cristicns

[cristicns]

micah !

in an almost comical fashion, micah froze. he loved cris’ sisters, he did, but they could be a lot. and they had a deep love of playing the you haven’t spoken to us in months, so you’re going to make up for lost time all in one sitting game. it was deplorable. “ she can’t see me if i play dead, ” he muttered rather childishly, twisting the rubick’s cube in hand. “ and a week’s not that bad. she could be moving in permanently. then you’d have to figure out how to entertain your one night stands with your sister perpetually in the next room. ”

“ oh, she’ll find you, ” cristian mused, grinning in amusement at the thought of his sister annoying someone other than him. however, his grin subsided with micah’s last remarks as he pulled the car into a parking lot of a pharmacy. shutting off the engine, cris replied, glancing at micah and giving him a look, “ exactly, so don’t give her any ideas once she’s here. she’ll take any opportunity to kill my vibe. ” he proceeded to half step out of the vehicle, the driver door staying open as he continued, “ speaking of killing vibes, i’ve been getting these headaches lately. so, i’m just gonna’ go in and get some pain meds real quick and then we can go. i’ll just be a sec. ” jogging into the pharmacy, it didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for and then to return to the car.

[cristicns]

nathan !

𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 !

“  i  would  just  like  to  say  something  that  i  should  have  said  before  ,  which  is  i’m  sorry  .  ”  his  words  came  out  heart  felt  as  he  sat  in  head  quarters  with  the  other  .  “  i’m  sorry  for  not  being  the  babysitter  you  all  needed  because  you  clearly  needed  one  .  ”  pausing  to  take  a  sip  of  his  coffee  ,  his  leg  bounced  in  pent  up  frustration  for  being  sentenced  to  another  year  of  overseeing  this  group  .  “  i   mean  ,  i  mostly  blame  myself  for  the  misfortunes  you’ve  had  since  i  was  thrown  into  this  little  team  because  i  know  better  and  could’ve  done  something  to  stop  you  from  nearly  getting  yourselves  killed  again  ––––  you  guys  are  obviously  stupid  .  ”  reaching  forward  ,  he  set  his  mug  down  and  stretched  back  on  the  couch  ,  not  even  bothered  by  how  rude  he  was  to  the  kids  .  “  i  just  want  you  to  know  i’m  going  to  do  better  this  year  .  if  not  for  you  then  for  me  .  ”

upon hearing nathan’s voice, cris put down his pen and looked up. “ oh, stupid, huh ? ” he half laughed, half scoffed, finding the words coming out of nate’s mouth to be more laughable than frustrating — which would usually have been the case given how unenthusiastic cris had always been about having someone supervise the group. he didn’t do well with people patronizing his own control. “ that’s rich coming from a guy who can’t even do a babysitting job right. ” cristian shook his head, feeling the urge to go on but deciding to suppress it and let out another small laugh instead. “ you know what, man ? save your ‘ sorry ’ . the next time shit goes down, let’s see if you actually step up and do something. i’m eager to see our big saviour in action. ” cris rose a brow, ending his remarks in a sarcastic tone.

[cristicns]

micah !

micah scoffed,  amusement growing by the second. he lounged in the passenger seat of the van, seat leaned back and rubick’s cube in hand. he’d always hated the things, but he amused himself with one now, twisting it senselessly. “you say that now, but you’re going to miss her the second she’s gone.” not that he held cristian’s impending annoyance against him. micah grew up with his sisters, too, and knew JUST how frustrating it could be. micah didn’t have any siblings of his own ( not since things with naomi took a bad turn ), but the ramos girls were the closest thing he’d ever had to it. they were awfully annoying when they wanted to be, and it was only amusing when he wasn’t a part of it. he glanced over at his best friend. “how long do you think she’ll be around  ?  ”

cris pursed his lips stubbornly, knowing full well that micah was right and that he had a point, but as per usual, he was too headstrong to admit it. a part of him did enjoy having his sisters around, and that part of him also desperately wanted nothing more than to just spend some time with family, something that he’d neglected for far too long now. however, he knew it wouldn’t be long until he was digging his fingers in his hair in frustration. “ well, it’s not just me, y’know. you’re not getting out of this. jade’s gonna’ wanna’ see you too, ” he retaliated, keeping his eyes on the road as the two continued down the street. “ and i think she said a week or something. ”

