#Is the Being Able To See Ghosts On Phone Camera thing going to be brought up later? That feels too useful for them to ever bring it up agai

[starlit-crossing]

A Ghost of Yourself Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Flying Solo

---

Danny had lost track of the time quickly after beginning to fly, his stress ebbing away with the landscape that spend by. He tried to focus on the grass, the roads, the horizon, anything but what had just transpired. Every time his mind wondered; he would be reminded that he needed to not feel. His friends' face as he took off — nope, not thinking about it. How worried Jazz would be — what a really cool tree I just passed. His parents’ confusion and not getting to say goodbye to anyone — that is a lot of white vans up a head. Wait… Danny stopped midair above a state highway. Similar to a police barricade, white vans, jeeps, and motorcycles were stationed in the middle of the street. Guys in White were stopping the passing cars, scanning them, then letting vehicles through the state border. Lines were beginning to form and angry honks floating up to him. This isn't good… Danny fished for his burner phone, feeling for the metal at the bottom of his backpack. Digging it out, the clock read 12:45. He had left Casper high during lunch, which had been around 11:30, and he had left Amity around 11:40. Good to know it takes less than an hour for the Goons in White to make a move. He floated closer to the cars to see if anyone had a Wi-Fi spot open. I should've grabbed the Fenton GPS from the emergency OPS center, finally a Wi-Fi signal popped up under the name __Not_The_FBI__. Danny choked on a laugh as he pulled open his map app. He was going to need to avoid every joke and pun on this trip, or he was a dead man. Well, a deader man… wait! Bad brain! He yelled at himself. He had to be less than a five-minute flight from Chicago. Zooming in, he looked for a train station or a ferry… and there was a train station used for hauling cargo from the US into Canada.

“Perfect!” Danny exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, only to hit something metal. Turning, Danny watched as a pristine white drone steadied itself in the air. Its camera focusing on him.

“Shit.” Danny turned to watch as the men below froze, then look to the sky. Spotting him immediately, he just waved as they began to take aim. Turning invisible and speeding away as round after round of ecto blasts lit up the sky. Nice going Fenton, he berated himself flying towards Chicago; I have two things I can't do: express emotion and use powers publicly. I've already done both! Like he thought it hadn't taken long to reach the station, gravely rails and signs directing conductors were sprawled throughout. He found an empty car, checked for any passerby, and phased inside. A flash of light leaking through the cracks as he returned to his human self. The darkened car was cold, with metal walls and doors. The floor was a kind of embossed metal, a crisscross pattern embellished the sheet metal.

“I should've brought a book or something.” he laughed tiredly to himself… “Damn it!” Danny yelled, banging his head on the car wall. It's probably best if I just sleep, I'll be over the state border by the time I wake up. He thought to himself, settling into a corner. Propping his backpack to use as a pillow, the cold had no effect on him as he drifted to sleep.

---

It had been a little over an hour since Danny had gone on the run. Sam and Tucker had decided to skip what was left of school and head straight home. It would be difficult to catch up with him, but they had to at least try, and every second that passed was a second wasted. They didn't have anything in mind for Danny being tracked so easily, but they would figure something out. They had to.

When Sam got home, her house was surrounded by GIW agents. Her parents stood at the door listening to a panicked Jack and Maddie. As she pushed her way to the front, she was able to make out some of what Danny's parents were saying.

“Please! Just let us make sure Phantom didn't leave anything here. Anything could be a clue to where he took Danny!” Maddie cried, Jack stood by her as she pleaded, an arm around her shoulder. Her parents shared a pained look as they tried to decide what to do.

“Maddie, we know your situation with ghosts is important. To your career and with your family,” her mother started softly, remaining in her polite and cheery tone. “But we can't risk involving Sammikins more than your son already has.”

“Not to mention when we let you search our home earlier during that wild goose chase! Left a large mess that our house cleaner had to pick up.” Her father chimed in, annoyed.

“We understand that, but we need every clue we can! Sam!” Jack shouted, seeing her as she entered the path leading to the door.

“Sammy get inside! You don't need to be pestered by agents as well.” Her dad called, ushering her inside the large house.

“Same, please! Have you heard anything from Danny? Is he with Tucker?” Maddie called, fighting the door as her mother tried to close it. Sam tried to calm down, closing her eyes and slowing her breath. Key word being tried.

“No! I haven't and neither has Tucker! So just leave the two of us alone and don't you dare try storming his house too!” she hollered, shoving the door fully closed. She sighed back sliding against the door.

“That's right Sammikins! Just because they risked their family with ghosts doesn't mean they can risk ours!” Her mother cheered.

“And sorry, Sammy, the house cleaner couldn't get to the second floor today, so your room's still a mess.” Her dad added.

“It's fine, dad. I'll clean it myself. Can I… Can I just be alone for a bit? Stressful day and all.” Sam mumbled, making her way upstairs.

“Of course, sweetie!” they answered, leaving Sam with herself. Once her parents were out of sight, she ran up the stairs. As she entered her room, she looked at the damage caused by the aforementioned goose chase. It looked like a storm had blown through, her bed and desk had their contents thrown about. Anything related to Danny had been pulled out. Ignoring the mess, she pulled over a chair to her closet and felt for the backpack taped to its ceiling. Once down she poured out its contents mentally checking everything was still there. Her clothes? Check. Money? Check. A letter? Sam pulled out the simple envelope that made an appearance in her bag. It was addressed to her, the whole thing crisp and clean. Inside a piece of notebook paper full of Danny's handwriting, nothing looked rushed, and it seemed he had prepared these in advance.

*Ring* *Ring*

Tucker’s face lit up her phone's lock screen, she answered the video call while reading the letter.

“Sam! Did you get home safe? I heard the GIW were swarming your house. Did you find a letter?”

He blurted, the room behind him burring as he moved.

“I'm fine, and I did. Did you get one too? Why would Danny write these?” She flipped the page to see if there was more, a hint to what he was thinking.

“I did, that was why I called you. Does yours say the same thing. Well, maybe not the exact same.” He rambled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Tuck! He wants us to stay in Amity? To abandon him and protect the town that barely cares he's here?” She exclaimed. Tucker nodded along from the camera.

“I know right? He's our best friend, we can't just let him be on the run!” Tucker ranted, “Can we? I mean, I know where he's coming from. We can't really trust his parents or the GIW to keep ghosts out. Valerie can handle her own, but she still hates ghosts. It will be hard for her to leave the neutral ones alone.”

“I don't know, Tuck, Danny even said we could tell Valerie his secret if things got out of hand and became too much for us and Jazz. I don't think he plans on coming home, at least not anytime soon.” she contemplated; there had to be something they could do. “What about other heroes?”

“What? What would they do?” Tucker asked.

“I'm not sure, I know we don't really keep up with stuff outside of Amity, but the Justice whatever works with the government, right? We could tell them our local hero is being unjustly hunted.” Sam suggested pacing the room.

“Sam, what will they find when they look into Phantom? That he's a wanted criminal, robbing banks, and threatening mayors? The media doesn't shine Danny in a good light.” He countered.

“But those can be explained, the GIW have files on Freakshow.”

“Didn't Danny wipe his memories with the Reality gauntlet? They couldn't get the whole truth, or they would learn his brain has been messed with through magic or martians.” They went back and forth.

“Then what do you propose we do? We can't track him down without others noticing.” Sam huffed in defeat.

“We'll just have to do what he asked of us. We'll watch over the town, if Valerie gets out of hand, we'll offer our help first. Say we helped Phantom with ghosts, Danny included. We can say Danny is protecting Phantom even now, and it will buy us some time to see if she can handle Danny's secret.” Tuck finished.

“She trusts Danielle, right? We might be able to convince her.” A moment hung in the air between the two friends. The reality settling in that they may never see their friend again. “Where is Danielle? She might get caught in the crossfire of this, being a clone and all.” Sam wondered.

“She's in Italy last I checked, I'm glad I gave her one of my old phones before she left the US.” Tucker answered.

“That's good… Which of us is telling Jazz?"

---

The train started to move shortly after Danny fell asleep. Four hours passed before Danny's body forced him awake, ghost hunting had ruined his sleep. He could hear Jazz's voice in his head talking about the importance of sleep for teens today. He checked the burner for the time and saw the numbers 6:05 glowing back at him. Pulling open the map he saw he had made it to Indiana, finally.

“Time to get moving, I guess.” As he spoke, he focused on keeping his voice even. The events of earlier, still fresh in his mind. The sound of the car's rolling wheels echoed in the empty car as he stood. Stretching to pop his back. He stuck his head invisibly through the train door, seeing the cargo station grow closer. Bringing his head back in, he readied to slip off the train. Steadying himself as the train arrived, opening the door, and running through the train yard as fast as he could without getting caught. It had been easier than expected, no one cared, as the teen bolted through the gravel-filled rails with ease. Once outside, he went searching for food. A mini mart was on the corner and a King Burger across the street. He couldn't risk lingering, so he made way for the minimart. The convenience store felt dated with white walls and neon signs, the floor was black and gray checkered tiles. Grabbing some water bottles, bags of jerky, and some premade sandwiches. The many sweets and freezy drinks were tempting, but the longer the food could last, the better. The place was deserted, only the clerk scrolling on his phone could witness he was ever there. After finishing his resource gathering, Danny went on the hunt for a gray hound bus stop, it would be the easiest way to get around without drawing too much attention. Looking for the longest possible route to the East Coast, he was left with two options: Gotham or Metropolis. Both had international ports and superheroes that protected them. He had always meant to look into other heroes more, find some inspiration or role models for hero work, but with ghosts constantly attacking the town and homework, he just didn't have time. Mr. Lancer tried to keep class interesting by referencing the things happening on the global news. Now if he could only remember what he had said about the heroes protecting the cities. Danny had actually perked up when Lancer mentioned that one was an alien with super hearing and other abilities. Aside from that, all he could remember was their names, Batman and Superman. I'm feeling a lot better about my hero name. He would have to give Amity News a break about Invis-O-Bill. Between the two, he was pretty sure Superman was the alien. Sam had done a report on meta-human rights and had gotten very passionate when she discovered that they didn't reference the ecto acts whatsoever. She had been so sure that someone would shed light on the act, accounting it to being unknown meta-humans being unjustly removed of their rights. A point she got stuck on was that Batman had all but banned metas from Gotham. Stating they should seek sanctuary elsewhere due to the antics of his villains. It had something to do with gas, scarecrows, and clowns? So, he could either go to the city where no powers were allowed, or the city protected by a super-hearing alien. The GIW might expect him to go to an alien for sympathy or to overshadow him in a power grab. Gotham seemed like the safer choice, even with the high amounts of criminal activity they seemed to have. He would be able to fight off most thugs without causing serious damage, humans can't normally through a guy through a brick wall like ghosts can. No one would question him being alone and sneaking around, he'd use his powers to get on a boat for Europe and keep a low profile while he searched for Danielle. He'd fill her in on what was going on, send a message to Sam and Tucker that he was safe, and wait to hear what was happening in Amity. So, Danny waited in line and got his ticket for Gotham. The bus was crowded full of people trying to do the same as him; to take a bus as far from one's old life as possible. He was able to grab a seat towards the back, settling into the stained fabric seats. His backpack between himself and the wall of the bus window. Settling in for the longest stretch of his journey out of the country.

Hello and welcome again! I hope everyone is enjoying the story. It’s been very exciting getting to see everyone’s comments and enjoyment for the fic. Don’t worry about the lack of Bat family, I am getting their as fast as I can. I wanted to revisit Amity a little bit to wrap up a few loose ends. I’m not sure at what point in the DP timeline I am placing this, but it will most likely either be prefinal of the show or post A Glitch in Time. Two very different time periods but both work with the general DC timeline I am using. As for the Bat family I’m more familiar with the characters themselves than the canon timeline. So, I’ll primarily be referring to the Batman: Family Adventures for the family and Young Justice for world events such as meta-humans.

I spent a lot of my time working on this listening to the Epic: Underworld Saga musical concept and got stuck on the song No Longer You. It’s so good and feels like it could fit Danny in some aspects if you go for a post A Glitch in Time ghost king Danny. Might draw something if I got time.

See you next week, byee!

Master post - Chapter 2 Prev. <<< Next >>>

[light-me-on-pyre]

I'm up to s2ep18 and I've had a few things to say but not really worth blogging per episode so here's my thoughts sprung forth from ep11-18

One thing I've been noticing is the show itself is actually really well made in a lot of little moments. Specifically, there's the scene where the brothers are talking to the conspiracy theorist who is basically on top of the shapeshifter but is calling it the mandroid and thinks the government is covering it up blah blah conspiracy theorist. The brothers share a look like they're on the same page, they've been doing this for awhile, they're perfectly in sync, then Sam stands up and goes, "you stupid dumbfuck you have no idea what you're talking about. We're the fbi give us your illegal tapes." (To paraphrase) and Dean gives the look of "dude wtf"

Idk I just notice little character moments like that it makes it a better show. (And then they take that character development to the extreme with the trickster guy and I guess that's good even if that episode itself felt like it was beating the message into you instead of letting you simply see it for yourself but whatever)

I went into this thinking people obsessed over it in the "I said it was my favorite show not that it was actually good" kind of way and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised to keep finding ways that is not the case.

Anyway seperate point,

Are the brothers ever going to get their names cleared from the law or are they going to get their asses hounded everytime a shapeshifter shows up. Not complaining, it's a good source of drama. But the fact they have an actual fbi man after them it makes me cringe everytime they don't wear gloves to an active crime scene I don't care they wipe their prints down on occasion they're not getting all of them and prevention with gloves is the best way to not get tracked by the cops (or other hunters they managed to piss off). Like Dean would object to a pair of leather gloves. And then Sam would say leathers not his vibe and would instead steal a few boxes of actual latex gloves you would use at a crimescene, and they could bicker about how dorky Sam looks and how disposable gloves are bad for the environment(sarcastically) and sam would say they're sterile and also they're black so they're slimming and just as cool as leather and around and around you could get seasons worth of bickering out of this. You could probably find an excuse for Sam to call dean a butch again because I'm sure that didn't fan any flames when that happened the first time.

Or they can just leave their fingerprints everywhere. Eh.

I liked the episode where Sam got possessed. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I liked that they reused the entrapment circle in that other hunter's house. I can't wait for that demon to bypass the charms just as easily as the trap.

I liked the timeloop episode. I should probably go back and see what she interacted with if anything at all. I know ghosts can interact with things but it would be a nice touch for the mystery if she never actually interacts with anything the other ghost wasn't directly involved with. It's nice seeing benevolent/misunderstood ghosties.

I liked the movie episode. Dean's so much fun with this one. It's holding hands with the tulpa episode. It would have been fun to see the not-really-ghosthunters antagonists from that episode show up here and recognize the brothers or something but oh well.

I just started watching Supernatural because why not and

The shape shifter episode?

The shape shifter episode.

The entire episode was giving me whumpflies. The premise is a shapeshifter turns into the husbands and boyfriends of the women he tortures and kills and the real guys take the fall for it. And I just

The situation from the women's prospective. The "please don't hurt me any more" to the real husband.

Imagining a whumper who tortures like this but doesn't kill. The victims testimony means the real guy goes to jail for sure even when no cameras. How does he convince her it wasn't really him? Even if it ends with a reveal and exoneration like the episode, how can she trust him? How does he grapple with the fact she believes, with good reason if emotion driven, that he's capable of that?

I just

Oooooh I see why people like this show.

[tr4ncewher]

that look in your eyes

satoru x f!reader .

. . . . .

something in the way satoru stared into you, as if his gaze went through you, through every emotion, through your every movement. the way his crystal coated blue eyes looked into yours. the way he’d so prettily blink his lashes against his cheeks, or the rare times when he’d cry, tears rolling over his puffy lids and running on his rosy cheeks, finding purchase in your chest.

his eyes were beautiful. whether they flashed with anger, lust, sadness, or laughter. they were beautiful when they roamed over every inch of you, full of love and adoration.

this fixation on having eye contact with him or staring at him when he wasn’t paying attention went on for days, not going unnoticed by satoru. perhaps he could use it to his advantage?

gojo had been working an awful lot lately, coming home every night and being too tired to have any time for you at all. so when he was home when you woke up on friday, cooking breakfast and wearing your pink apron and shorts, nothing else, you were confused, happy, and excited all at once.

“toru?” you questioned, raising an eyebrow and stepping closer to where he was scrambling eggs. “you’re home?”

he hummed softly, not turning away from the pan, but answering you still.

“yes,” he replied. “nanami took over, so i’m here. listen, i know i haven’t had much time for you, and i’m sorry.”

you were too focused on sneaking up behind satoru, wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your hand on his lower abdomen, feeling his abs jump beneath your touch.

“huh? it’s okay,” you reassured, too lost in the warm feeling of touching him again. but there was one thing you didn’t like about this position — you couldn’t see his eyes. your favorite part of him, but this would have to do for now.

you really didn’t mean to move your hand so far down, but now you had started, you couldn’t stop yourself. your nimble fingers ghosted over his clothed dick, and it almost instantly twitched. so sensitive. beautiful. moving your hand back and forth against his erection, you could hear him whimpering and feel him trembling with the effort of trying not to burn the eggs.

“fuck,” he cursed, leg twitching as he gripped onto the spatula.

“color?” you asked cautiously, making sure he was okay with this before continuing.

“green.” that was all you needed to hear, as you brought both hands to hook beneath the waistband of his shorts, tugging them down just a bit, taking his boxers with them. you couldn’t see it, but you could hear his cock slap against his belly, completely hard.

he leaned back against you as you took him in your palm, slowly stroking his dick and rubbing your thumb over the tip, using his pre as lubricant.

but it still wasn’t enough. you wanted to see his eyes. so with a shaky hand, you pulled out your phone, pulling up the camera while still stroking him with one hand.

“w-what’re you—” he was silenced when you squeezed the base of his cock gently, whimpering loudly and bucking his hips up against your fingers.

you put the camera in front of his face, now able to see his eyes from behind him.

for being the strongest, he sure was a crybaby. fat tears rolling down his face, cheeks red, and lashes littered with tears clinging to them. he cried out, back arching as he widened his pretty eyes, release splattering onto the oven and you came to your senses when you smelled burning eggs.

but oh, that look in his eyes was to die for.

. . . . .

