#jumanji au

[hijacksecrets]

Hiccup's no good very bad day.

@vindikaetion and i have been working nonstop on a Jumanji AU (which we're calling Maces and Talons cuz gotta have that show reference) since watching the OG one the other day hahaha we already have it all outlined and like. 15k words total LOL hyperfixation go brrrrr

[belladonazeppole]

Jumanji AU

Jayce: As a kid he was heavily bullied for believing in magic and has issues with his mom since he has no desire working in the family bussines.

Has the post-pit look after coming from back from Jumanji.

His nightmares are about the fight he had with his mom and Viktoria's screams of horror when he was being sucked into Jumanji.

He sees the irony that he's weapon of choice is a hammer when he wanted nothing to do with them in the first place.

After tricking Viktoria in playing again, "Did you forget, V? First rule of the lanes, don't get swindle."

Viktoria: The best and only friend of Jayce, a smart girl from the undercity that got a scholarship. She and Jayce become very close almost intantly.

Feels extremaly guilty about what happend to Jayce as children and insolated herself as result.

At some point Singed died, so she took his last name and position as the underground doctor of the undercity.

Still dying but takes a variant of shimmer to slow down her disase and numb her from the nightmares of Jayce disappearing in front of her.

Vi & Powder: They enter the abandoned Talis house to see if they find anything of value just to find the sound of drumms comming from a game.

I choose Vi & Powder since I wanted to maintain the sibling dynamic from the original film and I wanted to see Powder transform in a monkey.

The canary accident still happend but only them manage to escape, Silco, Vander, Claggor and Mylo are death.

Their relationship is tense as result, while Vi wants to reasure Powder that it's fine, herself is dealing with a lot of grief and don't having a way to letting it out.

Powder would latch on to Viktoria the moment they meet.

The Hunter: A shapeshifter that takes joy in torturing their prey, it needs some blood of their prey to know their weakness. When they're trying to lure their victim it takes the form of the thing they desire but when is moment to hunt it would take the form of the being they fear.

Their base form is one of the mannequins of The Arcane Herald.

Jayce has been his more annoying yet more interesting thing to hunt. It's impress by his will to live even after 20 years.

To lure Jayce to a sense of security (or tormenting him for the fun of it) it would take the form of Viktoria but can't fool Jayce for too long since the hunter always mades a mistake in her looks in Jayce's eyes.

When they're hunting Jayce they take the form of his father. Jayce isn't afraid of his father but more of disappointing him.

Not sure if Jumanji should stay as jungle game or a survival one instead.

[spinnysocks]

TLG Outlanders Jumanji AU that i have suddenly become obsessed with :) buckle up

i'm mainly basing this off of the 2017 movie, with elements of the 2019 one too

wema, tunu, dogo and kijana are playing when they find a hidden cave, they go in and they find lots of weird paintings on the wall and the floor. ever the inquisitive one, dogo steps into a circle in the middle and they all get sucked into... Jumanji?? or maybe in the TLG universe it's called Mchezo

the adults look for them. the leaders (plus kenge and sumu) and the idiots (plus mwoga, nne, tano and neema) go in two groups to search since the kids were missing for a while. the leaders find the hidden cave first as sumu noticed it in his small size. they get sucked in, and eventually the idiots find it after them

they turn into human versions upon entering the world. yeah they're pretty freaked out lmao

the premise is that they go through trials to "prove" themselves, at the risk of their 3 lives, to get to the final task of saving the kiddos. i'm thinking each of them get a task focused on their skills but all of them are at the will of it, aka any of them could lose a life in any trial

i think the Strengths & Weaknesses bit would be funny. kiburi has no weaknesses, he says smth like "I'm too good to be weak 😏" and then 'Pride' pops up hfgdhdh. tamka's weakness would be cake because i think it'd be funny. nduli's is picking up cool rocks. i would say goigoi's would be sleeping but he'd lose all 3 in an instant. the list goes on

reirei is mad because she gets the boring map-reader job lol, despite that she saves everyone's asses so

i imagine sumu is like Milo, he gives them the information in a really deadpan tone lmao. it's like "... Oh no..." "Spit it out, will you?!" "... Mandrills. We should go" and he just continues spilling knowledge while they're running for their lives lmao

you know how in the second movie Bethany/Milo is a horse? yeah nne and tano are straight up just themselves- they're hyenas but realistic, like they didn't change 💀 they're just there doing hyena laughs and absolutely savaging people in the fights

the ostrich scene from the second movie would be funny. maybe the hyenas are the drivers 👀 NONE of them trust their lives with janja, chungu or cheezi but somefuckinghow.. they don't die

in a trial where the leaders are really trapped, guess who sneaks in and saves them? Ushari!!! that was actually all of their reactions as soon as he spoke and they knew it was him. shupavu hugs him on impulse and then gets awkward about it lol, they're happy to see him

ushari explains how he didn't actually die when scar was destroyed but he escaped the volcano and happened across the hidden cave. he's been trapped ever since and obviously presumed dead. he's been stuck with 1 life because he needed the others to complete the rest of the trials :(

there's a dance fight where kiburi has to defeat the guards without being all guns blazing about it. literally the same as the scene with Martha. it's so funny at first bc he doesn't know what the fuck to do - i hc him as demi, he can't flirt with someone he doesn't know😭 - but when a song (prolly rap?) starts playing he beats their asses easy

little did they know the exact same thing was happening on the opposite side of the building, just with the idiots. tamka, nduli and neema also get their cool moment of beating people up, dance fight style! it's mainly tamka because he actually DOES have a strength in acting :)

the leaders and the idiots enter the building at the same time and it's an "Oh Shit!" spiderman pointing meme moment lmao. from this point on they do the trials together

the vultures fly the helicopters. you can imagine how well that goes. it's just like in the movie where something immediately breaks 😭 i think it'd be cool if kenge was the one to fix the helicopter, giving him a hero moment! imagine it

"Kenge, you did it! :D"

"Guess I did"

"Um... Oops"

"What Janja?"

