#the plan is to make a rather small one first cuz i want to build one with my brother

[keeps-ache]

game wants my email to play, i give it my email. i don't play game, because it was kind of eh anyway. they send me emails, because i gave them my email. i ignore them. they send me more emails. i ignore them. they send me email with a subject title that is essentially 'hey free stuff !!!!'. i boot up game. game wants to update. i know this takes forever so i do other stuff in the meantime. it doesn't finish updating for 3 hours. my computer is lagging. my music is bugging. my stylus is trying to fake another death. it's finally done updating !! i hit 'play'. loading screen for 30+ minutes and i can't listen to my music now because i don't have the option to turn off game's music on the loading screen. my everything is so slow. so so slow. but also.. despite all this................. free stuff.........

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hey! I hope you’re doing good in ur exams!!

Can I request a Tomura x Male reader?

Before the whole war…please, I’m grieving a lot for way too many reasons. ☹️

Tomura Shigaraki x male reader

Headcanons

Big sucker for gamer Shigaraki, why did people stop writing it. So im basing this off earlier season Shiggy, but you can imagine him how you want.

Reader has a quirk vaguely based off Yaga from JJK, cuz I love JJK, and I love Yaga.

Dating Shigaraki was an… experience to say the least. He could be quite bratty or childish at times, but you couldn’t really blame him, especially after hearing about his relationship with that sensei of his.

You weren’t a villain. But you just… didn’t respect the system and thought the hero system was corrupt beyond redemption. You didn’t think Shigaraki’s Sensei had the right idea either. But you had been ignored more than once by the so-called heroes meant to save you.

You had what most would call a “villain” quirk, having the ability to make something akin to dolls or golems, some even being so complex they could think and feel on their own. You had even created more than one that didn’t know it was a doll.

Being raised by golems was an experience, as your parents had been so offput by your quirk and interest in how everything and everyone worked. They’d fed you and clothed you, but that was it. and when your younger siblings developed more “appropriate” quirks, the gap became massive.

It had led to you leaving home as a teen, having finished and graduated online school earlier than most.

You had left a small unnoticeable golem in your home, just to see how long it took your family to realize you were gone. The answer was three months, and it was only because your rich grandpa who had a string quirk, who had always supported your love for puppets, came back from abroad to visit.

The gratification of hearing and seeing your loving but serious grandpa rip your family apart verbally, and then take away all the monetary support he had been given them, was almost enough to cover up the pain of your empty stomach and warm you where you were huddled in an alley.

Meeting Shigaraki had been an accident in the beginning. Your golems had only gotten more and more complex, meaning you suddenly had an income that was more than enough to get your own place, with one of the golems as the “owner” of course.

After that you started selling information and different kinds of “defense” work. That meaning, you helped people hide from the hero commission, and get information other people couldn’t. what was better for that situation other than an army of people that just didn’t exist.

You were picked up by Giran, who had taken notice of your large net of people, whom he didn’t know were your puppets and golems. He, or rather All for one, paid much more than you really needed. But all these years had taught you more than most knew about the inner workings of hero society, so you didn’t turn it away.

You did have a slight feeling that All for one wanted to eat you after he learned about your quirk. But the whole having to build the skill and mental capacity seemed to stop him, for now, since he apparently didn’t have time to perfect it in time for what he had planned.

You were the first outsider in the league of villains, way before anybody else joined, which was how you and Shigaraki started spending time together.

In the beginning hed been his dry snappy bratty self, and he just reminded you of the dirty street cats that you used to feed when you still lived in alleyways. They’d hiss and spit, trying to puff up and look tough, but they always just looked so frail and vulnerable.

Neither of you could tell when your relationship became more than just coworkers. Maybe it was when Shigaraki had Kurogiri warp him to your penthouse since your tv “was bigger and better” than the one he had in his room.

Or when you started bringing him designer clothes that would fit him better than the rags he wore, or had your golems break into different shops to get him some ointment that would help with his scratching.

You even caught yourself once or twice trying to play his games, but you figured out your usual strategic and put together mind lost all its footing playing LOL. Never before had your age quit, and you were too shamed to try again after that.

Shigaraki would admit later that he had tried to get into your hobbies too, with a big blush on his face and a sour expression, like he didn’t want to admit that he had feelings. He couldn’t really get into the art that was doll and golem making, and just how detailed it got for you had his head spinning.

Neither of you ever outright asked the other to date, it just kinda progressed to that point. Shigaraki spent more time at your place than at the “villain hideout”, even after the rest of the league joined.

You started going on dates, which were you booking an entire arcade or restaurant, and having your golems serve you. Or letting Shigaraki lean against you playing his handheld as you planned stocks or different businesses you had your fingers in.

In front of others, you two just seemed like allies, maybe friends on a good day. And it only came out after Magne and Toga had been teasing Shigaraki about having no experience, where he snapped at them that he had a boyfriend, you.

The rest of the league were shocked to say the least, since you two didn’t act anything like a couple around them. But both you and Shigaraki just raise a brow going “why would we be all lovey at work”.

It didn’t surprise you that Shigaraki was touch starved and loved to cuddle. In the beginning he would almost act like it pained him to be touched and cradled. but so many years with no normal human contact always had that effect.

You weren’t used to it yourself, having gone so long with only the touch and comfort of your dolls and golems, but none of it was the same as when it was another person.

The two of you were pretty much dating in your shared opinion, before you ever really got physical. And by that, I mean, you started out by just sitting close or you wrapping your arms around Shigaraki.

Your lover was understandably scared of touching you with his hands, even when he wore gloves to stop his quirk from working. So, it was a major breakthrough when he did return the hugs, or would hold your hand.

But when the floodgates for affection opened, Shigaraki would always find himself clinging to you like a cat searching for warmth. It was pretty damn cute in your eyes, and whenever he would shuffle into the room, you just life an arm and let him melt into your side.

Most days you could keep working, answering the phone, checking your laptop, and what else. But there were also days where Shigaraki would grumble about dusting your stuff if you didn’t cuddle him right.

Part of you had a feeling it was Shigaraki wanting you to take a break, and the other part was sure it was just cuz he liked to be squeezed tight and snuggled. But who were you to complain.

[urhoneycombwitch]

you oughta know: part I

Spring Break

series masterlist

foreword: since Eddie Munson is our collective Ken doll to dress up as we please I present to you my new and improved: dirtbag!college!Eddie. now with 50% more tattoos and a splash of 90s grunge college academia aesthetic.

cw: drinking, intoxication, R has breasts, R and Eddie are slut4slut in this

___

The bass on this houseparty’s stereo pumps through the floorboards, rattling every wall of the building. Hiding out in the less-stimulating kitchen seems like a good option for tonight.

Apparently, this other guy thinks so, too, ‘cuz soon it’s just you and him across the counter from another. He’s handsome, actually. Moonlight from a window above the sink highlights strong cheekbones and a sharp cupid’s bow as he helps himself to a glass from the cupboard.

Slinking out from elbow-rolled shirtsleeves are thick, dark vine tattoos; they wind around his forearms, smattered with hair and freckles, the ink trailing to end at his wrists.

You lean forward onto the counter separating you two (well aware that you’re spilling out of your top), then tip the neck of your beer bottle at him- “Eddie?”

He spins to face you, raises a pretty brow, long lashes sweeping over auburn eyes- “Uh- maybe? Who wants to know, dollface.”

A scrunch of distaste with your nose at the nickname, you barrel through the discomfort- “Oh, I thought it might be you. I’m Robin’s roommate. She said her weed guy had cool tattoos.”

The guy’s face lights up with a lopsided smile, dimples peeking out as he preens, “So you think they’re cool?”

You roll your eyes, take an unamused sip of beer, press a bit further into your hands on the counter. A little thrill at your small victory- his eyes flicking down once, twice, to your cleavage- you ride the alcohol-gifted looseness and adrenaline. “Psst. Hey. My eyes are up here, perv.”

It’s a tease. A goad masked as chiding. Eddie sets his glass of water down, doe eyes fixed on yours, not falling for the trap of your quick inhale- “You seriously sayin’ that to me, when you’re the one with your tits out?”

He tsks, walks those big boots over, leanin’ in to your counter space, close enough to smell the spice of his cologne- “Would almost think you like the attention.”

You swallow hard. Hold your ground, looking up at him through your lashes, bust still on display- “Yeah, and you’d probably like to be the one to give it to me. In your dreams, pal.”

It’s getting harder to play hard-to-get as Eddie bumps his hip against yours. The whites of his eyes are slightly bloodshot (you can smell the heady undercurrent of weed wafting from his clothes), while the black of his pupils are already blown out with feverish lust. “C’mon, have a heart, angel. Can’t fault a boy for dreamin’.”

And goddammit if you don’t melt for that line. (He really is a rather great lyricist, as you’ll come to find out this upcoming semester.)

In retrospect, you’ll never admit it, but you did make the first move- pressed him right up against Linda Satler’s kitchen counter and kissed him, with tongue. Robin walked in on the two of you and got in a full shriek before either of you realized someone else had come in, jumping apart like two children caught arms-deep in a cookie jar.

“God, gross,” she gags, louder than the wave of sound flooding in from the open door. She crosses the room in a few swift strides and plucks at your elbow, a reproachful whisper- “I sent you to get weed, not to make out with the dealer!”

“I am getting weed, Robin,” you insist, patient but firm, pulling from her grasp to turn back to Eddie, teeth worrying at your bottom lip that shimmers with mixed saliva as you ask, sweet and simply- “Can I please have some weed?”

It wasn’t actually your plan to butter Eddie up for a better price (another fact you’d remain stoically opposed to, later), but he gave it to you, all the same- a laughably low amount for a bundle of pre-rolls.

Robin’s eyes bug out at the amount he hands it over- then she smoothly pockets the goods and pats you on the shoulder. “Okay. My mistake. I actually love that you’re both getting acquainted in this manner. You have my blessing to do it a bunch more, just- not when I’m in the room. M’kay?”

She grins cheekily at Eddie before looping her arm in yours, pulling you with her towards the door- you call out before it closes behind you both, “Robin’s number is our landline! You can call me there, if you want!”

Eddie stands still for a few moments after you’re swallowed up by the noise of the party, palm flat to the twinge in his chest. Cupid’s arrow, he can feel it sinking in.

He’s an RA, this semester. Really can’t afford to be seeing cute girls and selling them weed- at least, not at the same time. Gotta straighten up a bit over Spring Break, he thinks.

Then he cracks the window open. Lights up a joint. Smokes out into the fresh night air and tries really hard to think of anything other than your tits. (A game of mostly losses.)

[kosmicdream]

the way i think of the "3 arcs" in ffak (i am not sure i will end up with 3, btw, its possible i might cut one in half or something else..) is basically that.. arc 1 was the unplanned improv adventure that developed everything, taught me how to draw comics, write a story, ect. arc 2 is the ~actual~ story that i "originally intended" to tell with FFAK (although a lot of that is also in ARC3 too), before it was made into this big sprawling story - and has developed all this time and taken me years to write and prepare for. so im excited and interested in reactions to that. and arc 3, well, arc 3 is something else entirely, but i don't want to say too much about it yet.. it is weird to have the entire story written out though. it feels both big and so small vrs the days id spend building up more and more for the world. i don't think about it like that anymore, even though i think about it a lot every day still. I feel pretty satisfied with how the first chapter of this arc has gone and I hope the next four of this arc will also go well too. yes, im only planning this arc for five chapters. can i do it? idk. it wont be a big deal if it needs more. in a weird way, it means more to me to finish the 2nd arc than the entire story as i've waited so many years to draw the scenes in it. its kinda amazing how long it takes just to develop a story, and in a way 10 years does not seem that long at all. before FFAK, i basically gave up my dream of making comics/writing because of how "disorganized" and crazy my ideas felt.. it has always been the story that FFAK was kind of something i threw myself into, but since it worked at all i was not going to ever let go of it. Still haven't.. yet. But i feel ready to let go when its time. Now, I feel like the work of making a comic its not all that hard even if it is very tedious. sure id love to draw and write better, but that feeling will always be there. I am just grateful to see the ideas come out at all feels a lot better than being creatively constipated and feeling miserable about it, like its bad to have "too big" of plans and be "too ambitious" like its a negative thing, cuz it might not be achievable - what? i love to try. just a sad place to be as an artist, to shame yourself for your own natural creativity and curiosity and pity yourself for not being good enough to make a fool of yourself for trying. pride is such a stupid thing to stop yourself from drawing your own ocs LOL. either way, id rather have it out than just have them sit inside and not ever be shared or seen for myself. every time i think i could have done something better, in the end i just feel relief i managed the miracle of making it at all. its weird to think that i can see an end to this story too and im still getting used to that feeling. i can see all the stories i want to get to beyond it, but Im patient and i know they can wait. i am going to really enjoy my time with it while its all still here. Just felt like sharing some of my feelings as this chapter gets closer to its end and i finish the first step of this new adventure of FFAK!

[dreamlink3d]

i wish the stuff i'm working on rn was like. in any way, shape,or form presentable yet cuz like it is all just a lot of spreadsheet work and planning documents, but things are moving! i'm finishing a lot of work to get wisps set up properly this time. you know what actually i'll talk a little bit about it in the read more bc it's all infodump and really technically overbearing but for the nerds who keep up with this blog a lot it might be interesting so 👀

update: oh this is LONG long. whatever i'm keeping it read if you want like peak infodump abt the recruitable characters' role in the game atm.

ok ok ok so like as of the last time i worked on this (like last year i mean) the battling and wisp uniqueness were both really understated and this was on purpose! i wanted battling to be something the player is introduced to later than usual and it's not required at all, bc it's not even your intended goal -- this much is still true, but i wanted it to have more prominence and depth, so i'm elaborating on team building now.

the main thing i'm working out now is that i want each individual wisp (the animal recruitable characters) to function almost like a miniature pokemon and be used to do little roguelike deck-building activities to clear the main progression story thing of the game. before, each wisp technically had a species and catalog wing + 2 abilities, but none of those did anything for battling. my long term idea was that the abilities would have in-battle functionality, but at most that's still like 20ish moves across an at-the-time 400 character roster-- not good enough imo.

so! now what i've been mainly doing is finally embracing the battle system and leaning in on it more. each wisp now is gonna get a couple of things that'll modify each of their stats a little and give them each a couple of "moves." that way every character IN THEORY should play differently in some way.

first up is species, which i actually did the full stat spread for already. it's just simple single-digit buff/nerfs to individual rpg maker stats (hp, mp, atk, def, so on and so forth) but it gives each one a base layer of uniqueness. i want to give each species a dedicated move that is thus attached to each wisp.

second up is catalog wing, this follows the same rule but i haven't done stat changes yet. i also have a little list of like parameters / etc. that i can assign, and i definitely want to give some of those to each of these groups, so that wisps can be even more specific. catalog wing is just colors, and as such i think it makes sense for each to get an associated move as well.

third up are the big new thing. i've been kinda inspired by a video i saw recently of a "pokemon but i added 50 types" mod and i kinda wondered about adding small modifier labels to wisps. almost like pokemon types, but not as type-intensive, and originally i wanted them to be cosmetic. however, i'm realizing i can give them small tweaks as well (literally like +1 something and -1 something else, and that's it) and it'll still have a pretty notable impact on wisp variety. each wisp gets 3 types and i'm currently sorting out the list but it's a little silly, i want to keep it lighthearted and not do it completely seriously in the way pokemon does. you'll see when it comes out but i think it's rather fun. these i would also like to make moves for, but we'll see.

last up are the abilities. i don't think these are gonna have any stat changes, but will have the passive parameters in some cases (double currency/item drops comes to mind.) these already have existed in the game for a long time, and each wisp gets 2. they're how you interact with the dreamscape overworld itself, and solve puzzles in the main progression story thing (which i am referring to this way bc i don't wanna reveal it completely yet!) they're obviously gonna have moves associated with them.

i'm kinda worried abt doing stat stuff bc like obviously an unbalanced game can be a complete mess, but i also think having a wide variety of options that range in power levels (and combine to get even crazier) is like half of the appeal of these teambuilders? like taking the worst possible team and sweeping, or doing the opposite and watching the carnage. i honestly just wanna have fun with it bc i think this is the thing this project really needs to be entertaining in long stretches. the game currently is about gathering wisps and using them to progress but like, without battling it's kinda very thin gameplay wise? dream exploration is still like the big essential part-- i want battling to stay optional and available to be underexplored as each player decides-- but i do think that at least giving players the tools to explore further in that way will go a long way.

i don't know how to end this other than to say i'll probably make more of these kinds of posts in the future? i'm making a lot of scattered smaller progress on this in various areas, mostly working on dreamscape overhauls and wisp categorization but like. i've been retooling the game to have a bit more characters and story than originally intended. finally leaving my burnout phase has led me to really retool this project from the inside out, and i can't wait to share more honestly. i won't be speaking on a release date or even a window, because i don't think it'll be ready before like 2025 at this rate. sucks bc it means 5 year dev cycle (on top of aspects of this going back as far as 2016, or 2012 depending on what you count) but like hey! it's still churning and i'm still chipping away at it. thank you for reading <3

[genshin-impact-fics]

Streamer!Genshin Meeting Character!(Y/n) for the First Time

Characters: Scaramouche, Childe, Albedo, Kaeya, Venti

Scaramouche:

His viewers were constantly requesting that he play this game that’s been out for a little while now that was called Genshin Impact. So he finally gave in to see what all the talk was about

Getting through the tutorial and the first part of the chapter felt so long; visually it was beautiful as the story was pretty decent so far.

