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singularity-sam · 1 month ago

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Insane Stories From Belobog's Trash Cans - Special Pumpkin Patch Volume: A Vacation Turned Horror

For the Stellaron Hvnters Halloween Pumpkin Patch Event, with the rent-a-cabin maxima prompt chosen, featuring Huohuo and Tail as the protagonists!

(Disclaimer: This story contains depictions of terror, horror tropes, social anxiety, bullying, mentions of hardship, and unfunny cringe attempts at humor throughout).

“It’s a nice place, isn’t it?”, Guinaifen said while gesturing to the log cabin nestled in the middle of the woods in front of her, “This is where we’ll be staying for the next few days as part of our well-earned vacation!” As she finished her introduction of the setting, Sushang walked up beside her and stopped, replying with: “Yeah, it is. Thank goodness we can finally relax here and not have to worry about any trouble…” Another pair of footsteps sounded from behind them, followed by a quiet yet nervous-sounding voice speaking, “T-That would be nice… I hope nobody… tries to bother us while we’re here… B-Being on this foreign planet is already bad for my nerves…”, while stuttering with much anxiety within.

This comment then led to Huohuo’s companion, Tail, to awaken and separate himself from her while gazing at the site. “A log cabin? Yuck! How cliche!”, he said angrily (his usual tone). One last person finished walking up to the rest of the group. “If it is cliche, then would that mean it’s like a horror movie?”, Stelle asked, “Would it be haunted? Maybe some monster or creep stalks around at night? It’d be fitting, considering this is a Halloween-themed vacation…” Huohuo shook anxiously at that thought while yelling: “Ahh! D-Don’t say that…! V-Vacations are supposed to be relaxing. No scary stuff!” Tail felt annoyed at this, so he said, “Ugh, cut it out! This brat gets scared easily, and it grates my ears!”, while rolling his eyes.

“Speaking of which, isn’t this Halloween holiday something celebrated in certain foreign worlds? Aren’t you and Stelle familiar with it, Little Gui?”, Sushang wondered aloud, “Doesn’t it involve spooky costumes and candy? I remember you talking about it before. It reminds me of some of the Xianzhou ships’ holidays, but scarier.” Guinaifen twirled around and answered her best friend’s questions with: “That’s right, Shangshang! And it’s a lotta fun! Since you and Huohuo never experienced it, I thought inviting you all out here on this remote planet would be the perfect way to celebrate the holiday and our ghost-hunting efforts.” This perked Stelle up, who excitedly interjected with, “Yeah, Halloween’s the best! And we deserve to celebrate because we’re the Ghost-Hunting Squad, and nothing can stop us from being amazing sigmas!”, while having a manic grin and playful tone.

The other four members just looked on with stunned and confused stares, being put off by Stelle’s usual unhinged brainrot. “Um… Anyway, there’s a lot of fun activities to do around here in coordination with Halloween! We can carve and paint pumpkins at the nearby pumpkin patch, swim and play in the creek behind the cabin, and watch scary movies at night. Trust me, it’ll be loads of epicness, fam!”, Guinaifen said. “...I-I’m not keen on all the scary stuff…”, Huohuo piped up frightfully, “B-But the rest of the activities sound fun. I… never get much of a chance to go out like this, being in the Ten-Lords Commission and all.”

Guinaifen winked at her and reassured her with: “Then we’ll make the most of it! Don’t worry, we won’t do anything TOO scary. Now, let’s go inside and unpack our stuff, then the fun begins!” She gestured for the others to follow her towards the cabin’s wooden porch, which they did, though Huohuo and Tail lagged behind slightly. Tail, seeing that his companion was as cautious as ever, just sighed and said, “Sigh… This is gonna be exhausting. And I can’t even look away from this little brat for more than five seconds! I guess I just have to suck it up and try to do this, for her sake, but mostly mine.”, to himself in a bemoaned way. She felt slightly hurt at his remark, but knew deep down that he didn’t mean it, so she continued walking with the others, hoping for the best to come of this little vacation.

The Ghost-Hunting Squad came to this remote farming planet in order to experience Halloween together for the first time, and to relax after their recent victory at resolving the Fyxestroll Garden incidents. Guinaifen used her social media clout and fundings to rent the cabin they would be staying in and pay for the travel expenses. And everyone’s off time lined up, creating this perfect opportunity. It was intended to be relaxing and filled with entertainment and tons of festivities. And for their planned three day mini vacation, they hoped that nothing would get in their way and disrupt them from having a good time. Though they should know by now that trouble always seemed to follow them…

…

Later that evening, all of the squad members finished unpacking their luggage and the sun was beginning to set. As a first event, Guinaifen (who seemed to be the planner of all of the trip’s activities) decided that watching a horror movie together with all of her friends would be a good start. She and the others picked out a PG rated one (for Huohuo, so she wouldn't get too scared) and began to view it on the ancient cable TV that was in the cabin’s living room area. Only Guinaifen knew how to work it, due to her being used to older technology while growing up. All five of them, including Tail, sat on a very long sofa and watched intently.

“Wow, this movie’s kinda intense and ominous for being a kid’s flick… You holding up OK, Huohuo?”, Sushang asked after a while. Huohuo, who was visibly shaking and wide-eyed, nodded and hesitantly said: “Y-Yeah… This isn’t so bad, actually… This is the farthest I’ve ever gotten into a scary movie, so m-maybe I can do this!” This answer seemed to satisfy Sushang, who smiled and went back to watching the screen. Tail, meanwhile, scoffed at Huohuo’s attempt at being brave and wryly said, “Ha! THIS is scary? It’s so wimpy and basic. I’ve seen little kids that are scarier than this! If you can’t get through this, you won’t get through anything!”, in a crude yet subtly sympathetic manner.

The silence of being enveloped in the movie’s grasp continued on for twenty more minutes and all of them remained entranced by it, despite their previous comments. And right as the climax neared and the main character was about to enter an abandoned, creepy mine, the power in the cabin went out. The already dark room was then plunged into pitch black, with no visible light at first (except for Tail, whose flaming body acted as a makeshift night light). “Aahh…!!”, Huohuo screamed in reaction, “No, no!! I don’t like the dark!” Caught off guard by her loud and emotional reaction, Guinaifen said, “Hey, it’s all right! We’re out in the middle of the country, so the electricity can be kinda faulty sometimes. It’ll be fine! I doubt the power’s gonna be out for too long.”, in an attempt to console her. For some reason, this compelled Stelle to answer with: “Maybe it’s a ghost? I mean, why else would the power go out at that exact moment during the movie? A shame, I was really enjoying it…” Of course, this caused Huohuo to freak out a little more and start to breathe heavier.

As everyone’s eyesight started to adjust to the darkness better after a little while (save for Tail, since heliobi don’t need traditional eyesight), Sushang clumsily stood up off the couch and shook her head (even though no one could see it). “N-Nevermind that… I don’t think there’s much we can do about this now.”, she said. A hint of fear was in her voice, since she also gets unnerved by the unexplainable. “How about we go to bed?”, she suggested, “It’s late and it’s not like we have anything else to do right now, anyway.” Tail’s flames surged slightly with annoyance as he replied with: “Sure, fine by me. I was getting sick of being near you wussies to begin with! At least now I can get some peace and quiet around here…” With that, Tail sort of led the other four friends upstairs to their bedrooms using his luminance as a beacon in the darkness. Sushang nearly tripped and fell on the wooden floor on the way there, so Guinaifen also proceeded to use her smartphone’s flashlight to help as well. Stelle also tried to crack an unfunny meme joke about the situation, but of course, no one laughed (except her).

Even after guiding everyone else to their rooms, Tail and Huohuo made sure they got in safely and were comfortable/not confused. Tail pretended he was angry the entire time, but his actions juxtaposed his feelings. And Huohuo still worried about her friends, regardless of her intense fear about what was going on. Once that was done, both of them went into their room and went to sleep. Huohuo slept cautiously but was put a little at ease from the warm radiance of Tail’s spiritual flames nestled on a cot in the corner of the room, bathing it in a comforting green hue. This made her fear of the darkness from the blackout more manageable, as her companion/body part buddy maintained a sense of familiarity in her vicinity.

A few hours passed before Huohuo was awakened by something, a sound coming from outside her window on the ground near the forest’s trees. It sounded like footsteps, and they had a two-step pace to them, like a human’s. The power was still out, making the cause seem like it was intentional from someone else’s actions… She felt her heart rate beginning to accelerate, but she didn’t want to make a fuss just yet, since she wanted to figure out what was going on. So, she silenced her breathing and her Foxian ears listened closer to the outside perimeter. Whoever’s pair of feet were crunching on the fallen autumn leaves sounded like they wanted to be heard by other people. The steps were light yet very deliberate, as if they belonged to a typically unassuming person trying their best to be threatening.

Extremely unnerved at the realization of all of these minute details, Huohuo could no longer go back to sleep. She quietly got out of the bed and walked over to the window to get a better view at any possible trespasser. The darkness outside made it hard to see, so she bent down and squinted farther. While she still didn’t see anything, the footsteps stopped cold for a few seconds before they seemed to burst into a sprint that ran deeper into the woods. The pace was fast and loud, as if the person could somehow detect that Huohuo was listening in on them. This sudden change in atmosphere made her freak out and want to inform the others. “...W-W-Wake up…! T-There’s somebody outside in the forest…!!”, she screamed frightfully, “...Mr. Tail! Everyone, please!! There could be danger…!”

Her loud pleading roused Tail, who groaned and rolled his eyes. “What is it this time? I’m trying to sleep here, you little brat!”, he complained groggily. She tried to answer with what she saw once more, but only gasps and sobs came out. Luckily, her commotion awakened the rest of the Ghost-Hunting Squad, who waded their way through the dark hallway and into the room.

After spending a minute calming her down, Huohuo explained her findings again. Sushang nodded and smiled while saying, “Don’t worry, we believe you! How about me and Stelle go out there to look? We’re both fighters, and nobody’ll mess with us.”, upon understanding what happened. Stelle pumped her fist excitedly in response and said: “That’s right! Any stalker will regret crossing paths with the Galactic Baseballer!” Huohuo nodded slightly, liking the suggestion, since she thought deep down that it was only her imagination acting up from her being half-asleep. And with that, the two bodyguards left without another word.

Stelle and Sushang rushed downstairs and busted open the door action-movie style (or rather, only Stelle did, for some reason), and headed outside. Huohuo, Tail, and Guinaifen followed behind at a distance, curious about everything. The group rounded the cabin’s corner and went to where Huohuo heard the footsteps. It was hard to see, but Tail provided some lantern-like light once again. The two fighters pulled out their signature weapons as a warning tactic, Stelle’s baseball bat and Sushang’s greatsword respectively. They stared into the barely-lit treeline for a few moments, not seeing/hearing anything at all.

The looming tension in the air seemed to be put to rest once everyone heard a loud crackle of electricity and the cabin’s power finally came back on, bathing the immediate surroundings in bright light. Still, no one could be seen anywhere in the forests around them. Stelle and Sushang put away their weapons, being convinced that there was no threat anymore. “I don’t see anybody here, guess that means we’re in the clear.”, Sushang said. Stelle turned around to face her, and asked, “Still, what happened? And why did the power suddenly come back on?”, while being serious for once. Guinaifen stretched in exhaustion and stepped closer to them. “I dunno. Maybe it was the property owner working on the nearby generator or something.”, she said while yawning, “But man, I’m tired… It doesn’t look like anybody’s out here, so let’s go back to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow! Let’s go back inside. I thought you were the sleepy one, Shangshang, not me.” As she started to walk back to the front door, Sushang began to chase after her while retorting: “Hey, that’s low! And I only fall asleep when I have to do academic stuff, OK?”

Stelle proceeded to follow them as well, with Huohuo and Tail trailing behind sadly. She felt disappointed that they didn’t find anyone, as odd as that may seem. She was afraid of the unknown and didn’t like that it seemed to get brushed off by the others so easily, or so she thought. Hanging her head down low, she commented, “I-I know I heard some footsteps out here… And I know I didn’t imagine it. R-Right, Mr. Tail…?”, with a despondent tone. Tail, who was too tired to pay full attention, just stayed silent and only answered after a few seconds of awkwardness crept up on him. “Huh…? Oh, yeah, I guess. I’m not too sure, honestly. I was peacefully asleep until SOMEBODY woke me up with her whining!”, he said. Despite the sarcasm and slightly rude remarks, Huohuo could tell he was not too serious about it, since she had been around him long enough to understand his feelings and little oddities.

All of them went back to their rooms and went back to sleep. It was difficult for Huohuo (easier for Tail, obviously), but the electricity being back on and her friends’ silly natures helped quite a bit. The uneasiness was still there, but things such as the dim lamp being powered on the nightstand next to her bed also alleviated it somewhat. And with great effort and a little bit of time, she was able to go back into a peaceful sleep. One of the last thoughts on her mind was that perhaps this vacation could be fun and not so bad after all. There were still two days left to enjoy and the first bad night couldn’t tarnish what’s yet to come. Hopefully, it would get better… However, things such as Halloween are never fully predictable…

…

On a more positive note, the next day started off much more fun than the previous one. Just as Guinaifen said, the whole group decided to swim in the freshwater creek behind the cabin for the day’s activity. It was located about 300 feet away from the back of the cabin and through a little wooded path area. It was a large stream, with crystal clear water and a moderately fast current that made it perfect for relaxing in. There were all sorts of stones in and around the water, some clear and smooth, and others dry and rough. While it wasn’t as exciting as a full-on beach or amusement park, it had a nice, earthly charm to it that allowed people to appreciate nature and all its natural beauty.

