along with everything else you want to do.

Sakyo: It’s exactly because there are things I want to do that I'm able to work so hard.

Sakyo: What’s something you want to put your everything into doing, Fushimi?

Omi: ——

Omi: I understand that, just like Banri said, I have to find something to help me break out of my shell as an actor…

Omi: But the truth is, there’s something else bothering me currently.

Omi: I was told I’m being a hypocrite, and I’m not sure if it’s something I can solve. But I just can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

Sakyo: Then, isn’t that what you want to do most, right now?

Sakyo: If there’s something you really want to do, you should do it.

Sakyo: Keep turning away from the things you want to do, and your 20s will pass in the blink of an eye.

Sakyo: And those things will keep haunting you. Take it from someone with experience.

Omi: … You’re right.

Sakyo: The reason no one in the Autumn Troupe, myself included, is saying anything about your challenge, is because we know you’re not the type of person to slack off on this sorta thing.

Sakyo: What all of us wish for you is to do something that you truly want to do, even if it’s something difficult.

Omi: Something I truly want to do…

Omi: … Sakyo-san, there’s something I’d like to talk to you and the rest of the Autumn Troupe about when we get back to the dorm.

Sakyo: … You sure take your time when you have to ask for help.

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[invisible-storyteller]

Because you can't spell 'emissary' without Mas(on)

They eventually cornered the woman in the movie theater as the last screening of the night was coming to an end.

"What do you want?" Liam demanded in lieu of greeting.

"Excuse me?"

The woman didn't seem all that surprised to be approached by three teenage boys in the nearly empty establishment, and Mason couldn't even call her confused or intimidated. Who would she be intimidated by, anyway? Liam with his 5’6 feet, Corey with his noodle arms or Mason with his Heelys? The widening of her eyes was probably for show, as if an innocent look could distract them from the fact that she had been observing Corey in his workplace all evening without purchasing a single ticket.

"You've been following us all week," Liam cut to the chase while doing what Mason dubbed as his alpha posturing, “Who are you and what do you want?"

The woman sized the three of them up and smiled. The fact that she didn't put up a fight was the first foreboding sign.

"Eleanor," The woman introduced herself with an outstretched arm, but neither of them shook her hand.

"What do you want... ma’am?”

"I'm here out of mere curiosity."

Mason caught Liam's wary look before his friend straightened up - the new stance making him an imposing 5’7 almost.

"You're stalking three underage boys," Liam accused, "We should call the police."

"You won't," Eleanor stated confidently, and then quickly diverted back to Liam’s original question, "I heard that the true alpha left Beacon Hills and now his first beta is in charge of the territory. I had to see it for myself."

"Why?" Corey asked, simple but to the point. They had already guessed that she was in the ‘inner circle’, but the confirmation wasn't promising either way.

"To know if the town is safe," The woman replied disdainfully, "And I got my answer. This place is clearly unprotected."

"We can protect it," Liam insisted, but his voice wavered a bit higher in pitch like when he was still mutating.

"You?" The woman laughed into his face, "You're what? Fourteen?”

"Sixteen,” Mason corrected, earning a pitying grimace from the woman.

“And I'm an alpha," Liam declared, then after some thinking, added: “In theory."

"And where's your pack, alpha?" The woman taunted, to which Liam instinctively looked over his shoulders at Mason and Corey, "Those two, huh? I've never seen such a small pack."

"What do you want?" Liam repeated, his tough act visibly faltering.

"This town attracts the supernatural," The woman reminded them sharply as if they didn’t know it from first-hand experience, “When the next bad thing comes, who's gonna deal with it? Three boys still in high school with mediocre grades and a lacrosse team that only wins because there’s only one rival school in this godforsaken town?"

“My grades are good,” Mason interjected, not that the woman cared.

“You don't have an alpha, you don't have an emissary, you don't have anything a stable pack needs."

Mason put a reassuring hand on one of Liam’s shoulders, and so did Corey.

"You don't know him, and you don't know us," Mason said, looking challengingly at the woman, whose lips ticked up into a sneer.

"Then by all means, prove me wrong," She dramatized (she must have been a theater kid in her golden days), and just then, the last visitors of the day flooded out of the rooms and the woman faded into the crowd.

The three boys looked at each other in matching puzzlement as Liam voiced their unanimous thought: "What the hell was that?"

***

"And she knew about Scott leaving the territory?"

"Yes."

The face Deaton made in response was disconcerting, but honestly, coming to Deaton in the first place was a hapless move since it was always closely followed by the unavoidable Fuckening™.

"Then, I have good news and bad news."

"Bad news first," Mason asked apprehensively.

“She's probably an emissary.”

"How is that bad news?" Corey questioned aloud.

"She's here to gather intel. Often, when a territory loses its alpha, other packs will claim the territory as their own. Her pack is most likely looking to expand and they sent their emissary into town to see if there are any competitors."

"Intense,” Mason noted with feeling.

"What is the good news?" Liam asked with hope naively glinting in his eyes.

"She believes that you're weak.” If Deaton was expecting some kind of a celebration at the reveal, he had to be sorely disappointed.

“That’s your definition of good news?”

"Yes. It means she doesn't know what you're capable of,” Deaton elaborated with a blank face that could have meant anything between disapproval of their mental sluggishness or happiness at the sudden realization that he had some left-over chicken at home, “You can still surprise her. The reason why she’s been following you is because she isn't sure of your strength yet. You still have time."

"Time for what?" Liam asked back unsurely.

"To sell a lie. To make your pack seem stronger than it is."

“Is there some kind of a supernatural steroid for that?” Mason inquired, to which Deaton gave him a simple “Are you stupid?” look, which was his most frequently used expression around the pack. “Better to know.”

"Liam, she was sadly right,” Deaton continued, “Your pack currently has three members in total.”

"Four," Liam corrected, and Corey and Mason smartly shut their mouths.

"You can't fight another pack with four people, Liam."

“Depends on the size of the pack,” Mason interjected, to which Corey nodded in support.

“Do you know which pack she belongs to?”

“N-“

“She had a tattoo,” Mason recalled, which seemed to surprise everyone in the room, “On her hand. Three parallel lines and a circle.”

“The Donoghue pack," Deaton nodded pensively, "They counted thirteen members the last time I heard.”

“We’re screwed,” Corey muttered under his breath.

"And you? Can't you be our emissary, and I don't know, talk to her?" Liam asked Deaton, although he wasn't certain he could share Scott's emissary like that.

"An emissary has to be someone you trust. Someone you're close to as they will be your chief confidant. Does that description fit me?"

Liam strategically didn't answer. 

"And if it was me?" Mason suggested, earning a frown from Liam, a shocked gape from Corey and a considering look from Deaton.

"It is a big responsibility," Deaton cautioned, because out of the unholy trinity of gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss, he was at least two of those things.

"We already have a big responsibility," Mason argued, motioning to the helltown that was unfortunately protected by teenagers in the absence of capable adults, "The question is: How fast can you make me into an emissary?"

"Enough,” Deaton replied, which was approximately as much as they could hope for.

“Alright. When do we start?” Mason asked, excitement mixing with dawning trepidation.

Deaton shrugged. “Now is good for me.”

***

“We told you we could handle it!” Liam groused petulantly as Stiles parked his jeep at the preserve’s entrance.

“Yeah, and I saw right through your lying asses.”

“Scott isn’t here,” Theo pointed out with a complacent grin.

“He has too much faith in Liam,” Stiles cut back like the beta wasn’t even there, “At least now it’s not a pack of alphas invading but why does anyone want this cursed town for themselves? I tell you why. Because they are insane.”

“Wait, why don’t you have faith in me?” Liam got stuck on Stiles’s first sentence.

“I don’t have faith in any of you. Maybe Mason.”

Theo looked already bored with the conversation so he asked: “Can someone tell me why we're going to the preserve again?”

“Because that bitch is an emissary,” Stiles answered shortly as they piled out of the jeep.

“What does that mean?” Liam whispered to his best friend on their way into the woods.

“It means she’ll be looking for the Nemeton,” Mason replied while they began to search for the magical stump as well. Some teenagers spent their Friday nights getting shit-faced at a house party, Mason and his friends spent it hunting down malevolent druids and stopping them from draining semi-sentient plants. 

As their group entered deeper into the woods, Corey brought up the one crucial detail they hadn’t agreed on yet: “Guys, what’s the plan?”

"We're going to bash her head in, dig an eight-feet deep hole where we hide the body, kill a bunny and bury it five feet above it so police dogs will find the animal carcass only, and get away with the perfect murder,” Stiles outlined his plan passionately while the others looked on in bafflement.

"Or... we could just talk to her?" Mason offered, to which Corey and Liam nodded along concedingly.

Stiles acknowledged their decision with his eyes squinted judgementally, and sighed. “My idea is better but sure. Let’s play the pacifist. That worked out well in the past.”

They didn’t have to wander much around after that: all of them had (unfortunately) been to the Nemeton before, so even if not by conscious navigation, but they soon reached its vicinity and stumbled upon the foreign emissary, whose surprise only showed on her face for one fleeting second. 

“Oh, look, the middle school finally arrived,” The woman scoffed but her head tilted questioningly at Stiles’s presence, “You are new.”

"I'm the muscle man,” Stiles stated with his aluminium baseball bat cradled like an infant in his hands. With him, the whole group gained +1 skill point at being threatening, making it 2 points in total.

"Shouldn't you have muscle for that?" The woman mocked in return.

"I'm the bat man then."

"He's Batman," Liam declared assertively.

“He looks more like a Robin,” Corey mumbled off-handedly.

“Hey! I’m not Robin!”

"I’m with Stiles on this one. Can't we just slash her throat?" Theo interrupted surly, reminding the group of their original situation.

The comment made the woman straighten up, too, with a dark look in her eyes that was partially achieved by her shadowy mascara. It seemed that her hand was reaching for a small satchel at her side - no doubt containing mountain ash that she could cast around herself in a protective circle, which, in this case, would shield her from exactly one person in their group.

"You think this is going to scare me?" She smiled derisively, dragging her gaze over each member of their pack.

"I know why you want this land,” Mason spoke up, both to direct her attention to him and commence the negotiations at last, “There's a special connection that can be established between an emissary and a Nemeton, and this bond can grant incredible power to the person wielding magic. Guess what? I have that power."

"You’re not even a proper emissary,” The woman smiled condescendingly as she took a step closer. Corey instinctually stepped in front of Mason, but the woman swept him out of the way and into a nearby tree with a flick of her hand.

"The pack regards me as the human connection,” Mason countered while watching Theo pull Corey up to his feet from the corner of his eyes, “That makes me their emissary.”

“You still don’t know what being an emissary really means.”

“I’m an advisor. And now I advise you to leave our territory.”

“How are you going to fight me, boy? You might have studied the books, but you don’t have my experience.”

“True,” Mason conceded as the woman got into dangerous proximity. “But you failed to do one of the most important things when engaging in a fight.”

“Yeah?” The woman humoured him, “And what’s that?”

Mason looked around the clearing, and upon his signal, Nolan and Chris Argent emerged from the trees with arrows aimed steadily at the woman's head. Their appearance halted Eleanor’s advance as well as the air in her lungs.

“You forgot to check who you stand against,” Mason stated, and he could feel everyone gather behind him in a silent expression of their unity. “You want to cast a mountain ash circle that won’t be effective against the arrows or the chimeras in our pack. You cannot run away because you don’t know these woods like we do, and you can’t fight us all because we have you outnumbered. So what does your experience say? Is it still worth attacking?”

The woman contemplated the alternatives Mason presented with begrudging realization and wavering confidence in the face of their pack's unified spirit. Her following retreat made her last words sound pathetic and desperate rather than scary as she shouted:

"My pack is still stronger than yours! You better keep a close eye on your precious town!”

Mason looked to his side where Liam had stepped forward, the two of them standing shoulder-to-shoulder and just as undeterred as they had always been.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Mason smiled at a proudly grinning Liam before turning back to the withdrawing woman, “I always stand by my friends, and I will do whatever to protect them. Can you say that about your pack?”

The woman huffed but didn’t waste any more words on them. She vanished from the preserve with one last feeble threat thrown over her shoulder, and Chris Argent followed her with the reassurance that he would make sure she truly left the town. Once she had disappeared from sight, the entire pack walked up to Mason to deliver their congratulations and personal remarks about the standoff ("I legit thought she was gonna kill you, man") while Mason tried to laugh off all the excess adrenaline.

