#like yeah everyone agrees w that but are you gonna sign off on bills to increase policing and harshen jail sentences

[crinkler]

voting is insane. theres these two people on the ballot who have nearly identical stances on everything and I've been trying for weeks now to figure out which I prefer and its just about impossible

[maddestzoomer]

late-night drives

warnings - i don't think there are any aside from a small amount of cursing and a lil bit of angst :)

word count - 2.1k

summary - you go for a late-night ride with steve harrington

a.n. - just thought this was an interesting concept, and so i put it into writing haha. also, i guess this could serve as a second part to stop thinking 

.`.

It was two in the morning as you got dressed, pulling on an old sun-bleached t-shirt and some jeans, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

Maybe you wouldn't be doing this if it weren't so uncomfortably hot in your room- the type of hot that made your sheets cling to your body and your skin break out in a small sweat. Maybe if your mom would bother to turn the A/C on, well, maybe you wouldn't be sneaking out.

Tonight was different from the regular, though. Steve had invited you to hang out, and the thought of doing so made gave you something to look forward to. It wasn't often only the two of you hung out.

A part of you wondered if he would actually even show up. You, of course, hoped he would- so that you would be able to spend time with that charming brunette. But the clock on your nightstand sprouted doubt and worry in your mind as the time went on, causing you to pick at your nails as you gazed from your window.

All that doubt and worry was left behind when you watch a car pull up in front of your house.

'Shit...' You thought to yourself. All of a sudden, the reality of the situation seemed to come crashing down. You could feel your heart beating in your chest. Why the fuck did Steve have to have /that effect. The one that made it hard to breathe and even harder to think.

Stop thinking.

You began walking from your room, attempting to be as careful and quiet as possible. You'd studied the hallways floors before, so you knew where to and where not to step.

As soon as you close the front door, you felt pure energy. It may have been three in the morning, but it no longer felt like it. The tiredness faded away with a soft summer breeze, causing the smallest of smiles to pull to your lips.

Quickly, you walked Steve's car, hopping into the passenger's seat and shutting the door behind you.

"Well, look at that!" Steve greeted with a smile as he shifted the car into drive "You know, you're basically a juvenile delinquent now."

You rolled your eyes, though you smiled softly "That's definitely a good way to greet someone." You joked, buckling up.

Steve chuckled softly, rolling down the windows. How he managed to look so awake and ready at 2 am, you had zero clue.

The sprinklers from your neighbor’s yard hissed softly, though that becomes distant as Steve pulled further away from your house.

Steve turned the radio on, flipping through a few stations before finding one he liked, a station playing something by New Order.

Steve, like you, doesn’t sleep all that much. His mind simply doesn't let him sometimes. With all that has happened, sleep is a rarity. He could be absolutely exhausted (mentally or physically), laying in bed with 20 milligrams of melatonin in his system and he still would be kept awake. So he drives. It helps calm him down.

The red lights paint his face in vibrant shadows as he taps on the steering wheel to whatever song was playing. Then, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, and a muscle twitches in his clenched jaw.

“Are you alright?” You asked with a frown, surprised at the hoarseness of your own voice.

Steve shrugged with a slightly casual smile, the light turning green. He slams on the accelerator, causing you to tightly grasp the side of you seat. No one else is on the road (thankfully).

Steve slowed down slightly, not wanting to worry you.

“I don’t get it,” Steve finally said, shaking his head a bit. He sent a glance your way “I just don’t get it.”

“Don't get what?” You ask with a slight frown

“What am I supposed to be doing?” Steve asked as he slows to a stop at another red light, again glancing over to you.

“I dunno. Where am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do?”

“If anyone knew the answer to that question,” You smiled softly, sadly, “we’d all be a lot happier.”

Steve shakes his head with a very small smile, then turns onto a road you knew well.

“We’re going up?” You asks. There was a high up hill in Hawkins, one that allowed for people to overlook the town below. You had visited there a few times, mostly because of how calm it can be there.

“I feel like looking down on something,” Steve replies “Makes my problems seem... smaller. Ya know?”

You nodded a bit, still with a small frown. Sometimes, Steve worried you.

The wind and crickets are quickly drowned out as he rounds curves and climbs up the mountain, pressing your shoulders back and forth in you seat.

“I think... at the very least, you know where you belong,” You finally said quietly, when Hawkins is below you and there was less twisting hill available to climb.

“Here. I think.” You added softly, eyes being drawn to the window. Maybe it sounded a bit off when you said it, but you absolutely meant it. He belonged here... right? Such a small town could be pretty shitting with the generally conservative mindset, but at least it was safe, right?

Steve tilts his head, eyes still glued to the road. The headlights bounce off of the signs and flash in both of your eyes. “Maybe... Hopefully.” He said, tone uncharacteristically unsure of itself. Contemplative.

The wind cuts through your clothes, making you shiver and cross your arms over your chest. Steve sees it out of the corner of his eye. He made a quick glance in your direction.

“There’s a sweater in the back.” He says softly, beginning to make another turn

You nodded thankfully, reaching to the back, grabbing the dark blue sweater, and pulling it over your head. It smells softly of pine and coffee, and you swiped off a few crumbs that fall when the fabric rests on your stomach.

“This is gonna sound stupid, but I went to a tea place today,” Steve says, slowing down and pulling over to the side of the road. “Just to watch, I guess. I wanted to see what people do.”

“And?” You asked, looking to Steve. Tires crunch on gravel as he slows the car to a stop on a pullout

“Everyone seemed to have something to do. Grab a coffee and go to work. Sit down for a couple hours and study some stupid summer course. Meet up with a friend and talk about nothing. They all- well,” he parked the car, turning it off and opening the door to step out

You followed him, now grateful for the woolen sweater. Once you were out of the house, it seemed to get a whole lot cooler

“I guess they all seemed to know what they were doing. And I was just sitting there, like 'Fuck. I could be doing something- I should be doing something.'" He said as he climbed onto a rock, then sitting on top

You hesitated a moment before joining him on the rock, taking a seat next to him. The two of you were close to one another, shoulder to shoulder.

“Maybe that was where you were meant to be,” You finally said with a small smile, settling down next to him. He drew his knees up to his chest, taking in a deep breath. It was obvious he didn't agree.

“In that coffee shop. Wondering about the lives of those people. Maybe that’s what you’re meant for, Steve.”

“Yeah... but that doesn't pay bills. Wondering can only do so much.” He murmurs with a small, sad smile, eyes dancing over the lights of the town beneath him. Distant noises drift up- a car honking, a coyote yelling, drunk college kids running around- and you are reminded that this night is not just yours and Steve's

The wind plays with the hairs on the back of your neck as you tilt your head back to stare at the stars. You knew Steve wasn't really asking for an actual answer- at least, not from you, not tonight.

He just wants someone to hear him. That's all he ever wanted. And he knew you would listen because you always listen. Not many people listen actually to what Steve has to say. They write him off as an asshole air-head, as a boring little boy with parents who didn't give a fuck what he had to say.

You know Steve isn't that, though. You know Steve is far, far more.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Steve took your hand into his own, interlocking your fingers with his. Your eyes grew large, and a pink blush dusted over your cheeks, but Steve didn't notice. His eyes stayed on the town below.

"This town is such a fucking shithole..." Steve said quietly as he absentmindedly ran his slender thumb over the back of your hand. You frowned a bit 

"It's not too ba-" you cut yourself off when Steve faced you.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The look on his face said more than enough. Steve's gaze was soft but somewhat saddened.

"Steve?" you finally ask, then pulling your bottom lip between your teeth. "Why do you think you don't belong?" you finally asked.

Steve looked down at your interlocked hands. "Because... I don't know. This place is just full of bullshit people with bullshit brains. So many of them... They just- They aren't like you." He said this softly, calmly. Saying it out loud made his heartbeat in the back of his throat. It made his chest a little heavy.

You frown as you look at Steve, shaking your head a bit in confusion. "W-What does that even mean?" You asked, tone obviously confused. Your heart also began beating faster

Steve smiled a moment, looking up to the sky a moment. "Jeez, Y/N..." He bit his bottom lip a moment. Tearing his eyes away from the starry sky, placing them on you, smiling slightly more at your confused frown

Steve let out a deep breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. His grasp on your hand became slightly tighter, though it still remained gentle and comforting. He smiled softly, remaining quiet for a few moments before saying "I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you."

A strong wave of realization hit you. First, your eyes grew large, then your mouth fell open. Your reaction was, simply, pure awe. Shock, even. Was Steve saying what you thought he was? Or- did you somehow misunderstand him?

Your silence began making Steve a bit nervous "C'mon, Y/N." He let out a quick, sharp breath that was a failed attempt at a chuckle. "You're scaring me." He said, beginning to frown slightly himself. Was telling you how he felt the right idea? Fuck, Steve was beginning to think it wasn't

You kept your eyes on Steve. "I umm..." You looked down a moment at your hands- how nicely they fit together, how nicely /you fit together. "I... like you too, Steve." You looked up to meet Steve's gaze again.

Steve surprised you when he let out a quick laugh. It made you flinch a bit, thinking this may have been a stupid joke. But then, you saw the bright smiling curled to Steve's lips. You hadn't ever seen such a brilliant and genuine and fucking /happy smile plastered on Steve's face before, on anyone's face for that matter.

It was a truly beautiful smile. One you thought you would remember forever. You thought, for a very quick moment, that you would want wanted to see that smile forever. It was a smile that filled you with happiness, with genuine gladness. That smile put you at more ease than any spoken words possibly could.

A small thought made itself comfortable in your mind. 'I want to see that smile every day until I die.' The thought wasn't alarming, invasive, or untrue. It was a comfortable, calming truth. It was like a warm weighted blanket or a mug of hot cocoa between cold hands.

Maybe someday you would tell Steve what you truly thought. But that day... it wasn't today

[trashxqueen]

Friends to Lovers (Richie Tozier x reader)

Request - Hello lovely! I just read your headcannon about dating Richie Tozier and it was sooooo cute! I loved it! Could you do an imagine about a friends to lovers with Richie? Like maybe they’re in high school and they’re both pining after each other but they don’t know the feeling is mutual so the losers set them up on a blind date and they both (Richie mostly) get all blushy and cute? Thank you sooo much and I hope you have a wonderful day! 💕

(A/n) Thank you!! I tried my best but I still haven’t written a lot of fanfiction so it’s kinda crappy sorry. I tried to write Bill’s stutter as best I could but I didn’t really know how so I hope it’s okay. Also I turned into a thing where like the reader doesn't know who shes going on a date with but Richie does, I’m sorry im terrible at this lmao.

(n/n - nickname)

y/n’s pov

Since day one, Richie Tozier and I have been the best of friends. We’ve done everything together and it’s always so much fun, between our weekly Saturday movie nights to waiting till the last possible moment to do science projects. He taught me how to play videos and ride a bike. We are inseparable.

The only problem is, I’ve been in love with him the entire time. Even though we aren’t together, he’s always made me feel special and happy. The only person that knew of my crush was my close friend Beverly Marsh.

“n/n you need to tell him how you feel! You obviously both love each other, he’s just too shy to say anything,” Beverly said sitting on her bed while you sat on her floor.

“Really Bev, Richie? Too shy? Literally two weeks ago in lunch he stood up on a chair and screamed the chorus of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” cause Eddie dared him to, he’s not too shy to do anything he just doesn’t like me like that.”

“You’re full of shit y/n but fine. If you truly believe he doesn’t like you then whatever. But I can’t stand to see you upset so I’m gonna set you up on a blind date tonight.”

“Please don’t, I’m perfectly happy ignoring my problems and also tonight is my movie night with Richie.”

Beverly rolled her eyes, “You can miss it just once, he’ll understand, please y/n, I won’t stop bothering you about this.”

“Fine! But I’m not going to like it and if he tries anything I will punch him.”

“That’s my girl! Now let’s go pick out some nice clothes for later.”

…

Third person pov

Richie sat at home thinking about what he was going to do without y/n tonight. He’d just gotten a call from her saying she was going to have to miss movie night because she was going on a date; he was upset. He had been in love with her for so long but never thought she loved him back so he always kept quiet about it.

The doorbell began to ring so he went up to answer it given he was the only one home. As he opened the door, Bill, Ben and Eddie walked in and immediately began talking.

“Okay so you’re gonna take her to that Diner on Ford street and what the hell are you wearing you’re not wearing sweatpants on a date what is wrong with you-” Eddie began ranting before Richie cut him off.

“Eddie what the fuck are you talking about, I’m not going on a date with anyone I don’t even like anyone.”

“B-bullshit Richie, e-everyone knows you’ve liked y-y/n for f-forever,” Bill retorted, “A-also we’ve arranged for y-you to go on a date w-with y/n tonight.”

“Yeah but she doesn’t know it’s you, it’s gonna be a surprise, Bev planned it,” Ben stated.

“No, there’s no way I’m doing this! She doesn’t even like me, there’s no point and I’m just gonna embarrass myself and she’ll end up hating me,” Richie protested.

“Yeah well tough shit Richie. Beverly told Bill she liked you and she’s already agreed to the date. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t know it’s you, she’ll be so happy when she sees you! You have to agree, how’s she gonna feel when she gets there and no one else is there huh? She’ll feel like shit, you have to go, you both have been pining after each other for years now so you’re going, end of story.” Eddie stated before walking into Richie’s room to look at the clothes in his closet.

“Fine, but if she hates me after this, this is on you guys,” Richie finally agreed walking into his room.

Ben and Bill smiled at each other before following Richie, getting him ready for later tonight.

…

y/n’s pov

“Oh my god n/n you look so cute!” Beverly exclaimed smiling.

I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. ( http://pic-collage.com/_tJGdT93e ) I did look pretty but I’d rather be wearing sweatpants and sitting next to Richie binge watching movies together. There was one time he put his arm around me and I melted.

“Thanks Bev, but do I have to do this?”

“Damn right you do. Just trust me I promise you’ll love it.”

I rolled my eyes and signed, “Fine, let’s go.”

…

No one’s pov

Beverly and y/n pulled into the parking lot of the dinner and y/n got out nervously.

“Remember he’s wearing black dress pants, a white button up shirt, black tie and he has glasses,” Beverly said, “Have fun girly!”

y/n walked into the diner looking at all the tables looking for her “mystery date” until she settled on a familiar face.

“Richie is that you, why are you here?” She said looking at her best friend.

Richie looked up nervously blushing with some red roses in his hand.

“H-hey y/n, you look beautiful and I am here as your date,” he stared at y/n blushing furiously.

She looked at him in shock before smiling and sitting across from him.

“These are for you,” Richie said handing her the roses.

“Thanks Rich but, what’s going on?”

“Well,” Richie looked down at the table before continuing, “I really like you y/n, actually I think, wait no, I know I love you and I have been in love with you for forever. I-I guess Bill and Beverly knew and wanted to set us up. And oh my fuck you really do look so pretty tonight holy shit. You’re so kind and smart and funny and I’ve never loved anyone before but I know I love you. You- you’re my world and-”

y/n cut him off by placing her hand on his and looked at him softly.

“Rich, calm down you sound like Bill, I love you too and I’m so fucking happy to hear you feel the same, I’ve loved you since the day I met you,” y/n stared into his eyes before glancing down to his lips.

He looked back at her and began to smile before leaning in placing his lips on her own. It was a gentle soft kiss, that made the two of them melt.

“n/n will you be my girl?” Richie asked after pulling away.

“Of course I would,” she replied.

“Oh hell yeah!”

Richie and y/n looked across the diner to see Beverly, Ben, Eddie and Bill sitting together staring at the new couple. Eddie face was extremely red realizing he just blew the four’s cover and they all got up and ran out of the diner.

The couple returned their gazes to each other before laughing.

“Well this is a great start to a first date,” said the boy.

“It certainly is,” y/n replied lacing her fingers with Richie’s smiling softly at her new lover. The blushing couple leaned back in for another kiss before spending the night together.

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Ex Choir Kid Beats up Ex Chorus Kids, It Isn't the Swimsuit Edition, Teen Tries to Angst Rudely in front of Rude Friends, Worrying Changes Happening With Your Body and Mind are Completely (un)Natural, Robot Attacks Teens in Zoo

Danny didn’t have anything against chorus kids, heck he was one in middle school, but this was downright ridiculous.  He and Tucker had been in the lab, working on actually building the hoverboard that they had planned on building before The Accident.  Danny had the Gravity Inverter™ already built, and they had just decided on modelling it after surf boards instead of skateboards. “It offers more room to maneuver, and between Sam, Jazz, and Mom last summer, I’ve gotten pretty good at surfing.”

“I am a wonderful teacher, yes.  And in return for those lessons, your parents agreed to help me with converting your lawn from grass to moss."  Sam smirked from where she was doing… something on her laptop - the newest brandname laptop that made Tucker drool even though he could almost certainly build a better one.  

"I know I'm going to regret asking this but: Why?"  A glance up showed that Tucker had the soldering iron in the air just over the circuitry of the board and was staring at Sam.  Danny contemplated telling Tucker to put on gloves or let him realize his mistake as the heat got to him.

"Because moss is a much better oxygenator, it doesn't grow tall enough that any mowing need be done, it can grow easily in the low nutrient soil most yards have, and it looks cool as hell."  Sam paused in her typing and Danny and Tucker blinked slowly at her. “I helped with turning the grass in my lawn to moss.”

“So, like, are you gonna just do our lawn or are you gonna convince the school to do it or something?  Maybe a botony club?”