[cristicns]

vanessa !

vanessa can only imagine how tough it must be for cris. it’s been like two almost three years since he became emmerson’s host and the team has done almost nothing to help.  “  it’s a little odd that he’s been dormant, considering how powerful he is.  ”  she doesn’t want to attack him with questions now, considering they’re standing in the middle of a very crowded and public space. it’d be too awkward.   “  i was actually heading to the hq. you goin’ there too or  ?  ‘cause i could definitely use an escort.  ”

shrugging slightly, cris nods hesitantly at vanessa’s comment, the notion of the entity being powerful creating a certain unease within him. “ i guess, i don’t know, ” he says before lowering his voice a bit since they’re still in public, “ why ? do you feel him or something ? is that how it works ? ” his words feel weird to say, especially considering it’s always been much easier to be in denial about the whole thing, but he doesn’t really know how else to phrase it. cris eventually nods in response to her question, keeping his pace with her. “ yeah, i left my stuff there. so i was gonna’ head there eventually. ” the two continue on walking, the crowd around them thinning out until the hq could be seen.

[cristicns]

kimberly !

disinterested  hues  gravitated  towards  cristian ,  his  question  not  quite  making  sense  until  the  latter  comment  .  kimi  scoffed  ,  absentmindedly  spinning  a  pen  between  her  fingers.  “  i  didn’t  keep  it.  ”  well  ,  that  wasn’t  true  .  right  about  now  ,  it’s  sitting  in  a  case  in  her  apartment  ,  locked  &  stuffed  beneath  her  bed  .  the  maxwells  wouldn’t  miss  it  .  the  pen  stills  between  her  fingers  as  she  aims  a  grin  at  him  .  it’s  not  as  sugar  sweet  as  her  usual  ,  too  full  of  smug  amusement  .  easier  to  exist  without  worrying  about  a  façade  .  “  i  wish  i’d  taken  a  few  pictures  .  it  was  pretty  funny  .  ”  not  as  funny  when  she  shot  zach  ,  but  that  gratification  was  another  matter  entirely  .  “  do  i  even  want  to  know  how  you  ended  up  lost  ––––  again  ?  ”

“ that’s too bad, ” cris hummed, sliding his chair closer to hers and reciprocating her grin with a smug one of his own. “ i was just starting to like the sound of this new kimi. ” he couldn’t lie, once he’d heard about what had gone down in the lodge while him and the boys were missing, he almost didn’t believe it. kimi had surprised him, but he enjoyed being pleasantly surprised. placing an arm on her desk, his smirk remained until her question came, which caused him to let out a bit of a laugh. “ hey, technically, we weren’t lost, ” he corrected, “ the floor just so happened to collapse while we were looking around the mine entrance. shit luck, if anything. ” as if falling through the floor was any better than getting lost, but luck never seemed to be on their side anyway. “ meanwhile, the rest of you were pointing a gun at each other’s heads, so . . . ” he trailed off tauntingly, shrugging his shoulders in satisfaction. 

[cristicns]

vanessa !

vanessa turns at the sound of her name, seeing cristian jogging up to her in the busy courtyard.  “  oh, yeah it is ! i’ve been looking for this everywhere. thanks.   ”   she takes her notebook back, flipping through some of the pages before closing it and reaching down to stuff it into her backpack.   “   you didn’t look through it, did you ?   ”   she asks, trying to look as ominous and intimidating as possible but ultimately failing as a large grin spread on her face,   “   just messin’ with ya. there’s nothing cryptic in here. speaking of cryptic, how you’ve been feeling ? it’s been a while since you know who has made an appearance.   ”

cristian’s brow rises as vanessa’s tone turns ominous, an instinctive reaction even though he knew he hadn’t looked at it, but soon relaxes once she reveals she was joking. “ well, i didn’t look through it either way, but yeah, no problem. ” cris nods with a grin before vanessa’s next question comes. placing his hands in his pockets, he lowers his gaze to the ground for a moment. his possession was always a bit of an awkward subject, no matter how normal things have been lately. “ uh, yeah, i guess it has been a while, huh ? ” he half chuckles, glancing back up at vanessa, “ i’ve been good though . . . pretty good actually. ‘keeping busy. almost forgot about that guy. ” which is a lie, he really hasn’t forgot about him.