“That was a really great bluff, too," Stiles complimented with one friendly slap against Mason’s arm, whose confusion must have been evident if Stiles felt the need to elaborate, "You know, about that thing with the Nemeton."

“That wasn’t a bluff,” Mason clarified as Stiles’s eyes widened into saucers.

“You’re telling me you can actually harvest the Nemeton’s power?”

“Why am I the only one who reads things?” Mason sighed indignantly at all the shocked expressions around him.

“Because you are our emissary and nobody could do it better,” Liam stated with one arm casually thrown around Mason’s shoulder, making the young emissary laugh.

“Hell nah.”

On their way back to Stiles’s jeep, everyone was talking either about whether Eleanor's threat should be taken seriously or the closest pizza place that still delivered at this time of the night, and only Mason seemed hyped about all the implications of becoming an official pack.

“Oh, hey, by the way. What is going to be our pack symbol?” Mason asked, enthused at the prospect of getting a tattoo. “I was thinking we could do little paw prints-“

“NO!” Everyone shouted as they crowded into the car and dropped the subject altogether to Mason's disappointment. 

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Liam nudged his shoulder placatingly. “I accept your advice about anything but this.”

“Okay, that's fair," Mason nodded with a bummed sigh. 

“Do you really want to be my emissary?”

The question seemed so absurd after everything that happened that Mason had to roll his eyes fondly at his friend and give a similar nudge back. “We look out for each other, remember?”

Liam's lips stretched into an ecstatic beam right as Stiles cursed loudly in the front: “Fuck, I think that bitch cut my breaks.”

(For the Mason Week held by @masonhewittappreciation, because there simply aren't enough stories with emissary!Mason.)

[filmnoirsbian]

A series 6 of pages from the graphic novel My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris

Page one: Karen (stylized as a werewolf girl) and Missy are two young girls watching a horror movie. Karen's narration says "Horror Theater played this movie 'Dracula's Daughter' and there was this one part where Countess Dracula kidnaps this woman named Janet..." Missy says "I think that the countess almost..." Karen finishes "...kissed her..."

Karen's narration says "That was the night we cut our fingers and became...blood sisters" and then "As I hung up my detective coat in the cloak room I remembered how I'd waited till Missy was asleep. I'd said, "You are beautiful" and then..."

A sleeping Missy says "...I love you Kare...I love you so much..." as Karen kisses her hand. Countess Dracula looks on and says "Oh Karen, you are far braver than I ever was!" Karen's narration says "I think she meant it because she said it from her asleep self not her awake self..."

Page two: The Next Morning. Missy and Karen are eating cereal. Missy says "Karen, do you think that a girl could become the bride of dracula's daughter?" Karen says "If they love each other then why not?"

Karen's narration says "I think Missy went home and asked her mom the same question because later Missy's mom called and demanded to know what we'd seen on TV..."

Karen's mom on the telephone says "Just some old Creepshow is all..." Missy's mom from the telephone says "That junk! I really should not be surprised as people of your class never protect their kids from bad influences!" She hangs up.

Karen's narration says "As I sat in school (getting my daily doses of paper airplanes) I thought about how that had been the last sleepover we ever had. Over the next few weeks I heard that all of Missy's monster magazines got replaced by hair and beauty mags. Her boardgames, like 'Haunted House' got replaced with, 'The Mystery Date Game'..."

Page 3: Karen's narration says "But we are still blood sisters, so no matter how mean Missy is, I can't be mean back. Her blood is inside of me. Sometimes I think if you were to put one of those x-ray machines up to me, you would see the old Missy, the Missy from when we used to love monsters together and I have to protect that part of her..." Karen gives a thumbs up to this x-ray picture of old Missy.

Page 4: Karen's narration says "...Because inside of Missy that part is in a coffin, in a crypt, staked, and hungry and all alone..." Missy gives a thumbs down to her x-ray self. Missy says "Only 3 things matter! What you wear how you do your hair and...the boy that you date!"

Page 5: Werewolf Karen and Vampire Missy embrace in a stairwell. Karen thinks "I don't care if it turns out that this was all a mean prank...for right now I get to hold her in my arms and stroke her hair." Missy says "The times when I'm with you are the only ones when I'm...myself."

Page 6: Missy's mother calls down the stairwell and says "Missy! What are you doing in the stairwell? Come back to your guests!" Missy tells her "So the neighbors don't see Karen getting on at our floor, she's taking the elevator at the floor below ours." Missy's mother says "Finally you're being sensible about that...girl!"

Still embracing, Karen says "Missy, you sure your mom won't come down here and catch us?" Missy says "She never walks down the stairs in high heels when she's been drinking. She'll be passed out by ten tonight. Horror Feature is playing 'Carnival of Souls' tonight...um...wanna call me and we can watch it over the phone together?"

Karen says "Sure."

[psychedelic-charm]

What Your High School Group Says About the Games You Play

Google Play Store ran an editorial where they listed a selection of games for its users that were inspired by school cliques. Check out these games, and tell me in the comments whether you were a star athlete, a brainiac, an artsy free spirit, something in between or something different entirely!

Sports Stars

These games are for those who have a competitive streak. From intense showdowns on the football field to epic clashes, experience the thrill of competition and camaraderie of team spirit.

Madden NFL 25 Mobile Football

Brawl Stars

EA Sports FC Mobile Soccer

Stumble Guys

Brainiacs

These games are for those who embrace their inner geek and enjoy immersive, imaginative, and strategic gameplay. Celebrate the thrill of mental stimulation or just have some plain, old nerdy fun. Whether it's challenging puzzles, trivia quizzes or comic-book adventures, let your intellect and passion guide this trek to fun.

Learn Chess with Dr. Wolf

NYT Games: Word Games & Sudoku

Marvel Snap

orange by indie game developer Bart Bonte

Theater Kids

These games are for those who love a bit of drama. Whether it's swooning over a powerful on-stage performance or dining out on the latest tidbits of gossip overheard in the hallway, these games are all about pivotal moments. Direct the story however you want, just don't be surprised by your lights, camera, action!

Choices: Stories You Play

Episode - Choose Your Story

Mystic Messenger

Love Island: The Game

Art Aficionados

These works of art are for those who enjoy creative challenges, have an eye for aesthetics, or want to create masterpieces without fear of losing marks. Explore your artistic passions on a new canvas.

I Love Hue Too (I should really finish the first game, huh)

Art Puzzle - Jigsaw Art Games

Alto's Adventure

Monument Valley 2

Music Magicians

These games are for those who love music and want to step into the shoes of a rock star, classical composer or a hit producer - putting together beats and instruments to make intricate melodies come alive. Whether you want to beatbox with the best of them or raise musical monsters, there's something for you.

Deemo II

Incredibox

Beatstar - Touch Your Music

My Singing Monsters

Alternative Crowd

These games are for those who revel in the edgy, unconventional, and eerie - and are willing to embrace the emotional. If you're drawn by the allure of the macabre and the beauty of enigma, then these games are for you.

Limbo by Playdead

Cube Escape Collection

Beyond the Room

Opus: Rocket of Whispers

Pranksters

These games are for those who enjoy a laugh and pride themselves on their sense of humor. Get ready for a spunky dose of amusement and light-hearted fun with these otherworldly games!

Dumb Ways to Die 4

Goat Simulator

Clusterduck

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

Trendsetters

These games are for those who want to solve design challenges for the style-conscious or were once crowned prom queen or king. Live a virtual life as a fabulous fashionista and make choices to keep your life interesting.

Roblox

The Sims Freeplay (I've been on and off with this one)

Design Home: House Makeover

Pocket Love

Wallflowers

These games are for those who prefer to stick to the sidelines and disappear into their own little world, where things are nice and cozy. Embrace the solace of solitude as you enjoy these games.

Stardew Valley

Amaru: The Self-Care Pet

Sky: Children of the Light

When the Past was Around

Rebels

These games are for those who think rules are there to be broken. Let out your inner rebellious streak as you break all the limits in these action-packed games.

Need for Speed No Limits

Free Fire MAX

Into the Dead 2

Shadow Fight 2

[daymies]

“Grr, stupid kids! You made me look bad!”

Beginning Notes - Hey guys, before you start reading, this is the first fic I had written a while, some nice criticism will be great. Another thing, I'll be adding YOUR original characters to this story! Make sure to DM your OCs in my discord sillymies#0696

One last thing, this story will be LONG... so stay tuned. Check out my social media for drawings and comics (along with some extra scenes) for this fic! And, of course, for more content for our favorite two characters, Streber and Kevin. I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter; I already have an extra two chapters written already; however, they are heavily edited during this time. The next update should be up by tomorrow. (This is also posted on AO3)

———————————————

October 1st, 2012 Monday 6:00 PM

"KEVIN!" "KEVIN! KEVIN!"

Oh great, not those two again.

Today is the first day of October, which meant Halloween was coming soon enough. A holiday that employees that serve the public can't certainly enjoy. Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of being the only guy who sold candy in this crappy town. As a result, this business was almost busy. My two best customers– If I could even call them that, viewing, I give them free candy every day waddled themselves here.

I sighed, "What'll be kids?"

Ugh, I don't know why I asked! I already knew what they wanted! But these two do love Bocadins. I don't blame them; they're delicious. I'm not entirely sure why they don't use the actual name, but whatever.

"Can we get a candy can? Please, Kevin!" "We'd waited all year like you said!" "Yeah! It's finally the spooky month!"

Right...

Kevin's Flashback

The Candy Club shop had existed for a while. Funny enough, I never thought I'd work at this place. Jeez, I didn't even think I'd be the only employee in this dead-end job. In middle school, I remembered when this building was under construction. I had to be around fourteen when everybody realized a new business was opening in this tiny town. I was definitely an eighth-grader when this happened. I don't have the best memory. By the time I reached sophomore year, it had finally finished production. With a small town and low labor, it was bound to take a few years to complete.

After Candy's Club's grand opening, the place was frequently packed, visited by everybody I knew. Literally.

It was next to my high school and a couple of neighborhoods. So it was bound to get heavy traffic. If I had to be honest, I always dreamed of visiting the place, but I couldn't. Of course, it didn't help that my walking route to home, school, and my best friend's place forced me to walk in front of the business occasionally. So it was almost every day I walked past it.

I remember the first day I visited. I wasn't a huge fan of candy. Scratch that. My parents were heavily against it, so I couldn't form a strong opinion on it. So I never really knew whether or not I would've had a sweet tooth in my younger years. Now in my early twenties, I can finally say I love sugary food, which, if you haven't noticed, includes candy.

Radford was honestly the one who took me for the first time. He'd just turned sixteen and applied at the local theater we used to visit during our free time. The place he applied at wasn't JUST a theater; it had an arcade and was pretty cool. Radford was the one who mainly spent all his allowance and time there.

Anyways, he got the job. No surprise there. Radford knew the owner due to how frequently we visited. He had a great relationship with the guy. Man, Radford didn't even have to go through the struggle and process of an interview. He was hired on the spot when he asked. What a lucky guy...

Radford was more than happy when he realized he was hired on the spot. The first thing he did was excessively call me. Even though Radford smiled joyfully when we met, my parents weren't. They were upset with the bill they got from the calls from Radford.

We'd typically celebrated things by, well, hanging at the theater/arcade, but Radford wanted to change things up. To be fair, I don't think you should celebrate the news of your brand new job at– well, your new job location. With the theater being a no-go, he wanted to try out the new candy shop with me. The one that everybody in our high school went crazy on. The Candy Club.

I was excited. But I had to pretend I didn't want to. What if my parents saw it? I freaked out, knowing my parents would've grounded me for something so small.

"Come on, dude, you gotta at least try it. Your parents aren't even here. What are you so worried about?" Radford could tell I was nervous when we walked closer to Candy Club. But, of course, Radford being the worst friend I ever had, found this funny. Jerk.

"You know my parents can sense when I did something wrong! They're like super crazy freaks–! Oh crap, I shouldn't have said that. What if they heard?!" I could visually remember how I looked around my surroundings just in case one of them was watching me, but not a single figure. That didn't even matter to young me. He was still feeling uneasy.

I was an extremely paranoid kid. I didn't have abusive parents; they were sweet but heavily overprotective, and they could've been harsh at times too. I was the only child they had, so that could be why they were so weird sometimes. They were against anything considered unhealthy, like pizza, burgers, or whatever. Obviously, that included sugary substances. For most of my life, I was on a strict vegan diet.

Man, I remembered when I had my first bite of a burger. It was so delicious. Radford took me all around town, trying out different fast-food restaurants. Grills & Boys had to be my favorite restaurant at the time! It's a shame it wasn't like it used to be before.