“That sounds like a great idea, Danny!  But I’ve got other ideas for now.” Sam grinned, looking at Tucker, who still hadn’t noticed his own lack of gloves.  Danny was getting worried about nerve damage now. “How’s the car design going?”

“I’ve been working on it, and I was actually gonna have Danny take a look after we’re done with this.  Still, I think it should be pretty easy to do with the right resources. Still, I think we need to develop better transparent solar panels for it to work.”  Danny reached for another tool, opening his mouth to mention that his family already had those developed and capable of 50% efficiency, and instead groaned when his lungs went icy cold.  Turning to the portal, Danny picked up a new Fenton Rifle™ and took aim. The air near the portal rippled and flashed with green sparks which tore the air asunder into a swirling pane of light.  Twelve ghosts, all singing off key and out of harmony, flew from the portal, and it snapped closed as soon as the last pair were out. Quickly fed up with the noise they were making, Tucker took aim with his Wrist Ray ™ and demanded “QUIET!”

One of the ghosts took exception to that and talons dragged across Tucker’s back, flinging him onto the floor.  Danny snarled and pulled the trigger on the rifle, striking one of the ghosts hard in the chest and burning a hole deep enough that Danny could see a pulsating ball of toxic green.  The ghost stared at him, shocked, and melted into a puddle on the ground. Before Danny could swing the rifle around to take out the rest, a claw slammed into his arm and sent him tumbling into the table.  The ghosts evacuated the lab, fleeing the angry teen and his gun while Tucker slowly stood up. Danny rushed over, hand hovering an inch from Tucker. “Are you ok? That looked like it hurt. It also looks like it’s bleeding.”

“Yeah, it hurt plenty.  Is it deep?”

“No, I think the bleeding is just immediate bu-”

“Sam, can you get the first aid kit?  We can bandage this right?” Tucker tugged on his sweater and Danny phased it off for him.  “You go, we’ll catch up.”

Danny took a deep breath and concentrated, filled and surrounded by void faster than ever before and rising off the ground.  “Call me, I’ll text you where I am when you can catch up.” And off he flew, immaterial and weightless, the world unfolding until all he could see was the brilliant viridian streaked void and those idiots who thought they could get away with hurting his best friend.  The first one he caught up to dodged his rifle fire, another coming up and slamming a brick into his head.  Danny whipped around with a growl and shot that one in the center, not watching as it crumbled into a pile of goo.  “ You’re next!”

Tucker and Sam skateboarded their way to him around halfway through the ghosts, using the thermos to catch them instead of letting Danny tear them apart.  Something he was surely going to appreciate when he wasn’t as furious as he was right now. Unfortunately, upon getting the last pair near a warehouse on the docks of the river, the Trio found yet another rip in the air, an odd shifting thing that refused to stay as one shape for Tucker and Sam to see.  Helpfully, Danny supplied, “It’s a tesseract. That’s fucking amazing to see, it’s so cool.”

And because Danny had the sheer gall to be impressed by geometry the universe punished his nerdiness by shoving a ghost out of the portal, ethereal form twisting between sizes and shapes before cubic chunks of green settled as a blue skinned man in denim overalls.  Bright red eyes blinked out at the teens and they sighed. Sam nearly had time to say hi when the ghost lifted his hands over his head, wiggling his fingers and shouted at them. “BEWARE!”

“Ok,” Tucker said as he fired his ectopistol at the ghost, blasting him back a bit.  Tucker stumbled onto his face when a glowing box smacked him in the back of the head and groaned.  “This is stupid.” Sam fired her own wrist ray and it knocked boxy right into Danny’s line of fire while another box hit her legs and tripped her up.

Danny pressed the barrel of his rifle against the Box ghost’s chest, focusing his anger into the gun and pulled the trigger.  “ B E W A R E .”  Hot ectoplasma tore through the Box Ghost’s chest and burned a hole on the wall behind him.  Danny flew down to his friends to check on them, and sucked on his teeth when he saw the way they were looking at him.  “What?”

“Danny, I dunno how you did that to your voice, but when Halloween comes around you need to be able to do it again.”  Tucker let Sam help him up and pulled out the thermos, aiming it at the mess on the walls. “Seal for delivery.” The green goop flew toward the thermos and soon was gone.  Danny dropped to the ground and flipped onto his back.

“Seal, aquatic mammal in the arctic.  It uh, barks?” Danny looked hopeful. Sam looked less so.

“Sorry brain boy, that is yet another wrong answer.”

“Hey, I’m an Astrophysist, mechanical engineer and artist, not a biologist.”  Danny grumbled. “Speaking of biology, how you doin Tuck?”

Tucker spun the Fenton Thermos ™ on his finger like a basketball.  “I’m feelin a bit sore still but I’ll be way better once we all get home.  There’s still an hour before curfew and that’s all we need to study, right?”  Danny offered a thumbs up and Sam shrugged. 

Then the thermos fell from Tucker’s finger right on the release button and all their hard work filled the warehouse before getting away again.  

“Tucker.”

“Yes, Sam?”

“When you’re feeling better I’m going to hurt you.”

“Right.”

 Considering it took them over two and a half hours to find and catch a third of the ghosts released by Tuck's blunder, everyone got home at around midnight, leaving no study time for Danny.  The Box Ghost, apparently, was stronger than they expected, because he was fully formed as soon as the ectoplasm left the thermos. Running a highly demanding brain and body on only five hours of sleep was Not a fun endeavor.  Danny inhaled his breakfast, and if an upward glance was anything to go by spiked the electric bill with his secondary eating.

Jazz decided to be gratingly cheery anyway, like she always was.  “Mom! I just got the news from Genius magazine!”  Jazz was holding up a cover of said magazine and Danny rolled his eyes.  “You’re gonna be on the cover!”

“Genius Magazine?”  Dad grabbed up the magazine and stared at it for a moment before a low and potentially upset tone carried out, “is it the swimsuit issue?”

“Dad, please ,” Jazz rolled her eyes and narrowed them.  “this magazine is for, by and about women geniuses!”

“Firstly,” Danny said, holding up his spoon.  “Is Dr. Saturday in it?”

“…No.”

“Then they missed a genius.”  Danny felt his face twist up. “Secondly, I’m trying to eat and you bring up Mom being in the swimsuit issue of a falsely named magazine?”

Jazz ripped the magazine from Dad’s hand and groaned in frustration, her page flipping now the slamming of book covers.  “I signed Mom up so that the world can see that she’s a genius and not a ghost hunting freak!” Danny winced, rubbing his neck.  Sounded like Jazz heard as much of it as he did. Unsurprising, kids were assholes.

“They’re not ghost hunting freaks,” Danny said with only a touch of offense in his tone.  “They’re Ectologists, contracted regularly by the government. They’re also right about ghosts being real.”  Jazz opened her mouth to challenge that claim but even groggy and under fueled Danny’s brain was quick.  “Just check the back of the school for proof.” Quick but filterless.

“Well sweetie,” Mom said before Jazz could counter that it was a gas explosion like Tucker had fed to the school, “if I’m going to be on a cover - which you should ask me for permission for before you go doing it - then I want Jack right there with me.”  Mom pulled Dad’s bulk to her, impossibly, in a hug. “We’re a team after all!”

The man in question beamed and pulled out… something.  Danny didn’t have the brain power to analyze tech at the moment.  “That’s right! Together we built the Ghost Gabber™! It translates the odd noises that a ghost makes, dissonant whispering sounds and all, into language that you and I can understand!”

“In what language?”  Danny frowned. “If you’re gonna sell this - which please don’t this is ridiculous - then it should be in like, all languages you’re gonna sell to right?”

“Mandarin, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic so far,” Mom supplied.  Danny nodded and slurped down the last of the milk in his bowl. “It’ll work for any language when it’s done!”

Danny stared at the thing and narrowed his eyes.  “Boo.”

“I am a ghost,” the thing rattled off back to him.  Which, well, fuck. That’s what I was thinking at least.

“It’s busted, responded to human speech.  Or you guys have the worst humor and that’s preprogrammed.”  Danny grabbed his lunch and headed to the door.  “Love you byyye!”

 School was as mind numbing as ever, the damage from the ‘gas explosion’ doing nothing to stop classes apparently.  Which meant that Falluca's test on biology was still a go. Yay. Brain sluggish from last night's hunting and lacking on biology knowledge to begin with, Danny was unsurprised yet pissy when he was handed back a D.

Taking their lunches into the library, the Trio ate quickly, everyone still feeling yesterday's activities.  Soon as he was out of food to shovel in his mouth Danny was glaring at his test again. "I can't have a D on a test!  I’m a Fenton!”

“The American Public education system is a relic and fails to accurately quantify intelligence.”  Danny stared blankly at Tucker, who shrugged. “Sam’s activism rubs off when she’s right.”

“If I come home with a D my mom’s gonna put me through martial arts training and have Dad give me lessons on whatever it is I failed on.”  Danny waved his paper aggressively. “My Dad teaching me biology guys, it’s horrible!”

“Well since you need to boost that grade I have an extra credit idea for you,” Sam said at one of the computers.  Danny turned to look at her screen and furrowed his brow.

“A purple backed gorilla?  Why is it’s back purple? That’s not a naturally occurring pigment in mammals.”  Danny turned to Tucker. “Right?”

“While I’m the last person you should defer to for knowledge on organic coding, you’re right.  I can only think of birds and uh butterflies? Those can be purple. Rarely though.”

“Extremely rare, only two males left.  Which is why you’re going to write a report studying it on why it deserves to be set free!”  Sam beamed at him with that smile she used when she wanted something out of him. The air around her shimmered with impressions of green and purple, like a mist that clung just above her skin.  It didn’t seem to be hurting her, so Danny didn’t bother mentioning it beyond pulling out his journal to take a note in.

“I don’t have time for extra credit, or your agendas, Sam.”  Danny groaned. “Gotta find those extra ghosts before they manage to hurt someone.”

“Actually,” Tucker cut in, holding up his PDA.  “You do have time. You just need to manage it better.  Which is why I’ve elected myself to be your time manager.  Least I can do after Sam let all those ghosts out.” Sam glared, that meowing turning to a low growl, and Danny tugged on his jacket.

“I dunno…”  Could Tucker be trusted to manage even his own time, let alone Danny’s?

“It’ll be my job to manage your schedule so that you can do your schoolwork and catch that Box Ghost dumbass that Sam let out.”

“You do remember that I can turn outrun you right?”  Sam’s glare intensified, and Tucker swallowed.  “I can kick your ass faster than you can move it, Foley.”

“Remember what happened when I let you manage the thermos, Tucker?”  Danny arched a brow, crossing his arms.

“I’ve already set a reminder,” the geek held up his PDA which flashed with bright green letters.  “Don’t let Tucker handle the Thermos.”

“What the hell?”  Danny sighed. “I guess we can do a trial run.”

“Sweet!  I’ve also scheduled some time for us to go check out that gorilla once classes are over.”

“Before I even said yes to doing a report on it, yay.  Aren’t you just the best?” Danny jabbed Tucker lightly in the arm and frowned when Tucker winced.  “How’s the shoulder?”

Tucker shrugged.  “It’s getting better.  Told Mom I fell off my skateboard trying to do a trick and she helped me change my bandages.  It should be fine in a couple days.”

Danny sighed, pulling his hood over his head.  “I shouldn’t have opened that portal. Then you guys wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this.”  Danny zipped up his hoodie, shivering. “Stars guys, I’m so sorry .”

“Said the guy who I pressured into the portal,” Sam countered.

“To the guy who coulda said enough is enough and stopped you,” Tucker added, ruining Danny’s angsty bad times.  He had negativity to feel dangit!

“You guys are dumb.”  Danny pulled the two into a tight hug.  “Thanks. I dunno what I’d do without you.”

“Probably finish dying, let’s be real.”  Tucker earned the punch he got from Sam, he really did.

The bell rang, and the Trio sighed.  “Well shit. Time to go back and do all that school stuff.”  Danny pulled away and grabbed up his bag. It was one of the few classes he had without Sam and Tuck next.  “See you guys later.” A few goodbyes later and everyone left to zone out in class and contemplate what that day in the lab had really meant for them.

 While Sam was taking in all the key points of the lesson, she was also noting that she knew this part of history like the back of her hand.  The majority of Sam’s attention was on a comment the blond meathead had made. Just as they got to class, Dash had shoved Danny into some lockers, and when Sam told him off for it he called her a witch girl for hanging out with the ghost freak.  As much it made Sam want to castrate the idiot with a heated rusty knife, it also made her think. If ghosts were real - something she tried not to think too hard about because the realization of how big that was felt like too much to even begin processing - then why not magick?  Tucking away the mental note to do some research on magick later, Sam let her mind wander through all the different things she could probably do for the world with magick.

Once Sam found Tucker and Danny at the exit, she draped her arms over both boys’ shoulders and kept walking.  They caught up to pace quickly enough. “So, the zoo first or looking for Ghostly Chorus first?”

“Ghosts first,” Danny said after a few minutes of contemplation.  “If we catch em right away we can get to the zoo and spend more time fully focused on it.”  It took them a trip home each to grab their scooters, then two hours of searching four different neighborhoods before the group actually found the four remaining Choir Ghosts.  Danny felt a deep rage fill the core of his being when he saw them, the fools that dared to hurt his friends and took aim with his rifle to announce that he’d found them.  A pulled trigger and there were only three ghosts left. One of the ghosts turned to fly at him, swiping a claw that grazed his cheek and knocked him back in the air.  Tucker fired off a shot, missing both the chorus ghost and Danny by just an inch, and being knocked tumbling off his skateboard for his trouble. “ You’re going to regret that . ”

Sam landed a shot on the ghost that knocked Tucker off his board and did a kick flip to avoid one trying to get the drop on her.  The ghosts prioritized Danny as the biggest threat, two of them swinging at him from either side. Danny raised his weapons on either side and was knocked down by the third one into Tucker.  A growl built itself up from Danny’s chest and he turned both his rifle and wrist ray to the sky. One of the ghosts dodged the wrist ray, knocking the other into the path of the rifle shot. Sam took out the one that had dodged Danny just before the last one appeared in front of her.  It dove under the ground and Sam saw green as Tucker’s wrist ray rammed into her shoulder. “SAM!”

Tucker rushed over to Sam and Danny zoomed through the air, driving his fist through the ghost’s chest and grabbing onto that ball of emerald light.  He snarled in it’s face. “Should’ve let him take you out.  It would’ve been less painful.”  The ghost tried to get away, but Danny held firm and squeezed harder and harder until the ball of power, of connection of self of discordant songs and burning wood cracked in his hand and ectoplasm dissolved into a pile of goop on the asphalt.

Turning back to Sam and Tucker, Danny was greeted by horrified faces on his best friends in the world, and immediately lowered himself to the ground.  The void left him, an empty space in his chest as Danny ran over to Sam and Tucker, kneeling to check Sam’s shoulder. “Are you ok?”

Sam took a long moment befor eshe seemed to even hear what he’d said.  “I mean I uh I might need some burn cream and my shoulder isn’t exactly having the best night ever, but I’ll be fine.  It doesn’t exactly hurt as much as it probably hurt the ghosts.”

“Y-yeah, that’s probably it.”  Tucker helped her to her feet and dusted himself off.  “Everybody still feeling up for the zoo? We gotta grab that extra credit.”

Danny stared down at his hand, flexing his fingers and shuddering at the icy chill around them.  He’d taken out minor ghosts before, sure, but never as brutally as he did that one and the Box Ghost.  What happened to me?   “Alright.  The zoo.” Danny slid back into the void, easier at night when he had the stars to look up to and reach for, and rose up off the ground while Tucker and Sam grabbed their boards.  And as they headed to the Zoo, Danny couldn’t help but think to himself. I wouldn’t do that to a person, would I?  All I had to do was catch it in the thermos and it’d have been dealt with.  Stars.   Danny shook his head, trying to force himself away from thoughts of what kind of horror he’d’ve seen on Tucker and Sam’s faces if that had been a human who’d taken a swing at them.

 Sam looked out from the observation deck binoculars at Sampson, taking her turn on gorilla watch.  “He’s so beautiful, so intelligent, so majestic!” Watching the gorilla pace in his cage Sam was sure he would be infinitely happier in the wild.

“What we’ve learned thus far, Sam is that gorillas like to scratch their butts.”  Danny yawned, turning to Tucker. “How long have we taken to learn that?”

“Five hours.”  Tucker yawned, sitting on the floor.

“Time flies when you’re majestically scratching your butt.”

“C’mon guys, we could learn something about Sampson no one else has!”  A thought occurred and Sam turned to Danny. “You should try commun- oh.  Wow.” The boys were on the floor, both clearly conked out from the lack of sleep last night.  And Danny rolled over to cuddle Tucker in his sleep, which Sam felt was sickeningly cute. “Fine, I’ll do it myself… in the meantime…” Sam took a picture of the boys, chuckling.  “To the scrapbook it goes for when these idiots finally get a clue.”

By the time she got to the gorilla enclosure, she heard a loud roar from elsewhere in the zoo.  Presuming it was just a tiger or two waking up, Sam looked into the cage to see Sampson pulling on the bars of the door to his cage.  “You poor creature, stuck in here when you should be in the jungle.” Sampson saw Sam standing there and pulled even harder on the door, howling at her and staring desperately.  “…You want out?”