The entire Ghost-Hunting Squad put on their swimsuits and did various fun activities while being near the creek. Stelle splashed around and generally swam the most in the water out of everyone, having the energy of a little kid the whole time. Sushang and Guinaifen played tag while skipping stones across the stream, having fun while enjoying each other’s company. Even Huohuo, who doesn’t always like high energy physical activities, was having a good time. She was simply dipping her feet in the creek’s water while sitting on the bedrock’s edge, not wanting to get too wet from the cold liquid. And Tail sat right beside her, content with just watching the others and not wanting to get wet either. He did get shoved into the water by Stelle earlier as a “prank” (in her words), leading to him shouting: “HEY!!! It’s very offensive to splash a heliobus with water!! It may not affect my spiritual flames, but it’s still so annoying to get the wet feeling off! Do it again, and it’s custom for my kind to possess you to return the favor!” Regardless of that incident, he still was able to move past it and enjoy himself, somewhat (as much as a rude, grumpy spirit can do).

For once, Huohuo smiled brightly and was looking at the treelines across the other side of the shore while playfully kicking her feet that were soaking in the currents. That’s when she saw… something odd in the distance. It was faint and extremely difficult to see, but it appeared to be a thin person peering out from behind a tree, staring at her. The person’s face was the only notable part, being that it kind of looked like some sort of mask was covering their entire head, leaving no part revealed. However, it was too far away to determine what kind of mask it was. The figure stared at Huohuo for a full ten seconds, neither of them reacted or broke eye contact (a rare feat for her).

Finally feeling the fear and weight from the figure and keeping her eyes open for so long, she blinked and the person was gone, like they were never there to begin with… Wracked with fear, she looked over at everyone else, but they didn’t seem to have seen what she saw, even Tail, who was still minding his own business just like he’s been doing. Due to these unusual circumstances, Huohuo decided not to tell anyone about it. She didn’t want to cause another commotion like the one from last night and cause everyone trouble/frustration at another false alarm, so she kept it to herself. And so, for the rest of the day, she tried her best to forget about it and have fun. It was hard and it still lingered in the back of her mind, but she was eventually able to go back to relaxing.

She didn’t see the person again for the remainder of the day, and she managed to enjoy some quality time spent with her friends on this fun vacation. They all played in the creek until sundown, where they then went back to the cabin and slept early in the night, too tired from all the physical activity to do anything else. And with that, they eagerly awaited the next day…

…

The next day turned out to be the most busy one of the entire trip. Wanting to make the most out of their final full day there, Guinaifen decided to save the best planned activity for last: carving and painting pumpkins! Waking up early in the morning, she led the others to the pumpkin patch. It was located a good fifteen minutes from their cabin, and through a wooded trail that concealed its location. Surprisingly, no one really talked on the trip there, since the beauty of the nature surrounding them spoke more than any words. All the while, Huohuo anxiously looked all around her, looking near the trees for the figure she saw the previous day, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She tried her best to not focus on it, wanting to have the same fun she had previously.

When they all arrived at the pumpkin patch, they spent a minute observing the nice scenery that accompanied it. It was a large, open field located in a clearing in the forest, with grass spreading as far as the eye could see. Dozens and dozens of pumpkins lined the field, some big and some small, some young and some old, and some fresh and some rotten. There weren’t many other notable features in the clearing, only a small, old barn and a very long plastic table with various carving/painting tools on it. A farmer stood behind the table, waiting to assist anyone who needed it, though no one else was there except them.

“Woah, it’s so cozy!”, Guinaifen exclaimed, “It’s even better than I imagined!” Sushang put her arm around her best friend excitedly, before letting go and getting ready to dive into the fun. “You said it, Little Gui! I can’t wait to see more of this fun-sounding Halloween activity. Let’s go, I’ve been itching to try this the whole time I’ve been here!”, she said. Nodding, Guinaifen smiled mischievously and challenged her by saying: “Race ya there!” She burst into a quite fast sprint before her friend could even react, her graceful running skills owing to her street-performer talents. A second of surprise overtook Sushang, then shifting to excitement as she proceeded to run after her, wanting to get there first.

Stelle saw this and with her trademark blank face, declared, “I know what I’m going to paint on my pumpkin’s gyatt!”, in a cringey way while clapping her hands together with determination in her body language. She also sprinted towards the pumpkins, fantasizing about who-knows-what in terms of what she was going to do (it likely involved memes or trash cans in some way). Seeing all this, Huohuo smiled weakly, feeling better about her paranoia after seeing her fellow squad members so joyful. “E-Everyone is having such a good time… I would also like to as well. Should we join them, Mr. Tail?”, she wondered. Tail, who was back to posing as her flaming tail (in order to not scare off unknowing people), just gave off an ambivalent: “Hmph…” She took that as a yes (since an “I don’t care” type of response from Tail was a positive sign), so she slowly proceeded to walk towards the center of the patch, wanting to take it slow so she could manage her anxiety better.

Everyone got to work on finding and beginning to customize their ideal pumpkins. Guinaifen and Sushang both picked out twin pumpkins that were identical in every way, from shape to size to ripeness. They both carved them into Jack-O’-Lanterns and painted different designs on them, with Guinaifen painting a Diting on hers and Sushang painting a giant “phoenix” on hers (which looked more like a round chicken instead). They also enjoyed some candy on the side while Guinaifen taught her how to carve and dispose of the goo properly, which Sushang was VERY grateful for (she didn’t like slimy stuff very much). Stelle, meanwhile, picked out the largest, most rotten pumpkin in the entire patch and painted an ugly-looking trash can on it (because of course she did). Despite the paint job being crude, warped, and smelling bad, she started to salivate at her self-proclaimed “masterpiece”, euphoric that the brown, rotten pumpkin portrayed her love of trash perfectly.

However, while everyone else had spent at least half-an-hour already picking out their pumpkins and painting them, Huohuo had only just selected one, wracked with indecisiveness. She chose a medium-sized pumpkin that was not too young and not too old, and not too ripe and not too rotten. It was perfectly average yet just right. She didn’t have Tail to help her, who was sleeping while acting as a tail, so it was difficult to do things on her own, since she wasn’t used to it.

But now, she had to do what she was dreading the most: going up to the farmer and asking for paint (she didn’t want to risk messing up the carving process). This required her to talk to a complete stranger, something her social anxiety made quite difficult for her. Still, while she was terrified of this, she had to do it and not rely on Tail so much. Plus, she went through way worse before (quite recently, too), which is how she eventually worked up the courage to pick up her pumpkin (which was heavy to her) and nervously walk over to the farmer’s table, where her friends were on the far end on either side (which helped somewhat).

Placing her pumpkin on the table with a soft thud, Huohuo begrudgingly looked up at the farmer, forcing herself to smile at them. The farmer beamed happily at her and said, “Howdy, there! What can I do for you?”, in a very friendly tone. Her legs were shaking at this point and she tried her best to take a deep breath and reply to them. “...C-C-Could I… h-have some paint…”, she stuttered out, “...for m-my… pumpkin, p-please…?” While there was a very faint hint of confusion and pity in the farmer’s eyes, they chose to continue expressing their welcoming attitude to ease the awkwardness. “Sure, comin’ right up! What kinda colors do ya need?”, they asked. This threw her for a loop, since she didn’t consider what she was going to paint before asking for it. She internally cursed herself for not thinking ahead (when she usually did).

She thought for a moment before coming up with her answer in her thoughts, which she recited in her head before saying to the farmer: “...A-All of… y-your options, please…!” Thankfully, this satisfied the farmer, who pulled out a plastic bin of paint tubes from under the table and responded with, “Got it, missy! Use ‘em wisely now, you hear?”, while still wearing that same smile from right before. With the exchange now coming to a close, Huohuo started to relax ever so slightly. She nodded weakly and picked up the bin and her pumpkin and walked off with it, not wanting to be there longer with the stranger than she had to. She wanted to say some sort of gratitude or closing remark, but she couldn’t find any words and she was still overwhelmed by the social pressure, so she hoped the farmer could understand that she wasn’t being rude. Nevertheless, she was very pleased with herself for once, as she handled that situation better than she had before. She finally felt like she could be somewhat independent, and that finally made her let go of her worries for the time being.

Once she found a free spot at the table, she got to work on painting her pumpkin. She took the paints and mixed them masterfully, before painting the colors she wanted. Over the course of the next hour, she took painstaking efforts to make sure the subject of her artwork was captured accurately. Her decision was simple yet so obvious: Tail, since he was easy to draw and would look nice on a pumpkin, Huohuo thought. Her experience as a judge-in-training at the Ten-Lords Commission definitely helped. Tail slept through all of this, which she thought was a good thing (she had a feeling he wouldn’t like to see himself get complimented). And upon finishing the painting, she smiled and felt… proud of something that she did for once. She couldn’t wait to show the others, since she worked so hard and achieved so many things for herself that day.

Unfortunately, all of that was interrupted by an odd sound. It sounded like… a whole flock of birds cawing loudly, mainly crows. Huohuo looked up at the late afternoon sky, which contained a flock of about two dozen crows that were flying erratically, like they were disturbed by something… As if they somehow noticed she was staring at them, the flock redirected their flight and began to barrel right down towards the ground, straight at her!

Of course, right on cue, she screamed loudly and began to run away from them, like a scene out of a cheesy horror movie. “Aahh…!! No, no!!”, she screamed loudly, “W-Why are you chasing me…!? Can’t I ever catch a break!?” This commotion woke Tail up, who detached from her and went on the defensive. “Ugh, this brat is so loud! I really can’t leave her alone for more than five seconds… Oh, that’s it! NOBODY INTERRUPTS MY SLEEP…!”, he commanded with ferocity in his eyes. In an instant, he shapeshifted from his usual form into his true, wolf-like one. The canine spirit grinned maliciously before letting out a fearsome roar that rivaled even Ignamar The Great’s power. This dispelled the flock of rabid crows extremely effectively and they all flew off in different directions, no longer interested in taunting anyone. And then, Tail morphed back into his regular appearance. He let out a loud breath and a little laugh while snarkingly remarking: “Ha! That should teach them! Seriously, what were they thinking, messing with ME like that!?”

Huohuo, who was still hyperventilating, was frozen in shock. Tail looked at her and asked, “Hm? What’s the matter with you, pipsqueak? Did my true form scare you too much? Nah, that can’t be it, you’ve seen it before! So, why are you looking at me like that?”, repeatedly in a very subtle concerned tone. This seemed to snap her out of her trance, and she ran up to him and embraced him briefly, holding him like a treasured cat or something. Tail was caught completely by surprise from this, gasping from the sudden display of gratitude.

When she let him go, Huohuo took a few deep breaths and addressed his kind-hearted actions. “T-Thank you, Mr. Tail…! I d-didn’t know what to do…”, she said thankfully, “But you proved once again that you’re as reliable as ever. I know it’s weird to say now, but I’m glad I met you!” This sweet comment led to a rare instance of Tail looking surprised, but naturally, it was replaced with fake disgust and sarcasm. He bounced up in a mixture of passion and anger and said: “Yeesh, stop it with the positivity, it’s making me sick! And I’m only reliable because I’m stuck here with you as your dumb tail! Leave all that mushy stuff behind from now on, okay? I just did what I had to, but mostly it was because I woke up in a bad mood, that’s all!” She giggled at his (possible) attempt to cheer her up and stroke his own ego at the same time, her fear disappearing.

Afterwards, the rest of the group (including the farmer) caught each other up to speed on what occurred. All misunderstandings were cleared up, and everyone got back together, getting ready to go back to the cabin for the final night there. They grabbed their pumpkins and complimented each other kindly on each of their pumpkins’ artworks (even for Stelle’s, though that one was kind of an obligation to be nice). Tail pretended not to like Huohuo’s, but he was still smiling and impressed by how much it captured his sense of self. And as they left, the sun was beginning to set and everybody was in such a good mood, the best on the trip so far; it had been a great final day to spend there.

Though as they neared the cabin once more, Huohuo still couldn’t help but wonder if all the weird paranormal-like stuff that had been happening had really been all in her head as part of her anxiety. Only she seemed to notice any of it, so was it really all just a coincidence? It didn’t matter to her, as there was only one night left, and nothing more strange than the flock of crows trying to attack her could possibly happen, right��?

…

It was finally nighttime once all five of them got back to the cabin. Nonetheless, it wasn’t late enough for all of them to want to go to bed right away. Huohuo, who was feeling good from her reconciliation with Tail earlier, actually was the one to suggest a final activity for them to do together. She wanted to watch another horror movie, a PG-13 rated one this time, since she felt like she could handle something slightly more intense at that point. The others were impressed by her bravery, so they indulged in it for her.