I think today; I still might be a little paranoid. Not as much as before, thankfully.  But I still kept up with eating vegetables. I had to maintain my figure somehow; it's not every day you see some good-looking guy down the street! Right? I'm kidding.

I worry a lot; it's the one thing I'm known for. Radford constantly has to remind me to 'calm the fuck down,' but what does he know? His life was much smoother than my miserable one.

"Dude. You're the super crazy freak. Come on." He mocked. He found my terrified outbursts funny. But, like I said, Radford didn't take me seriously. Even today, he's still basically the same person.

He forcefully dragged me to the candy shop, ignoring my complaints whenever I mentioned what my parents would do to me if they found out. After that, which would've been nothing, I was just all talk.

My parents wouldn't have done anything necessarily wrong to me. The worst thing they could've done was a long boring lecture about how sugary foods can kill me. Just the usual on what their speeches were usually about.

When we entered the place, we were greeted heavily by the only employee who worked before me. To get this straight, no, I wasn't the first to work at Candy Club. I'm glad I wasn't the first employee at this shit establishment. I would've been more disappointed if I had worked here since the beginning it was built.

"Hey! Welcome to the Candy Club! Where your satisfaction is our treat!"

At the time, previous Candy-Club employees had to say this 'slogan' whenever someone entered the store. That has never changed. It's required for all employees to say once a customer comes in. But I don't do it. I refuse to say it because I find it so stupid.

Radford was the first who started talking to the guy. It looked like they knew each other, once again, not even a surprise. Radford liked speaking to people. I didn't.

"Hey, Dennis! Did you get your latest shipment in?" Radford asked, pushing up his glasses as they were clearly a bit too big for him. I never knew why Radford wouldn't get actual glasses that fitted his face, but whatever. He was a weird guy. He still is, actually, now that I think about it. Radford doesn't even wear actual glasses anymore. I'm pretty sure he has contacts. He didn't even need authentic glasses, so he replaced them with 3D glasses, nerd.

At the time, Radford had a sweet tooth, constantly chewing on some type of flavored gum. Back in high school, that's all he ever ate throughout his school days. Now? Not so much. Let's just say he frequently visits our local Dentist in town now.

I'm not entirely sure how Dennis, you know, the first ever Candy Club employee, and Radford's friendship began. Still, I can just guess that Radford was his best customer, considering all the sweets he bought had the Candy-Club logo on them.

"Just got it earlier this morning! Who's ya new friend there?" Dennis responded and pointed right at me, not knowing who I was. The town was small, so sometimes everybody knew each other, but I wasn't as social as Radford back then. Few people knew me. Not like I cared. I much preferred that way!

Up until when I became the new guy who sold candy in town. Fucking Dennis... I shouldn't have listened to him.

"Oh, this lame guy? Come on, dude, introduce yourself!"

Radford was a much more talkative person. He was more playful, open, and much more of an asshole than me. But, we had similar traits, and we were both... Never mind, I lied. We actually don't have anything in common. He was the one who spoke to me first back in middle school. Radford never even left me alone; he was so talkative. How we met is a story for another day.

I glared at him, irritated by the name-calling. Lame guy... you're the lame guy, Radford.

Dennis was— gazing at me. He seemed like a friendly guy. He had blonde hair and had to be older than us by a couple of years. At the time, I recalled rolling my eyes and giving out a huge groan. I wasn't the best at introducing myself to new people during my teen years. Now that I'm in my early twenties, I am even worse at talking to new people. So it's Radford who gets me to chat with somebody new.

"Kevin," I said, this being all I managed to tell Dennis.

"Nice to meet ya, Kev. Say, what's your favorite candy–?"

Why did he care? If you could compare Dennis and me, we're both entirely different. It's clear Dennis enjoyed his job, interacting with customers, and everything this job had to offer. Me? Not so much. Sure, it was nice to talk to people without forcing a conversation. Still, I soon realized anybody who came through that glass door would verbally abuse me for no reason. That's business, though! Great.

I cut Dennis off midway through his sentence, "I don't like candy. Not really my thing." I told him, crossing my arms. I frowned at him. Dennis was probably around 19 years old when I first met him. I don't talk to him now. He's closer to Radford, not me. I do see him occasionally, but it's just awkward.

I heard a loud sigh. The sigh came from nobody else but from Radford. "Come on, man! Kevin has never had candy before. He doesn't even have an opinion on it! He has no say in anything half of the time!"

I sneered at this as I crossed my arms and looked away from the duo. I was pissed. Yeah, it was true, but it wasn't like I wanted everybody to know about it.

"Is that true? Huh. Say, Kev, grab a scoop of those fruit gummies. I'd think you'll enjoy them." Dennis said, now he too was crossing his arms. But he wasn't upset. He remained happy the entire time, which I respected about Dennis for a long time. Dennis was still annoying, though.

It's not like I was a downer all the time. I just genuinely had no idea how to respond or even react to things.

"It's Kevin. And where? there's a lot of candy in here."

Dennis' head pointed to the left side of the place.

"Top row, pink bin."

Dennis was an asshole, too. I knew he was messing with me when he was facing the bin on the tallest shelf of the store. See, sixteen-year-old Kevin wasn't the tallest person at the time. I was a 5'4 kid, pretty much considered short at the time. I grew taller since then, but Radford continued to tower over me. I continued to glare at Dannis. He should know why I'd be pissed off.

"I can't reach that."

They both laughed with each other, with Radford being the loudest in the room.

"No worries, Kev, that's on me! I'll get it for ya!"

"Whatever," I said, turning my head away so I didn't have to face these two. Radford was already annoying on his own, and adding Dennis? They were even much more irritating and more menacing than these two stupid kids right in front of me—

Oh no! Oh crap! I forgot they were still here!

Dammit, Kevin! You need to quit dozing off on the job! This is how you get your candy stolen! You're lucky these two aren't 3 miserable preteens who wore hats!!

"Hey, err, Kevin? Are you okay?" Skid was the first to ask. He seemed concerned, but I could tell he was mainly curious about why I had been staring at the wall for a good minute.

"Yeah! You were looking at the wall for a while! Are you sick, Kevin?" Pump was more considerate than the other. Well, they both are, but Pump was typically the one who usually acted.

Huh, I forget they both are good kids. I just wished they had stopped pouring through my store, screaming at the tops of their lungs. They're not bad kids. Hell, they're the only two decent human beings who don't entirely make fun of me.

Lila and Pump's mother told the truth when they said these two kids were the purest and most excellent boys. But god, how destructive they were.

"I have some medicine the man in the van gave us!" Pump shouted, taking some mysterious bottle out of his backpack.

What the hell?

"What? What are you two talking about?! Give me that!" I completely ripped the bottle out of Pump's hands and tossed it in the trash.

"Stop talking to strangers, you two! Don't you know how dangerous that is? Where'd did you even get that from!"

These two are oblivious! How aren't they dead yet?! I can't even imagine what their parents must deal with at home! I'm glad they're not my kids! I'll never be a dad.

I groaned as I reached to grab the two pieces of candy I had saved for these two earlier today before they ran out. After pulling my hand from behind my desk, they both practically had stars in their eyes when they realized what I had.

My glare soon faded away. I smiled. It was nice to see happy faces on people. Especially innocent children. I can tell why Dennis loved this job. But, listen, I don't hate these two kids. But, as I said, they sometimes are too loud and dangerous.

I gave these two a long genuine smile. Then, with the two pieces of candy I had, I dropped them into their hands.

"Remember, they're called Bocadins. Call them by their real name next time, will ya?"

"Whoa! Thanks, Kevin! You're the best! And we will!" They said to me both at the same time. Jeez, it's like their heads are telepathically connected.

"Yeah, yeah. Now go away." I said, my smile now fading quickly. I squinted at these two. That was enough socialization for me today.

Instead of walking out of my store, they just stared at me! What the hell could they possibly want now? They got what they wanted. Why are they still staring at me? They could be so weird sometimes!

"What? What do you want?"

Pump and Skid looked at each other and started giggling. They were whispering pretty loudly to each other. A ton of 'No! No! You tell him! No, you!' Okay, now these two were getting on my nerves already.

"Tell me before I kick you both out."

They continued to giggle as they both finally turned to face me. Whatever it was, it was obviously so important.

"Did you hear, Kevin? There's a new haunted house! You should go!"

"Yeah! You'll like it, Kevin!"

Not that important, apparently. Sighing, I gave the two one last smile for the night.

"Sorry, kids, those things aren't for me. Now go away, please. I'm tired. I had a rough night last night!"

They looked disappointed. Of course, since they're Skid and Pump, they looked at each other, and a smile suddenly formed quickly.

"Oh well, let's go, Pump!"

"Oh, okay! Let's go see the new guy!"

New guy? What new guy? Was this the second thing they would tell me if I agreed to go!?

"New guy? What are you two talking about?"

I tried to get an answer from these two, but they were already running out of the store! Why are they so quick with things?!

"Bye, Kevin!!!"

That was the last thing they said before I stood there, confused. What new guy can they possibly be talking about? Who would even move to this town?!

———————————————

End Notes - Hoped you guys enjoyed it. I'll be taking suggestions throughout the story! Remember to check out my social media for more content for the story!

[former-proffessor-and-policeman]

How do you see each family spending time together?

I'm gonna assume this is referring to fankid families bc that's the only thing I can think of. I already covered rika and rina so i'll do the others here ^^

Harukin spends time with both of his parents by going out for groceries and having movie nights, very average stuff but they like to play it safe. With just midori harukin and midori will go out on late nights and window shop or alternatively go to a store just to get free samples xd And when hanging out with his dad, harukin and ryutaro will help others in their neighborhood together ryutaro suggested they hang out this way aside from just talking when at home for "good exorcise" It was really just to give harukin a good habit though.

Ahiru spends time with kisa by watching (no surprise here tbh) magical girl anime, sometimes they'll mix it up and watch something like steven universe or ok k.o. If they aren't doing that kisa will actively seek out ahiru so he can tutor her, though sometimes it'll take a lot of time searching over time they kinda saw it as a game of hide and seek. And when being watched by her uncle ahiru and ag like to spar, because of course ag would be the one endorsing violence, and sometimes on rare occasions ag will tell ahiru stories of the past, though he is careful to be vague about certain things.

Now...Shinon. Shinon's family life is complicated as yoruko, teruya, and nikei (obviously) aren't in a relationship with each other, just with sora. So they share custody of him, and because of how busy all his family are they can never have a full family gathering. That aside how he spends with each family member is either pretty similar or vastly different, with teruya shinon helps with running the revamped otori mart along with helping teruya come up with new designs for the latest trends for the new generation, and teruya is not shy about talking about the past to his son he'll go on and on about fun adventures and his high school days its all mostly rambling about the fun and positive stuff and he unintentionally leaves out the bad with it. And with yoruko shinon ends up acting as a helper for yoruko's own small cafe and going to the library to read and rent movies for them to watch together, aside from that the two would spend most of their family time indoors as yoruko is one of the parents insistent shinon is better off staying safe inside. And with his other dad, nikei lets shinon pick what they should do together and usually it ends with shinon and nikei playing promised neverland type of tag in the backyard or visiting one of (the now older) voids and doing fun stuff there, at iroha's she'll help shinon learn the ways of sketch art, at emma's she pretty much influences him into becoming a theater kid/ jokster, and with hajime shinon gets learn some boxing techniques...But never actually box of course, and sometimes nikei and shinon will have their own lil debate sessions. Sometimes shinon will try to ask how they all know each other and all he'll get is pretty much; "We all bumped into each other by chance" or "We were all looking for the same thing and met up to look for it" He never got a solid answer until later. And finally with Sora its a lot of talking, chatting about anything and everything, sora will also teach shinon in the ways of flirting and flustering along with occasionally teaching him to fight along with syobai, and also on rare occasions sora will take shinon with him when visiting some other sdra2 cast gang, though it would most likely be either yuri, kokoro, or yuki.

[fan-fantasies]

Stolen Goods

A/N: dedicated to breezy for being my best friend and putting up with my bullshit since we were 5 years old ❤️ I’m absolutely in love with this piece and I hope you guys love it to! Part two is already written so just let me know when you guys want it 😏

Pairing: Eddie x reader

Warnings: 80s version of nudes, fingering, swearing, tension out the ass

Summary: You take a liking to your friend’s weird friend. Even more so you take a liking to teasing him.

Part two

“Please come! All you have to do is sit there!” Your best friend pleaded with you.