[cristicns]

sitting behind the wheel of the mysterybusters van, a more than natural place for the driver, cristian toyed with the cigarette in his hand before finishing it off and tossing it out the driver’s seat window. “ did i tell you my sister’s coming to visit me ? ” he turned to his friend in the passenger seat, starting up the van’s engine as he spoke, “ yeah, apparently she can’t afford to go anywhere else and doesn’t want to spend her break with our parents so she’s gonna’ come annoy me instead. ” cris rolled his eyes, glancing back as he began to back out of the parking spot and head down the road. “ i think i rather be back in those mines right about now. ” although they were some of the most important people in his life, cristian’s sisters had a real knack for knowing how to get on his nerves, so even just one coming by could only ultimately end in headaches.   /   ( @micvhisms )

[cristicns]

swivelling around in his chair, cristian turned to face kimi, deciding it was time for a break from his work. his assignment was proving to be far less interesting than the girl behind him. “ so, where’s your new toy ? ” cris joked with a mischievous smirk, making a gun sign with his hand just to taunt her. letting out a laugh, he leaned back in his chair, eyeing her as he shook his head in slight disbelief. “ ‘can’t believe i missed you slinging that thing around. i’m not gonna’ lie, ‘kinda wish i got to see everyone’s faces. ” since he had been stuck with the other guys in the mines, cris had missed what had gone down in the lodge with the gun, but from everyone else’s retellings, it had been quite the show.  /   ( @itskimibitch )

[cristicns]

cris clutched his jacket tighter to his chest, zipping it up, as he made his way through campus. his backpack was slung over his shoulder and he was in no particular rush to get anywhere, until he saw a familiar figure a few people ahead of him on the sidewalk. “ hey, hey vanessa, ” he jogged up to her, trying to get her attention, suddenly remembering something he was carrying in his bag that he would have probably just left in the hq eventually, “ is this yours ? ” cris took out a small notebook with spooky doodles all over it. “ i was cleaning out the van after the trip and found this. ‘figured it was either yours or eli’s. ” he shrugged.   /   ( @nesswright )

[cristicns]

in the midst of unloading the van, cris came into the mysterybusters hq, back pushing the door as he entered the room with a box of supplies. upon setting the box down, he noticed daniel’s figure in the room and was immediately reminded of the events that had gone down in the mines, feeling like he should probably say something. “ hey man, we cool ? ” cris approached his friend, “ i know shit got heated back in that mine, but . . . ” he shrugged, not the best with apologies. “ we were all stressed out, y’know. so, all good ? ”   /   ( @daniellovestohavefun )

[cristicns]

[cristicns]

kimberly !

kimberly didn’t know what was more RIDICULOUS : the fact that cristian was more or less offering to fuck her anger away, or the fact that she was lowkey considering it. she stared at him incredulously, then shook her head. “you can make it up to me by not acting like a d––” she snapped her mouth shut, keeping the words locked beneath her tongue. it’d been so l o n g since she’d indulged in a healthy rant, letting the anger she held to her chest loose, even if only on a leash. she’d almost forgotten how to snap in moderation. “i don’t want to fuck you, cristian.” what surprised her was the fact that, for once, she meant that shit. “i… appreciate your apology,” she spoke carefully, meeting his gaze. “and i believe you when you say you didn’t mean to hurt me. but you do know that trying to smooth it over with sex appeal completely nullifies your sincerity, right?” it was HARD, not falling to his charm, the way she so often did. but she had finally reached a point where she was tired of playing lapdog for this group, and equally tired of letting cristian’s charm make her mind go blank. after all of the shit, it was time for all of them to grow up a little, and she would start by chipping away at her own happy-go-lucky demeanor. it’d done well to bring her the favor of enough mysterybusters, but she was over that phase. she kept her gaze leveled with his, refusing to back down, despite her history of doing just that. “if you want to make it up to me, then tell me this : how much of the decision to do it was because of your… second personality?” she could pretend she thought that sounded better than saying emmerson’s name, but part of her just wanted to be a little bitchy and get away with it.