"I dropped the jewel 😶"

"YOU WHAT?!?!"

janja loses a life in that scene from the rhinos 😭 do i wanna traumatise mzingo that much? idk. i just feel like that is such a janja thing to happen. fridge's character is janja-coded lmfao

"YOU PUSHED ME OUT THE HELICOPTER! >:("

that scene where fridge pushes spencer off a cliff? yeah that obviously happens. i'm thinking reirei and janja squabbling. would be funny if janja pushes reirei off impulsively and he just stands there, in shock, waiting to get yelled at when she respawns 😭

there's one of those Step On The Right Pieces trials. kiburi is being all cocky, steps on the wrong one and loses a life- bro gets absolutely humbled lmao. i think the skinks would be good at that trial for some reason

some random trial ideas: a "sleeping lions" type trial for goigoi. a "follow (copy) the leader" trial for mzingo. a food temptation one for the idiots??

jasiri definitely has a trial where she helps someone or shows that the "bad guy" NPCs can be good or somethin. that's probably the last trial before the finale

at the last trial they all work together to save the kiddos! it's really wholesome at the end because they saved the kids, they actually achieved something, they worked together, AND they got ushari back! :)

bonus:

based on the second movie, i was considering a different version of this au where janja purposefully enters the game to prove himself and it's more of a lesson of how it's not just about his strength, but the strength of all of them

janja just thinks he ain't good enough, especially not being leader of his clan anymore, but it's through working together when the others come after him that he realises that ain't true. just an extra thought i had :)

might make a follow up post because i came up with this in an afternoon just for fun 😭

[mitsybubbles]

So I watched 90s Jumanji the other day

[mxxnmxxn9875]

y’all i can’t stop laughing im reading a tma and jumanji fic and Martin just said  “I have a penis, now, I could have a letter.  Weirder things have happened today.” 

[vindikaetion]

Jamie’s mind was whirling, trying to put this all together in his head. A boy who lived in the house? “What was his name?” he asked, confused. “The ghost’s name is…” Pippa looked around nervously, as if afraid of being overheard. She leaned in and hissed, “Jack Overland.” Jack… Overland? Jamie’s mind immediately went to that old door on the second floor, the one their mother had asked them to not go into. How the door had made her sad… It had been his uncle’s room.

Ayooo Chapter 2 of Maces and Talons is finally out!! Sorry for the wait, folks! <3

[satashiiwrites]

Wip Wednesday

nonlinear writing at it’s finest…..

was tagged by @tkwritesdumbassassins and @smilingbuckley for WIP wednesday—thanks for the tags.

Tagging with no pressure @tiny-reader @harleyjquinwrites @rosieposiepuddingnpie @whimsyswastry @missanniewhimsy @outtoshatter and whoever else would want to play along

Title: Welcome to the Jungle, Uncertain Chapter (yay for nonlinear writing)

fandom: 911, Jumanji movie verse

Pairings: Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Robbie Nash Jr/Daniel Buckley

tags/warnings: first draft. Ridiculousness. Implied sexual content.

His first day on the job, Danny walks into the station to be greeted by his new captain AND Robbie.  

Robbie is in uniform. 

A firefighter’s uniform.  

Danny may be having a stroke. 

“and this is one of our heavy rescue specialists, Robbie.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Robbie,” Bobby says with a roll of his eyes. 

“It’s not nepotism if I got hired here before you,” Robbie says with smile that has more teeth than a crocodile’s and holds out his hand.  “Robbie Nash.”

“Danny Buckley.  I’m your new shift engineer.”

Robbie waits until his dad is out of sight to push Danny into the closet and attacks him with his mouth.   “Three years, Dan.  Three years missing your cock with teenage hormones.  Do you remember what it was like when I was sixteen?”

Danny protests they’re at work.  “Work.  We’re at work damnit.  How do you think it’s been for me?  It’s been over a decade!”

“And how old are you now?  Fucking jumanji,” Robbie says as he reaches for Danny’s belt. 

“After work!”  

“Fine, but you better fuck me in the backseat of my truck or I’m going to punch you and ride your cock in the middle of the parking lot, birdie.”

[atmilliways]

Because I rewatched Jumanji: The Next Level last night and could not stop ugly laughing… what if a fic where Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Eddie play a weird jungle-themed game and all got sucked into it?

No Upside Down AU, and instead of diving into Lovers Lake they go to Jumanji. I am torn on board game or video game, but my imagination is leaning more towards no avatars.

Robin is totally the kind of person to talk her platonic soulmate into playing a weird board game, and Nancy is also there because… she has a crush on Robin, who thinks she has a crush on Steve, who knows that the girls like each other and is trying to nudge them together while also attempting to convince Robin that he’s seriously not into Nancy anymore.