A little while later, as she was about to make a decision on what movie to watch as she scrolled through the cable TV’s guide, something ominous began to happen… The video feedback turned to complete static, complete with hissing and everything. As she covered her ears, she looked back at the screen and saw what appeared to be a ghostly face pressed up against the glass on the OTHER side of the screen, a large eye watching down on it as well. Being utterly shocked by this, Huohuo dropped the remote and kept pointing to the screen while gasping, not being able to say anything out of fear. This time, unlike the other incidents, everyone else seemed to notice it. “W-What in the Reignbow Arbiter’s name is THAT!? This can’t be real!”, Sushang stated, her voice having a slight quivering fear in it. Stelle, using her small brain, explained with, “Maybe the cabin’s being possessed by a poltergeist?”, as if that helped anyone feel more calm about the creepy situation. Huohuo shook in fear even more from this suggestion.

Their mass confusion was further interrupted by the old-fashioned landline phone in the kitchen ringing, making a loud beeping noise in the process. Everyone froze from this not-very-likely coincidence, making it seem all like it was planned out by whatever was causing all this. Feeling the least amount of fear out of everyone there (except Tail, who seemed more suspicious than anything else), Guinaifen said: “I’ll get it. We’re stars on Ghostly Grove, we should be used to this by now!” This unnerved Sushang more and made her audibly more worried than before. “Hey, Little Gui? Maybe that isn’t such a good idea…”, she said, “What if something bad happens? This is too risky…” But she already made up her mind, and there was no stopping her once she did that.

With great confidence, Guinaifen picked up the receiver and said, “Hello, who is this? This is Little Gui speaking.”, like it was no big deal. “Seven days…”, a professional yet odd-sounding voice stated in an almost whisper-like tone. She gave a bewildered look of uneasiness before following up with: “What do you mean by “seven days”? You’re not making any sense!” The voice made a throat-clearing sound before explaining further. “Seven days…”, they elaborated, “Until your car insurance expires. With our affordable plans, you save up to 15% on car insur-!” She put the receiver back in its holder and ended the call before the salesperson could even finish. Feeling the need to clarify the weird coincidence, she groaned, “It was just insurance spam, nothing scary at all… What a waste!”, while feeling disappointed that she got scared for nothing. Seizing the opportunity, Stelle tried to (unsuccessfully) lighten the mood. “I don’t know, insurance offers are still pretty scary.”, she joked.

Not feeling quite out of the woods just yet, Tail spoke at last about his gut feelings (even though he’s just a spirit and doesn't have any) regarding the situation. “You’re telling me… That strange ghost is still on the screen, so something’s going on!”, he stated, “Regardless of that idiotic phone call, someone is trying to scare us for sure! And my intuition tells me that something bad is about to happen…” He was spot on, as the moment he finished that sentence, the power went out throughout the whole cabin yet again.

As the whole room plunged into darkness, with only Tail providing light, Huohuo screamed and had a realization that the others hadn't considered at that second. Standing up and breathing slower to make her words clearer, she courageously hinted: “...W-W-Whatever caused the power to… g-go out must also be… r-responsible for it going out the other night! This must all b-be connected, and it wants to be known, w-whatever it is… We m-must find it!” That’s when it clicked for everyone else, and they realized just how keen her observation truly was. Sushang took a step closer, now that her eyes adjusted to the dark somewhat, and eagerly replied with, “Y-Yeah, we can’t let this ghost get away with this! If we truly are the Ghost-Hunting Squad, then we must get rid of any bad ghosts. They won’t wanna mess with us!”, while trying her best to banish her fears away. Deep down, Huohuo had some doubt that a ghost was behind this, since some things didn’t add up. Still, some things seemed paranormal, so she didn’t say anything further.

“Well said, Shangshang! We gotta make sure this troll knows what hits ‘em!”, Guinaifen said while getting out her phone in preparation for something, “That’s why I must stream this live to our audience! It’ll help us find the ghost easier and make for a fun, creepy experience, like those cheesy found-footage horror movies! Cameras can definitely detect spirits better than our measly eyes can! Besides, we can use my phone’s flashlight to see better! I’m so smart!” This swift change in tone from her friend caused Sushang to question her motives. “Really, that’s your plan? That stuff only works in movies! I’m a Cloud Knight, not a Clout Knight! We should really be taking this more seriously, Little Gui…”, she complained. It was too late to change her mind once again, and she was convinced it would work. She opened Ghostly Grove and began to stream through there on her phone’s camera with the flashlight turned on, illuminating the footage.

[Transcription of Ghostly Grove User LilGuiGuinevere’s “Vacation Ghost” Livestream Video, Starting at the Timestamp: 0:00:

*A near pitch black living room is seen. The flashlight illuminates a powered off ancient cable TV set, no one else appears in frame.*

Guinaifen: “There! We’re now live! Hey, everybody! Little Gui here!”

*The camera moves to the left and Tail is seen, looking annoyed.*

Tail: “You’re actually doing this… I can’t believe it! This is such a waste of time!”

Guinaifen: “Don’t be such a bummer! This just might work out!”

*The camera then moves to the right and Stelle is seen, wearing a deadpan expression. She waves her hands excitedly at the camera, greeting it.*

Stelle: “Skibidi toilet has all the rizz!”

Sushang: “Would somebody please just take this seriously! Any of you?”

*The camera moves even further to the left than before, where Huohuo is shaking nervously, not reacting to the camera’s presence.*

Huohuo: “I can do this, I can do this…”

*The camera then flips to mirror mode, where Guinaifen’s face is briefly seen.*

Guinaifen: “It’s time to start looking for clues! First, we’ll start by investigating the TV, where some spectral activities happened a little earlier.”

*The camera flips back to the regular mode and it slowly starts to inch towards the TV set. The focus never shifts or loses its subject matter.*

Guinaifen: “I don’t see anything off about it… Since the power’s cut, the ghost probably moved elsewhere… So, let’s try that ourselves!”

*The camera spins a full 180 degrees to the left, sweeping over Tail and then Huohuo. A wooden staircase is seen and the stairs going upward lead into further darkness.*

Guinaifen: “That’s where we’ll be going next! The only other place down here is the kitchen area, and there’s no way the ghost can hide anywhere there. Up there, we’ll check the bedrooms!”

*At this point, three users join the livestream and continue watching for the rest of the video, and no else joins or leaves afterwards. The camera slowly inches towards the first step. Many loud footsteps echo throughout the cabin, the other four following Guinaifen from close behind.*

Huohuo: “...I-I’m scared…!”

Tail: “Then stay down here, then! No one is forcing you to participate in this pointless, trendsetting social media garbage!”

Huohuo: “N-No! I don’t want to be alone in this dark place!”

Tail: “Fine, be that way! Don’t come crying to me if you get scared, though…”

*Every few seconds, the recorder goes up a single step, a loud creaking sound is heard each time. The camera bounces slightly when this happens. This process is repeated about fifteen times total.*

TileGamer4ever: (Wow, this is way more fun than working! I’m sure my boss won’t mind, since this is sorta educational, ig.)

Sushang: “Will we really find anything up here, Little Gui? I feel like a ghost wouldn't be this obvious…”

Guinaifen: “Sure we will, fam! There’s not many more places it could hide!”

*The camera reaches the top of the staircase and four doors can be seen in a small hallway with a window outside on the very end, likely three bedrooms and one bathroom. The camera goes to the leftmost one first after stopping for a few seconds.*

Guinaifen: “Let’s check me and Shangshang’s room first. It’s the closest one to the stairs.”

Say~Cheese~: (Oh! This is gonna start getting good right about now!)

*The camera gets right in front of the wooden door and a hand is seen turning the knob and opening it. The light shines into the room, which consists of a closet and a giant king-sized bed. There’s nothing else that seems out of the ordinary. The recorder goes inside, glancing all over the bed and walls, but finds nothing.*

Stelle: “Where are you, ghostie? Come out and play catch with me. I’ll show you the true might of the Galactic Baseballer once my bat meets your ectoplasmic face! Don’t make me get serious and pull out the lance. I swear, I WILL do it!”

Sushang: “How do you always have so much fearless energy? It must be a requirement for being a Trailblazer…”

Sigma_Wolf: (this corny narration is rlly killing the vibe & tension for me. imo)

Say~Cheese~: (Wait… Why is Stelle in this video!? I thought she was supposed to be on vacation! What kinda trouble did she cause now?)

*The camera moves towards the closet, the only place that they haven’t checked yet. Guinaifen’s hand hesitates for a second before swiftly yanking the doors open, revealing nothing inside.*

Guinaifen: “Looks like this room is all clear. Let’s head to Huohuo’s next!”

Huohuo: “I-I got a bad feeling about this…”

*The camera turns around and retraces its previous path. It moves past the other four, with Huohuo and Sushang looking nervous, Tail looking bored, and Stelle looking stoic. Exiting out into the hallway, it moves towards the door directly across from it. This time, the door is opened quicker and the search begins to go faster, with the bed being sweeped in only about fifteen seconds.*

Stelle: “Could it be in here?”

TileGamer4ever: (I’m so on edge right now. The mystery is killing me! Like not knowing if you’re gonna win a round of Celestial Jade or not.)

Sigma_Wolf: (its in the closet, isnt it?)

*The camera turns and lingers on the closet doors for a few seconds and no sounds are heard. Then, a chain-like sound of something being pulled repeatedly is heard, like an old tool/machine. This continues for a couple more seconds, before the whirring of a chainsaw is heard ringing loudly. A thin person wearing overalls and a full-head hockey mask proceeds to burst from out the closet, wielding a fully-functional and real chainsaw. The masked intruder gazes at the camera, unnatural gray eyes peering behind the eye holes that shine in the flashlight’s glare. In an instant, they rush towards the recorder, which leads to her dropping the phone.*

Guinaifen: “Run!!”

Sushang: “What the hell!? This can’t be happening!”

Huohuo: “Aaahhh…!!! HELP…!!!”

*A few more brief seconds of screaming, yelling, and running footsteps are heard. The chainsaw’s motor roars and grows slightly quieter as the masked person is heard chasing after the rest of them. Only blackness is seen the entire time this happens, and the stream ends the shortly after the phone hits the floor, ending the video at the timestamp: 4:45*]

The entire Ghost-Hunting Squad practically flew out of the bedroom and tripped over each other to get down the stairs, away from their psychotic pursuer. As they reached the bottom, they could hear the chainsaw right behind them. Sushang was worried that the intruder would keep chasing after all of them until they all got tired, which would mean certain danger. So, she quickly formulated a plan and desperately shouted: “Everybody, split up!! Quick!” Nobody said anything back, but they all knew it was the only chance they had at disorienting the intruder enough so where they could stop them.

The moment everyone got off the staircase, they all ran off in different directions. Guinaifen and Sushang ran towards the living room, Stelle and Tail ran towards the kitchen, and Huohuo ran towards the door that led outside. However, in what seemed to be a cruel twist of fate, the intruder seemed to change their course drastically by shifting away from everyone else and doubling down on barreling after Huohuo, as if she was the pursuer's target the entire time. She let out a bloodcurdling scream upon realizing this and she sped up her small legs to move twice as fast as before.

She flung the door open and almost ripped it off its hinges once she reached it. And in a half thought out plan to fight back somehow, she grabbed her pumpkin she painted earlier that day as she stepped off the porch, hoping that it would help her. The intruder crossed the threshold after her just a couple of seconds later, signifying that they were outside with her now. At that moment, Huohuo had to make a choice on where to run towards. She was outside, which meant that she was at a huge disadvantage, since there was nowhere to hide and she would eventually tire out after running so much… She cursed herself for not thinking this decision through, but she had no time to think too hard about it. So, she nearly instantly decided to run towards the creek, hoping that the water would slow them down and that it would also help her friends catch up to them and stop them.

She rounded the corner of the cabin, almost slipping from the pumpkin’s weight and her labored running. It was hard to see, but some sort of instinct and memory sense guided her forward. All the while, she could hear the intense yet fast crunching of the leaves behind her, and they were gradually getting closer… Her paranoia hit a fever pitch and she couldn't shake the feeling that whoever this intruder was, they had something against her specifically. That, and something bigger was behind every last bit of all the strange events that had plagued her vacation. She knew that the figure she saw at the creek yesterday and the person who shut off the power (both times) were undoubtedly her pursuer. Whatever the case was, she had no time to think about it right that second, her survival took much higher priority.