          head moving away with a slight hmph, cristian’s features formed a sarcastic grin as if refusing defeat in response to kimi’s rejection, lips pursing and brows raising as he processed her words. it’s not like he hadn’t been rejected before, albeit it doesn’t happen very often, but with a record like his, he was bound to come across people who’d brush him off every once in a while. and if anything, there was something attractive about someone biting back so boldly, the feistiness only enticing him. so, he couldn’t help that her rejection amused him. “ never failed me before, ” he let out mischievously after she finished hitting him with her frustrated assertions, his eyes still coated with allure. he was just so used to his sex appeal and charisma doing all the work for him and being able to get him out of things. it was often something he’d resort to in order to deal with situations -- so much so that when those reality checks did come, like the words kimberly had just shot at him, cris only greeted them with a smugness in order to protect his ego. after all, there wasn’t much else he could say in response to ‘ i don’t want to fuck you, cristian ’. he almost wanted to laugh; a side effect of his infamous confidence. however, his sly grin lessened as kimi’s next question came. “ my second personality ? ” he echoed, this time the suaveness lost from his voice. “ that’s not even-- ” he started but quickly stopped at a loss for words, slightly taken aback by the sudden change in topic. “ nothing’s happened in a while, alright ? i feel fine. ” his words came with defensive undertones.

[cristicns]

lana !

          “you’d think with what happened in the last building, that they’d get a better security system,” she mumbled under her breath. maybe it was easier to blame the group for being the reason that this was happening rather than blaming a specific member for actually doing it. she didn’t want to believe that any of them would write something this cryptic. lana didn’t get along with everyone, but she’d still like to think that there was an unspoken, mutual tolerance. she go through with an investigation of the mysterybusters, evaluating one by one, accusing each of them for doing this until she eventually found the real culprit. that was a last resort. “yeah. i mean, you got an hour to spare?” cris’ question got a smile out of her for a split second and yet just as quickly as it appeared, it faded away. there were just a lot of possibilities and she was only seeing the ones she wanted at the moment. ones that didn’t involve the people she somewhat trusted. “it could be someone who works for netflix, too. what if found out what i did in silverwood and now they’re blackmailing me?” she groaned at the thought. “i knew i didn’t want to do this dumb show.” it was wrong for her to avoid the obvious because in the meantime she was giving cristian a false sense of hope when he should’ve been accepting the unmissable evidence: this had emmerson written all over it. literally.

          cris reciprocated lana’s smile with a small laugh at her comment. he could definitely relate, having had his fair share of disputes, within the group and out. it was a good temporary distraction from the denial he was experiencing about emmerson, so much so that he allowed lana to continue to preoccupy herself with making speculations on who could be behind the note, even though the answer was almost very literally right in front of her. cristian just wanted so badly to believe that emmerson wasn’t still lingering around. “ true, ‘could be, ” he agreed, a pensive look growing on his face before he shook his head disapprovingly, “ i knew i got a weird vibe from some of the guys on that crew. ” the more they spoke, the easier cris started to breath. it was a believable explanation, someone from netflix. after all, the mysterybusters had let them in on their world, a world ridden with secrets. “ i wouldn’t put a hidden agenda past them. ” crossing his arms, a question came to his mind. “ you think you’re gonna’ tell the rest of the group ? i mean, i assume this is the only note you’ve found, right ? maybe there’s no point in stressing just yet. ” he tried his best to sound reassuring, in part for lana but also for himself. his question had come out subconsciously, but there was also a side of him that really didn’t want the note with his handwriting to start getting passed around. eventually things would catch up, and cris wasn’t ready to face what was at the end of that road.

[cristicns]

kimberly !