“I highly doubt that,” you scoffed.

(y/n), pleaseeeeee. I’ll owe you big time,” Bri said.

“Ugh, fine. But you do owe me!”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She screamed as she pulled you into a hug.

You had just agreed to sit in as a sub at her DnD club meeting or campaign, whatever she called it.

You would consider yourself a nerd, just not the type to play that game. You could often be found in the library studying or in a comic book store, which is initially how you became friends with Bri.

She had tried to convert you into her satanic club, just kidding of course, but the game confused you and you had no patience to learn.

She really enjoyed being in the Hellfire Club and you were glad it made her happy. She talked so highly of the guys in it and even said you’d probably take a liking to the leader, Eddie. You’d seen him around school, and heard him of course, but you never understood why she thought you’d like him. You didn’t have a problem with him like everyone else seemed to but you also didn’t understand why he thought so highly of himself either. Maybe that was it- his “better than the bullshit” attitude.

You didn’t think anyone was better than anyone else or above the bullshit. It was high school- it was all bullshit.

The day went by rather quickly and you soon found yourself standing outside the theater room with Bri.

“You ready?” She asked. You thought for a moment before turning on your heel and walking away. But Bri was quick and grabbed your arm, dragging you into the room.

“Hey Bri. Who’s your weird friend?” Eddie asked.

“I’m the weird friend? That’s rich coming from you,” you scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“Use your big-boy brain and figure it out,” you replied. Bri just shook her head and sighed.

“I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea,” she mumbled to herself. The rest of the guys were just staring between you and Eddie, scared to say anything.

“Sit down. You’re a level one princess,” Eddie smirked.

“And you’re a five star douche. What’s that have to do with anything?” You shot back.

You could tell Eddie was getting frustrated which made you happy. He had no reason to judge you right off the bat so you decided to piss him off as much as possible.

“Please, for the love of gods, just sit down!” Bri whispered to you.

“I’m so glad I tagged along. I’m already having so much fun,” you told her. She just groaned and sat you down in a chair behind her. You smirked at Eddie who was giving you a death stare.

You mostly just watched the game, having to roll the dice a few times. You still didn’t understand it but you could see the appeal. The biggest thing that caught you by surprise was just how passionate Eddie was about the game, and just how attractive you found him as the dungeon master. You’d never admit that to anyone, of course, but now you could see why Bri thought you might like him.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dustin screamed.

“Language, young man,” you scolded jokingly.

“(Y/N), you’re our last hope. You have to roll a nat 20 or else we lose,” Mike told you.

“That should be easy. Just have to roll for one singular number. On a twenty sided die!” You yelled. Eddie chuckled from across the board.

“I look forward to your defeat, m’lady,” he said.

“I look forward to you shutting the fuck up,” you mumbled.

“Language!” Dustin yelled.

“Bite me.”

“Gladly,” he purred. You just laughed and told him to blow on the die. Everyone watched with intensity as you threw the die down the table.

“Yes!!! We won!!” They all screamed. They hugged you happily as Eddie finished out his dramatic scene.

“Not too shabby for a level one,” he said, coming over afterward. “Maybe you should bring your weird friend more often, Bri.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Munson?” You asked sarcastically. He leaned on the table and dipped his head closer to yours.

“Yeah, I just might.”

His warm breath against your skin made goosebumps break out all over your body. You couldn’t hide the shiver that ran through you.

“Do you wanna head out?” Bri asked. You just nodded as Eddie looked at you wish a wolfish grin.

•the next day•

“Hey, princess,” Eddie said, slinging an arm around you in the lunch line. “Come join us.”

“No thanks. I eat in the library,” you said.

“Nope, not today. Today you feast with Hellfire,” he said dramatically.

He pulled you over to the table and Bri looked confused. You went to sit next to her but Eddie stopped you.

“Nope, you sit beside the smartest, toughest, and coolest master-“

“Masturbator, got it,” you said, sitting next to his seat. Dustin spewed milk from his nose and Jeff choked on a piece of chicken. Bri just laid her head onto her hands and sighed.

“Fucking kill me now.”

Eddie scowled at you but still took his rightful seat at the head of the table. You fell into easy conversation with the group and you actually found yourself enjoying it. Eddie waited until you had a mouthful of soda to lean over and whisper in your ear, quiet enough so only you would hear.

“So you think about me masturbating?”

You spit your drink out all over the table and down your shirt.

“Fuck!”

“You okay?” Bri asked. You dabbed are the stain setting into your top and tried to clean the table in front of you.

“I’m fine,” you grumbled. “Eddie, may I have a word outside?”

“Anything for you, m’lady,” he said with a smirk.

You drug him from the cafeteria to an empty classroom down the hall. You pushed him inside and closed the door, shutting the blind of the window.

“I didn’t take you as a girl who spit,” he laughed. You turned around and glared at him.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Excuse me?”

“Are we doing this or what? Take your shirt off,” you said, pulling at the hem of your own top, lifting it enough to show him some skin.

“Oh shit. Fuck. Um, yeah, we can do this. Shit.” He fumbled to get his jacket off but he did and then off came his hellfire shirt. His torso was littered with tattoos and you took a second to admire him.

“Even better than I imagined,” you said.

“Your turn, baby,” he said, taking a step toward you. You matched his own step forward, and just when he closed his eyes to lean in and kiss you, you snatched his shirt from him and ran to the door.

“Guys are so fucking dumb,” you laughed. His eyes shot open and he was too stunned to move.

“Seriously? Give it back!” He said.

“Absolutely not. Did you think I was wearing this mess for the rest of the day? Fat chance,” you smirked. “Oh and Eddie? I definitely don’t spit.”

And with that, you walked out the door and to the bathroom, leaving a very horny and angry Eddie behind.

Eddie threw on his jacket and zipped up the front. He trudged from the room and back to the cafeteria.

“Gareth, do you still have that extra shirt I gave you a while ago?” He asked.

“Yeah it should still be in my locker…why?”

“I need it,” Eddie mumbled.

“Sure, no problem, man.”

“Do I even wanna know?” Bri sighed.

“I’m gonna show that little princess who’s boss,” he growled.

Bri met you outside after classes got out.

“Is that Eddie’s shirt? (Y/N), what’s going on?” She asked.

“He made me spit my soda all over my shirt so he gave me his,” you shrugged.

“He gave it to you?”

“I may have taken it… it’s a long story!”

“You guys are gonna be the death of me. And probably each other,” she sighed, hopping in your car.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” you chuckled.

The next morning, Eddie was waiting by his van for you to pull in. As soon as you parked, he was opening up your door.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” you joked.

“I want my shirt back.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Someone please kill me,” Bri groaned from the passenger seat. “I’ll see you guys later. Please don’t kill each other.”

“Why won’t you give it back?” He asked, blocking you from going any further.

“Because it’s comfortable,” you shrugged.

“But it’s mine.”

“It’s mine now. I actually wore it to bed last night, it was nice.”

“Jesus Christ, just give it back! I’m sure it doesn’t go with whatever stupid pajama bottoms you wear.”

“Who said I wear bottoms?” You asked. His mouth instantly snapped shut and you smiled. “See you later!”

Once again, he was left horny and angry at the thought of you wearing nothing but his Hellfire shirt.

You didn’t see Eddie for the rest of the day, so you figured you’d give him a little present the next time you saw him. That happened to be at lunch the following day which was perfect.

You folded up his shirt and walked up behind him. You snaked your arms around him and placed the shirt in his lap, making him jump.

“Glad you finally came to your senses,” he said, leaning into your touch ever so slightly. He took a big gulp of juice just as you leaned down.

“Unfold it,” you whispered. He did as you said and his juice was immediately sprayed all over the table.

“Woah, dude!”

“Jesus, Eddie!”

“Enjoy,” you whispered.

Eddie snatched the Polaroid of you, posed in a mirror, in nothing but his Hellfire shirt with your ass on full display, and quickly shoved it in his pocket so no one else would see.

You pecked his cheek and walked off, acting like nothing happened. He wanted to get up and chase after you, but the growing bulge in the front of his pants prevented that.

He did his best to calm himself down by the end of lunch so he could hunt you down and ask you just what the fuck you were doing. Unfortunately for him, you figured he was going to come after you so you went straight to your next class. You did your best to race to your car after school, but Eddie cut his last class just to stake you out.

Your keys had just entered the lock when you were pressed against the door. You new immediately by the smell of his cologne that Eddie had found you. You tried your best to hide your smirk when you turned to face him. He had his hellfire shirt slung over his shoulder for safe keeping.

“Hey, Eddie. Funny meeting you here,” you said. He had you caged between his arms and you couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze.

“Do you think you’re funny?” He asked.

“Fucking hilarious, actually,” you answered. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared with anger.

“You’re gonna get yourself into trouble, (y/n),” he said.

“Oh is that so?” You chuckled. “I’m counting on it.”

His body was pressed to yours and you were certain he could feel your heart pounding against your rib cage.

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking for, sweetheart.”

“I wouldn’t ask for much- wouldn’t want to be disappointed after all.”

“I’m gonna fucking ruin you,” he whispered.

“Absolutely not! You’re not fucking in the school parking lot and certainly not in my ride home!” Bri yelled, walking up behind you. She threw her bag in the backseat and got into the passenger side.

“I’ll see you around, Eds.” You winked before pushing him off of you and opening your door. “Oh, wait! One more thing.”

You snatched the shirt from his shoulder and quickly closed your door before he could do anything.

“Are you serious?” He yelled as you sped away. “I hate her. I hate her so much.”

About halfway home, Bri finally broke the silence.

“Sooooo what’s going on between you and Eddie?”

“What do you mean? I’m just having some fun pissing him off,” you laughed.

“I know you and I know when you pick on someone it means you like them. And boy have you teased the hell out of him,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you mumbled.

“Listen, I think you two would be good together and I don’t want you getting in your own way. And don’t say you wouldn’t!” She argued.

Her words played in your head for the rest of the drive. Did you really like Eddie or were you just having fun? You knew the answer but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself.

You spent your Saturday night alone in your room like the party animal you were. Your parents turned in early but you decided to stay up and break open the newest addition to your comic collection.

Halfway through, you thought you heard something at your window. You waited and heard it again. You looked out and saw Eddie waving you down. He pointed at your front door and you shook your head no. He picked up a large rock and held it up like he was going to throw it. You threw your hands up and flipped him off before quietly running downstairs to the front door. He was already waiting on the front steps when you opened it.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” You asked.

“Did you think I was gonna let you get away with stealing my shirt a second time? Where is it?” He asked.

“Be quiet! My parents are asleep!” You whisper-yelled. “I’ll give it back on Monday; go away.”

You went to close the door but he stopped it. The way his rings shimmered in the moonlight made you shiver.

“Give it back.”

“No.”

“Now.”

“Fuck you.”

“I wish you would!” He finally snapped.

Your eyes widened and you had the biggest smirk on your face.

“Is that so, Munson?” You asked.

“Like you don’t want the same,” he scoffed. He pushed the door open wider and let himself in, pressing you against the wall in your foyer.

“Well aren’t we being presumptuous,” you chuckled. “And I have a dictionary if you need to look that up.”

“God, I hate you.”

Before you knew what was happening, his mouth was on yours in an angry kiss of tongue and teeth. He bit down on your bottom lip and it made you hiss.

His hand slid easily into your panties as you wrapped your arms around his neck to steady yourself. He wasted no time in plunging his fingers between your folds and rubbing harsh circles on your clit. The sensation made you squirm but he had you held firmly against the wall.

He changed his pace and movements and pleasure was suddenly all you could think about. He was sucking hickies all across your neck but you didn’t care enough to stop him.

He slid two fingers into you with ease, pumping them until his rings nudged your clit. You did your best to stifle your moans, not wanting your parents to wake up. You thanked the heavens that the lights were off and no one looking from the outside would be able to see what a mess he was making you.

“Not so much to say now. Huh, sweetheart?” He laughed.

You tried to think of a witty comeback but all you managed to do was whimper his name. You clenched down on his fingers and he knew you were close.

“Are you gonna cum for me, baby?” He asked.

“Y-yes, Eddie,” you moaned. A few more strokes from his hand and you’d be coming undone. Only right before you could finish, he stopped completely and pulled his hand from your panties. “Wh- no!”

“Sh sh sh, wouldn’t want mommy and daddy coming down to see what the noise is, now do we?” He asked with a smirk.

He brought his fingers to his lips and sucked them clean. You were almost embarrassed by how his fingers glistened.