Sam decided to use her own Dumbass Teenager Action of the month and blame it on her own sleep deprivation.  She also blamed it on the control panel having an easy to get to, easy to use Open Cage button.  If she could get away with it, she was going to have a talk with whoever ran security.

Sampson practically flew out of his cage and Sam followed after him.  She stopped, shock freezing her muscles up as Sampson tackled to the ground a… “Is that a fucking robot?”

The man made of steel and wearing black leather and a shoulder pad kicked Sampson off and Sam found herself caught between rolling her eyes at the Mohawk and goatee made of green fire and backing away from the glowing ghost robot.

Sampson charged again immediately after being thrown, knocking the robot to the ground and rolling onto his back.  Sam felt herself laugh as the robot was tossed around by Sampson’s feet but it all felt so unreal. Is this what my life has come to?

Sampson was blinded by goo and Sam felt it time to act.  She raised her Wrist Ray™ and fired, narrowly missing the ghost robot, who glared in her direction and fired off a shot of his own.  It caught her in the gut, sending Sam backward and the ghost snorted. “Damn wench. You and this gorilla pest are in my way. Thought I’d gotten the last one with me.”  Speaking of, Sampson got the gunk out of his eyes and charged the hunter again, though the ghost dodged out of the way, phasing through a backhanded swing.

“So you’re the one who went around poaching the furs of purple-backed gorillas?  This is your fault? ”  Sam felt her blood boil and fired off another shot with her wrist ray, cracking the shoulder pad of the armor.  “They’re going to go extinct because of you!”

“All the more reason to get the last ones in my home.  Unfortunately, you can put several bullets into something and it can still eat you before it realizes it’s supposed to be dead.”  The robot looked down at his shoulder, which gave off little sparks, and he turned to Sam, raising his arm cannon. “Let’s see how well you can replicate that, shall we?”

Before the ghost could fire his cannon at Sam, Sampson grabbed him up from behind and tossed the ghost hard.  Sam recognized that she wasn’t going to be able to handle this one on her own, and ran to the observation deck to get to Danny and Tucker.  “GUYS, GUYS WAKE UP!” She grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing when an explosion rocked the tower and she nearly lost her grip. The town began to lean and Sam heard herself screaming before she even felt it.  The tower began to tilt her way and Sam looked down to see a hole blown in the base of the tower.

 Danny heard screaming, but it was far away and likely unimportant and he had dreams to have, stars to see and hear and cradle in his hands and wrap his entire self within and around.  There was so much for them to show him, so much to give him and all he need do is reach out and - the ground shook, thunder booming in his sensitive ears and Danny clung tighter to Tucker for a moment, his eyes flying open.  “TUCK Tucker wake up!” Danny shook his friend and reached for that silvery darkness that filled him and wove around him. “Fuck fuck fuck, ok, I have an idea, get up, be ready!”

Danny flew through the glass - either physically or intangibly he didn’t know right now - and turned to look at the tower.  There was… a hole in it. And Sam was on the tower, screaming. And they needed him.  “It worked for Agatha, it can work for me.”  Danny held out his hands and closed his eyes.  He searched within, reaching deeper and deeper for that light, the wispy shadows that surrounded the world and held it in place around her star and kept the universe from falling apart.  He reached and reached and shadows, whips of darkness even he could not fully see were grasped and pulled out of him.  His eyes opened, and Danny wrapped his very self around the tower, gravity��s hold snatched away but for the longest of seconds.  The tower no longer fell for there was no down for it to fall into, merely the void for it to rest within. Nothing, less than nothing, empty space filled the spaces between everything and all was still.

And then he c r a c k e d .

 Tucker caught Danny and Sam looked around the zoo in awe and horror.  Sampson had been blasted back into his cage, the tower was on its side, and Danny looked like he was fading fast.  “Tucker, the thermos!” He pulled it out of his backpack and handed it to Sam. She looked inside and saw the sloshing ectoplasm they’d cleaned off the streets when they tore up the ghosts earlier.  She grabbed onto Danny and held his mouth open, pouring the ectoplasm even as his form flickered between ghost and human.

“Sam, what the hell?”  Sam realized her hand was shaking when she saw the green fluid drip down the sides of Danny’s face and Tucker grabbed the thermos to steady it.  Danny drank down the ectoplasm and his body stabilized in ghost form. Once the thermos was empty, Tucker set it down and they watched as Danny glitched between forms one last time before his back arched and those blindingly bright rings appeared, transforming him back into Danny Fenton.  “What the fuck happened?”

“A ghost robot appeared and tried to kill us.”  Sam stood up and grabbed her board. “Who’s carrying Danny?”

“My hands are steady so I think that’s gonna be me.  Think you can carry my board? I don’t wanna try that while I’ve got him on my back.”  Tucker maneuvered Danny onto his back with arms looped around his shoulders, and stood up slowly and carefully.  Sam grabbed his board and they headed for the exit together and from there to Fenton Works.

[amazingmsme]

A Helping Hand

They had all agreed not to talk about it. The events that occurred over the summer were not to be spoken of unless it returned. But that was too much to ask of such young kids, especially after all of the trauma inducing things they've been through. After holding everything in, it became too much and they had to share. They talked, they screamed, they cried, they allowed themselves to be vulnerable. Some spoke more than others, but there was one thing they all agreed on: they never deserved this. All of the losers had their own hardships and personal problems, and no one had it easy. "It's not fair," Bev spoke, looking down at her feet.

"But it's over, at least for now. If we're lucky, it won't come back," Ben said, trying to be optimistic. She met his eyes, her own welling with tears, "When have any of us been lucky?"

"W-we're alive, a-aren't we? That's p-pretty damn lucky if you ask m-me," Bill pointed out.

"What did it say it's name was? Didn't you say you saw a sign or something?" Mike asked. Bev nodded, "Yeah, I think it was something like, Pennywise the Dancing Clown." Richie snickered, "Peniswise." Bev rolled her eyes but laughed along with everyone else at the comment.

"Is that your f-favorite word, cause you s-sure do say it a l-lot," Bill retorted. Richie smirked, shrugging, "You don't call me Trashmouth Tozier for nothing."

"Shut up Richie," Eddie giggled, giving his shoulder a shove. It wasn't the first time a scene like this had happened, but it was the first time any of them took notice of how Richie reacted. Any time one of them touched him in any sort of way, he lit up like a Christmas tree, even at the lightest of touches. It didn't take long for Bill to realize the reason; he was being neglected. He connected the dots: first he always made some sort of lewd comment to gain people's attention, then when that monster was terrorizing them with their worst fears, he had seen himself go missing like the other kids, like Georgie. He had been rambling about being forgotten like the rest of them, but he just thought that was normal for the given situation. And now he noticed how happy Richie was when anyone touched him, whether it be a pat on the back or a punch to the arm. After Bill realized it, it didn't take much longer for the other losers to as well.

They had all decided to touch Richie as much as they possibly can, to give him reassurance and just to let him know they're there for him. At first he didn't know how to react to so much attention, so he did what he always did: act as annoying as possible. He didn't really know why he did it, it was just ingrained in his mind. Deep down he knew the reason, but he tries to suppress those memories. That used to be the only way to get his parents to acknowledge him, even if it was to scold him. With his friends it was different though. When he would talk for excessive periods of time they wouldn't ignore his existence or berate him. They would listen, joke, and tease; things Richie hadn't experienced before meeting them. In fact, they were the reason he talked so much, because he never got the chance to speak and be heard, so he utilized every second he spent with them. His words ran nonstop. He was a little surprised when they called him Trashmouth instead of Motormouth like his parents would do sometimes, though his friends did it out of love when he was sure his folks did it to be cruel.

His parents made him feel as though he was a nuisance, and he always had the fear that his friends secretly hate him. He hated that he thought that. And he hated that his parents made him think that. He knew it was stupid. He knew that his friends didn't hate him, but there was always that voice in the back of his head saying, "You're wrong." He tried to ignore it, and most of the time it worked. He just hoped that his friends never find out he thinks this because it might make them upset, or worse: give them an idea.

So he did his best to act normal and do what they expected him to do. He'd laugh, tease, tell dirty jokes, but all the while worry that he was somehow letting them down. He tried not to let it show, and he covered his feelings best when he was annoying.

"You know, in Canada they have a lot of meese."

"They have a lot of what?" Eddie asked, not sure if he heard correctly or not. Richie smiled and spoke again, "Meese."

"What the fuck is a meese?" Stan questioned, his face contorted in confusion. "You know, meese. Those big brown things with antlers."

"It's moose. The plural of moose is still moose," Ben clarified, hoping that would settle it. Richie wasn't one to let things settle however. "I know that, but I think it's stupid. Goose, geese, therefore moose, meese."

"Okay first of all, just because you use "therefore" doesn't make that any less wrong, and secondly what the fuck is wrong with you?"  Richie and Eddie we're going back and forth and the others listened intently to their meese debate.

"Just wait till I go to Canada, I'll take pictures of all the meese I see."

"It's fucking moose!" Eddie was quickly becoming frustrated. Why couldn't Richie just be sensible? "Whatever, have fun sounding like an idiot," he finally gave up, shoving Richie off the rock and into Mike. Richie was beaming. Mike leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, I'll go to Canada with you and we'll see all the meese." Richie tossed his head back and laughed, causing Mike to ruffle his hair. "Hey cut it out! My hair looked good today!"

"Don't worry, it's an improvement," Bev smirked when he shot her a glare, but she just flipped her hair out of her face and smiled. "At least I don't have flat hair like Bill."

"Hey! M-my hair's not f-flat!"

"Is so! It's practically plastered to your head all the time!" Bill was smiling despite his best efforts to hide it. "S-shut up R-Richie."

"Yeah shut up Richie," Stan echoed, nudging him in the side. He scooted closer but tried to make it look like he was adjusting his position. "What's your deal today? You've been acting more- Richie than normal." Worried that they were onto him, he tried to act casual. "No señor, I have been acting muy normal." His friends all groaned in unison at his terrible accent and he chuckled. "I seriously don't know what you guys are talking about."

Bill sat up, placing a hand on Richie's shoulder, noticing how he leaned into the touch. "R-Richie, if you've been acting a-annoying to try and get us to t-touch you, you d-don't have to. We're you're friends, j-just ask us d-dummy."

Richie was extremely taken aback. How did he know? It took him a second to process his words and he blinked a few times, feeling a bit awkward now that he had everyone's attention. It was a different kind of attention than when he made a joke. This attention was serious and... concerned? He never really had this kind of acknowledgement before and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Was it normal to feel embarrassed? He shifted uneasily and shoved up his glasses, "Heh w-what? Naw no, no I'm fine." When no one else spoke, he reassured, "I'm fine." He let out a long whistle and clapped his hands together, trying to break the tension only he felt. "Well now that that's over, who wants to go down to the quarry?" No one objected and they swam for hours, Richie still trying to decipher what exactly happened.

"We're your friends, just ask dummy." The words repeated over and over in his head. "You okay? You've been real quiet," Mike said swimming up beside him. Richie nodded, "Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"I just want to make sure we didn't make you feel uncomfortable back there." Richie looked at him and offered a genuine smile. It felt good knowing just how much they cared. He at least owed it to them to start being more honest with them. "A little bit, but I think I'm over it now. I'm just not used to people caring like that, y'know?" Mike gave his shoulder a squeeze, "Hey, that's what friends are for." The moment was ruined when a huge wave suddenly splashed in their face. "Are you losers playing or not?" Bev asked, and when they didn't answer in time she splashed them again.

"Okay okay we're playing asshole!" She smiled, swimming a bit closer, "That's more like it." Ben finished counting just as they joined the group, shouting, "Marco!"

Many responses sounded and he swam around blindly, reaching out to try and find his friends. He leapt forward, his hand slapping Richie's shoulder, dubbing him "it." He spun around and around, counting to 20 before setting off on his hunt. "You guys are gonna loose so quickly, you might as well just give up now."

"Shut up Richie you actually have to tag someone first." Richie grinned and turned toward the sound of Eddie's voice. "Señor Marco?"

"Piss off Polo!" Richie jumped, stretching out his arms in hopes of grabbing one of his friends. Sadly, he came up short and Eddie and Stan barely escaped his clutches. That's when Eddie got a devious idea and whispered something to Stan.

"I can hear you!" he called out, grinning as he inched closer. "Marcoooo?" he sang, moving slowly through the water. Stan circled around him, staying out of his reach. "Poloooo." He whipped around, ready to pounce. Just as he was about to tag him, Eddie swam up beside him and squeezed his hips. Richie squealed and jumped, his eyes flying open to look at the culprit.

"Hey n-no opening your eyes! That's c-cheating!" Bill called, smirking a little.

"He touched me! Doesn't that technically mean he's it?" Richie asked. All of the losers looked at one another and shrugged, "I mean, you technically touched him? I don't know," Ben said. Eddie finally spoke, "He did touch me, guess that means I'm it." Richie didn't know what he was getting at, but there was something strange about the look in his eyes.

"Pst, w-watch this," Bill whispered as Eddie swam far away from the others, thinking they were over there. He brought his arm all the way back and hurled a large rock, causing a large splash. "Marco!" Eddie called as he swam towards the splash, expecting a response in that direction. He was shocked when none of the responses were anywhere near the sound. "Oh very funny guys, who did that? Was it Richie?"

"Why do you guys always blame stuff on me?" he asked, cleaning his glasses. "I-it was totally R-Richie," Bill laughed when said boy let out an indignant shriek, "What? No it wasn't! C'mon don't be a traitor Bill," he said.

"No, this is being a traitor!" He was very shocked when Stan lifted him up and threw him near Eddie. When his head emerged from the water he sputtered out "What the fuck Stan? Shit no, stay away!" Richie tried frantically to swim away, nervous giggles escaping. Eddie caught up with him and managed to grab his wrist.

"Gotcha!" Eddie cheered and Richie rolled his eyes fondly, "Obviously. Now can you let go now?" he asked, trying to tug his arm free. "No."

Richie blinked a few times, wondering if he heard correctly. "Why?"

"Because I'd rather do this." And just like that, his fingers were at his sides, scribbling and squeezing and driving Richie crazy. "Whahat the fuhuhuck Edds?" he laughed out, trying to squirm away but only managing to splash around in the water.

"You need this Tozier," he replied, reveling in his friend's hysteria. "You haven't been laughing much lately, so I'm just giving you a helping hand," Eddie smirked at his own terrible joke.

"Oho my gohod," Richie managed to groan in annoyance, despite his laughter. Eddie grinned, wiggling his hand underneath his arms and making him screech with laughter.

"I know, I'm hilarious," he said nonchalantly over his friend's laughter. "Man, did you get more ticklish or something?" he teased, winking at the others as Richie tried to curl into a ball to protect himself.

"Shuhut up, you're making it wohorse!" he cried out, not even bothering to fight it anymore. Eddie found this very interesting, "Oh it makes it worse if I talk? Is that because pointing out the fact that you're ticklish makes it tickle more?" Richie blushed a bright red, but Eddie decided to be merciful and not comment on it.

"Just shut the fuck up! No not there!" Richie could do nothing but laugh as Eddie drilled his thumbs into his hips, and his friends were doing nothing to save him. Thankfully Eddie decided it was time to let him breathe normally and relented in his laughter inducing torture. Richie gratefully gasped in air, a wide smile still on his face.

"That was uncalled for," he said, gently shoving Eddie's shoulder. He shrugged, "Eh, you know you loved it."

"I-" but Richie didn't know what to say. Luckily he didn't have to.

"A-are we gonna p-play the game or n-n-not?"

Richie grinned and swam over, "Yeah, and you losers are so in for it." He was grateful to have amazing friends that cared about him so much. And whenever he was feeling down, they were always there to give a helping hand.