kimberly would have loved to let the whole thing go. it was in her best interest –– in both of their best interests, really –– to wave off the conversation as nothing worth thinking about. weird doll, weird incident, weird coincidence. it would have been easy, advisable, to let things lie, but she stopped in her tracks as his words sunk in. she stared at him with dull eyes as he continued to explain himself, albeit horribly. his final words were only the nail in the proverbial coffin. ( FORGIVE ME, FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINNED. ) “wait a second.” ( AND I’M ABOUT TO KILL A BITCH. ) she lifted a hand to stop him from moving any further™. she would have loved nothing more than to let this wash away, as she so often did when the group did something stupid. but this… this took the cake. “so let me get this straight. you three––” don’t call them jackasses, stooges, idiots, or anything of the sort, you have a reputation. “––boys go wandering off in the middle of what we already assumed was a haunted campsite. you find what is clearly a voodoo doll that looks like someone you know, and your first thought is to… break it. that’s what seemed like the right thing to do at the time. cristian, you–––” her hand curled in a fist. not to hit him; she would probably break her hand if she did that. but to pull it away, towards her chest, as if to keep a tight rein on that hideous anger trying so desperately to let itself show. “tell me you’re not that ignorant.” the word was cutting, but it was the nicest she could think of in the moment. “and i’m… what, supposed to pretend you didn’t break my leg? out of what, curiosity?”

          cris stopped walking as kimberly’s hand came up, her expression definitely being one that he hadn’t experienced from her before, but with the weight of the information he had just revealed to her, he didn’t really expect anything less. “ hey, hey, hey, just for the record, it wasn’t my first thought, alright ? ” he put up an innocent hand, keeping his tone levelled. he wasn’t surprised that she’d be upset, in fact he wholeheartedly expected it coming into their conversation. he had broken her leg after all, albeit unintentionally, but still. whether his purpose for telling her was his inherent pull toward chaos, the fact that she deserved to know, or just another one of his subconscious ways to fulfill his ego, ultimately getting something out of it ( or all three . . . definitely all three ), her reaction didn’t phase him. however, he couldn’t deny to himself that somewhere deep down the word ignorant hit a nerve, even though he’d been called far worse in his life. cris didn’t show it though, maintaining his cool demeanor, and it wasn’t like he was about to beg for forgiveness either way ( that just wasn’t him ). “ listen, kimi, no matter how fucking stupid it sounds, it wasn’t intentional. we were just fucking around. ‘didn’t really think anything was gonna’ happen, but then i hear about your leg so i just kinda’ assumed. but yeah, i know, not our finest moment. ” cristian solidified his gaze down on the girl in front of him, bringing his head down slightly. “ look, i’m sorry about your leg, ” he brought his voice down to a more charming tone as he continued to speak, “ want me to make it up to you ? 'cause, trust me, ” he rose his brow, “ i can think up plenty of ways to do that. ” 

[cristicns]

micah !

in some ways, micah could understand that. there was a reason he never asked the ramos couple for help back when he was a teen, and suffered at the hand of his father. they didn’t deserve that type of drama in their lives, nor did they deserve to be hurt. they were good people, the likes of which micah had yet to find in the rest of the world. so he couldn’t blame cristian for not telling –– that didn’t mean he liked it, though. he waited before answering, taking a moment to give his oldest friend a once over. he was clearly drunk, which micah could’ve guessed from the balcony thing (though, honestly, they had a working elevator and everything, what the hell), and it was likely the only reason cristian felt comfortable saying these things. for as long as they’d been friend, they rarely had deep talks. because micah was shit with feelings, and cristian was the type to shit on feelings. he could count on one hand the amount of deep™ talks they’d had in their entire lives, and maybe have a finger or two left over. it left him sorely unprepared for this, though. unbidden, he let out a sigh. “jesus, cris… that why you don’t go home anymore?” even as he asked, micah knew the answer. he and cristian were far too much alike, and far too different, all at once. both avoiding home, but for painfully different reasons. the cold metal of the balcony rail bit into micah’s back, the coolness only smothered by the thin fabric of his shirt. he curled his fingers around the rail, gripping it tight, as if afraid of falling, if he let go. something needed to be stable in this conversation, because it obviously wasn’t going to be cristian. eventually, micah was going to have to get him inside. he wasn’t going to make him walk home, and he definitely wasn’t going to drive, so micah silently accepted the fact that he would have to give up his bed for the night. (so tired. he was so tired, everything just happened so much.) but… baggage. micah let out a laugh, loud in the silence of the night, but still so quiet. “man, we’ve always had fuckin’ baggage.” even back in the days when cris’ biggest problem was his complex about money, and micah lied about everything. before cristian was a possessed womanizer, and micah was a deplorable dick. “i get not wanting them to get hurt, but you know they won’t care.” and that was the problem with good people. they never cared about themselves as much as they should have.