Eddie was just trying to make a gd delivery. It’s not his fault that Hopper caught him dealing last month and strong-armed him into getting a stupid job at the recently opened Surfer Boy Pizza. And he really wasn’t expecting the door to a random apartment along Main Street to be opened by Steve Harrington. He just happens to be there when Nancy rolls for her turn and it’s a bad, bad roll, and apparently he’s just close enough to the board that the game thinks he’s playing.

Steve is the one who gets the “What do you mean the game THINKS” line from the original movie. And also a lot of Fridge’s “What the fuck is this game??” lines from the new ones.

Adventure ensues, etc. Steve still gets attacked by bats, and later so does Eddie. They bond, “Steeeve Harrington is actually… a good dude” conversation included. Idk, this part is why I’m not writing it.

Anyway, by the time they win the game and get out, Steddie is happening. That’s all I got.

[nutteu]

Saltburn Jumanji AU

[rambling compilation]

ok so, i've just rewatched jumanji, all three movies, and i think i'd like to see saltburn with 'welcome to the jungle' (movie, 2017, with jack black and the rest) because it'd be easier to integrate the casts and everything, and because i think there should be more of van pelt in the story, don't you think?

like, felix as spencer, venetia as bethany, farleigh as fridge, maaayyybe annabel as martha (or not, idk yet) and oliver, oh dear oliver would be alex, because it'll be fun, having oliver as the one being stuck in the game for twenty-two years. sure, it works for felix too, but i have something in mind with this arrangement.

the kids got into the game, they got trampled over by rhinos and hippos and whatnot, yadda yadda yadda. then, they met oliver, the pilot (master of the air, hahaha), romance happens, but also misery, because we always need drama and misery for them, don't we?

at the final sequence, we find out that it was all a trap, all along. oliver had been waiting for people to go along the journey, so he can finish the game as well, yes. but it changed the moment he met felix, and was told that he had been stuck in the game for twenty-two years (he came from 2002, felix and the rest from 2024), and realized that even if he got out of this cursed place, there is a risk that he won't be able to see felix. so... why not just stay? he can't say that to the others, though, they'd refuse immediately, even felix. oliver has to make him stay one way or another, make felix see that they should stick together, side by side, with no one else and no way home to ensure that felix would be there with him.

oliver has been working with van pelt, has been reporting the situations to the man as he embarked on the journey with the jumanji team, with felix. we of course got a scene where he was accidentally bit by a mosquito, his weakness in the game, and felix saved him by giving him his life (he didn't lose any heart s the way spencer did because fridge shoved him off the cliff, farleigh can be ruthless but not that heartless). we got a kiss, and oliver cementing his decision to chase after felix because felix had just literally saved his life.

at the end, after the revelation and oliver's realization as well as making the plan for felix to stay, the team went towards the jaguar statue, except this time, instead of going together, they got separated one by one as per oliver's instruction to split up, because of the jaguars running after them and van pelt's men as well. it was a ruse for oliver to orchestrate their death, because they were liabilities and were prone in reminding felix that they have to go home. this way, there will be no reminder, no loved ones, and it will give an illusion of despair in felix's head because he lost his cousin and sister.

at that moment, when felix has reached the top of the statue, ready to receive the jewel for the eye from oliver, the last act of treachery will happen. oliver didn't get him the jewel, instead, he acted like he had been captured by van pelt and the only way to save him was for the jewel to be traded with his life. it's a precarious situation, because at this point, felix has lost one life to save oliver, one from being torn apart by the jaguars because he slipped from the trees, and only one left to risk. and it is risky, because there's no resurrection after this, no more second chance. it's either the jewel or oliver, who also only has one life left.

at the end, looking at oliver's terrified face, the tears streaking down his cheeks, felix gave up the jewel and let van pelt have it. he gets oliver back, crying and apologizing profusely to felix, because he says "it's my fault-- it's my fault felix, i'm so sorry. i shouldn't have told them to split up; should have been more careful with van pelt. now they're dead and we're stuck. we can't go home. i'm so sorry."

felix wants to be angry, of course he does. he lost people close to him and the only chance for him to get out of this god-forsaken universe, to go home. but he can't blame oliver for it (poor, gullible child) and at least... at least this way, he won't be alone, the way oliver had for twenty-two years. at least they have each other, and that should be enough.

even though he has to sacrifice his life; even though he has to let go of the world as he had known it. it's okay, because he'll be with oliver, and they will be all right, even though they'd never, ever make it home.

end. (happily ever after, at least for oliver, because come on, he's been gone for twenty-two years, the least jumanji can do to atone is giving him felix. for now; for eternity.)

[ghostly-penumbra]

Ectoberhaunt 2023. Day Six

"Tabletop"

Ao3

JUMANJI AU

-

Her parents were crying, cursing at the heavens, whilst Vlad stood to the side with a solemn expression on his face, but Jazz was barely processing any of that past the ringing in her ears and her tunnelling vision. The only thing she was aware of right now was the gameboard, lying innocently on their charred coffee table like it hadn’t just taken Danny from them. Her little brother.

She didn’t remember going to her parents’ storage room, avoiding the ghostly animals the game had brought, or the way back, in spite of returning with a heavy addition. She came back to herself when she had swung the cursed axe and given the board an awful dent.

She didn’t break it, even though she had used all of her strength, but damage could be done. Figures it would take a cursed weapon to get through a cursed object.