[andrewmoocow]

Gravity Soul chapter 10: Weirdmageddon Take Two, Gravity Falls No Longer Safe? (originally posted on September 28, 2018)

AN: And so begins Weirdmageddon once more. Greetings loyal readers to the final arc of Gravity Soul. With Gravity Falls now no longer safe from the madness of Kishin Cipher, the Mystery Meisters now fresh off of rescuing Pacifica must find another place to hide from him and pull off one last plan to stop him. Also in this arc will feature the usage of the Vigenere cipher which means whatever word that is highlighted in bold in the author's notes will be the key needed to decipher it. But enough for now, let's all return to the BUNKER. TIZOXZNYF DLV EUEUIJU MRMVVUM JOVV UBBEKYU NB LI CPMG LYK GCANMEH NUOQ TPGRC EK B WBCX KIY XOIGFL AOZVS CADIEEYQ DLVN NB LI WPOAN FLU HBG MK'T NUO SKIYE GEP BLBERU

They thought it was impossible. They thought they would come out of that mansion with at least a few physical scars. But no. They received mental scars instead from what the fusion of the dream demon and the Kishin inflicted on them. The rescue party looked upward at Kishin Cipher cackling maniacally with his head tossed back and hands in the air. He had won and Weirdmageddon began anew. "W-we lost." Kid stuttered in sheer disbelief, at both the monster's victory and his previously unknown connection to Asura. "And did he just sing a big musical number about how everything has gone to hell now?" Black Star wondered. "I mean, it honestly was a catchy tune, but was it necessary?" Stanford and Maka on the other hand had their backs turned away from the others and mourned the sacrifices of the people they cared for the most. Ford had lost his brother, his best friend, the very person who had spent thirty years trying to rescue him and now in a cruel twist of irony, he was the one that needed saving now. Maka had lost her weapon, her partner, the boy who had put his life on the line for her own safety, and now he was gone. "Soul..." "Stanley..." It wasn't long before the two of them embraced while breaking down into tears as the others looked on. Dipper tipped his hat in silence & Mabel cried as well and Crona & Spirit, the only family Maka had left now, tried to comfort the girl. "So where do we go from here?" Wendy asked. "FOOLS!" Excalibur cried breaking the silence. "There's no use in staying here now that Kishin Cipher's reigning supreme, so I suggest we find somewhere to hide." he declared. "But where? Pretty sure we can't go back to the Mystery Shack right now." Soos answered before the Holy Sword cut him off. "FOOL! Isn't there some kind of secret hiding place in these woods?" "Oh that's right, there's Ford's secret bunker!" Wendy suddenly realized. "We just gotta find it, rest up in there for a while and then form a plan!" she stated. "Good plan there Wendy, but where is it?" Tsubaki wondered. "The entrance's disguised as a tree, so we just gotta keep knocking on wood until we hit metal." "Yeah, Wendy's right." Dipper agreed wiping the tears from his eyes. "If only we still had Journal 3 with us, then we'd navigate it easily." he added glumly. Suddenly they all heard a rumbling noise that quietly erupted through the forest before an entire stampede of cryptids from across Gravity Falls charged right through them. "Hey pigtails, move it!" one of the gnomes shouted. "We're fleeing here!" a unicorn snidely added. "Whoa, what are they all running for?" Patty wondered. "And was that a unicorn?!" "You should get going too little one, Weirdmageddon is back!" a large bear with multiple heads stated before staring off into the distance with fear. "My lord, they're coming!" Just then, a group of demonic looking bears bounced across the trees with their teeth bared and eyes full of primal hunger. "Oh no, they're bouncing here and there and everywhere!" Soos cried. "Mass chaos that's beyond compare!" "Well what're we waiting for, to the bunker!" Dipper exclaimed preparing to lead everyone out of the forest before turning back to find Melody, Ghost-Eyes and Pacifica's mother still standing there. "Wait, aren't you coming?" "Sorry Dipper, but I think this might be too dangerous for all of us." Melody said. "We'll all still be here when you get back, hopefully." "Be safe out there Gideon." Ghost-Eyes said to his fellow ex-inmate. "You too old friend." Gideon replied and they fistbumped. "Pacifica, I want you to know that no matter how you feel about your father and I, we'll be there cheering you on against that monster." Priscilla said hugging her daughter. "And remember to thank your friends for saving us as well." "I will mother." Pacifica replied before they broke. "I promise I'll come back for you." Soos promised Melody. "I know you will dude." his fiancee replied and then they kissed. "All right, let's get moving everyone." Maka commanded and thus the remaining Mystery Meisters set off for the bunker.

"Anything yet guys?" Mabel asked as Black Star kept knocking on the trees hoping that one would lead them to the bunker. "Seems like we've been walking and hiding forever." "Nothing Mabel, we're getting in a rut." the ninja replied before they hid behind one of the trees away from the gaze of an Eyebat. "We need to be very very quiet everyone. Kishin Cipher's forces could strike at any minute." Ford stated quietly and they continued on their way. As the party snuck around the forest, they found numerous monsters unknowingly on their tail, such as a large humanoid vulture creature that made a strange whimpering sound, a strange dark blue android with a green symbol on its chest & red fins sticking out the back of its head, a bipedal jackal wearing a silver mask, a muscular humanoid beast with flaming facial hair & a burn scar over his left eye and many more, all looking to kill on sight. "Yeesh, these are nothing like what we've faced before." Dipper commented examining all the new beasts that had been unleashed when suddenly, he laid eyes upon a strange being whose body seemed to be made of various pipes. "And what even is that thing?" The boy felt himself edging into insanity little by little before he quickly covered his eyes in fright. "Hey guys, I think we found it!" Liz called pounding on a strangely metallic tree. "This seems like a good place to hide." "This is the exact place where I found Journal 3." Dipper stated. "I was only told to put up signs for Stan one day and then there it was. Where it all began." he explained. "We can recap last summer later, let's open this baby and get inside!" Wendy exclaimed preparing to scale it with her axe. "Wait, you're going to do it like that?" Black Star wondered. "Of course dude, it's how we opened it in the first place." the cashier said. "There's this little branch that's hiding a lever all the way up there." "Well there's no need for climbing, let a ninja handle this!" Black Star boasted using his ninjitsu skills to race up the tree and jump, grabbing onto the aforementioned branch and pulling it, causing the grass surrounding it to collapse into a spiral staircase leading to the entrance. "Boo-yah!" "Well hornswaggle mah goat-knees, just like old times!" Fiddleford exclaimed doing a quick victory jig. "Now come on sprouts, I can show y'all around!" With that, the hillbilly forgone taking the stairs and jumped down the entrance to the door. "Now come by, it brings back memories!" "Just as long as there's no dust to make me asymmetrical." Kid flatly stated walking down the stairs with the Thompsons behind him and soon, everyone else all except for Ford who was looking off into the distance with a solemn frown. "C'mon Mr. Pines, Kishin Cipher's minions could be coming any minute!" Eruka called for him. "Oh, terribly sorry everyone!" Ford stuttered trying to hide his emotional pain as booming footsteps sounded from afar. Luckily they were all able to get in and close the entrance behind him before one of Bill's henchmaniacs did indeed come across the bunker. "Uh boss, those mortals are gone!" the beast announced scratching his head with one of his eight-ball eyes becoming crooked. "Oh hush up 8-Ball, we can find them later!" Kishin Cipher said floating down to meet his minion's gaze as the other monsters roaming the forest gathered around their new master. "We'll focus on terrorizing all those stupid humans for now, but the reason why I broke you all out of the Nightmare Realm," the fusion stated before he stabbed a finger into his temple and rapidly drilled into it. "IS REVENGE!" The abominations cheered and chanted Kishin Cipher's name as one of the new monsters stepped forth. "Oh yes master, we are forever at your command!" the female beast cried bowing before him. "My pelt is now your pelt!" "Aw shucks Kaguya, you're just too kind!" Kishin Cipher complimented stroking her head and making her purr. "But my lord, what about those children?" a sharply-dressed humanoid being with a deformed face wondered. "Oh don't worry White Rabbit, I already got a few guys after them." Cipher answered before he projected an image of a snake, a spider and a scorpion crawling around.

Stepping further into the bunker, the Mystery Meisters finally came across the shelter which contained various weapons, food supplies and a small bed. "Wow, did you build this for some kinda apocalypse? If so, then I should've really brought a fire-shooting guitar along!" Patty exclaimed amazed at the room but Kid on the other hand wasn't as happy. "Did you even take symmetry into account Stanford?! Everything here is horribly unorganized!" he screamed trying to clean everything up. "Just messy, messy, messy!" "Looks like we're gonna be here a while. Who's up for some High-Flying Beans?!" McGucket asked rifling through their rations before he came across a familiar candy. "Hey waitaminute, is this my Smez dispenser? So that's where it went!" "Fiddleford's right, we might be in here for quite a long time, which is why I've gathered rations to last us until 2070." Ford explained. "In case any of us go hungry after like twenty years tops, we might have to resort to cannibalism." he remarked. "Wait, so we're gonna stay down here while all those monsters run amok?" Dipper asked. "We haven't lost yet Ford, we just need to think of a-" "WE HAVE LOST, WE LOST EVERYTHING!" the surviving great uncle suddenly exploded spooking his young partner and realized just what he had done. "Oh my goodness, I am terribly sorry Dipper! I didn't mean to blow up in your face!" "It's okay Ford, I know where you're coming from. It's horrible we lost Stan, but that's not important right now." Dipper reassured the older man. "Right now, we just gotta find a way to stop Kishin Cipher." "Thank you for that kid, but I think I should just sit down for a while." Ford stated taking a seat on the bed. "I still can't believe it, Bill took my brother after he spent years trying to bring me back." he mumbled. "Somehow I feel that is just cruelly ironic." "You talking about your brother?" Maka asked sitting down next to him. "I feel you Mr. Pines. In fact, I lost my weapon & best friend at the same time yet I'm not randomly screaming in everyone's face." she said. "I know Maka, but I've known Bill far longer than any of you." Ford said starting to choke up before crying. "In fact, I thought he was my friend." "Wait, what?!" Black Star shouted dropping a crate he was moving onto Spirit's foot. "You and Bill were actually bros once?!" he asked. "How long ago was it? Please elaborate." Stein said taking a puff of his cigarette. "It was when I was much younger, around Spirit's age, when I first met Bill." Ford stated beginning to reminisce on less traumatizing times.

"It was when I hit a roadblock in my research of Gravity Falls, and I thought there was nothing else left to discover until I met him in my dreams." Ford narrated picturing his younger self resting under a tree in the forest before the greenery turned into something bizarre. Examining his new surroundings, Ford then came face to face with a peculiar triangular creature who greeted him in a polite yet screechy tone. "Hiya smart guy!" the shape said, his voice echoing throughout the strange realm. "Whoa, don't have a heart attack! You're not 92 yet!" "Who are you?" the young scientist asked. "Name's Bill, and you're Stanford Pines, the man who changed the world! But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's relax." the creature, now named Bill, stated making a teapot and a chessboard appear out of thin air. "Have a cup of tea!" "He claimed to be a muse that chose one brilliant mind once a century to inspire. But of course it was all a lie." Ford continued in the present day. "I allowed him to take control of my body whenever he pleased. I trusted him like a research partner until I got a glimpse of Bill's true plans." Much later on, Ford and Fiddleford stood in front of the universe portal that they unknowingly helped Bill Cipher construct with a crash dummy for testing. "Are we clear Fidds?" the younger Pines asked his lab partner, who was unaware his foot got tangled with the rope tying the dummy down. "I'll take that as a yes! Ready and..." Suddenly Fiddleford felt himself sucked in along with the dummy when they released it, only saved by Ford at the last moment before the portal would swallow him whole. "I got ya buddy!" Ford shouted tugging the rope and pulling his partner back to the ground. "What is it? Is it working, what did you see?!" The only words that came out McGucket's mouth was complete gibberish before he rose from the ground, his eyes widened in horror. "When gravity falls and earth become sky, fear the beast with just one eye!" he chanted to Ford's confusion. "Fiddleford, get a hold of yourself! You're not making any sense!" Stanford cried trying to put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder before he jerked away. "This machine is dangerous! You'll bring about the end of the world with this!" a now paranoid Fiddleford screamed. "Destroy it before it destroys us all!" "I can't destroy this, it's my life's work!" Ford tried to argue but his words fell on deaf ears as his partner stormed away. "I fear we've unleashed a great danger on the world, one that I'd just as soon forget. I quit!"

"I never learned just what he saw on the other side, but speaking in present tense I can only assume it was one of Bill's hangouts." Ford concluded his story. "Well is there anything in this bunker that can help us?" Tsubaki wondered. "Maybe if we can go deeper we'll get some answers!" Free replied tearing off a porthole that led to another room, this one consisting of various metal cubes lining every last corner. Going through the porthole, the room seemed almost normal except for a particular design on one of the tiles. "This security room is designed to crush intruders who don't have a code to reverse it. Now be sure to not step on that tile." Ford explained before he pointed to that specific tile. "That is the tile that could seal your dooms if someone presses it. Got it memorized?" "You got it." Free stated before he tried to step on the tile. "Ooh, what's this button do?" he asked and Soos grabbed him by the arm, keeping him away from the tile. "Sorry dude, you don't wanna press that. Might kill us all." Progressing further, they discovered a surveillance room connected to what seemed to be a laboratory given the presence of various cryogenic tubes, one of which was heavily damaged. "Seriously, how the hell did you build all of this without anyone noticing? And where did you get all the supplies too?" Black Star wondered before noticing something odd on one of the screens. "Hey, get outta there spider!" he said trying to squish it and realizing that it wasn't resting on the screen, but inside the lab itself. "Uh, Ford!" "Something the matter Black Star?" Ford asked the ninja. "You ever got any giant spiders in here? Cause I've already found one." he pointed out, much to the scientist's shock. "My word, how did that thing follow us in here?!" Ford cried racing to grab a rifle. "That thing could be one of Kishin Cipher's monsters, so I'm gonna need some help!" "You can count on me Sixer! Like I said before, just like old times!" McGucket declared arming himself with his sonic banjo. "We're with you as well Stanford." Stein added already commanding Spirit to transform into his scythe mode. "Okay then, let's move out!" Ford declared before Crona stopped him. "Wait, what about us Grunkle Ford?" "The rest of you stay in here and keep watch while we're gone! If anything happens, be on your guard." Ford stated before he, McGucket, Spirit and Stein departed the observation room to hunt down the spider, leaving the kids, Soos, Wendy, Blair, Excalibur, Free, Eruka and the Mizunes behind. "So what do we do now? The grownups all leave to kill spiders and we're stuck here doing nothing." Patty wondered unknowingly leaning on a red button on the console, causing one of the tubes to deactivate. This tube in particular contained what looked like a frozen Dipper screaming in terror that was ready to melt. The real Dipper gasped in horror, realizing just what this other him was. "Patty, what did you do?!" "What did I do?!" the Thompson asked. "You just released an evil experiment that tried to kill us when we first came here dude!" Wendy answered. "You sure about that guys? Looks like a frozen Dipper to me." Liz commented. "Exactly, that thing's a dangerous shapeshifter!" "Well what are we waiting for, let's go kill it!" Black Star shouted picking up Tsubaki and charging through the door that led to the lab, pretty much knocking it down. The rest of the party followed him behind ready to take on the beast.

Meanwhile with Ford's group, he, Fiddleford, Spirit and Stein crept through a long & winding tunnel system in search of the spider. "I don't think I remember ever digging such an elaborate passageway in here." Ford commented. "Did you Fidds?" "Nope, not the slightest clue!" McGucket replied before he dropped down and sniffed the ground to track its scent. "Think it went thataway!" he shouted pointing in the next direction like a dog. "Good work McGucket, though I'm not sure if that was really necessary." Stein stated and they moved onward. Going deeper through the caves, the four finally found the spider in a large open space that made it ripe for the squishing. "Okay everyone, be silent. I've only got one shot at this." Ford whispered aiming his rifle at the giant spider. "Ready, aim..." Just then, a snake loudly hissed breaking his concentration and firing, sending the bullet flying across the area. "What was that?!" "I think that was a snake!" Stein exclaimed. "Wait a minute. Spider, snake." he muttered then coming to a startling conclusion. "Oh no!" "Something the matter Frank?" Fiddleford asked before his mouth was hastily shut by the Meister. "Don't make a sound, they might hear us!" he cautioned them. "And yet you're making a sound right now!" Ford replied. "Kinda hypocritical much?" "Touche." Stein responded and just then, they heard a woman say "Vector Plate.", spawning an arrow under them & sending them flying toward the snake & spider. "Is this the scientist you told me about dear sister? I never seen someone with six fingers before." the gargantuan arachnid remarked before it transformed into a beautiful pale-skinned woman wearing a long black sleeveless dress. Spirit & Stein knew exactly who this was. "Arachne?!" "That's Arachne? And they're sisters apparently." Ford commented getting up and dusting himself off. "I don't see that much of a family resemblance." "Hello again Meister scum. And I see you've brought some new blood for us." Arachne greeted Stein. "It certainly has been a while Stein, pity that you abandoned me when you fell to madness." Medusa added. "Listen to me Stein, don't fall for her games!" Ford cautioned the Meister. "From the looks of it, she could trick anyone and then backstab-" It was then Ford came to a startling realization. A genius scientist that became close with a manipulative creature colored in black & yellow that was slowly toying with him. Why did that seem so familiar? It was almost like reliving the time he spent working with Bill, believing him to be a kindred spirit. "Weren't you all supposed to be dead?" Spirit asked. "I was until my sister requested that our new master bring us back to life." the elder Gorgon sibling answered. "Wait, what do you mean 'us'?" Ford wondered fearing if she was talking about someone else. His suspicions were confirmed to be true as another witch, this one looking much younger than the other two with a bizarre covering on her head that resembled a scorpion's tail at the end. "Meet our youngest sister, Shaula." "Wait, there's three of them?!" Ford exclaimed turning to Stein and pointing an accusing finger at him. "You only ever mentioned the two!" he shouted. "Well to be fair, how she was defeated was pretty embarrassing." Stein tried to defend himself. "I mean, she was killed by students of the NOT class!" "Silence!" Shaula boomed glaring at the pair of geniuses. "Kishin Cipher has resurrected all three of us to be his loyal servants and our mission right now is to kill all of you & those brats as well." she declared. "And as for my humiliation, he made sure it won't happen again and made me stronger." "Heads up y'all, looks like we're in for a rumble!" Fiddleford exclaimed picking up his sonic banjo as the others took up arms against the Gorgon sisters.