It wasn’t until he got to Liyue in the archon quest that things seemed to pick up for him. The character who saved him from almost getting arrested kind of irked him; it reminded him of his one roommate who was a rich kid type.

It wasn’t till the release of the event Unreconciled Stars that once again many of his followers flooded his messages telling him he needed to play the event during his streams so they could see his reaction to meeting a new character.

Curiosity peaked after hearing a bit that the character would be an electro catalyst. Which he started to play it instead of holding off for a few days; honestly he really wasn’t expecting much

It was until he finally saw you appear; he was a bit surprised as you weren’t exactly how he pictured you yet you looked cute but in a cool way? A little more of the interaction he’s a little on the fence on how he feels about you but he was interested in where this event was going, there was something just a little bit… off

Progressing he was a little bit bummed since he thought there would have been a bit more interaction with you. That was until he was back in Mondstadt with Mona who was helping solve this mystery when pleasantly surprised that you’ve showed up. Until Mona seemed to have some sort of revelation that caused her to teleport them all out of there

Needless to say he wasn’t happy that he was taken away from seeing you. “Excuse me you bring me back,” was his initial reaction but continued to watch when it was more clear that you were there to kill him. You were that other harbinger; number six of the fatui harbingers and the moment you snapped at one of the agents, you had instantly become one of his absolute favorites.

Childe:

Though his viewers have been requesting to play the soon released game Genshin Impact he has actually been long awaiting for this game.

To celebrate the release it was going to be a long stream as he’s stocked up on water and energy drinks and snacks. He’s definitely planning to do a giveaway for his viewers (though he won’t bring it up until he finally unlocks the wishing feature)

He enjoyed the plot so far as the conflict with Dvalin has been resolved but now the ameno archon’s gnosis was stolen by some woman who appeared out of nowhere. Soon to learn about the fatui group and their eleven harbingers

Off to Liyue at long last! There’s been chatter of one character that shows up fairly early in the quest and he is very curious to encounter whoever this character was

He was finally at the part where Rex Lapis came crashing down from the sky dead and now was sneaking to get to the exit. Definitely took him a couple of times and in the process of it all he was certainly singing the whole “Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious” song

Finally getting the cutscene where his character gets chased after unfortunately making sound. When things looked like it was going to turn into a fight he was surprised when hearing a new voice say “I got this one sweetie”. His mouth has dropped in pure awe of watching your character flip from above appearing out of thin air as you handled the Millelith with ease

Hearing you say follow me he had such a grin on his face; “Don’t gotta ask me twice I’ll follow you anywhere”. Of course his viewers in chat were raving and just spamming the laughing emote as the cutscene continued in a safe place

Looking at your character model admiring you as the reveal that you were a part of the harbingers but seemed to be rather friendly. “You guys I’m in love. (Y/n) better be a playable character at some point… I’ll be sad if I don’t get to travel the world with them” he says as when he finds out you're rich his initial thought was “So are they going to spoil me or do I get to spoil them? Cuz I really want it to be the second one” He hadn’t known you for long but he already wants to give you the world

Venti:

He was mainly known for his streams where he’ll sing or perform some of the instruments he enjoys and many of the games he’d play were a lot of rhythm games or one of the hilarious simulator games; so for him to pick up Genshin Impact it’s a little outside of the typical games he’ll usually play

He really loves the music so far, if the music wasn’t to his liking he’d probably drop it. Will probably take a moment to just listen to it and talk about what possible instruments used to compose it

After running around the world and looking for chests and whatever materials he saw along the way. He suddenly saw the big dragon fly over head and now making his way to the whispering woods to look for the feathered looking dragon

The cut scene started and there was the dragon on a rock but then he saw you; he doesn’t know anything about you but having seen you in some of the images that the company released he’s been interested in your character!

During your moment with your old friend had was making this face 🥺 but then that was when the snapping sound echoed causing the dragon to freak out and leave in a gust of wind. “Noooo I’m so sorry” he’s shouting at the screen when he watched the expression on your face turn sad before you seemed to just vanish

Has been bummed out since he hadn’t seen your character in a while until he saw you running with a lyre in your hand, he only fell in more love with you as he was running around with you trying to get the holy lyre from the church

Albedo:

It had been a while since more of the story was out but of course he’d play to do his commissions and gather materials he needed, but when his viewers showed him the announcement of the newest section of the map will be released; oh there was a new temperature mechanic that if it was too cold that his characters could freeze to death

Generally that would be fine… but he enjoys stopping and admiring the scenery which he easily gets distracted so he’s probably going to keep forgetting to stand by fire a lot

But the best part of all: they were introducing you, the chief alchemist of the Knights of Favonius. The one that was talked about by so many characters in their voice lines he finally was going to get a face to the name

He was already not liking that the so called ‘nun’ was insinuating that you weren’t trustworthy; the AUDACITY! Sure he hadn’t known your character long but he will defend you wholeheartedly, you have this charismatic to you that he’s just smitten

“If one day, I lose control… Destroy Mondstadt… Destroy everything… Can I rely on you to stop me?” After hearing that last line he needs a minute to take a double take to make sure he heard that correctly. “I swear if this is some sort of indication of something bad happening and I have to fight (y/n) I will not be happy,” he’s saying of course looking to his camera

Kaeya:

So many of his viewers were requesting that he play Genshin Impact as of course it would be a little different from the games he’s played in the past (Ya can’t tell me he wouldn’t have played Huniepop and doki doki literature club), but the idea of attractive characters in the game? He’s sold as the few characters he saw pictures of it seemed promising.

So he starts streaming it and all is going smoothly so far… Until it was time to learn about gliding right before Stormterror attacks and the mini flying fight happened

Once the cutscene starts he’s watching leaning back in his chair a bit until a clapping sound starts and that’s when everyone in chat was losing it and spamming the heart eyes emotes. Seeing you come into the shot he’s got a small little smirk; you were hot. He only seemed to love your character even more after hearing that you were the cavalry captain

When it came time to do your trail quest (which of course was the first one he went to do) he’s very much looking at your design and admiring your charming features. He asks his viewers if he leaves the domain if he gets to keep you or if you were one of the five stars that he’d have to wish for, spoilers don’t really bother him if he really wants to know what happens.

Seeing your summon art once he left he’s ecstatic that you will be forever in his team and once he’s able to he’s going farming so he can build you up

[patt-writes-stuff]

Beach Days with The Genshin Characters!

Wc: 1.7k+

Type: Headcanons

CW: umm nothing except mentions of alcohol and maybe people being creeps? (None of the chars or you tho it’s very brief)

A/N: HI IM BACK FROM THE DEAD! These were supposed to be a lot shorter but I got too excited. If you by any chance wanna see some for your fav character lmk! I know it says request are closed in my bio but since it’s just hcs it’s a lot less (and I really enjoyed writing these so ajdhdhdk)

🔥Diluc:

This man cannot swim. Tell me otherwise, I dare you.

Kaeya tried to jokingly push him off a lil diving cliff area when they were kids.

He almost drowned. Kaeya was in a lot of trouble.

So, good luck getting this man to actually get in the water. The most he’ll do is sit on the shore where it’s very shallow.

He usually prefers to just stay under an umbrella on the sand and keep an eye on you.

Calls you every two hours in advance and helps you reapply sunscreen.

He’s very pale so I feel like he burns pretty easily, meaning he needs to reapply super frequently otherwise he will become a tomato. He brings like three bottles of the good shit. Tch, rich boy.

If you ask him to build a sandcastle, he will pretend to be annoyed but do it anyways. Ends up finding it kind of enjoyable.

He has the maids prepare a nice picnic basket for the two of you!! It’s got all your favorite foods plus grape juice cuz y’know.

If any creepy peeps approach you, don’t worry. He brought his vision and his claymore.

Of course, he won’t have to resort to such violent lengths. Everyone in Mondstadt knows who Diluc is and they probably know you’re his s/o, so they’re usually smart enough to mind their own business.

If they don’t, don’t worry. Diluc’s glare is more than enough to scare them away.

All in all I definitely recommend a beach day with him! I’ll give it a solid 8/10 (-2 for not wearing floaties and getting in the water with you or letting you teach him how to swim.

🖌Albedo:

You guys definitely 100% take Klee out with you on a beach day.

You guys bring snacks, beach toys like buckets and shovels for optimal sandcastle building, a picnic blanket, etc.

Jean definitely packs a lot more stuff for you guys to take with you than you actually need.

It’s only cuz she’s worried for Klee and is nervous about not being able to go with you guys though! It’s very sweet really.

Klee tries to bomb the fish and cause havoc at the beach 😭

I think Albedo is a good swimmer and gets in with you and Klee so that he can help her (which is very cute omfg)

He’s set total workaholic, as we know, so it took a lot of convincing to get him to put down his experiments and accompany you to the beach (however, he’s particularly weak to yours and klee’s puppy dog eyes so he caved eventually)

Though, looking at you and Klee happily building sandcastles and decorating them with pretty seashells of all shapes and colors, he can’t really find it in himself to complain.

He, of course, takes this opportunity to take out his sketchbook and draw the waves, seagulls, you… Of course he won’t let you see the sketch book no sir. He’s a bit embarrassed to be honest, but an artist such as himself recognizes beauty when he sees it so he simply had to draw you. (God I love him so much)

If a creepy person approaches you,- well don’t worry. The sight of a small arsonist child blowing up fish is enough to scare them away 🥰

At the end of the day, all three of you are all ticketed out. Albedo has to carry Klee back to Mondstadt because the poor baby fell asleep the moment you started drying her hair with the beach towel. You’re, of course, carrying back Dodoco and your bags. (You also manage to sneak a peak at Albedo’s sketchbook and find some very pretty drawings of you and Klee with your sandcastle)

At the end of the day, you guys tuck Klee in and read her a bedtime story (she woke up and insisted). Afterwards Albedo takes you back home and thanks you for coming with you and Klee (which you ofc say wasn’t a problem because how could you not???)

All in all? I’ll give it a solid 10/10. You’ve got tasty food, fun times, your boyfriend and his cute kid adoptive sister (yes I am very biased idc)

🦋Xiao:

I think it would take a lot of convincing to get Xiao to go out on a beach date with you.

He’ll probably see it as a distraction getting in the way of his slaying of monsters and demons.

However, he also worships the grounds you walk on (hehe, simp XD), so I don’t think it’ll take that much convincing on your part (especially because it’s is self appointed duty to keep you safe so if you insist on going with or without him, he supposes he’ll have to go)

Is definitely a bit tense at first. He doesn’t know how to let loose and chill so while you’re sun tanning on a beach chair he’s like 🧍‍♂️ahdgshjsjd

Eventually calms down a bit though! You get him to relax and eat some almond tofu you brought along with you. It definitely gets him to perk up.

I don’t think he would mind getting into the water but I do think he’d rather walk along the shore and collect pretty seashells and sea glass.

He later gives the ones he deems pretties to you (he hands them over to you with a blush on his face and pretends it’s not a big deal and he definitely gets all pouty and grouchy when you coo at how adorable he is)

As for creeps, Xiao is both intimidating and well known in Liyue. No one is brave enough (or, let’s be honest, dumb enough) to approach you with any bad intentions.

Sure, Xiao has sworn never to harm a human/citizen of Liyue but that doesn’t mean he can’t scare the absolute shit out of them.

I think Xiao would definitely enjoy a beach day 🥺🥺. He’d find it very relaxing to go out with you and just hear the sound of waves and feel the sand under his feet.

He’d definitely hint at wanting to do it again later. Of course, he won’t tell you. No, that’s a foolish mortal activity and he has much better things to do.

Wait no, don't turn around, yes he will go with you next month.

All in all, I give Xiao a 9/10. It’s a very relaxing day (which he deserves 😤). And you get to see a whole new side of him.

💎Ningguang:

OK SO ORIGINALLY I WASN'T GONNA WRITE ONE FOR HER (at least not in this post) BUT THEN I THOUGHT OF LADY NINGGUANG TAKING YOU TO A WHOLE ASS PRIVATE BEACH

She knows you don’t care about how exclusive the beach you go to is (in fact, the fact that you don’t care about where you are or what you do is one of the things that make her fall more and more madly in love with you) but you deserve the best so she’s gonna go all out.

She’s a busy lady so days like this where the two of you get to go somewhere and be together are few and far between.

She knows it’s hard to be in a relationship with someone who is busy 24/7, so she appreciates how you remain by her side despite all hardships. (Y’all are a whole ass power couple istg)

The two of you spend your day relaxing. Sun bathing, drinking piña coladas, maybe taking a dip in the ocean. It’s all very pleasant!

Ningguang doesn’t quite feel like the type of person who would sit in the sand and make sandcastle, however you’re more than welcome to make some yourself. She finds it endearing <3

If you insist on her helping, she’ll eventually comply. She loves you too much to say no. I feel like she’ll either be terrible at it or like a total architect.

Sand is technically like tiny rocks right? So maybe she can use her vision to help her? If that’s the case, she’s making a replica of the Jade chamber out of sand.

If any creepy person comes up to you don’t worry. Ningguang will buy the whole beach and then use her right of admission as owner to permanently ban them from the beach you’re at.

The only downside to a day at the beach with Ningguang might be that there’s a big chance she’ll be called to tend urgent matters, seeing as she is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing and all.

If that does happen, she’ll be sure to make it up to you somehow, whether it be rescheduling or taking care of the matter as soon as possible so that the two of you can get back to your day of relaxation and fun.

All in all?? Lady Ningguang will treat you like total royalty and the two of you will have an amazing time! I give her an 11/10 (she would literally buy a whole beach for you to be comfortable I mean c’mon)

🍃Venti:

BEACH DAYS WITH HIM ARE SO FUN!!

Swimming? Yeah, he’d love to! Sunbathing? Sure! He’ll ever conjure up a light breeze for the two of you. Sandcastle building? WELL OF COURSE WHY DO YOU THING HE BROUGHT ALL THESE BUCKETS AND SHOVELS?

No but seriously, he might be the best person out of everyone here to go to the beach with. He’s fun, free spirited, and he’s a traveling bard who’s been alive long enough to know where all the best beaches in Teyvat are. (He also knows a guy- er, well, dragon I suppose- who is willing to fly them to any place).

He’ll play some soft tunes while you doze under the sun.

HE PICKS PRETTY SHELLS AND GIFTS THEM TO YOU!!!

He will bring booze. I’m pretty sure this is a necessity. If you’re a little upset about it, he’ll probably “eheh~” his way out of it. That slick bastard.

If you really insist on him not drinking, he won’t consume much alcohol.

If some creepy person approaches you and tries to ruin you your day of beach time fun, all of their stuff will suddenly be blown away, causing them to scramble back to their spot and (almost embarrassingly) flail around trying to catch everything. What a shame…

At the end of the day, he’d be a little sad to leave. Definitely makes plans about tbe two of you going back soon.

I gotta give him a 10/10 he’s just so fun omg.

[greysfall]

My 4444-word review of NEO TWEWY (with personal illustration + heavy spoilers)

My overall critical score for the game is 7.5/10, while my personal enjoyment score is 8.5/10. This review is posted as I have 80% completed the game, got the secret ending and achieved the Angel psychic rank. I’ll first start with the main pros and cons as follows.

PROS:

-        Enjoyable as a whole, still upholding the first game’s spirit in world building and sharing the same backbone - which was mostly revealed in the Secret Reports, it’s impossible to grasp the story without reading them.

-        The new cast and new game is charming in their own way

-        The old cast’s return is one of the biggest highlights for sure, it was fun and impactful. Everyone stays true to themselves and also had their own stories wrapped up nicely.

-        Boss designs are cool, new pins are fun to use and collect

-        The connection between the old and new cast is well written and executed, including but are not limited to the tension between the old and new protagonist, the weird but fun interaction between the 2 Composers, the new friendships revealed and formed

-        Sho being in the main cast is something so uniquely TWEWY and uniquely Sho

-        Still good music

-        Still many fun side quests, some of them really uphold the same quirky spirit of the old game and some are surprisingly touching

-        Many new nice stores and yummy looking foods to explore

-        The map is really easy to memorize for me, it’s fun to travel around the “current” Shibuya to see all the differences compared to the past

-        The social network is crazy and interesting to read through

-        Has an anti-frustration system to help 100% complete the game more easily and earn money faster, so post-game is relatively managable.

-        Overall, I really feel the efforts the team poured into making this as their passion project, not just during the development process but for all the last 14 years. They showed the vision of what they wanted to make, at the same time giving something to both the old as well as new fans.

CONS:

-        The biggest problem with the game is scenario writing. The story is so heavily back-loaded. The director himself thought it would be better to balance out the tension flow by adding more at the beginning but gave in to the scenario writer in the end, probably due to time pressure. This results in an underwhelming execution of characterization and lots of wasted potentials for the first half of the game.  