“Jazz! No!” Her parents tried holding her back, but she was past the point of obedience.

“Give. Back. My. Little. Brother!”

“Jazzy, princess, stop!” Her dad tried reasoning with her, but Jazz knew exactly what she was doing.

“There’s no chance at winning! Think!”

She didn’t want to be cruel with her parents, they had just gone through the worst moment of their lives again, this time losing their son, but this was how she would make sure they got him back.

“You only have three turns left.” One for her mom, one for her dad, and one for Vlad who, despite being pit as their enemy by the game, still had a player’s right to cast the die. “Do you think it’ll give him back so easily? So quickly? It took its sweet twenty years in giving Vlad back, and only because you still had space for a fourth player!” Her parents were looking at her and she could see the gears turning in their heads. Vlad, who without Danny here had no one to attack, observed with rapt attention. “If it doesn’t give Danny back in the next three turns, it’s game over! And how many years were there between Vlad’s turn and Danny’s?!”

“Twenty years for you.” Vlad spoke up, floating closer, looking down at the board with resentment. “But time is different in the Ghost Zone. One day here could be ten there, or a hundred, or two years, or only a few minutes. There is no guarantee of how long he will feel he is there. I can only tell you that he will not like it.”

As her father’s arms slackened, Jazz escaped his hold and stomped hard on the board, rattling the sturdy coffee table. It’d try to kill her, she knew, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now.

“So if you plan to give us a game over, I will give you one too!” She swung again and another small crack appeared on the wood. Jazz looked back up at her mother, who looked back like she was really seeing her daughter for the first time: full of love and amazement. “Mom, cast the die.”

[megatraven]

jumanji astoria au

[hijacksecrets]

MACES AND TALONS: CHAPTER 3

“Are you…” the man started to say, nearly a whisper. “Are you talking to me…?”

ITS OUT! I was able to help write this chapter unlike the last one so yaaaaay :D y'all need to go give @vindikaetion all the love because she's a powerhouse making sure this story actually gets written down.

Enjoy!!! :D

[crazycatfics]

@shepscapades

Summary:

It’s early morning when the drums begin to echo across the shopping district.

But nothing would prepare the hermits who found the game for what comes next.

The Players must reach Jumanji and call out it’s name.

Or, the hermits have to play Jumanji, chaos follows.

[blankjournal]

Recommended for our weekly theme!

the phantom thief | syj

• pairing: son youngjae (the boyz) x reader

• word count: 5.4k words

• genre: fluff, teeny tiny bit of angst if you SQUINT, jumanji!au, video game character!eric, strangers to lovers!au

• rating: PG

• warnings: some curse words, some sad eric, some sad reader

• notes: this is going to be similar to jumanji. not the same story line but you know, getting sucked into a game and having to complete it to find your way out

• tagging: @deoboyznet! ALSO THANK YOU TO ERIC’s SOULMATE @sohnric and @juyeonszn FOR BOTH BETA READING FOR ME AND REASSURING ME THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY GOOD ! LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH🥹🥹🥹 AND BANNER BY @itsmeas 🤍🤍🤍🤍

You felt yourself groan for what had to have been the millionth time. It was the last few days of summer break, the last few days of freedom, and you were stuck in a small town to sit at an arcade all day with your family. Don’t get it twisted. You loved your family, but you would have rather spent the last few days of summer break with friends, not babysitting your brother and his annoying friends. Your mother was with you, but her head was in a different place. She was too engrossed in the facebook drama on her phone to even bother watching him.

When she heard you groan, she brought her phone down. Laying it on the table, she reached into her purse and pulled out some loose change.

Handing it to you, she spoke. “Go find something to do. I’ll watch them.”

You look at the quarters in your hand as you roll your eyes. What could you possibly find to do with a roll of quarters? Heading towards the game area, you dipped and dodged the annoying little kids that were running around as you eyed the different types of games.

Air Hockey? Ew. Pac-man? Old. All the games were boring you. Continuing to walk around the different games, you noticed a cracked door. You looked around at everyone. They were mainly distracted by all the kids running around. Parents keeping kids from breaking games, and workers wiping pizza grease and sticky soda off the joysticks and screens of games.

You took the opportunity to head for the door, slipping past it and shutting it behind you before stopping. In the back of the almost empty room was a dark, dusty game. It was built like the pac-man game, but hidden towards the back of the room. You noticed the plug laying on the ground as you reached for it, sticking it into the outlet. The room lit up in purples, teals, and greens as the machine came to life.

A small smile made its way to your face as you let your hands graze the old machine. The buttons were chipped, paint peeling, pictures faded, and the screen had a crack in it at the very top corner. The title popped across the screen in bright colorful letters as you read it outloud.

“The Phantom Thief.” You said.

The room was quiet besides the music that was softly resonating from the machine under your hands. A black box popped up on screen as it gave you a background story.

“Wayward within the kingdom lives a crooked worker of the royal family. He strikes at night, and he has earned the nickname the phantom thief. Help the thief steal the King’s prized possession, his royal pendant crown. Or help the guards catch the thief. Try to attempt it in the fastest time possible? Which fate will you choose?” You read quietly.