“That’s it? Are you serious?!”

“As a heart attack, baby. Not fun, is it?” He walked back out onto the porch and turned around. “I want my shirt back on Monday.”

He left you on your doorstep, horny and angry. If he thought that he was getting the upper hand, he was so incredibly wrong. You went back to your room to do two things. 1. Finish what he started and 2. Plot how to take down Eddie Munson.

Part Two

——————————

Taglist:

@thebookbakery @dootys @lily-sinclair-2006 @mrsdarcyinlovewithbuckybarnes @munsaniac @rafecameronswhore @tiredwritersworld @mellomadness

It would mean the world to me if you could reblog this and hype it up. I really enjoyed writing it 🥺

[burgundybmw]

Munson's Mixtape

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Cunningham!Reader

Word Count: 3,155

Warnings: None.

Summary: Chrissy has been acting weird, and like a good big sister Y/N drives to Hawkins from Notre Dame to check in on her. Only to find out she has plans to meet up with Eddie Munson. Things take a turn for the worse and now Y/N gets wrapped in to the horrors of Hawkins. Hey, at least she has the company of the guitarist she was sweet on back in high school for comfort.

Author’s Note: I really struggled to write this chapter for some reason. This is from Eddie's point of view, the following chapter will show the reader's at the same time this chapter takes place. Hope you guys enjoy!

Track Fourteen

Eddie never thought he'd regret his tattoos. He always thought that they were a reminder of who he was, or what he liked, at the time he got them. He loved the ink on his skin, but now he was regretting one tattoo in particular. Just a bit. When he first got the bats on his arm, he thought about Ozzy Osbourne. Now, every time he would look down at his arm, he would be reminded about how Steve Harrington was almost torn to shreds by these pyscho demobats. At the very least, Steve got his Ozzy moment. He bit the bat before beating it to death, the guy might look like a walking Calvin Klein ad, but that was some of the most metal shit Eddie had ever seen.

A massive colony of demobats was guarding the entrance to the gate back to regular old Hawkins, so that left Eddie, Nancy, Robin, and Steve stuck in the Upside Down. They had run for cover under a this version of Skull Rock, shielding them from the bats above. Eddie could hear their bone chilling squeals all around him, the sickening sound of wings flapping as the bats searched for them. As much as he hated his current situation, he was happy about one thing. Y/N was safe above ground. Eddie just hoped she wouldn't do something stupid like follow him down here, the idea of her getting attacked by the demobats made him sick to his stomach.

After what felt like an eternity, the sound of wings flapping became quieter. It looked like the colony had flown away. They all decided it was time for them to move, apparently Nancy Wheeler of all people had guns in her bedroom. Nothing should really surprise Eddie anymore, but that certainly did. So now they were off trekking through the woods, cold, wet, and dirty from the fight earlier. Nancy and Robin were up ahead, and that left Steve and Eddie trailing behind them. Eddie didn't know Harrington very well back when they were still in school together. He always assumed the guy was a dick, especially after he heard about his friends spray painting Nancy 'The Slut' Wheeler on the Hawkins movie theater. But that opinion has changed now.

"Eddie. Eddie. Hey man, uh... Listen, I just uh... I just want to say thanks. For saving my ass back there." Steve said as he jogged up to stand beside him.

"Shit, you saved your own ass man. I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there." Eddie could admit he was impressed.

"Ozzy?" Steve asked. Eddie had to control himself from rolling his eyes.

"When you took a bite out of that bat." Eddie said, Steve still looked confused.

"Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off on stage." Steve looked disgusted as he said it.

"It's very metal, what you did. That's all I'm saying." That was a high compliment, coming from Eddie.

"Thanks." Steve replied.

"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact." Eddie said begrudgingly.

"Wait, Henderson said that?" Steve asked.

"Oh yeah. Shit. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest. And Y/N, after you guys showed up, we talked a bit. She said you were a nice guy, compared to some of the other dudes on the team that is." That part gutted Eddie a bit, how Y/N talked about him. Right before they went to sleep one night, she told a story about how Steve had given her a ride home when Matthew Grayson left early from the game without her. They didn't know each other well, but he offered her the ride anyway. She told Eddie that he said it wouldn’t be right for her to walk home alone in the dark, and he didn't put any moves on her. Eddie thought the bar must have been incredibly low for that to be considered something to praise, but he didn't say anything.

"And, I don't know why I really care, what they think, but uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I guess I couldn't accept the fact that that Steve Harrington was actually... a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all laws in the universe and my personal Munson doctrine." There was a brief moment of silence after Eddie's speech, and normally he wasn't prone to word vomit, but he couldn't stop himself from talking anyway.

"Still super jealous, by the way. Which is why I would have never jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh... normal circumstances." A growl waved through the distance, they both stopped for a moment, fear rippled through Eddie's body. He saw Steve continue on, so he followed.

"Nope. Outside of DnD, I am no hero. I see danger, I turn heel and run..." Eddie started before Steve interrupted.

"That's not true." Steve replied.

"Yeah man, it totally is." Eddie scoffed, he didn't want his sympathy.

"You didn't run after Chrissy died, not right after that is. Max saw you leave with Y/N, hours after it happened. You could have run then, but you stayed with her." Steve sounded so sure of himself, like what he said was an absolute truth. Eddie wished he had that confidence in himself.

"I almost did. I almost ran. Shit, everything in me wanted to jump in my van and get right out of Dodge, but Y/N wouldn't budge. I couldn't... I couldn't leave her like that, man." That night would haunt Eddie forever. The image of Y/N holding her sister's corpse, singing songs from the Wizard of Oz. She was the only reason he stayed, she was the only reason he had any ounce of courage throughout this whole endeavor.

"That proves my point. You didn't run then, and you didn't run when I was pulled under. You jumped right in. Give yourself a break, man." Steve said as he lightly tapped Eddie's chest.

"See? The only reason I came in here was 'cause of the ladies in our party. Those two, came in straight after you. And Y/N, I know she was looking at me from the shore line. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. I didn't want to row that boat back to her and show her how much of a coward I really am. But Wheeler right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen." Eddie said, it more for himself than for Steve. It wasn't that he didn't believe what he said, he did, 100%. It was just that if Steve Harrington couldn't get the girl, what shot in hell did Eddie have?

"Well what about you and Y/N?" Steve asked defensively.

"What about us, man?" Us. There wasn't an us, not between Eddie and Y/N.

"You say that what Nance did was an unambiguous sign of true love, but you can't see what's standing in right front of you, dude." Steve replied. Eddie rolled his eyes and started to walk away, he didn't want to have this conversation with Steve at the moment. But Harrington grabbed his arm, holding him still.

"I'm serious. It's so obvious Y/N loves you, but you still haven't made a move." Steve said has he let go of Eddie's arm.

"Listen man, I know she cares about me. I'm not that blind, but... Y/N doesn't love me the way I love her. I've loved her, silently, for years. Less than a week of close proximity true love does not make." It was Steve's turn to roll his eyes at Eddie.

"Y/N's liked you long before this week Eddie. She used to get shit for it from the guys on the team back when she was in school. Even when she was with Grayson, she only had eyes for you. We could all see it. She'd stare at you from her seat at the cafeteria, I noticed it back when I still sat with the team. Grayson always used to bitch about it, said he wasn't going to lose his girl to Eddie 'The Freak' Munson. But she was never his girl, she was yours. Even though neither of you admitted it, it was always there." Eddie couldn't breathe for a moment. He felt as if his heart stopped beating, right there in the Upside Down, right before it starting pumping again. It was loud, beating so loud in his chest. There was no way, no possible way Y/N had liked him for that long. Steve had to be wrong, but... the more he thought about it. The more he allowed himself to think about it, Eddie had hope it was true. Maybe, just maybe, she loved him just like he loved her.

Eddie didn't have much time to ponder the complexities of possibly requited love before he felt the ground beneath him start to shake. Robin was yelling something in the distance, and then Nancy took off in a sprint through the woods. Steve and Eddie looked at each other once more before following her through the trees. Once they made it to the clearing, Eddie and Steve sighed in relief. They could see the Wheeler house in the distance from where they stood, and the group took off running to get their destination.

Eddie slowly walked through the door of the Wheeler house, nearly every inch of the walls was covered by the same creepy vines that infested the Upside Down. Nancy and Robin went upstairs to go find her stash of guns, while Steve and Eddie remained downstairs.

"Mom, it was Jason. I know it was him." That was Y/N's voice, Eddie could recognize it anywhere. Was she here? With her mother of all people? Eddie followed the sound to the living room, but no one was there.

"Shut your mouth young lady. Jason is a good, sweet, God fearing young man. He loved your sister! He wouldn't make a pact with the Devil, stop spreading these lies." That must be Mrs. Cunningham's voice. As faint as it was, her voice sounded like nails scratching on a chalkboard.

"I'm not lying! She told me they fought a lot, and Jason was paranoid she was going to leave him! See here, I have Chrissy's diary..." Y/N's voice was cutting out. Eddie walked further into the living room, trying to get her voice back.

"That's the only explanation! Jason signed his name in the Devil's black book!" Eddie's mind was reeling with questions. Why was she pinning this on Jason? She knew he had nothing to do with Vecna, and as much as Eddie didn't like the guy, he was innocent. And what was this talk about the Devil? What the hell was going on up there?

"Are you sure about this young lady?" That was Chief Powell. That's when it clicked in his mind, she was covering for him. She was giving Eddie an out if they couldn't prove his innocence, and Jason was her scapegoat.

"Yes. Something is wrong with Hawkins, so horribly wrong. We all know it, but are too afraid to admit it. I don't know how Jason made his evil pact, but it's the only thing that makes sense..." Her voice cut out again for a moment, before resuming again.

"Jason is trying to pin this on Eddie, he knows what people in town think of him. It would be so easy... but he didn't fool me. He won't get away with this." Eddie knew he should feel guilty, but he didn't. If it was him versus Jason in a legal battle over Vecna's crimes, Jason's family at least had money, and he didn't. They could afford a good lawyer. They wouldn't try to cover it up like they would with Eddie.

"Alright then. If you wouldn't mind going into the kitchen with the others Miss. Cunningham, I'd like a word with your mother." Chief Powell said with a calm voice. Eddie didn't understand how he could sound so collected after hearing a story like that, but he wouldn't question it. All of the sudden he heard Steve shouting from the other room.

"Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me? Dustin! Du- Hello? Hel... Hello?" Steve was in the kitchen, screaming at nothing. Robin and Nancy came running from upstairs to see what was going on.

"Maybe he really does have rabies." said Robin as she stared at Steve's manic display.

"Steve, what are you doing?" Nancy asked.

"He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like... He's in the walls or something. Just listen." Steve replied.

"Yea, I just heard Y/N's voice too. She was in the other room. Shit, her mom and Chief Powell are all there too." Eddie replied. Steve shushed him, and they all stayed quiet. That's when he heard Dustin's distorted voice, just like how Y/N's was.

"That brings us to the question you first raised. How and why is there a gate at Lover's Lake? Let's analyze. What do Eleven and Vecna have in common?" Yea, that was definitely Dustin's voice.

They all started screaming his name, walking around trying to see if they could get them to hear their calls.

"Alright, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag." Steve said, clearly annoyed with his plan to get Dustin's attention failing.

"Will found a way." They all turned to look at Nancy when she said it.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights." Nancy ran off to try and turn some of the house lights on, and Eddie had no clue what she was talking about. How could you talk to someone through the lights? It sounded like something straight out of Poltergeist. Eddie didn't question her thought process, she had experience with this shit before, so he kept his mouth shut. Nancy kept turning the light switch on and off, but nothing was happening. That was until Steve flashed his light on to the chandelier above them.

"Guys? You seeing this?" There was an orange glow surrounding the light fixture, it looked as if there was glitter bouncing around the air. Nancy lifted her hand to touch it, and the glow began to sparkle around her fingers, it reminded Eddie of that Disney movie his parents took him to see as a kid. It was Peter Pan, and this glow looked like Tinkerbell's fairy dust.

"Woah..." They all stood around Nancy and her fairy dust, Dustin's faint voice in the background. They all lifted their hands up to touch the light, and Eddie could feel a warm vibration throughout his fingertips.

"It tickles..." Steve remarked, one hand in the orange glow and the other holding the flashlight.

"It feels, kind of good." Robin replied. Eddie agreed, it did feel good. Everything was cold and half dead in the Upside Down, this was the first thing that felt alive since he got down here.