A full moon illuminated the dimly lit night sky and the sounds of crows cawing ominously were what met Huohuo as she got near the creek after what felt like hours of running (even though it’s only 300 feet away from the cabin). By that point, she felt exhausted from running so much while carrying her pumpkin. Once more, she didn’t think that decision through enough and it only tired her out faster and weighed her down. With her speed slowing, she knew she wouldn’t outrun the pursuer, as she was out of breath while they didn’t seem to be phased, even with carrying a heavy chainsaw. So, as a last ditch effort, she decided to stop and turn around to face them, winding up her arms and using her pumpkin as an aiming marker. She quickly looked up and saw that they were only about five seconds away from reaching her, the chainsaw growing unbearably loud as it got closer. Interestingly, she also noticed how they seemed to stumble and struggle to hold the chainsaw properly, something that she hadn't noticed before. It’s like they were a frail person that wasn’t typically used to this much intense physical activity, and something felt familiar about them…

When the pursuer got within a few steps from Huohuo, she screamed and got ready to chuck the pumpkin at them. But then, a loud and aggravated-sounding voice yelled, “Hey!! Look over here, you psycho!! I’m here to pay you back for ruining my sleep and messing with my host!”, with such ferocity. The intruder stopped dead in their tracks and whipped around to see Tail zooming right for them at an extremely fast speed with a manic expression on his face. Before they could even raise their chainsaw to attack him, the angry heliobus attempted to go straight into their head, so he could possess them and stop them from being hostile. But for some unknown reason, the moment he tried to go into their mind, he got immediately pushed back out, as if something was already in there… “Huh…? Why can’t I possess this guy?”, he said in frustration, “There aren't many things that can stop a heliobus from doing this! Maybe something’s going on internally…”

His pondering was interrupted by more footsteps coming from behind him, multiple other pairs of them this time. They belonged to Stelle, Guinaifen, and Sushang. All three of them stopped and proceeded to fiercely draw out their weapons. Stelle had her usual baseball bat and Sushang had her greatsword, while Guinaifen surprisingly had out some firecrackers that were leftover from New Year’s. The masked person seemed to snap out of their daze after seeing this, and they pointed their chainsaw at the warriors, ready to rush them (even though they’re at a small disadvantage, being outnumbered and all).

This caused a flaw to be put into the pursuer's rampage, since they were turned away from Huohuo and severely distracted. Using this chance, she aimed her pumpkin at their masked head once again. Her frail arms gathered the strength to wind up and shift the pumpkin’s weight into a throwing position. “I-I will not be the final girl…!! I will sacrifice my cute pumpkin to stop you!! Here, have it!”, she yelled. Her Tail-painted pumpkin flew out of her hands, smashing against the back of the intruder’s head and splattering goo/pieces everywhere.

Sadly, the now-annihilated pumpkin didn’t seem to do much to stop them. They shook angrily for a second, then turning to face Huohuo. A piercing gaze could be felt from under the mask, and they revved up the chainsaw’s motor, spinning the blades faster with intimidation. She screamed bloody murder once again, her fear becoming very apparent. Luckily, the pumpkin assault provided enough of an opening for a voice to yell, “Batter up!”, in a heroic manner. Stelle’s baseball bat met the back of the intruder’s head, making a loud bang in the process. They instantly fell on their knees, dropping the chainsaw (which switched off upon landing on the ground) and clutching their head in pain. This second distraction gave enough time for Guinaifen and Sushang to grab both of the pursuer's arms tightly, restraining them from moving or getting up. Guinaifen looked over at Huohuo, who was just starting to look over and calm down at the situation being handled effectively, and reassuringly said: “Got ‘em! It’s okay now, they can’t hurt us anymore!” She nodded and stepped closer to the masked stalker, feeling more calm that she contributed to their downfall.

“It’s time to reveal who you really are!”, Stelle proclaimed. She then walked over to the crouched person and removed their hockey mask in classic murder mystery style. Once she saw whose face was under that mask, she gasped loudly and dropped it out of shock. The ugly visage and annoying-looking person turned out to be… Skott! “Wait, Skott!? That can’t be!”, Sushang asked in extreme confusion, “What is he even doing here!? This doesn't make any sense!” Skott shook his head slightly and groaned in pain while saying, “Owww… Did you have to hit me that hard? Using this body was already difficult enough…”, in his toxic and know-it-all voice. Something was off about his voice, however. It sounded echoey and didn’t resemble his usual rude speech patterns. While everyone seemed to notice this, Tail’s suspicions were finally proven correct when he suddenly said: “So that’s why I couldn’t possess you… You already were possessed by another heliobus! I’ve had enough of this crap! Come on out and face us, Cirrus!”

A stunned silence enveloped the group as Skott’s body writhed and glowed for a second before Cirrus emerged, their punchable eye hovering above his body. “Here I am. You happy now?”, Cirrus said in an annoyed tone, “You finally caught on that it was me doing this. No wonder you were capable enough to defeat me back on the Luofu…” Once everybody else’s disbelief subsided, Huohuo finally spoke up again, her fears almost being completely gone. “...I-I don’t understand… Why are you here? Y-You should be imprisoned at Fyxestroll Garden. You gave me such a bad scare!”, she said. Cirrus squinted their eye and replied, “Oh, I definitely did! That was my goal, to scare all of you for what you did to me. Especially you, judge! And it looks like I succeeded greatly! It was worth possessing this loser’s body to do it.”, while gazing at her with malice.

Skott then began to regain consciousness after Cirrus’s insults. He thrashed around for a bit before Guinaifen and Sushang let him go, no longer seeing him as a threat (not that he ever was on his own). He pulled out his pair of stupid shades from his overalls and put them on, which made him look even more pathetic. As he dusted off himself, he said: “I can’t believe I got possessed for this long. Me, a VIP IPC employee, I deserve better than this! You were supposed to leave my body the moment I snuck you out of Fyxestroll Garden, not make me wear these old farmer clothes and use a dangerous tool to chase children! I’ll have you sued into the ground for this!”

“Hold on a sec, so you’re saying that you wanted to join forces with Cirrus just so you could both get back at us for humiliating you?”, Guinaifen interrogated, “And you put your reputation and career in danger, all to ruin our vacation? That’s pretty lame, even for a bully like you…” Of course, Skott played the victim and acted all offended, as if he didn’t do anything wrong. “Hmph! I’m not a bully, I was the one whose body was used like a tool to torment you, not me. Sure, I wanted to get back at you, but that’s only because your stupid little friend made me bark like a dog at Aurum Alley, humiliating me in front of everyone! I deserve compensation!”, he said. Instead of being offended by Skott’s jab at her (if she even noticed), Stelle said, “Why are your eyes still gray and weird-looking? Are you still possessed?”, as the first thing that popped in her head. Skott clenched his fists in annoyance and retorted with: “NO! My eyes naturally look like this! That’s why I wear these cool shades. People have always mocked me for them, even as a kid…” This seemed to satisfy Stelle’s childlike curiosity.

Things were starting to get really off topic, so Cirrus wanted to steal the spotlight and brag about their accomplishments once more in a narcissistic fashion. “Yes, it was all me. This stupid human was just my vessel to scare you all! I followed you here for maximum effect.”, they gloated, “I was behind it all: the blackouts, the footsteps, the figure watching you from the forest, the crows being all frightened, the TV interference, and the chase! Well, except the phone call… but that was still fun to see. I enjoyed seeing you all suffer and scream, and it made this revenge all the more worth it! Ha ha ha!”

Tail, who had enough at this point, floated closer to Huohuo and began to think of a rude, snarky remark to say to them. “Ugh, will you just SHUT UP already!? We all know it was you and your idiotic accomplice! You think your petty revenge was clever? Pfft… It was more inconvenient and immature, honestly! And you’re pretty screwed up to think this is all fun. Anyway, I'm tired of you already. Dealing with you in the past was enough for my entire existence to handle! You should just give up already and knock it off, and we’ll help you do just that… Huohuo, if you would.”, he said. Understanding what he was implying at the end of his monologue, Huohuo prepared a spiritual talisman designed for sealing heliobi for a few days, taking it out of her pocket and getting ready to use it to lock Cirrus away.

This was interrupted by them saying: “Hold on! Skott is such a dumb coward, so I know the perfect way to show that to you. And so I can do one last fun thing with you all!” They immediately went back into Skott’s body and possessed him once more before anyone could object. That’s when Skott got up on all fours and started to eat the grass/leaves on the ground. “Moo. Moo! MOO…!”, he went. He just kept on saying “moo” like a cow over and over again for a few minutes, to everyone’s shock. Eventually, Cirrus stopped and left his body. He coughed up dirt and other plants for a good while, trying to get the awful taste out of his mouth and being too embarrassed to say anything. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Okay, I’m done!”, they explained, “You can go back to using the talisman now. I just HAD to get that out of my system, or else it would’ve haunted me for the rest of my days!” No one knew what to say to that, so they just remained silent about all the absurdity. Huohuo shook it off and went back to readying the talisman for use near them.

Unexpectedly, Cirrus was not disturbed by the talisman. Instead, they were indifferent towards it. Their eye blinked slowly as they said, “Go ahead, seal me back to where I came from, I don’t mind. I got what I wanted. I’ll stay put, until I get bored again… Let’s do this again sometime!”, in a mocking way. Huohuo shook her head and answered with: “N-N-No thanks…” In an instant, she placed the talisman on them and they vanished in a flash of bright light. The light faded from view and seemed to travel inside the object, out of sight with no trace left behind. It glowed for a few seconds before going quiet, and peace returned.

She put the talisman back in her pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew… Glad that’s over with!”, Sushang said while wiping the sweat off her brow, “That dumb heliobus just never leaves us alone, do they? At least the problem is solved now!” “Looks like another case has been solved by the Ghost-Hunting Squad!”, Stelle said with excitement. Guinaifen stretched in relaxation before asking: “What do we do with Skott, though? Plus, that talisman won’t hold Cirrus forever… Should we call for someone on the Luofu?” Huohuo nodded and replied with, “I-I’ll use my phone to contact the Ten-Lords Commission. Someone should be here to fetch the talisman tomorrow morning, around the time we have to leave. As for Mr. Skott… He’ll be transferred to the Shackling Prison for his crimes, and we will have to keep him detained until they pick him up tomorrow at the same time…”, in a tired demeanor. She was exhausted from everything and finally felt safe enough to go to sleep.

“Oh, this is just splendid! First I get humiliated AGAIN, then I have to face criminal charges and possibly lose my job! This sucks, someone as great as me deserves better!”, Skott whined. Tail rolled his eyes and remarked: “Ugh… Quit your whining! It’s your own fault for agreeing to help someone like Cirrus to escape. Your grudge is also so pathetic that you don’t deserve any sympathy, and it’s what got us into this situation! So I don’t wish to hear it, brat! And I’ve got my eye on you if you try to escape in the middle of the night…” Skott scoffed at the insult, but fell quiet, realizing that it was futile to resist. “Great job, everyone! I knew we could do it, since we’re such a nice team!”, Guinaifen stated, “Now let’s head back to the cabin, fam! We gotta leave tomorrow and we have a lotta preparations to do, then we can get a good night’s rest. We deserve it! While our vacation may’ve gotten derailed, I still had fun and this became more memorable than I expected!” Sushang put her arm around her best friend playfully and followed up with, “Yeah… I still enjoyed the trip and learned a lot about Halloween, minus the scary stuff… Ha ha!”, in a cautiously optimistic tone.

Then, the entire group (with Skott in tow) laughed and reminisced about their adventures as they walked back to the cabin. Huohuo contacted the Ten-Lords Commission and they all prepared to leave the next morning. Finally, they got a peaceful sleep, while Tail watched Skott to make sure he didn’t try anything funny (he was too scared by Tail to do much, so he just shook the whole time in fear). And with that, their final night of their vacation drew to a close…

…

The next morning, after settling everything, the Ghost-Hunting Squad left their cabin and started to leave. Then, they met up with their contacts who would take the talisman containing Cirrus and also take Skott away, Xueyi and Hanya from the Ten-Lords Commission. Due to a preestablished familiarity, they all talked to each other for a few minutes, wanting to catch up on what they missed and explain any further details about the incidents they hadn’t already before.

“I have to thank you once again for all of your hard work in catching this spirit. We only noticed they were missing from Fyxestroll Garden a little while before you contacted us. We might have not found them if it wasn’t for you. We will strengthen the security surrounding their prison from now on. Once again, thank you very much.”, Hanya said. Xueyi nodded at her younger sister’s comments, saying: “Indeed. Especially to you, Ms. Huohuo. I can tell you’ve grown considerably in mind and body since coming here. Your bravery has yielded great results, and I’m proud I get to see that. You shall become an adequate judge if you keep going at this pace…”

Huohuo didn’t feel the same way, and in her usual self-deprecating attitude, she deflected the compliments. “N-No, that’s not true… I just try my best, that’s all…”, she said, “I messed up a lot on this vacation, but I managed to get through it. Even though I don’t deserve it, thanks for seeing my efforts! That means a lot…” It wasn’t much, but she had finally started to give herself more credit. While Xueyi’s face remained blank, Hanya’s contorted into a small smile of understanding, awakening her repressed emotions slightly. Her blank stare returned once her mind thought about the work she had to do, and she said, “Now that the accomplice, that Mr. Skott, is on the ship and detained already, I guess it’s time for us to leave and prepare the legal procedures on how to move forward. There’s not much rest for the busy puppets like us… Vacations are a rare sight…”, to keep herself focused.

Feeling her and her sister’s fatigue/longing for some time off, Stelle felt her Trailblazing spirit rising up from within and suggested: “How about you and your sister stay here and relax for the day? The rest of the Ghost-Hunting Squad and I will take care of the Luofu matters. You deserve it and it wouldn't be fair for either of you to not have a vacation when we just finished one in the same location you're in right now. It would make you feel better and you can just take a ship back later in the day… Trust me, the Galactic Baseballer knows what’s best for you two right now!”