[missellaneousworks]

Apple from Tree - SDJ OC Drabble

Started off as a warm-up while I got back into the swing of things and then it turned into a whole thing. This came from me musing how having a relationship with a ghost could affect my OC, Ella, and her relationship with her parents.

EDIT: For some context, Ella grew up as an only child to loving but strict parents, who constantly worked in her early childhood due to unsuspected hardships. As such, though she was loved and cared for, parts of her childhood were rather lonely until she became friends with Ian, who became close to Ella's parents over time.

CW: miscommunication, family issues, angst, manipulation, Jack being Jack

Something is Wrong With Sunny Day Jack is a +18 ONLY series. MINORS DNI.

---

Despite waiting for her mother to pick up the video call, Ella couldn't help but fidget. She was going to tell her parents about her new boyfriend, Jack. Or... rather, what she could say without it sounding completely out of left field. It was something Ella had been mulling over for a while now, though the situation with her newfound love was a bit more... complicated since Jack was a ghost(?). It wasn't a topic that was discussed lightly when Ella brought it up to her primary-colored boyfriend.

"I'm... really touched you want to tell your parents about me, really, I am, Sunshine. But ..."

"...you're worried about how they'll react to someone they can't see or hear?" Ella tilted her head,

"Maybe. A little. It might be hard for them to accept right away, is all I'm saying."

Ella nodded thoughtfully, contemplating her next move. "Maybe we can ease them into that first? I should at least tell them I'm with someone. And after that we'll figure out a way that you can communicate with them. It's bound to happen eventually!"

Jack couldn't put a damper on Ella's optimistic glow, but... he was skeptical that this would work, for Ella's sake of course. He'd hate to see her go through with this and not be the outcome she had hoped for. However, Ella had her mind set. And he would stand by and support her if needed.

"That sounds... doable," Jack muttered, thinking carefully. Ella reached to his hand resting on his knee and gripped it reassuringly. Jack's gaze softened "All right. I trust you, Sunshine."

Which now left Ella picking at the loose strings on her blouse, as she sat at her desk with her laptop open as the video call connected. Jack gave her some space but reminded her he'd be on the other side of the door. While he wasn't physically in the room, that didn't mean he wasn't eavesdropping--no, no. He was just in a position where he could happen to overhear them. Completely different.

He heard another woman's voice voice on the end of the video call, warm and friendly, followed by a man's voice. They shared pleasantries and updates with each other. Apparently, Ella's parents were planning a trip to see some relatives, and they might be able to visit sometime in the future. Ella nodded and responded appropriately until there was a lull in the conversation.

"Soooo, um, I have some news for you guys."

"Oh yeah?" Her father, who had spoken the least had perked up this time. "Everything okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah, things have been great recently. Really great!" Ella replied enthusiastically. "I'm actually seeing someone."

"'...seeing someone--?'"

"OH MY GOODNESS!" Ella's mother bounced in her seat and practically shoved her father to the side and out of the range of the camera. "I knew it! You've been extra happy during our weekly phone calls recently! Good for you, sweetheart! What's their name? Is it the new friend you mentioned before? What do they do for work? When did this whole thing happen?!"

The questions that spilled from her mouth were growing infinite at this point, so Ella calmly yet cheerfully interjected and answered the questions in order. "His name is Jack, Mom. Yes, it's the new friend I made a few months ago. Jack is a... councilor of sorts? He usually works with kids, but he really likes helping people in general." Technically that wasn't an outright lie, but it was the closest to the truth Ella could get without sounding too fantastical. "I guess this happened a few weeks ago?"

"Whaaaat?!" Her mother guffawed. "You waited that long to tell us anything?"

"S-sorry, sorry! Everything just happened so fast between work and Shaun coming over-- things kind of got jumbled."

"Hmmm, all right, all right. Is he nice, though? Handsome?"

"...yes and yes." Ella couldn't stop the blush as it crept onto her face. Her mother continued to gush and ask small questions, while Ella answered as best as she could. When hee mother asked how they met, Ella stated they sort of met when each of them were least expecting it. And that while Ella wasn't too sure about Jack when they first met, he really grew on hee the more time they spent with one another. Her father was oddly quiet throughout the whole call, only discernable reaction from him was the occasional raised eyebrow and 'hmm' in response to an answer. Finally, after a few more minutes of talking, they bid each other farewell and hung up the call.

Jack entered the room with a knock and a hopeful expression. "How'd it go, Sunshine?"

"It went really well! My parents are happy for me, I think. Well, my mom is. Dad was kind of quiet, but he'll come around--"

Ella's ringtone for her Dad interrupted her. Speak of the devil. "Huh. It's my Dad..."

"Would you like some privacy, Sunshine?" Jack offered helpfully.

"Nah, you're okay. I'm sure this'll be quick." Ella hit the green button and picked up. "Hey, Dad! You forget something?"

"Erm, hey, kiddo. I... couldn't say this in front of your mother earlier, but I have some... some concerns."

Ella rolled her eyes. Her father wasn't always the best at communicating emotions, such as sadness or fear, so she replied back in an attempt to alleviate any worries he had. "Dad, I'm fine. I'm doing okay on cash and I'm eating just fine."

"What? No, no, not about that!" Her father took a breath, to give himself a moment to choose his words. "I didn't want to say anything earlier, but... this new guy you're seeing... it sounds like you're serious about him." It felt like there was more he wanted to say, but stopped himself from elaborating.

"Um, yeah, I care about him. A lot." Ella answered matter of factlly.

Her father made a noise on the other end that sounded like he was bracing himself.

"Don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"

She wasn't sure why but she felt a tad defensive when her dad brought it up. "No? It's not like I met him yesterday and got married in Vegas, Dad. We were friends first for a few months then things kinda... happened." Her heart began to race as she saw a concerned expression cross Jack's face. Had she known the conversation was going to be about him, she would have asked Jack to leave the room earlier.

"Uh-huh. So why am I just hearing about this guy now?"

"Dad, I told you about him," She replied flippantly, trying to keep the tone light despite her anxiety beginning to spike. "Or at least I told Mom? He was the friend who finally helped me organize my kitchen?"

"I thought you were talking about Shaun?"

"Wha?" Ella's replied, utterly confused. "Nooo, Shaun helped me organize my movie and book collection. That happened before he moved away on his last movie project."

"Oh? Oh. Gotcha. So, completely different guy?"

Ella sighed, hoping the conversation would take a better turn now. "Yes, Dad. They're completely different people."

There was a long pause before he spoke up again. "So, I guess you're done with Ian, then?"

That question alone brought back a lot of negative emotions. Jack sensed that, too, as a wave of suppressed resentment, anger, and heartbreak flowed began to fester beneath Ella's skin.

"Dad," Ella's voice sounded tired, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. The moment she got emotional, her father would get defensive, then they'd get into an argument. It happened countless times, especially during her teen years. Her father meant well, but there was always some sort of... disconnect between them. She couldn't explain what it was, but there seemed to be something that prevented them from truly getting along with each other. He always had opinions that went against her own, and she always had to fight to get him to understand her. Despite that, she took a deep, calming breath like Jack had taught her.

In 1, 2, 3, 4... and out 1, 2, 3, 4...

"I told you what happened between Ian and I. I know he was... a part of my life--of our lives--for a long time. But that's over now." Her dad loved Ian like a son, and he meant well--she knew that. But she did not want to get into this again. She already told her parents what had happened, at least the parts that Ian had told her on that horrible night, during their final phone call. Her mother was furious towards Ian, while her dad reacted to the situation with utter confusion and disbelief. 'That can't be right, that doesn't sound like something Ian would be capable of!' Ella had assumed her father had said that in denial, much like what Ella had to go through when the breakup first happened. But now it felt like he was siding with the man who hurt her.

"I know, kiddo, I know," he attempted to tone it down. "I guess I'm still stuck on it because it doesn't make a lick of sense after all of this time."

Ella couldn't bring herself to reply. This wasn't anything new to her, she overanalyzed the breakup and their entire relationship to hell and back. Jack moved a little closer to her, keeping his voice down.

"Sunshine, I know he's your Dad and you care for him a lot, but this is upsetting you. Maybe you should hang up for today."

She mulled on her lover's words, considering them. For whatever reason her dad wasn't getting the message that there would be no take-backs for Ian. Ella tried one more time to get the message across to her dad. If he really did care about her, he'd respect her decision and be happy for her, right?

"It was pretty cut and dry from what I heard, Dad. I can't--I won't-- go back to someone who can't commit to the bare minimum of a relationship."

"Okay, okay, I know! It's just... with Ian you guys knew each other for forever before getting together. And now this guy pops up out of nowhere? I'm just playing catch up with brand new information, kiddo."

"That's how dating works, Dad? I mean, you met Mom in college. Didn't you know each other for a short amount of time before you guys made it official?"

"I knew your mom for a whole year before we decided to give dating a go. You met this guy an unspecified amount of months ago. I just want to make sure you really like the guy and are not with him to get back at Ian."

The silence on Ella's side of the call was defining. This was her dad, someone who was supposed to know her. How could she say something so shallow about her?!

"Ella," Jack's voice nudged her again. "You really don't need this. It's okay to hang up the call."

"...Wow, Dad," Ella's voice wavered. "That was, uh... pretty shitty of you to say. Siding with the guy who betrayed my trust and not with the one who's making me happy."

"Hey, now hold on! I don't appreciate the tone you're using, kid. And don't take this the wrong way! You're putting words in my mouth! I'm trying to understand the chain of events, here!"

"He doesn't need to understand us. If we love each other, no one needs to understand, but U S. Put down the phone, Sunshine."

"It's just that I knew Ian, but I don't know this guy. I'm hoping you're not flying into the next available relationship just because you're lonely! People make mistakes when that happens!"

Ella's blood ran hot then... utterly cold. As if she was a pot about to boil over until she was taken off the heat. Jack's soothing voice snaked around her mind that was both suffocating and... safe.

"Your feelings for me and our L O V E could never be a mistake. Don't keep tormenting yourself, Sunshine."

"It's okay

to L E T G O."

Ella bit the corner of her mouth so hard she tasted a metal. Maybe... maybe what Jack was saying was the truth. Why was her Dad being so cruel and questioning who she chose to be with? Did he actually respect her own capabilities on deciding her own future? She loved Jack, and Jack loved her. He made her happy, she told her Dad that much. Maybe if he could actually get to meet Jack properly, actually got to talk to him, he could learn they had a lot in common.

He didn't even get a chance to meet Jack, but he made a snap decision on Ella's choice in partners going on little to know information. The next words out of her mouth was uncharastically monotone, bitter.

"I was really hoping you could just be happy for me, but if you care about Ian so much, then I won't stop you from keeping in contact with him. Just don't expect the same from me. I think it's best we don't talk for a while. Good-bye, Dad..."

"Wait a--!"

After hitting the end call button, Ella's phone fell onto the floor as she buried her face in her hands, her mind began to spiral and race. Except this time... she wasn't alone.

Jack's hand rubbed circles on her back, his voice low. "It's okay, Ella. It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Shhhh..." He soothed as he cupped her cheeks and whipped a tear from the corner ofher eye.

"I don't understand!" Ella sobbed, letting the rest of her tears fall free as he clung to his chest. "I thought h-he'd be happy for me! M-Mom was happy, why can't he be?! What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," Jack's voice was resolute. He carefully lifted Ella up and placed her securely in his lap. His strong, muscular arms wrapped around her, as if to shield her from the world and all its unfairness. "You did absolutely nothing wrong, Sunshine. If other people can't understand what we have is special... they aren't worth your time."

Ella continued cry into his chest in a mix of anger and regret billowing within her, and the uncomfortable twinge of shame for having such a negative reaction over her father's disapproval. It sounded like he wasn't anywhere near her Mom when they spoke over the phone. Did she also have secretive reservations about her relationship with Jack? Or was she unaware of the the disastrous conversation that transpired?

What was she going to do now...?

"I feel like I don't say this enough, but... it was really incredible you held your ground against your own dad. I'm... so proud to be yours, Sunshine. And so lucky you're mine."

She could only sniff, rubbing her face into the soft cotton fabric of his shirt. "I-I know, Jack."

She exhaled as Jack rested his head on top of her form, his voice wrapped around her trembling form like a blanket. "Remember, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, so long as we have each other. You're all I need, and I'm all you ever need. Isn't that right... Sunshine...?"

Ella felt herself sinking further into Jack's embrace, so much so that she couldn't even think before re replied back. "You're right... I love you, Jack."

"And I love you, Ella. F O R E V E R and E V E R."

[isabel3710]

Haunted location for 'bad things happen bingo'

This one is a tad shorter than other prompts are/going to be. But I was in a hurry and didn’t know how to take things

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Prompt: Haunted Location

Masterlist

--------

Dipper Pines was laying on his bed in his college dorm room, staring at a computer screen. But for once he wasn’t doing homework. Instead he was on a random form in the backlogs of the internet.

The form was full of people talking about a bunch of different haunted locations. Or at least places they thought were haunted. 

“Been there.”

“That’s fake.”

“That place was torn down.”

Dipper muttered to himself under his breath as he went throught the list. Most places on this so-called ‘list’ he had already heard of or been to himself. Dipper paused when he came across a message about an old warehouse not too far from his apartment. 

“That one’s new.”

Dipper pulled out his phone, he should have some time tomorrow to check it out. Even if it was fake it still would be interesting to look into.

—--------

The warehouse was old and rundown looking, Dipper slipped around the back and found a slightly open window. He pushed it open and was able to get inside. According to the chat form this place had been abandoned after a workplace accident and was now being haunted by the spirit of the person who died here. 

Dipper hadn’t been on a proper mystery hunt since the last time he saw Mabel over the summer. It felt strange to be doing one without her but he decided he couldn’t wait. As much as Dipper loved college he was feeling a little stir crazy and a good old ghost hunt was just what he needed. 

Walking around, flashlight in hand, Dipper couldn’t find much to suggest that this place was haunted, there were some crates and a few old pieces of machinery but that was it. Most Ghost Possesed places had things thrown around and broken glass or something. There wasnt even any graffiti on the walls. 

Dipper pulled out his Journal and made a few notes, maybe the ghost was a lower category. Perhaps a level one. Not much of a threat and Dipper couldn’t really do anything to get rid of it. A bit disappointed, he was hoping for a good fight. 

(Unknownth to him there were hidden cameras following Dipper’s every move) 

He kept poking around and looking at stuff. It was a bit strange, Dipper thought this place was supposed to be abandoned but except for some dust there really wasn’t much evidence to prove it. 

Most of the abandoned or haunted sites Dipper has explored were run down and falling apart. “Maybe this place was abandoned more recently.” He mused. 

Dipper stopped, what was that sound. It sounded like creaking floor boards, like someone was walking around. He tightened his grip on his flashlight and began to move slowly and quietly to the sound. 

As Dipper walked he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Maybe it’s the ghost he thought, maybe it’s toying with me. 

Wouldn’t be the first time a paranormal being decided to mess with him, Dipper just needed to be on guard and be careful. 

Maybe he should have brought someone with him…

No matter, Dipper could handle this on his own. 

(Dipper didn’t hear the sound of a car pulling up outside)

He turned a corner and saw a shadow moving in the distance. Dipper quickly ducked behind some crates and tried to catch his breath. He waited and listened, but the sound had stopped.

Dipper took a deep breath and slowly peeked out from behind the crates. He saw nothing but darkness. He turned his flashlight on and shone it in the direction of the shadow he had seen.

It looked like a person. 

He went to move closer but heard a voice speak behind him. “And who are you?”

Dipper turned around to see a human (definitely not a ghost) woman looking right at him. 

Oh no. 

---------

Author's Note:

Another day, another prompt.

IRUFLEOB VWLSSHG

---------

Tag List:

@badthingshappenbingo

[maxismatchccworld]

Patch Notes

Update 07/20/2021

PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230

Console: Version 1.44

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411! For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won't need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

"Focus the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim.

"Lock the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The "Center on Current Lot" button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: "Green Fern", "Leaning Not-Grass Grass", "Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence."

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug Fixes

Consoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round -  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}�� (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter - who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home - Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid's categories in Build Mode should no longer have a "New" highlight when there's nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[undercoveravenger]

Closing Cases

Written for my 2021 Halloween event

Pairing: EJ Caswell x Male!Detective!Reader

Prompt: EJ with a Nancy Drew/Scooby gang reader investigating something haunting the school and EJ steps up to help. With “I am running on two hours of sleep and fifty tiny candy bars” and “Can we go five minutes without talking about ghosts, ghouls, or goblins?”

A/N: This is prompt # 2 for my Halloween event! The next prompt will be posted Thursday, October 7th.

-------

East High was being faced by an unexplainable problem. Each night, lockers were being broken into and various class and club rooms had been found vandalized. The faculty had examined the footage from all of the security cameras near the areas that had been attacked, but weren’t able to see anyone in the videos; only that the halls looked normal in one frame, and had been trashed in the next.

As someone who had spent his entire childhood looking up to all of the great detectives, you took it upon yourself to get to the bottom of the situation. You had told Miss Jen, the theater teacher, that you’d be missing rehearsals one afternoon in order to conduct your investigation, but she had been the only person you told.

You supposed that was why it came as such a shock to find EJ Caswell, a popular senior and star of the water polo team and drama department, leaning against the locker beside yours after school.

You disregarded his presence, moving to open your locker and tuck away your textbooks.

“So I hear you’re not going to be at rehearsals today,” EJ said after a moment, turning to face you. “Care to share why?”

“I’ve got more important things to do,” you said easily. You knew it was kind of a weak response, but it was the first thing that’d come to mind.

He rolled his eyes, lips quirking up into a grin. “Yeah, we both do, I guess.”

That gave you pause. You turned to look at him incredulously, and you had to force yourself to ignore the way the amused glint in his pretty blue eyes threatened to make you smile. “Excuse me?”

“You’re investigating the break-ins, right?” EJ asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched you.

“I’m not convinced that they have been break-ins, but yes,” you said, grabbing a different backpack entirely out of your locker and leaving the one with your school supplies in it before shutting the door. “Is there a reason you’re talking to me?” You turned away at that, making your way down the quickly emptying halls.

EJ scrambled to keep pace with you, weaving around the remaining students and faculty to stay at your side. “I want to help! I’ll be the first to say I don’t really have experience with investigations, but I want to help stop what’s going on.”