"Does anyone know Morse Code?" Nancy asked. The others shrugged their shoulders, but Eddie remembered something his uncle taught him once. Uncle Wayne had an old telegraph in his trailer, and Eddie used to mess around with it as a kid. He asked his Uncle if he knew how to use it. He told him that he had forgotten most of it, but he remembered one thing, and he taught it to Eddie.

"Wait, does SOS count? Is that... is that good?" Eddie replied.

"Yea Eddie, that's perfect." Nancy replied. Eddie nodded and started tapping his fingers into the light, three short taps, followed by three longs taps, and then three shorts taps again. Eddie could hear the faint voice of a girl as he was tapping.

"You said you followed Vecna through lights, right?" The girls voice asked.

"Yea why?" Dustin replied, his voice as distinct as Y/N's was in the living room.

"Because I think he's here." Eddie didn't stop his tapping, hoping Henderson would figure out it was them.

"It's working." Robin said, her eyes fixated on the flicking light.

"Hey, uh, remember when I said they wouldn't be stupid enough to go through Watergate?" The group scoffed as they heard Dustin's distorted voice throughout the room. As if they had much of a choice.

"Yeah?" Lucas replied.

"I overestimated them." Dustin said in a disappointed tone. Eddie rolled his eyes, Henderson could be such a little punk.

"How do you know it's them? What if it's Vecna or something else? What if they're trying to trick us?" That was Y/N's voice, and as much as Eddie loved how protective she was, he really needed her to stop questioning Dustin.

"It's Eddie. I know Steve, Robin, and Nancy don't know Morse Code, but he knows S.O.S. Nancy knows about Will communicating through the lights when he went to the Upside Down, it has to be them." Dustin replied.

"Eddie? Eddie if that's you can you show me a sign? If it's Vecna you can kindly go fuck yourself, I'm not in the mood for this." Eddie could imagine Y/N standing there in the kitchen, hands on her hips and a serious look on her face. Eddie chuckled to himself, and thought of a way to show her it was him. That's when an idea popped in his head, it was a long shot but it was the only thing he'd think would work.

He began tapping the beat to For Whom The Bell Tolls with each light fixture. If this wouldn't work as a sign, he didn't think anything else could.

"What are you doing, man?" Steve asked.

"It's Y/N's favorite song." Eddie replied, tapping away. He didn't know if she'd recognize it from the drums alone, but he prayed she did. He couldn't figure out a way to tap the lyrics, but he didn't have to.

"Make his fight on the hill in the early day... constant chill deep inside... Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey. On they fight, for they're right, yes, but who's to say... Oh God Eddie baby you're a genius!" He could hear Y/N cheer. Steve gave Eddie a knowing look, but he ignored it.

"Hey! Meet us in Nancy's room, I've got an idea!" Dustin yelled.

Eddie stopped his tapping and followed Nancy and the rest of the group to the stairs, hoping that whatever plan Dustin cooked up with would work. Any minute longer in the Upside Down was a minute too much in his opinion.

Taglist:

@imchangkyunned , @creativedogs , @nightless , @kik51199 , @thecraziestcrayon , @dabzzallday420 , @science--hoes , @efvyqrs , @justanotherkpopstanlol , @kikis-writing-world , @secretsicanthideanymore , @heartandhead2018 , @piperd06 ,

[1-800-c0sm1c]

If you're not too busy, can I please request headcanons for Joker, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Akechi overhearing their female S/O singing along to her favorite song and showing great talent?

꒰i will always love you !꒱

singing headcannons !

character x f!reader

includes joker, ryuji, yusuke, and akechi !

warnings : none.

a/n : this was a cute one to write ^^ it is also totally not 4am as i am publishing this lol

JOKER // REN AMAMIYA

all im saying is this guy is definitely a theater kid. and i like to think hes good at it too.

im talking main lead in every school play that hes ever been apart of, and he always takes it to the next level too.

and when he finds out that you have a talent for singing? oh man he is WHIPPED.

you probably didnt even know that he knew, hes kind of sneaky lmao.

youre probably just singing along in the shower and he overhears, and hes surprised, he doesnt understand why youre not using this talent more.

i can see him suggesting that you should pursue the arts, especially if youre not sure what you want to do after high school. but if you have other plans thats fine, he just wants whats best for you!

LOTS and LOTS of compliments! hes so sweet and supportive in literally anything you do and singing is no exception!

similar to ryuji, i can see you guys going on karaoke dates, but the difference with ren is hes not trying to actively compete against you, he just really enjoys singing duet songs with you!

this is just the musical nerd in me but imagine,,, performing musicals together,,, so many thoughts.

this man owns my heart istg,,,

SKULL // RYUJI SAKAMOTO

ryuji finds everything you do so mesmerizing, theres practically stars in his eyes when he discovers your hidden talent!

hes also lowkey offended you didnt show him earlier LMAOO

i can picture him asking you to make him a playlist of all your favorite songs, and he listens to it whenever hes doing his homework (a rare occurrence.) or when hes playing video games.

hes basically learned the words to every song on there, and i like to think when youre over one day and you start singing along he kinda just stares at you like :0 !!

hes no professional, but he didnt think he was half bad at singing until he heard you.

only a little (a lot) jealous at how good you are afterwards he kind of just sits around with a pouty face and says something like “how can you be so good at EVERYTHING?”

as impressed he is, ryuji is competitive, so dont be surprised when your next date is a karaoke night and hes trying his hardest to 1-up you.

he claims its just because he wants to hear more of your singing, but hes putting his whole heart and soul into every song that comes on.

overall hes really supportive, and he understands if you dont feel comfortable singing around others. but if you are, hes so definitely showing you off to the other phantom thieves. (he thinks it gives him bragging rights against morgana.)

FOX // YUSUKE KITAGAWA

honestly, yusuke gives off theater kid vibes too so i see him being really excited to catch you singing!

you were over at his dorm, watching him sketch out his newest painting. there was some conversation between the two of you but you let him do most of the talking as not to disturb him too much.

you ended up suggesting to play some music in the background to fill the space, to which he nodded to, not really paying much attention.

you both sat in silence for a bit, simply enjoying each others company as the music played in the background.

“your music taste is incredible, love.” hed definitely ask for you to send him the playlist youre listening to <3

later on, your favorite song had come on, and you found yourself singing along to the music. yusuke had been silent for awhile so you had forgotten he was still in the room.

the longer the song had gone, the more you got comfortable with singing louder, to the point you were able to hit all the high notes flawlessly.

this is what had finally gotten yusukes attention away from his work, him turning back to look at you with a stunned face.

his dramatic ass is so extra about everything i swear. hes going on and on about how splendid of a performer you would be and hes amazed he hasnt heard you sing before.

you, on the other hand are still dealing with the whiplash of him still being in the room.

you guess you hadnt realized how into it youd have gotten, but at least your boyfriend got a free performance out of it!

CROW // GORO AKECHI

you had received a text from akechi 10 minutes ago. a simple “omw.” was all he wrote. 

however, you still excitedly set up everything you had planned for your boyfriends awaited arrival. 

hed been coming home late from his work at the police station, and you knew hed appreciate the thought of a nice relaxing night at home with his favorite foods and plenty of fuzzy blankets laid out on the couch.

you had music playing in the background as you applied the finishing touches. putting everything you had into the chorus of the song playing over the speaker.

you hadnt even heard akechi walk in over how loud everything was in your living room until you turned around and noticed him staring at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

was he disgusted? or just really surprised? it was always hard to tell with him.

you prayed it was the latter, and continued to sing along, more dramatically, like it was the most important performance of your life. you could see him laugh fondly.

once you were finished, he set his bag down on the kitchen counter to greet you properly.

“i didnt know you were so talented.” he responded blankly, “is there anything you *arent* good at?” he joked.

you laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before playfully responding, “oh no! looks like the detective prince caught me!” and running to hide under a blanket on the couch.

he smiled at your antics, having a seat on the couch next to you, cuddling up to your covered form under the blanket. 

you peeked your head out and smiled warmly at him and said, “welcome home.” 

moments like these with akechi are rare, but you cherish every single one of them.

[harvlekinkey]

Just for one night

Got inspired by @caswens hc (here) and decided to write something between episodes 1 and 2 of season 3.

Just a quick oneshot!

“Excuse me?“

This voice could only mean one thing and neither EJ nor Gina were sure about how to respond to that.

Ricky kept going in order to break the awkward silence.

“Do you... have room for one more?“

Still no real response, both Gina and EJ simply looked at each other. The former visibly panicking but successfully hiding it with a smile. The latter more regretful, no smile hiding his reaction in sight.

As the awkward silence became more uncomfortable, Ricky tried to break the ice once again, just as unsuccessful as before.

“Group hug?“, an awkward smile underlined his try.

“I think we should... Hug it out, eh?”, Gina suggested as she made a move. Awkwardness was in the air and no try would help it.

“Yeah let's... Hug it out, I guess.” EJ reluctantly approached Ricky after Gina as the three of them indeed hugged. EJ always hated Ricky's timing ever since auditions for High School Musical: The Musical happened. Given, he was with Nini and Gina wasn't really the best to be around.

But Ricky being late, him being unprepared and not knowing what he was even doing annoyed EJ even though he barely knew this kid.

In theater, that's a no-go. And Ricky's been a huge red flag on two legs.

“Well, that was awkward.”, Ricky whispered. Louder than he intended but luckily, no one heard his words.

Unfortunately, Ricky didn't change.

He always picked the worst timing possible.

“Well uhm... I'd have to check. Weren't you supposed to go on vacation?”, EJ turned back to Ricky trying to be his nicest.

“Change of plans. Just like theater.”, a joke could have lightened the mood. But not in this case, Ricky's arrival ruined the mood for EJ already.

Good thing he didn't talk about her.

“Just needed some fresh air. And what would be better than summer camp?”

“Okay, I'll let you two alone. Already late.”, Gina kissed EJ on his cheek, waving Ricky goodbye before she left and ran off towards her bunk.

“No one's here anyways. I'd have to check tomorrow morning if we could have a spare bed for you. Given, we got one but it's broken. We'll get it fixed and then... You get your own bed.”

EJ's frustration was vocal but Ricky was too tired to waste any brain cells on that.

“And until then...”, EJ proceeded.

EJ's words surprised them both resulting in Ricky going back a few steps and EJ rolling his eyes before letting out a sigh, smiling.

“I'll just get back to my car and sleep there.”, Ricky put his bag down next to his soon-to-be bunk before aiming back for the door.

“What? No! That's totally uncomfortable.”

“So I'd suggest to share a bed until you get your own. It'll only be one night.”, EJ continued.

“No what I meant... Listen, Carlos is asleep and we know he wouldn't want anyone and I mean anyone interrupting his sleep. The other guys don't know you yet and I'm the only one awake so...”

“So...?”, Ricky continued, digging deeper.

“Woah, what? Okay pretty boy, you're really getting straight to the point.”

Ricky's compliment made EJ chuckle. Not in a mocking way, but in a sincere one.

“Yeah whatever. It's late and auditions are tomorrow so...”, EJ continued as he proceeded to take off his shirt.

Ricky did the same, quietly trying to get a new tank top out of his luggage which he then put on.

“This really seems to be a very common occurrence for us.”

“What? Two pretty boys changing?”, Ricky grinned.

“I was just saying.”, EJ smirked before getting into his bed, pulling his blanket away.

“What are you waiting for? Wanna come in for a cuddle?”, EJ kept mocking Ricky.

“Jerk.”, Ricky rolled his eyes as he kept grinning.

As Ricky got into EJ's bed the latter threw the blanket over them, turning to face the wall.

“And remember...”

“I know... Just for one night.”

EJ rolled his eyes. Ricky grinned.

[snowdice]

Best Laid Plans (Part 4/8: Bird’s Nest) [Sometimes Labels Shift Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships:  Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Virgil & Roman, Logan/Patton

Characters:

Main: Virgil, Roman

Appear: Logan, Patton

Mentioned: Remy, Emile, Janus, Remus

Summary:

Virgil (now) Sanders was once a villain vigilante kid down on his luck. After being injured helping the superhero Bluebird, he ended up being adopted by him and his husband. Logan and Patton Sanders helped Virgil in ways he didn’t even know he needed. Since then, he’s put away his persona of Shadow Caster, the strange, hard to label, super who haunted the city for a few years. Instead he’s opted for being a normal teenager and university student.

But while Logan and Patton often forgot in the midst of ice cream and movie nights and arguments about silly little things who he had been, he never had. And when worst comes to worst, Virgil will be willing to reach for a mask once again despite his fathers’ wishes and expectations.