Both of them seemed to give off a radiance of surprise yet relief to the suggestion. “Are you certain? Will all of you truly be able to handle such an important responsibility? It’s difficult, but you are all experienced in these sorts of matters by now… I… suppose our superiors won’t mind this…”, Xueyi asked. “Of course, you should know that we got this by now!”, Guinaifen said enthusiastically, “Regardless of our occasional failures, we always come out on top in the end. That’s what makes us so successful to our followers on Ghostly Grove!” Sushang gave a thumbs up to her friend’s comments and said, “Excusing the social media references, it’ll be fine! Everything will be in a secure location and we know how to handle all this stuff. Our little vacation got trampled on by those pranksters, so I feel that it’s our responsibility to make sure they won’t do it again. We’ll get everything back in order, I swear! Cloud Knight’s honor!”, in an encouraging voice.

There was still some doubt among the sisters, so Hanya looked at Tail for some sign of approval, since he was the only one who had yet to say anything. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go enjoy your lives.”, he said after a while, “I got this, I’m the one who stopped Cirrus in the first place! If they try anything funny, I’ll give them a beatdown they’ll never forget!” His rude yet determined statement finally broke down the walls between the sisters and they relaxed a little. “Then, we shall do so. Thank you so much for taking some of our harder work off our shoulders and offering us this fine day of rest…”, Hanya said. Xueyi raised her hand up in gratitude while saying, “You’ve come a long way, Mr. Tail… Sure, I will spend some quality time with my younger sister. I thank you for giving us this rare opportunity, and I will be sure to return the favor someday…”, in a neutral yet very subtly grateful demeanor.

With that all done, the Ghost-Hunting Squad began to get on the ship that would take them back to the Xianzhou Luofu, in which Cirrus and Skott were also on board. Tail secretly liked being called “Mr. Tail” by someone else other than Huohuo, but he acted like he couldn't stand it, like usual. The rest of the friend group posted their experiences on Ghostly Grove (Guinaifen’s video that showed the masked Skott at the end became viral, much to his dismay) and chatted the whole way back, and they surprisingly had no regrets, despite the hardships they faced. In the end, their trials that they faced together was what helped them succeed and have fun…

After they all left, Xueyi and Hanya proceeded to hold each other's hands and wander off to find something to do together. Hanya gripped her older sister’s hand tighter as she smiled brighter for the first time in a long while and suggested: “Xueyi, how about we go to the pumpkin patch? I hear it’s a pleasant experience and we can gaze at nature together, just like we did as children such a long time ago…” The other sister smiled slightly as well, looking similar despite the puppets’ body designs being completely different. Without another word, both of them headed off into the woods to enjoy their mini vacation, this one being completely free from horror and full of nostalgic memories.

[Writer’s Commentary: This overly long idea for a prompt was maybe a little too ambitious. I spent way too much time on the small details and fluffy ideas, but I think they add to the nostalgic quality of this story. The video transcript formatting was something I never tried before and was improvised, but I loved doing it! I might use it more in the future. I based some of these activities and events off of things I experienced in my own childhood, which was a nice touch I loved putting in. The two villain twist was something I came up with while writing this. I planned for Cirrus to be the main villain the whole time, but the Skott idea came out of nowhere, so I had to try it! Maybe it doesn't work, but I like the idea anyway. And the ending was some sweet idea I thought of in order to tie the whole vacation theme into the ending. It's not perfect, but I think it’s beautiful to imagine. Overall, I love the Ghost-Hunting Squad and I’m glad I got to write a good fic about them just in time for Halloween! I hope you enjoyed this (assuming you got this far, that is) and you have a good day!]

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findingzukkarp · 1 month ago

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calling out for a zukka rp!

I've been ravenous for a good zukka rp for a while now and have decided to finally reach out into the void in hopes of finding one! Hopefully, the below information will lead wayward people like me into an amazing story!

Basic Information about me:

I am 26 years old

I live in the United States on EST

I only rp on discord.

My writing style is adv lit/novella. (word count is typically 500+ words)

DISCLAIMERS:

Writing style is very important to me. It is genuinely make or break for me. I am also a long time fanfic writer so I believe my writing is very thorough. I am not semi-lit whatsoever. My writing will be lengthy and thorough most often so I please ask that you do not interact with this post if you do not think you will be compatible with my writing style. (Samples will be included in this post!)

I am not too keen on most topics, themes, or tropes that fall under the umbrella term “Dead Dove”. Nothing involving minors and adults together in sexual or romantic relationships. Not too keen on heavy violence, gore, or any type of ageplay.

Who I'm Looking For:

Someone who is 21+ (will settle for 18+)

Someone who writes third person

Someone who is able to write as close as possible to their character’s cannon personality (with some liberties, of course!)

Someone who is comfortable writing NSFW content (smut:plot usually ranges 40:60 but I’m willing to adjust)

Someone who writes adv-lit/novella (very important)

Extra RP Details:

I am primarily interested in writing as Sokka! I can write as Zuko but Sokka is my main muse!

As irrational and immature as it is, I am only interested in Sokka as the primary top. Sorry to all my bottom Sokka lovers- I just find bottom Zuko too beautiful.

I’m pretty open to a wide range of ideas yet I do love to lean a bit more slice-of-life and modern in role plays. I love angsty, plot heavy ideas as well– however, I do wish for a good bit of planning and deliberation beforehand!

Extra Fun Details About Me:

I am a lover of omegaverse (including mpreg) but I am completely fine not including it into my RPs!

Humor in writing is hardwired into my brain so expect bad jokes and terrible puns (Sokka is my muse, after all)

I have a love for slow-burn but I've found that slow-burn in RPs is notoriously frustrating sometimes but I'm always down to try!

You've reached the closing:

Now that you’ve somehow gotten through all of that, please take note of all the information I’ve painstakingly laid out! I will not be negotiating things I have blatantly laid out but I am open to questions or concerns!

Now, without further ado, please give this post a like ❤️ or send me a dm 💬 if you’re interested in starting an rp with me!

Writing samples will be listed from here on so please enjoy!

Samples:

Being Fire Lord came with a slew of advantages and disadvantages alike. He got his meals whenever he pleased, a sprawling bedroom with a chaise lounge, and his own naturally heated mineral spring attached to his quarters. There would never be anything more satisfying than handing scraggly old Fire Councilman their own smoldering asses and then slinking back to his room to slip into warm, healing waters. There are far too many disadvantages to properly list. It would take a mile long scroll and a bottomless ink pot to scribe them all.

As Zuko paces the stone floor next to the balcony doors, he laments for what his mind recalls as a false, simpler time. A time where he roamed the Earth Kingdom, free of responsibility, his title, and his name.

-*-*-

Zuko was fictional. He had to be. Or at least that’s what he thought when his roommate first unlocked their door and paused in the doorway when they’d met for the first time. There was no way in hell that it was even remotely fair to Zuko to look the way he did– even with a gnarly burn wound blooming across the left of his face– wisps of dark hair curling where it met the collar of his shirt. He was the embodiment of every tortured, panty dropper, heartthrob he’d ever read about in his ex-girlfriend’s books (although Suki claimed to never know where they came from) and at that moment, Sokka felt as if his body had plummeted through the earth’s core and was shooting out the ass-end of the planet and somewhere into the stratosphere because holy shit he’s never seen a guy more attractive in his life. Needless to say, the absolute lack of words Sokka was able to produce probably impacted their first meeting more than he could even think of seeing as when he woke up in the morning, Zuko wasn’t there. When he went to sleep at night, Zuko wasn’t there. On the fifth day, he was beginning to think he’d totally screwed up and was going to have to suffer having accidentally offended his first-ever roommate by gawking at him as if he were a pubescent boy seeing a tit for the first time.

#atla rp #zukka #zukka rp #atla

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maxwell-grant · 5 months ago

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Glad to know you like suicide squad, did you ever finish reading JLI?

I have a lot of respect and love for the creative team but, sorry to dissappoint, I found JLI fucking unbearable and could not finish it. I gave it 25 issues and powered through after dropping it and didn't enjoy one single moment of it and I don't think this is magically going to become tolerable when it's time to bring in Despero and the Global Guardians and the character with a slur for a name. I guess I could say it was a good comic of it's time that I just didn't vibe with and leave it at that, or I'd say I think the humor drags down the good parts, but to be honest I'm just not seeing the good parts here either. The best things I can say about it is that it's well-drawn and that Max Lord is a decently compelling puzzle/central figure to pin this enterprise on, a twist on Ozymandias for a different context, I get why fans are upset on him being turned into a clear-cut villain, although Amanda Waller he ain't. And of what I've seen that's kinda it actually.

It is kind of weird that this exists in an opposite world situation to Suicide Squad, where Suicide Squad is the more traditionally-drawn book about rejects banding together under hardship to deal with troubled international quagmires and find their own bonds to humanity and each other amidst chaos, and Justice League is the slick colorful book about rejects being funnyman bastards doing violent pantomine routines 24/7. You'd think it was the other way around. You'd think Guy Gardner wouldn't be more unbearable than Captain Boomerang given he is technically a more moral person, but when Boomerang's being misogynistic, he eats shit for it, where as when Gardner pretends to fall atop Canary so he can grope her, it's played as a gag (and god you could not ask for a starker difference than the treatment of their female characters between these two books). But as is, I am not remotely impressed by characters acting like funnyman bastards for 90% of any given story, and then punctuating their moments of seriousness by constantly reafffirming that they aren't one-bit jokesters.

Did you catch that the first time? Can't you see how they are more than just funny jokesters, let's repeat that again for emphasis, don't you get the nuance on display here, don't you get there is more to Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner than being unbearable pieces of shit, in case you don't let's have Hawkman's every single goddamn line be about how he's a big old stuck-up meanie harping about the old days who is wrong for not accepting the new way of doing things (and please do not take this as me being upset about the sanctity of fucking Hawkman, it's just one more horribly grating thing in a comic full of them). I get why these characters have big followings, but I'm at a loss to understand why said followings would originate from this, it seems like all of them surely must have acquired whatever nuance or likeability they have later.

You know that thing people complain about regarding vapid cliche lines like Well that just happened / It's not what it looks like / That's gonna leave a mark / Uum he's right behind me isn't he, that kind of stuff? JLI feels like the birth of those, it feels like the real version of the thing that people who exaggerate MCU quips complain about, because oh my god every fucking page is littered with those, they can't get through anything without doing an insufferable bit. Every character is the suffering straight man or trying to be the funniest person in the room in an interminable Mad Magazine skit. They never shut up and never stop making jokes and they NEVER make a single one of them funny and everybody talks the same, everyone makes the same jokes, everybody has one trait and that's their joke, and my god you guys I gave this thing 25 damn issues of a chance and I hate even thinking about it, and if a single one of you tries to get me to read one more comic with G'nort in it I swear I'm going to -

So, yeah, wasn't for me. Credit where credit's due though, the one funny joke I've seen in this constitutes an all-timer Batman moment.

#replies tag #dc comics #justice league

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o-uncle-newt · 11 months ago

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Cabin Pressure Advent Day 23: Wokingham

WOKINGHAMMMMMMMM!

I absolutely love everything about this episode. Literally everything. It's just basically perfect.

It's also, like Vaduz, an episode that would never, ever, EVER have happened in S1. I mean, S1 had a dude literally die on the plane and "it "what to do" was turned into a comedy routine... this is a much more, Idunno, humanist approach, I guess. It's hilarious, but it takes its humor from things other than the actual medical situation itself.

But even beyond that- would S1 Douglas have played along when Carolyn said that he cried when confronted by the bird strike in St Petersburg? Would he have even put a pause on the game? Would he have even shown up? Almost definitely not. The only constant, of course, is Arthur, who would have been equally willing to show up to keep Martin's mother busy in any season you can name. Lovely, lovely Arthur, and what an absolutely perfect scene by the way.

Now, there's the meta way of looking at it where people are like "I appreciated it when JF was writing a darker and more cynical show," which a) I disagree with factually (I think there were always hints of what the show would become from the beginning- I mean, as far back as Abu Dhabi, Douglas helped Martin out with the match) and b) I disagree with as a matter of taste (the heartwarming episodes are GREAT). But I have to hope that the meta people at least concede that the development FROM S1 to S4 in terms of the very different ways that people behave is extremely consistent with the character development. Douglas and Carolyn have both made some strides in the way that they relate to Martin that allow them to go run interference for him, but at the same time Martin has grown to become the kind of person who they mind less running interference for. He's mellowed, he's started to be less hung up on his rank for the most part, he's less obsessed with his self image. S1 Douglas would have never done it- but S1 Martin would have given him little reason to, and we've seen that change pretty organically.

It also helps, obviously, that Douglas and Carolyn know exactly what they're dealing with. Some of it, maybe, is seeing how Martin (and, to be honest, Caitlin!) ended up that way, with Simon to cut him down to size- and, as we've heard, his dad as well back when he was alive. (Incidentally, I meant to mention this in Uskerty but I found the fact that Martin has worn his dad's signet ring since the funeral to be both really sweet and just... gah. Emotional.) I feel like we've also all, at some point, met people who are, if not Simons themselves, have Simonistic qualities, so to speak. Carolyn and Douglas, as people who love to put on performances like this and have a bit of a proprietary feeling about Martin (in an "only we get to tease him" kind of way), presumably did it at least partly for the fun of it!

That said, this episode would not have been what it could have been without Wendy. Prunella Scales is amazing, and it's worth noting that (as JF mentioned in a podcast interview I heard once) she was in the early stages of dementia and, according to JF, was not always with it offstage but was just absolutely astonishing as soon as they started performing. She plays every note so perfectly, and adds a really interesting note of, well, momness (or I guess I should say mumness) that is really easy to identify with and also a VERY striking contrast to Carolyn, both for better and, occasionally, for worse- Carolyn would have never said anything remotely like "maybe Simon knows best" lol.