You let out a sigh, turning abruptly to face EJ. “Fine. You can help,” you held up a hand to interrupt him when he made to let out a victorious whoop, “But if you get in the way of my investigation, I will tell you to leave and you will listen. Do we have a deal?”

The brunet nodded vigorously, falling back into step beside you as you resumed your previous path, “Deal. So,” he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Where do we start?”

“Here,” you said as you came to a stop outside of a janitor’s closet on the second floor.

EJ’s brows furrowed in obvious confusion. “Our investigation starts at the janitor’s closet?”

You nodded, twisting the door open and entering the small room. You sat down, nestling your way between a set of shelves and several empty garbage cans. “Well, this is where we’ll be waiting until the time is right.”

“And when is that?” he asked as he crept into the closet with you, wincing as the door slammed closed behind him.

You snickered, pulling out your phone to set an alarm. “Well, the thief only strikes at night, right? They’ll probably emerge at around nine o’clock, which means we have,” you glanced back at your phone, “About five hours to kill.”

“Five hours?” EJ asked incredulously, blue eyes wide as he looked at you. “What the hell are we going to do for five hours?!”

“Well, I was going to play games on my phone since I wasn’t planning on having company until a few minutes ago,” you said, glancing pointedly down at the device. “You’re still more than welcome to leave, if you don’t want to wait?”

EJ shook his head stubbornly, shifting to sit with his back against the opposite wall from you. “No, but my phone definitely isn’t going to hold up for that long.” He paused, thinking, “Maybe we could play twenty questions while we wait?”

You shrugged, figuring that humoring a cute boy wouldn’t kill you. “Alright, sure. But since it was your idea, you have to go first.”

He smiled widely, clearly delighted that you’d agreed. “Okay!” He hesitated for a moment while he thought, but a question seemed to strike him pretty quickly. “So, do you make it a point to hang out in sketchy janitor’s closets often?”

You barely managed to bite back a snicker, but the upward tilt of EJ’s lips made you suspect that he knew about your poorly concealed amusement. “I do when my cases require it,” you said by means of explanation, but you found yourself elaborating further at the confused-puppy expression on his face. “Today’s a Tuesday, which means that the cleaning staff isn’t in tonight, so no one will be checking this closet for stragglers like they would the library or a classroom. Waiting in here means that I’ll be able to remain in the building after the doors are locked, which means that I’ll be able to find out if anyone else comes into the building after it’s locked down for the night.”

“Wow,” EJ said, eyes wide as he processed everything you’d just said. “You put a lot more planning into this than I would’ve thought?”

“What, you thought I’d just wing it?” you teased. You had to admit, you were enjoying his company far more than you had anticipated. “I like to think that I take my job pretty seriously.”

He gestured wildly with his hands, like he was trying to wave away his previous words. “No, no, no; that’s not what I meant- I meant that-” He cut himself off as he noticed you beginning to laugh, “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” He faked offense, but the appearance of his dimples gave away his amusement. “Fine, you got me.” His grin widened as he looked at you, “Alright, Mr. Holmes, what’s your leading theory?”

You let out a thoughtful hum, “Currently? Vengeful spirits.”

EJ let out a surprised laugh. It was deep, uncontrollable and infectious, and you were helpless to hide the grin it brought to your face, though it faded after a moment, “You’re serious?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure what else to think,” you started softly, fingers twisting nervously in your lap as you were forced to admit that, for once, you really weren’t sure about what the outcome of your case would be. “Any normal person would have been caught on camera, and the only people in this city that have the ability to manipulate the footage to make it look like no one was there either wouldn’t care enough to do it or they’ve got an alibi.”

EJ’s brows furrowed, “And none of them could have lied about the alibis?”

“Mr. Mazzara could’ve, I suppose,” you mused, “But I double-checked it with Miss Jenn and it sounds legit.”

“So ghosts then, huh?” he prompted, scooting a little closer to you until his knees brushed lightly against yours. “Seems like a little bit of a leap in logic.”

You shrugged helplessly, a tired grin forming on your lips, “I am running on two hours of sleep and fifty tiny candy bars. Ghosts weren’t the least probable option, if I’m being honest.”

“How would you even get rid of a ghost-” He stopped as the rest of your statement caught up to him, “Wait, you’ve had fifty candy bars?!”

“Just the little ones.” You said, waving off his concern and checking the time on your phone. “Depends on the type of spirit, but I’ve talked to some sophomores who practice witchcraft and they say that sage and pure intention to banish it should take care of whatever we’re seeing, as long as it’s a normal ghost or spirit. I just want to eliminate any other options before I take action.”

“Can we go five minutes without talking about ghosts, ghouls, or goblins?” EJ demanded, taking your phone from you and setting it aside so he could get you to focus on him, “You’ve gotta take better care of yourself,” he said quietly, normally bright eyes turned stormy with concern, “You’ve got a lot of people that care about you-”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes, “Like who?” At his stunned silence, you pressed on, “Everyone at this school thinks I’m a weirdo. You don’t think I’ve heard people call me Scooby-Doo or Nancy Drew or Sherlock?” You shook your head, pushing yourself to your feet as your frustration mounted, “This was a mistake. I’m leaving; I’ll solve this case on my own.”

“Wait,” EJ exclaimed, shooting up to his feet and grabbing your wrist to stop you from going. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m wrong?” you asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow as you looked up at EJ. “About what part?”

He nodded seriously, eyes locked with yours, “About no one caring about you and about everyone thinking you’re weird.” He took a deep breath, and, for the first time since he’d joined your investigation, you watched his confident facade falter. “I care about you,” he started softly, like he was afraid to finally say it. “And I really like that you’re so passionate about solving mysteries.”

Your brows furrowed as you turned to look back at him, “You… like that?”

“I like you,” he said, so quiet that he was barely audible, but when you didn’t pull away he continued, volume picking up as he did so, “I really like you and I can’t believe I get to help you do something I love, and that probably sounds pretty dumb since we don’t really know each other that well, but I would really like to get to know you better and maybe even take you out to dinner sometime if that’s okay with you?”

It took you a long moment to find your voice again. “Okay,” you found yourself saying as you tugged your wrist from his grip to link your fingers with his instead. “Okay,” A wide smile spread across EJ’s face and you could feel an answering one as it tugged at your lips, “When we close this case, I’ll let you take me on a date.”

“Really?” he asked, like he almost expected you to tell him it was some cruel joke. He let out a breathless laugh when you nodded, “Then what are we waiting for?” he asked joyfully, tugging you towards the door by your joined hands. “We’ve got a case to solve!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you were led out into the long-abandoned halls of East High, glad to have finally found someone who matched you. After all, all the greats came in pairs; Daphne had Fred, Sherlock had Watson, and now you had EJ.

[ivarisms]

A SCAR THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU

Title: A SCAR THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU

Summary: You and your work colleague have travelled to Norway to to write a piece for an online article about the history of Vikings, and your travels have led you to a town where the locals talk about an abandoned castle deep in the mountains where Ivar the Boneless still lives as a thousand-year-old vampire. You don’t believe such nonsense, but are curious to see what artifacts this mysterious castle holds within its walls.

Paring: Vampire!Ivar x Female OC

Warnings: Blood, violence, death, non-con aspects, NSFW for sexual content.

                         “Baby, you’re cruel to me but you see I love it when you make me bleed. I want a scar that looks just like you, till then I gotta learn to be a wiser fool. ��� ---- Vampire Smile, Kyla La Grange

                                               CHAPTER ONE

The treacherous winding path that spiralled up into the deepest and most isolated parts of the mountains was endless, or so it seemed after hours of non-stop walking. You were exhausted, and to make things worse the first droplets of snow began to trickle down from the sky above. “You said we would reach this castle an hour ago, and yet I still see no sign of it.”

“Patience, sweet cheeks.” Your work partner and terrible tour-guide Lawrence teased, a wrinkled map in his gloved hands as he turned to grin at you. “Always complaining, it’s not always about the destination but about the journey too. I find hiking in these mountains therapeutic…”

You rolled your eyes at that one, there was nothing therapeutic about this and you really wished you would have said no to this adventure. You weren’t even convinced that there was a castle, especially one that harboured a thousand-year-old vampire inside. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” You pressed on, frowning at the feel of wet inside your ‘waterproof’ boots. Great, you thought. All I need when hiking up a goddamn mountain. “I’m starting to think the locals swindled us here, I bet they’re all down in their local pub laughing about how stupid the latest tourists are in falling for this ridiculous ghost story.”

“It’s not a ghost story, it’s a vampire story – like Dracula.” Lawrence countered, a few steps ahead of you on the trail that became much steeper. “And yeah, it’s probably a crock of shit but hey, we’ll have the castle to ourselves and you know what that means.” Turning to waggle his brow at you, he winked and chuckled to himself.

“Yeah, shelter – and hopefully some firewood.” You grumbled, not even entertaining his attempts at flirting with you. He had tried time and time again to get into your pants, but just couldn’t get the hint.

“I don’t think there’s many trees up this high for firewood, but you never know… might be able to find a couple of ‘em and make a stake out of a branch as a weapon.” He joked. “They said this Ivar is terrifying, I hope I get to kill him. Imagine that on the front of the newspaper, I can see it now. ‘Handsome muscly man kills a thousand-year-old vampire Viking with ease… or Viking vampire’ which one sounds better?”

“None of them.” You smirked. “If he’s a vampire and a Viking, you really think you stand a chance?”

“Hey, I got some moves – I can show you them if you like.” He teased.

“No thanks…”

Walking up the steepest part of the isolated trail, you winced and tugged at the hood of your thick yellow coat as harsh icy winds hurtled towards you. They were powerful, nearly knocking you from your feet as you struggled to maintain your balance.

“There it is.” Lawrence pointed in front of him, and you stumbled forward a few steps to join him to see what he was looking at.

“Oh, wow.” You whispered, seeing for the first time the huge black winding castle in the near distance. It was hidden between two mountain peaks, so no wonder it took so long to find. The locals weren’t lying about one thing, but there was no way in hell a vampire lived within its walls. “The snow is getting heavier, let’s go as quick as we can.”

“Yes, lady boss.” Lawrence scoffed, his tone laced with sarcasm as he led the way.

Half an hour of struggling through near enough knee-deep snow led you and your colleague to the castle grounds. The great heaving stone structure was more than impressive to gaze up at, though the many windows that were draped in darkness made you feel uneasy. Its black towers and stone battlements were still very much intact, withstanding the test of time and the test of such harsh elements in the isolated area of Norway. It had clearly been abandoned centuries before now, yet still radiated a millennium of history you would never get to experience. You wondered what it would have been like back then, when Vikings were in their prime of greatness. Terrifying, you assumed.

Ivar the Boneless was known especially to be cruel and inhumane, the history books wrote him to be a tyrant and monster who killed all that apposed him. It was that wicked reputation that kept his memory alive a thousand years later, proven by how scared the local men and women were to even mention his name. You were intelligent enough to know that vampires didn’t exist, but if by chance they did, then you decided that Ivar would be the worst kind of vampire to bump into.

“Wanna go inside?” Lawrence broke through your train of thought and you looked at him as he pulled free his camera from the pocket of his padded blue jacket.

“Absolutely.” You agreed, deciding it was for the best to push fairy-tales aside and explore further.

Following Lawrence through the first set of steel gates, you were now in the courtyard. This area would have been used to make speeches to the people, used as entertainment and no doubt used for training how to fight. You could almost picture the Vikings now, swinging swords and axes at each other without a care in the world. Reaching into your own pocket to pull free your phone, you swiped at the screen.

No signal, low battery. Fantastic.

Your phone wouldn’t have enough power to last the night, but you had enough to snap a few pictures.

“I’m gonna explore the barracks, are you coming with or doing your own thing?” Lawrence asked.

“I’m…” You breathed, your eyes drawn towards the main doors that would no doubt lead into the very heart of the castle. “I’m going inside, I want to get a few photos before this thing dies on me.”

“Alright, I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Please take your time, you thought. “Okay.”

And with that you both went your separate ways.

 Pushing on the great wooden door that was stiff as a board, you clinched your jaw and rammed your weight into your shoulder with a grunt to try and budge it. One, two, three attempts before the frozen wood gave way. Shoving it open with a deep squeal that echoed loudly throughout the innards of the castle, you peered inside curiously. An icy breeze from within hit your face, and as you swept your gaze around the darkness you realised you were staring down into a great long hall that seemed to travel endlessly into the abyss.

Shrugging your backpack from your shoulders, you delved your hand inside and fiddled around until you grabbed hold of the flashlight you had brought along with you. Flicking the switch, a faint yellow glow lit the way as you moved forward. The old wooden floors creaked beneath the weight of your snow laden boots as you took your first few steps inside, allowing the heavy door to swing back shut with a loud thud. Wincing at the sound, you felt your heart thump nervously and felt a sudden pang of regret wash over you, almost as if you felt like you were trespassing. You can still leave.

“Stop overthinking.” You chastised yourself, knowing you were being irrational now. Ghosts did not exist and neither did vampires, it was all in your head.

Treading carefully, you made your way down the hall that had great long wooden tables lining each side with wax candles sat atop them, the table tops themselves had markings engraved within them and as you dragged your fingers along the symbols, you decided they were probably Old Norse. A language that had been dead for many years. Lifting your had, you rubbed at the thick layer of dust that had settled upon your fingertips. This place definitely hadn’t been touched in a long time, and for a moment you wondered if you and Lawrence were the first tourists to investigate in years. It seemed like it.

Unlocking your phone, you decided to take a few pictures of the beautiful furniture for your records before moving on. This would make for a good article on your blog – frozen in time, a look inside the world of Vikings. You wondered if you could steal something small and tuck it into your bag as a souvenir of sorts. Looking ahead, you noticed a stone fireplace in the centre at the back of the hall and as you strolled over towards it with your phone in hand to take another picture, something else caught your attention from the corner of your eye. Turning, you audibly gasped.

Two beautiful wooden thrones sat untouched at the furthest point of the great hall, sat atop a wooden platform. They looked over the entire hall, above the rest of the tables and you knew then that this was once where the King and Queen probably dined with their people.

“Wow.” You whispered, approaching the rare find. The floorboards creaked with each slow step and as you got closer, your eyes widened and twinkled in the dark as you absorbed the intricate detail of both beautiful chairs.

You walked up onto the platform and reached out to touch the main throne, the one you could only assume belonged to a line of great Kings starting with Ragnar Lothbrok. Dragging your fingers along the twisted branches and steel that bound them together, you smiled and took the opportunity to sit in the throne.

It wasn’t the most comfortable seat, but you definitely felt like royalty as you leaned back and closed your eyes. Just for a moment you pretended it was a different time, that you were a Queen of a Viking army. Breathing in a slow breath, you opened your eyes again and gazed down the hallway you had walked up.

Your eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness as the flashlight rested in your lap, and as you blinked you were certain there was a shape of a figure standing by the main door you had entered through. Lawrence?

“You took your time, come see what I’ve found.” You called out, crossing one leg over the other casually with a coy smile. “I can’t be sure, but I think this throne once belonged to Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. It’s beautiful…” You drummed your fingers against the arm rest.

No response. The silence was deafening, and you felt a deep fluttering within your belly as you snatched your flashlight and shone it down where the figure stood. But the light didn’t reach that far, and so you leaped from the throne anxiously.

“Lawrence?” You called nervously this time, your eyes narrowing as you kept them on the figure who stood in the shadows, unmoving. “This is not funny; I’m not playing your stupid games idiot.”

Once again there was nothing and you panicked, the stories that had been told to you from the locals playing in the forefront of your mind.

‘Ivar the Boneless died in battle, yes – but he was revived and cursed with immortality. The stories say his brother Hvitserk accompanied him back to the castle where he lives till this very day, surviving on the blood of those who dare enter his lair.’

‘Hvitserk too?’

‘Perhaps, though there have been no witnesses to survive that could tell us what they have seen. All we know is that those who travel up the mountains don’t travel back down, so in all probability they have been killed.’

“Ivar?” You breathed, the flashlight in your hand trembling.

“Hello, Y/N.”

The voice echoed through the hall and your breath caught in your throat, fear bleeding into every fibre of your being as you jumped from the throne platform and sprinted towards a side-door that led into the bowels of the castle. The last thing you wanted was to travel deeper inside, but you had no other choice. Gasping for breaths in the darkness, you tried to hold the flashlight steady and peered down at your phone in the other hand.

No signal.

1% battery life.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” You hissed, not having a clue what door led to which room or if there was any other exit that you could escape from. You just ran forward with no sense of direction, and eventually came face to face with a staircase. You couldn’t go back now, what if he was right behind you?

The thought alone made you squeal as you scrambled up the stone steps, tripping over your boot at one point and dropping your useless phone that tumbled all the way back down to the bottom. You wouldn’t be going back for it now. Reaching the upper floors of the bitterly cold castle, your flickering flashlight was threatening to give up on you as you desperately searched for a hiding spot. Bolting to the end of the corridor, you ran into one of the rooms and as quietly as you could, closed the door behind you.

Backing up until your thighs hit the wooden frame of a bed in the centre of the room, you felt tears well in your eyes. You were terrified.

“Y/N, it was a joke!” Lawrence shouted out from outside in the corridor. “It’s me, I was only teasing.”

Anger. You saw red and felt humiliated as your colleague shoved the bedroom door open and grinned back at you, holding his camera in your face and your phone in his other hand. You couldn’t believe it.

“HA!” He laughed loudly when he saw the look on your face, pointing at you as he filmed your reaction. “You ran like a shot, Jesus…”

“Get out.” You growled, storming forward to shove his chest. “It’s not fucking funny, stop filming me.”

“Hey, c’mon – it’s hilarious!” He laughed. “Ivar?” Mocking the way you had called out the Viking’s name, he shook his head and bent forward to slap his knee with amusement. “I thought you didn’t believe in vampires!”

“I said get out!” Slapping the camera from his hands, you scowled up at him as it tumbled and crashed to the floor with a thud.

“Hey, what the fuck!” He glared back at you and snatched the front of your jacket, clinching his jaw as if he was debating on whether to hit you or not. But he decided against it, shoving you instead and watching you fall to the bed as he leaned down to pick up his prized possession. “It was a damn joke, get over yourself.”

“No, you’re trying to use me for your stupid videos and it’s not happening. Whatever footage you’ve got of me on there, delete it.” You warned him.

“Hell no, this is going up on my blog first thing when we get back to town. You’ll see how funny it is when you’ve calmed down. Pretty girl gets spooked by Ivar the Boneless, idiots on the internet eat that shit up.”