Back in the lab, the remaining Mystery Meisters were now face to face with a currently defrosted cryogenic tube and out of it, came an exact double of Dipper looking furious. "You!" it shouted in a deep voice pointing at Dipper, Mabel, Wendy & Soos. "You forced me into that contraption and left me to perish!" As it spoke, the Dipper clone transformed into a white-skinned insectlike creature with misshapen arms, one more slender with three fingers & the other swollen with a claw. "And I see you brought some fresh new faces for me as well." "That's what that shapeshifter looks like? I would comment on how horribly asymmetrical it is, but I'm too horrified beyond words!" Kid squeaked fearfully as the Shapeshifter took on the form of Maka. "Now then, which one shall it be?" it wondered emphasizing each word by transforming into Crona, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz & Patty in that order. "Why not everyone?" it emphasized some more by turning into Eruka, Free and Mizune before its form changed into a terrifying amalgam of everybody he previously transformed into making them scream loudly in terror. "KILL IT WITH FIRE!" Pacifica hollered grabbing Liz, turning her into her weapon form and fired repeatedly, but the creature dodged the bullets by zooming off. "Where'd it go?" the formerly rich girl panted dropping Liz to the ground. "More importantly, where did you learn to fire like that?" the cowgirl weapon asked. "Got it from all my experience playing Bloodcraft: Overdeath." Pacifica answered boastfully. "PLATINUMPAZ level 100 to be precise." "You're PLATINUMPAZ? That's why I always get creamed whenever I face you!" Black Star exclaimed. "We can talk about video games later dudes, anyone know where that shifter guy went?" Soos inquired. "And more importantly, did I always have two big sisters?" Patty added remarking upon the sudden appearance of another Liz. "That is utterly preposterous Patty, our Liz isn't nearly as busty!" Kid stated clutching both of their assets. "As we should know, you aren't very symmetrical! Especially your chests!" This observation earned him a good smack on the head from Liz. "Well this is something only the real Liz would do!" "Wait, if that's the real Liz, then who's-" Tsubaki asked before she came to a shocking conclusion. "Oh no." she muttered frighteningly as the second Liz laughed before it transformed back into the Shapeshifter. "You discovered me far too easily!" it said. "But enough about you, I think it's about time I get revenge on you Dipper!" "Get back everyone, I'm going in alone!" Dipper ordered bravely picking up Excalibur. "Are you crazy Dipper?! Let me come too!" Wendy exclaimed pulling out her axe. "And us too, since we're going for a whole sharp weapons thing here!" Ragnarok added forming into Crona's sword. "Ah, we engage in a swords and sorcery type battle, I see. In that case!" The shapeshifter then formed a pair of its own swords out of its arms. "So be it!" "Okay change of plans. Me, Wendy and Crona will take on the shapeshifter while the rest of you take cover!" Dipper explained. "You got it broseph!" The others raced back into the adjacent room as Dipper made the first move, clashing Excalibur with the Shapeshifter's makeshift sword while Wendy scarred its other arm and Crona stabbing it in the back.

"I'm like really sorry for letting this happen guys." Patty hurriedly apologized dropping to her knees. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just say the word!" "Hey chill out sis, it was just a button." Liz assured her younger sister. "And besides, it's not like you gave away something that could end the universe as we know it." Her comment accidentally sent shivers down Mabel's spine as she turned away nervously stroking her hair. She knew she couldn't keep mum about a certain event last summer no longer, but feared that if she spoke up about it right now it would result in being ostracized from her family. "Uh, are you okay Mabel?" Maka asked her. "What, no! I'm fine, perfectly fine!" Mabel exclaimed shyly, still not wanting to give away that secret she was keeping for months. "You know what would be great dudes? If we had some popcorn with us, cause this fight is heating up!" Soos exclaimed bringing attention to the fight going on next door. "Kinda like a fighting game!" "Yeah, get 'em Crona!" Black Star cheered the son of Medusa on. "Yeah, give that thing what for DP!" Pacifica added. "You can do it Wendy!" Soos exclaimed waving his arms around. "C'mon guys, do the wave with me!" Everybody complied doing the wave, all except for Mabel who remained silent in the corner and Eruka, Free & the Mizunes who had transformed into their animal forms and snuck away.

The four-way battle raged on with Dipper now getting a better grip on the sheer awesome power of Excalibur as he clashed with the Shapeshifter. "Look man, we don't want any more trouble then we've already caused, we just want to find shelter in here away from the flipping apocalypse!" "You have denied my freedom to roam the outside world and seek revenge, and now I shall deny you and your comrades the freedom of life!" the Shapeshifter roared before it suddenly heard a croak coming from the dark corner. It then immediately snatched Eruka from her hiding place and held her hostage. "Surrender now or this little toad gets it!" "Hey, let my little buddy go ya stupid Xenomorph!" Free shouted tackling the experiment from behind. "Think you can copy a werewolf like me big boy?! I'd like to see you try!" he challenged only to be smacked aside. "You are insignificant to me now. Leave or face death." "Well we're outta here! Dipper, we're gonna go look for Mr. Ford." Eruka explained hopping away to find the author. "And if you don't make it out, we'll tell him you're sorry." With the traitorous minions of Medusa now gone, the battle restarted with the Shapeshifter now preparing to attack Crona, but Wendy was quick to put herself in its path and slash the monster's mouth off, causing green blood to spew everywhere. "Always wanted to do that." "All right, go Wendy!" Ragnarok exclaimed. "Makes me wonder how that old man is doing."

Speaking of Ford, he was currently backed into a corner by Arachne, his rifle now out of ammo. "Seriously, what even kills you?!" he screamed deciding to just beat her over the head with the empty weapon itself. "I would say, but it would be foolish of me to do so." the spider witch snidely answered slashing him across the face with her fan. "AGH!" "Stanford!" Stein cried out temporarily distracted from Medusa, which led her to stab him from behind with an arrow. "Why continue to show concern for these fools when you can return to my side Stein?" she asked the bleeding genius picking him up by the shirt collar with a seductive, manipulative smirk on her face. "You are the most powerful Meister there ever was, and yet you continue to serve as Death's flunky." "Well at least I actually care for people. The only person you ever show concern for is yourself, everybody else you just lie to and use for your own gain." Stein wheezily remarked with a bold expression. "I know someone who has been through almost the exact same situation and I refuse to go through this again! Let's go Spirit!" "Right old chum!" Spirit replied being picked up by his Meister and activated their Soul Resonance. This caused stitches to appear at the three sisters' feet and tying them down to the ground. "Whoa nelly, they're knitted at the soles!" McGucket shouted enamored at the duo's techniques, using it as an opportunity to smack Shaula in the face with his banjo. "Quit hitting me you oafish hillbilly!" "Get down Fiddleford, I'm coming in for the kill!" Stein exclaimed preparing to land the final blow on the sisters before he felt something soft and squishy be stabbed on his scythe. "Uh oh." The object exploded revealing it to be one of Eruka's tadpole bombs and blowing him back, much to the frog witch's embarrassment. "Oh my God, I'm terribly sorry sir! I didn't notice you were already attacking, I just believed you needed help! Oh please forgive me!" "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the kids?" Stein asked them. "We thought you needed help against that giant spider but it turned out she's the sister of our ex-boss!" Free stated laughing nervously. "And speaking of the kids, your great-nephew is kicking the ass of some weird alien thing alongside the redhead and Crona." "Weird alien thing?" McGucket wondered. "Hey, I think he's talkin' 'bout Shifty!" he realized with a snap of his fingers before becoming scared. "Oh no, I think he's talkin' 'bout Shifty!" "Wait, that's what you called that monster? It transformed into all of us when we accidentally unfroze it and is now after Dipper, Crona & Wendy!" Eruka exclaimed. "I can explain later. Now let's move!" Ford commanded preparing to race back to the lab before he felt his feet slip off the ground. "Oh right, almost forgot about her." "We don't have time for you anymore Pines, but we'll keep on watching." Medusa threatened and the trio faded into the shadows cackling, their eyes being the only thing visible before finally vanished. "Well that was...ominous." Spirit remarked. "Now then, you were saying?" "Right, let's get outta here!" Ford stated racing out of the cave and the others followed.

"Any final requests brat?" the Shapeshifter snarled despite it having lost its mouth, now pinning Dipper against the wall as the boy tried to attack with Excalibur. "You can't stop me! I have the single most powerful weapon in the world!" Dipper declared holding the sword in the air before it was snatched out of its hands. "No!" "The most powerful weapon in the world? Doesn't seem to look like much." the experiment commented examining Excalibur before the Holy Sword spoke up. "FOOL! I'd think twice before insulting the legendary weapon of King Arthur himself!" he declared to the monster's shock. "It can talk?!" "Yes indeed. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Holy Sword known as Excalibur, sought after by Meisters far and wide to gain my ultimate power." Excalibur rambled. During his long-winded speech, not even the Shapeshifter was safe from making the Excalibur face, despite again losing its mouth. "Is he seriously this obnoxious?" "You have no idea." Dipper replied. "Now's our chance!" he exclaimed, giving Wendy & Crona an opening to strike the beast down, making him drop the young detective and the sword. "Are you ready Excalibur?!" he asked. "As a matter of fact, allow me to take this one boy." Excalibur said turning into his weapon form and hovering high in the air. "Holy Explosion!" he shouted zooming towards the Shapeshifter and stabbing him in the remains of its head and emitted a powerful explosion, finally killing it for good. When the dust cleared, all the three of them could see was Excalibur silently dusting himself off next to the green blood-covered remains of the Shapeshifter. "Where did that explosion come from?!" the voice of Free exclaimed running closer to the lab. "It came from here! Hopefully the kids are okay!" Ford replied finally entering the battle-damaged laboratory where they found Dipper panting and the Shapeshifter's corpse rotting. "Shifty..." "I am so sorry I had to do this Ford. But he tried to kill us once and we couldn't let him do it again." Dipper apologized putting a comforting hand on his great uncle, now mourning the death of the creature. "I accept your apology Dipper, but I feel like this is partially my fault as well." Ford stated remorsefully. "When Fiddleford and I raised it, it slowly became dangerous for some reason which led me to try and imprison it." "And we all know how badly that failed!" McGucket exclaimed killing the dour mood. "Oop, sorry. Carry on y'all." he then quickly apologized. "Now where the others at?" "That was totally wicked!" Black Star screamed in excitement as the aforementioned rest of the party burst out from the security room to congratulate Dipper, Crona & Wendy. "I mean, the way you weaponized Excalibur's annoyingness to kill him off was alphanumeric!" he shouted. "Try and guess which word I made up?" "We can all talk later. What happened to Mabel?" Dipper asked. "She's still with us, but she's been rather quiet for some reason lately." Kid stated. "No matter, now we have to contact my father! Maka?" "Right Kid." Maka obeyed stepping up to the cryogenic tube, fogging up the glass and writing the number needed to contact Death. "42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door." the girl Meister chanted causing the glass to turn into an image of Lord Death. "Oh hello there everyone! I see you've got Pacifica back, good show!" the Shinigami applauded the Mystery Meisters before he realized something was wrong. "Hey, what smells like dead alien body? And where are Soul & Stanley?" The party was silent for a few moments before Dipper put his hat over his chest. "They're gone." he revealed. "They gave themselves up to Kishin Cipher to save us and got turned into monsters like what happened with Pacifica's dad." "And then the guy unleashed all sorts of fresh hell all across Gravity Falls, complete with his own big showtune!" Patty shouted, much to Death's horror. "No, it can't be!" he gasped. "In Layman's terms Mr. Death, we're gonna need somewhere to hide until we're ready cause Gravity Falls is definitely no longer safe!" Soos said. "You got any place for us to stay sir?" "Oh yes, you can room with my students in Death City and train to stop Kishin Cipher." Lord Death suggested. "Thank you old friend, but first I would like to have a word with my new Meister." Excalibur said. "Mason Pines, please step forward." "Wait-what-how did you know my real name?!" Dipper exclaimed in confusion before the sword cut him off. "FOOL! I shall answer later, now take a knee my boy." he commanded, making the young man think he was being knighted. "His real name is Mason?" Pacifica tittered, causing Excalibur to silence them as well. "And you shall stay quiet as well!" "Yes sir." the rest of the Mystery Meisters complied bowing before the boy and the sword. "Mason Pines, for your sudden expertise in mastering the art of the sword, learning how to properly resonate with me and using my abilities to stop a great evil. I hereby anoint you as my newest Meister." he announced knighting Dipper with his cane. "May I wish good fortune upon you my friend." "Aw look, you made a new friend Excalibur!" Death exclaimed cheerfully before he began musing on how to move everyone to the Academy. "Now how can I create a way outta there?" he pondered before Eruka spoke up. "I believe Free and I can help out." "Oh, a witch helping us out? The last time that ever happened, we were quickly betrayed." Stein commented as the witch and the wolfman began combining their magic to create a gateway to Death City. With various mathematics symbols beginning to circle around a green entryway, the entrance began giving off a heavenly glow that left the duo exhausted. "Now before anyone says we pulled it out our butts, it's partially true." Free panted giving a thumbs up. "Spatial Magic and Magic Calculation, an unstoppable team." Eruka wheezed in reply. "Excellent, thank you for your assistance. Now come along, to Death City we go!" Ford exclaimed charging into the portal before Stein, McGucket, Spirit, Gideon, Black Star, Tsubaki, Blair, Waddles and Pacifica ran in after him. When almost everyone had exited the bunker into the portal, Dipper, Mabel, Maka and Crona were the only ones left to find that the witch's former cronies were being put back up on their feet by the Mizunes. "Aren't you coming with us too?" Mabel asked Eruka. "I would like to Mabel, anything to get away from this hellhole, but your town is in trouble and without you around, we might as well stay behind." Eruka answered reassuringly hugging the human girl. "And I just want to say, thank you both for helping us." "Yeah, we're gonna miss you little rascals!" Free exclaimed nearly crushing Dipper in a bear hug. "Gonna miss you guys too, now please stop crushing me!" Dipper groaned before being dropped to the ground. "And thank you for helping us get home." Maka stated gratefully. "Now good luck on protecting Gravity Falls while we're gone." "Uh guys, I think the portal might close any minute now!" Crona warned his friends as the gateway to Death City began to slightly fizzle out. "Oh right! Thanks for reminding us Crona." Dipper exclaimed before he ran into the light followed by his sister and Maka. "We'll see you guys later!" The last one to step into the portal was Crona, but only after he gave Free & Eruka one last hug. "I hope you'll all be okay when we get back." the Demon Swordsman whimpered. "Don't sweat it squirt, we got the skills to survive." Free assured Crona pushing him into the light. "Now go on, be with your friends." Crona put on a final smile before he faded into the light and the portal finally gave out, leaving the room almost deserted. "Well then, let's get crackin'!" the wolfman declared preparing to move out. "C'mon you three-eyed bastard, Papa Free's ready to get the belt out!" The Mizunes chittered in agreement scurrying behind and Eruka, turning back to examine the room hoping that her new friends safely escaped to Death City, being the last to leave, the only current occupant of the room being the decomposing corpse of the Shapeshifter.

Mere hours after the bunker was left completely empty, Kishin Cipher suddenly appeared and forced the Gorgons to kneel before him. "So, let's set a few things straight." he said in a polite yet livid tone. "I assigned you all to follow the Pines and those moronic Meisters into the bunker to kill them all." As Kishin Cipher continued, his voice grew deeper and his body turned a haunting crimson signaling that he was furious. "AND YET YOU ALL FAILED TO DO THAT TO EITHER OF THEM! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN YOU IDIOTS?!" "Please forgive us master, Screw was about to kill us when one of my former minions intervened and still they won over us!" Medusa begged for mercy. "Which one, the brain-dead mutt, the whiny frog or those pesky little mice?" Kishin Cipher sarcastically asked returning to normal. "And speaking of which, you might as well found me a new one!" Kishin Cipher then hovered over to the remains of the Shapeshifter and brought him back to life, albeit still with his mouth & an arm missing and various scars. "Good old Shifty! I've read a lot about you in Fordsy's journals, but I never thought we'd meet in person one day!" "Bill Cipher I presume?" the newly revived experiment asked. "Close but no cigar Stitch! Call me Kishin Cipher, the God of Weirdness & Madness and new master of these lands!" the Dream Kishin declared causing reality to spin around like a carousal and then stopping. "So, how'd you end up like this?" "There was this boy with an annoying sword who had put an end to me." the Shapeshifter answered to the horror of Kishin Cipher. "Wait, Pine Tree has Excalibur now?!" he exclaimed in shock. "I may be an utter pain in the ass to every one of my victims, but even I know where to draw the line!" "I need revenge! Make me your slave and I promise I shall be your greatest ally!" the creature begged him. Kishin Cipher contemplated for a few moments before finally accepting. "Okay then buddy, you're now mine!" he exclaimed. "But first you're gonna need some new threads." With a snap of his fingers, the Shapeshifter felt itself transform from a bizarre alien creature to a black chameleon-like beast with white markings lining its body, blood red eyes and a large heart-shaped hole in its chest. "So how's the new look dahling?" Kishin Cipher inquired with a proud look on his face admiring his work. "I feel so reinvigorated master! Please tell me when we can kill the Pines?!" "Up bup bup, don't get excited so soon! We still got other things to do." Kishin Cipher declared before he created a portal that he, the Shapeshifter and the witch sisters stepped into, no doubt to somewhere to plot their next scheme.

And so Weirdmageddon commences. With out heroes now being forced to retreat and the villains gathering forces, me the author and you the readers are left on the edge of our seats to learn what happens next. Will Ford make peace with his inner demons? What will happen when Mabel's secret gets out? Is there any way of stopping Kishin Cipher now?! Tune in next chapter, same Soul time, same Falls channel!

[80soleff]

je t'aime, eddie: one

summary: “pardon my french, eddie spaghetti, but you’re the cutest fucking person i have ever seen.” aka, the foreign exchange fic.

word count: 1,282

pairings: reddie, side stenbrough, side benverly, lots of platonic kaspbrough

a/n: the pennywise incident still happened but in like 2014, this takes place in 2017!