Looking behind you, you checked the door quickly before taking off the jacket you were wearing. You stick your jacket on the floor, covering the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor before getting up and walking back over to the game. You clicked on the phantom thief character before taking another quick look around the empty room. You turned back around to stare at the screen, the colorful background mesmerizing, as your hand hovered over the start button. You let your fingers run over the worn out button as it lit up, making your fingers jolt.

You jumped at the feeling. A laugh blew past your lips as you pushed the button. The game practically came to life as you watched your hand disappear right before your eyes. The scream you let out reverberated farther than you thought as the room went black.

It suddenly felt very cold, too cold to be air conditioning as you stand. You felt a burning sensation on your face as you brought your hand up to rub. You felt fresh scratch marks as you looked around. The bare trees rattled you as you took in your surroundings. The area was quiet as called out.

“Hello?” You said loudly.

The sound of your voice disappeared in the night as you squinted slightly. How did you get outside? Where was the arcade? Where was your brother? And damn it, why the hell did you take your coat off? You started to walk, hugging yourself to keep warm, as you looked at all the trees. You felt like you were stuck in a forest as you walked.

When you passed the same tree for what seemed like the third time, you let out a whimper.

“Keep walking.” You heard from behind you as you went to scream.

The voice you heard wrapped a hand around your head, covering your mouth as he spoke.

“Don’t scream! Don’t scream or they will find us.” The voice said.

You got pulled behind a ledge as you heard yelling in the distance.

“Search the perimeter! They are around here somewhere!” Another voice said.

A trotting sound grew closer than distanced itself as you heard it multiple times. When it was quiet, you turned around to face a mischievous smile. He pulled his hand away from your mouth as you opened yours again.

He panicked, speaking quickly. “Please don’t scream!”

“Who are you?” You asked softly.

“I’m Eric. I’m the character you picked.” He told you happily.

Shaking your head, you spoke. “What? What character?”

Eric snickered. “From the game, silly! The Phantom Thief.”

He pointed at himself, his mischievous grin growing like the Cheshire cats. “That’s me.”

“Wait, character? I-,I’m in the game.” You asked him.

He nodded. His face was visible to you in the darkness. “Yes ma’am.”

You smiled slightly at his tone. “How do you know you’re a game character?”

Eric laughed. “Oh yeah! I guess you could say you aren’t the only person to visit us. A lot meet me on the other side though.”

Furrowing your eyebrows, you say up. “What do you mean on the other side?”

The boy shrugged. “People never choose me. It’s always the King’s men. I don’t understand why.”

He started to pout. “It’s not like I’m a bad person. They just like to be on the side of justice for some reason.”

You couldn’t help but breathlessly laugh at his statement. “Maybe it’s because people don’t want to get in trouble.”

“But that’s the fun part! The risk! Knowing that you could get in trouble is only half of it. It’s the thrill of the run.” Eric said before stopping. “Now, we need to get a move on. They’ve widened their search, leaving the castle exposed.”

He took a peek from behind the ledge before standing up. Reaching down for your hand, he gently pulled you up as he took off. You stumbled slightly, having trouble keeping up with all of his endless energy as he whipped and whirled his way through the array of trees. You could see two lights becoming more prominent as he continued to pull you.

As the lights got closer, you heard galloping as you yanked Eric as hard as you could. He jolted backwards before being pulled into a pile of leaves, surrounded by a whole bunch of trees. Eric went to speak as you covered his mouth.

“How am I the newbie, and you are almost about to get caught?” You asked.

You could feel Eric’s grin burning into your hand as he spoke. “Good choice. Most people choose to keep running.”

You felt goosebumps arise as you pulled away from him. “You knew this would happen?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t know which decision you would make, but I knew the first decision was coming up. I told you. I’m a part of the game, remember?”

Eric sat up, prompting you to move off of him as he stood up, dusting himself off. “There will be quite a few decisions that will be left up to you to make. Choose wisely, and you’ll be able to steal the crown.”

The statement he gave you made you shudder as it sounded too much like a computer given answer rather than his own statement.

“Right, well. We should keep moving.” You told the boy, making him nod.

He peeked out from the pile you both had fallen into as he motioned for you to follow him. He kept the both of you hidden from the lights as he followed the pathway towards the castle.

“In the introduction, it says you work for the royal family.” You said softly.

Eric chuckled, looking back at you to give you a grin. “Aren’t I just the worst?”

You giggled as you both continued to walk. You were surprised at how easily you were moving through before Eric stopped.

He looked at you expectantly, almost waiting for you to do something as you gave him a look.

“What?”

“What do we do now?”

You scoffed. “You’re the one who does this for a living. You tell me.”

Eric shook his head. “That’s not how games work. Characters do what you want them to do.”

Not understanding, you looked forward and noticed a gate.

“A gate? What do we need to unlock it?” You asked.

Eric shrugged. “You tell me? Unlocking would risk wasting time and getting caught. The gate, however, is quite old. That means that trying to jump would risk making a lot of noise.”

“Well jumping it is what we’ll have to do because I don’t have anything to pick the lock with.” You told the boy.

He looked you up and down before taking a step towards you. Your eyes widened as he leaned into you, his nose inches from yours as he spoke.

“What’s that?” He asked curiously.

Your eyes drifted upwards, following to where his index finger was pointed and you let your hand drift upwards. Your hand ran over your hair before feeling something.

“My goodness, Eric, you're a genius!” You said happily.

The boy scrunched up his face in confusion as you pulled the bobby pin that was in your hair out of your head. Grabbing his hand, you pulled the boy towards the gate, opening the bobby pin in the process.