That was enough. Lunging forward, you snatched the camera from his grasp and turned around, throwing it as hard as you could against the stone wall opposite the bed. You watched as it smashed, bits of plastic bursting out into shards across the floor and instant regret flooded you.

Not about smashing it, because he deserved that to happen – but because you knew the fact he wouldn’t get views online from his snot-nosed followers would infuriate him.

“Y/N!” He shouted, his voice echoing through the halls as he grabbed the back of your hood and yanked you back towards him. “What the fuck is wrong with you, that’s my life’s work you dumb bitch!”

Wincing as he flung you against the wall by the door, you kicked your boot at his shin and threw a punch that connected with his shoulder.

“Let me go!” You growled, struggling against him as he swung his arm back and swung it forward again, slapping you against the face. A sharp sting radiated through your cheek, and you closed your eyes and lifted your hands to defend yourself from the assault you thought was about to come your way.

But nothing happened.

Instead, you heard gargling.

Snapping your eyes open again, you felt your entire body weaken in terror as Lawrence stood in front of you grasping at his throat. Blood spurted from his mouth and nose as he stumbled back, staring back at you with fear and desperation. You were speechless, frozen stiff in place as he collapsed to his knees and bled out at your feet. Behind him had been standing a tall, broad man with the bluest eyes you think you had ever seen. His hand was coated in blood, and he brought his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean as he gazed back at you in the dark.

“I heard a struggle; it seems you needed some help from this boy.” He mumbled in a deep Nordic accent and stepped over Lawrence’s dying body, towering over you in the confined space. “Are you hurt?”

You stood perfectly still and parted your lips, trying to speak but the sounds of Lawrence’s gargled breaths distracted you. Never had you witnessed someone dying before and as much as you hated him, you felt sick and faint.

“You called my name earlier; it woke me from a deep sleep…” He continued, his blood-stained lips curling into a smirk as he reached his clean hand up to stroke your reddened cheek that would soon bruise from the slap.

A breath hitched in your throat at how cold he was, the gentle stroke of his fingers sending a shiver to ripple up the length of your spine.

“You… you are Ivar the Boneless.” You whispered fearfully, glancing down to the floor to see blood pooling around your boots.

“Yes.” He affirmed. “And you are?”

“Y/N.”

“Mm, and what are you and this…” He peered down at the body that had stopped struggling and sighed. “…moron doing creeping around my home, huh?”

“I’m sorry, we came here to see…”

“Go on.” Ivar pressed you impatiently.

“To see if you were real, to see if this place really existed.” You told him. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” You took a step forward and slid past him, your body grazing against his as you tried to head for the door but he grabbed your hand.

“Ah, ah.” He tutted, shaking his head of dark braids. “That is not how it works, you see – as soon as you stepped through that door you became mine.”

You felt your belly flutter and shrank into yourself as he took a step in towards you again, leaning forward to breathe in your hair.

“Yours?” You whispered in confusion.

“Yes, mine.” He told you. “Everything in this castle is my property, that now includes you and this sack of shit on my floor.” Pointing to Lawrence’s body, Ivar sucked in a breath. “Unfortunately, my anger got the best of me when it came to him, I should have kept him alive for his blood. I haven’t fed in a long time.”

He looked you over when he said that, his blue eyes darkening with a hunger that made you want to run. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“I don’t want to.” He explained and ran his hands up over your shoulders, pulling you against him and holding you tight. “But I am hungry, and your blood sings to me my sweet girl. This won’t hurt for long, I promise.”

“No, no!” You gasped, your struggling useless as he dragged his soft lips down the column of your neck. Licking his tongue out against the beating vein that called to him, a deep growl rose from his throat and he sank his teeth into you with a savage bite that made you scream. “Ivar, please!”

Your legs gave way but it didn’t matter, he was unnaturally strong – clutching you to him like a bear would with its prey. Warmth spilled down your collarbone and you whimpered as he drank you, low groans escaping him. Digging your fingernails into his black armour, your eyes rolled as you became weaker in his arms.

Thump. Thump.

Thump…… Thump.

Thump.

Your heartbeat slowed and you huffed out a weak breath when he suddenly pulled his head back, snarling out an animalistic growl. His white teeth and long fangs were coated in blood, a trickle of it spilling down his chiselled chin as you sank against his chest.

“Fuck.” He groaned, eyes almost translucent they were that blue as he gazed down at your pretty face. “Good girl. Come, let’s get you settled.”

Lifting you up into his arms with ease, Ivar carried you from the room in what seemed like a blur as your eyes rolled shut.

“Are you going to kill me?” You whispered.

“Not yet.” He told you, his voice a low seductive growl. “I’m going to drink you and I’m going to fuck you and then I’m going to make you like me and the rest of my family who live in the shadows.”

The rest? You thought, slipping into unconsciousness as Ivar the Vampire stole you away deep into the confines of his castle.

 Starting awake, you sat up in the darkness and reached your hands out to feel soft silk sheets surrounding you. Looking around and down at yourself, you frowned as you noticed your boots, winter trousers and jacket had been removed, replaced with a white cotton dress that barely covered your thighs.

“You are beautiful, y/n.” Ivar mumbled from the shadows, approaching you slowly as you crawled up towards the headboard and away from him.

“What is this place?” You asked, looking around the large room that had been lit with candles. “What did you do to me?”

Turning your gaze back onto him, you felt something flutter deep within you as he stood shirtless. Viking tribal tattoos littered his strong defined chest, and as you dragged your eyes lower you noted his defined abs.

“These are my private quarters, the part of the castle you didn’t get the chance to intrude on.” He raised a brow at you, a dangerous glint within his eye. “But now, here you are with me. I fully intend on creating a bond with you, one where you will be my progeny and I your master.”

You felt your stomach leap as he crawled up onto the bed after you, his piercing eyes never leaving your face as he reached out and grabbed your ankles. Yanking you down the mattress, he smirked sadistically as you yelped in surprise.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“Of course, I am.” You whispered, though it was not only fear that you felt as you looked into his eyes but a strange lust. Something was terribly wrong with you to be attracted to this creature but he was so beautiful, almost god-like that it seemed impossible not to.

“It’s good to be afraid, fear makes you more aware of what’s happening.” He leaned forward and kissed your thigh, his cool lips lingering against your skin. “I want you to know that I have waited for you for a long time, and now that I have you, I cannot let you go.”

He spread your thighs then and nuzzled his nose between them, eliciting a gasp from your throat and forcing you to arch your back. Reaching down to twist your fingers into his dark braids, your legs trembled as he breathed in your scent.

“Oh.” You sank your teeth into your bottom lip when he finally pressed a kiss against your mound, a jolt of pleasure radiating through you at the feeling.

You wondered if this was all a dream, a terrifyingly beautiful dream that you soon would wake from. Using his palms to pin you down, Ivar lapped at your tender wet cunt until he had you crying out his name.

You came.

Then you came again. Hard.

Feeling spasms ripple through your entire body, you moaned and spread your legs further as he dragged himself up and over you. Strong arms settled at either side of your head and he dipped his hips between your thighs, the feeling of his hard cock brushing against your soaked centre making you buck your hips in response.

“Do you want to be mine?” He asked, grabbing your throat and grazing his thumb against the bite mark he had left in your throat. “Will you give yourself to me completely, my love?”

You felt compelled to say “Yes.”

It was if he was inside your head, making you say and feel these things for him and yet you gladly accepted your fate.

“Good girl.” He growled and thrust inside of you in one hard stroke, splitting you open with a delicious burn that forced a cry from your lips.

You snatched your arms around his broad defined shoulders, digging your nails into his smooth skin as he began an unrelenting rhythm. You moaned and screamed and shuddered beneath him as he fucked you deep, his controlled movements driving you insane with lust.

“Ivar!” You cried as his girth stretched you painfully, the feeling of being unbelievably full of him almost too much. But he held you down, you weren’t getting away from him as he possessed you. “Oh my god!”

He grunted, a low growl rumbling deep within his chest as he took what belonged to him. Pressing kisses against your collarbone and then down to your breasts, your eyes rolled as he sucked one nipple into his mouth and then the other, paying them equal attention.

Your grip on his braids tightened and he licked a trail up your chest, kissing up your throat and chin until his lips found yours. The Viking vampire’s mouth was soft as he licked his tongue into your mouth when you gasped from one particularly deep thrust of his hips, and you could taste a mix of him and you that made you moan into him.

Sliding one calloused hand down to grab your knee, he lifted your leg and forced it up to rest over his shoulder. Arching against him, you whined at the change of position that dug deeper still and brushed against that spongey piece of heaven tucked up inside of you.

“Ah!” You whimpered, feeling yourself tighten around him.

“That’s it, y/n.” He growled lowly, smirking against your mouth as he stared into the depths of your eyes. Knocking his forehead against yours gently, he watched you as he fucked you hard. Skin smacked against skin, the wet sounds of him taking you filling the room and you stiffened.

Hissing, Ivar snatched a handful of your hair and tugged your head to one side as you came around him. Your pussy spasmed, clutching onto his cock tightly, milking him for everything he had and as he was on the verge of his own release he knew it was time.

Burying his face into the crook of your neck, he sank his fangs into the artery he had torn open earlier and began to drink. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head with so much arousal that you weren’t aware of his deadly love bite. He continued to fuck you, his pace slowing just a little as he drank your hot blood down in large greedy gulps.

Soon, you realised that something was wrong. You felt it. Whimpering in a mixture of pleasure and pain now, you pushed at his arms to try and get him to stop but he didn’t plan on it. He drank you deeply, the addicting taste of your life blood filling the void within him.

“Ivar…” You moaned, frowning in discomfort.

He used his free hand to stroke your face gently as if he were reassuring you all would be okay. Blood spilled into the sheets of the mattress and into your hair in a pool and your heart began to stutter, its strong beat fading.

You gasped for a breath and just before you fell into a fatal sleep, Ivar pulled back with a sputtered growl and sank his fangs into his wrist, tearing open his own flesh before pressing the bleeding wound to your lips.

“Drink!” He demanded of you, and with weak gulps you did.

As his cold blood spilled down your throat, he howled out and came inside you in a deep thrust. He grunted and growled at the pleasure of you.

“That’s it.” He hissed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as you slurped at him until you fell asleep.

Your head rolled back against the mattress and you were dead to the world, the human version of yourself dying with laboured breaths as Ivar’s blood worked its way through your body keeping you from slipping away completely.

Pulling out of you, he slid an arm under your neck and lifted your frail frame up into his embrace. The sheets were stained red, it looked like a murder scene and he supposed it was for he had killed you and birthed you a new life that soon would come to be.

“There we go, my sweet girl.” He whispered, kissing the side of your face as he stood from the bed and carried you from the bedroom. “No more pain.”

Strolling through the castle, he smirked a bloody smile when he caught sight of his brothers Hvitserk and Ubbe exiting a room down the corridor.

“We heard everything, you know.” Hvitserk eyed the girl in his brother’s arms curiously, a hunger darkening in his features at the sight of you.

“She’s beautiful.” Ubbe murmured.

“I wanted you to hear.” Ivar muttered arrogantly, kissing the corner of your lips as he said so. “She will soon be one of us, I still need to bury her and by tomorrow she will rise.”

“I want one.” Hvitserk grumbled.

“Me too.” Ubbe glanced at his brother and then back to Ivar. “I think we need to venture into town and find more girls, take them back here and turn them.”

“I think that would be good.” Ivar nodded. “Now, I need one of you to bury us.”

“I’ll do it.” Hvitserk volunteered.

“I’ll watch.” Ubbe smirked.

Heading down the staircase with you safely tucked into his arms, Ivar moved with a blur that no ordinary human would be able to see and took you out into the snowy courtyard.

Setting you down on the snow, he dug a grave big enough for two and set you down inside before he turned to glare at his brothers who watched on curiously.

“Okay…” He nodded and lowered himself down to join you, spooning you from behind and tucking his face into your hair.

Hvitserk grabbed a shovel and scooped a large amount of snow and piled it inside the grave. It wasn’t long before the both of you were buried six feet below the earth.

Soon you would rise with your master by your side, forever bonded by blood and death.

tag list:  @punkrocknpearls  @youbloodymadgenius @strayrockette @tgrrose @ISTORKYOU @ivarhoegh @adrille88 @jadelynlace @readsalot73​

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 20th, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. If you have auto updates enabled in Origin’s “Application Settings”, the game will auto-update once you open Origin. If you have auto-updates disabled, you will need to manually update by clicking the game in your library.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230 / Console: Version 1.44

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411!

For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won’t need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

“Focus the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim.

“Lock the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The “Center on Current Lot” button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: “Green Fern”, “Leaning Not-Grass Grass”, “Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence.”

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug FixesConsoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round –  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter – who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home – Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid’s categories in Build Mode should no longer have a “New” highlight when there’s nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[regencyslxt]

Another Year Older

1385 words.

Imagine being the first person to celebrate Hulk's birthday with him.

(PLATONIC!bruce banner/hulk x reader.)

“No, Y/N. You’ve asked me so many times and the answer is the same each time.”

“But why?! Please Bruce I promise I won’t annoy him, I’m sure he’d love it, just look…”

You had been sitting in the lab on the Stark tower for around 40 minutes now, having made your way straight there to see Bruce when you had arrived with Peter. You tilted your phone to let Bruce see the screen and the video currently playing. The ghost photoshoot trend was all over your timeline and you honestly couldn’t get the thought of the hulk posing with a massive sheet over him out of your head. You thought I’d be cool. Bruce on the other hand was firmly against it.

“Y/N I don’t know how he’d react. I can’t put you in that situation, I’m sorry.”

You slouched over placing your head on your arms which were crossed on the table.

“We could always do it here so he’d be comfortable, we don’t have to go outside to do it. I just thought I’d be fun to do before the c…” you stopped talking as Bruce stared at you through questioning eyes.

“Before the what?”

“before the cake,” you whispered into the sleeve of your shirt.

“Y/N I can’t quite hear you, before what?”

“Before the cake Bruce, I thought it would be fun to do before we ate his cake.”

“What cake?” he asks completely confused.

“Birthday cake…” you smiled.

“It’s not my birthday until December. I thought you knew my birthday Y/L/N.”

“I do. That’s why it’s not a cake for you, but for him…” you said timidly.

Bruce looked at you strangely, the skin on his neck seemed to turn green. He clutched the edge of the desk and questioned you.

“Why would- why would you get him a birthday cake?”

“Have you ever bought him a birthday cake? Has anybody on the team?”

“Well no, but…”

“Exactly, the poor thing has helped save this planet from freaking aliens and not once has his birthday been celebrated. So, tomorrow there is a chocolate cake with extra sprinkles on top being delivered just for him. I’m hoping he likes chocolate, but then again who doesn’t.”

Bruce can’t do anything but stand there, mouth open, eyes blinking, shocked at the fact someone other than him cared about the big guy. He always got along with you; your inquisitive nature was similar to Peter’s, but you seemed to gravitate more to him instead of Tony. Maybe it was because of his shy demeanour, or maybe it was because you had this weird need to be liked by everyone. He didn’t mind though; it was nice having someone actually want to learn about what he does. He also knew that Hulk liked you, he could always feel him trying to push his way out. Truth be told he just didn’t want you to get hurt, he would never forgive himself. So, as he stood there frozen, he thought about what could happen if he let the big guy out, which seemed to be more than likely to happen considering he had made it clear he was very excited to eat his own birthday cake earlier.

“Bruce? Are you alright?” You asked, he had been still for around a minute staring at the blank space between you. He snapped out of the trance he was in.

“Um, yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Good, well I’m gonna go get food because I am starving, I don’t know how Peter can eat the school’s lunches. Everything tastes like cardboard,” you explain as you move to leave.

“Y/N?” you turn.

“Come back tomorrow okay? We can try if you want…” he said. Your heart jumped and you pulled Bruce into the tightest hug you could muster.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

He just laughs and pats your back a few times. You let him go and rush off to tell Peter the good news, ecstatic about tomorrow.

…

As you made your way to the lab, the next day, you had a visible spring in your step. The excitement you felt yesterday hadn’t worn off if anything it grew. You carried a box in your hands, being careful to not drop it. You knocked on the glass door, silently asking Bruce to open it. He made his way over and let you in. You could tell he was nervous as he stared at the box.

“We don’t have to do this if you aren’t comfortable, I know I went on a bit yesterday but it’s okay if you don’t want to.” You comfort him.

“No it’s alright, he’s been hard to control this morning. I think he’s excited, “he chuckles.

“I am too.”

You look around and notice that all the equipment had been oved around, and the worktops had been moved to create more space. You sat the cake down and opened it up. You popped the LED candles in (you didn’t want to scare him with real fire or anything) and motioned for Bruce to come and see. He grins at you and places a gentle kiss on your temple.

“You’re a good kid, Y/N. He’s gonna love it.”

…

“Greenie stop stressing you’re fine, see.”

You pulled the sheet over your head and placed the glasses over the top. You grabbed his hand, more like his finger and pulled him down to sit next to you as you stood. You had been setting up the camera when you had realised he was too big to fit in the frame standing up. That didn’t matter though, you’d make it work.

“Flower, can’t see,” he grunted.

He had taken to calling you flower because of the pin you were wearing on your collar, a sunflower. You quickly reached into your bag and pulled out a pair of small nail scissors and hoped that they would be able to cut the fabric well enough. You removed the party glasses from his face (they were the only ones big enough) and carefully pinched the fabric blocking his vision.

“I need you to stay still okay?” He let out a huff and you started cutting two holes to make sure he could see through. When you were done you popped his glasses back on, and placed yourself in between his crossed legs, he gently grabbed you and moved you so your head was tucked under his chin. You let out a quiet laugh and felt the vibrations of his chuckle on your back.

“The camera is gonna take a whole bunch of photos at once okay? So just do any pose you want,” you told him calmly.

Moments later the camera flashed continuously and you both modelled for the camera. As the flashing ceased, you rushed to get to the camera impatient to see the results. There was picture upon picture of you both, your favourite had to be the one where you were both holding up the peace sign. It was simple but funny too. You felt him peer over your shoulder as you found your way back in front of him.

“Look cool,” he laughs.

“We do look pretty cool, don’t we?”

You took the sheet from his and your head and popped them into the bag you brought them in, grabbing the paper plates you had brought.