All in all, just really really good fun, hilarious, well plotted, all the usual... oh, and with another amazing audio humor joke with the doctor asking about the costume party. Just perfect.

Important question though: how on earth in this whole brag-off with Simon did Martin never slip that he's dating the freaking Princess of Liechtenstein?! How?!?! I'm not going to call it a plot hole because that's not how these things work, but I can imagine that he had to REALLY hold himself back from blurting it out.

#cabin pressure #cabin pressure advent 2023 #cabin pressure advent #john finnemore #wokingham

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avanatural · 2 years ago

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Mind Games

Part 4

Series summary: Set in 1984. It’s that time of the year – the supes are having the time of their lives at the Herogasm festival. Soldier Boy seems to have taken a special interest in Y/N, a fellow superhero.

Pairing: Soldier Boy x female Reader

Category: Angst, humor

Word count: 3.3k

Chapter warnings: Cursing, mentions of alcohol and smoking, Soldier Boy being Soldier Boy

A/N: Welcome to part 4! I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Poor Y/N’s patience is being tested in this one. Wanna be added to my Soldier Boy tag list? Send me an ask ❤️

Part 3 | Series Masterlist | Soldier Boy Masterlist | Part 5

Main Masterlist

“I see you’ve changed into your intended outfit.”

His deep voice made me want to cut off my ears. No one had told me that this movie required me to wear a dress that would suffocate me with how tight it was.

“I’m not sure it even fits me,” I mumbled as I stroked the fabric around my midriff. It was a white leather dress with a corset, similar to my actual supe outfit, but it was restricting my goddamn access to air. It was short enough that I couldn’t sit or bend or fight without people seeing… Well, all of me.

Soldier Boy pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against. He’d put his helmet back on. It was like a mask. That open, vulnerable side of him that I’d gotten a tiny glimpse of was long gone. Hidden. Nowhere to be found.

“Oh, but you do look beautiful in it,” he flirted, pointing his finger at my scarcely clad body. His head bobbed from side to side as he stalked towards me. He was back to oozing confidence. The anger and resentment in his eyes had faded.

What was he up to? Did Soldier Boy himself even know what he wanted?

“I take it you don’t wanna rip my head off anymore?”, I asked. My voice sounded a lot weaker than intended. At this point, I just wanted to go home. This movie was a shit show.

“What can I say? You’re lucky I’m into the assertive type.” He smiled an alluring smile. Combined with a charming tilt of his head, he deepened the creases around his eyes.

The scariest thing about his change in demeanor was how my body responded to it. His charm was surely working its magic. My stomach was filled with swoony sensations that were begging me to shake them off.

“Lucky me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re sweet-talking me.” I tried sounding sarcastic, to the best of my ability. The problem was, his sweet-talking was working. My insides were practically yelling at me to finish what we’d started in that trailer. So, I tightened my vice-like grip on my heart as best as I could. I wasn’t gonna let him steal it.

Soldier Boy tempted me with his mossy green bedroom eyes and those plump pink lips. “Well, is it working?”

“No,” I lied, hoping that he couldn’t see through me. But then again, he probably wouldn’t believe any woman who told him his charm wasn’t working. He was self-centered like that. I had to remind myself that I was not a toy. That he couldn’t treat me as he pleased. Too bad male attention was my kryptonite.

Soldier Boy scoffed. I could see that he was losing what little patience he had. “Keep tellin’ yourself that, princess. Girls like to play hard-to-get. I know how it goes.”

“You know what?” I puffed out my chest in a rush of impulsion. “If you want different responses, maybe you should work on your technique. You need to win over a woman’s heart. Not just her body.”

Soldier Boy narrowed his darkening eyes at me. He was like a loaded gun, ready to spit bullets in your face as soon as you got even remotely close to hurting his ego. “With manners like yours, you’re never gonna find a man. I don’t need to work on anything, how about you work on your fucking attitude?”, he snapped.

“Okay, everyone on their marks, please!”, the director called out.

Everyone hurried to their designated spots – the crew, the extras, the supes. Everyone except for us. Soldier Boy and I stood chest to chest, glaring at each other. The tension could easily have been cut with a rusty butterknife.

Gunpowder scurried past us, headed for his mark. I could feel the young man’s curious gaze on me as he tried to sneak past the two of us undetected.

Soldier Boy’s cold emerald gaze attached itself to the young supe. “Careful,” he spoke through gritted teeth, sending a warning Gunpowder’s way.

Gundpowder quickly averted his gaze and mumbled an incoherent apology. I didn’t even get a chance to catch his eye or say anything to him as he made a beeline for his mark, tail between his legs.

“Alright, doll face, let’s get this shit show over with,” Soldier Boy huffed. He took a step back, finally giving me some space to breathe. His hand reached out to me, his palm facing upward.

My eyes fixated on his hand. I hesitated. My muscles were frozen by ice-cold skepticism. When I looked up and met his eyes, warm pools of green and gold stared back at me. I tried not to let them melt away my distrust. This man was going to be the death of me. He was so unpredictable.

After a few seconds of hesitation, I placed my hand in his. As I felt his hand close around mine, a tiny, irritated smile attacked my face, forcing its way onto my lips.

“There you go,” Soldier Boy praised me with a nod of approval. He tugged me towards him and put his hand on my lower back. Seemingly deciding that he was in charge, he steered me to our marks.

We were about to shoot the final battle scene of the movie. Vought's strongest heroes vs. some no-name-greedy-for-power supervillains. And, who would have guessed, Soldier Boy was gonna save everyone’s day! Including mine. Damsel in distress number who-the-fuck-knew.

“Where- Oh! What the fuck?”, I exclaimed as Soldier Boy suddenly scooped me up in his arms, bridal style.

“Relax, princess. I’m supposed to catch you, you know that,” he had the audacity to scold me.

“How exactly is this scene gonna play out, huh?” I knew I was gonna fall from the sky like a stupid fucking apple from a tree, but this scenario rubbed me the wrong way.

“I’ll toss you into the air and catch you, piece of cake,” he sighed, obviously annoyed with my sheepish attitude.

“You’re gonna toss me?” I found myself locking my arms around his neck – a weak attempt to make him keep me in his arms. I was a supe, sure, but my body wasn’t immune to every possible danger. I wasn’t immortal. I could feel pain. My bones could break.

“Oh, have some fucking faith, will you?” Soldier Boy leaned in, so close that I could smell the whiskey we’d shared on his breath. “I’m not gonna let you hit the ground.” His insanely green eyes, framed by his new helmet, penetrated mine. “Unless you piss me off.”

“Ready, everyone?”, the director yelled.

“You better catch me,” I hissed in Soldier Boy’s ear.

He scoffed, radiating hubris. “Wanna fucking bet?”

“Sure. If you let me fall, you can kiss my ass,” I mumbled under my breath. Sue me, I was a nervous talker.

“And if I catch you, I’ll get to gag you, how about that?”, he retorted.

“You’re so-”

“And 3… 2… 1!”

Before I could say another word, Soldier Boy bent his knees, pushed himself back up, and used the force to throw me straight up into the air.

I cried out as I flew towards the sky. Right in that moment, I questioned my own sanity. A few profanities left my lips as I reached the highest point and felt myself fall back down. My stomach turned as I pictured myself flat as a goddamn pancake, spread out across the floor with blood for sirup.

Then suddenly, I felt some harsh pushback, and a loud gasp was forced out of my lungs. I had abruptly stopped falling. My eyes were shut tightly, waiting for the pain to arrive. Or the shock. But nothing really happened.

“You’re okay,” a warm, breathy voice hit my ears.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with Soldier Boy’s handsome face. He was the pushback. His arms were wrapped around me, holding onto my legs and my back. He was carrying me bridal style, just like he had a few moments ago. That son of a bitch had actually done it.

“You caught me,” I mumbled, faintly remembering the lines I was supposed to say. My heart was still throwing a tantrum in my chest.

“I sure did.” He put on the kindest smile I’d ever seen. The asshole could act, who would’ve guessed? “You alright?”

“Yes.” I had to bite my tongue before I was able to say my next line. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime, my dear.” Gently, he placed me back on the ground. His hand stayed on my lower back, sending a surge of warmth through my body. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”, he asked.

I batted my eyelashes at him as hard as I could and placed my hand on my chest. “I’m Trouble.”

“You’re part of the cavalry,” he said, pretending to be surprised by widening his eyes. “Payback appreciates your help. Just be more careful from now on, alright?” He inched closer, cooking up his very own line before delivering it straight to my face. “Though I gotta say… It’s not every day that pretty women like yourself fall from the sky.”

The corners of my mouth quivered slightly, threatening to break out in a smile. His gaze held me down, taunting me, asking me to break. I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. “Careful, my dear,” I responded, repeating his pet name for me. I lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “You don’t wanna get in trouble, do you?” When he paused, not saying anything, I continued, “Say hi to Countess for me.”

With a wink, I turned around and walked away from him, out of the camera’s sight. I felt his heated gaze on my back and didn’t dare turn back.

I let out the biggest grunt as soon as the door to my apartment fell shut behind me. Home, at last. Without a care, I dropped my bag on the floor. My hands found my hair and tugged on the strands before brushing them back.

“You sound tired,” a small voice rang out from the living room.

With enlarged eyes, I pushed myself away from the door and stomped into the living area. “Lily??”

And sure enough, my sister was sitting on the couch, watching tv like she’d done nothing else all day.

“What the hell are you doing here?”, I demanded, “You’re supposed to be with aunt Gemma!”

Lily shrugged her shoulders at me, wearing a tiny frown on her face. “She had an emergency.”

“Yeah, I bet with that Greg guy.” I ground my teeth. The muscles in my jaw already hurt from all the tension I’d lived through that day. I leaned against the couch, my hands landing on the backrest. “How long have you been here by yourself?”

“Just a couple hours.”

“A couple hours,” I repeated. “That’s it. I’m gonna kill her.”

“Y/N, I’m fine,” Lily objected, looking up at me with those innocent eyes, trying to be convincing.

“Did you eat?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay,” I sighed, trying my best not to seem annoyed with her. Lily wasn’t the problem. Everyone else was. Including me. I tried pushing my anger down and locking it away. “I’ll heat up some leftovers.”

My sister nodded and followed me into the kitchen, trailing after me like a puppy. “How did it go today?”, she asked.

Well, that was a loaded question. “Let’s just say you’re gonna get those sneakers you asked for.”

“Yes!” Lily fist-bumped the air. “Thank you, Y/N!” She hurried around the counter and wrapped her arms around my waist.

Despite my sour mood, I smiled and hugged her back. “You’re welcome.” I squeezed her small body and paused for a second to enjoy the moment. The smile on her face, the joy in her eyes – that was the reason why I’d accepted Vought’s offer. It was worth the crappy day I had.

“So, how was working with Soldier Boy?”, Lily asked, wriggling out of my embrace, looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

“It was… Good,” I lied through my teeth and looked away, busying myself with preparing dinner. I couldn’t look at Lily’s face and tell a lie. I’d never been able to.

“What’s he like? Will you see him again? How tall is he?”

Oh boy, it was gonna be a long night.

A few weeks later

“Touble! Trouble, just one shot, please!”

“Trouble, over here!”

I pulled down my cap, hoping to somehow disappear in it. Too bad I didn’t have teleportation powers. Ever since pictures from the movie set of Payback Rising had been sold to the press, the general public had taken an interest in little old, mediocre me.

A picture of Soldier Boy and I had made it into the newspapers. A photograph of him carrying me. Of us staring into each other’s eyes. Now people were making up stories left and right. The press liked to make these things bigger than they were.

The good news was, I was getting offers. They wanted me for talk shows, interviews, and photoshoots.

The bad news was, these offers all included Soldier Boy. It was either both of us or nothing. On my own, I still wasn’t interesting enough. Still not worthy. So, what I had gained aside from the money was to be a target for the paparazzi.

“Let me through. Thanks,” I snapped, annoyed, knowing that I once again had to take a detour before going home. I didn’t need these sleazebags in front of my building. It took me a bit longer to get home that way, but I was willing to make the effort.

When I came home to a ringing telephone, I instantly rolled my eyes. I couldn’t seem to catch a break these days.

As I stood in front of the telephone, I contemplated whether I should answer or not. All I truly wanted was to sit down, have a glass of wine, and forget about everything that had to do with Vought and Soldier Boy.

“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath and picked up against my better judgment. “Hello?”

“Trouble?”

I recognized that voice. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. With narrowed eyes, I leaned against the ugly wall in the hallway. “Who’s this?”

“Vought’s VP of hero management. We met briefly on the set of Vought’s new movie.”

That certainly rang a bell. “The Legend,” I sighed and made a fist around the telephone cord, “What is it?”

“I heard that you’ve been declining a whole lotta offers. Interviews, photoshoots, that kind of thing.” He lowered his voice, making me guess that his call was anything but official.

“Well, they don’t really want me for those appearances,” I said, “They want-“

“You and Soldier Boy, I know. Excuse my foul language, but I think you’re being a fucking dimwit.”