“Um, you still never told me what it is.” Eric said softly as he watched you mess with the lock on the gate.

“It’s a bobby pin.” You told him quietly.

He watched you mess with the lock, sticking the foreign object in it and wiggling it around.

“What is a bobby pin?” Eric asked.

You felt yourself laugh as you spoke. “A very helpful tool for people with hair that doesn’t want to cooperate.”

Eric leaned over slightly to get a better look at it as he spoke again. “It looks dangerous.”

You shrugged. “Ehh. Depends.”

You heard a click as you smiled at Eric victoriously. His eyes widened as you slowly pushed the gate open. It creaked slightly, making you stop with a wince before continuing. The gate was opened enough for the both of you to slip in as Eric closed it behind him.

You put the bobby pin back in your hair as Eric looked at you.

“What?”

“You’re the first person to choose picking the lock. It’s the easiest one and the percentage of getting the crown is higher when you pick it.” Eric said in awe.

“Don’t seem so surprised. It’s not the first time I’ve picked a lock.” You told the boy.

You picked back up, walking up the walkway of the castle as you looked over the large building. It was sort of old, but still very extravagant. Decorated to the nines with beautiful sculptures and busts. Beautiful bushels of flowers surrounded both sides of the lane way.

“Pansies.” Eric told you as you looked at them.

The colors almost sparkled under the moonlight as you spoke.

“Shouldn’t they be dead? I mean, it’s kind of freezing out here.” You said quietly.

This caught Eric’s attention as he took off the jacket he was wearing, wrapping it around your body. You felt your cheeks heat up as Eric continued on like he didn’t just do something to make you embarrassed.

“That’s why they picked this flower. They are able to survive the harshest of winters. Though I have to admit, this winter has been particularly cold.” Eric said.

You chuckled. “Funny, because outside the game, in the real world, the summer has been insanely hot. We’ve hit record-breaking temperatures.”

Eric smiled. “Maybe that’s why it’s been so cold.”

You smiled with him as you both continued to walk the pathway. The castle doors were drawing closer as you spoke again.

“This seems too easy.” You said.

“What does?”

“Just walking up the pathway to the castle. Am I about to just walk right through the doors?” You asked him.

Eric went to speak before you heard yelling.

“Check the castle ground, and make sure they didn’t break in!” Someone said as your eyes widened.

You looked at Eric who looked too calm in this situation as he spoke.

“You have your choice of the library window or the garden house. Though I will admit, there is the guard dog.” Eric said.

“Where? In the garden house?”

Eric shrugged.

“The library?”

He shrugged again, making you groan. “Where is the dog Eric?”

Eric through his hands up as you whined before spotting the garden house, you pulled him along through the grass, dodging statues before opening the garden house doors. Eric watched you pulled his jacket off and tie the doors shut as he looked at you with a smile.

“Excellent choice.” He told you.

You narrowed your eyes at the boy, a scowl decorating your face as you turned to look around. Beautiful plants were growing up the walls. Flowers covered to protect them from the cold looked as if they were waving due to the wind. A singular pane of glass at the top of the garden house was broken, allowing full moonlight to filter into the building. This allowed you to get a much better look at Eric.

He was handsome, that’s for sure. His hair was a deep purple color, almost burgundy with slight black highlights spread throughout. Eric wasn’t the tallest, but he was well built with the average height he was at. He had full lips and a prominent nose. An almost oval shaped head held all his features, and it came to a sawed off point at his chin. You would be lying if you were to say you weren’t attracted to him. You chalked it out to a school girl crush due to the fact that his smile made you feel like you had butterflies in your stomach.

“So, what goes on out there? You know, in the real world.” Eric asked, pulling you from your thoughts.

You both fell in stride as you made your way through the large garden house.

“Well it’s summer vacation right now. There’s like less than a week of it left, though.”

Eric’s nose scrunched up. “Summer vacation?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Like we have school from August to the first week of June. And then we have summer vacation until August. And then we repeat the whole cycle for the next 12 years.”

Eric looked at you, horrified. “That sounds awful. It sounds like a prison.”

You chuckled. “Something like that. You don’t have school here?”

Eric shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’ve only ever worked for the royal family.”

You nodded, remembering that he was just a character in a game. He didn’t know about any of this real world stuff.

“No one ever took the time to tell you about what goes on outside of here, have they?” You asked him quietly.

The thief shook his head. “Like I said, no one ever chooses me.”

His statement made you frown as your heart sank a little. He sounds so lonely.

You both continued on until you got to a cracked door at the front of the garden house. Eric held his hand up, stopping you as he took careful steps forward. His head poked outside the door, red hair blowing around in the wind as he looked around. When he was sure the coast was clear, he turned to you, holding out his hand with a nod. You let your hand fall into his as he led you back out into the night. You were now positioned towards the side of the castle as Eric pointed towards a staircase that led underground.

“Tunnels. We use them to deliver food, supplies, things like that. It’s safer than trying to do it in the open.” He told you.

“Too many thieves?” You asked jokingly.

Eric looked at you with a smirk. “Look who’s catching on.”