-        I struggle to view it as a stand-alone game, since the backstory and the old cast both play such an important role in the core of the game. If someone plays this game without having played the OG, they can only enjoy it on surface value at best.

-        The new cast is nice but most of them aren’t quite as intriguing as the old cast, maybe it’s cuz they’re all too nice deep down that they lack a little bit of an edge, of that batshit craziness that everyone in the OG used to have? I think some characters (Fret, Nagi) ended up weaker in terms of characterization because the writer is too afraid of making them unlikeable – which kind of backlashed cuz they only became likable in the most expectable way to cater for a specific group of fans. I would have wished for the other team leaders to be more crazy too, had they not suffered 30+ loops of the Game…

-        The CAMERAWORK IS HELL.

-        Gameplay does get tedious at certain points with all the time travels.

-        Shiba is so badly written as a villain, some Shinjuku characters should be given more screentime cutting into Shiba’s– like Hishima or Kaie or even, Hazuki (though his limited presence also solidified his importance).

-        Some of the main character designs, for example Beat’s hairstyle and his food reactions are hilariously bad. What’s the point of covering up most of his unique facial features?

-        Some of the minor/side characters’ design are too cool for them to have such a small role (eg: Ayano, Eiru). Ryoji did get much screentime but is nowhere as fun as Makoto was.

-        Overall the scope of this game is made a little too big for the team to handle as perfectly as the last game that was very compact, it felt somewhat rushed in development too so the missing pieces are clearly there in the final picture

The entry fee versus paying for it all in the end

An important difference between the Neo game and the original Shibuya game was that the Shibuya rule asked for an entry fee that is the Player’s most important asset, stated as a chance the Composer gives them to reexamine themselves. Meanwhile, the Shinjuku rule neither encourages nor allows personal growth and ultimately aims to erase as many Players as possible. It’s a pity we were never introduced to the full Shinjuku rulebook, as it seems like the system there focuses more on building up power and a grand government to compare with the individuality-driven system of Shibuya.

When you have to compare the new game and the original game (OG), this is an important factor to consider. Also, the OG has a serious storyline running through and through, locked with a different partner/GM creating unique atmosphere for each week and you don’t get to see your old partners again until the end. NEO’s team system does not allow such deep insight and communication between the Players. All of your teammates are always there throughout, the dynamic does change with each new addition but it is not as prominent as a partner change.

Another important factor is how the OG was built from scratch for a new platform as “something no one has ever seen before”, while Neo recycled a lot of old unused ideas from the previous development (check out this interview for more details). The development team for NEO lacks 2 key members and had a change of writer so the final product is not as strongly bound together as the last game.

The new cast is definitely inspired by today’s teenagers (from the view of creators), compared to the old cast they’re more sociable and always seem to take whatever works for them despite feeling unstable inside. They are all innocent and genuinely nice kids, avoiding to hurt each other to a degree that they end up keeping some sort of distance. They’re also unable to communicate at deeper levels, always stagnant at this half-baked stage of equilibrium without any motivation to get to the core of things. That is the cost of entering the game without an entry fee, without even dying or having a reason to be there/to fight seriously. These kids were stolen from the RG into a Game that was decidedly the worst environment for them to change or develop, just wandering around cluelessly to find a way “out” until tragedies started to unfold one by one and they ended up being charged the total sum of the price for their actions – ultimately losing everything in the end.

That is, I believe, a story arc which can resonate more to the youth of today rather than of my generation. If the message of the old game was to “listen”, enjoy life to the fullest and accept to trust others, the message of the new game is to “speak up” from the inside, trying to understand yourself and take actions instead of just going with the flow and finally, to take responsibility for such actions.

If Neku was handpicked by the Composer for being the special one with an all-dense soul to ensure victory of the game then Rindo was just a normal kid chosen out of random by Kubo to be his back-up plan, who just happened to have a high enough imagination to awaken the incredible power from his pin. Rindo was then officially chosen by the Composer as Josh picked up and handed the pin to him again, this time not as Josh’s personal Proxy – but as the Proxy to represent the normal people of Shibuya and via whom he could gamble if humans can fight for their own fate.

The underworld heroine and the hero with little of his own

Shoka is for me a refreshing and layered heroine. She’s the kind of character that took at least 3 trials of creators to form as a complete individual – that included Nomura who gave her the base design and Reaper background, Gen who gave a more cunning touch and the writers who made her English dialogues more punchy. Dishonesty equals “tsundere” is such a cliché, so the English writers tried really hard to avoid that trope in my opinion, while still letting her good intention come through.

She serves as the character who is informed of everything the players should have known, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Almost. Until she met Rindo.

They were drawn to each other by sharing a state of “not having anything of their own”. They both started out with not being able to truly know themselves, Shoka even hated her RG life but also managed to mature from that stage before Rindo. She must have vibed with Shiki’s love and passion in the Gatto Nero threads, initiating her connection with Shibuya and understanding herself more. With Shoka as Swallow, they were able to open up to each other and offer mental support… but was still not getting to the centre of their problems because for all this time, Shoka could not tell Rindo the most important things about herself.

How did Shoka feel when she met Rindo at the UG? She probably didn’t want to hope that he would live the day until she witnessed the Twisters’ potentials. From the very beginning, they were both incredibly conscious of each other and also constantly frustrated that the person they happened to “notice” was such a condescending bitch/a clueless loser. The Shinjuku Reapers are overall quite drunk in power and uncompassionate to Players, Shoka included. She is also a master of dissociation, which results in her constant boredom, tone swings, haughtiness and subconsciously distancing herself from the friend – the boy she cares about – from false hope, as she judged from facts that it was a hopeless situation where nothing could ever be. Maybe she is naturally a bit of a chameleon just like her name suggests (Shoka 紫陽花 = hydrangea, the color-changing flower), so putting on an act and always dissociating herself from what’s important was easy, while hiding her contradiction was impossible. It was the ex-Reaper Beat who broke it out to her, that she should decide whether she really cared and wanted to do something for a change. He knew how it felt like to cross that line, and knew she wanted to too.  

Shoka is endeared by many of the Shinjuku Reapers and has shown independent acts of kindness (the Shinjuku ghost), proving that her kind and truthful side is as real as her harsh and dishonest side – which makes her a nice mirror to the previous heroine Shiki, who also embraced a dichotomy of self-complex and self-love within her character. In the end, she was the first of the new cast to ultimately accept all that is important to her and independently made the decision to help save Shibuya despite all costs.

She was jealous at Rindo’s interaction with Tsugumi and Kanon but remained silent cuz she wasn’t at a place to have any say about it. She also didn’t reveal about Swallow because that would only add an awkward irrelevance to their current situation, as she was too ready to face erasure at the end of the Game. She only wished to “play a game” with him, be it FanGo or the Reapers’ Game. The tension that the team could only feel at the end, she’s felt it the entire time. The song “DIVIDE” is applicable to not just one bond in the game, but it always makes me think of theirs. There is always a “divide” between her and Rindo throughout the course of their journey, as the living and the dead, as a Player and Reaper, as someone who has a place to return to and someone who doesn’t, someone who knows little but wields too much power and someone who knows a lot despite not being able to do much.

“If only I had the chance to connect with you on the other side

But time goes on, and without us realizing it

The battle is getting heated

Time goes on, and without us realiazing it

Divided again”

To be honest, maybe I didn’t grow any affection for the new main cast from Rindo’s perspective but from Shoka’s. Since I started to sympathize with Shoka, I started to see the boy in a more “real” way. The real Rindo, behind his peaceful façade with others, would lash out on Shoka for her unfairly harsh attitude while none of the others cared. He could also subtly feel that mantle of unspoken secrets from her, her own contradictions, the unresolved chemistry between themselves – and not knowing what to do with it rather than to feel angry with all the unfairness he could not process. (As a Libra too, he’s triggered the most by unfairness!)

It is actually a positive development as he’s at least “reacting” to something strongly now rather than to keep evading his problems. During my replay, I clearly saw the difficult situation Shoka was in, her remaining harshness after the Motoi incident was due to her internal struggle with a mission to save her own life, versus a chance to really be with the team. Her decision was to do both at the risk of losing favour from both sides. Rindo started to accept her layer by layer, as the person who resonated the most to her contradicting nature from the start and knew that via learning her resolve, he has learnt his too.

Later into the game, she even got too much of his attention. Maybe even without knowing she’s Swallow, he’s familiar with her thinking direction and Swallow had always been closer to him than any other friend. It was only after she had to betray her important ones twice that she could start being truly honest. The scene when she died a 2nd time left a strong impression in me, the little reveal let Rindo know that he is also losing Swallow as he’s losing Shoka – and that only death could drive the last secret out of her. Her final “Later, loser” echoed through Rindo as it was the final truth, with only him remaining to hear it: they had actually, already lost everything.

Rindo was the boy who never dared to face all that matters to him until he lost it all, fighting an unfair battle in the faith that they would somehow still win. Shoka was the girl who always knew what was dear to her, but never dared to think she could be together with them ever after and still threw her all into a battle she knew was losing. I think they stir each other on naturally to fill out their gaps, similar to what the Shibuya game partner systerm would have aimed for. The end reward was a little divine intervention to help close up the divide between them once and for all.  

During the game there was not enough space to process anything personal so at the ending when they officially became “friends”, it was an important affirmation of their bond. Some people complained it was friendzoning but it’s not, they just have arrived at the perfect place to start something more. “From now on, we will truly be together” – I read it as that kind of message.  

The heroine from a lost battle, with her story taken away

After reading the secret reports and playing the game to be surprised of how small a role Tsugumi had in the main game despite being the “Hype-chan” thought to be a major character of the next TWEWY installment, many fans would feel sad at a missed opportunity to see the Shinjuku arc in full depiction.

It was shown clearly that, a Shinjuku arc was very carefully planned out and is a vital part of the whole story, yet it could not be made due to various circumstances behind the development scene. I would assume, that the team were not able to make a TWEWY game that ended on a despairing note, but it already happened in their mind, thus becoming a mental burden that forced them to break away from it and started the game anew with NEO. A significant part of NEO became the healing arc for the Shinjuku characters, especially for Tsugumi though I really wished more emphasis should have been placed on her rather than Shiba. We didn’t even get to see her brother – Shinjuku’s Conductor who had a vital role and instead was given the clueless Shiba, who had absolutely no idea what’s going on all the way until the last day in NEO. It’s as if Tsugumi has had her story stolen away from her, because her own battle ended with a saddening loss.

I think every time the game creators look at Tsugumi, they would feel that sadness too. Maybe to them, she is a bigger character than what is seen by the fans, as despite their failed effort to depict her story, she’s lived in their mind for all these years through periods of destruction, healing and rebuild.  Though it is a pity we could not get to experience the full scope of the Shinjuku story, the creators was clear about the place they wished for it to arrive at.    

Individuality, connection and the social network

The team system adapted from Shinjuku rulebook does not allow much room for personal development, as the team dynamic is closer to a work relationship forced to bear results, than a spiritual bond to max out all corners of understanding as found in the partnership system. The old Shibuya system allowed only 1 winner and 1 week limit per game, while the new rule declares for a 1 winning team and only the team at last place will be erased – the other teams will enter another loop. Furthermore, whichever team to challenge the unwinnable Ruinbringers will face the risk of ending up dead last followed by erasure. As a result, the longest-standing teams are most likely not the strongest ever recorded, but the ones who have figured out a strategy to simply survive until something changes, enjoying their newly found social constructs while they are at it. Basically, it is a system to hypnotise players into the illusion that they are still “living”.

Therefore, we as players would not get to the core of each Player individually as fast and directly as we did in the last game. The Twisters were able to stand out not because they’re powerful, they only started to have a real chance after growing enough to each form a meaningful and personal connection to another teammate. It did not come as a team, nor did it intiate from the existing friendship between Rindo and Fret. In fact, I did not find much solidity or anything truly note-worthy about the main team and new characters within themselves until they started clashing with other team members, Reapers and new recruits from week 2 onwards. Rindo found his personal development with Shoka (via a clash with Motoi and pretty much a mini dating sim between them), then via the confrontation of his role with Neku; Fret found his with Kanon then Nagi, the team learned about the real Neku via Beat, Neku entered the UG via Coco’s wish to save Tsugumi… it was not the team but their personal links that empowered them to fight and solve each of their problems.

The other team leaders may have failed because they did not form such personal links, after 30+ hopeless loops Fuya’s team all fell apart to pursue their own interest even at the cost of erasure, Motoi quit his KOL façade to work like a dog for the Reapers (probably to save just his own ass not his team), while Kanon dropped her tricks to find changes via honest cooperation in acceptance of a fair loss. The despairing note in that is huge without making much of a scene because their failure didn’t happen at their best effort to “win”, but in their last attempt to find a way “out”. Even Shiba got his way “out” in the end thanked to his personal friendship with Hishima and Tsugumi.

Something has shifted in the mindset of the game creators in the last 14 years, as both games are about “connection vs individuality” but the last game focuses more on connection between just individuals and this one on the overall network that is formed out of those individual connections.

The introduction of Beat into the main cast was truly the bridge between old and new, they helped each other out in several turns before officially recruiting him. Beat is a character whom a lot of fans including myself have felt somewhat concerned about after Neku disappeared from the RG, so when the new kids welcomed Beat with warm and organic interaction and Beat seemed happy, I started to feel like I wanted to help them out too! I think the overall team chemistry is enjoyable enough for new players, but I could warm up to the new kids more from the pov of a returning character – whom I’m glad to be Beat, as the older brother figure who is genuinely kind, fun, serious and upbeat at the same time; who is needed and needs the kids in return.

The social network is a fun and refreshing feature. You can read all of the crazy tidbits about Shibuya and the links each character have formed with the town people, it’s also fun to visualize how the characters act off screen. Characters’ profiles provide extra insight into their background too, like how it reveals Tsugumi has been friend with Coco during her time in the RG. During the game when not all characters have showed up, you can sometimes guess which empty spot will belong to whom. For example there is a 1 character linking to Neky that is not linked to anyone else, so I could guess that was Joshua, and that another character linking only to Joshua was probably Hazuki, hinting that the 2 Composers are related before either of them even showed up.

Hazuki only showed up for 5 minutes, but his presence is so vital and true to the game that I think he is the most memorable out of the new cast. The two Composers have such an intriguing bond, with their yin/yang or phoenix/dragon themes, opposite color design, the sempai/kouhai tone and the way they keep some sort of distance/work relationship as if it’s mandatory between Higher beings, yet at the same time they can talk so casually because they are truly equal – and different from one another. I have written a separate meta on them here.

Some people pointed out, that all Shinjuku characters’ names and themes are based off Hanafuda cards and the Phoenix in Hanafuda belongs to the Paulownia suit – which is Joshua’s name flower. This is so interesting because it feels like the creators somehow saw it as a sign to interweave the Shibuya and Shinjuku storylines together. Though it doesn’t come out much on the surface, it’s fascinating nonetheless considering both Josh and Haz had at some point interfered with the other town’s affairs.

“Shibuya tour with Haz” was such a special scene, as it happened between 2 characters who do not/no longer have a reason to care about Shibuya, on the subject of what is worth saving about Shibuya. Hazuki carried out the purification of Shinjuku and stepped in to restore Shibuya just as part of his job and unlike Hanekoma or Joshua who both possess profound understanding of humanity, he really didn’t know humans at all. Rindo’s irrational wish invoked in him a sense of curiosity, to try gambling on something irrationally and learning a bit of what his senior have experienced. With all the pieces put together, it provides an overview on Higher beings as a whole, and that Joshua and Hanekoma are really the odd ones out with Hazuki being somewhere in between them and the rest.        

The old friends

It’s easy to have returning characters overshadow the new cast as they have already matured out of their personal story arc and stayed in our hearts for all this time. In the end, I have managed to enjoy both the old and new cast separately and altogether, and they will both find their own place in our memory of this game for the long term.

Sho is truly as crazy as ever, the game wouldn’t be the same if Sho is any less of what he is. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like Neky or Beat is younger than Nagi at all, with moments when it seems like Neky has aged 14 years instead of 3 years. His friendship with Coco surprised me pleasantly, and their interaction together with Beat was fun to watch. Rhyme’s found a new dream and her friendship with Kaie is precious too, especially considering that she can still talk to him online after the game ended. Josh and Neku’s interaction suggested that they have resolved the past and are on equal terms now, they even parted ways in good spirit and I don’t feel any worry about them like I did before.

Neku and Shiki’s reunion scene was beautiful, theirs is such a special bond that it has grown and supported them even without being able to see each other. I am so happy to see them all again and that they stay true to who they are, albeit looking more grown up, cooler and happier than ever before.  

Overall, NEO can’t become a classic on par with the OG, but is definitely a good sequel and a good game in its own rights. I’m happy with whether or not there will be a 3rd game to complete the 3 monkeys theme, but if there will be – I hope the creators can really find the time to learn from the last 2 games and start over with a fresh mindset and strong core.  