upon hearing micah’s initial question, cristian’s head bowed down, eyes slipping to the floor of the balcony in order to avoid answering directly, but the expression on his face said it all. visits back home had been scarce ever since his demonic issues had heightened, something that cristian never really realized that he was doing when it started, and something he definitely never intended to hurt his family with. however, what he was doing and why became clearer as his issues worsened. his eyes were heavy with booze and the trials of a long night, but they didn’t succeed at hiding the hint of unspoken guilt he felt for pushing his family away for the past couple months. they had always been good to him, even when there were struggles and times of uncertainty growing up, from financial issues to just familial disagreements. he definitely could have had it worse, and although his reasoning for not going home too much lately tied in with not wanting them to get hurt, he still felt pretty shitty about it sometimes. it was times like these that reminded him of his childhood, where he secretly wished he hadn’t taken his family for granted and pushed them away for such trivial, egotistical reasons. because now that he didn’t want to push them away, he kind of felt like he had to because his reasoning and the consequences in this situation were so severe. cris just couldn’t expose them to all of it -- to emmerson. what if he hurt them ? it was a thought that haunted cristian more than the demon itself, and one that only reinforced his gaze at the ground as he spoke. that was, until he heard micah let out a laugh. causing him to look back up at his friend, he couldn’t help but reciprocate the laugh, making him forget everything for a split second, even squeezing in a quick, “ true that, ” with a light scoff before micah continued to speak. “ yeah, yeah, but-- ” cris shook his head, “ but i don’t need ‘em . . worried. ” he waved it off, his arm swinging aimlessly, shifting his body weight in his position on the ground. “ i can handle it myself. ” his last words came out a little more abrupt than he probably intended, especially with how loose the alcohol made his tongue, but they brought a halt to his words as the faces of the mysterybusters flashed in his mind. there was a part of him that knew he wasn’t alone on the matter, but another part of him that was just so used to dealing with things on his own.

[cristicns]

lana !

          she noticed a quick, odd shift in cristian’s expression when he read the note. in any other circumstance, she would’ve put two and two together and saw that something was off here. but because of the state of mind lana was in right now, she took it as a cause to be relieved. if cristian was taking this as seriously as she was then she felt just a little less crazy. “shit,” she mumbled under her breath at the news that he hadn’t been here to see anyone leave. the group was doing so good lately–––– sure, they barely saw eye to eye and made that obvious during their typical arguments but compared to the way their situation was a year ago, they were in a much better place. lana didn’t want to ruin that by bringing this up. for all she knew, they wouldn’t believe it. after all, she wasn’t the most honest of the bunch. they could potentially perceive this as another one of her pranks or worse, one of her lies. she sighed as she brought her eyes up and met his gaze, “no… i haven’t shown anyone anything.” and there was about a ninety nine point nine percent chance she wasn’t going to either. “do you think…” she shifted her weight, back and forth, feeling uncomfortable about what she was going to suggest of the group. “do you think it was one of them?”

        playing the phrase on the note over and over again in his head, cristian tried to find any evidence that suggested that the note wasn’t as ominous as it seemed. just any reason to reject the idea that this could be emmerson’s doing, because, as much as he hated to admit it, that thought wouldn’t leave him alone and it was just not an option cristian wanted to deal with right now. he didn’t even want to think about it. having been doing so well for a while now, he couldn’t bring himself to come to terms with the fact that the demon was back or maybe never left. cris didn’t want to go back to those stressful days of grief and losing control, so he pushed them away. nodding at lana’s response, he subconsciously took a sigh of relief that she hadn’t shown anyone yet. he wasn’t sure just how many of the group could recognize his handwriting, but definitely a few like micah would probably be able to deduce. “ i don’t know, maybe, ” cris replied, shrugging, “ it could just be one of them fucking with you. unless you think someone else could have gotten in to the hq. ” he spoke with less of a concerned tone, as if trying to convince himself that it was just a stupid coincidence and a dumb joke, and ignoring the pressing voice in his head about emmerson. a voice that wondered what this note could mean for him, for lana, and for the rest of the group. “ piss anyone off lately ? ”

[cristicns]

halloween 2.0   —   cristian ramos just posted to instagram.