“Do you want some cake greenie?” You awed at him as his eyes seemingly lit up at your words.

He hummed in response and waited patiently for you to come back with the cake slices.

“Here you go,” you hand him the plate with the bigger piece.

“Happy Birthday to you!” you cheer.

As you tucked into your cake, he couldn’t help but smile. Nobody had ever been so nice to him apart from Bruce and sometimes Nat. He knew he was big and sometimes he got angry, but he didn’t mean to scare anybody. When he had heard you talking to Bruce about celebrating his birthday with him, he felt his heart swell, and the happiness he felt on his own rather than through Banner was a tad overwhelming. But as he sat with you he understood why Bruce liked you so much, you were a good friend and he was glad you wanted to be his too.

[pedro-pascal-love]

The Past

Chapter Four of Well, This is Awkward

Series Masterlist ❖ Main Masterlist ❖ Join My Taglist 

Rating: 18+, NSFW

Word Count: 2k+

Summary: Some things come to light about Reader’s past and Dave is a tease.

Warnings: Language, angst, slow burn, graphic descriptions of sexual acts but no sex (yet!)

⟸ Previous Chapter ❖ Next Chapter ⟹

A week. That’s how long you’d had been avoiding Dave at all costs. You made damn sure not to be caught alone with him whenever possible, always having one of the girls there or being out of the house running errands while the girls were at school. As far as you could tell, Dave was avoiding you too. Which you’d admit hurt your pride a little bit, but hey, he was married, so you had no right to be upset.

You’d tried to get your mind off him as much as you could by working on things around the house or helping the girls out with homework, but you could only do that so much before boredom overtook you. Whenever you weren’t busy with the girls or doing errands, you often hung out in your room on your phone or laptop, just scrolling through social media. You’d done your nails several times this week already and had perfected the art of folding your towels five different ways and rearranging your bedroom. Yeah, you weren’t going a little stir crazy at all. Carol was due back from her trip in a week, and you’d hoped to avoid Dave the rest of the time until then, but fate had other ideas.

It started like any other day; you’d gone to drop off the girls at school and then hidden away in your room. Two hours passed before you heard a peep from around the house, and it came in the form of a knock on your door. Your heart stopped; your breath hitched.

“Yes?” You called out, nerves consuming you in anticipation.

“It’s Dave, mind if I come in?” Dave replied through the door. You looked down at your clothes, contemplating if you should change or not. All that preserved your modesty was a pair of yoga pants and a tight-fitting tank top.

Fuck, you thought. You straightened yourself up and took a deep breath, putting a pillow on your lap under your laptop and took in a deep breath.

“Come in,” you stated, bracing yourself for his entry. Dave quickly opened the door, and it took everything in you to remain conscious. How would a man look so good in merely a dress shirt and trousers?! Dave made his way to you and sat on the foot of the bed while you scooted back a little bit more on the bed and propped yourself up against the headboard.

“What can I do for you today, Dave?” You inquired.

“I think you and I need to have a little chat,” Dave replied. You bit your lip.

Fuck, I do not like where this is going.

“What about? Is something wrong?” You replied nonchalantly.

“Yes. You’ve been avoiding me this last week, and I’d like to know why,” Dave stated, cutting right to the chase.

Fuck.

“Oh….Um….Well, you see….” You stammered out, not sure how to answer that without sounding like a complete idiot.

“I mean, I have a few guesses, but I wanted to hear it from you.” You sighed, hearing his words.

Here goes nothing.

“Yeah…..I have sort of been avoiding you, and I’m so sorry if it came off as rude,” you began. “It’s just; I’m not sure how to handle this situation.”

“What? The fact that you and I have fucked, and now you’re my children’s nanny?” Dave blatantly asked. You bit the inside of your cheek at his words, but his words didn’t stop there.

“The fact that I’ve had you bent over, with my cock deep in your soaking wet pussy, letting a stranger fuck you in a public place?” You clenched your thighs at his words, the action not going unnoticed by Dave, as his eyes shifted down to your legs covered up by the pillow. You gulped and nodded,  eyes downcast.

“I see…..Well, I guess I can only assume that you wanted to pretend like that never happened. However,” Dave paused. You lifted your eyes and met his gaze. “What if I don’t want to go on as if nothing happened?” You felt the fire in your soul flare. Were you really hearing his words? Dave got up and moved until he was sitting next to you on the bed, shutting your laptop, setting both the pillow and the computer down next to you.

“See, Princess, I kind of really liked how you felt around me. Feeling the tight walls of your pussy clench around me, milking me for every last drop.” The pet name made you bite your lip and fidget with your hands. You didn’t want to let his words affect you, but they were, and you felt yourself grow hot at the memories. You felt Dave place his hand under your chin and bring your face up to meet his stare. You hadn’t realized how close he was to you until that moment. Should either of you lean forward, just the smallest amount your lip would meet. You inwardly shuddered at the thought.

DAMMIT NO! You scolded yourself.

“Dave, you’re married!” You finally croaked out, snapping your head back so fast it almost hit the headboard. You watched wide-eyed as Dave threw his head back and laughed.

“That didn’t stop you before, baby girl,” he coolly replied. You felt your blood start to boil. He was married, and yet here he was acting like he wasn’t.

“I didn’t know you were married that night,” you shot back, crossing your arms.

“No, but you know now, and I can tell that you still want me,” Dave smirked.

Damn him.

You shook your head, adamant not to fall under his spell, but your willpower was waning.  Dave leaned in close to your ear. “C’mon, sweet girl, you’re going to resist, Daddy?”

“Dave….” you whined, your breath hitching feeling his breath on your ear. Dave smiled and moved your face to capture your lips with his. Heat engulfed your bodies as you moaned into the kiss, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him closer to you. Dave took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth and battling for dominance. You whined as you felt him bite your lip and then pull away, your lips swelling from the interaction.

“That’s what I thought,” Dave said as he got up and walked out of the room, leaving you hot and bothered.

“Fuck!” You cursed out as you brought your fingers to your lips, feeling the ghost of his kiss. “I am so fucking screwed.”

Dave was annoyed, to say the least. You’d been avoiding him for the last week since your encounter in the hallway, and he’d had enough of it. He’d spent all week watching you on the cameras, watching as you touched yourself when nobody else was home, listening to your little whines and moans. He’d spent all week listening to you pant out his name, and he’d jerked himself off to the image of being there with you. He had begrudgingly given you space this last week and studied you. He wanted to know what made you tick and see if he’d be able to get away with the plans formulating in his mind.

Carol was due back in a week, and he damn well wanted to have you before his wife was back in town, and his chance at more fun would fly out the window. Today he would take what he wanted and tease you, even if it ended up with him getting blue balls in the process. Dave had chosen today when he knew you’d be caught off guard, and boy was he glad he’d done that. Your little make-out session in your bedroom was just the beginning, and he could tell that you’d eventually give in to him. He watched you on the security feed as you laid in bed, annoyed that he’d left so abruptly, and was pleasantly surprised when you picked up your phone to call your friend Melody. Dave got onto his computer and decided to tune in to your little conversation to see what you two were chatting about.

“Hello?” Mel answered.

“Mel, I’m so fucked,” you started. He could hear Mel on the other end of the phone laugh at your words.

“What happened?” she implored.

“Dave…..He…UGH. He needs to stop being so damn sexy!” you proclaimed. Dave smirked at your antics while Mel laughed.

“I mean, he looked fine as hell when you met him; you can’t just turn that kind of sex appeal off,” she replied. You groaned, and he watched on the screen as you slapped your forehead.

“I know! It’s so bad because I want to jump his bones. Like ALL THE TIME,” you said exasperatedly. “And I hate that he’s married, Mel. It’s so fucked. I don’t know how things in their marriage are like, but Carol seems like such a nice woman.” Dave’s ears perked up at the mention of his wife.

I wonder where this is going to go, he thought as he heard you sigh into the phone.

“I know. It’s pretty fucked that he slept with you that night at the bar, but at the same time, that wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know,” she consoled. “For all you know, they might have like an open marriage or some shit like that.”

“Yeah, who the fuck knows, man. But uh, you should probably know something…” You trailed off.

“Did you sleep with him?!” Mel exclaimed through the phone, both sounding concerned but also excited. "Girl, you know I wouldn’t judge you if you did, ‘cause hot damn, I’d love to be in your situation with a hot boss and all, but the whole Carol thing is just weird.”

“No, no, I didn’t sleep with him, but damn do I want to,” you replied with a laugh. “No, he just came into my room a bit ago, and fucking called me out on why I’d been avoiding him. AND THEN THE MOTHERFUCKER KISSED ME!!!” Dave could hear Mel gasp through the phone and then burst into laughter.

“Oh man, what?!”

“Yeah! He came in all serious and then was like, ‘Have you been avoiding me cuz we had sex?’ and he started fucking dirty talking, all like describing how it was when we were at the bar,” you continued.

“OH MY GOD. HOT DAMN GIRL! That’s some fucking Big Dick Energy if I ever,” Mel cackled. Dave shook his head. You girls were too much, and he liked your friend.

“I KNOW! And then he like got all close to me and just - ugh! I even called him out about how he’s married, and you know what he did? He fucking said that he knew I wanted him even after finding out he was married. It’s like he’s a goddamn spy or has eyes watching me or something!” Dave let out a chuckle at your words. Oh, if only you knew how close you were with that statement.

“Oh, man. That’s so hot,” Mel laughed.

“Yeah…But then the son of a bitch went and kissed me!” you said as you threw your head back with a groan. “And Mel, it was so fucking hot. Ugh. It seriously took everything not to rip his clothes off.”

“Oh my god!”

“I KNOW! And then the fucker had to be like ‘That’s what I thought,’ all sexy-like, and then he walked out!” You cried as you flung yourself into your bed while Mel cackled even more over the phone.

“Hot diggity damn, girl. I say you march into his office or room or wherever he is and take what you want. Better yet, tease the fucker back,” Mel suggested. You pondered her statement for a moment and grinned.

“Give him a taste of his own medicine? Fuck, I really should!”

“Do itttttttt,” Mel encouraged. “But you should be careful. Like maybe a little teasing and stuff, but until you figure out what’s going on with him and Carol, don’t cross that line, you know?”

“Yeah, good point. I don’t want to be a homewrecker, but like fuck, he makes it so hard,” you whined.

“I know, chicka, I know. Who knows, maybe he’d leave your wife for you,” she joked. “Wouldn’t that be a twist!” Dave quirked an eyebrow at her words.

I mean fuck, I never had that thought before, but the girls do love her, and we have a lot of chemistry that not even Carol and I had when we first got together, Dave thought to himself.

“Oh my god, Mel. Don’t say that! Dammit, I’m going to Hell,” you groaned out as you laughed.

“It’s ok; I’ll make sure to save you a seat!” “I feel like such a teenager right now, though, dude. Like I don’t know how I’m going to survive.”

“Take it one day at a time, but make sure to keep your head on straight. I’ll support you no matter what, you know that. If you want to pursue things with him and be happy, then go for it. Just make sure that you don’t get hurt in the long run, you know?” Mel said.

“I know, I don’t want to have to deal with another heartbreak. Especially after what happened with Tom,” you breathed into the phone with a sigh. Dave felt a ping in his heart. He knew all about your situation with your ex-boyfriend Tom and how badly that had ended. He knew all about the abuse that you’d been through at the hands of that asshole and had seen the police reports and photos of your battered face. Thankfully Tom was rotting away in prison, but only after he almost killed you. Dave felt his blood boil at the thought of someone hurting you.

“It’s going to be alright, girly,” Mel consoled. “I don’t think Dave is like Tom at all, and Tom is rotting away after what he did to you.”

“Yeah, I know….I’m just scared,” you whispered into the phone. “Anyways, I have to take a shower and run a few errands in a bit, so I’ll let you go.”

“Ok. You be careful, ok? And take care of yourself,” Mel said as you bid each other farewell and hung up. Dave watched you sit in bed for a moment and contemplated going into the room and comforting you but thought better of it.

I’m getting a little in too deep with her.

Shit.

⟸ Previous Chapter ❖ Next Chapter ⟹

[wholesomemendes]

Birthday Boy

Summary: It’s Shawn’s 22nd Birthday and you’re celebrating with him before his big party.

Author’s Note: Happy Birthday Shawn! Ok couple things: 1) I’m sorry I haven’t been as active recently I should be posting something next week 2) We’re going to pretend covid isn’t a thing in this fic because he’s going to a party 3) This is unedited and I had to rush the ending because I’m leaving for dance in 5 minutes and I haven’t eaten or done my hair yet 4) I don’t know what this picture is but it was all I decided on in my two seconds of searching. Anyways it’s 1.7k of fluff so I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always loved and appreciated!

The bright light of the sun began to peak its head into the cozy bedroom of the condo you shared with your boyfriend. You could feel his soft breath on your neck from where his head was cuddled into your neck, his arms wrapped tightly around you and your back flush against his chest. Your legs were tangled together and Shawn’s grip on your body wasn’t letting up anytime soon, but you managed to carefully maneuver your body so that you were able to face him comfortably. Being so close to him allowed you to take a moment to just appreciate the man in front of you, the one that loved you unconditionally every single day and owned your entire heart. His lashes fanned over his face, his cheeks tinted red from sleep, leading you to brush up a gentle hand to graze over his soft skin. You brought your hand up to his mop of curls that were perched on the top of his head, allowing yourself to run your fingers through them, taming the fluffy mess they became from sleep in the process. Shawn leaned his head further into your hand absentmindedly, enjoying the comforting feeling of your touch even in his sleep. You placed a soft kiss onto his cheek, smiling to yourself when a content smile formed on his face and he pulled your body impossibly closer to his. Breathing in his scent as you were pressed up to his chest, you left one last lingering kiss to his bare chest before attempting to wiggle your way out of his grasp without waking him. Even with his tight grip on you, you somehow managed to escape his hold, but just as you went to push yourself off of the bed, you heard a deep voice groaning behind you. “Baby?” Shawn spoke, his groggy morning voice making your head turn around to see his face as his arm searched for you, “Where’d you go?”

Your fingers found his on the mattress and he sighed contently, eyes still shut, mind half asleep, “I’m right here bubs, I didn’t go anywhere.”

“Come lay back down then,” he whined, trying to pull you down by your connected hands, “The bed’s cold without you.”

“I just sat up,” you laughed, but allowed him to sleepily pull you down anyways. He brought you to his chest once again, nuzzling his face into your shoulder and playfully biting on the soft skin he found from where the oversized shirt you had stolen from him had fallen off slightly from your actions. When you giggled in response he pulled back, slowly opening his eyes so that you were met with his bright brown eyes. There was still sleep evident in them, and the sleepy smile he gave you was only more proof, but he still lightly traced your face with his finger, only stopping once he pushed back a strand of hair behind your ear and rested his hand in front of you.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning,” you smiled, leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw, “Happy birthday, rockstar.”

“Mhm,” Shawn looked down at you, moving his body so that his face was level with you. He leaned down so his lips were ghosting yours, eyes boring into you, “Thank you, baby. You gonna give me a birthday kiss?”

“Maybe,” you teased, tongue coming out to wet your lips, the tip of it touching his lips in the process.

“Excuse me?” The raspiness in his voice and the cocky smirk on his lips ignited something in your lower stomach but you ignored it for the time being, focusing instead on the way his eyes were staring into yours, “You’re going to deny the birthday boy a kiss?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Well let me decide for you,” and with that he leaned forward that final inch, connect your lips in a gentle kiss that still held so much passion. He held your hand in his much larger one, placing it above his chest over his heart while his lips moved with yours, your hands feeling how fast his heart was beating for you while yours mimicked the same beat. “Can’t believe you were gonna leave me this morning.”

You let out a playful scoff at his words and rolled your eyes, earning a pinch to your side that you laughed through. “If you must know I was planning on making you a birthday breakfast in bed before someone rudely interrupted my plans.”

“Well excuse me for wanting some cuddles with my girl.”

“And excuse me for wanting to do something nice for my boyfriend on his birthday.”

“You already did something nice for me, you let me pull you back in bed,” he smiled, giving you a small peck on your lips again.

“Am I allowed to make you breakfast now?”

Shawn pretended to be lost in thought for a moment before shaking his head and in one swift motion, he had you laying on your back with his arms holding himself above you. He connected your lips softly, taking your bottom lip between his and sucking gently, causing you to arch into him to be ever so closer to his body. He released from you with a pop, trailing his kisses down your body until he reached your stomach, looking up at you through his lashes with those big brown eyes of his, “Think I want to have a little snack before breakfast if that’s ok with you.” ______________

“Is it bad that I just want to spend my birthday here with you all day?”

You look up from your breakfast of waffles (gluten free of course), sausage, eggs and fruit at your beloved boyfriend that is sitting next to you, his left hand rubbing light circles over your thigh he had placed on his own. “Usually I would love to hear you say you want to stay in, but unfortunately you’re a pretty popular person and there’s a lot of people that want to wish you happy birthday.”

His face turned into a childish pout and he leaned over the table to rest his head on your shoulder, “But I just want to spend my birthday with you! Preferably naked if possible.”

You swatted his shoulder playfully, earning a deep chuckle from him in response, “God you’re such a boy.”

“But I’m your boy.”

“Damn right you are.” ______________

“Baby, have you seen my floral shirt?” Shawn called from the bedroom as you stood in the bathroom doing the finishing touches on your hair.

“Yeah it’s hanging in the laundry room, I made sure it was clean before today.”

“Thank you!” You could hear the pitter patter of his footsteps leading out of the bedroom and you curled your last strand of hair, placing the curler down to fix them up with your hands. You were always very critical of your appearance when you went out with Shawn, especially to big social events like this, because you knew you would be all over fan accounts pages the second a clip of the two of you was released. The thought didn’t stress you out as much as it used to, it felt almost like second nature at this point, but you were still conscious of how you looked and what you were doing when there were extra eyes and cameras on you. “You ready babe?”

“Yeah, just give me one second!” You sprayed your hair with hairspray quickly before doing a final once over, seemingly satisfied with the outcome. Leaving the bathroom, you were immediately greeted with Shawn sitting on the edge of the bed with his phone in his hand, but his eyes lifted up at the sound of the door and his mouth dropped open.