[yardsards]

thinking about my future as an aroace is weird cuz like.

unless you want to live alone or go about your life moving between various roommates, you're generally gonna want to get yourself some kind of domestic partner. maybe two or three if you're polyamorous and especially good at compromising and communicating. this person (or couple of people) is going to be more important to your future plans than anyone else.

even if amatonormativity and expectations of a monogamous nuclear family didn't exist, this would still happen to some degree. like if you decided your top 5 friends would be equally important in your future plans, and each of them gave THEIR top 5 friends the same importance, and so-on, then eventually you'd end up with a "household" the size of a small city and nobody would be able to agree on anything.

people who are alloromantic, allosexual, and monogamous already have this issue figured out for them. generally, (unless you both agree the relationship is more casual) it is assumed that your romantic/sexual partner will also be the one who is most important to you and will be your domestic partner in the future

and the whole idea of domestic compatibility is typically considered SECONDARY to the passion of romance. it's just ASSUMED that if you're dating you're gonna spend your lives together (if you dont break up first). you have that safety net and hardly have to think about it! (though imo, more people SHOULD think about it and question why their romantic partner HAS TO be their domestic partner too, rather than a best friend filling that role instead, but i digress)

so when you ask someone out, the main question is more of "do you want our relationship to get more intimate and romantic?" and then "do you want to spend our lives together?" is secondary, to be figured out later.

but i'm an aroace and building a relationship from that kind of passion is simply not an option for me. some aspecs get into queerplatonic relationships, and those don't have the same romantic/sexual passion of more traditional relationships, but there's still usually an expectation that your qpp will be more emotionally intimate with you than your other friends, alongside the whole "let's spend our lives together" thing.

but im a more reserved person and i wouldn't want to be too much closer to any potential partners than i already am to my best friends. so asking someone to be my partner would basically JUST be me asking "hey do you want to spend the rest of our lives together?"

that's basically just a marriage proposal right there! it feels like i cant just *ask* that of someone right off the bat! especially with how young i am! so i have no clue how the FUCK to ask anyone to be my partner because there is no intermediate "dating" relationship state for me! no middle step between "friendship" and "i wanna spend eternity with you"!

and most of the world is allo so even if i DO figure out how to make that work, my options are EXTREMELY limited.

i COULD seek out other aroaces to have that kind of relationship with, but then i'd be meeting a total stranger, skipping normal friendship, and jumping right into "lets spend time together and become friends in order to figure out if we want to be together FOREVER".

none of my friends are full aroace, so it would either be "you have to forego all romantic/sexual relationships for me" OR "let's do some type of polyamory-adjacent thing, and either your romantic partners will have to come second to me, OR me and your partner have to get along really well and be okay sharing a household, along with some heavy discussions to make sure i don't get third-wheeled by you two"

it's so confusing!!! i dont think i wanna be alone forever but like! all those options have their own drawbacks! what the fuck do i do???

[inkandpen22]

Shared Minds and Shared Souls (1/?)

Pairing: Spike x Female!Reader

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, swearing

Word Count: 2.9k

Story Summary: Driven by the power she posses as a witch and psychic, Y/N returns to Sunnydale to pay a visit to her family after she has a vision about Dawn. She isn’t exactly like her duty first and justice before all else cousin Buffy as Y/N follows her own rules. She offers her aid to the Scoobies during their drama with Glory. Y/N doesn’t plan to stay long until she experiences an unparalleled connection with a certain vampire from North London.

Masterlist

I never imagined myself visiting a small town like Sunnydale. I’ve lived in many places, but never California. The west coast isn’t exactly my style. For one, it’s hot. Two, the hippy-dippy happy-go-lucky attitude makes my eyes roll. Finally, Los Angeles reminds me of Celia, my cousin. Buffy, Celia, and I were inseparable as children. Dawn tried to tag-along in our make-believe games, but Buffy grew annoyed with her quickly. I haven’t been back in California in a decade for this very reason. Everything about California reminds me of a time when we were just kids. Before everything went to Hell in a hand basket. 

Blasting Green Day in front of the hospital, I park my 1967 bright red Mustang. I take a minute to collect myself before barging in. Buffy and Dawn don’t exactly know I’m coming, but there’s something I have to warn them about, something so crucial that I drove here all the way from New York. The funny part will be explaining to Buffy that I know she’s the Slayer. To her knowledge, I’m just her ordinary cousin who she hasn’t seen since we were ten. In reality, I’m a psychic witch, have been since birth. Well, I’ve been psychic since the womb, the witchy part came later. Oh, and I can’t forget seeing the dead part, I always do. That little twist comes with the psychic part. Yeah, imagine a little ten-year-old me seeing my recently deceased cousin at her funeral… fun times. It explains the whole discomfort toward California. Low-key traumatized, but all good. Any who, I should probably stop the hesitation and just head inside. 

As I stroll down the bitter cold hospital hall, I grip the leather straps of my backpack nervously. 

“Hi Buffy,” I rehearse under my breath. “You probably don’t recognize me, I’m Y/N… your cousin. It’s great to see you- God I sound so stupid!” 

I follow the signs on the wall toward the Neurology unit. Hospitals, cemeteries, funeral homes, old buildings, all great places to bump into ghosts. The things I do for family, boy do these guys owe me. 

As I turn down yet another peach colored hall- geez this place is dated- my eyes land on a familiar blonde in the waiting room at the far end. Oh great, here we go. Buffy doesn’t notice me right away, being too occupied with doting on a sleeping Dawn resting her head on her lap. I take note of the blondie boy sat beside her. I’m guessing he’s with Buffy. Good for her, a strong seven out of ten. I would rate him higher, but he’s not my type, too All-American boy-next-door. 

“Looks like I’m right on time,” I determine once I’m closer, thus making my presence known. Buffy peers up at me and her eyes widen steadily. Blondie next her looks between me and Buffy. Her surprised reaction makes him tense, I nearly assure him I’m not a threat. 

“Y/N?” She gentle shakes Dawn to wake her as she rises from her seated position. “What are you doing here?” 

“I heard about your mom… ” I explain vaguely. In truth, I saw it in a vision and a lot more beyond that, but I’ll just say my mom told me for now. 

Buffy makes long strides and warmingly embraces me. I can sense the desperation in her touch. Her ora is all out of wack. I could see the mess her colors are from yards away. It seems like I did really arrive at the perfect time. Buffy needs me now more than ever. 

“Y/N!” Dawn gasps behind us. 

Buffy and I part, her eyes stare into mine pleadingly. Yeah, we really need to have a chat. Preferably somewhere we can be frank, truly frank, no bullshit like I’m spilling right now. 

“Oh my God!” Dawn squeals, rushing down to greet me.  She squeezes me like a stress ball as she rambles on about how much she’s missed me. Then, Dawn starts to ask the tough questions as usually does. The girl has never quite had a filter. “Where have you been?”

“New York mainly,” I laugh. 

“How come you’ve never come to see us before?” She rushes out as Buffy continues to stare at me in awe. It could be she thinks she’s dreaming this. 

“Dawn, I-” 

She cuts me off, “how’s aunt Lolly? Are you college? When did you get in?”

“Dawnie!” I laugh, “I will answer all your questions, promise. We’ll catch up! For now,” I look at Buffy. “I need to have a chat with your sister…” 

The girl scoffs, rolling her eyes dramatically as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Of course, you’re for Buffy… everyone is always here for her. No ever visit me,” she grumbles. 

“I’m here for you too,” I assure Dawn. “I just… it’s important I speak with Buffy right now. It’s about something-” 

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Blondie interrupts, his face covered with confusion. 

“I’m Y/N,” I introduce myself. “I’m Buffy and Dawn’s cousin.” 

“I’m Riley, the boyfriend,” he offers me his hand. 

Wow, quite the introduction. I’m not much of a contact-person, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to gather information on G.I. Joe. As I shake his hand, I’m able to visualize memories and emotions from him. They come as flashes before my eyes. I hear his thoughts, see through his eyes, and feel what he’s felt. All I see Buffy, moments they’ve had. At first, pleasure and immense happiness consumes my head. Then, it’s replaced with doubt and self-deprecation. The obsession with Buffy is replaced with desperate longing. He feels her slipping. 

My visual is cut-off when Riley removes his hand. I’m brought back to current moment, surrounded by chaos of the hospital. 

Dawn frowns, curiosity etched across her features. “What’s so important that you had to come all the way? Does it have to do with Mom?”

“You came all the way from New York?” A male voice questions behind me. 

What is this an interrogation? The sooner someone tells me where Buffy is the sooner I can head back home. Believe me, I don’t want to be here longer than I have to be. I glance over my shoulder, Willow and Xander stare at me in confusion. We’ve never met, but I know of them, the visions. I’ve been keeping tabs on Buffy and the family since… well… since Buffy became the Slayer. 

“Yes,” I answer Xander directly. Turning back to Buffy, I not so discretely tell her it’s urgent. “Please, Buff, do you have minute? I know this isn’t exactly opportune but-” 

“Of course,” she swallows hard. “We can uh… we can talk outside. There’s a courtyard just over there,” she gestures down the hall. 

“I’m coming with,” Riley declares next to her. 

“I’m sorry, is your name Buffy?” I sass, much to his frustration. “What am I going to do her? She’s my cousin. I’m only borrowing her for a second, then you can toss the leash back on her.” 

“Y/N…” Buffy mutters for me to stop. 

Riley narrows his eyes at me- oof, I’m real scared now! While I giggle at her boyfriend’s expense as the two of us start down the hall. I’ve missed Buffy, we used to be like two peas in-a-pod. Once all this drama I’ve seen in her future is over, perhaps we can be close again. I refuse to settle in Sunnydale though. At least we have phones and email. 

Once outside, and we’re certain we’re alone, Buffy cuts to the chase. “Not that I’m not happy you’re here, Y/N, I am but, why are you here?” She hasn’t changed a bit.

I snicker, peering up at the sky as the sun it starting to set. Gosh, I hate the day. That sounds weird because what human hates daytime, but I do. I’m much more… in tune with myself when it’s night time. I thrive off the moonlight and stars. The sun and its rays are hot, too hot. I like the cold and darkness of night. 

“Fine, let’s get right to it,” I smirk at my cousin wickedly. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my pack of cigarettes, feeling a bit anxious. “You mind?” I ask her, not really caring but figure I should check. 

Timidly, she shakes her head. Her arms are securely crossed in front of her as she watches me take a smoke. “Those things will kill you,” she advices the cookie-cutter phrase. 

“So can a car accident, yet we still drive,” I remark with sass. “What’s life without a little risk?” I wink. 

Buffy shifts on her feet as her jaw clenches. Her aura is shifting again, Black to red, I’ve never seen someone change on a dime so fast. That’s change is funny, she’s either angry or afraid of me, maybe both. I can’t blame her, I’m not exactly a Care Bear. My black and red attire doesn’t scream comforting. 

“Then again, you would know all about death, right Cuz?” I suggest subtly. 

Her eyes lock with mine and I start to see the wheels turning her head. ‘Does she know? How could she?’ She’s likely thinking to herself. One touch and I could hear for certain what she’s thinking. 

“What are you talking about?” She mumbles, barely meeting my eye. 

I scoff, tossing my head back, why can’t this be easier? You know what, fine! Growing impatient, I hold my hand out, palm to the sky. “Light,” I verbalize and within seconds a bright orb floats above my palm. 

Buffy stares at my magic stunned. Yeah, I was sort of expecting that kind of reaction. 

“How… How…” She stutters. 

“If you’d like a mini bolt of lighting I can do that too,” I offer. “I kind of prefer them, far more powerful!” 

She doesn’t share in my excitement as she slowly steps closer still in awe. “You’re a witch?” 

“Yep!” I smile, rather proud. “Have been for a while now, gotten pretty good at it too, not to brag or anything…” 

“So…” Buffy continues to process everything. “You know about demons, vampires-” 

I hum, “all of it. Including that you’re the Slayer, congrats by the way! Fun shit,” I compliment with a snicker. 

“Not exactly how I’d describe it,” she mutters defeatedly, her eyes still on the orb. 

Closing my fist, the orb disappears and I place my hand on Buffy’s shoulder. Her eyes meet mine solemnly. 

“How long have you known?” She asks unfazed. 

“Since forever,” I answer truthfully. “Sorry I never called or have come to help. I’ve sort of been cheering for ya from the sidelines. In all honesty, I’ve been away perfecting my magic with a coven. I’ve met some pretty interesting people along the way, all dazzled when they find out I’m related to the Slayer,” I gush. 

She pays no mind to my compliments, still in a daze. “Does anyone know? Does your dad?” 

I shake my head and sternly tell her, “he can never know! He thinks I’ve been away at school in Boston. In truth, I’ve been in New York with a coven.” 

Buffy nods in understanding, though I know Joyce is aware of the supernatural world. My mom could never handle it. “Did you come all the way here to tell me that?” 

Okay, here’s the hard part, the real hard part! I finish my cigarette, pondering the last relaxing bit of it before tossing it to the ground. “Okay, so here’s the deal,” I begin. “There’s a this big nasty bitch I’ve seen in my visions- I see visions by the way-” I add in passing, having forgotten it. Then, I remember I can’t forget the ghosties bit. “Anyway, you’ve already bumped into her, Glory. Yeah, she’s a real charmer from what I can see. I’m here to help because based on my visions, she’s kicking your asses.” 

I leave out a crucial bit of information, a part of the visions I’m not sure I can share. One important thing about being a psychic is not changing fate. As much as I want to tell Buffy everything, I know I can’t, not if I don’t want to mess with the world. 

“So, you’re here to help us stop Glory?” She clarifies. 

“It gets real fucked at some points,” I tell her, hoping that doesn’t reveal too much. 

“And I take it you know about Dawn…” she insinuates. 

I nod my head slowly, “you mean that she’s The Key? Then yes, I do. She’s about as human as the Teletubbies, but of course I won’t mention that to her. Who all knows?” 

“As of right now, me and Giles. He’s my Watcher,” she explains. “Did you already know that?” She’s catches on quickly. 

“Kinda…” I answer hesitantly. “Sorry if that’s weird. I’ve tried not to pry with my visions. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t know who Riley was! He mustn’t have been around the last time I checked in!” 

“When was the last time you… ya know… checked in?” She asks, unsure of how to phrase it. 

“Well, I’ve been away with the coven. I joined them right after high school, so I suppose it was when you started at UC Sunnydale. I know all about Willow and Xander, they seem nice from what I’ve seen. Angel, his in-and-out appearance in my visions was confusing for a while until I realized he was doing that in real life too,” I laugh.

“So you saw all of the Spike drama and my mom finding out about me too?” She asks. 

I frown, I saw Joyce learning about Buffy and that whole conversion, but I’ve never heard of a Spike. Based on my expression, Buffy predicts the answer. 

“Spike is the biggest pain in my ass,” she groans. “He and Angel used to be all vampy together. Then, Angel gained a soul and Spike got worse from what I’ve gathered. He’s killed two Slayers, so we’re not exactly friends. We met when he tried to kill me. He’ll show up and leave again, kinda like Angel but less helpful. Except now, he’s acting all infatuated with me and sticking around.” 

I snicker, “oof, so you have a psychotic vampire lusting after you? How did I miss this?!” 

Buffy rolls her eyes, “believe me, it’s not fun.”  

“Is he hot?” I inquire, always interested in a troubled bad-boy type. 

She stares at me with narrowed eyes of disapproval and scoffs, “oh my God… never ask me that again.” 

 “He must’ve showed up and gone between visions,” I determine. “I wasn’t able to check in much after you started at UC. Which reminds me, your roommate Kathy- not a fan of her,” I confess with a bit of humor. 

“Turned out to be a demon,” Buffy explains, much to my surprise. 

I gasp, “no way! Ugh, I saw you move-in, some interactions here and there, but that’s about it. I knew there was something up with her!” 

Buffy laughs, actually smiling for the first time since our reunion. It feels great having someone know I’m a witch who isn’t a witch themselves. Being away in New York with the coven was great and utterly freeing. They were the first people who I showed my true self to. Now, finally, someone I care about knows the real me. I have so much more to share with her! 

Buffy takes my hand gently, “I’m really glad you’re here. Lately… lately things have been more difficult than I could’ve ever imagined,” she confesses, swallowing back her tears and looks at the ground. “With Mom and protecting Dawn, I’m not sure I can do it all on my own. I mean, I have my friends, Giles, and Riley but…” she meets my gaze, tears puddling in her eyes. “I needed you, I just didn’t quite know it. I needed my other sister,” she weeps. 

Immediately, I pull Buffy into my chest and hug her tightly. I should’ve come sooner. I should’ve felt Buffy’s pain. I guess I was so caught up with the coven and I forgot to check on her, so I missed the signs. I’m here now, that’s all that matters. Now, I can help. Seeing Buffy so upset makes my blood boil. Anyone who fucks with my family gets knocked off this planet, which means Glory has another coming at her in the form of a powerful witch. 

__________________________

Masterlist 

[normal-thoughts-official]

Do you think Alec and Magnus use condoms? How do you think warlocks deal with STD?