1, 2, 3, 4

it was definitely an impulse decision, on his part. he could have said something else when asked what he wanted for christmas that year. something… normal. like a camera, or new art supplies.

but no. the words that came flying out of bill denbrough’s mouth were pretty peculiar. “a person.” he said, as his parents looked at him, confusion clear on their faces. who the hell asks for a person for christmas? well, not a person. a foreign exchange student.

it’s not something he’s thought of before, just something that came to his mind moments before the question was asked. he had the other losers of course, but things around his house got lonely after three years. three years of no georgie and three years of not knowing what to do with himself.

after explaining to them what he actually meant, his parents agreed. in fact, they thought it was a great idea. it would be a “good way for bill to have some exposure to another culture” as they said. he never really viewed it as that kind of opportunity, but he definitely wasn’t opposed to it.

so, gathered around bill’s laptop in the middle of the year, the denbroughs signed up to be a host family. it was a long process, background checks and orientations, signature after signature, but the day finally came where they would get to pick the person to live with them for the next year.

his name was eddie and he was from france. 16 years old, just like bill and the rest of the losers. the biography under his picture tells the story of his family and how he used to live in america until he was six. he spoke english pretty well, but he usually spoke french.

naturally, bill procrastinated so much that he didn’t tell the others that eddie was coming until the day was four days away.

the losers club sat around a bonfire in bill’s backyard, as they usually spent their summer saturdays. stan and bill were sitting on a bench, sharing earbuds and a thick blanket draped over their shoulders. ben and beverly were reading a book together, beverly’s hand holding the right page and ben’s holding the left. richie and mike were looking at something on mike’s phone and laughing.

bill was pretty sure stan knew he liked him. i mean, he has been pining after him ever since the summer before freshman year. he saw bev look up from her book and over at the two of them. she gave bill a knowing smile and went back to reading. beverly was the only one who knew about bills crush on stan, but she found out by accident. it’s actually a really funny story.

beverly was coming over and bill’s hands were shaking. when he told all of the losers his parents would be gone for the weekend, she had asked to come over. mike told him that was code for “dude, she totally wants to make out!” but how were you supposed to make out with a girl? surely it can’t be that hard. he heard a knock at the to snap him out of his worried thoughts.

he practically ran down the stairs and opened the door. “hey b-b-bev.” his stutter came out more than he would have liked it to.

“hey bill! can i come in?” she asked him through a smile.

“y-yeah. i m-mean, yeah.” beverly took off her boots and they walked up to his room.

“i’m not sure if we all tell you enough bill, but you’re an amazing artist.” walking around bill’s room, she ran her fingers over the drawings and doodles hanging on the wall.

“thanks, i t-try.” he said in a nervous tone. beverly then walked over to him and got pretty close. she glanced down at his lips a few times and so did he. she started moving in. oh my god. oh my god. this is it.

one innocent kiss progressed into making out pretty quickly. they were nearing bill’s bed until he disconnected their lips.

“holy shit.”

beverly laughed at his words. “you okay there, denbrough?”

“i’m gay.”

she started jumping up and down in the air and cheering. “oh my god, i knew it! richie totally owes me twenty dollars!” he stared at her in disbelief, watching her celebrate in the middle of his bedroom floor. “kidding, kidding.” she raised her arms in defense.

“w-wait, you knew? h-how…” bill trailed off and sat down on his bed, shock evident on his face.

“bill, you look at stan like he hung the stars. i think we all know. except stan, he’s sooo oblivious.” he slowly processed the information he was given. who couldn’t look at stan like that, he’s gorgeous. was it really that obvious? he always thought the secret glances he stole at stan were when no one else was paying attention. bill just nodded his head in response and beverly came over to engulf him in a hug.

“it’s okay, i think i’m the only one who noticed. i won’t tell, swear.” she extended her pinky out toward bill and he intertwined his with her own.

he came out to the losers at the quarry the next day. he didn’t expect anything but support, but he was still scared. they all shared a big group hug and to say his attention stayed on stan the whole time definitely wasn’t a lie.

smiling at the memory, he watched as mike and ben added various twigs and logs to the growing fire. he really hoped eddie wasn’t homophobic or anything like that.

“guys, i h-have something t-to tell y-you.” everyone shifted their attention to bill.

“what is it, bill?” stan said, nervousness evident in his voice.

“n-no, it’s nothing b-bad.” richie raises his eyebrows, waiting for him to say something. “w-well, basically, i h-have a foreign e-exchange student c-coming to live with us in f-f-four days.”

“four days?! bill, why didn’t you tell us? that’s crazy, man! i mean, how are we gonna understand this fucking kid?” richie looked at bill with shock in his eyes, as did the other losers.

“he s-speaks english, d-dumbass.”

“four days? wow… where is he from? how old is he?” mike asked inquisitively.

“f-france. he used to l-live here when he was l-little but he m-m-moved away. he’s sixteen.” stan has the slightest bit of anger in his voice.

“he’s gonna live here? with you?” bill laughed at him.

“where e-else would he live?” he only huffed in response.

“ooo, eddie? you know me, i love a good french boy.” richie was openly bisexual and proud.

“beep beep, richie!” they all said in unison. “do you have a picture, bill?” beverly asked and bill took his phone out.

“we’ve been t-texting. he seems r-really nice.”

on the screen, richie saw what he thought was the best sight he would ever see. it was a picture of eddie standing in front of the eiffel with a big smile on his face. “hm. very frenchy.” ben said and they laughed at him.

“he’s an adorable frenchy.” beverly said looking at the picture.

“adorable? he’s a smokin’ frenchy.” richie trailed off into the summer night.

“say “frenchy” one more time and i’m-”

“m-my mom talked to h-his mom on the phone. she’s c-c-crazy. he has to t-take like, a j-j-jillion pills a day.” bill told all of them.

“what’s wrong with him? he looks mighty fine to me.” richie said with a smirk plastered to his face. stan elbowed him in the side.

“i th-think he has asthma. not s-sure what the o-others are f-for.” richie looked at the picture again.

“oh, eddie spaghetti, i’m gonna have so much fun with you.”

special thanks to @roses-for-reddie because she’s such a hypeman. should i continue this fic? send me an ask and tell me what you thought!

[littlev1234]

The Young Build Homes - Chapter 3

Fandom: Yowamushi Pedal

Warnings: mentioned past animal abuse (not done by any of the characters)

Words: 2,386

AO3 Version: The Young Build Homes

Other Chapters: [First] [Previous]

                                                       Naruko

Muffled curses floated up to Naruko and Onoda’s ears as they walked on the road beside the river.

They stopped and shared a confused glance. In order to reach the actual riverbank, one would have to use the vertical drop beside the road, and on this side there was no easy slope to climb back up.

“Did an idiot jump down there?” Naruko questioned.

“Maybe there was something down there they needed?” Onoda suggested. “Let’s see if they need help.”

“All right. But if it’s any bullies we know, then I’m leaving ‘em there.”

The bespectacled boy flashed him a small, knowing smile as they walked over to the edge of the drop. “No you wouldn’t.”

Naruko returned the grin. “You’re right. I’m too awesome to leave a damsel in distress.”

Crouching down, they peered over the fifteen foot dirt cliff.

At the bottom a scowling male cursed again and plunged his fingers into the hard soil. However, because he used only one arm, he couldn’t gain enough leverage to climb. His other arm held a bunched up jacket against his torso. His black hair and clothes were plastered to his skin, and he blinked away a stray droplet that fell down his brow. He hadn’t noticed them yet; his attention flicked between the jacket and the wall of soil in front of him.

A junior, Arakita. Naruko knew a little bit about him. Known for his frequent fights and quick fuse, Arakita avoided anyone except those who dared to throw insults or start a brawl.

Onoda inhaled sharply and pointed to a wet plastic bag near the struggling boy. Then Naruko noticed a tiny lump of unmoving drenched fur sticking out of it, and his shock swiftly burned into anger.

“What kind of fucking sicko would drown kittens?” the redhead loudly seethed.

Arakita craned his head up and clenched his jaw. “Goddamn, does everyone think I would do this? Stop blaming me and look!”

He shifted the jacket until they could see damp black fur. Naruko’s ire simmered down as he realized what it was.

“You’re trying to save one!” Relief and acclaim were palpable in Onoda’s voice.

Arakita rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Thank God someone finally noticed.”

Had others passed by and refused to help? Naruko harshly clicked his tongue. Whatever Arakita’s deal was, he was trying to save a kitten now. He couldn’t imagine walking away.

“Hold on, we’ll get you out!” The redhead laid down on his stomach and reached his hand down.

Arakita shot him an unimpressed look. “I appreciate the attempt, but both of you are way too short for me to reach your hands.”

Growling under his breath, Naruko couldn’t deny it. His crimson gaze darted around the slow-moving river, the bank, and the road behind them, but he spotted nothing that could help. They could try using their shirts like ropes, but there was a chance of them ripping—especially since Naruko’s had a few holes in it already.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed three people walking down the road. His mouth opened to call out, but when he recognized the trio, his mouth clamped shut in aggravation.

Midousuji, Mizuta, and Doubashi. No way in hell would those guys help.

Yet Onoda shot up and stepped toward them. Naruko scrambled to his feet and dashed to Onoda’s side.

“W-We really need your help!” Onoda’s voice shook, but his resolute gaze never left the trio.

Mizuta scoffed while Doubashi cast them a bored look. However, they did slow to a stop. Behind them Midousuji peered at the ones who dared to call out to them, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

“As if. Why would we want to help you?” Mizuta sneered.

Onoda’s shoulders hunched inward, and his eyes dropped to the ground.

There was nothing they could offer them that they’d want. Naruko placed a hand on Onoda’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back. We’ll figure something else out without these pricks—”

“Please!” Onoda spouted out. Hands clasped tightly together, he met their gazes once more. “Doubashi and Midousuji, you two are tall and strong so maybe—”

Teeth clicking together with far more force than should be possible interrupted him. White teeth bared, Midousuji straightened his spindly torso and tilted his head just a little too much for comfort. The veins in his thin neck stood out amongst his pale skin.

What the fuck. Naruko threw an arm in front of Onoda.

“You heard him.” Midousuji drawled, and as he spoke he dragged slim fingers down his own cheek. “We have no interest in insects…unless you have something to offer.”

Mizuta’s braces gleamed when he grinned. Doubashi crossed his arms with an amused smirk.

Naruko gritted his teeth, and a bead of sweat ran down his temple. Neither he nor Onoda spoke.

Midousuji tugged mercilessly at the skin on his jawline. “As expected. The squashed red bean can’t even afford to eat lunch every day, and the frightened mouse has only a mother who meanders through bills by taking tedious jobs and child support. Your combined status is equivalent to a crippled house fly.”

Rage burned away Naruko’s wariness.

“Shut the hell up,” Naruko growled. “Where do you get off shit-talking us about money?!”

“Not money. Resources,” he hissed.

“Give it up. You’re not going to get anywhere,” Doubashi advised, amused. “What do you want us for anyway?”

“Arakita is stuck by the river,” Onoda tentatively explained.

Doubashi glowered. “Leave the bastard. If you hang around him, you’ll get sucked into more fights.”

“Time?” Midousuji interjected. His head whipped toward Mizuta.

Mizuta jumped at the sudden order, and then he fumbled for his phone. “Uh…5:47.”

Midousuji muttered something before walking away. The other two trailed after him.

“Screw you guys. You could have just said no!” Naruko shouted after them.

Onoda released a shaky sigh. “It could have been worse, I guess.”

“Whatever,” Naruko dismissed, but he swore that next time Midousuji’s gang talked like that he’d punch in someone’s face. They returned to the edge of the drop.

“Was that Doubashi?” Arakita called up.

“Yeah,” the redhead confirmed.

“He’s probably still pissy that I knocked his tooth out last month.” Arakita glanced down at the bundle in his arm, and his sharp features softened with concern.

“Maybe I can go get a rope from somewhere,” Naruko suggested.

Onoda’s eyes lit up. “Wait! Didn’t Imaizumi say he lives in the neighborhood near here?”

“That rich neighborhood? Yeah, I think so.”

“I’ll text him. He’ll know what to do.”

Luckily Imaizumi texted back immediately, and soon he arrived in a sleek black car. Roll of rope in hand, he slid out of the backseat and hurried toward them. The driver drove off to find the nearest parking lot.

“We had some in the garage,” Imaizumi said as they led him to the spot. He let down one end of the rope and instructed Arakita to tie it around his waist.

“Naruko, help me pull him up. Onoda, get ready to take the kitten.”

“I never said I was taking orders from you,” Naruko grumbled, but he wrapped his arms around Imaizumi anyway.

Arakita managed to find a few shallow footholds along the way, and they managed to get him to the top. He handed Onoda the kitten so he could drag himself over the edge.

“Thanks,” Arakita said, and his eyes darted back to the small feline. Blue eyes wide and body shivering, it mewled weakly and tried to move its limbs. The cloth surrounding it prevented it from squirming away.

“We should take it to a vet,” Onoda insisted.

“It’s Saturday. None are open today,” Naruko reminded.

“My house is close. It can stay there, and I’ll ask my driver to pick up some things for it,” Imaizumi decided.

Onoda beamed. “Thank you so much, Imaizumi! I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“He’s right,” Naruko begrudgingly admitted. His and Imaizumi’s attitudes contrasted like oil and water, and due to that they argued often. But Naruko would never deny that Imaizumi was a good guy, as well as a good friend.

Imaizumi glanced away and cleared his throat.

“I’m gonna go back down there and check around some more. I didn’t see any other kittens, but might as well look.” Arakita swept drying bangs off his forehead.

“We can look,” Naruko offered, and he smiled at Onoda’s approving glance. “I bet hotshot doesn’t know the first thing about animals, and you need a change of clothes anyway. Go with him.”

“Hah?”

“We’ll go on the opposite side of the river where there’s a place to get back up,” Onoda added.

“And we’ll figure everything else out from there,” Naruko finished.

Arakita looked between them, stupefied. When Onoda handed the kitten back to him, he snapped out of it, and his expression returned to his usual, if softer, frown.

“Fine. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Imaizumi released a huff of amusement. “Naruko can’t promise that.”

“Hey!” Grinning, Naruko crossed his arms. “Can it and go. I won’t forgive you if your slowness makes the cat worse.”

As Imaizumi and Arakita left, Naruko and Onoda jogged down the road, over a bridge, and found a slight slope on the riverbank. Their gazes roamed the river and grass with each quick step they took.

Finding nothing but empty soda cans and a burger wrapper, they walked far down the river until they reached the fence. The road had veered away from the water for some time, so no sounds other than the quiet gurgle of water and birds was heard. A sign reading “WARNING: Unstable Ground Beyond This Point” hung on the fence.

Naruko rested his hand against the metal wire barrier. “This is as far as we can go. We should head back.”

“Yeah,” Onoda agreed.

Naruko turned, and then he spotted a plastic bag sitting half in the river. Its handle was caught on a smooth rock, and the bag swayed as the current threatened to pull it downstream.

“Was that there before?” Naruko questioned.

“I didn’t notice it either. I guess we missed it?”

On the off chance it held another creature, the redhead went over to it and crouched beside it. He pinched one side of it, lifted it, and peered inside.

The ground collapsed below his feet.

Water engulfed him. It rushed into his nostrils and mouth and burned against his eyes. Panic seized his body, screeching SWIM SWIM SWIM. The surface was right there, he could see it, he could make it—

Something latched onto his ankle. Lungs burning, he blindly kicked below him, and then he realized the water’s dropping temperature. A film of ice crawled across the surface.

Cold, so cold. Unfettered fear exploded in his mind.

Worst ice storm in decades. Dad sick, brothers young. Have to get food.

His fingertips were mere inches away from the surface. But his flailing limbs were losing energy, and the corners of his vision darkened.

Walk and walk and walk. Flurry of blinding snow, end up lost. So, so cold.

He was vaguely aware of his ankle being released. Yellowed fangs suddenly appeared extremely close to his right. The sight paled in comparison to the consuming chill leaking into his bones.

Nothing but blinding white in sight. Fingers won’t move. Face, legs, everything numb. Feet impossibly cumbersome. Please move, body, please please keep moving—

A hand plunged through the paper thin sheet of ice and grasped his wrist.

Warm. The fingers were warm.

As if granted a last spark of strength, Naruko forced his free limbs to move one more time.

Gasping and choking, he was half-dragged onto solid ground. Onoda was talking, but he couldn’t focus on the words. Naruko somehow managed to raise himself slightly on one shaking arm before retching water.

Reassuring heat rested on his back—Onoda’s hand. Never more grateful for it, the drenched boy lay there for several minutes coughing. The humid outside air provided relief to his chilled skin. His frame violently shuddered all the while; residual terror lingered with far more intensity than the freezing water.

Onoda’s hand left. Then soft fabric scrubbed his soaked locks before rubbing down his arms.

“Ono…da?” Naruko panted, voice hoarse.

“Oh thank god you’re talking, y-you need to get warm, I think tha’s what I’m supposed to dowhere did the icecomefrom?” The syllables bunched and slurred together as he feverishly wiped the water off his right arm with a now near-soaked shirt.

“I’m…okay.” He squeezed his eyes shut. God it hurt to talk. …wait, shirt?

When he opened his eyes and looked up at the other, he realized Onoda wasn’t wearing a shirt; he was using it to dry him off.

Despite the tremors shaking him, the corner of his lip tugged upward. “Making you worry…it’s pretty lame of me.”