Sometimes even the best laid plans fail.

Thanks to @bilgisticallykosher, @kiapet2, and ASmallForest (on discord) for being betas!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

“Where are we going exactly?” Prince asked. Virgil had been forced to change course when Prince had agreed to join him. He’d been planning to just go home and use the front door to get to Logan’s secret underground base, but that wasn’t an option with the masked hero following him around. Instead, he was going to have to use one of Logan’s many secret entrances.

He’d been surprised, actually, at how easy Prince had been to convince. He had always been a stubborn bastard with a flair for the dramatics and was unrelenting in his ‘moral code.’ Said moral code boiled down to him thinking anyone on the scene who wasn’t a superhero should go to jail no matter what regardless of the circumstances.

…

Well, there also was another part of his moral code that went towards not using more force than necessary to fight people. It was something that the public had noticed about him when he’d caused less property damage than Bluebird in fights. It was something that Logan had noticed about him when he’d noted that Prince hadn’t killed any villains, even on accident (especially on accident). It was something Virgil had noticed when he’d fought him all those years ago and hadn’t immediately been crushed to death.

That was one of the reasons he thought he could trust Prince with this. He talked a big game about all vigilantes going to jail, but he always seemed to be able to put those views aside when there was something more important at stake. Plus, Logan trusted him, and the moment Virgil had mentioned Bluebird was missing and his allies couldn’t contact him, he’d clearly been ready to join up with Virgil. Virgil wasn’t his biggest fan, but he could put aside his dislike for the hero, too.

“We’re getting supplies,” Virgil answered.

“You’re out and about before getting supplies?” Prince asked.

“I wasn’t exactly planning on doing shit,” he said. “I’m literally still half in my pajamas.”

“And I literally cannot see that. You’re covered in shadows. I might as well be talking to a blob.”

Virgil let the shadows around him disperse except for the ones that obscured his face over the mask. It would be better to conserve his energy anyway.

“…That just looks like what I’ve seen of your normal costume!” Prince said. 

Virgil rolled his eyes, not that the hero could see it.

 “Actually, they look better,” Prince continued. “Get a new hoodie in the past 3 years?”

“I was running on limited funds at that point,” Virgil said, insulted on his younger self’s behalf despite knowing it was true. The things he wore to bed now were better than his most sturdy clothes had been back then. “At least I didn’t look like I stole my costume out of a high school theater’s storage room. What show is that thing from? Beauty and the Beast?”

Prince’s mouth popped open as he gasped in offense. “I’ll have you know it was from Snow White, and it’s from the local community theater. Also, I didn’t steal anything! They were selling old costumes for a fundraiser, and I paid for it to support the local arts, thank you very much. It was from the 80s! It has history in this city.”

“Of course, you did,” Virgil said dryly.

“And I presume you stole yours,” Prince sniffed.

“Of course, I did,” Virgil said with a snort. “I was a thief after all. Snatched it from some asshole.”

Yet how he had gotten the hoodie he used to go out in as Shadow Caster probably wasn’t what Prince was imagining. It had been a foster brother’s from a home before Harry. The 16-year-old had told his parents Virgil had stolen money from him. (Virgil was pretty sure that the cash had actually gone straight to drugs and the boy was covering his ass. Virgil at 10 had known what someone high looked like, even if the boy’s parents were oblivious either willfully or out of ignorance.)

Virgil had proceeded to actually steal shit from him and trash his room while waiting for a social worker to come pick him up. The hoodie hadn’t fit him when he’d taken it, but had only been a little loose by the time he’d needed something for Shadow Caster’s costume.

It had been unsalvageable after Virgil had been shot. It’d had bullet holes and bloodstains on it. Plus, Patton had needed to literally cut it off of him to get to the bullet wound. He hadn’t been willing to throw it out though, and it had sat in his closet for years before Patton had finally gently suggested repurposing it. Part of it was now sewn into another hoodie and part of it was in the quilt that laid on Virgil’s dorm room bed.

“Makes sense,” Prince said with a scoff.

Prick. Virgil had pegged him as a rich prick from day 1. Sure, now Virgil was the son of a doctor, so resenting people because they had money was a little awkward these days, but he’d make an exception for Prince.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a better costume where we’re going,” he said. “It wasn’t even stolen this time.”

Prince looked at him in interest at that, but Virgil ignored him, instead turning to head down an alley.

Logan had a good number of secret entrances that led to his superhero lair. A good portion were in their house, but there were a few around that he could disappear into without giving away where they lived. This was the one behind Maclavelli’s. Logan and Patton knew the owner since it was Patton's favorite restaurant. Logan trusted him to be discreet even if he did see something, not that Logan used this particular entrance often.

Virgil found the correct stone in the back-alley wall and turned it, revealing a keypad. Opening this would automatically notify Logan and Patton’s phone, but Logan wasn’t a problem and Patton’s phone was off.

“Go on,” Virgil said, gesturing for Prince to head into the tunnel.

“This had better not be a murder attempt,” Prince said, eyeing the dark space, but he stepped through the opening regardless.

“Yes, Prince,” Virgil said, “I returned back to the scene after 3 years just to trick you into crawling into a hole in a back alley to kill you.”

“I was your nemesis!” Prince protested as Virgil closed the door behind them. “It would be a good reason to come back. You’ve been stewing in rage for years after your injury, and finally your resentment overcame your restraint and you decided to get revenge on your greatest foe. Yet to your surprise, I was prepared with new tricks up my sleeve and allies, and we have an epic battle to the death.”

Virgil snorted. “What are you, a fanfiction writer?”

Prince bristled in offense.

“And you were not my nemesis.”

“Was so!”

“You were an annoyance at best,” Virgil said, and it was true. At first Virgil had been a bit scared of the superstrong hero gunning after him. He hadn’t relished the thought of becoming a pancake. Yet all Prince had ever done was chase him around (sometimes with a net) and somehow lose fist fights to him.

“I resent that. We were perfect enemies.”

“Whatever,” Virgil said with a headshake as they started to move down the tunnel.

There were glowing strips along the walls to guide them forward, but otherwise it was completely dark. Virgil could light it up more but didn’t feel a need to waste the energy. He could just barely make out Prince’s shadow following him. He knew where the walls were and he could reach out and touch them, but if he only used his eyes, it looked like they were suspended in a void of darkness.

There were many twisting paths that purposefully led to dead ends. It was designed so people who happened to find these tunnels would take longer to actually find anything, but Virgil knew all of Logan’s markers and easily led them down the correct path.

It was a few blocks of walking in the dark before they arrived at an open area with more prominent lights. There were a couple of other entrances leading to it on different sides. Some led to other tunnels that led to different parts of the city, but there were two larger ones. One of them led to where Logan stored his Birdmobile of Death, but Virgil led Prince in the other direction.

Virgil had to put in another code when he got to the actual underground base as well as offer up his fingerprint to scan.

“Oh my god,” Prince said when they entered the first room. “Is this Bluebird’s superhero lair?!”

“Where did you think I was taking you, Disneyland?” Virgil muttered under his breath.

Prince seemed to see fit to ignore his words. “Oh my god,” he gushed as he looked around. “It’s so cool!”

Virgil glanced around them and tried to see what he saw. He could remember his first time seeing this place. It had seemed so much larger to him then. He had been awed by the cool gadgets, the giant computers, and just by the fact that he was in the superhero lair of the most well-known superhero ever.

Yet now, that superhero was just his father. This room was just a second basement that he had to hit some extra buttons to get into. There was a mini fridge filled with Virgil’s favorite snacks and flavors of Gatorade. There was a secret television set that he and Logan used to watch non-Patton-approved movies behind Patton’s back. He knew what was in all of the drawers. He understood how everything was organized (in a very, very nerdy way of course, since the organizer was Logan). He’d been allowed to fiddle around with all of the interesting things down here as much as he wanted. In fact, Logan enjoyed it when he expressed interest in any of it.

It had stopped being amazingly cool a long time ago. It just was. It was a normal part of his life he took for granted.

…

It was weird without Dad being here though.

“Yes,” Virgil said, looking away from it all, “it is. We can stock up on gear here. Feel free to touch anything in this room. You probably won’t die from anything in here, but don’t try to go into any rooms without me there to tell you if it contains anything that will try to eat you or melt off your skin. I have to go grab something really quick. Stay here for a minute.”

Prince nodded. “Okay,” he said.

Virgil nodded back and dashed towards the staircase that led to the house. He put in the correct codes to open the three doors and made sure to lock them all behind him so no prince costume-clad hero would attempt to follow him up. He came out in the kitchen and resolutely ignored the lack of Missy running to greet him. The house was silent, which was probably a good thing. It meant no one had tracked down Logan Sanders' house.

Not wanting to look at the empty house for long, he quickly went to the living room and ascended the stairs up to his room. He knew exactly where to get everything he was looking for, even though he’d never consciously planned to dress in the outfit.

He grabbed dark black pants outfitted with more pockets than he usually needed from his dresser and black, sturdy but well broken-in boots. He’d keep the plain black mask; his shadows were more useful for hiding his face anyway. He paused when he got to his closet, the first time he’d hesitated since he’d left the decoy under the covers of the bed at the safe house.

The dark jacket was familiar. He and Patton had altered it with a bunch of patches including a good amount from his original black Shadow Caster hoodie, parts of a dark grey sweater of Patton’s, and some dark purple fabric Patton had him pick out for the project in particular. Patton had even cut out a darker piece of one of Logan’s old costumes in the shape of the bluebird emblem and had sewn it in the same location it was usually on Logan’s costumes. It almost blended into the costume, so most people wouldn’t be able to see it unless they were really close, but Virgil knew it was there.

He’d never worn this jacket out in public or in front of anyone who didn’t already know his history. Some part of him must have known he’d eventually be using it for this.

He took the jacket from its hanger, running his finger across the Bluebird emblem before laying it on the bed with the rest of his outfit. He quickly changed and carelessly threw the clothes he’d been wearing on the bed. He’d let his shadows disperse while upstairs but pulled them back to himself once he was in his new outfit, glancing in the mirror to make sure that he was completely unrecognizable in the new costume.

He didn’t recognize himself, that was for certain. He’d only bothered to turn on his desk lamp when he’d entered the room, so there were more shadows than just the ones he’d made surrounding him. The little light in the room glinted off the more iridescent purple fabric, filtering through the shadows to make it look like there was a slight haze around him. It made it impossible to determine what was his physical form, what was his shadows, and what was just air. 

It would do, he thought. 

He pulled the hood up even though his shadows had done well enough to hide his hair color and then turned away from the image in the mirror.

He hurried back down to the kitchen and through the doors to Logan’s base. Prince had not managed to burn down the house in Virgil’s absence like Virgil had slightly worried he might. He was simply looking at different things in the room where Virgil had left him. The hero turned when he heard Virgil enter. He paused for a moment, glancing over Virgil’s outfit change. Virgil suddenly felt self-conscious under his gaze, but Prince just nodded after a few moments.

“The purple’s a change,” he commented.

“I like purple,” Virgil said.

“Huh.”

Virgil turned away from him abruptly. “Let’s get supplies,” he said, walking over to the case where Logan kept weapons he didn’t normally use. He ignored Prince’s eyes following him. “Any weapons you prefer?”

“I don’t usually need weapons with my superstrength,” Prince said. “Maybe something I could throw for a distance weapon if you have anything like that.”

Virgil nodded and opened the case, considering the options. He grabbed what looked like a rubber ball and tossed it underhand to Prince before grabbing an electric baton for himself. He shoved it in one of the larger pockets in his pants and then grabbed a knife to slip into his boot just in case.

“What’s this?” Prince asked, studying the ball.

“It’s a boomerang ball,” Virgil explained. “Push the button on the side three times.” He stepped closer to point to the correct button since it was kind of hard to see. Prince followed his instructions and the ball beeped twice. “If you throw it, it’ll return to your hand. Press it a fourth time and it turns back off.”

“Cool,” Prince said. They were closer now and Virgil wasn’t bothering with too many shadows except along the edges of his face. So inevitably, Prince’s eyes landed on the Bluebird emblem on Virgil’s jacket.

“You work with Bluebird then?” he asked. “Like, actually work with him.”

“I…” Virgil said. “Sort of…”

Prince tilted his head at him, and Virgil shifted awkwardly. He pressed the button on the boomerang ball and slipped it into a pocket. “Where did you go?” he asked. “People have had all sorts of speculations after you got shot, but no one really knows for sure. Bluebird said you were okay and recovering, but then you never resurfaced. I assumed you’d be gone for good.”