REALLY interesting question, i must say that i love it. thank you anon. i hope you know that i will take it way too seriously

okay, so the first question is, ARE magnus and alec susceptible to STDs? unexpected p-words are not a problem because warlocks are sterile anyway (and, if you subscribe to both magnus and alec being of the same AGAB, also because it's not possible to get both gametes or whatever), so let's focus on the STD aspect (really important!). i think human STDs would not affect them, or at least not magnus. maybe alec because shadowhunters are notably more susceptible to weaknesses humans have, like disease and mortality and whatnot. but would human STDs affect warlocks?

i tend to go with no, because warlocks are immortal. immortality, especially as it is built in the sh verse (immortals can be killed but their body won't die on its own) kind of implies that they have, like, supercells or superorgans or something, that don't deteriorate - or, alternatively, that can rebuild way faster than they could be deterioriated. im saying that because stuff like aging and eventually dying is essentially the process in which your body can no longer replace dying cells at the same speed at which they die, which leads to your body weakening as a lot of its functions are impaired. therefore, immortality as in not aging and not dying on your own but still being able to be killed if you are, say, stabbed, implies that that process simply doesn't happen. so we have one of the two: either the cells don't die, or the speed at which they are replaced never changes

in my understanding, this implies that diseases don't affect immortals. maybe they can even contract them, but their body is too strong for it to have an effect. like having a disease without symptoms. but i tend to believe that rather than living with 8945134081 deadly viruses and bacteria inside them just sleeping around, the viruses and bacteria simply can't live inside them - both because superbody means super-immunological system and because superbody means that the bacteria and viruses essentially have no place to grow in, as they can't break their cells or whatever it is that that particular strain does

like - and that is true particularly for viruses as far as i remember, not so much bacteria - the way these mfs work is that they attack the cells of a body and use them to reproduce. but if you are talking about a body that has cells that are essentially unbreakable or so highly regenerative any attack on them is dealt with so quickly it doesn't even have an effect, i don't think any virus should be able to break into their cells in the first place. they would die without reproducing and bam, done. if you are going with the second theory (warlock cells do die, they just can keep replacing them as much as they want without a problem) then you probably have a situation where the virus can reproduce, but its reproduction doesn't lead to any problems because the dead cells are replaced as fast as they are killed. in that case, the warlock would be, technically, carrying the disease indefinitely. but i tend to think that considering how strong that body is and the fact that they have an immunological system (as they are half human and have no reason not to inherit that from their human parents) that is ALSO mega strong would mean these viruses would probably be eliminated quickly

bacterial diseases are different since mostly what bacterias do (again as far as i remember) is that they live inside the body, not necessarily inside the cells, but using the body's space to reproduce, and eventually their presence - usually due to the fact that they produce toxic elements that affect the host - leads to nearby cells dying/the space they are in deteriorating, etc. but again warlock's cells are either essentially unbreakable or highly regenerative, so that wouldn't be a problem, and they could overpower invasive bacteria easily before a colony could form. so, no human bacterial diseases would be able to flourish, either

and that's not even considering the fact that as they are half human they probably have an immunological system that is ALSO superstrong and therefore able to fuck up any disease causers. or the role magic might take in protecting the body, like, who's to say the magic itself doesn't kill any invasive bacteria or viruses that come into the body before it can do anything? why not?

so all of that, allied with the fact that many viruses and bacteria are evolved to develop within the systems of a particular species (for example, that particular virus has evolved to grow in a cow's digestive system, and therefore can't survive for long in a monkey's or a human's), is interpreted by me as "warlocks can't contract human diseases", since warlocks are a different species from humans, as are shadowhunters. sure, they're hybrids, which makes this part of the argument a little more complicated but obviously their demon side is stronger than their human side, since they are immortal. and demons definitely aren't getting rabies or whatever because that is just too fucking lame

so okay! no human STDs. we have established that now. bUT, i think it's possible that warlocks are able to contract their OWN diseases - strains that attack warlocks specifically, particularly a warlock's magic, since again they kind of have a superbody but i feel like the magic is a more fragile thing, especially as they aren't fully magical (because they're half human)

don't ask me how these work <3 obviously magic can interact with non-magical beings and elements so maybe there are bacteria are viruses that developed specifically to settle in magical components, but that sounds like a huge evolutive leap since magic is so different from like, cells. or maybe there are also magical beings that work as disease transmitters in a similar but essentially different way. and they probably can also be transmitted via sex because i mean, why not? sounds as good a mean as any

but, could magnus and alec transmit those to each other? i don't think so, because shadowhunters have wildly different magic from the one warlocks do - their magic is angel magic, warlock's is demon magic, AND, furthermore, they work in completely different ways. for starters, shadowhunters magic is so pathetic diluted that some of them don't even consider it magic at all. i mean, that is also because of good ole racism (hardly the first time racism led people to call the exact same thing by different names so they can convince themselves their way of being is superior even when it is the same) but there is a huge difference because warlocks are able to conjure and interact with magic and have it as a part of their beings and experience of the world through it, whereas shadowhunters can "borrow" particular powers for a small period of time at best. it is possible that the magic doesn't even exist within them, they are just capable of handling it inside their bodies for some time, which is why they need runes to use it and it has a limited effect

so i think diseases that affect warlocks could not be passed between magnus and alec, and WOW is it weird to realize that magnus and alec are of different species. like i knew that but when that knowledge comes to practice it's just so weird. anyway

and idk if diseases that affect warlocks would be able to live dormant inside shadowhunters and then be transmitted because, like i said, shadowhunters have completely different magic if they even have it at all, and i don't think the disease beings that live in warlock magic would be able to be inside their body. so, to answer your first question - i don't think magnus and alec would NEED condoms, because i don't think they are capable of passing STDs to each other, and in at the very least magnus' case (debatable for alec, i tend to think that because shadowhunters are essentially human they can catch any disease humans can, altho maybe they have a rune to begone them) i don't think they can even catch human STDs. and magnus has a cum kink so that probably means no condoms

as for how warlocks deal with STDs! like i said i think they are only affected by STDs (and diseases in general) that affect their magic, not their body. so, they probably have treatments for those. we gotta remember that warlocks have a very developed society full of academics, so they probably have worked to find cures for magical diseases, if they exist at all. so, there are probably particular treatments for those. i don't think magical diseases abound or anything, particularly because the amount of magical beings is pretty limited and magic is so different from non-magical elements so non-magical beings such as viruses and bacteria would have to change a lot to be able to evolve into magic-affecting beings. again, if they even exist. but yeah i think they as a (group of) society(ies) have worked on cures for those. which is funny to think about because like, do they blast the magical diseases with begone rays or something? please say yes. id love that

with all of that being said, i hope u know that i was planning on answering asks the next weekend (not this one, the other one) cuz ive been busy as hell lately and it'll be the first time i'll have time lmao, and i was literally just in a bathroom break between readings when i saw this ask and i just couldn't resist answering it. this is it. what broke my studying resolve. magical STDs. you should be proud

mandatory disclaimer that please for the love of god use condoms, you are not immune to STDs. also, this post is about show canon, not book canon, so i don't care if this is in accordance to what the books say. also, i'm no expert in healthcare, this post is just for fun, so don't take anything i used to build my arguments as scientific truth or anything like that

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Part 11 - James Hook

(first gif is supposed to be harriet fighting, dunno if it comes across) also lots of Gifs here srry

Warning!  Graphic depiction of violence!

(a/n): i suggest reading this by listening to the potc sound track starting with “the black pearl” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP-BeFi58tQ&list=PL263677A4D1B673E4&index=3 )

=

Jay blearily opened his eyes, groaning at the soft beam of sun that was blinding him. He quickly sat up as the printer beeped and the wand was only seconds away from being finished. “Carlos” he muttered, smacking his arm when he didn’t respond “Carlos!”

Carlos snorted as he snapped awake, glaring at Jay before his eyes drifted to the now just finished wand. They slowly stood from their chairs, Carlos opening the printer and grabbing the wand. Carlos turned the wand in his hands, pursing his lips in an impressed pout as the wand was seamlessly perfect. “not bad”

Jay nodded, slipping the phony wand from Carlos’ grip and into his own, nodding towards the door “let's go, its” he checked Carlos’ phone, which read 10:45 am “shit come on, I’d rather be just a bit earlier than be late and risk losing Ben” Carlos nodded, about to walk out the door with Jay when he remembered your plan.

He turned back, whistling for Dude “Come on buddy, you’re gonna help!” Dude barked with an excited yip and barreled off his bed, bolting out the door and to the main area, waiting for the boys. “come on what are we waiting for!” Carlos and Jay shared a look and rolled their eyes, following after Dude.

They made it outside, Jay quickly hiding the wand behind his back as Doug came up to them “Hey guys, have you seen Evie….or anyone else for that matter?” Jay and Carlos shared a panicked look before Carlos quickly came up with an excuse.

“They went camping” Doug raised his brow, extremely confused.

“Evie…camping? Evie, I want to live in a castle? Sleeping on the ground with no place to plug in a hairdryer?” Carlos just shrugged.

“Hey, isle kid remember? none of us are against doing that. But (y/n) and Evie decided to plan a last-minute stress reliever trip before cotillion, VKs only thing” Doug crossed his arms, his eyes showing a bit of hurt “aaand (y/n) is there cuz she's an honorary vk, and you weren’t invited because Evie needed you to man her shop here, she must’ve forgotten to tell you, but we’ll be back by tonight!” Jay nodded, slightly impressed by Carlos’ swift bullshiting skill.

Doug sighed and nodded “Alright then… see you guys tonight” he passed by the boys and walked into the dorm building. “Later Doug” Jay laughed, giving Carlos a look as they turned to go back to the limo, groaning a bit as they were stopped again and hid the wand behind his back.

Lonnie smirked at them, tossing one of her braided twin tails behind her shoulder.

“I’m coming with you” Jay laughed, waving off Lonnie’s request.

“whaa, we don’t need swords at the” Lonnie gave him a look “waffle hut?” Carlos slowly turned his head to Jay, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Wait wasn't-? Oh yeah! “ yeah, you can come” Carlos covered Jay's mouth as he tried to object “(y/n) said we would need an extra hand remember? And she said to let Lonnie come when she asked?” Jay stopped, closing his eyes as he realized his minor brain fart. He tossed Carlos’ hand off his mouth and nodding to where they had the limo parked.

“I’m an idiot, come on, we got no time to waste” Lonnie squealed in excitement and tossed her arms around their necks, babbling away about the upcoming battle.

-

You looked down at the messily drawn blueprints of James Hook’s ship, eyes drawn to the brig where Harry was being kept. “Alright let's go over this one last time!” Harriet sighed, her crew all gathered around you, Harriet, and Gil “We storm the ship, you all keep my dad's crew busy by fighting them and sending in the smoke bombs, while (y/n) goes for Harry, and as soon as Harry’s off the ship we retreat. And do not hesitate to take any of them down. Understood?” the crew nodded in agreement, the plan was set and was ready to be put in motion. Harriet let them go mull around until you were all ready to go. She turned to you, raising her brow as you stared at the outline of the captain's quarters. “what's up?”

“He’ll be on the ship when we raid right?” you muttered, fingers drifting over the metal of Harry’s hook that rested in your hands.

“aye?” Harriet answered, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head “which is why we gotta be careful, he may be a drunk but even when he’s pissed for shit, he’s a damn good swordsman.” She stared at you as you just nodded and started muttering something to yourself “what are you planning girly?” you glanced up at her, giving her a reassuring, but terrifying smirk.

“you’ll see”

-

You, Gil, Harriet, and Xiaohui were crouched on top of the nearest building to the jolly roger, Xiaohui put down her telescope and turned to Harriet “all crew members are on deck captain, the plan is ready to proceed” Harriet nodded and took the hand-held scope from Xiaohui and looked down at the ship for herself.

“Good, if all goes according to plan, we should be able to defeat the crew and get harry out of there within ten minutes” you glanced at Harriet's pocket watch that hung off her belt, mentally groaning a bit as it read; 11:45 am. You hoped to get this done in time for you and Gil to get Harry to the limo safely.

And you wanted time to deal with a certain…backstabber.

“let's do this” Harriet muttered, watching her father go back into the captain's quarters. She handed the scope back to Xiaohui and put her fingers in her mouth, letting out a piercing whistle.

Within the moment of it, and Hook’s crew looking towards the building you and Harriet were on, several spray cans turned smoke bombs were hurdled onto the main deck, blinding James’ crew.

They all yelled in confusion as suddenly multiple footsteps surrounded them, the sound of swords being unsheathed made all of them leap back and draw their own weapon.

“Who’s there!” One of the men yelled, taking off his yellow cap and rubbing his eyes “You have no chance we-oop” as the smoke cleared, the crew took a step back, their eyes drawing wide as they realized they were outnumbered three to one. “Wha-Harriet?!” she smirked as she flipped her sword in her hand. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t bother to respond, letting out another whistle, and cackling as her crew rushed her father's men. She blocked a quick swing coming from the man with the yellow cap and spun around, deciding to end the mess for later quickly by slicing the back of his neck.

The man slumped to the ground leaving Harriet to move quickly towards the brig, eyes drifting to the captain's quarters.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!” Harriet stopped, fear filling her chest as her father stepped out of his quarters, his eyes drifting over his crew and Harriet’s crew battling. “Harriet” he snarled, his cold blue eyes looking into hers “How dare you, you little brat!?” he raised his hook arm at her, his eyes flashing red, making Harriet step back “first your insolent brother, now you?! Must I teach you a lesson as well!?”

Harriet's crew quickly finished off James’ crew, their bodies slumping to the ground as blood pooled onto the deck. They lifted their swords in James' direction, ready to do anything to protect their captain.

“I think I have a lesson to teach you instead” James' eyes drifted to you, smirking as he realized just who you were as you unsheathed Harry’s sword and gripped onto his hook in your left hand.

“Ahh, the Auradon brat that turned my son into a pathetic Auradon lovesick bastard~” you rolled your eyes at the simple insult and flourished your sword.

“No, I just made your son realize he deserves better than an alcoholic abusive shit mongering asshole of a father.” you smirked as James’ eyes flashed red again “And if you don’t mind, I’m here to get my boyfriend, so-“ you waved Harry’s sword in a motion for him to move out of your way.

James chuckles and unsheathed his sword, shifting his feet as he prepared to fight “if you want him back” he smirked, slightly unnerved as you continued to look at him with an oddly calm look. “you’ll have to kill me, because unless I die, that boy will always be under my command, free for me to sell and ruin as I please”

Your brow twitched…this “man” didn’t deserve death, no..it was too easy for him…you had a better idea. “To the death, it will be!” James cackles, shifting back on his feet as he prepared to rush at you, stopping as you suddenly yelled out;

“No!” James, Harriet, and Gil looked at you in shock. What one moment you were itching to spill blood and the next you backed out? “To the pain.” James' shoulders dropped as he tried to rack through his brain to remember if he knew that term.

“I don’t think I’m familiar with that phrase” he muttered, eyeing Harriet for a moment then glaring back at you.

You smirked, tilting your head down, oh this was going to be fun~ “I’ll explain, and I’ll use small words so that you’ll be sure to understand, you warthog faced Buffon.” Harriet covered her mouth and snorted, looking down at her boots as her father glared at her.

He turned back to you, his eyes flashing red again “I think that is the first time anyone dared insult me” you raised your brow. really? The first time? Man, James really must be off his rocker if he had forgotten “codfish”

“It won't be the last” your eyes didn’t move from his, challenging him to try anything on you. “To the pain means the first thing you lose will be your feet below the ankles, then your other hand at the wrist, next your nose”

James rolled his eyes, taking a slight step back before stepping towards you “and then my tongue I suppose, I've let this go on for far too long-“

“I wasn’t finished” you yelled, enjoying the look of surprise on his face “the next thing you lose will be your left eye followed by your right”

James groaned and rolled his eyes again “and then my ears let's get on with it!” he growled as you smirked at him again and continued to talk.

“Wrong! Your ears you keep, and I’ll tell you why.” Harriet’s crew’s muttering went deadly silent as your voice dropped into a lower tone, shivers running down Harriet's spine as she realized just how far you were willing to go for her baby brother. “So that every shriek of every child of seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish, every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out “dear god what is that thing!” will echo in your ears” James couldn’t move, his entire body was frozen in fear. You hadn’t blinked once during your speech, that unnerved him. “That. Is what to the pain means, it means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery. Forever.”

The occupants of the main deck stared at you in deathly silence, all trying to detect any lies that came from you. But even Harriet, who could sniff out a lie faster than a bloodhound looking for its favorite treat, couldn’t detect any deceit from you.

James looked from you to Harriet with wide frightened eyes, before looking back at you “I think you’re bluffing” he tried, attempting to get you to back down. You shrugged, slowly closing your eyes and rolling your neck, making hook grit his teeth as he realized you hardly had any guard upon you. You thought you could easily take him, and that pissed him off, but his knees were shaking too much for him to take a single step towards you.

“It's possible pig. I might be bluffing” you opened your eyes and looked into James icy blue ones, smirking again at the fear you saw swirling inside. “it’s conceivable you miserable vomitous mass, I’m only standing here because you lack the courage to step forward”

James' eyes flashed red one last time as he screamed and ran at you, hook swinging back in preparation to slice into your neck. With a sidestep and a flourish of Harry’s sword, James’ arm dropped to the ground, the metal of the hook clanging as it hit the floor and ringing in everyone's ears.