“No no no, don’t say that. I’m just so happy that you…you…” Tears slid down his cheeks.

After a few moments, Naruko shifted into a sitting position and flashed a toothy grin. “I’m fine! I’d be pretty pathetic if I went down that easy.”

Sniffling, Onoda swiped a hand across his eyes and gave a shaky, relieved smile.

Naruko glanced back at the river. The water moved as calmly as ever. Sunlight gleamed off something miniscule, and at first he wondered if it was ice, but it slipped through the fence and left his sight before he could be sure.

Then he remembered the teeth. The lack of oxygen must have conjured that up; he had heard of people hallucinating right before they’re about to die. For a split second there he’d even relived that awful winter where he almost froze to death.

But then there was also the question of what had grabbed his ankle. Definitely not debris or fish. It felt like a humanoid hand.

He shook his head. His heart was still racing, and working himself up would do no good. He stood and pulled off his dripping shirt.

They headed back to the road and walked to Imaizumi’s house. His shivers lessened by the time they reached the building, and he plastered on a smile to combat the weariness tugging at his mind. Onoda’s eyes were still red.

Imaizumi and Arakita ushered them inside and demanded to know what happened.

[whydontweband]

Prey- A Daniel Seavey Stalker!AU

Requested? Lol no, no one’s twisted enough to request this but ta-da here it is!

Disclaimer: Heavy stalking elements, possessiveness, obsession, references of murder, generally creepy and angsty and straight up weird

If any of this material may cause sensitivity to you please don’t read- it’s created for entertainment purposes only and I don’t mean to offend anyone. <3

Please note that this is an Alt. Universe imagine- this doesn’t in any way reflect Daniel’s actual personality or how I perceive his personality to be. That boy is an angel and wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Word Count: 1465

Imagine Requests Closed, Reaction Requests Open!

The bags under his eyes only extenuated the dark pits that lay within his pupils- his eyes running soulless and his blood running cold as he stood under the eerie flickering street lamp. Rain poured down around him, soaking his black beanie and overcoat as puddles formed at his feet, but he didn’t seem to notice- all his attention was fixated on a single dimly lit window coming from the apartment complex across the street.

He knew your window by heart- he could tell from the silhouettes that decorated the curtained window pane. He’d recognize your figure anywhere.

Taking out a torn off piece of notebook paper from his pocket, his gloved palm clutched it in one hand while his other scribbled out a small note. Checking his watch once he’d finished, he could help but grin ever so slightly at the once so unfamiliar red band. It used to be yours. You’d broken the face last Christmas when you dropped it in your hot cocoa on accident, pitching it in the nearest waste bin. He’d managed to retrieve it after you left, going to several different jewelry and appliance repair shops before finding a place that could fix it. It was his constant reminder of you. 11:59pm. Right on schedule. Smiling, he read over the note once more as he crossed the street, making his way towards the lobby entrance of your apartment complex.

The guy from the coffee shop today;

At 2:17pm he looked at you like he wanted to kiss you.

I don’t like people looking at you that way, Y/N.

you’re mine.

Sleep tight.

-D

He watched in anticipation for the doors to open. At midnight, every night, the receptionist would take off work for the night. The night manager wouldn’t arrive until 12:04am. It was the only time of day that the lobby, and more specifically mail room, was empty. Security cameras weren’t monitored- and he was free to leave your nightly letter in your mail deposit box that was located behind the front desk. Without so much as a squeak from his damp trainers, he slid the note delicately into your mail slot. Apartment 362C. He’d inked the address on his inner wrist himself the day you’ve moved in- as if he would ever forget the combination. The art was sloppily engraved in his own messy handwriting, but it made his lips twist into a crooked smile whenever he looked at it, because it reminded him of you. Everything reminded him of you. The way the sky darkened every night reminded him of your eyes in fall, and the way the pavement smelled after a rainstorm brought him back to the time last April when you got off the bus and forgot your umbrella. It was torrential downpour and you were wearing your favorite red cashmere sweater that couldn’t get wet. He’d watched from the overhang of an alleyway across the street as you tried to duck for cover, hair dampened by the second. It was the first time connected with you face to face, though you had no idea who he was. He saw the tears brim up in your eyes, because even though he was across the street he knew the signs you made before you broke down in tears. Without a moment of hesitation he’d sprinted towards you, taking off his jacket and holding it over his head like a canopy as he collided with you, shrouding you from the rain with his coat. He remembered how you’d shrieked, calming only after you realized he was only trying to help. Rushing you towards the nearest café overhang, he’d looked at you with the gentlest of gazes, and something the felt almost sickeningly relaxing.

“Umm, thank you. W-where did you…how did you, I-I” You’d stuttered, still in shock from his unprecedented rescue. He’d never planned on talking to you, but there was something intoxicating about your voice.

“The cashmere.” He’d gestured towards your sweater, smiling smally as you glanced down, perplexed as to how he’d noticed such a small detail.

“I know it can’t get rained on, you looked distressed. I…I’m sorry if I startled you.” You’d shaken your head, though clearly concerned by the closeness of your forms. Without hesitation, he stepped away, handing you his jacket. You shook your head, pushing it back to him, but he insisted.

“Please, keep it. I-it won’t bite. I just…I don’t want you to get soaked.” You’d agreed softly, taking the jacket and draping it softly over your frame. He could’ve stared at you in his jacket for an eternity and never grown bored of the way it clung to your already slightly damp sweater. You were so beautiful, and it was the first moment he realized there was no one and nothing more in the world that he wanted than you.

“Why?” You questioned quietly, voice trembling in part from the cold, and in part from the cold company.

“Human decency?” He’d retorted cautiously. You shook your head, eyes squinting together as you eyed him incredulously. There was something off about him, but you hadn’t been able to place it.

“No, it’s…well, maybe. Umm, th-thank you.” He’d nodded, smiling down at you as he slowly stepped away, out from under the overhang and back out into the rain. For whatever reason you’d watched him go, and his eyes clung to your gaze as long as obstructions allowed until you disappeared from his view.

That was his favorite memory of you. Brought back to reality, he listened for the all-too anticipated elevator ding as he hid on the employment side of the mail wall, listening for the footsteps he recognized with eerie accuracy. You always checked your mail at midnight. The clap of your slippers against the marble made him smile, listening for the sound of your key ring as you shuffled for the correct one to unlock your mailbox, of which he was on the other side. Once your various bills and letters had been extracted from the box, it shut swiftly behind you, but it didn’t lock. You never locked the box, because by now you’d gotten used to his nightly letters- and you left replies on the backs. He waited a minute before he heard the sound of a deeply bothered sigh and the click of a gel tipped pen. Scribbles against paper, and the re-opening of the mail slot door. You’d left your reply. Without hesitation, the instant the box had been sealed he reached up from his seat on the floor and snatched the letter from the box. Turning it over to the side he hadn’t written on, he cherished every word as he read.

I’m not property

And he was the barista. He was only being friendly. No need to murder him like the last guy.

Yeah. I know about that.

You might think no one knows- but I know. I know it was you.

I could’ve reported you, I don’t know why I didn’t.

Yeah, the guy was an asshole, but murder is murder.

I’m not afraid of you, D

You might think you’re playing cat and mouse-

But I

Don’t

Scurry.

-Y/N

His face contorted into a heavy grin as he read over every line, admiring every swirl and curve of your letters. Something darkened in his eyes as he thought back to the man in the business suit who’d had the audacity to be rude to you. It had only taken a moment- one swift grip to his neck and he was out like a light. Sure, a slip of cyanide in his drink would’ve been easier- but there was something so satisfying in watching the life drain from his eyes, crumpling to a pile on the tile floor. Daniel smirked to himself as he stood, checking his watch again as he folded the note into his pocket. 12:03am. Sliding swiftly out from behind the reception desk and mail room, he glided out the front doors and down the street away, stopping only to observe the night manager rolling up to the apartment complex right on schedule. 12:04am.

His skinny jeans represented his soul most accurately, dark and torn beyond repair- his overcoat’s lapel turned up against the frigid breeze that picked up as he made his way across the street, staring up at your window once more and smiling to himself in a way most would find maniacal. Perhaps most found it that way because their safety was not guaranteed by him- he could guarantee only yours.  

Oh, Y/N. If only you knew. You don’t ever have to be afraid of me, or scurry. The game of cat and mouse is not between you and me- it’s between me and anyone who gets in your way.

Yours Eternally,

D

 --

A/N: Umm…I don’t really know what happened, or why this got lowkey out of hand?? ((spooky pre-halloween special oopsy)) I promise I don’t think Daniel’s a monster he’s literally an angel AAH DON’T COME FOR ME! I think I just wanted to do something different, everyone always makes these adorable and sweet imagines and I wanted to do something creepy so here you go. Idk if anyone will like this at all because it’s kinda different so idk :/ lemme know what you thought?? I already know y’all are gonna hate it oml why did I publish this

[danaduchy]

Few scenes with Reyes from talktable (I wish more scenes had notes, they are fun to read):

-Intro- *Ryder waits next to the bar.* Umi: Hey! Krogan: Piss off. *Moment of silence. Umi glares at the pirate, holding her ground.* Umi: You order, you pay. Krogan: I said— *Umi reaches under the bar, takes out a knife, and STABS it into the bar's surface between the pirate's fingers. He gives in. The locals turn back to their drinks, disappointed a bigger fight didn't break out.* *The camera pans back to Ryder as Reyes Vidal slides beside him. He signals for two drinks.* *The bartender fills two glasses with liquor. Ryder turns to face Reyes. He offers him one of the shots.* Reyes: You look like you're waiting for someone. [Not interested.] No thanks. *Reyes shrugs and finishes the two shots himself.* [Cheers.] I've got time for a drink. *They clink their glasses and down the shots.* Reyes: Shena. But you can call me Reyes. I hate code names. *Reyes extends his hand to Ryder.* *Ryder recognizes the name and returns the handshake.* Ryder: I was expecting someone more... angaran. Reyes: The Resistance pays me to supply information—among other things. Ryder: So you're a smuggler? *Reyes grins sheepishly, then moves the conversation from the bar to the vista.* Reyes: Your man—Vehn Terev—was arrested by Sloane Kelly, leader of the Outcasts. Word spread about what he did to Moshae Sjefa. The people are calling for his execution. And Sloane... she's a woman of the people. *Ryder makes a face. This just got more complicated.* [Not how I would put it.] Dress it up however you want. She's a criminal. *Reyes shrugs.* [My kind of leader.] I like her already. *Reyes smiles.* Reyes: Well, she doesn't like you. Ryder: She's never met me. Reyes: You work for the Initiative. Sloane was part of the uprising on the Nexus. I doubt she'll give Vehn up easily. [Everyone has a price.] Maybe she'll agree to a deal. *Reyes seems skeptical. He thinks Sloane is more likely to shoot Ryder in the face.* [Sloane can't stop me.] I'm taking him—with or without her permission. *Reyes looks surprised and impressed by Ryder's audacity.* Reyes: We're gonna be friends, you and I. *Pause. Reyes is concocting a plan.* Reyes: There might be another way to get to Vehn. You work Sloane. I'll talk to the Resistance. *Reyes pushes back from the bar to leave.* Ryder:  How do I contact you if things go south? *Reyes winks--he'll find Ryder--then exits.* *Ryder turns to leave when the bartender calls her back. She's holding the knife from earlier in her hand.* Umi: Hey! You gotta pay. *Ryder rolls his eyes--Reyes left him with the bill--and reluctantly pays the bartender.* Ryder: Keep the change. Umi:  Always do.   -Night off- *Ryder walks into Sloane's stockroom to find Reyes inspecting a wall of crates.* Reyes: Damn it. Why can't the serial numbers be in the same spot? *Ryder crosses her arms and gives Reyes a scolding look.* [I should've known.] "Take the night off. Come out for a drink." Should've known you were up to something. [Step away from the crates.] Whatever you're doing—it stops now. Reyes: Ryder! It's not what it looks like. Ryder: So you didn't use me as a distraction to go through Sloane's stuff? Reyes: Okay, yes. But it's for both our benefit! I promise. Ryder: You've been making a lot of promises— *Loud footprints approach the stockroom.* *Reyes and Ryder look at the door.* Reyes: Shit—someone's coming! We need a distraction! [Kiss] *Ryder pulls a surprised Reyes in for a passionate kiss just as an Outcast Pirate reaches the stockroom door.* *The pirate enters the stockroom. She spots Reyes and Ryder making out and freezes.* Pirate: Oh. (Clears throat.) Sorry. *The pirate leaves. Reyes and Ryder continue to kiss. Eventually, they pull back for air.* Reyes: I think we're in the clear. [Are you sure?] Maybe another kiss? Just to be sure. Reyes: (Chuckles.) Now you're just teasing me. [Don't get the wrong idea.] That was just a distraction. Reyes: It'll be our little secret. [Punch him] Ryder: Sorry. *Reyes looks confused just before Ryder punches him in the stomach. He doubles over as the Outcast pirate reaches the stockroom door.* Reyes: (Groans.) *The pirate enters the stockroom. She spots Ryder patting Reyes on the back.* Ryder: My friend had a bit too much to drink. *The pirate looks at Reyes with disgust, then shakes her head, and leaves.* *Reyes glares at Ryder.* Reyes: Next time, I come up with the plan. Ryder: Hey—it worked. [No action] Reyes: Hide. Ryder: That's your plan? *The Outcast Pirate reaches the stockroom door. Ryder and Reyes hide behind the crates.* *The pirate enters the stockroom. She grabs a couple of bottles (or whatever is easiest for cine) then leaves. * *Ryder and Reyes let out a sigh of relief.* *Reyes inspects the crates once more until he finally finds what he was looking for.* *Reyes opens the crate and triumphantly pulls out a bottle of whiskey.* Reyes: Finally! Here it is. Ryder: That's what this was all about? Whiskey? Reyes: The only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple-distilled and 645 years old. This isn't whiskey—it's treasure. [You have a problem.] You really need to rethink your priorities. [Sharing is caring.] I hope you're planning on sharing. Reyes: We'll see... Let's get out of here. *Reyes smiles at Ryder, then grabs his hand.* *They run from the stockroom.*   *CUT TO: Ryder and Reyes leaning against the market railing. * *They both have a glass of Mount Milgrom in their hands and are enjoying a breathtaking view of Kadara.* Reyes: Gorgeous, isn't it? I sometimes forget. Is Andromeda everything you hoped it would be? [Heleus has its perks.] Every day's an adventure. Even my nights off are interesting. [It's been a rough ride.] I knew things wouldn't be easy, but this is more than I signed up for. Ryder: What about you? Why did you come here, Reyes? *Reyes stares out at the vista. This is a very personal question for him.* Reyes: To be someone. [You are someone.] You're someone to me. *Reyes studies Ryder.* Reyes: I'm starting to think that kiss was more than just a distraction. *Ryder smiles as Reyes leans in and kisses him.* [Wow. An honest answer.] That sounded surprisingly genuine, coming from you. Reyes: I'm always genuine, Ryder. In my own way. *Reyes smiles sadly and his back straightens. His mask is back up.* [You are someone.] You're someone to me. *He raises his glass to Ryder.* Reyes: To new adventures. Ryder: And new friends. *Reyes looks genuinely touched.* *The two turn back towards the vista. Scene ends.*   -Dance- *Post-Showdown, we find REYES VIDAL back at TARTARUS. He is lounging on a couch with a bottle of whiskey—the usual shenanigans.* Ryder: Thought you'd be in the throne room. Tartarus is a little shabby for Kadara's new leader, don't you think? Reyes: Come on, Ryder. You know I prefer to rule from the shadows. [That is more your style.] You are a shady bastard. Reyes: Guilty as charged. Reyes: But a handsome one, right? (<3) [You don't have to any more.] This is your chance to go legitimate. Reyes: I'm not built for the spotlight. The angara you met at Sloane's party—Keema Dohrgun. She's agreed to be my front. And with Sloane gone, there's room for the Initiative on Kadara. [Finally!] I'll start rounding up volunteers for an outpost. Might take a while—you exiles have a reputation. Reyes: Not all of us are thieves and murderers. I am, but some of the others are perfectly nice. Ryder: Perfectly. Reyes: Jokes aside, I want this outpost just as much as you do. It will have my full protection. That's a promise. [Might not be easy.] Tann might not want an outpost on a planet full of exiles. Reyes: Not really his call, is it? You're the Pathfinder. Ryder: As long as you can assure us no Initiative shuttles will be shot down on their way in. Reyes: I want this outpost as much as you do. [Thanks, Reyes.] I allied myself with the right man. [What's the catch?] And how much will that promise cost me? Reyes: The trade your outpost will bring in should cover it.   *Reyes gets up. Ryder gives him a quizzical look.* Reyes: If we're done with all the boring business talk, there is something I want to do. Ryder: You're up to something. Again. *He uses his omni-tool to turn on music—something slow and romantic—then holds out his hand to Ryder.* Reyes: I neglected you on our first date. How about we fix that? [I don't dance.] I really don't— *Reyes pulls Ryder from his seat.* Reyes: Relax. It's not the waltz. [This is a surprise.] I didn't know you had a romantic streak. Reyes: There's a lot you don't know about me. *Ryder takes Reyes's hand and he pulls him close.* *Ryder rests his head on Reyes's shoulder. They sway quietly for a moment.* *It's a weighted silence—Reyes lied to Ryder for most of their relationship. He's trying to make up for that now.* *Reyes tips Ryder's chin up with his thumb to look him in the eyes.* Reyes: Since leaving the Nexus, my survival has depended on secrets. I don't want any more of those between us, Scott. Ryder: You're the encrypted one. Reyes: (Chuckles.) Ryder: What? Reyes: I was about to say something cheesy. Ryder: Say it. Reyes: Consider me hacked. Ryder: (Groans.) Just stop talking. [Everyone has secrets.] Don't make promises you can't keep, Reyes. You will have secrets—that's who you are. Just don't lie to me about the big stuff. Reyes: Thank you. Ryder: For what? Reyes: For accepting me. *Ryder kisses Reyes. As it becomes more passionate, we fade to black.*   *Reyes offers Ryder his hand. Ryder looks at it, then back at Reyes.* Ryder: What's this? Reyes: It's a handshake. We're partners now. [Yeah, we are.] Partners and friends. *Ryder shakes Reyes's hand. Scene ends with the two smiling at each other.* [Only by necessity.] Let's be clear, Reyes. I'm only working with you for the greater good. Not because I like you. *Reyes retracts his hand.* Reyes: You know, Ryder, you're kind of a dick. But I've worked with worse. *Reyes pours himself a drink and raises it to Ryder, who shakes their head and walks out.* Cave scene here