“Wow,” he breathed out, standing up so that he could run his hands over the sides of your dress. It wasn’t anything flashy, just a black bodycon dress that hugged your curves just right and you knew would drive him crazy. You had chosen black as to not stand out as much in pictures and videos, but you made up for it by wearing a glittery pair of heels and taking extra time to do your hair and makeup. You felt good. Confident. And the way Shawn was looking you up and down like he wanted to take you right then and there only boosted your ego that much more. “God you’re gorgeous. How’d I get so lucky?”

“I should be asking you that question, I mean look at you, you’re looking dashing as ever.” Your hands smoothed down the fabric of his silk-like shirt, your fingers unbuttoning an extra button to expose his chest a little more.

“You want more of my chest showing?” he teased, hands coming to hold your wrists as you raked your fingers through his chest hair.

“Yeah, it’s hot when you unbutton it a little more than usual.”

“Then I’ll keep it like that. Gotta step up my game when you look like that.” You rolled your eyes at his compliments and he surged forward to capture your lips in his, a kiss you both smiled through.

“Wait! I want to give you your present before we go.” Shawn released you as you turned to your dresser where you had hidden the small box and card, watching with those curious eyes of his. “Sit.”

He followed your command before you handed him his present and this time your eyes were the curious ones, waiting for any new emotion to show on his face as he opened the card. His eyes scanned the page and he smiled at the paragraph you had written him, eyes brightening with love over what you had wrote. “Thank you, baby. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” You gave him a soft kiss on his lips then waited for him to open up the gift. He carefully teared the paper open, not wanting to accidentally ruin anything inside. A black box revealed itself to him and he looked at you curiously before opening up the lid. Inside was a solid gold ring with delicate floral engravings on the outside and the words Go Get ‘Em Rockstar <3 Y/n etched into the inside. Tears began to form in his eyes as he delicately lifted the ring out of its holder, eyeing the intricate detail of it. “You were saying how you wanted a ring that meant something to you that you could also wear all the time to even award shows so I thought maybe this would do the trick. It’s our tradition for me to say that to you before a show and stuff so I don’t know, I just thought….”

Shawn grabbed your face in his hands, passionately connecting your lips to his while still holding the ring between his fingers. The metal was cool on your cheeks, but it only made you feel as though he truly appreciated the thought. “I love it so much, just like I love you. Thank you so much, you always make my birthdays the happiest.”

“You haven’t even gone to your party yet…”

“I don’t care. You’re all I need for my birthday. I can never thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome bubs, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Happy Birthday Shawn.”

[charincharge]

AN: Part 3 of that Rowaelin Actress AU you’ve all been asking for. Because y’all are masochists. I’m fully convinced. Anyway. If you missed the first two parts, they’re linked below.

Part 1, Part 2

Manon shot Aelin an exasperated look as her stylist struggled to fix her premiere dress.

The man shoved another pin between his teeth as he pinched up the loose fabric at Aelin’s waist. The once form-fitting red gown fell limply across her bony shoulders.

“How did you lose this much weight in a month, sweetie?” Dorian asked as he tugged the thin straps up, pinning them to show how much he’d need to cut. Aelin ignored the shared look of worry between her team members. She didn’t bother responding. Nothing that would make sense to him, anyway. As his fingers fumbled with the fabric, Aelin looked at herself in the mirror.

Despite her red carpet makeup, she still looked exhausted. And she felt it, too. Her hands shook with the faintest tremor, betraying her withdrawal. And though she’d wanted her hair down in loose waves, her glam squad was shocked to discover that bits of it were breaking off the back. Brittle from malnutrition, one had whispered.

She was trying to kick her drug habit. She really was. It’d been a full day since her last bump, since Arobynn had handed her that small precious baggie of white powder she’d come to treasure so much. But, she wanted to get away from the man who’d controlled every aspect of her life for the last year, and she couldn’t let him have this over her. She’d find another way. She couldn’t bear his steely gaze or his possessive touch on her skin anymore. She’d regretted it as soon as she’d flushed the baggie down the toilet, her hands twitching to reverse the motion and grabbing at it as it swirled down the plumbing. But she knew it was for the best. She could do this.

“Dor, can you make this work?” Manon asked as Dorian sighed loudly.

“Grab me those scissors.” He motioned behind her. Manon handed them over, and he quickly got to work, snipping the straps to help pull the dress up more as he pinned them to the inside of the dress. He took the excess fabric he’d snipped and wrapped it around Aelin’s too-thin stomach in a cinched belt.

“Eh?” he raised his eyebrow in Manon’s direction, who couldn’t resist kissing him on the cheek.

“You’re a miracle worker.”

Dorian’s cheeks flushed slightly as he waved the usually stoic publicist off. “If they ask who’s it is, just say custom couture.”

Manon nodded succinctly and pulled Aelin over to the chair to help her slide into her towering heels.

“Do you need anything before we go?” Manon asked pointedly.

“Nope,” Aelin said, shaking her head. She would not break.

Manon sighed loudly, and ushered her into the black car waiting downstairs. The ride to the premiere was tense and silent, the only sound Manon’s long nails click-clacking away on her phone screen as she replied to a barrage of texts and emails.

The car finally pulled up, and as Aelin was about to exit the vehicle, she felt Manon’s hand clasp gently onto her forearm.

“Hey,” Manon said in a soft voice Aelin had never heard her use before. “I’m proud of you.”

Aelin’s eyes swam with unshed tears at her publicist’s words of affirmation. The brash and cold woman rarely gave anyone any kind of praise, so the words meant more than Aelin could fully process, her heart clenching with an overflow of emotion. She nodded succinctly and exited the car with a wide smile and a big wave for the screaming fans, blinking the tears away as she made her way to the first interview down the long line of press.

Her rehearsed answers came naturally, and she could almost see the end in sight as she looked ahead to the last two press members ahead. She was so close to being able to sit down, so close to being finished with this project and putting it behind her, and sleeping for a month.

She felt Arobynn’s presence behind her before the interviewer acknowledged him. His hand hovered over the bare skin of her back, and she fought the instinct to shiver as the his clammy palm pressed against her.

“There’s my star,” he said with a wide grin, leaning in to kiss Aelin’s cheek lightly. She swallowed back her feeling of disgust, forcing a small smile onto her face as cameras flashed all around her.

“Arobynn! Arobynn!” the photographers cried from every angle. “Can we get a picture of you and Aelin?”

Manon attempted to keep Aelin with the interviewer, insisting they were in the middle, but Arobynn ignored her, pulling Aelin’s toward the step and repeat background for a photo op.

Aelin had planned to do it last, a short walk across the step-and-repeat for photos and then duck into the premiere, but it seemed that her plans had been foiled. Stuck with Arobynn’s hand around her waist, she plastered a smile across her red lips and placed her cocked arm on her bony hip.

Her head looked away from the bright lights of the flashing cameras, suddenly feeling light-headed and overwhelmed, and she caught sight of a head of silver hair and couldn’t help but feel better. She’d made the decision to tell Rowan what was going on with her. It was way overdue, she knew, but it was a conversation she’d wanted to have sober and in person. And today seemed like the perfect opportunity. She’d have the entire movie to gear herself up for it, and then she could find a private place to discuss with him at the afterparty.

“Rowan!” the photographers called out. “Rowan, look over here! Rowan, why don’t you pose with Arobynn and Aelin?”

Aelin held her breath as Arobynn’s fingers dug into her side, grasping at her skin with uncomfortable pressure, as Rowan appeared at Aelin’s other side. His arm ghosted around her shoulders, barely pressing against her as he donned a wide smile for the cameras.

Flashing cameras went wild at the new combination of people in front of them – the director, the star, and the writer – and Aelin attempted to relax her smile to look more natural as she moved her arm to wrap around his sturdy waist.

“Rowan! Who’s your date tonight? New girlfriend?” a loud photographer called, and Rowan just shook his head, smiling graciously. But sure enough, as Aelin looked ahead of them, waiting on the other side of the step and repeat was a stunning blonde woman, staring at Rowan like he was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen.

Aelin’s stomach knotted as a feeling of nausea swept across her chest.

She’d waited too long. She was too late.

If Rowan had brought a date to the premiere and walked the carpet with her, it wasn’t something casual; it was real. Aelin chanced a glance up at him, but as if he could feel her looking, he looked away, over her shoulder at the girl waiting for him. He flashed her a wide smile, his cheeks flushing and his eyes alight with joy.

Aelin hadn’t seen that look in so long. She hadn’t realized how much she’d miss it when it wasn’t directed at her. Her heart pounded, and her skin prickled with goosebumps as a soft sheen of sweat broke across her brow.

Aelin motioned to Manon with a four-fingered wave, their emergency signal to be removed from a situation. Manon’s golden eyes narrowed as she approached the trio, apologizing to the photographers behind her.

“Sorry, folks, I need Aelin!” she said, reaching for Aelin’s limp hand and placing it through her bent arm. Aelin held on for dear life as her publicist swept her down the remainder of the press line, apologizing for needing Aelin inside. Aelin waved with as much enthusiasm she could muster, but her head swam, the floor becoming uneven beneath her feet with each uneasy step.

Manon shoved her into the ladies’ room, ushering everyone else out and locking the door behind her.

“You look green, babe, are you okay?” Manon asked as she helped Aelin sit on the large settee in the bathroom.

“I think I might pass out,” Aelin said, gasping for air. Manon pulled something from her purse as Aelin leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, hoping her clammy skin wouldn’t stain the silk of the gown.

“Eat,” Manon ordered as she shoved a baggie of Teddy Grahams in front of Aelin’s face.

Aelin made a face as she opened the bag with shaky hands. “Movie snack?” she tried to joke, but it fell flat. Manon rolled her eyes and stared harder until Aelin took one of the cookies and placed it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, the sugary sweetness feeling thick and cloying on her tongue.

“I have a toddler,” Manon said, shocking the hell out of Aelin. “I always have snacks in my purse.” Aelin paused her chewing. “Don’t look so surprised,” Manon said with a wry smirk. “Who do you think I’m always texting?”

“Clients?” Aelin croaked.

“Nanny.”

“Can I see a picture?” Aelin asked, and Manon bit her lip, warring with herself before finally showing Aelin a picture of a sweet toddler with honey eyes and Manon’s same white-blonde hair, wearing the cutest fluffiest dress Aelin had ever seen.

Before she could process anything, Aelin’s body heaved. She ran into the stall and heaved up the two cookies she’d consumed, her body expelling the sugary snack as soon as it hit her stomach.

Manon sighed. “What day of withdrawal are you on?”

“Two?” Aelin dabbed at her mouth with toilet paper, spitting the remnants of crumbs ungracefully into the bowl.

Manon helped her stand and sighed even louder. “I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this, but…. You need to make it through the end of the night, and you can’t be passing out or running to the bathroom to puke every ten minutes. Ask Arobynn for a bump.”

Aelin frowned. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d had all these plans. But she couldn’t help but agree with her publicist. Plus, it’s not like it mattered anymore. She had no need to explain anything to Rowan anymore, and she certainly didn’t plan on talking to him or his new girlfriend while she was tweaking.

But she wouldn’t resort to asking Arobynn. She couldn’t.

Still, she nodded at her publicist. She’d find some elsewhere.

As she made her way into the theater and took her seat next to Archer, she avoided looking at anyone, despite the heavy pressing feeling of eyes on her back.

Her costar smiled at her, content to excitedly chat about seeing the film for the first time. She noticed he was slightly twitchy, and Aelin nearly clapped for joy when she noticed him rub at his nose.

“Partying without me?” she whispered, and Archer shot her a dubious look.

“I didn’t think you partied with anyone but our director, Galathynius,” he said lowly.

“I’m branching out,” she said as she leaned forward. She placed her hand on his tux-clad arm and gave him the most seductive smile she could possibly feign with as little energy as she had. But it seemed to work. Archer’s eyes flashed, and he returned her expression with a roguish grin.

“Well, then,” he said, resting his hand on her silken thigh. “Find me at the party.” He winked at her, and she chuckled softly, squeezing his hand before placing it back in his own lap.

A harsh whisper made Aelin’s neck prickle behind her as she heard a hushed female voice say her name. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Rowan nodded in response to the woman whispering in his ear. Their faces were so close, and Aelin could feel herself growing nauseous again.

Instead, she whipped her head back toward the screen and let herself zone out as the lights dimmed. She barely remembered the movie; it crossed her vision but never penetrated her consciousness. Memories of her and Rowan, tangled in his bed and running lines pervaded her senses.

When she arrived at the party, she knew she had to seek out Archer immediately. She was fading fast.

She’d just spotted him when Rowan crossed her path. His warm smile made her stomach flutter.

“Aelin.” Her name on his lips was everything she wanted, but her eyes pulled to the woman waiting beside him. “I was looking for you. I wanted to introduce you to—”

Aelin couldn’t bear to be introduced to Rowan’s girlfriend, though. Not yet. Not before she’d drowned herself in a white haze of drugs.

She spotted Archer out of the corner of her eye, and she smiled graciously, not wanting to be rude. “Sorry, I’ll come find you in a minute. I just have to…”

She pointed over his shoulder at Archer, who grinned lasciviously and winked at her, beckoning her with a curling finger.

Rowan’s expression changed to something she couldn’t quite parse out, but she didn’t have time to anyway. She was a woman on a mission as she followed Archer into the coat closet, cutting up half a baggie and snorting it quickly.

“Shit,” Archer laughed. “Some of that was for me! That was a big fucking bump.”

The white crystals worked quickly, creating a swirl of relaxation in her body, making her feel invincible. Instead of letting him take the last bump, Aelin leaned down and took it for herself.

“You snooze, you lose,” she laughed loudly, feeling loose and confident as she stumbled out of the coat closet.

Her heel snagged the bottom of her dress, and she launched forward into the arms of someone waiting just outside the closet. She fell into a hard chest with a loud oomph, and she couldn’t resist laughing again, feeling better and better as the drugs worked their way through her system.

She looked up to see the arms that had caught her and smiled guiltily at Rowan’s pained face. She blinked, hoping to change his expression, but with each slow blink, the image of Rowan faded away. She reached out, grasping for his face, pleading with him to stay, but before she could touch him, he disappeared. Her heart pounded too fast in her chest, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself.

“Aelin?” a faraway voice called. “Aelin?”

She could just barely hear him over the rush of blood in her ears. It swirled and swooshed around her ears, deafeningly loud as the world faded to white.

~*~

tag list:

@df3ndyr

@hizqueen4life

@maastrash

@justgiu12

@aknymph

@bamchickawowow

@thewayshedreamed

@strangeenemy

@studyliketate

@iammissstark

@heirofthenightcourt

@acourtofmarauders

@cmoff1

@stardelia

@b00kworm

@wordsafterhours

@m-like-magic

@the-third-me

@cursebreaker29

@annejulianneh111

@queen-of-glass

@aesthetics-11

@xhopelessdreamer

@babycardan

@illyrian-velaris

@galyxsy

@aelinfeyreeleven945tbln

@rolltide7

@keshavomit

@yuya1487

@minaidss

@tswaney17

@ladywitchling

@superspiritfestival

@starborn-faerie-queen

@acer6437

@booksofthemoon

@highlordswhores

@a-scientist-and-her-scalpel

@mariamuses

@heirofthrnightcourt004

@cool-ish-nerd

@althelkingshorses

@westofmoon

@sanakapoor

@louiseleblancdiggory

@lizzziebear

@viajandosinalas

@morganofthewildfire

@abookishfreak

@tottenhamboys20

@januarystears

@myfireheart-rowaelin

@jesstargaryenqueen

@empress-ofbloodshed

@faerie-queen-fireheart

@in-love-with-caramel-macchiato

@siennasally

@peaches-and-daydream

@rosesandglass

@ms-firebreathingbitchqueen

@nikki1288-blog

@aelinmyqueen

@giorgia-the-trashpanda

@starborn-faerie-queen

@ireallyshouldsleeprn

@tillyrubes10

@cityofchelsea16

@rockgirl321

@welcometothespeaknowworldtour

@sjmships

@littleboxofthunder

@fangirlprincess09

@sleeping-and-books

@rocky99

@but-she-was-aelin-galathynius

@lucy617

@thisxisxali

@ourbooksuniverse

@highqueenofelfhame

@hsilberfarb

@smalltddygothgf

@amandaswallowtail

@kindofawalkingpoem

@cicada-bones

@mynewdreamwasyou

@woollycat22

@booksbqueen

[sleephyjhs]

the ghost of you ; myg

pairing; human!yoongi x ghost!reader

genre; angst , supernatural au , lovers au , ghost au

tw; description of death and accidents, death mentioned throughout, heavy descriptions of grief and loss.

wc; 2.96k

playlist; too much to ask - niall horan

m.list

Forty-three. Forty-four. Forty-five. And counting. His shoulder must’ve ached by now - there’s no way it couldn’t have done. Why was nobody helping him? Nevermind. If I knew Yoongi, I knew he wouldn’t want to give anybody else the hassle. It hadn’t been that long. Such a prominent trait of his wouldn’t have withered away so soon.

He’d hardly ever ask me for a favour when I was alive. Now that I’m dead, isolation was his only company.

I watched from the balcony landing on the upper floor of his new apartment. Slowly, it had begun to dawn on me that I was nothing more than a phantom - an unfamiliar spirit that haunted his hallways. I wasn’t expecting to leave Yoongi as soon as I did; the guilt hadn’t quite drained from my blood. On the first night, I sat opposite him in the dimly lit living room. A single whisky glass, still coated with the third refill of the night, hugged the black coaster on the coffee table. The phone screen glowed with condolence and devastation, and his cheeks glowed with the numbing sting of grief and alcohol. There was a pizza box too. It still steamed with the anticipation of being eaten - I’m not sure whether he ever did or not.

I sobbed with him. Uncontrollable, I was. He was. He couldn’t hear me - nobody could. It was for the better, I could wallow in my own grief without being disturbed. But I could hear him. God, could I hear him.

“Why her? Why me? It should’ve been me. I need her.”

Vulnerability was far from Yoongi’s regular state. Seldom did I see him so emotionally honest. I’ve had time to reflect. Actually, all I’ve done is reflect - there isn’t much else for me to do. Watching him cry out into the echoes of a now apartment for one reminded me of the times where my echoes were met by his soothing presence; supportive and caring words which may have only been so effective since Yoongi was the one delivering them.

I wondered if he knew I was here. Who am I kidding? Yoongi doesn’t believe in ghosts. Spirits, phantoms - none of it. Why would I be here? Why would I want to stay with him? “Heaven is a better place for her, she belongs in a better place,” is what he reminded himself, verbally, leaning against the bathroom counter. He couldn’t even look himself in the eyes.