James stared at his missing forearm, looked at you, and let out a piercing scream. “AAAAAAAAAAAAH YOU BITCH-“ You twisted back around and swung the tip of Harry’s sword just inches from James' neck, a small smirk on your face as you stared into James’ fear-filled eyes.

“drop.your.sword.” the entire deck was silent, watching as James reluctantly dropped his sword and took a step back from you.

You spun down into a crouch, arching Harry's blade against James' ankles and slicing them clean off, un-flinching as the substitute spray of blood hit your face.

Harriet and Gil gasped as they watched James fall to the floor with a loud thump, his screaming echoing off the buildings and water below. You slowly stood up and walked to his right side, flipping the blade again and hooking Harry's hook on your belt, tossing Harry’s sword to your now free hand and arching up, slicing off James' right arm.

He screamed again but was silenced as you kicked his side and placed your boot on his face, glaring down at him. “If I ever. Hear about you again, that’s not news that you finally choked and went to hell, I will personally, make sure you can't even tell from your ass to your face.” You kicked his head and took a heavy step on his chest and walked towards Harriet and Gil, nodding back towards James “if anyone else wants a crack at him, go for it, I have a pirate to save”

You cleaned Harry’s sword on a low hanging sail above you and sheathed it, walking towards the brig and grabbing the set of keys that were hanging off a hook next to the opening.

As your steps echoed off the old rotten wood walls, Harry sat up, unsure of the new footsteps that were walking towards him. He glanced at the opening with weary eyes.

You stepped into the small beam of light that was shining through the port window, your eyes brimming with tears as you looked at your poor wounded Harry that sat curled up in a damp dirty cell.

“(y-y/n)?” Harry whimpered, trying to sit up more but fell back “(y/n) yer really here?” a bright grin broke out on his bruised face, tears spilling from his eyes and trailing down his cheeks “Yeh came fer meh” his voice wavered as you rushed to open his cell.

You threw open the metal door and slid down in front of him on your knees, reaching up and gently cupping his face, minding the black bruises and reopened cutes “Oh my Harry, was there any ever doubt?” you sobbed, brushing his messy bangs out of his eyes and shaking your head. “Oh, I’m so sorry I took so long, but it took forever to get to Harriet's ship and- and the smoke bombs and-“ he reached up, cupping the back of your neck and beamed.

“Yer here now, that’s all tha’ matters ta me” he whispered, sniffing and wiping away your tears with his other hand. You stared into his bright ocean blue eyes, you couldn’t believe the amount of hope, trust, and love that was pouring from them.

“I love you harry” you sobbed, a soft smile appearing on your face as Harry’s cheeks and ears turned pink.

“I love yeh too” one moment you were staring into each other's eyes, the next your lips were pressed to his in a passionate kiss. Harry's arms wrapped around your back as you held onto his face, keeping him close as possible.

Your first kiss.

You pulled back for a moment, cracking your eyes open to see Harry's still closed, his lips just slightly parted as he took soft, yet fast-paced breaths. His eyes opened for a split moment, before you both leaned in slowly, lips pressing and moving together in a dance.

Harry let out a quiet sigh of happiness, hands drifting up to cup the back of your head and tilting his to deepen the kiss. You licked his lip carefully, smiling as he whimpered and happily opened his mouth.

‘no’ you thought, pressing one more kiss to his soft lips and pulling back, biting your lip at the whimper that followed as he chased you. ‘not the right time for that’

“Harry” you whispered, caressing his cheek gently with your thumb as he slowly opened his eyes, the blue slightly clouded with his running thoughts “Did anything…happen to you?”

He shook his head gently, heavily leaning his hand into your palm “no” he whispered “nev-never got ta’ tha’ no clients of da’s came, jus’ just beatin’s from the crew” you closed your eyes as you tried to keep calm, getting angry over something that was now over was pointless, right now Harry was priority.

“Thank fuck” you whispered back, leaning forward and wrapping your hands around his torso “okay, Harry, we have to go, I don’t how long we have before the others leave with the limo and I do not want to leave you here” he gave a clumsy nod and stood on wobbly legs with you.

“Gil!” you yelled, smiling a bit as he came running down to the brig “ carry him, and get back to the limo as fast as you can” he nodded, his arms going under Harry's torso and legs and lifting him into his arms in a princess carry. Harry lifted his head up and reached out to you. You smiled and grabbed his hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

“I’ll be right next to you love; the limo is right next to where I need to go.” Gil raised his brow, turning to walk out of the brig with a limp harry in his arms.

“Go where?” Gil wished he hadn't asked as he looked back at you to see a sadistic grin on your face.

“I need to deal with a traitor”

-

Xiaohui watched as you, Gil, Harry, and Harriet ran off the Jolly Rodger and towards the garage under the old pier. She turned to the crew with an impressed look.

“I now have no reason to think I’m straight” Sammy facepalmed and shook his head.

“Bitch you said that when Harriet beat you in a fistfight” Xiaohui shrugged.

“eh, tomato-tomato”

-end of part 11-

HOLY FUCK THEY FINALLY KISSED and YAY Harry is saved~ hopefully, that kiss turned out good! I was lowkey fangirling when I re-read it. Also!!! I hope that “to the pain” part was good, I was also re-reading my first part of your world fic and I was like “hoooow did anyone read this?” but I think I did it justice!!! Next chapter! The fight for the wand! Oh and-

Davy’s demise~

permtaglist!!!

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange (thank you again for being my beta reader/person who deals with my midnight ramblings about this)

@lunanight2012 @daughter-of-the-stars11

@musicarose (and thank you for commissioning me for the first four parts of this! if it wasn't for you, i probably still wouldn't have written the first chapter of Rewrite p1!) @random-thoughts-003 @remembered-license

@rintheemolion @descendantsobsessed @verboetoperee

@imtryingthisout @thecaptainsgingersnap

and taglist for rewrite

@thesailbells @beccad10x​

oh! have this kinda sad “meme” i made because i found a thing on twitter

[hanatiny]

[8:17] The Christmas Effect

a/n: hello @atinyinwonderland~ ❄ anon here - hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it, a very merry christmas to you ♡ a/n 2 - alternate title: Of Candy Canes, Mistletoes and a Little Bit of Magic

pairing: Hongjoong, Yunho & Wooyoung x f!reader

genre: fluff

word count: 2234

warnings: just to avoid confusion - this plays a few days before christmas 😚

-----

"Yunho, are you sure this is a good idea...? What if she thinks it's stupid or too cliché or whatever?"

Wooyoung fidgeted, adjusting his tie again and again as he glanced over at the taller male. He felt massively overdressed in comparison, not to mention that he was, to put it mildly, freezing his ass off in the chilly hallway of the apartment building.

"Relax, Wooyoungie! She loves us, so I'm sure she'll love what we've planned for today too~!" Yunho chirped in response, pouting a little when he noticed the wind messing up his blue mop of hair.

Both men jumped in surprise, ripped out of their thoughts by a muffled thud sounding in your apartment.

They exchanged a look - should they let themselves in and go check on you to make sure you were alright?

That decision was made obsolete as the door swung open and they were greeted by the sight of their suspiciously smug-looking girlfriend leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms.

"What are you two waiting for? Get in already, you're obviously freezing." You motioned for them to step inside your warm apartment, carefully pushing the door closed behind them.

"Do tell me why you're both here at," you paused, glancing at your wall clock as you led your two boyfriends into your kitchen and sat down at the counter, "quarter past 8 in the damn morning? On a Saturday, no less?"

"Why are you awake?" Wooyoung retorted cheekily, promptly earning himself a light smack on the back of his head by his boyfriend before wincing dramatically, "Ow..."

You giggled at the male's antics, "I love you but you're not exactly a quiet person, Woo. Anyway... where's Hongjoongie?"

"Could ask you the same thing. I thought he spent the night with you...?" Yunho tilted his head inquisitively at you.

"He did, and we stayed up late as usual. But he was gone when I woke up - hence why I fell out of bed so unceremoniously."

It was then that you both noticed Wooyoung tapping away at his phone furiously, cocking his eyebrow in faux confusion.

"What are you staring holes into my head for, huh? Can I not text my best friend in peace...?" He grumbled, pulling his hand back when you tried to reach for his phone over the counter.

You pouted before rolling your eyes and moving to get up with a sigh, "Yunnie, let me know what he's hiding... I'm gonna go get dressed so I look more like a presentable girlfriend rather than a demon from hell or something."

"Will do babe, love you!" the man in question called after you and chuckled in response as you shuffled off in the direction of your bedroom, smiling at the sound of the soft taps of your feet on the wooden floor.

Once you were certain to be out of earshot, he turned to wrestle Wooyoung for his phone, successfully using his superior height to his advantage.

"Relax, I'm not actually gonna tell her. I just wanna know what Hongjoongie said."

Wooyoung huffed, complying nonetheless as Yunho opened the message their boyfriend sent and shot the younger male a look because of the contact name, as if to ask him if he was actually serious. He got a half-hearted shrug in response.

joonghyung💙: I do wonder why I put up with you sometimes....

Wooyoung: cuz you love me, duh

joonghyung💙: ..Anyway, can you bring Y/n here asap? The boys are almost done, and I can only bribe them for so long

Yunho shook his head in amusement while typing a reply into the device.

Wooyoung: gotcha, we'll be there in 20

The phone didn't buzz with another message from Hongjoong after that, Wooyoung snatching and pocketing it in a panic when he saw you emerge from your bedroom.

You paid him no mind however and approached Yunho first, reaching up to pull him into a kiss, giggling and pulling away again when he playfully nipped at your bottom lip.

"Don't start things you won't finish, Yun- wait what's this?" You interrupted yourself upon seeing something poking out of the male's jacket pocket.

"I wanted to give these to you later but," he fumbled and retrieved the small pouch from his pocket to hand it to you, "merry early christmas."

You opened the pouch, taken by curiosity, just to find a pair of candy cane shaped earrings inside. Your eyes twinkled with happiness as you put them on.

"I love them so much! Thank you~!" You moved to embrace your tall boyfriend, Wooyoung gently stopping you with a hand on your chest and spun you to face him instead.

You blinked at him and tilted your head, seeing a smirk dancing on his lips. Something rustling above your head, you glanced upwards to be met with the sight of a mistletoe before looking back at the male in front of you.

"I helped him pick them out for you," Wooyoung pushed a strand of hair out of your face to admire the accessory dangling from your ear while he explained, "don't I deserve a thank you for that, doll~?"

Before you could even formulate a coherent answer, he dipped you and pressed his lips to yours in a kiss that undeniably left you breathless when he pulled away again.

You groaned lowly, "You're so over-the-top, Woo..."

"But that's why you love me, right?"

He was met with a cheeky grin, "Maybe~"

"Maybe?!" Yunho chuckled, ignoring Wooyoung's indignant squeal and interlocking his arm with yours, nudging you gently, "Come on, we've got somewhere to be. Sannie said he had something to show you~"

You raised your eyebrow inquisitively at how secretive he was being but ignored it in favor of the pouty, shorter of the two grasping your free hand.

"You know I love you both and Hongjoongie lots, I'm just teasing...~"

Wooyoung gave a low and happy hum in response, swinging your hands together lightly as you exited your apartment together.

You giggled while you heard the soft click of your door falling shut, stealing thoughtful, hopefully subtle glances at your boyfriends as you walked between them in the direction of the company they worked at - KQ, if you hadn't mixed anything up.

You considered it somewhat of an odd thing that you hadn't met either of them any sooner, you mused, considering how close you lived to their workplace.

But then again... you didn't really go out on your own much and they usually had quite packed schedules, so the fact that they not only met you in the first place but continued to make an active effort to find time for you in their busy life as idols was as near to a real-life miracle as you'd get.

And you wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. These boys were your world, and they loved you as much as you loved them.

You were so lost in your own head that you didn't even notice where you were, only now realizing you were standing in the building's main elevator as Wooyoung snapped his fingers in front of your face a couple of times.

"Earth to Y/n...? You good, love?" You blinked incredulously at him, as if you hadn't just spaced out for a solid five minutes or so, "Yeah, I'm fine. Was just thinking."

"Careful, don't strain your pretty little head too much." Your taller boyfriend hummed in amusement, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead before ruffling your hair lightly.

"I'm not a baby, Yunnie..." You mumbled with a huff, patting down your hair while the elevator doors slid open and you all stepped out into the hallway.

Wooyoung flicked your forehead and chuckled, "You're our baby though."

"True. Anyway, I'm gonna go find Joongie. He owes me an apology for leaving without saying anything..."

You playfully blew kisses at your two lovers before jogging off in the direction of the man in question's studio, knocking softly at the door before stepping inside.

Judging by his lack of a reaction he must've not heard you at all, certainly not a surprise considering how loud his music was blasting.

You snuck up behind Hongjoong and placed your hands on his shoulders with a grin, startling him. He jolted with a high-pitched yelp, turning his music off and saving his progress on his file before whirling around in his chair and pulling you into his lap as he glared playfully.

"You sure scared me, princess... What's the occasion? Bit late for a Halloween gag." He laughed, caressing your neck gently while silently noting the earrings you were wearing - a gift he lended Yunho money for.

You rolled your eyes at his lame joke, punching his chest mockingly. "You know what the occasion is. You were gone when I woke up... didn't even text me."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "You know how work is, precious. No rest for the wicked...~"

"I know indeed," you sighed softly, "I just hoped I'd get at least a morning with you, it's been ages since our last one."

Hongjoong's face flushed at the realization that you were right, but you were thankfully too distracted by the hushed whispers and hurried steps outside the door as Wooyoung bolted down the hallway with Yunho in tow.

"These two are gonna be the death of us all... they're probably off to find San, but I think we should follow them to make sure they're not breaking anything again."

"Agreed." You rubbed your forehead in exasperation while Hongjoong nodded at you with a smile, feeling his phone buzz faintly in his pocket. He glanced at it, moving to gently push you off of him as he got up.

You snuggled into his side with a whine as he wrapped his arm around you, leaving the studio together and heading towards the practice room.

Hongjoong blew some of his hair out of his face, "Oh right! San said what he wants you to see is a surprise, so I'll have to cover your eyes for a bit..~"

You tilted your head questioningly at your boyfriend before shaking off your suspicious feelings and letting him do as he said while he led you to your destination.

You didn’t hear door opening so you assumed someone else had opened it beforehand, soft music reaching your ears instead.

Unable to keep your curiosity in check any longer, you reached up to pry Hongjoong's hands away from your face before he did it himself, "Hongjoongie I love you but I swear, if this is-" "Ta-da~!"

On any other day, you would have gotten upset about him for both hiding something from you and interrupting you while speaking.

Today was not such a day.

As you took in the sight of the unusually dark room, you concluded that the fairy lights giving off a warm glow must've been Yunho's idea while the small prettily decorated christmas tree in the corner - with a few candy canes dangling from the branches, you noted with an amused grin, was Wooyoung’s.

A fond smile grew on Hongjoong's face when your gaze finally landed on the large table in the middle of the room and you stepped closer to it, remaining unaware of the three men now all watching you from where they stood in the doorway.

You counted a total of four chairs around the neatly arranged table, one a different color than the others, before realizing that an array of all your favorite foods was set up for you to taste and enjoy.

"You guys did all this? For me? You shouldn't have...~" You sobbed happily, racing to embrace your boyfriends.

Hongjoong blushed faintly, thankful that you weren't aware and that they were able to pull off this little scheme, "W-well... we had a little help from the others," he glanced at the table shyly, "especially Seonghwa."

"I figured as much but still..." You trailed off with a grin, "I feel a little bad because I don't have anything prepared for any of you."

Wooyoung giggled, "Your love is more than enough for us!"

"We just wanted to give something back." Yunho chimed in, followed by Hongjoong, "Yeah, you do so much more for us than you think... our sweet, precious princess whom we love dearly."

Your face flushed a bright red, unsure of what to say as you instead went ahead and gave each of your boyfriends a loving kiss before dragging them to the table to eat.

Their big and genuine smiles said it all as you sat and laughed together, a question suddenly popping into your mind, “How did you manage to get the others out of here, anyway...? They’re always around here somewhere.”

Wooyoung’s eyes lit up, mouth stuffed with food, “We bribed-” Yunho slapped a hand over the younger male’s mouth, “What Wooyoungie means to say is we convinced them to give us some alone time with you... we don’t get to have much time with just the four of us, after all.”

“Indeed,” Hongjoong nodded, “and you know, I may have also convinced our manager to give us a few additional days off for the holidays...”

“You WHAT?!”

“Yeah. Merry christmas..?” He chuckled awkwardly, looking down at his lap while playing with one of his rings.

You hummed softly in mild amusement, “Truly a christmas miracle, all of this and all of you.”