You both laughed as Eric continued to lead the way. You happened to notice that he was still holding your hand, showing no signs of letting it go. The sight made your heart jump as you held on tightly to him. When you got to the entrance of the staircase, Eric dropped your hand to grab a torch that was already lit. He led the way down the stairs, constantly looking behind him to not only check on you but make sure you weren’t tailed. The torch was the perfect light source for the both of you as you were able to only illuminate small portions of the tunnels as opposed to the entire tunnel. It felt like the temperature had dropped lower since you moved under the castle and you mentioned that to Eric.

“Is it normal for it to be even colder down here than it is above ground?”

You pulled the jacket Eric had given you tighter around your body as you waited for him to reply.

“There isn’t any heat to reach underground. So the tunnels always stay cold. It gets worse when it’s regularly cold out.” Eric whispered.

It felt the tunnels were never-ending before Eric stopped, the torch flame billowing in the wind slightly. He pointed to a wooden door as he looked at you.

“There.” He said softly, voice echoing off of the hollow walls of the underground tunnel.

You stepped forward as you looked at the door. “Is this where we enter?”

Eric shrugged. “That depends. This puts us at the far end of the castle which means we have to cover more ground indoors to get to the crown. If we continue to follow the tunnels then we’ll get closer to the King’s room. That holds all his most prized possessions, including the crown.”

You thought about what could be waiting for you if you went into the castle now, but being in a warm castle, unthawing seemed way better than freezing to death. Plus, you weren’t sure how much longer these tunnels were, and you weren’t willing to bet your life on it.

“Come on,” You waved to the boy as you gently pulled at the handle of the wood door.

Eric nodded, setting the torch in a holster on the wall next to the door. He pulled the door open more, stopping when it scraped against the gravel on the tunnel floor. He laid a hand on your lower back, slowly coaxing you forward first as he tried his best to quietly pull the door shut behind him. When the door closed, it echoed into the large empty room you had entered. You turned to give Eric a look as he shrunk down at your gaze.

“Sorry,” He whispered.

You shook your head slightly as you looked around, trying to see if you could figure out what room you were in. It was dark in the room. The moonlight coming through the window was reflecting off of multiple surfaces that looked shiny and almost metallic like.

“The kitchen.” You said to yourself.

Eric caught up to you and your cautious steps as he helped navigate you through the rather large kitchen.

“They barely use this.” He told you, noticing your curiosity in the appliances that looked brand new.

You scoffed. “Then why have a kitchen?”

Eric chuckled. “Something to look at.”

You turned to him as you smiled. He sounded so normal when he said that. Like he knew what he was saying, and wasn’t repeating what his character says. The glimpses of realness Eric was giving you made you happy. You wanted to know more, so you continued to press as you exited the large kitchen and into a hallway.

“How did you start working for this royal family?”

Eric shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just always been here.”

You frowned. “Do you have a favorite food?”

“I eat bread when my health gets low. Does that count?”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. It was unreal how real he was in front of you, but how computerized he was on the inside. Eric didn’t seem to mind the questions nor was he bothered by his answers considering he barely got to move around anyway unless someone managed to play the game.

The hallway you two were in led down a long corridor to a split. You looked down both ways, seeing double doors down towards the end of the left side, and nothing but more hallway on the right side.

“Next choice.” Eric said softly.

You kept moving your head left and right, trying to figure out which way to go. Eventually you took the left path, looking back at Eric for confirmation. All he gave you was a smile as he let you lead the way. The walk to the double doors was short as you laid both hands on each door before pushing them open. The heavy wood stood still for a moment before peeling open, rather loudly. The moan of the doors opening reverberated off the empty walls making you cringe as you both walked in.

The room you were in was a bedroom. A large bed and dresser were up against the far wall with a large ceiling to floor window against the wall, showing the night sky. You had to admit the view was impeccable, but you didn’t get to enjoy it long. A faint growl made the hairs on the back of your neck stand as you and Eric both looked at each other.

“The guard dog?” You asked quietly.

Eric’s eyes were the size of saucer plates as he nodded.

You both turned slowly, coming face to face with a rather large dog that looked to be something out of a nightmare. Whoever the game creators were got the look of a scary guard dog correct. The dog looked similar to something out of Stephen King’s Cujo. With foam coming out of its mouth and dark, almost dead eyes, the dog looked like it was ready to rip apart anything and everything that stepped foot in the castle. You took a step back from the window as you looked at Eric.

The boy was making quick glances at the door as the dog took a step forward.

“Run!” Eric yelled.

Grabbing your hand, Eric practically dragged you out of the room and down the other hallway. The dog was hot on your trail, loud barking making more noise than you would've hoped. Lights began to turn on as the dog was now alerting the guards looking for Eric.

As you continued to run, you noticed a door that was just slightly ajar. You took the opportunity to yank on your arm, pulling Eric towards the door. The immediate redirection threw the dog for a loop as it couldn’t come to a complete stop with the speed it was hitting. You managed to make it in the room, both of you closing the door just in the knick of time. The dog hit the door hard. That didn’t seem to stop, but rather further piss him off as he started to jump at the door and scratch at it. You pulled a nearby chair towards you, pinning it under the door knob as you leaned against the door to catch your breath.

Adrenaline was pumping through you, your heart rate through the roof as you closed your eyes to try and calm yourself. You could see why Eric liked doing this so much. You weren’t scared by any means. Rather you were thrilled. The surge of fear had turned into excitement. You had so much energy that you wanted to do all of it again.

“Look!” Eric said excitedly.