Everything happened so quickly. I hate that I remember so much of it. It wasn’t Yoongi’s fault at all, nor was it mine. Engraved in my memory was the image of the approaching car, spinning, pulling up heavy dust from the low grade country road. Clashing headlights blinded us both, and yet somehow I still could see the doom that we were to encounter. I screamed. Yoongi scrambled hurriedly at the wheel, urgently attempting to accelerate past the uncontrollable vehicle.

But it was too late. Instant collision led my passenger window to burst into a thousand rainbow shards. They showered me; it was as though I was being grated. Perhaps if I hadn’t worn short sleeves, the coarse edges of the glass wouldn’t have shaved me as closely as they did. Airbags were past their purpose now. I can’t remember if I was still screaming. Or if it was Yoongi. Maybe a bystander?

With all the reminiscence death brought me, what I believed to be my last thoughts may well have been a lie; a façade to disguise my lack of memory. I hated not being able to remember. If I did find a way to communicate with Yoongi, I could never truthfully tell him he’s the last thing I thought about. I simply didn’t know. I never will.

There are things I’m certain of. He told me over and over again, “We’re okay. We’ll be alright.” That was a lie, I knew it was then, too. I had no choice but to believe it. Believing the alternative was too scary. Too real.

“I love you.” I must’ve said this. Everyone takes the opportunity to confess to their loved ones that they do indeed love them when in such a peril dilemma. They’re almost preprogrammed; do we even mean it when we say it?

I meant it. I loved Yoongi. I love Yoongi. Sequencing the shower of shards came my last thought. A void in my mind; the silhouette of a missing sticker from the book of my life. Grief completed the last gap in the book, and it’s replacement was good enough for me to convince myself it was reality’s choice too.

“I’m so sorry.”

This could’ve been the guilt of grief interrupting my focus. I knew I was going to die, but for all I knew, Yoongi easily could’ve joined me. He was fortunate, always had been. Even if it wasn’t my honest last thought, it was more than valid now. I am sorry.

The short transaction of my spirit from reality into the unknown was short. I lingered at the sight of the crash, watching over Yoongi. I learned quickly that I was now nothing more than an apparition, perhaps one of the imagination only. The glass crumbs that had pierced his skin begged me to remove them, but I couldn’t. Aligning my fingers with his fresh wounds, I persevered with trying to extract the debris from his body. But I couldn’t. My nails scraped through, clean; from my perspective, I was mere steam in the shape of my now lifeless body.

Sirens wailed and beckoned from miles away; at least for as far as I could hear. Thick evergreen trees were unable to filter the swirling sapphire lights from illuminating the crash scene. I counted how long it took a stroke of light to return to Yoongi’s weakened face. Three seconds. One, two, three, and then a strip of blue curtained his forehead. And then again.

I only learned that I was the only casualty after eavesdropping on the attending paramedics. Now that I’d thought about it, I didn’t even turn to my lifeless body. I needed no awakening; I was well aware of the realm I had now entered. Yoongi was alive, he was more important. Checking his pulse was impossible; all the help I could provide was watching him breathe.

Help. What am I talking about? If he had stopped, what was there that I could’ve done? I suppose now that watching him inhale and exhale with shaky breath was for my own sanity rather than his well-being.

His breath was laboured, heavy with shock. He was still talking to me, rocking me, begging me to respond. And I did. I screamed at him, telling him that I was there, I was with him. He didn’t hear me, but that wasn’t enough for me to stop. I cried, howled with shallow pain. Yoongi was then unreachable. He was only sitting next to me.

Since then, I haven’t left his side. Our shared grief is unbalanced, however. I know he’s there. I can see him, smell him, hear him. But he can’t. Of course, there are photos of me in his phone. Even a few of us together. It’s all that was left of my image. And it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t give him any more, and he couldn’t gain any more.

Funnily enough, that there was one of my pet peeves that I’d festered since meeting Yoongi. He took more photos of me than he’d allow himself to feature in. Nothing spectacular would have to occur either. One night, I watched over his shoulder as he scrolled through, what seemed like, the hundreds of photos inhabited his camera roll, ones I hadn’t noticed he’d even taken. In one, I was timidly hiding behind one of the couch pillows as I intensively watched one of the horror films he’d hilariously recommended. In another, I was messing about with Holly on the floor of his parent’s house, ruffling his unshaven winter fur.

He stumbled across one of us together. Finally. Us at his brother’s wedding, under the rice white canopy threaded with the gentle subtleties of wildflowers. I dwelled on how particularly handsome he looked in his suit, with a smaller bouquet of fern sprigs and poppies attached delicately to his breast pocket. My arm was intertwined with his; he held my hand tighter than he ever had before. There was another from the same day; his brother and his bride joined us, and then his family, and then the remainder of the guests. I’ll never forget that day, ever.

My risen cheeks fell as the memories shifted to the back of my mind again. With memories came heartache and remorse. Heartache; I’ve lost the love of my life. Rather, he lost me. But I can no longer touch him or remind him how much I treasured him. That’s the unconventional type of heartbreak. And remorse? I took our time together for granted. Too short, it was. We were together for over 5 years, and he made them feel like minutes. In the end, we really couldn’t have been any closer than we were. But all the memories I had of Yoongi were the tiniest fraction of those that I wanted. I wanted more than that. I still do.

A week after moving into our new apartment, no, his new apartment, Yoongi’s piano arrived. Grand was a shortcoming. Sleek monochrome keys and polished curves competed the modern design of the main hosting room; beautiful was miles from capturing how impeccable it actually looked.

I took my time in exploring its position. The piano and I were familiar; it was the first big purchase after moving into our first home together. Yoongi cared for this piano as if it were his child. He sang to it too, although I’m not sure he always knew I was around to hear. His own songs, those that he’d dedicated to me, ones he played as a young teenager still learning the most complicated chords. One day, I asked him to teach me something. A simple infant lullaby, something easy. Bearing in mind the amount of commitments this man usually had, the act of taking time from his schedule to teach me what really was a useless skill was near enough tear-jerking.

“See? You’re a natural.”

“Some people can play this at three, Yoongi. It’s nothing impressive.”

No matter the skill or talent involved, Yoongi never failed to encourage me. There’s a lot we did together that alone I wouldn’t have even considered. Really, encouragement was an understatement. Neither of us were particularly adventurous, yet together we seemed prepared to try anything. I was never able to thank him for that.

I hovered my fingers over the middle keys, examining for any marks or bruises. Sure enough, there were none. I’m not sure what I expected. Sometimes, I was convinced Yoongi took better care of his piano than himself. I didn’t mind in the slightest. The songs he wrote me for special occasions made me quite glad he did.

There were days when dragging him away from the piano to return back to the real world for a minute or two was near impossible. Instead, I developed a habit of joining him on the stool. Looking at it from the landing made it look small. It was, really. But it didn’t feel like that when I sat beside Yoongi. If it did, I never noticed. That’s the Yoongi effect.

Minutes become hours, hours become days, days become forever.

Today, I haven’t paid much attention to Yoongi’s whereabouts. The glass banister that enclosed the upstairs landing was my usual seat; I watched everything from here. A few people had come to see Yoongi, his parents, the members, a couple old friends, it was the first time I’d seen him smile since I’d gone. He ate without hesitating, he laughed heartily again. He even cracked a joke in response to another.

He looked happy, and that made me happy.

It wasn’t necessarily moving on, though. Each day, something was different about the apartment. I sat on Yoongi’s bed as he set up the wardrobe. His monochrome closet hadn’t lost its ‘Yoongi’ essence. Next to the wardrobe was a spare cupboard of an identical size. Would I have been able to, a tear might have just fallen from my eye. Yoongi filled the rails with my clothes. They still smelled like me; the same perfume with a base note of my regular deodorant. A pair of my best heels which he bought me for attendance of a some grand event or another next to my white canvas converse sheltered in the top cubbyhole on top of smaller garments of mine that he hadn’t quite brought himself to donate.

The day after, I caught him spraying a couch cushion from our old home with my signature perfume. He always did like it. On the nights where we became closer than close, I always made sure to wear it for him; I knew I’d be rewarded for it. My memory now lived on in the form of a staining stench. One that I was certain would one day suffocate him.

Today, there were no changes. Yoongi left the apartment early in the morning - I suspect for work. He needed to get out, desperately. I was around him all the time - both ironically and genuinely - so much so his new apartment had become a smaller trinket of a shrine to me. I’d get sick of it too.

Wherever he went, I let him go. What was I supposed to do to stop him? Ghosts don’t pack much of a punch.

It was the first time I’d gone more than a few hours without seeing him since my death. Usually, Yoongi was never further than the corner of my eye, and if he was I could at least hear him humming to himself

But the silence was still. There was chaos in the calm. This sudden isolation was my first opportunity to mourn Yoongi alone since we lost one another. I didn’t cry though. Instead, I wallowed in the emptiness I felt. Of course, I was empty. I felt as though I were the right side of a friendship bracelet, missing the ‘Best’ side of me.

Somehow, I’d managed to traipse downstairs. Aimless wandering was on track to become my first spiritual habit. I approached the piano - I had meant to do this. I understood now how there could be comfort in music. When Yoongi aligned himself so closely to his piano and his songwriting, it was difficult to now associate one to the other.

The stool was already ajar - I could squeeze in here. Pianos are overwhelmingly daunting the first time you sit at one without somebody who can play. There are more keys - more options - than you first assume. I ran my fingers down from the highest octave down to the lowest. Strangely, I could near enough feel the rumps of the keys against my plushy skin. Pushing down, the melody Yoongi had taught me began to play like an exclusive soundtrack of my 20s.

It was all in my head, but it felt real. Grief has always done strange things to people, and it seemed I was no exception.

For hours, I continued to replay the limited memory of what Yoongi had taught me. After a while, I began adding my own chords or notes, completely oblivious to the overall value they deducted from my solo performance. Eventually, I became lost in my own serenade. Miscellaneous noise blocked itself out; I was alone with my piano.

His piano.

And so, when Yoongi walked back into his home, he seemed quite stunned to hear our song echoing through the marble-accented walls. He stood, utterly speechless, in the archway to where he left his prized possession. I only noticed him after a few seconds.

If Yoongi didn’t believe in ghosts before, he was left with close to no other choice now.

Maybe he thought he was imagining the sound? Until his jaw dropped, that’s what I had believed too. Yoongi’s gummy smile revealed itself to me; it was almost as though I could read his thought procession from his eyes. Scrunching the tip of his nose, I watched as Yoongi fought back what I was positive were tears.

How the melody was audible to us both was far beyond my comprehension; perhaps it was our connection that made the melody viable to us. The keys were real, I could feel them. I shouldn’t have been able to, but I could.

Yoongi stalked up to the piano like a lion stalking his prey. Except Yoongi wasn’t preparing to pounce. He was scared of frightening my melody away.

Nothing could have frightened me away. This was as close as I’d ever dared to return to Yoongi. I knew too well that if I got too close, I’d never be able to separate myself from him again. I wouldn’t put myself through that heartbreak again. Or him, should he even realise that I was there.

The stool that matched the piano was longer than the average, but it still wouldn’t have seated both me and Yoongi. He edged himself to the end of the stool as though he were making room for me. Still, there was no gap between us. My leg overlapped his. He was warm. I was not.

He played my same melody in a lower octave, even adapting to my added chords and adlibs. He smiled to himself, tears finally slipping from his lower eyelid. Some rushed to the cliff of his jaw and fell to their demise on the black keys of the piano. I would’ve given anything to wipe them away. Anything at all.

tag list !!

@mama-m0chi @liriaus @loveyoongles @weltmaya @mrsfortune1306 @janeelizabeth1216

[vs-redemption]

May I please have BNHA scenarios of how any characters you think would fit would dealing with a haunting with their paranormal loving partner? Thank you

A/N: I had so much fun writing these! I decided to do three characters: Twice, Mirko, and Todoroki. They’re all under the cut since it’s three different stories. I hope you enjoy!

Dealing with a Haunting (Twice, Mirko, and Todoroki x Paranormal Loving!Reader)

Warning: Mentions of scary Halloween themes like death and murder related to the huantings.

Twice (Jin Bubaigawara)

“Hey Jin!” You skip up to your boyfriend with an innocent smile on your face. It was always the best way to get his guard down if you had to ask him for something. Not that it was hard to get him to go along with your ideas anyway. He could never resist doing things for the people he cared about. “I finally decided what I want for my birthday.”

“Really? What is it?” He perks up at your words, eager to find out what it was that would make you happy. “Took you long enough!”

You smile, knowing there was no reason to be offended by the second comment. He pulls you into a hug as you reach up to put a hand on each side of his face. Your touch reminds him that he has no reason to fear splitting apart. “I want to spend the night in a haunted hotel,” you tell him, causing him to go bug eyed for a moment.

“Uh uh! No Way!” he shakes his head before leaning in close, “anything for you, baby!” You smile victoriously. He would need no further convincing. He knew you loved anything paranormal, and there was no way he was going to let you go somewhere potentially dangerous by yourself.

--

An alarm on your phone alerts you once it is 3am on the night of your birthday. You hop off the hotel bed which was still perfectly made since you had no intention of sleeping. Your boyfriend, however, had drifted off in the room’s armchair in the middle of the movie you’d put on a few hours before.

“Jin, wake up!” You shake his shoulder and he wakes up with a startle. “It’s dead time! Let’s go!” You don’t wait for him to reply as you open up your suitcase to grab your flashlight and camera. You remember to hand Jin a mask to wear over his head so that he’d feel a little more confident.

“Are you sure about this?” He whispers as you both tiptoe out into the darkened hallway.

“Of course!” You assure him. “I’ve been wanting to come here for years! Thank you so much for doing this with me.” You lean toward him to give him a peck on the cheek before making your way down to the first floor of the hotel. Your footsteps echo around the stairwell and you feel Jin slip his hand into yours.

“Are you scared already?” you ask him in amusement.

“Oh course not!” He defends himself before puffing out his chest, “I’m your brave protector!” You laugh at his false bravado as you lead him toward the empty swimming pool.

“They say a pair of twins died in this pool,” you tell your boyfriend as you flick on your flashlight and let it illuminate the calm water in front of you. “Every year, on the same day as their death, people claim to hear the sound of children laughing and running around this area.” You turn around and give him your best creepy smile, “tonight is the 10 year anniversary.”

“Stop it,” Jin was definitely getting spooked now, “I don’t believe you.”

As soon as he muttered those words, you felt a small breeze brush past you both with the faint sound of a giggle floating through the air. You quickly reach for your camera, hoping to capture some evidence of what was happening, but Jin completely freaked out. He scoops you into his arms and runs as fast as he can from the pool area. Once you’re far enough away, he sets you down and takes your hand again. “Your story was real!” He gasps, “Let’s get out of here!” Jin takes you back to your room to get the rest of your stuff before checking out as fast as humanly possible.

 Mirko (Rumi Usagiyama)

You had been a fan of everything and anything paranormal since before you could remember. You had grown up watching all the different ghost hunting programs on TV and always found yourself watching live ghost cams in your free time. Over the years, you’d collected all sorts of gadgets like EMF readers, thermal cameras, and digital voice recorders. Recently, you had even started your own paranormal investigation website where you posted videos of your own ghost hunting adventures. It was the hobby you were most passionate about. When the Halloween season finally came around, you decided to a special vlog including your pro hero girlfriend, Mirko.

“Sorry, I know you’re into all the spooky stuff, but it’s not really my thing,” She flips her long silver hair over her shoulder before pointing a confident thumb to her chest. “I’ve literally made it my job not to be afraid of anything.” You let out a laugh at her predictable response.

“You don’t have to be scared,” you tell her. “I just thought it was something fun we could do to get into the Halloween spirit!” The rabbit hero puts a hand to her chin in thought before shrugging her shoulders.

“All right, I don’t see any harm in it,” she gives in quickly since, if nothing else, it was a chance to spend more time with you. She knew she’d made the right decision by the way your face had lit up with excitement. You both were thrill seekers, which is what had brought you two together in the first place.

What she hadn’t predicted at all, was that you would be dragging her to a graveyard on the night of Halloween. You’d set up some cameras around the area during the day, then went back with Mirko after the sun had set.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” Mirko had the EMF reader in her hand as she followed you through the rows of headstones. It was a little chilly outside and she looked really cute bundled up in her fluffy coat and gloves.

“Supposedly, ghosts are able to effect magnetic frequencies,” you explain excitedly while scanning the area with your thermal camera. “The device you’re holding will let us know if there are any disturbances in the electromagnetic energy around here.”

“Right,” her intense red eyes glanced around the graveyard as if daring something to come set off the device.

“You know you can’t take down a spirit with brute force, right Rumi?” You ask her in amusement while continuing your walk among the headstones. A slight mist had started to form over the ground and the temperature of the air seemed to drop suddenly. The tiny machine in Mirko’s hand began emitting a high pitched whine that made the hero tense up and go on alert.

“What’s happening?” she asks urgently. She didn’t sound scared, just ready to go toe to toe with anything dangerous that might appear.

“Shhh,” you put a finger to your lips before grabbing your voice recorder. You hit the record button and start asking questions like “Is anyone there?” and “If there’s a spirit present, give us a sign.” The EMF reader goes silent again and you glance over at Mirko. Her eyes are wide and her fluffy rabbit ears are straight up in the air.

“Something just moved past me and touched my hair,” she whispers as a smirk grows on her face. Abruptly, she snatches the recorder out of your hand. “All right ghost!” She challenges, “You wanna play? You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

“Rumi!” You can’t help but laugh even though the things you were suddenly experiencing were really quite extraordinary.

“Point the camera over there,” Mirko suddenly points across the graveyard. “By that tree.”

“Oh!” You gasp when the thermal camera picks up on a patch of cold in the exact spot Mirko had indicated. How had she known? “There’s something over there!” Mirko looked victorious before bouncing off in that direction, going too fast for you to keep up thanks to her large bunny feet.

“This is going to be great for your website!” she calls out behind her but the cold spot on the camera disappeared before reached the tree. You shake your head in amusement, wondering if bringing your girlfriend had been a good idea after all. She was going to scare all the ghosts away.

“It’s gone now,” you call over to her. The disappointment in your voice brought Mirko back to your side in a flash.