-----

Taglist:

@galaxteez​ @inkigayeo​ @nightqueennyx​ @truebluejoong​ @twancingyunhoe​ @yunhoiseyecandy​

[mourntheantagonist]

I’m sorry about your exams mine are coming up soon and I’m about to shit a brick about it ngl but at the end of the dad tests can be made up or classes retaken. grades don’t define you and tbh they’re not a measure of success either. I’m sure you’re a good student who tried.

Prompt:

Meet ugly: billy likes to jog at the park but his run is cute off went this huge ass wet dog all muddy and shit cuts him off and weaves between his legs. He trips right into a muddy puddle and twists his ankle. Steve runs up to him all apologetic and billy is yelling at him about keeping his dog on a leash, but billy has no choice but to accept the guys help cuz he can’t walk on his own.

Thank you so much for the kind words and thank you so much for the prompt. I loved this idea and got a little carried away and it’s not 100% what you asked for but I still hope you enjoy it :)

read on ao3

Billy loves the rain. Living in California meant a good rainfall was few and far between. He hated to praise Hawkins, Indiana, but he loved that it rained.

Rain in Hawkins was also very much unlike the rain in California. Down in the southwest corner of the country, rainfall was less like a shower and more like a sprinkle. The rain was only ever powerful enough to form little droplets in his hair. Never enough to cause soaking wet clothes or windshield wipers past the lowest setting. It was nothing like that in Hawkins. Instead it was heavy showers. Soaking his clothes until they were dripping. Needing to drive carefully to avoid hydroplaning. But not too carefully. He had to take advantage of those curb-side puddles that were perfect for splashing pedestrians. 

If he had to say anything good about Hawkins, it would have to be the rain. But one thing that was just slightly better than when it was raining, was when it stopped. When the roads were still wet, and the sky still cloudy, but not a single drop of water falling to the earth. It was a weirdly nice feeling. The post rain smell filling his senses. It always seemed to be the perfect temperature. Not too hot. Not too cold. Refreshing was the best way to describe it.

It’s perfect jogging weather. It was always far too hot in California to actually jog the way he wanted. The heat sucking every bit of energy out of him. And trying to breathe in the California smog was just a bad idea in general. Running in the post rain bliss was something else entirely. Taking in only the freshest air. He felt rejuvenated after every run.

That’s how he turned into the guy who stared out of his window every weekend as raindrops fell upon the pane. Looking up at the grey sky waiting for the clouds to part and the rain to subside so he could go out for his run. This was another good thing about Hawkins rain. While it rained often, it didn’t rain for long. It was a perfect balance the way Billy sees it. 

This was how he got to know Hawkins a little better. He ran through surrounding neighborhoods, he ran to the high school and on days he felt really good, he ran into town. 

Weirdly enough running was a lot like surfing. Not so much in the activity itself, but for the purposes that it served. Because it was more than just exercise. It was a nice way of escaping everything. His dad, Susan, hell even Hawkins. Because just like surfing he was able to put himself into a different zone. Enter a separate reality from the one he was stuck in. He could put on his Walkman and run like he had no destination. 

But sometimes he got into the zone a little too much. If the town hadn’t already known him as the bad boy from sunny California, they surely knew him as the punk kid with no respect that was constantly bumping into them on the street. Jaywalking in front of their cars. Splashing carelessly into puddles of fresh rain water. It’s not like he planned to stay in a small town in Indiana. Billy was not the small town type. Some nice rain wasn’t going to suddenly change him into that type of person. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t find rain elsewhere. The Pacific Northwest has both heavy rain and beaches. Maybe he’ll go there instead of going back to California. But the point is, he doesn’t care about what his reputation is. It doesn’t matter. So he pisses off the locals without hesitation and just tries to make the best of it while he’s trapped here.

But maybe Billy should have paid a little more attention. While some humans have the common sense to move out of the way, some animals are lacking in that area.

He’s running through this trail he found in the woods surrounding Loch Nora. In his defense he has no reason to be expecting any company while jogging through the middle of the woods. Perhaps he shouldn’t only be worrying about the company of people and rather whatever wildlife lurks in this part of the country. 

Thank fuck his only run in was with that of a disheveled golden retriever covered in mud and not some seven foot tall bear. Billy doesn’t notice the dog until it begins weaving in and out between Billy’s legs. The dog is damn lucky Billy didn’t step on her tail. She’s got a leash hanging from her collar with no owner on the other end. But Billy only knows that part because the same leash had managed to wrap around both of his ankles, bringing him to his new position of being face down in a muddy puddle with an apparent ache forming where the leash had bound him.

So there he lies. Face down, ankles wrapped, a dog licking the mud off his face, and to top it all off, the owner has finally decided to make an appearance. Something in Billy is not even surprised to find that when he rolls over onto his ass he discovers that the owner is none other than Steve fucking Harrington. Because of course it’s Steve fucking Harrington. The universe can’t allow Billy to have even one normal day. 

Billy notices Steve before Steve actually notices him. He’s about fifty feet away looking in the other direction shouting what he assumes is the mutts name. “Trixie!” Billy is trying to untangle himself from the leash, but not before Trixie makes a run for the human calling her name and yanks herself free, tugging at his right ankle before breaking loose. Billy doesn’t contain the shriek in pain as it almost dislocates the bone. Shit. Something is definitely wrong.

Steve hears him of course. Hears the girlish scream that Billy would never produce voluntarily. Billy is trying to hoist himself up to maintain some of his dignity, but to no avail. Once Steve has made the distance and is standing at his feet, and billy has succumbed to his spot in the dirt, he fires first.

“Keep your damn dog on a leash.” He spits. If he can’t be at eye level, or even stand up, he has to assert his dominance somehow.

It’s only then that it actually clicks for Steve that Billy hasn’t just parked himself there in the dirt for fun. 

“Oh shit dude! Fuck I’m sorry about that. There’s not usually anyone around here so I thought I’d let her do her business y’know? Also she’s not my dog, I’m just pet-sitting for my neighbor. What am I doing? You don’t care about that. Are you okay? She didn’t bite you or anything, right?”

Billy should be mad. Like his ankle might be broken because this idiot doesn’t know how to take care of a dog. But all that rambling and profuse apologies was kind of… cute? Nope. Nope! Billy shut that thought down immediately. 

Billy gestures down toward his feet. “Fuckin’ took me down by the ankles. You could learn a thing or two from the bitch. Seeing how you play basketball and all.” 

Steve brushes off the comment and lends a hand to help Billy up from the ground. He winces when he applies pressure. Still through the pain he slowly tries to walk away.

“Wait! Dude don’t you live on Old Cherry? That’s like a mile from here.” Billy is just comically limping away from the scene. Logically he knows he’s not getting home on his own. But the last thing he wants is to accept charity from Steve Harrington. 

“I don’t need your help Harrington. I’ll be fine. Go back to your castle.”

Steve just ignores him and throws one of Billy’s arms over his shoulder. “Look, my house is like a block away. Let me drive you home so I don’t have to hear about the news of your body being recovered from the Eno River.”

Begrudgingly, Billy accepts the support, huffing out a ‘fine’ before letting Steve guide him and the dog towards the Harrington household. 

Steve was right. It was definitely closer than his house was. He could already see between the trees the nice looking two story building. Billy had passed by it before on his drives, but only ever in the dark. It looked much different in the daylight. Somehow it looked even more abandoned. Like everything was still kept up. There weren’t vines growing along the side. It looked clean, but it gave off this strange feeling of loneliness. Like few people had ever passed through it. 

The only thing about the house that wasn’t up to code was the pool. The water was green and filled with dead bugs and fallen leaves. Looked like it hadn’t been cleaned out in months. He vaguely recalls hearing about the story of that Barbara Holland chick. Died in his pool. He figures there’s some correlation there. 

By the time they make it to the Beemer, Steve finally gets a good look at his ankle. In only the matter of a couple minutes it’s swollen dramatically and he can see a faint purple forming underneath the skin. He also sees some blood stains forming at his knees, seeping through the grey material of his sweats. And Billy is filthy. He’s got mud on his face and all over his clothes. His hands are all scraped up, most likely from the fall.

Steve’s brain is working hard. Steve has every reason to let Billy go on his own. Not even three months ago the guy was on top of him, beating him nearly to death. Why should Steve be showing him any kindness? But then he remembers back to him and Jonathan. Sure the fight wasn’t nearly as brutal. But Steve has said some fucked up shit to him and Jonathan never held it against him. Sure, Steve actually apologized, but in his own way, he thinks Billy had too. Not so much with words but with his actions. He had left Steve alone ever since that night. He was still aggressive when they were on the court, but the trash talk had dissipated. So maybe there was some remorse there. And look, it’s Steve’s fault his ankle is fucked up so the least he can do is help him get fixed up and get home.

“Okay look. I have to get the dog settled inside before I can take you home. How about you let me take a look at your ankle and then we can both go our separate ways?” 

Billy crosses his arms, balancing on one leg now that he’s no longer being supported. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“Actually the deal was I’d drive you home. That hasn’t changed. Just come inside. Your ankle looks fucked up and I know a thing or two about first aid.” Steve goes back towards Billy and puts his arm back in the same position it was before. Doesn’t give Billy time to protest before he’s made it through the front door. He guides him to the kitchen table where he instructs him to sit down. Then Steve leaves him there along with Trixie. 

Billy scans the kitchen. He’s kind of surprised to see that it looks pretty typical for a kitchen. Nothing too fancy about it aside from the clearly new appliances. It’s just average. Oak cabinets. Basic granite countertops. Doesn’t match the exterior at all. 

Steve comes back without the dog and with a first aid kit in hand. 

“You don’t have to do this man, just take me home.”

Steve just ignores him and kneels down in front of him and works at the laces of his shoe. “It’s my fault you look like you were just mauled by a bear so let me fucking do this alright?” Steve pulls off his shoe frustratedly which probably wasn’t the best idea.

“Ow! What the fuck dude?!”

“Sorry.”

“Look, I’m not here to help you feel better about yourself.” 

Steve pulls his sock off anyway. This time with slightly more care. “Just shut up and let me finish this so I can get you out of here.” Billy slumps back and Steve takes a closer look at his ankle. It looks bad. Clearly broken. “I think you need to go to a hospital. This looks like more than just a sprain.”

Billy's eyes go wide and he gets a little shaky. “No hospitals” he says bluntly.

“Billy I really think you should consider-“

“Did you not fucking hear me? I’m not going to a hospital.”

“Why not?”

Billy scoffs. “Your pretty little head couldn’t handle it.”

“Try me.”

“No. We’re not doing this Harrington. Fix me up and take me home.”

Steve rolls his eyes and gets up from where he was kneeling. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

“Not like there’s anywhere I can go.”

Steve comes back with a pair of sweats and a plain black t-shirt. He tosses them onto Billy’s lap. “Think you can put these on without my help?” Billy is puzzled. “Look I’m not going to let you get mud all over my car so put on the damn clothes.”

Billy is currently in grey joggers and a long sleeved navy hoodie. It’s honestly the most covered up he’s ever seen him. While Billy is dressing himself, Steve is preparing a wet washcloth and grabbing an old package of frozen peas from the freezer. Steve manages to catch a glimpse of Billy with his shirt off. It’s not even close to the first time he’s seen the guys shirtless. Hell he’s seen the guy fully naked. But this feels different. This time feels more vulnerable. This time it’s not a decision he’s making himself. This time Billy has several belt marks running across his back. The shirt is on just as soon as he makes the realization. Steve just tries to act natural.

“Okay. I’m going to wrap your ankle. You’re going to ice it while I clean up your knees. Then I’ll take you home and we never have to talk to each other again. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Good,” he hands Billy the wet washcloth. “And wash the dirt off your face.”

Steve pulls up a chair so he can sit in front of him. He gently brings Billy’s right leg up to rest on his thigh and places the frozen peas so that they hug his ankle. He slowly rolls up Billy’s pant leg and inspects the damage. Luckily it’s just some minor scraping that a couple bandaids should fix. He grabs some cotton balls and antiseptic from the kit and begins dressing the wound. But he can’t stop thinking about the belt marks.

Any other kind of injury and he could brush it off as Billy going out and picking a fight with someone. But these are unmistakably not from that and Steve doesn’t like entertaining what it actually means. 

Ever since basketball season had ended Neil had been less careful with leaving marks. 

Because he’s in a t-shirt now, Billy can see as the belt marks wrap around his upper arm.

“That why you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Steve points to the markings.

“Leave it alone Harrington.”

Steve just keeps his eyes focused on Billy’s knee. “Who did that to you?”

“I said drop it.”

“Was it your dad?”

Billy quickly jerks his leg forward kicking Steve in the chest. Not a good idea considering that probably hurt him more than it did Steve.

“You proud of yourself Harrington? Finally cracked the code? Glad to finally have something to hold over my head so you can take back your precious crown?”

Steve is still recovering from the blow to his chest. Didn’t really hurt. Just knocked the wind out of him.

“I didn’t mean to-“ 

“Cut the shit alright?”

“No! You cut the shit. Fuck I don’t give a shit about some stupid fake crown.” Steve heaves a sigh. “Look I don’t understand this exactly. But I get shitty dads.”

Billy is kind of just staring at him blankly. The prior rage seems to have disappeared but he can’t exactly tell for sure. It’s like for the first time in his life he’s actually carefully constructing his next words instead of spitting out whatever comes to mind first.

“Your Dad take away your allowance?” Nope same Billy as always.

“More like he’s never around. Cheats on my mom and my mom cares more about her reputation. I haven’t seen them in weeks now and if you asked me where they are right now I couldn’t tell you.”

Billy bows his head. “Shit. Sorry.” This is a different Billy than he’s used to.

“Can I get back to fixing your ankle now?”

Billy brings his leg back up and Steve carefully situates it back on his thigh. He picks up the package of peas that had fell to the floor and continues his work.

“Can I ask you one question?” Steve asks.

“One.”

“Is Max safe?”

Billy turns his head away. “Yeah.” It comes out a little raspy, like he’s choking on air. “He won’t touch her as long as I’m there.”

Steve’s starting to actually piece it all together. The little details he’s picked up on ever since he made his first appearance at Hawkins High in his loud blue Camaro. Suddenly there’s more nuance to every action he’s taken since then. 

“He shouldn’t touch you either.”

There’s a pang in his chest as he says it. As he watches Billy actively avoid eye contact. He can feel that he doesn’t believe him. That he thinks he deserves it. Because Steve has allowed himself to believe that he was just never good enough for his father. Never understanding that his father was just incapable of showing love. 

Billy doesn’t respond to that. Steve finishes wrapping up Billy’s ankle and patching up his knees, and now he’s helping Billy out to his car. With all this new information in his head he really doesn’t want to drive him home. But they had a deal.

As soon as Steve turns the ignition, Duran Duran starts blaring over the speakers.

“Figured you’d have shitty music taste.” 

“Oh shut up. Unlike you I actually like to hear what they’re saying. Not all the noise.”

“Still. Duran Duran is a different kind of awful.” 

Steve lets himself smile. Even though he’s being berated about his ‘shit taste in music’, he likes this kind of Billy. He’s not saying it to hurt him. It’s like a friendly jab. Maybe Billy Hargrove isn’t exactly who he first thought he was.

The trip is rather short. Old Cherry isn’t too far from Loch Nora when traveling by car. Hungry Like the Wolf hadn’t even ended by the time Steve pulled up to the curb.

Billy doesn’t move to get out of the car. Steve momentarily forgets about his ankle and let’s himself think he’s staying put for another reason. Maybe it has nothing to do with his ankle. He hasn’t said anything. 

Billy wants Steve to say something. Because something weird happened back at the house. The moment Steve said ‘he shouldn’t touch you either’ felt off. He felt something and he needs to know that Steve felt it too.

Steve turns the car off and slumps back into his seat, both hands now tightly gripping the steering wheel. He’s staring past Billy at the house with a look of worry. 

“Look. If you ever need to get away, my doors always open.”

Billy goes to look back at him. Steve is still entranced by the front door. 

“We’re not friends, Harrington. You don’t have to act friendly.”

“We could be.”

“What?”

Steve is looking at Billy now.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if we didn’t spend all this time hating each other and became friends? Forget crowns and keg stand records and fucking Tommy H. and just try to get along? We got two months left until we’re out of here so why not make the best of it?”

“You want to be my friend Harrington?”

Steve puts his head in his hands and groans. 

“We don’t have to be friends but we could at least be civil with each other. Just,” he takes another look at the house. “please come over when shit gets bad.”

Billy hesitates, but he nods assuringly. 

“You gonna be alright in there?”

Billy scans the exterior of the house. “He’s not home yet so I should be good.”

“And your ankle?”

“I’ll be alright.” He seems unsure, but Steve chooses not to push the issue further.

“Okay.”

Steve unbuckles his seat belt and goes around the back side of the car to the passenger side and helps Billy up out of his seat. As soon as he slams the door shut, rain starts to dump all over them.

The two are facing each other and Billy has half of his weight resting on Steve’s shoulders. Billy catches a glimpse of Steve’s eyes. Droplets forming on his eyelashes. His hair is already dripping fresh rain water onto his cheeks. It’s disorienting. 

Billy isn’t one for sappy shit but this is some freaky sign.

“I don’t want to be your friend Steve.”