“You’re calling me just to tell me that?”, I demanded, clenching the muscles in my jaw.

“I’m calling you to help you out,” he retorted, “I know talent when I see it, Y/N.”

“You told me not to take anyone’s shit. And now you expect me to take yours?”

“I told you to play to your goddamn strengths. Right now, the greatest superhero in the world is interested in you. And the biggest fucking talk show just sent in an offer. Forget all the other jobs, this is the one you’ll wanna take. This is your fucking way into the business, Y/N. You can be huge. Don’t be dumb, girl.”

“Lily? Lily!”, I called out, walking out of hair and make-up. Yes, I had taken the offer. I was attending the damn talk show to speak about my experience on Payback Rising. Of course, I couldn’t say anything remotely close to the truth.

I’d told my sister to wait for me while they dressed me, and now she was nowhere to be found.

She had begged me to take her with me to meet Soldier Boy. And when I say she begged, I mean she fucking begged me. Dozens of puppy eyes later, I had agreed to let her say hi to him. Just say hi. In my presence. I only hoped he wasn’t going to disappoint her. Because if he did, I was going to put him in the ground, no matter who the hell he was.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I found my sister standing in front of a table with snacks. I recognized him instantly. He was wearing his signature suit, minus the mask. Lily was being accompanied by none other than Soldier Boy himself. Her small hands were clasped together nervously as she admired him from below. She was staring up at that tower of a man with little hearts in her eyes.

As soon as Soldier Boy spotted me walking towards them, he smugly lifted his chin. A cunning grin appeared on his lips. “Ah, Y/N! There you are! We were wondering when you’d join us.”

My hands found my hips as I ignored him and addressed my sister instead. “Lily, I told you to wait.” I was anything but amused.

“I’m sorry.” Lily pouted at me. Underneath that pouty face, though, she was hiding tons upon tons of excitement. Her eyes held a spark.

“It’s my fault, really,” Soldier Boy spoke up, pulling my attention back to him, “She looked a little lost back there, all by herself, so I took her under my wing.” His gloved hand squeezed my sister’s shoulder to highlight his point.

I stared back at him with a blank expression. I knew exactly what he was doing, and I didn’t like it. He was painting me in a bad light. I left my sister by herself, so of course, he had to go and play her savior.

“How incredibly kind of you,” I praised him through gritted teeth.

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” He shrugged his massive shoulders, delivering a little show of humbleness. “Lily and I were having a grand old time, weren’t we?” He looked down at my younger sister with so much kindness that it didn’t surprise me how enamored she was.

“The best!”

“I may be the strongest man alive...” Soldier Boy placed a hand on his chest and inched closer to me. “But you, Y/N.” He pointed his finger at me and clicked his tongue. “You’re the real hero. Working two jobs at once, no husband to support you. This might be your breakthrough. I truly want it for you.”

Yeah, because you know this ‘breakthrough’ isn’t happening without you. “Thank you.” I put on a friendly fake smile. The one I’d practiced in front of the mirror because I’d known he was gonna annoy me one way or another. “It means a lot, coming from you. But I think we’re about to start rolling, so…”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He turned to my sister and ruffled her hair, which made her fucking laugh. Usually, she all but freaked out when someone touched her precious hair. “You stay good for your sister, okay?”

“I will. It was a pleasure meeting you, Soldier Boy,” Lily spoke, using the same polite words I’d spent years trying to teach her.

“Oh, the pleasure was all mine, sweetheart.” Soldier Boy bent down, hands on his knees as he looked her in the eye. He lowered his voice, whispering to her like he was telling her a big secret. “And call me Ben.” With a charming wink, he straightened his back again.

“Okay, Ben.” The smile on Lily’s face became so wide that I could have sworn it was about to break her cheeks. “Thank you.”

I, on the other hand, wasn’t half as bewitched as my sister. The corners of my mouth sagged, a scowl masking my face. “Let’s go… Ben.”

Part 5

Tag list: @akshi8278 @leigh70 @impalaslytherin @mimzy1994 @asgardiandeadpoetsociety @panhufflestugf @spnwoman @themerc-with-a-mouth @waynes-multiverse @tzillas @josephslittlemetalballs @deliriouslybi @ryethebrokengae @epiphany-of-a-madwoman @rach5ive @mrsjenniferwinchester @may85 @jassackles @mimaria420

#soldier boy x reader #soldier boy x you #soldier boy fanfiction #soldier boy imagine #soldier boy #soldier boy x y/n #the boys fanfiction

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plutos-dreamer · 5 months ago

Text

If We Were Villains But Oliver is a diff type of Artist

I'm not really sure how alive the "If We Were Villains" fandom is but I have ✨IDEAS✨ and i must share.

There are a few fics were Oliver is some other variation of artist rather than the theater nerd that he is and I just cannot stop thinking about it.

It would change the direction of the story (obviously lmao) most prominently he would not be distracted by Meredith as canon played out. DO NOT GET ME WRONG. he still finds Meredith attractive of course (we love a bisexual king) but because he doesn't live at the castle in this au he doesn't know her as well and out of the entire group he would be closest to James.

I love the idea of James making friends with him secretly. Oh, he never meant for it to start as a secret but once he meets Oliver in all his quiet but steady and loyal glory and is treated to his full and undivided attention he can't help but want to hoard Oliver for himself. he avoids running into his when he's out with the others.

At first Oliver is hurt by this and it leads to some miscommunication where Oliver assumes it's because he's embarrassed by Oliver because all his other friends are so cool and confident. It leads to a somewhat anticlimactic confrontation where James has to awkwardly (painfully) explain how: no he's not ashamed of Oliver he just doesn't want Oliver to like his other friends better than him. Which leads to Oliver having to awkwardly (painfully- holy god) explain that James is fucking amazing in his eyes and he can barely look away from him for anything. ('Oh', you say, 'so they basically confess their feelings' to which I say: 'no you stupid fuck that was of course a completely platonic thing to say and was not even remotely homosexual in any way'....... basically they're still oblivious morons)

Anyways, Oliver eventually does see the rest of the cast (whether in a hilarious accident or introduced by his boyfriend- I mean- by James is up to you) and James starts bringing him to parties and some more casual hang outs with the cast. Oliver immediately wins then over with his adorable humble and honest charm (can you tell I fucking love Oliver?????) he clicks immediately with Filippa, is quick to get Wren to laugh, is bashful but honest and respectful with Meredith, is happy to light a blunt with Alexander and get on board with his dark humor, and is wary but fond of Richard (until things go south of course). Also I think Meredith is initially very intrigued by Oliver especially how he doesn't see her as an object (like she says in canon) but is early on put of (and slightly amused) by how entranced he and James are, so they don't really get involved like they do in canon. (I do think she would flirt with Oliver when James is being bitchy though and poor Oliver is like: bro please leave me out of this)

All in all, James is nervous about Oliver not being as "enamored" the first few weeks and is pretty snappy as a result but he eventually settles as Oliver remains very firmly in his corner and continues to watch him with starry eyes. (The entire group is very amused by how the two of them circle each other and they heckled James mercilessly when they found out how long he kept Oliver a secret from them)

Imagine the first meeting between them, Oliver admiring James from the first time he sees him on stage (because despite not pursuing theater I still believe that he would love Shakespeare and the theatrics of the stage in any universe) and some how managing to catch James' attention in his own right. That all depends on what he's studying of course and I do have a few bite sized ideas for some of them so......

Dancer!Oliver:

I think in this au they would meet as like a group project between the dancers and theater groups. they have to work on ballroom dance cartography or something for a play and James wants extra practice so he stays in the studio to go over the steps and happens to run into Oliver who's putting in some late hours practice

He walks into James practicing alone and is like "you know you're not supposed to practice alone? you could get hurt" and James is like "well what are you doing here alone" "......well you got me there" and Oliver ends up helping him work out the foot work, probably the female role to a ballroom scene if we're being honest so we have a "no put your hand on my waist- MY WAIST-" scene

In this au I believe Oliver does a lot of lifting work (pardon the terminology I know nothing about dancing) meaning he does those very impressive lift moves (this is most because I want to stick to the part of his character where he makes others look good like James says in canon). Because of this he's way more in shape in this au so James is dancing with him and kind of marveling at how elegant and in control he is of every movement his body makes. ("It's unfair how you move that way." "I have to have some reward for spending 8 hours plus in the studio almost everyday. You get public speaking skills, I get to bed like a fucking pretzel")

After that they start to see each other around school and eventually just give in to the draw between them spending as much time as their schedules will allow in each other's presence.

The dancers get used to seeing Oliver Marks stretching at the bars while simultaneously reading lines for James, literally putting his foot behind his head while holding "The Merchant of Venice" open with one hand and speaking for Shylock or some other character they don't know the names of while his weird theater friend paces and rants in character. ( "To you, Antonio, I owe the most in money and in love, and from your love I have a warranty to unburden all my plots and purposes how to get clear of all the debts I owe! .... Oliver that's your line." "hold on I gotta stretch out my hamstring"(this is during free hours of course not during class))

I think this would change the halloween scene as well behave he would be so much stronger. Richard is still bigger than him but not by as much and he just fucking jumps in for James, practically carrying James out of the water as soon as they get Richard off and holding him while he recovers. In general he would pose more of a problem for Richard

Visual Arts!Oliver:

They meet somewhat similarly, a joined project between the two factions. Oliver is painting a backdrop or something and he happens to hear James practicing. He seems frustrated and Oliver realizes that he can't see Oliver where he is working in the semi darkness and he speaks up before he sees something he isn't supposed to. He tells him he's really good and when James looks skeptical he explains his own smaller but still significant love for Shakespeare and how he would have loved to do theater but he was a pretty mediocre actor and his love for painting and drawing over took that path. James is kind of touched by this random art student's moment of vulnerability and asks him to help him practice. And thus the birth of a beautiful friendship.

James spends hours in Oliver's space at the art studio whether it be just to read without the suffocating presence of his fellow theater majors, to bitch to him about Richard or Meredith ("-and then Meredick-!" "Mere-what-now?"), or just to watch him paint his feelings on a canvas

James picks up a lot about art that he didn't know before, he loves listening to Oliver explain the different mediums and techniques. he developed a bit of a fixation on Olivers hands noticing when he hasn't washed them throughly enough to get all the paint off his palms or the charcoal staining his finger tips or even how they dry out when he works with clay and forgets to use hand lotion after. He only starts to freak out about this when this attention starts to extend outside of when Oliver is drawing/painting/working. Oliver will just point something out for James and his brain will just go: ✨ h a n d s ✨

Oliver: *using his hands to talk as he explains a project to Filippa* James: *drooling* Alexander: *half laughing* dude-

James has a bad day (Richard being dick or just a rough brain day) and Oliver paints pretty swirls on his skin in vibrant colors to make him feel better. (Oliver: *paints little pink hearts on James' ankle* James: *through tears* you're such a fucking dork)

Oliver painting on James becomes kind of a normal thing when one of them is having a rough day and needs to relax (James once paints on Oliver). Richard makes a really fucked up comment about James or Oliver or both of them (its up to you which one) and James is on a rampage about it when he goes to see Oliver and just explodes. Oliver listens and is furious for him and ends up painting these huge and kind of badass phoenix wings on James' back. they cover his entire shoulder blades and extend to parts of his arm. James struts around the Castle shirtless and absolutely seamless for as long as the paint lasts.

Oliver: I can never get the color of your eyes right James: *distracted* mhm...... wait what-? Oliver: what

when they do end up together (because they do, I don't care about canon) they definitely have at least one make out session in the studio with Oliver's hands covered in paint and they both end up covered in streaks of paint and colorful handprints

Musician!Oliver:

Again, partner project, music students act as orchestra for the theater's performance. Violinist Oliver has a solo.

Similar to hw they meet in the artist au Oliver catches him going over lines and reveals his own interest in Shakespeare.

James spends afternoons spacing out or reading to Oliver playing his violin. They often go out just to enjoy the quiet of other parts of campus as Oliver, being a music student, is constantly surrounded by noice and all James' friends are loud

I imagine in this au he's a little shier, a little more nervous to meet the rest of the cast but still the brave and loyal man he has to be in canon

He teaches James how to play a few songs on the violin but he's pretty terrible at it so its mostly them just giggling like school children and James reveling in being able to be bad at something without harsh criticism

Violinist Oliver threatening to break his violin over Richard's head lmao. I don't know how it would happen but just imagine it. Fucking glorious.

Anyways that was a lot for what I'm pretty sure is a barely alive fandom but for those doomed to think about this series forever here you go lmao

#if we were villains #oliver marks #james farrow #meredith dardenne #richard sterling #lgbtq #queer books #gay books #artist au #musician au #dancer au

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tree0frog · 7 months ago

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HIIIII, i'm assuming matchups are open ( I hope) . I want to request a bnha matchup

— I'm an average guy, I have pale skin , black hair, dark brown eyes wearing glasses and such. I'm goth, I listen to the music and dress in trad goth fashion, i like to play guitar, i'm actually quite smart, though very chaotic and will say the most out of pocket thing with a calm face or a smile , i'm literally the nerdy friend in my friend group. Although my brain decides to dissolve at certain moments, albeit; simple conversations. So I'm kinda smart but stupid at the same time, I like collecting and playing with Yu-Gi-Oh cards I also like My Melody from Sanrio. I have two pets, one is a tarantula and one is a cat, i have extremely broken humor I'll literally laugh at anything that is remotely silly sounding to me, [i.e : the word "balls".] I'm also a knife maker ( I treat it as a hobby)

— 👺

Hi sorry this took so long lol you didn’t over say what you wanted so I went with platonic lol.