[starryseo]

high schooler!jaemin

my pRECIOUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSS

im sososo excited to write this because i loVE NANA sosososo much,, i miss him terribly but i hope that if and when he returns he is super happy and healthy so he can carry on making m e m o r i e s. sm need to update us more on him :((

sOO0o0oO0O0o0oooo0OOOO0o

ok so ma boi na jaemin

is literally loved by everyone in that school

and they all know him as the Smiley Kid™

like they may not even be in a class with him

mAY NOT even be in his year

but they have seen him around school

and i GUARANTEE he was smiling so everyone just knows who he is

they also know him bc he once started this petition

initially, the school didnt have a badminton club

and nana was just like ???/ badminton is love what the heck????

so he b e g g e d the sports teacher to start a club

and the teacher loves nana bc he’s always so active and supportive and just amaZING in their class,,,,, so they give him a chance

but they cant just start a club outta nowhere yknow?

so they’re like, if you get enough people to support you then i’ll talk to the head teacher and see what we can do ok?

so thIS BOI RAN OUT and started just asking literally e v e r y o n e in the school to sign this paper so the club would happen

and like who can say no to his smile??? it literally makes my heart weAK

the dreamies were the first to sign obviously

even donghyuck

but he only done it after nana said he’d post the old baby photos of hyuck everywhere aha love this boy

those baby photos??? he got them from hyuck’s mum lmao

yeah hes the kinda kid to talk with the other dreamies’ parents - mainly the mums because hes just such ??? a darling? ???

obviously he got enough signatures and he did not stop smiling for like a week bc badminton club!!!!! is finally a thing!!!!

he and mark are always the first to turn up and honestly some ppl just go to watch the two of them have a match

when hes not sparring w/ mark hes super kind and helps out others that are playing but struggling

which just makes everyone love him even more

he and jeno always get lockers full of confessions

and hes such a cutie he has the notes all saved in a shoe box under his bed

i say “a shoe box” but like he has so many notes there are like 20 boxes lmao rip

and whenever he gets chocolates or smth he always shares them with the dreamies

he also tries to help the others out whenever he can

like,, running lines with jeno for his auditions,,,,, helping out jisung and chenle with their homework etc.

he also encouraged mark the first time he wrote a poem to get it published in the school paper,, mark was heckin’ nervous so nana suggested sending it in anonymously, and mark just continued with it

also!!!!! this boy!!! i know i said renjun has like the bEST food in his lunch boxes, but jaemin is a close second

he always packs fruit with him and like its so ?? cute???

he spends the previous night chopping up the fruit - apples, bananas, mangoes, pomegranates, grapes, oranges, you name it - and then puts it in the fridge so it’s all fresh for lunch tomorrow.

uses a separate container for it and theres just s o  m u c h fruit

he brings in 7 forks as well because he kNOWS !!!!1 the others are gonna take some from him

alsooo he is The Hoverboard Master™

lowkey gets frustrated when jisung challenges him

but is highkey supeeerrrr !! happy!!! when he beats jisung

insert the dreamies just disappointingly head shaking as jisung fake cries

“youre seriously not gonna let the kid win??” - mark

“even im not that cruel” - hyuck

but nana #dontgiveafuck bc he just won hAH TAKE THAT @JISUNG [had to make sure i didnt tag a blog there lmao rip]

mm so yall prolly met bc of a mutual dislike for sociology

ok so this part may be rubbish bc i know nothing abt sociology lmao so idk bare with me

yall were in the same class and the teacher set a partner project for the last term which she would test you on

1) ew partner projects #amirite 2) ew sociology #amiriteagain

cliche move: yall got paired up together

the project was basically one where you guys could freely talk about any topic relating to modern day society

you guys had to prepare a powerpoint expressing contrasting views to the topic and then also include your own

didnt seem hard enough, but since you were being graded on this you had to put in 110% effort overachievers ayyyy

so yall got to work, tryna think of what topic you could write about

and after much debate and thinking you both eventually agreed on writing about how social media portray young men

first yall were gonna do women but felt that others may do that,,,, and also that the expectations men had werent spoken of as much so this would be interesting

in lesson you made a quick plan about how you were gonna go about this

decided that it’d be best if you both worked on the powerpoint together, but done research separately so you could just merge the two when making the powerpoint. like, nana would find bad views and you would find good ones.

so you went your separate ways after that lesson and met up the next day

yall chilled out in the library after school and started your individual researching

and after like the first hour the cuTIE asks if youre hungry and youre like yeah a lil’ bit, so you guys pack up your stuff and head down the street to the cafe and eat a bit there

he pays even tho you had previously agreed to split it :(((

and youre just like “hey we should just base our project on you-”

jaemin: “a nice young man that pays the bills?”

you: “a lying young man who said we’d split but stole the bill before i could do anything. im writing bad things about you now”

jaemin: “YOURE BEING BIASED, THATS UNFAIR–”

you: “idc :))))”

yall were just kidding obvs

after eating you guys head back to the cafe for like another hour of researching

and you decided that tomorrow you’d make a start on the powerpoint

so yall say bye, meet up tomorrow after school bc theres no sociology lesson, and do the same thing as yesterday

including the cafe dateeeee ;))))) 

you make a start on the powerpoint and like hes such a perfectionist

like “no, no, no y/n move the title a bit to the right. no no ! your other right,,,, aaa no youve moved it too much !!!!”

“um,,,,, im not really feeling this navy blue, use that green instead,,, actuallyyyyy, what about that purple over there????”

after he starts shouting out hex codes to use you give up and just let him take the mouse

he ends up keeping the initial navy blue lmao

so after that hectic day and jaemin’s complaining youve managed to do just. your. first. slide.

but it has a super c00l background and animations so yeah very productive !!!

this basically continues for the next 3 weeks, with you guys presenting in the 4th week.

when it comes to the presentation day yall were vvvv nervous going up bc you get graded on how you present it as well, not just the info :’))))

but the whole thing runs super smoothly bc na jaemin flashed thAT SMILE @ YOU AND ALL YOUR WORRIES DISAPPEARED BEFORE YOU GUYS EVEN INTRODUCED THE TOPIC

the whole thing went really well, you guys took turn answering questions your peers and the teacher threw at you and when yall were done he sMILED AGAIN !!!!! and like yall felt super confident bc that went hecking well

when you got your results back it was an A*/ A+ and nana sent a message to you like “OMGGGGGGG WE DID IT!!! YESSSS!!!! MY AMAZING HARD WORK PAID OFF”

“***ouR AMAZING HARD WORK,,, BUT LIKE IM PRETTY SURE IT WAS MY AMAZING HEX CODES THAT SEALED THE DEAL”

yall decided to celebrate at the cafe that you frequented

the old lady that owned the place knew you guys really well bc of the project

she’d be constantly refuelling you guys so she knew about the project too LMAO

and so when you guys told her that you guys aced the project she was super happy too and she was like “your food is on the house ily !!!!”

so like whoop whoop !! free food !

and you guys kept up that tradition during the summer holidays, meeting up at the cafe

and like the employees there knew you both so well

they started a bet like “how long until they walk in here holding hands one day and start dating???”

jaemin accidentally calls you sweetie or smth and you both just hear the old lady scream “yeSSSS!!! I WON!!!!! PAY UP WORKERSsss!!!! FREE FOOD FOR YOU, JAEMIN + Y/N!!!”

yall were confused as heck buT FREE FOOD !!!

i aint even surprised this was my longest one i love na jaemin

[emo-space-tea]

Last Day of School

NOT MY GIF

Chapter 2

~3rd Person POV~

It had been a couple of months since Georgie's disappearance. Bill didn't believe that Georgie was dead, and The Losers had decided not to bring it up. The Bowers gang didn't pick on them as much, but everyone knows that Bowers and his friends are merciless. The bell rang signaling the end of the day.

Ashton, Richie, Eddie, and Bill walked out of class. They were talking about Stan's upcoming Bar Mitzvah.

"It's like this church full of Jews, right. And Stan has to take this, like, super Jewy test-" Eddie explained while leaving class.

"But, How's it work?" Bill asked while cutting Eddie off.

"They slice the tip of his dick off." Eddie stated.

"Jeez, you guys." Ashton said. These guys are so gross, but I love them.

"But, then Stan will have nothing left!" Richie exclaimed, while Eddie agreed.

Stan then came up behind them. "Guys!" he called out and got in between Eddie and Bill.

"Hey Stan, what happens at the Bar Mitzvah anyways, Ed says they slice the tip of your d-d-d-dick off." Bill stuttered out

"Yeah, and I think the Rabbi's gonna pull down your pants, turn to the crowd and say 'Where's the beef?'" Richie jokes while Ashton, Eddie, and Bill chuckle.

"At the Bar Mitzvah, I read from the Torah and I make a speech and suddenly I become a man." Stan said.

"I can think of funner ways to become a man!" Richie stated.

"More fun, you mean." Ashton corrected, while they passed the Bowers Gang.

Jerks. Patrick stared at them as we kept walking, and Eddie freaked out a little.

"Think they'll sign my yearbook?" Richie asked.

"Dear Richie, Sorry for taking a hot steamy dump in your backpack last March. Have a Great summer!" Richie jokes again.

While he said that, the bitch Greta Kenne shoved Stan.

 'Rude Much?' Ashton thought

The group got outside and did their annual tradition of throwing all their school stuff in the trash.

"Best Feeling Ever." Stan said, shoving his last folder in the trash.

"Yeah? Try tickling your pickle for the first time!" Richie stated.

"Gross Rich!" Ashton called out, There's a reason he's called Trashmouth.

"Hey, what do you guys wanna do tomorrow?" Eddie asked, putting his backpack back on.

"Start my training." Richie stated, adjusting his glasses.

"W-What training?" Eddie asked.

"St-" Ashton cut off Richie.

"Street Fighter, I see him playing it all the time at the arcade." Ashton responded, moving her hair out of her face.

"Is that how you wanna spend your summer, Inside of an arcade?" Eddie asked, with a small smile.

"Beats spending it inside of your mother! Oh!" Richie jokes, while lifting his hand up to high five Stan.

But, Stan grabbed his wrist and shoved it down while asking "What if we go to the Quarry?"

"Guys, We have the Bar-Barrens. " Bill said with his classic stutter.

"Right." "Oh, Yeah." Ashton and Stan said at the same time.

Ashton then noticed Eddie looking somewhere else.

"What is it Spaghetti?" Ashton asked and looked at the direction.

"Betty Ripsom's Mom." Eddie said sadly, while the rest of the losers looked too.

Betty's mom was standing outside of the school, looking for Her. She disappeared too.

"Does she really expect to see her coming out of school?" Stan asked.

"I don't know, As if Betty Ripsom's been hiding in Home Ed. for the last few weeks." Eddie stated, still looking at Betty's mom.

"Do you think they'll actually find her?" Ashton asked, she was never really close with Betty but she was in some of her classes, and one of the few who didn't bully the Losers.

"Sure, in a ditch, all decomposed, covered in worms and maggots, smelling like Eddie's mom's underwear." Richie said while gesturing at Eddie.

"Shut up" Eddie scoffed.

"She's not dead, she's m-m-mi-missing." Bill said to Richie.

"Sorry Bill, She's missing." Richie said sympathetically, adjusting his glasses again.

They started walking away from the trash.

"You know the Barrens aren't that bad, who doesn't love splashing around in shitty water!" Richie said sarcastically before Bowers pulled his backpack, throwing him into Stan.

They both fell and Patrick picked up Stan's kippah and said "Nice frisbee, flamer." and he threw it into a passing bus. Belch then burped in Eddie's face, causing him to gag. Then Bowers came up to Ashton.

"Hey, Princess~" Bowers flirted.

Since the day Bill had saved her, she turned into more of a bad ass. She also gained the name 'Slash Ash', then Bowers started flirting with her and telling her to join his gang, she always refused.

"What Henry?" Ashton asked, mad about the fact he bullied her friends.

"Why do you still hang around these losers? You should be hangin' with us." Bowers stated with a wink.

"Cause they're not assholes, unlike you." Ashton growled while shoving him away from her.

"One of these days you're gonna realize, you don't need these losers." Bowers and his gang started walking away.

"You S-S-S-S-S-Suck Bowers!" Bill shouted, red formed a little on his cheeks.

"Shut up Bill." Eddie mumbled to Bill, while Bowers turned around.

By the time He turned around fully, Richie and Stan were back on their feet.

"You S-S-S-S-S-Say somethin', B-B-B-B-B-Billy?" Bowers mocked as he walked to Bill.

"You got a free ride this year cause of your little brother. Ride's over Denbrough." Bowers said, getting in Bill's face. Bowers looked behind Bill and was staring at something, then looked back at Bill.

"Summer's gonna be a hurt train. For you and your faggot friends." Bowers threatened before licking his hand and wiping it on Bill's Face and walking away with his gang.

The losers got next to each other and stared at the Bowers gang getting in Belch's car.

"Wish he'd go missing." Richie said.

"He's probably the one doing it." Ashton and Eddie said at the same time.

~Time skip to Ashton going home~

Ashton biked home after school. Her house isn't the greatest, but it's not the worst. The worst part about it is her Step-Dad, Alex Miller. He's a prick who doesn't care about her. When she goes home, she always has to make sure he's asleep, if not then he beats her.

Ashton got off her bike and put it in the garage. Then she walked back outside and went to her front door, unlocked it and got inside. She quietly looked into the living room to see Alex passed out on the bed. She rushed upstairs and got in her room.

There's a New kids on the block poster, some drawings taped to the wall, her bed in the center of the left wall with a small nightstand next to it, a desk with her sketch book, pencils and markers, a ukulele leaning on the nightstand and a couple of other basic stuff.

Ashton sat on my bed and grabbed her ukulele and started softly playing it. After a few minutes of playing, she heard the phone ring and got up to pick it up. It was Bill, he called to say that tomorrow they were going to the Sewer instead of the Barrens. After the call Ashton went back upstairs and changed into night clothes, got in bed and fell asleep.

~The next day at Eddie's house~

Ashton and Bill opened one of the cabinets in the kitchen and grabbed some food and put it in their backpacks.

"Take everything but the delicious deals, guys, my mom loves them." Eddie told them while leaning on the counter.

"Hey, first you said the Barrens and now you're saying the Sewer, I mean, what if we get caught?" Eddie asked in a hushed voice.

"We won't Ed. The sewer's are p-public works, we're the public aren't we?" Bill responded, grabbing more food.

Richie, across from us, opened a cabinet that had a bunch of pills.

"Hey Eddie, These are birth control pills?" Richie said while gesturing at the pills.

"Yeah and I'm saving them for your sister. This is private stuff." Eddie said while walking towards Richie and closing the cabinet.

Ashton and Bill closed their backpacks and the cabinet while walking to the door. Eddie grabbed his pills and put them in his fanny pack. Before they left, Eddie's mom called out to him.

"Eddie Bear, Where are you all off to in such a rush?" Mrs. K questioned while she did her nails.

"Oh, J-J-J-Just my, um, backyard Mrs. K" Bill paused. "I got a new...." Ashton could tell he was trying to come up with something to say.

"A new croquet set!" Ashton answered for him.

Richie continued with "Jeez, Spit it out B-B-Bill!"

"Okay," Mrs. K paused "Oh, and sweetie, don't go rolling around on the grass, especially if it's just been cut, you know how bad your allergies can get." She continued.

"Oh, Ashton, could you make sure Eddie Bear takes his pills on time?" Mrs. K said, glancing up.

Mrs. K has always liked her, for some reason. Usually she hates girls, because 'they'll infect Eddie Bear'.

"Of course Mrs. K, it's no problem." Ashton responded with a gentle smile.

Eddie then tried to get us out quickly, but then his mom asked "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Eddie sighed and walked over to his mom and placed a kiss on her cheek. Richie was trying to hide his laughter. While Ashton was smiling softly, she knows his mom is overprotective and lies about his medication but she wanted a bond with her mother....

Eddie walked back to the group with a frown and then Richie teasingly asked "Do you want one from me too, Mrs. K?"

Eddie quickly shoved them out of the door and said "Sorry Mommy!" and closed it.

We picked up Stan and rode their bikes all the way to the sewer.

*•~Emo-Gay-Tea~•*

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