You opened your eyes at his exclamation. You followed his gaze and felt a smile come to your face. There in the room was the King’s crown protected by a glass case. The small light shining down on the glass sent a sliver of light towards the pretty blue pendant jewel on the top of the King’s crown. The jewel reflected its own path of light, causing a blue marbled type shadow to cast itself across the wall. You moved from the door to the glass case, laying your hands on top of it.

There was a little lock on the case to keep the crown locked in. You knew the key was not in this room, and in your excitement panic started to set in. How were you supposed to get the crown?

You felt a hand in your hair that pulled you from your thoughts as the hand was now in your vision.

“Will this work?” Eric asked, holding the bobby pin you had previously picked the front gate with.

You smiled at the boy, taking the pin from him. Eric winked as you began to pick at the lock.

“They’re in here!” You heard from outside the door as you jumped from the yell.

Eric ran to the door putting weight on it to keep it closed as long as possible as you kept picking the lock. Frustration began to filter through you over the fact that you couldn’t get the lock picked. As your frustration bubbled over, a loud crash hit outside the door, sending Eric flying to the ground. You picked up the case, throwing the glass to the ground as it shattered around you. Eric picked himself up as he grabbed the crown. That mischievous look he had when he first told you about himself came back as he handed it to you.

You took the crown from him, looking over it as he pushed you towards the window. A large crack resonated through the room as you both jumped. One of the doors broke open, giving way to a bunch of guards as Eric quickly pushed the window open. You looked back at him, realizing he was going to give himself up so you could get free.

“Wait, Eric!” You yelled.

The boy continued to push you to the window. He helped you out of it as he spoke. “You have the crown. Get back to where I found you and you’ll win.”

You looked at him, grabbing his hand as he went to pull away. “What about you?”

The urgency in your voice made the boy smile, and he did something completely out of character. Eric leaned out the window to peck your cheek as he spoke.

“Don’t worry about me.”

He pulled his hand from yours as he gave you that signature smile. Lifting himself back into the window, he pushed you the rest of the way out before slamming it shut. You hit the ground with a grunt as you looked back up at the window. Eric mouthed to you as you stood.

“Go!”

You stood up, seeing the garden house in the distance as you ran in that direction. It sounded like the castle doors had opened as you fell into a full on sprint. When you got closer to the garden house you noticed the front gate, still unlocked from when you had previously entered. You looked back towards the window before letting your feet carry you to the gate. The sounds from the front doors of the castle were beginning to get louder, signaling to you that whoever was outside was getting closer. You slipped through the gate, running down the path. You continued to run until your legs couldn’t carry you anymore before stopping in front of the tree that you were certain was where you had fallen into the game from.

Placing your hands on your knees, you leaned down to catch your breath. Not knowing what to do next, you looked around hoping for some sort of exit.

“Come on! I beat the stupid game. See?” You lifted the crown up towards the sky, beginning to get angry.

“I did it. I beat it! What more do you want?” You yelled.

You kept the crown above your head, looking up at the dark sky that did nothing before lowering it. Dropping your head, you looked around once more before noticing a light coming towards you. There was no person behind it, just the light itself. Bringing your hands up to your eyes to shield yourself, you looked as best you could at the light. The room felt like it was shifting before you were pushed.

“Hey!” A voice said from behind you.

You’d recognize it anywhere as you stepped back.

“Mom’s been looking for you.” Your little brother told you.

Looking at him, you nodded as he rolled his eyes, heading out of the small room you were in. You watched him before looking down at your hands. You were in the arcade. In the back room. Your jacket was still on the floor, now covered in dirt and dust from being pushed around. You brought your attention back to the game. A little bubble screen had popped up.

“Congratulations! You helped the thief snatch the crown and evade the guards. Your time was five minutes and thirty-eight seconds. See how your time stacks up to other players.” You read.

The screen gave way to an option to look at the previous scores as you looked back at your time.

“Five minutes? I was only in there for five minutes? It felt so long.”

You moved your hands from the game as you headed for the door. Bending down to pick up your jacket, you looked back once more at the game before walking out.

It had been about a week since you pretty much entered a video game, and the more you played it over in your head the more it seemed like you just fell and hit your head really hard in that room. You knew you had to put it behind you with it being your first day of school, but you couldn’t stop thinking about Eric.

As you parked your car, your friend Sunwoo stood outside the school entrance with another boy. You couldn’t see his face, but you were sure you didn’t know him. He had purple hair with different pastel highlights colored throughout it. Sunwoo spotted you as he waved.

“There you are! Thought you might be late on the first day.”

You could only give the boy the finger as you got closer.

“I made a new friend! He’s new!” Sunwoo yelled.

As you got closer, the boy turned around and you dropped everything in your hands.

“Eric?” You asked.

The boy raised his eyebrows at you as he looked at you then Sunwoo.

“Uh, no. My name is Youngjae.” The boy said.

He was a spitting image of Eric, with the same tone of voice and cadence in the way he talked. Both boys walked down the steps to help you pick your things up.

“I, I’m sorry. You just look strangely like someone I met towards the end of the summer.” You told him.

He smiled at you, giving you a wink. “No problem.”

Sunwoo chuckled, noticing the looks you two were giving each other as he shook his head.

“And yet again, I’ll be third wheeling.” He said as he watched the two of you talk, almost as if you had known each other for a really long time.

[mitsybubbles]

I can’t stop thinking about this crossover lol