I pair you either Bakagou.

I defo think he hated you like he did the rest of the class 1 A that if your in one 1 A

But over time he saw that you weren’t as bad as thought extras and gave you the time of day.

Defo like to listen to music with you and some time play it as well

Thinks your random burst of energy quite funny but would never tell you lol

Thinks your fashion sense fits you well and will even give you small pices of advice if your lucky

#fanfic #x reader #bnha #mha x reader #mha #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #bnha x you #katsuki bakugo x reader

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marisoft-paint-adventures · 2 years ago

Text

Pgs. 309 - 384

so there’s this guy.

he has an intro.

and

he’s pretty cool.

he’s so cool he has a shitty galaxy reflection in his shades.

his name is David and his room looks like this.

Dave’s room is the most kind of guy room ever, I can just feel his entire personality here, and I can also feel the “this dude has no parental guidance outside of an equally unorganized brother” energy.

Dave is just a hyperspecific Guy, a real type of Guy, he’s even described as liking obscure bands and shit, Hussie was airing something out when making him.

Anyway, these are your copies of the beta you received in the mail recently. You've labeled them with your name in BOLD RED PRINT to distinguish them from your BRO's copies, who labeled his in kind. Neither of you really gives a shit about this game or has any intention of playing it, but you'll be damned if you'll let that get in the way of your campaign of one-upmanship.

the Lalondes and Striders have a lot of parallels going on between each other with their dynamics and situations. 1 thing that sets them apart is that the perception of an insane mindgame rivalry seems to be more truthful on Dave’s end compared to Rose. Rose thinks that even a fucking fancy pillow is some kind of symbol of scorn and spite in the waterfall of irony and insincerity. while there’s not much seen out of Dave and Bro’s relationship on a normal day, the stupid ass stealth moves that Bro pulls out in order to get Dave’s goat really implies that there is a genuine absurd rivalry going.

also they’re just brothers. when there’s brothers in fiction, they either hate each other or like each other but still fuck with each other just for the sake of Being Brothers.

Dave: Bleat like a goat and piss on your turntable.

You would never consider allowing any fluid even remotely resembling urine to touch your beloved TURNTABLES. That would risk breaking them, and a world without the gift of your godly science just doesn't sound like a place you want any part of. While you're at it, you might as well wipe out human civilization with a meteor or something ridiculous like that which will probably never happen. That sort of thing only happens in stupid idiot movies for stupid idiots.

You will however contemplate bleating like a goat for IRONICALLY HUMOROUS purposes at a later date.

Dave is so lame.

FUCKING APPLE JUICE BABY. YEAH LOVE THAT SHIT. TOP 3 FRUIT JUICES ON THE TIERLIST WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

he’s gonna say it, he’s gonna say the thing.

yeah this is the OS design I’m attached to the most, I grew up with Windows 7 which basically did everything Vista did but a bit more glassy, so this is up my fucking ally. look at those GRADIENTS, look at all that GLOSS, it’s so fucking good.

HE SAID IT.

I love Hussie’s fake UI I love it.

I also love Dave Strider’s blog, he said the n-word on it

not joking you can check for yourself.

FUCKING SWEET BRO AND HELLA JEFF YEAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

SBAHJ is so damn interesting because it’s the Homestuck thing that has the furthest reach out of the entire comic but at the same time people don’t even know it’s Homestuck.

true story: my 1st ever exposure to Homestuck without even knowing it was when I was like 12 years old and watched a fucking VanossGaming GMod video in which they played that masterpiece SBAHJ map.

youtube

seeing a giant shittily compressed texture that just said AIDS which spun around in a circle and fucking instantly killed anything it touched was literally formative for my sense of humor.

the backstory is also absolutely beautiful, imagine dropping your armature Gamer Webcomic™ on the Penny Arcade forums only for Future Homestuck Artist Andrew Hussie to come in and completely shit on your comic by turning it into the worst form of art you have ever seen which would then turn into its own popular comic.

I really like the utility of SBAHJ as an in-universe source of memes and in-jokes for all the kids to reference rather than forcing relevance by shoving in memes that were popular at the time. it really helps make Homestuck feel... not exactly timeless per say, but more relatable in way that supersedes generations.

I say this because I fucking know for a fact real ass memes come in later on in the comic and they get really fuckin annoying.

I would kill someone for a Midnight Crew adventure, you would not believe how far I would go for this to be real.

TT: In some cultures the persistent refusal of a lady's invitation to play a game with her would be a sign wanton disrespect. TT: Either that, or flagrant homosexuality.

STOP JOKING ABOUT DAVE LIKING MEN YOU DO NOT KNOW OF THE FUTURE CONSEQUENCES IT HAS.

it is here where Dave and Rose immediately become the best fucking character dynamic ever.

TT: Sometimes I wonder how you are ever allowed to pay for meals in restaurants. TT: It must be hard to keep a low profile when you're always overhearing awed voices whisper, "It's that guy who has a blog." TG: seriously TG: dudes be worshipping me left and right TG: i cant hardly walk down the street without stepping over torsos of the prostrate TT: Navigating the urban landscape I'm sure is difficult enough without an obstacle course of deferential flesh and skyward asses. TT: Perhaps adapting the art of parkour to your unique environment would help? TG: yeah! TG: i mean damn TG: like theres this scruffy little shit at my feet TG: an orphan or something i dont know TG: face flush on the pavement TG: im like dude you listening for a stampede of buffalo or something? TG: he braves a look at me then gives my shoe a little kiss and scurries the fuck off TT: Heavy is the crown. TG: yeah TG: not kicking oliver twist in the fucking face every day is my gift to the world i guess

also the little "yeah!" he does in excitement of parkour before he corrects himself back to serious coolguy mode is fucking perfect.

aw what the fuck put that shit away.

Dave’s Phat Beat Machine may be a silly joke about shitty fucking DJ machines that have weird pre-made beats and sound effects but some of this shit slaps when you play them at the same time ngl. 11 and 12 together is really fuckin good.

also Captain Planet is in this flash.

maybe Dave is cool, no one else could catch and open that apple juice with such finesse.

this is a really great series of expressions, he is so mad. he can’t stop thinking about PISS.

HE’S SO MAD.

oh god.

oh god they’re here.

You glance at one of the many RADICAL PUPPETS in your BRO'S collection and nod in approval. Is there anything not awesome about your BRO? No, you think not.

this is not cool this is very not cool.

why is the little man in the SHOWER, bro does not BATHE, he is made of WOOD.

he is simply having a terrible, terrible day.

why did he do this.

HOLY SHIT IT’S DAVE’S IRONIC SELF PORTRAIT.

this is why Dave’s sylladex shit is the best sylladex shit, sheer frustrating mathematics leading to renaming items into weird synonyms and yelling out shit to fucking send out swords.

LOOK AT HIM.

he changed his tune so fast, he went from imposing and about throw down to just...

now how will he play the funny Sburb??? what will he do to get out of this situation- WIZARD.

GIANT, STONE, WIZARD.

girl is not having it.

it is here we get the entire downlow of this maddening mother-daughter relationship through the totally not biased eyes of Rose. I mean look at this shit:

Your mother clearly has no real affinity for these damnable things. She only collects them to spite you. If anything, she finds them even more repellent than you do. She's just a committed woman.

A while ago you gave this as an ironic gift to your MOM for mother's day. You even customized it with a drink holder to support one of her ubiquitous ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. She "liked" the gift so much, she had it bronzed and put on this pedestal. She even left it plugged in so it can still be turned on now and then. But never to do any cleaning. It never leaves this display.

The PRETTY PRINCESS DOLL has been sitting there for months, ever since your mother got this abomination for your birthday as a totally PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE gesture. You decided to make it much less abominable by knitting Her Majesty a new head and new arms. Now it brings a mischievous smile to your face whenever you walk by. Your mother hasn't removed the doll yet, and probably never will. She would never be the one to blink first.

This was a drawing you did of your cat JASPERS when you were younger, along with a poem about him. Your mother bought this ostentatious $15,000 frame for it, and had it welded to the door.

Using the colorful MAGNET LETTERS, you recently left a succinct message, which may or may not have been directed toward anyone in particular. But you couldn't find the letter W, so you just stuck two V's together.

Your mother then purchased a fresh pack of W's and left them there for your convenience. Appreciative of the thoughtful gesture, you left her a sincere THANK YOU NOTE, which you had legally notarized, and then marked with a drop of blood.

But part of it was touching the floor, so your mother was kind enough to lift the lower portion of the document with a VELVET PILLOW.

this entire cavalcade of fucking overly professional stupidity really just symbolizes the daily Lalonde struggle. again, way more of an actual thing compared to the baking menace in Washington, Rose does not feel loved enough, she projects contempt onto every action of her mother, even if they’re completely genuine, who’s also literally an alcoholic. but at the same time, this is ridiculous. I can bet that the mere thought of any of this coming off as mean-spirited to Rose is just flying over Mom’s head because she’s too busy cleaning shit or getting drunk. she’s so sincerely nice but also too damn ignorant, while at the same time going completely overboard in every sense just because she can. “oh look at this!! my daughter’s very own drawing!!! it’s so nice!!! let me put it in an expensive frame and then weld it straight onto the fridge!!! :)))))” and then Rose sees this and just goes “SHREW!!! DAMNED SHREW!!!” meanwhile Mom’s just taking this as “oh she’s spelling words on the fridge!!! :))))) but she has no Ws..... :((((( I’ll buy some for her!!! that will satisfy her needs!!! :)))))” and I guess Rose takes a break from the absolute scorn she’s building up in her system to make the most polite ass note all like “Dearest Mother Lalonde, I thank thee for this humble present.” and notarizing it with BLOOD. of course this has to end with Mom walking in, seeing this note and going “how thoughtful!!!” and then sliding a god damn pillow just for the presentation.

it is my firm belief that the Lalondes are just kind of off the fucking wall inherently, literally all of them just do wacky shit like this without question.

fandom mischaracterizations are so frequent that they’re not even a surprise, but this concept of Rose being this completely serious and levelheaded girl who’s always moody and brooding and never puts up with stupid shit is something I cannot understand how anyone picked up from her. she has a sense of humor, a really damn good one, a lot of the comedy can be attributed to her dialogue. she’s not dead serious, she literally knits Lovecraft monsters in purple for goofs and does something like the above while no one is around. and in no possible way is she running on full logic and reasoning because she plays weird mind games with her mom and later on just goes insane and destroys shit for the hell of it. there really is more to Rose than just “goth = serious smart.”

a lot of this extends to Kanaya as well because I guess people just write the 2 of them as the same person, as we all know, couples can’t be together unless they completely overlap on the Venn diagram of their personalities, hobbies, and interests, but that’s for later.

AND THEN SHE PAYS FOR THE FUCKIN MAGNET. WHO DOES THIS.

MOTHER JUMPSCARE.

And of all things to be doing during a power outage. She's up to her IRONIC HOUSEWIFE routine again. That mop bucket doesn't even have any water in it! What an absolute madwoman.

I like how Rose calls this some kind of weird irony chore that no sane individual would do without a hint of joking, she really expects too much out of Mom. a real core part of this relationship is how Rose assumes that her mother is operating on the same high level thinking as her, when in reality she’s just doing actual housewife stuff genuinely. the bucket being empty is even part of Rose overthinking all of this, Mom’s using a Swiffer, she doesn’t need water, she just brought the bucket because it completes the housewife look.

I don’t know if that latter part was intentional or if Hussie just didn’t know how Swiffers worked.

NYOOM.

SICK TRICKS.

ah fuck.

the Strider household is such a very specific home aesthetic of “complete fucking disaster, the likes of which you have never seen, owned by 2 dudebros who like Eminem.” this visual style is so poignant that the best way Dave fixes a window is with straight black tape, how classy.

big fan of how everyone talking to Jade starts to smile, she just has that energy. I mean look at Dave, you see that single raised pixel? that’s him smiling! he’s got joy! and he’s so much more genuine when he’s talking to her too, she’s literally the one person in the friend group where he can drop the whole image of “I am so fucking Cool and Real and Awesome and Swag.” they play off of each other really damn well, no wonder DaveJade is a really big ship.

TG: say hi to your grand dad for me too ok GG: ._. GG: yes i guess an encounter with him is almost certain GG: it is usually........ GG: intense!!! TG: well yeah isnt it always with family

this is the non-embarrassing parallel to John talking about Dad with Rose. Dave’s probably thinking to himself, “ah yes, she too knows of the struggle of high octane anime fights in the middle of the house.” meanwhile Jade’s talking about yelling at a corpse.

also JADE KNOWS THE FUTURE??? HUHHHH???? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???????????

#homestuck liveblog #hs liveblog #hs reread #liveblog #reread #live read #liveread #homestuck #hs1 #hs #home22tuck #Act 2 #flash #rose lalonde #dave strider #jade harley #Beta Kids #mom lalonde #guardians

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