Before Steve has a chance to respond his lips are pressed to Billy’s. It’s a quick exchange. Blink and you’ll miss it kind of thing. Billy has both his hands on Steve’s shoulders and is looking at him questioningly. Like he’s waiting for him to punch him or kiss him again. Steve chooses the latter.

Steve surges forward and crashes into Billy. It lasts longer this time. Still quick. But there’s enough time to appreciate the taste of each other’s mouths mixed with fresh rain drops. Steve pulls away first and is quick to offer a reassuring smile. They both look up at the rain coming down, and back to each other.

“Let’s get you inside.”

Billy has another reason to love the rain.

[blissfulsun]

Since there are speculation about jeff moving out.. can you write something about going house hunting with Jeff? Him asking you if you could pretend to be his girlfriend cuz he thinks he has better chances to get something when you are with him? 🥺 that would be soo cute! ~ vlobsessed 🎀

for u?? always sweets💘 i should be applying for jobs rn but a break won’t hurt riiight

word count: 1,099

Home’s wherever I’m with you // Jeff Wittek

Jeff’s crush on you was obvious, to anyone but yourself that is, the man had basically tried everything, each effort more futile than the previous.

Attempts at taking you out were perceived as friendly dinners, hikes somehow always turning into a group activity when you’d mention your plans to your other friends & his remembering of your coffee/lunch order seen as the actions of a thoughtful friend.

In your defence, it was hard to believe someone as good looking and sweet as Jeff wanted to be friends, the idea of him being interested in you even more incomprehensible.

So you would stumble through the dinner reservations with an erratic heart, remind yourself how to breathe on the hikes, courtesy of his muscular back rather than the steep incline & jump at the opportunity to look at new places with him.

His poorly thought out excuse of ‘you seem like you might have a good eye..y’know for uhh..places and stuff’ not worrying you, far too busy calming your own nerves which never seemed to cease in Jeff’s presence. 

The two of you would spend a better portion of the day driving around in a hurry to make it in time for viewings all across LA. Often too busy enjoying the other’s presence, singing off-key to the songs on the radio & stopping for snacks and drinks at a drive-thru or two.

There had been two potential houses so far, neither particularly grabbing his attention or yours.

That’s where the third appointment came in, Jeff visibly more excited, and for some reason nervous as he parked the car. 

‘It looks nice...’ You compliment while walking up to the front door. 

‘Yeah, it was kind of my favourite on the website except there’s a small, tiiiiny catch’ He’d finally confess, scratching at the back of his neck as you’d wait for the agent to open the door.

You could feel a growing confusion, expression asking him to elaborate. 

‘Darlin’ I kind o-’ ‘-there’s the happy couple! I suppose congratulations are in order.’ A friendly & suited woman interrupted his almost confession.

Jeff had at least the decency to look flustered while you choked on your breath, his hand gently patting your back in comfort before he decided to leave it there, wrapped around your waist with fingers wrapped through the loops of your jeans. 

‘Yes! Thank you, sorry about my wife, she’s feeling a little exhausted from all the viewings’ He sure was a good actor, you’d give him that..

‘Of course, here come in and have a look around. You’re the first couple to show up so feel free to explore what the house has to offer and I will be around to answer any questions’ The lady informed you before disappearing around a corner. 

‘So...I’m guessing that was your tiny catch huh?’ your whispered voice teasing, both shocking and easing Jeff. 

‘You’re not mad?’ He’d glance down at you while walking up the stairs to the first floor. 

‘No...more confused than anything’ you disclose, stepping into the master bedroom and following in his footsteps to the balcony, Jeff’s hand still securely wrapped around you. 

‘The previous owners want to sell to another couple, they lived here for nearly ten years after getting married ‘ He offered, clearing up. 

‘And we kind of look cute together don’t you think?’ his voice only half teasing as he released his hold on your waist and instead intertwined your hands. 

‘Guess I should have bought you a pretty ring huh..’ The onslaught of gentle sentences had your breath picking up. 

Before you could reply, a knock on the door demanded both your attention, an elderly pair standing in the entrance. 

‘Oh! sorry, we’re just looking but we can move onto the other room and get out your way’ your words rushed and apologetic before the older gentlemen laughed lightly. 

‘You’re okay little lady, we’re looking to sell rather than buy’ his response letting you know they were the owners.

You subconsciously leaned into Jeff’s body, his tall frame encompassing your own from behind as the pair of you conversed with the older couple.

It came naturally, his muscular arm wrapped around your waist and chin leaning on the top of your head as the elderly pair listed various information about the building. 

‘Can I just say you two are adorable’ Esther, as you came to find out, complimented you, a blush flushing your face and a chuckle escaping your fake-husband. 

‘Thank you! I always try and tell her that but this one is stubborn’ Jeff is first to respond, simultaneously leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

You spent the rest of the conversation in relative silence, thoughts scattered between focusing on how good it felt to be held in Jeff’s arms and the possible underlying meaning of his words.

The affections shared between you didn’t feel like a performance. 

‘Think we’ve pretty much sealed the deal there, how ‘bout you sweetheart?’ He’d whisper in your ear as the couple ventured downstairs to greet other viewers.

You chuckle, turning slowly in his hold, Jeff’s hands taking their place around your waist and your smaller frame looking up at his handsome face. 

‘You haven’t even seen the rest of the house yet’ You accuse, a bright smile mirroring his own.

Jeff shrugged, ‘Seen it in pictures. It’s the one’ he replied.

Your brow furrows adorably in confusion, ‘what? but...you were so critical and fussy with the other two!’ you voice jokingly, accusing yet a little lost. 

‘Yeah well, I have a general rule...if I can’t picture you in there with me then it’s not the house for me’ his words too casual for your sorry heart.

Shock coursed through you, the underlying joy at his confession slow to show.

Jeff chuckles at your gaping expression, hand grasping at your jaw to close your mouth and grip your face in his hold. 

‘knew it was the right one the minute I saw you walk in this room’ the words softly whispered as he leans down to your height.

It’s you who closes the distance, body finally catching up to your brain and processing the sweet confession.

Jeff is shocked by the pressure of your mouth on his, but only for a second before he’s diving down with equal fervour..

It’s not the last time you share kisses in that bedroom, they scatter across each room in the house once he’s signed all papers and got the keys, insistent on christening each available surface. Jeff makes you your own copy, heart and home open to you wholly.

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

Late Night Walks and Christmas Lights

(Ao3)

((( Thank you @tinyboop for the ideas!!! Sorry it took 84 years to write it!!!! Love youuuuu!! Also, so sorry this isn't under a read more, on mobile. If i can go in on desktop and add one i will... if i remember! <3 )))

It was almost Christmas. The buildings in the city had been decorating all month. Office buildings leaving lights on in the shapes of trees and snowmen and stars, the smaller buildings had been decked out with lights and little trees of their own. The wind had begun to bite, and the weather man was calling for their first snow this weekend.

Bucky hadn't really done Christmas in awhile. "Awhile" being lenient. He hadn't done Christmas in almost 70 years. And he knew that he'd stared when he went out to shop with Sam. Sam had offered to help him with his Christmas shopping, because Sam was nice like that... and also very good at Christmas shopping.

But Bucky had been staring, at the lights, and the trees, and all the tinsle and gifts and toy sets. Everything was so different now. So big. So in your face and everywhere. It was overwhelming. Sam had swooped in right as Bucky's hands had begun to shake, right on time. Like always.

He'd guilded him through shop after shop, grounding him with a steady hand on his elbow when needed, or a hand placed to the small of Bucky's back. Bucky wasn't sure if Sam realized he was doing that, but he wasn't going to say anything that might make him stop. He'd helped him around the shops and they managed to get most of the gifts they needed.

They'd headed back to their apartment, they'd been living together for almost a year. Neither of them enjoying the hustle and bustle of so many bodies under one roof. Sam had offered to look for places, and Bucky, ever the talkative one, had nodded. Sam had found them a nice place in queens rather quickly. Suspiciously quickly. Bucky didn't mention it. They'd hid their gifts and moved on. Waiting to wrap them til closer to Christmas.

Bucky woke to Sam screaming.

In all honesty,  he hadn't been sleeping. Sam screams at the same time every night, every time it happens, Bucky had begun waking a few minutes before, naturally,  and would wait a few moments after, for the silence or the screaming. If there was silence, he'd drift back to sleep, happy that Sam was getting a goodnights sleep. If there were screams, well, it was different every time, but Bucky always tried to help. And Sam, Sam had actually begun to let him.

Bucky pulls on a pair of black sweats and his blue henley, shoves his feet into his boots and gets up, rubbing at his eyes as he walks down the hall to Sam's room. The screaming has stopped now, Bucky can hear Sam breathing heavily through his bedroom door. Awake then. He knocks twice, the sharp rap of his knuckle.

"Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen." Bucky says, not an order, not a request, something in-between, something that they both understand, however unspoken. Bucky waits by the table. Not five minutes later Sam stumbles into the room, his own boots loose on his feet as he yanks his shirt down over his head.

"Is it far?" Sam asks, his voice low and hoarse, either from screaming or from sleep. Bucky doesn't ask.

"Not too far. But it's cold." Bucky says, a small smile tugging at his lips when Sam groans but follows him to door, accepting the coat Bucky offers with a nod.

Bucky hadn't lied, it wasn't far. Just around the corner. But it had started snowing earlier in the night, the streets and cars all covered in a thin white sheet of sparkling flakes, and the cold air made the walk seem like miles.

Sam pressed into Bucky's side as they walked. Huddling for warmth, Bucky told himself, and he was grateful. He pulled the door of their destination open, Sam gave him a look, Bucky waved him inside and followed him into the warmth under the florescents inside.

"A gas station." Sam said, voice lacking any emotion.

"Yep." Bucky nodded.

"You brought me, to a gas station.  In the freezing cold. At 4 in the morning. " the lack of emotion was mostly for effect now, Bucky could see his lips twitching.

"Not just a gas station." Bucky said, walking toward the back of the small store, keeping his eyes on Sam.

"A gas station, with icees." He pointed his finger over his shoulder, Sam had been following him down the aisle he'd chosen.

"Icees." Sam echoed, voice dull.  Bucky nodded.

"Icees."

"Buck it's fuckin snowing outside and you brought me hear get an icee?" His hands were on his hips now, eyes incredulous.

Bucky stopped. He looked out the window. It was snowing. And he guessed most people probably wanted warm drinks in the winter. He hadn't really thought it through. He raked his eyes over the shop, looking for some way to recover.

"They have coffee too." He offered lamely, with a shrug. Sam stared at him, hands on his hips, not moving, for what seemed like ages. And then his body seemed to melt,  his face soften, arms dropped.  He smiled, wide and bright, and strode toward Bucky.

"I'm just fuckin with ya. Thanks Buck." He patted Bucky's chest as he walked past him to the drink machines. He began filling a cup with the cherry icee, the bright red reached about a quarter of the way up and he switched to coke. He went back and forth, layer by layer, til the cup was full. He popped his straw into the cup and took a sip, smiling around the bright red straw perched between his lips, motioning with his head for Bucky to get his.

Bucky grabbed a cup and started with cherry as well, but he layered his with blue raspberry before popping his staw in. He took too big gulps and then stopped, his eyes falling on Sam, who was staring at his mouth. Bucky involuntary let his lips part, his straw catching on his teeth. Sam gulped and licked his lips before shaking his head and looking away.

"They got anything else in here worth checkin out?" He asked as he walked away from Bucky up a different aisle, his eyes down.

"They uh..." he trailed off, mind wandering. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"They have a pretty good candy selection." Bucky said, finding himself again and pointing to the giant wall of candy behind Sam. Sam's eyes lit up when he spun around to look, Bucky smiled at his feet as he trailed behind him.

Sam kept them in the small gas station for almost two hours, looking at everything from drinks to novelty lighters. Sam bought one for both of them, so 'they could stay warm on the walk home'. Bucky had no problem staying warm on the way home, Sam pressed against him again and he could feel himself flushing from cheeks to toes.

They walked up the steps to their door and Bucky stopped, his hand on Sam's arm, staring at the door. Or rather the light shining underneath it.

"We didn't leave a light on." Bucky whispered. Sam covered Bucky's hand with his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I know. But it's okay. Go on." He nodded toward the door and let Bucky walk in front of him.

He turned the knob. Pushed the door open, and felt his heart skip a beat. There were Christmas lights strug on the walls. White ones. Everything was a glowing white. There was garland draped around the kitchen. And in the corner of the room stood a tree. Dazzling in white lights, covered in bulbs of all different colors. Sam pressed into his side again, slowly, looking at him. Bucky knew he was trying to gage his reaction.

"How did you-"

"Did we do okay?" A small voice asked, Bucky knew that voice. He looked down the hall to see Peter's head poking out of Sam's room, his hair sleep tussled, baggy pajama shirt nearly falling off his shoulder.

"I think we did great for such short notice. Personally." Aunt May's head popped out right above her nephews, her hand resting on his shoulder as he smiled up at her, and then both of them, in synch, turned to smile at Sam and Bucky.

"You did great. Thanks." Sam said with a nod. Bucky turned to him and stared.

"What?" Sam asked, having the audacity to sound confused.

"How did you do this?" Bucky asked, staring at Sam and ignoring the muttering from down the hall, hearing a distinct "how did HE do this?", before managing to shut them out.

"Oh we've been planning this for awhile. I texted them when we got to the gas station." Sam said, like it was just that simple. Bucky could hear Peter and Aunt May gathering their things somewhere far behind him.

"It was 4 in the morning. Why didn't you just... wait til i got sent on a mission or something?" He wiped his palms on his thighs,  he could feel that flush creeping up on him again.

"It wouldn't havs been as surprising then." Sam shrugged. Bucky thought he might collapse right there. He didn't know what to say. Or how to say it.

"You two boys have a wonderful Christmas." Aunt May butted in, pulling them both in for a hug, side by side, kissing their cheeks.

"Now. There's two presents under that tree, one from me, and one from Peter. You're not to open them til Christmas." She pointed at them, giving them a stern look. She screwed her face up and seemed to change her mind.

"Or at least Christmas Eve." She smiled brightly, pulled them into another hug and then released them. Peter pounced on them not even seconds later.

"Aww Merry Christmas guys! I hope you like your gifts! Mine's better than Aunt May's but hers is really good too, we're super good at gift giving you're gonna love them! Aahh i wish you could just open them now so we could see your faces!!!" He was practically bouncing up and down. Aunt May detached her nephew and apologized.

"Sorry guys! It was so early when you texted so i made coffee and i made it waaaayyy too strong and it's kinda just now kicking in. Ultimately unfortunate but actually kind of okay cuz now i have the energy to do the rest of my shopping today! So thanks i guess! Bye! Merry Christmas!!" He waved as he walked backwards out the door, they heard him slide down the banister on the stairs and land perfectly.

"Nailed it!" His disembodied voiced called from the hall. Aunt May laughed, a happy, bubbly sound, and then her smile softened. She looked at them for a moment, her hand on the door knob.

"Really though. I hope your Christmas is wonderful you two." She closed the door a smidge and then popped back in.

"Oh! And before i forget, Peter left you a little something extra, for holiday cheer." She pointed toward the ceiling, grinning at them as she pulled the door shut.

Bucky looked at Sam.

Sam looked at Bucky.

Then they both looked to the ceiling together.

Above their heads. Stuck to the ceiling with webbing that was sparkling in the twinkling lights, was a small sprig of mistletoe.

Bucky felt his knees wobble, his eyes falling back to Sam, who was still staring at the ceiling. He looked so beautiful, his skin was practically glowing in the low light of the Christmas decorations. Sam finally lowered his gaze back to Bucky, eyes moving over his face, jumping between his eyes and his mouth in quick succession.

"Ya know. I might be in trouble." Sam said, voice low, his breath ghosting over Bucky's skin, making him shiver.

"What? Why?" His brain was malfunctioning, he could feel it. He was sure soon enough there'd be smoke coming out of his ears.

"Cuz i think Spiderboy might be much better at this Christmas thing than me." He was whispering now, and was he getting closer? Was it hot in here? Bucky was sure it hadn't been this hot a moment ago.

"I thou-" Bucky cleared his throat, his attempt at a whisper being more of a croak.

"I thought you were the best?" Bucky breathed. Sam's hand moved to Bucky's cheek, his thumb moving in a slow, warm, line across his cheekbone.

"He's better." It was less a whisper than a breath, breathed between them like a secret, before Sam closed the distance. His lips were warm, hot almost. They seemed to burn Bucky in the most delicious way. He grabbed at Sam's hips and pulled him closer, flush against him, moaning softly as Sam's tongue brushed his lips.

Sam pulled back first, not far, his head resting agaisnt Bucky's as they stood leaning into each other. He smiled at the small sound of disagreement Bucky made. Bucky's eyes were still closed but he could feel Sam nodding slowly.

"Yeah. He's way better."

Bucky opened his mouth, intending to agree but never getting the chance. Sam dove back in, pressing himself into Bucky until all he could feel was Sam. All he knew was Sam. His whole world was Sam. Sam, holding him tightly. Sam, kissing him deeply. Sam, pulling him closer in the glow of the dazzling Christmas lights.