“Don’t worry!” She promises while putting an arm around you, “We’re going to track down every single ghost in this graveyard, even if we have to stay out here all night!” For someone who’d said ghosts weren’t her thing, Mirko was sure getting into it.

Shoto Todoroki

Getting a pro hero to take a vacation was borderline impossible. You’d been begging your boyfriend, Shoto Todoroki, to take some time off for years, but he was always reluctant to leave his job for more than a day or two at a time. You understood his need to be on standby in case of a major villain attack or big natural disaster. He hated the thought of not being there to save an innocent life or have the back of one of his fellow heroes. He still made sure to spend time with you every day, and you were content with taking small weekend trips with him when you could.

The routine had become familiar and comfortable, so it came as a huge shock to you when Todoroki showed up after work one day with two plane tickets in his hand. Not only were you going on an extended vacation with your boyfriend for the first time, but he’d also chosen New Orleans as the destination. You’d been dreaming of going there since you were a child. It was a city with a history full of vampires, witches, ghosts, and plenty of other supernatural entities. You were happy that your boyfriend had remembered, and surprised that he’d be willing to go along for the journey.

“I booked us a private tour at a haunted house tonight,” Shoto says causally as you unpack your bags at the first hotel. You look over at him in surprise. He was intently reading a brochure about the best ghost tours in the city.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Shoto?” You ask and he turns to look at you. “It might be really scary.”

“The ghosts don’t really exist,” he comes over and sits next to you on the bed. “But I think it’s an interesting way to learn about the history here.” If he was so sure, you weren’t going to try to change his mind. You were just happy that he was doing all this for you.

Once the tour started, you found yourself thankful that your boyfriend had paid for the private walkthrough. Some of the effect would have been lost if there’d been a huge group of people trying to squeeze through the dimly lit rooms and hallways. The tour guide was fantastic at setting the mood as well, explaining the stories of each haunting with just enough suspenseful flair.

“The previous owners of this house have reported repeatedly seeing a woman in a white dress standing by that window,” he explains. “They say she matches the description of a woman who died here, murdered by her lover who’d gone crazy after coming home from the war.”

At the beginning of the tour, Todoroki had curiously wandered around each room, investigating different items and asking questions. Now that you were deeper into the house though, he seemed less willing to stray too far from your side. You noticed he kept looking over his shoulder.

“Sometimes,” The tour guide continues, “When I’m closing up at night, I hear footsteps following me down this hallway even though I’m the only one here.”

“Really?” You ask, fascinated. “Have you ever seen anything?” You feel Shoto come up right behind you and put a hand on your waist.

“Yes!” The tour guide says dramatically, “I’ve often caught glimpses of a man’s face looking at me through mirrors or around corners.” The grip on your waist gets a little tighter.

“Are you okay, Shoto?” You ask, not understanding why he was being so clingy. It wasn’t like him at all.

“I’m fine,” he says but doesn’t let go of you.

“Oh!” The tour guide’s eyes suddenly go wide and he puts up his hands to ask for quiet. “Do you hear that?” You strain your ears and cover your mouth when the faint sound of a piano could be heard from somewhere nearby. The tour guide beckons you to follow him until you reach the room that was the source of the sound. You peek in the doorway and gasp when you see the keys of a grand piano playing by themselves.

“Look over there,” The tour guide suddenly whispers and you and Todoroki glance over to the corner of the room where a dark figure stood, barely visible in the shadows.

“Wow!” you were amazed but the grip your boyfriend had on you was almost getting uncomfortable now. You look up at him to see poorly concealed terror all over his face. You felt bad that he was reacting so badly so you took his hand into your own. “Most of it is tricks set up to excite the tourists,” you tell him to try and ease his fears.

The guide continues the tour after a moment but the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly come stomping down the hallway and move right past your small group. Todoroki’s eyes follow the sound as it fades out behind him. He actually starts to push you forward after that. “Please walk faster,” he tells you firmly.

You both were relieved when the tour was over. You’d enjoyed all the spooky experiences, but your poor boyfriend had not enjoyed even a moment of it. It was safe to say you wouldn’t be doing any more private haunted tours with him for the rest of the trip.

[mouse-fantoms]

An Opening Scene

Read on Ao3!

Basically Jatp is taking too long to be renewed so I’m writing how I’d like the opening scene of season 2 to go and no one can stop me

Another gig at Eats & Beats, was a whole lot better than another gig at their own garage. Ever since the Orpheum, they had been booking more and more gigs, some places even calling them themselves.

Julie was up there, in her element. On stage, playing her keyboard enterance. She was getting lost in the opening part of the song that her and Luke wrote together. The first one they were performing after they wrote Great together. This song especially held a place in her heart because during the writing process she was reminded of the fact that she could now touch her ghosts.

It was after the Orpheum, they had started writing this song. It still seemed like a fever dream, being able to hug and touch and feel the boys… it was a lot in the moment to take in.

Luke had his journal open to a partially blank spread. He had already begun writing a bit of lyric ideas on the page. After a few seconds of pondering if they could expand on any of them, Julie swiped the pen from his hand and began writing lyrics down that had come to her head. It was as they were passing the pen back and forth that she was reminded of the new information. Their fingers would brush passed each other as the pen changed holders. It was a nice refresher that the hugging, them becoming solid, wasn’t just a one time thing. She’d be lying is she said there wasn’t a light blush across her cheeks.

In the crowd, she saw her dad, Carlos and Flynn. Ray was snapping pictures, Carlos was enjoying the performance and Flynn was recording it. It was really nice that her dad knew about her little band now and that he always insisted on coming to their performances.

It wasn’t like every face in the crowd she would recognize. But the ones from school would stand out. Recognizing some of their faces as ones she’d see in the hallways. It could have been the stage lighting but she found herself staring at one audience member more than the others. The strawberry blonde wavy hair was familiar. Like if you were to put a pink wig on her she’d-

The audiences woah’s of amazement from seeing her boys’ entrance brought her back to the stage. She grabbed her mic and went to the center of the stage. Singing her part as her boys played their backup vocals then Luke taking the lead when it was his turn.

Ever since Stand Tall she was adamant about writing in more solos for Alex and Reggie in their music. Reggie didn’t seem to mind but Alex still needed some more convincing.

“You and Luke already kill it on your own.” She recalled him saying.

“We’d kill it even more if we add your voice into the mix!” She had answered.

Reggie had run it by her that Alex wasn’t one to “own his awesomeness” as he put it. She was optimistic that the drummer would come around eventually though.

For this gig, it was Julie and Luke doing their same Julie and Luke thing during the song. They so easily got lost in their own music. Hopefully her dad didn’t pay too close of attention to the mic sharing... that happened several times. It wasn’t her fault! He did the head nod! One had to come to him when he did that. However one of the times, he got a taste of his own medicine. His flushed face engraved in her mind forever. If he was doing things that weren’t in the rehearsal... it was fair game for her. It was of course all in good fun. It always was when all of them were on stage.

She finished off the last note, getting a roar of applause for her vibrato even before she was done. The standing ovation felt good. As soon as they all bowed her boys played their disappearing act and she said into the mic, “Tell your friends!” Getting the last claps and whistles of enthusiasm as she came off the side of the stage, she was immediately embraced.

“That was-!” Ray couldn’t find the words to describe his excitement as his chin was burrowed into his daughter’s curls.

“You don’t have to hug me after every performance.” She laughed.

A voice piped in, “Surprised you don’t do it.” She looked and saw the boys behind Flynn and Carlos. Alex’s tease was directed at Luke who was next to him then Reggie after him.

“Oh arh, arh.” Luke mocked laughter.

“Probably does it all the time during their writing sessions.” Reggie guessed.

“That is a good point they are in those quite a-”

“Really? We’re discussing this right now?” He didn’t seem to be a fan of his relationship with Julie being discussed when she’s feet away and present in the room.

Ray released his daughter. “She’d be so proud.”

She matched his warm smile, nodding, “...She would.”

“I should probably get some more pictures outside to show the venue.” He held up the camera in his hand then disappeared to gather his pictures. Thus, she was left with Flynn and Carlos along with the boys behind them. She noticed Flynn’s phone horizontal in her hand.

“Did you get it?”

“Every second!” She shook the phone for effect. “Again, doing really good on the whole eye contact thing.”

She rolled her eyes.

Carlos couldn’t help but notice the mic shares,“Was that the song I heard you up writing?”

“You heard us?” It was more so a statement than a question.

“You and your boyfriend aren’t necessarily quiet.”

“Carlos!” She began to scold, opening her palms in frustration. No matter how many times she would tell her brother Luke’s name, he still insisted on calling him ‘her boyfriend’.

Of course, he did it when Luke just so happened to be in the room one time. Before Luke.exe could fully combust, she explained that it’s just a little brother thing and that she’s sorry he does it.

Flynn put their hands on Carlos’ shoulders behind him. “Why don’t we go help your dad with those pictures?” She suggested.

“Hey Flynn,” Julie called before she left with her brother, “...you didn’t happen to see someone from school here did you? When you were recording?” She wondered if she was the only one who might have seen the strawberry blonde. Plus, Flynn of all people would notice the strawberry blonde in the crowd.

“Oh you saw the sweetheart too?” She smiled before she left with Carlos.

Sweetheart? Why did-? Well maybe she was. It had been a bit since-

“Boyfriend?” Alex was hung up on Carlos’ nickname for Luke.

“Since when did that little name start?” Reggie seemed just as intrigued as Alex was as both looked at Luke for a response.

“It’s nothing boys.” He put his palms up in defense. “It’s just a little nickname he has for me, probably has them for all of us.” His eyes looked across at Julie to help his case.

She, however, gave a smiled light shake of the head left to right which did not help his case at all.

“Oh well I-“ before Luke could try to continue to defend his case, with the questioned looks of Alex and Reggie staring him down, he was interrupted.

“Molina!” The smiley blonde unawarely interrupted the ghost via by standing right in front of Julie, where the ghosts were gathered.

“Oh!” Said an open mouthed Julie. “Nick! You’re here!”

“Of course! Wouldn’t miss a performance!”

“A fan?” Reggie smirked and crossed his arms, pushing his head back for a moment.

“Pff.” Luke responded, rolling his eyes.

“You’re the sweetheart that Flynn meant.” She realized what she said out loud. “Not that you’re not just that I thought she meant someone else.” She tried to save herself.

“You guys were just as good as when you were at the Orpheum.”

“Oh you were there?” Julie cocked her head curious.

He nodded. “Of course! I couldn’t miss Julie and her band at the Orpheum of all places. How’d you get that gig anyway?”

“Oh you know… they needed someone to fill in for Downslide, must have seen our video of Great and happened to call the right number.”

“You were amazing.” He spoke with high praise.

“Well, my band makes me amazing.” She had to give credit where credit was due.

“Your guys were insane as always!”

“I like this fan of ours.” Alex beamed.

“Your drummer and bassist were-“ he was interrupting his words trying to form the right ones to describe the two.

“Can see why you know him Julie. He’s good company.” Reggie recalled her saying his name earlier, which implied she knew him.

“Pff.” Luke let out a huff of air from his mouth that blew his bangs up for a moment. “‘Your drummer this, your bassist that.’” He mocked.

“Oh is Lukey upsetty he didn’t get a compliment?” Alex teased.

“But oh my god your guitarist!” The ghosts and Julie were suddenly very intrigued by Nick’s words. “Those riffs! Those chords! I- Wow.” He let out breathless.

“Yeah, he sure is something.” Julie found a response to Nick’s enthusiasm. “Thank you for coming and glad you liked us. There’s more to come where that came from.”

“I bet. Pretty soon you’ll have flowers and encores getting thrown at you guys.”

She laughed. “You can dream.”

“You guys are insanely talented Molina.” Nick left her with a final compliment and disappeared into the crowd.

“He was nice.” Reggie said once Nick left and Julie looked at her boys.

“He complimented all of us.” Alex appreciated.

“‘Those riffs.’ What does that mean? What does he even know?” Meanwhile Luke was stuck on the compliment he got.

Julie shook her head at the stumped Luke finding him humorous.

~~~

“What does that even mean?”

“Are you still hung up on Nick’s compliment?”

It was just before noon, Luke was sat on top of the kitchen counter, his legs hung over the edge, as Julie happened to be making her lunch beside him.

“What does he even know?”

“He does play guitar.”

“Huh?”

“Nick plays guitar… that explains why he was so impressed with your playing especially.”

“Impressed? By me?”

“Nick complimented you. Take it as it is. When Sunset Curve played gigs, didn’t you guys get compliments all the time?”

His mouth knotted to one side, recalling. “We never stuck around that much after we’d play, there was always another one in line after us.”

“Then... I guess get used to them. We get comments all the time on our performances on YouTube.”

She looked up from making her sandwich at Luke to see his questioned look at the mention of something internet related.

“People like us.” She translated in terms he’d understand.

She saw him nod understanding then resumed her sandwich making.

Luke continued to be in his seat at the counter, Julie continued her sandwich making even when Carlos came into the kitchen.

“Kids and their technology.” Luke said at the sight of Carlos with his eyes glued to his tablet as he got leftover from the fridge as his meal of choice for lunch.

He put the leftover on the island and went to the drawer that was by Julie. His eyes came off the tablet when the drawer wouldn’t open.

“Huh?” He set the device down on the counter space behind him and tried to pull the drawer again.

“Julie help, it’s not opening.” He requested.

“Luke move.” She instead instructed. “Move so Carlos can get his silverware please.”

Carlos saw as the open jar by Julie’s sandwich making station suddenly almost tipped over but she caught it in time. She looked aggravated at the air beside her.

“Get off the counter please.”

“He’s on the counter?”

“He was.” She corrected. “Now try.”

He was able to open the drawer and get his wanted utensil with no difficulty this time.

“I’m no fun by asking you to move out of the way so my brother can get a fork?” She did an about face apparently talking to air.

“Okay…” He grabbed his meal and tablet off the counter, fork in hand that took more than needed time to get. “I’ll just leave you and your-” She shot him a glare knowing what words he was about to refer to Luke as. “You and your ghost to it.” He corrected.

He headed out the kitchen and into the living room. He was ready to plop himself on to the couch when Ray called from the computer.

“Carlos…” he said suspicious, “do you mind looking at these pictures for a second? I know your sister has a better eye for stuff like this but you’re right here.”

He set his items on the coffee table for a moment and went over to the computer to see what his dad wanted.

“These are from the other day.” He cycled through the pictures he had taken of his daughter’s gig.

Pictures of moments before she was on stage, when she was on stage at the keyboard, a few shots of the line outside the venue, just a supportive dad cycling through the pictures he had of his daughter’s gig.

“They all look pretty good.” Carlos saw nothing wrong with the images.

“Thanks but then,” he clicked on the mouse and the image flipped to one of the band, “there’s this one. It turned out… weird.”

The image was of Julie on stage, like the others, except it was only of Julie when Ray for sure knew it was one of when the band all was on stage. She had taken the microphone off the stand and gone to the center when the boys materialized on stage, like they did whenever they showed up all the previous times. Except, there was no guitarist, bassist or drummer, there were three floating orbs in their place.

“Doesn’t it kind of look like the pictures I took in the garage that one day? What did you say it was? Ghosts?” He tried to recalled.

“Maybe you need to check the lense on the camera.” He had to cover for his sister. She specifically instructed that no one else must know about the boys. If Ray did find out, she might blame him for blabbing he secret. “Didn’t we get rid of the ghost when he had his French dip recipe?”

“Aren’t you the ghost expert?” He started to become more and more suspicious.

“Yes.” He immediately answered. “As the ghost expert, when we had the French dip pretty sure we completed the ghost’s unfinished business. You probably just need to check the lense on your camera.”

He watched his son leave it at that and plop on the couch, finding it a little off that Carlos, of all people, dismissed his ghost claim. The pictures were more odd when seeing the video Flynn posted of their performance, the boys showed up fine.

Was it only in pictures when they showed up as orbs, which coincidentally looked like ghost orbs? Did the hologram making gimmicks do that? If they were holograms wouldn’t they show up on camera, not as orbs? Come to think of it, why was her band called Julie and the Phantoms, as in ghosts, to begin with? The more questions that swirled in his head, the more it hurt.

“How long has he played? How’d he learn? Does he-”

“Why are you suddenly so interested in Nick?” She let out a laugh finding Luke humorous again.

“Can’t I be interested in your friends?”

She raised her eyebrows at him.

His face dropped. “That’s not what I- I didn’t mean-” he cleared his throat trying to separate the misunderstanding of words, “I mean you know…” the wood floor of her kitchen suddenly seemed more appealing to the eyes, “a ghost and lifer… that wouldn’t really-“

“Yeah…” Julie trailed off understanding his words exactly. He looked back up at her. “It would definitely be an interesting little relationship.” The smiles were like the ones they shared when he first said that to her, warm and tender.

“So how long has he played?” He cut the moment off.

She rolled her eyes, smile on her face though. “I don’t know. Maybe as long as you. It would add to the two of you getting along factor.”

“Really? You think?”

“Yeah you both are kind of really similar.” She topped her sandwich off with a piece of bread and brought the plate over to the table, leaving Luke still in the kitchen.

“Wait,” he realized, “you’re not just saying that because of the bangs and guitar right?”

“No.” She let out. Or because of how I like/liked both of you. ...Maybe she had a type now that she thought about it. “You both-“

Her sentence was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

“I got it.” She called to her dad and brother if they happened to move to get the door, sliding out of the chair at the table.

“We’re both what?” Luke asked from the kitchen as she went to get the door not wanting to be left on a cliffhanger.

“You two are caring and extremely passionate about the things you love. You both are totally sweethearts too.”

“Oh.” He nodded as she grabbed the front door’s handle. “Wait? Sweetheart?”

She gave him a simple smile, he thought he saw a possible blush that matched the shade of her dress too. The simple coral dress that had black buttons up the front of it. She turned her head back to the front door when she opened it.

“Hi! Nick!” She greeted.

From where he was in the kitchen, Luke could see Nick turn his head, his blonde bangs moved with the turn, at Julie. Then he saw him hand a bouquet of blush flowers to her.

“Thanks.” She smiled when she received his flowers. “Why don’t you come in?” She invited the boy in as her ghost one was in the kitchen, anxious to see how this interaction would go between Julie and Nick while he was present. It would definitely be an interesting one, but for reasons neither would understand just yet. The perfect set up for another part of the story that had yet to be told.