Virgil shrugged. “I kind of was gone for good,” he said. “I’m not really supposed to be…doing this sort of stuff anymore.”

“Bluebird convinced you to give up your life of villainy then?”

“Bluebird gave me other options,” Virgil said.

Prince’s face was mostly obscured by the mask, but he seemed to be studying Virgil pretty intensely. “You’re taller than you had been back then,” he noted, “and your voice is different.”

Virgil said nothing.

“I was a minor when I started too,” Prince said with a shrug. “I was 17 though. I’m guessing you were younger?”

“Yeah,” Virgil admitted.

“Explains why Bluebird would keep you off the scene,” he said.

Knowingly allowing a minor to work as a superhero, vigilante, or villain was illegal. Even letting it happen through negligence could garner jail time. There’d been a few issues with underaged sidekicks a few decades before Virgil had been born and the courts had cracked down, though a lot of teenagers still fell through the cracks since it was hard to both respect secret identities and make sure no one a little too young was out on the streets.

These laws hadn’t actually been much of a consideration for Logan. He wouldn’t have wanted Virgil to go out even if it had been legal for him to allow it. Virgil had felt no reason to argue. He’d never actually wanted to rob banks, and with Logan and Patton he hadn’t needed to do anything like that. If he ever had felt an itch to go out and do something though, the fact that Patton and Logan could have gotten into legal trouble would have held him back.

“Let’s,” Virgil said, turning away. He didn’t want to get into all of the complexities of it with Prince of all people. “Let’s just get going.”

Prince accepted his avoidance of the subject easily enough, though he was still frowning at Virgil like he was a puzzle. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

“There isn’t much of one, admittedly,” Virgil said, “but I have one idea that I don’t think anyone else who's looking for him would have thought of.” He stepped up to the main computer and signed in with Logan’s passcode. “He keeps a tracker on his suit. I know… his allies already checked to see if the tracker was still active before starting Doomsday Protocol.”

“Doomsday protocol?” Prince asked, stepping up beside him.

“It’s for if Bluebird ever goes missing and is assumed captured, obviously Princey,” Virgil said with an eyeroll. “If he’s missing, his face might be compromised. So, anyone connected to him personally would have to get out of dodge.”

“Including you?” Prince asked.

Virgil pressed his lips together. “I am currently meant to be in a one-bedroom house on the other side of the city,” he disclosed, “but I broke out because fuck Bluebird and his contingency plans.”

Prince snorted. “He benched you, huh?”

“I am perfectly capable, and I’m not just abandoning him to whatever is happening right now even if me doing so was part of one of his stupid plans,” Virgil grumbled darkly.

“That’s fair,” Prince said.

“You’re the only one who thinks so, apparently,” Virgil said, opening a program on the computer.

“So,” Prince said. “If his tracker’s no longer working, what are you doing now?”

“Well, his suit tracker isn’t working, and we have no data from that, but Bluebird has also been playing a certain mobile game that I certainly did not pressure him into playing in order to get more friendship tokens for myself. There’s a location-based part of the game, and if he logged into it at any point, that location information is out there. Now obviously, getting that information isn’t easy.” Virgil began searching through the many databases of information the system Logan had set up had access to. “Unless… you have a supercomputer built by Bluebird.”

Virgil found what he’d been looking for after a couple of minutes. It was a database that temporarily stored location pings for cell phones. Logan usually had his phone’s location off, but he had it enabled for when he was using the app. Virgil was able to search for Logan’s phone’s IP address. There were only 5 pings on the database, the last of which looked promising.

Logan had used his location services briefly a few hours ago. He’d been on the other side of the city near the river, but there wasn’t much out there. 

“I found one of Bluebird’s last locations,” Virgil said. He pulled up the coordinates on a map so Prince could see.

“That’s quite a walk,” Prince noticed with a grimace. “Do we need to catch an Uber or something?”

Virgil sighed as he stepped away from the computer. 

“Unfortunately,” he said, “there’s a car we can take.”

“…Unfortunately?”

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 5

Labeled Master Post.

My Masterpost.

[rainbowpacifiers]

A3! Act 12 spoilers - Sakuya’s journey + past (chapters 11-41)

Wanted to share the parts about Sakuya travelling to his hometown, so major spoilers for chapters 11 to 41 (though I will mostly skip the other members’ individual chapters, which is why this spans so many chapters lol). Will also be including some CGs / screenshots. THE HARUGUMI FEELS!!! 

Update: If you’ve read this before this update, I added another paragraph and screenshot at the bottom. 

So, Izumi has all members leave the dorm because they get forced to shut down activities through the efforts of Amadate Keiju (Hyakka’s founder, a member of the Fleur awards board of directors as well as the person who inspired Sakuya to get into acting). The Spring troupe members extend invitations to Sakuya to stay with each of them (so sweet!! ;___;), but he declines because Kasumi has offered a place to him. Sakuya plans on sleeping over for one night before going on a journey to his roots. 

Kasumi tells Sakuya he can stay with them forever (lol), but Sakuya has made up his mind, so Kasumi gives him stuff that will help him on his travels. Sakuya mentions that the other members were worried he might get homesick because this will be the first time for him since entering the troupe to be apart from the others for so long. But he wonders if there isn’t anything he could do to assure the others that he’s doing well. Kasumi suggests he send postcards to them, so Sakuya makes a call to the director (who’s staying alone in the dorms) and asks for everyone’s addresses.

Sakuya visits his aunt / relatives who paid for his school fees to thank them. Sakuya came to Tokyo after getting into Hanagaku, where he came to stay with the Yoshinagas. He wanted to do his best to be “acknowledged as a member of the family”, but his aunt made it clear that they only thought of him as a lodger. Sakuya felt lonely then, but he still thought that he had to express his thanks. Sakuya has been sending them money each month to pay them back for the expenses for the private school, but his aunt is doubtful that he earned it himself and calls it an inconvenience. She’s disappointed that Sakuya didn’t choose to attend a university after they spent so much money on his high school education. 

We find out that Izumi offered to back him up if he wanted to go to university (even if just a little). Izumi feels glad to have attended university, where she learned a lot and met all kinds of people. But for Sakuya, that place is Mankai Company, so he was fine with not going to university. He told Izumi that he needed to save up money to pay back the Yoshinagas, which would also enable him to pursue acting more freely (it’s not just about being in their debt financially - Sakuya thinks that them making it possible for him to attend Hanagaku also made it possible for him to come to Tokyo, spend time with Masumi and Banri at school and visit Veludo Way, which is how he ended up joining Mankai. That’s what he’s thankful for). 

Sakuya has chosen his way of life. His aunt tells him that he’s been paying them too much and returns the rest. The Yoshinagas only did the bare minimum, so there’s no need for him to feel so grateful. Sakuya hands her a flyer to their next performance and asks if he could send them tickets. His aunt has no interest in acting, but whether he wants to send them tickets is up to him. 

Sakuya travels to Hokkaido, where he used to live as a kid (he dreams of it twice before chapter 11) and sends each of the Mankai Company members picture postcards of the place where he used to take walks with his parents. While there, he also visits his old school, the one where the fire broke out and the actions of the theater members (the pirate/Amadate Keiju) inspired him to become an actor. In an earlier chapter, we found out that this was Amadate-san’s last tour as an actor. Sakuya meets Amadate Kabuto there (Hyakka’s top actor and Amadate-san’s adoptive son), who’s been trying to help Mankai Company take down his father.*

Sakuya finds out that Kabuto came to watch a recording of that pirate performance and is invited along. Sakuya thinks Kabuto came to watch the recording for sentimental reasons, but Kabuto explains that he wanted to confirm whether his father was responsible for the fire that broke out then (since he was also responsible for the one at the Mankai Theater). It caused Hyakka to become famous and be nominated for the Fleur Awards. Sakuya is shocked, but now, Kabuto is certain that the fire was an accident.

Sakuya heads to his old address where the old apartment building he used to live in still stands. Sakuya’s family used to live in apartment 101, but because 102 is the only apartment with a nameplate and he came all this way, Sakuya rings the doorbell there. It’s the landlord, who’s already lived there 15 years ago and remembers the Sakumas. He invites Sakuya in and tells him of Sakuya’s parents, how much they loved him and of the time when they explained the meaning behind Sakuya’s name.

Together with his last name, it becomes “sakura saku” - cherry blossoms bloom. Basically, Hokkaido is famous for having their cherry blossoms bloom last in Japan. When the long winters are over, they are a symbol of hope that spring has come through all over Japan. And like the cherry blossom, a special flower that everyone in this town is looking forward to blooming, they wanted Sakuya, even if he would be a late bloomer, to be able to bloom his dream in full bloom at the end. That was their dream.

Sakuya is overcome with emotion and while visiting the cape where he used to take walks with his parents, calls the director because he needs to talk to someone. He tells her that the landlord is letting him stay in the old apartment he used to live in and that the landlord also told him a lot about his parents. He tells her of finding out about his name and of finally, actually getting confirmation that he really used to live here, together with his parents. He tells her that he’s grateful to his parents for his name and that he is able to be an actor and meet people that he loves because of the name his parents gave him. He tells her that he didn’t think there would be anyone (left) who’d remember him or his parents and that he was lonely and upset that his parents left him behind. But all that is left is the gratitude he feels toward his parents. For him and his life, spring has come. Izumi, too, is thankful for having met Sakuya. She asks him to thank his parents for letting them (Mankai) meet Sakuya. 

At the same time, the other troupe members receive the postcards Sakuya sent them from his hometown. Chikage, realising Sakuya is homesick, calls for a family meeting (Citron was about to put in a call too, and Itaru was already checking his free days, but Chikage beat them to it lol). Together, the other 5 Harugumi members decide to fly to Hokkaido to pick up Sakuya. While in their rental car, they realise that they had no idea that Sakuya was from Hokkaido and that he doesn’t talk much about the time when he went from relative to relative. But he’ll always listen happily to stories about other people’s families - which actually makes it harder to talk about (for Itaru). 

They arrive at Sakuya’s old apartment but are met with the landlord instead. He tells them that Sakuya’s out for a walk and praises him for being a good kid. He’s glad that Sakuya has good friends. They tell him that they are Sakuya’s family.

They head to the cape, but don’t see him anywhere. An employee at a nearby store tells them that they just missed him. They enjoy the beautiful view and talk about how Sakuya used to walk here with his parents. The landlord has told them that Sakuya cried when it was decided that he would have to leave this place after his parents’ deaths. Tsuzuru can’t remember ever having seen Sakuya’s crying face; even when he was crying, all that remains in Chikage’s memories is Sakuya’s accompanying smile. But should Sakuya want to cry, Citron wants him to do it to his heart’s content. They call out to Sakuya’s parents:

Citron: Sakuya’s dad! Mom! Thank you for giving birth to Sakuya!  Tsuzuru: Your son is growing up splendidly! Itaru: Don’t worry about what comes next! (basically telling his parents that they will take care of him)  Masumi: He has a lot of family now. Chikage: Please come and see him anytime. 

They finally meet up with Sakuya at his apartment building. Their visit comes as a surprise to Sakuya, who promptly proceeds to break out in tears when Masumi welcomes him home. Sakuya’s place to come home to is the place where the 5 of them are, says Citron. Sakuya cries happily when Chikage tells him that they came to pick him up. 

The Spring troupe members stay the night in the cramped apartment and while everyone’s sleeping, Sakuya talks to his parents (in his head), telling them that the people currently sleeping there are his precious family and that thanks to them, he was able to find the place where he belongs and that he no longer feels lonely. He is glad that he was able to introduce them to his parents. 

_______________________

HARUGUMIIIII!!! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ I cried!! It was so sad and sweet! There might be more after that, but I haven’t continued reading yet. 

*Spoilers for act 12 plot: Before everyone left the dorms, Kabuto made contact with Syu and Reni and insisted on handing incriminating information on his father to Izumi personally. Izumi invited him to their dress rehearsal (so Kabuto wouldn’t get suspected), but Amadate-san still found out about it and had Mankai Theater burned down, thus making it impossible for Kabuto to hand over the data. Consequently, Kabuto left Tokyo to go into hiding and headed to Hokkaido.  After he and Sakuya have watched the video, Kabuto hands over a USB with the incriminating information he has gathered and tells Sakuya to give it to Izumi and to not let anyone know that they met. After meeting up with the other Spring troupe members, Sakuya tells them about meeting Kabuto here and hands over the USB for Chikage to go through.