#affordable outdoor decoration

[it-grrl]

I've been wanting to hit 666 miles on my bike before it gets too cold to ride and I hit it on my way home from a too-long workday tonight. I swear to Satan every light in my path was green and I rode past the mini-mansions on Williams Street hollering "PUT OUT YOUR GIANT SKELETONS YOU COWARDS. ITS TIME."

[keepmeclosememorials]

Website: https://www.keepmeclosememorials.com/

Address: 5656 Golf Club Rd, Howell, Michigan 48843, USA

Keep Me Close Memorials specializes in providing high-quality, affordable cremation urns and jewelry. With over 30 years of experience in the funeral industry, the company offers a variety of products to meet the needs of those seeking a dignified and cost-effective solution for memorializing loved ones. Founded by Mark and Jennifer Ferro, who have backgrounds in funeral services and elderly care, Keep Me Close Memorials is committed to serving the community with compassion and excellence.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086633133055

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[centrepiecefurnishing]

What are the Perks of Using Rattan Effect Furniture as Christmas Gifts?

The Christmas season is approaching without interruption. As a gift expert, what I recommend for everyone today is a rattan effect garden sofa set that can bring various benefits to the whole family.

Christmas season is also a well-known gift-giving season. People will prepare Christmas gifts for their loved ones in advance without notice, and then exchange them on Christmas Day. The second day of Christmas is also called Boxing Day, which means the day to open receiving gifts on Christmas Day. Receiving a gift carefully prepared by others is always make one have a good mood, but it also…

[procarpetcaretx]

Is $80k Worth Your Dream Cabin Home? Discover the Affordable Solution with ECOHOUSEMART’s Timber Frame Kit!

Are you tired of the hectic city lifestyle and cramped apartments? Do you dream of owning your own home but feel like it’s out of reach? What if we …Is $80k Worth Your Dream Cabin Home? Discover the Affordable Solution with ECOHOUSEMART’s Timber Frame Kit!

[fishsticksloser]

Rottmnt fluff hc of Girlfriend reader who surprise her boyfriend (separately including the future turtles) by making her boyfriend stay at a high class, 5 stars+ hotel.

When the boys asks how she got it, she say " my parents own the hotel so they allowed us to stay here for free for a week ", reader did this to spoil her boyfriend.

Weekend Getaway

RotTMNT x gn!reader

Warnings: fluff, aged up, yo'kai!reader, mention of alcohol

A/N: nothing explicit, maybe some innuendo but nothing more. I didn't include the future turtles. I also just finished watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III and... Ouchie...

Donnie

He overworks himself

So you decided to take him out on a getaway

He's suspicious because you go radio silent for a while

You only told Leo about it because the other two (especially Mikey) are bad at keeping secrets

When you guys got there

Donnie was shocked

Silk sheets, champagnes and wine, anything he could want

He was very confused as to how you afforded such a nice hotel in the Hidden City

When you told him that your parents owned it he nodded and mumbled a little

Then dove into the soft sheets

He really loves how they feel on his skin and shell

(And how pretty you look on them)

Leo

He stresses out a lot

So he take a few vacations with you every once in a while

He can teleport you anywhere in the world after all

Leo normally hand a rough plan of what was you guys were gonna do

But after a while of hardly seeing each other and a few stressful weeks

You decided to surprise him with a getaway

With the help of Raph, you kidnapped him

He woke up, confused and alert

But felt the soft sheets and saw you

He immediately relaxed

Leo enjoyed the spa, the alcohol, the pool

Everything

It was one of his favorite trips

It'll be one of his favorite memories forever

Mikey

You decided to take him away to get away from his brothers

We all know he desperately needs it

It was a fantastic get away

Mikey never felt more relaxed

He thanked your parents over and over

His favorite parts were probably the hotel room itself

The beautiful decor and bouncy mattress made it the perfect hideaway

In fact, you hardly left the room the whole week

Raph

Does this man need a break or what?

Well luckily, he has you

He was very stubborn, not wanting to leave his brothers

Worried about the mess they'll make while he's gone

But they promised to be on their best behavior (they weren't)

That first night, he hadn't slept that well in months maybe even years

Raph feels so refreshed and energized

Definitely goes hiking and other outdoor activities

He also really enjoyed the pool

He was a lot more active and alert

It made for an interesting week

[simmervlogs]

Wentworth Manor

Hello Simmers, get ready for a game of Beer Pong at the Wentworth Manor . A former family home converted into a Fraternity. This is a requested build which I was so excited to do! I would also like to say a massive thank you to all you guys for your support- we just hit 8k on Tiktok!

Fraternities have been impacted by the increase of off-campus housing starts in recent years. The Wentworth's examined their existing house and determined that for them to remain competitive, they needed to upgrade and increase their common amenity space.

In this area, most houses were built in the 1920s and early ’30s, affording a certain unity in design and volume, although many were altered in the post-war years. Most followed one of two architectural styles of the period—Collegiate Tudor/Gothic or Georgian Revival. This property includes a spacious foyer, 5 bedrooms, large bathroom, traditional kitchen, entertainment room, library and a casual living and dinning room. Th backyard also accommodates for a pool and deck for outdoor cooking. While majority of the features have been maintained by the Wentworth's, each student is more than free to decorate their own spaces as they see fit.

Would also like to say thank you to @alexissimsblog for her idea and name!

Please note almost everything is CC and the items were not created by me! Please do support and directly download from all the creators mentioned! I have attached the CC folders convenience ONLY.

Laundry Day, High School Years, Discover University and Bust the Dust kit required for items I have included from the game, CC as well as some recolors included in the folder (function as a frat house).

There are CC items which are not included- please download these separately!

Utopya- Pool table

Bbygyal123- Martini, corkboard

Joyce- Simple living (all), Forever autumn (all), Summer garden (all)

Sixam- Home office (all), Private school (all), Lavant bathroom (all), Rustin Art studio (all), Home improvement (all)

AFS- all (alcohol décor)

Taurus Design- Judith living room (all)

Harrie- Coastal (all), Country (all), Spoons (all), Octave (all), Brownstone (all), Shop the look (all), Halycon (all), Kichen 2.0 (all), Orjanic (all)

House of Harlix- Jardane (all), Livin Rum, Harluxe (all), Baysic (all)

Felixandre- Grove (all), Colonial (all), Goth revival (all), Berlin (all), Florence (all), Shop the look (all), Chateau (all), Georgian (all), Fayun (terrain), Soho (all), Paris (all)

Valia- Baker's collection (all)

Tuds- Cross (all), Ind (all), NCTR (all)

Awingedllama - Boho living

CharlyPancakes- Sleepyhead (all), Soak (all), Smol (all), Lighthouse (all), Lavish (all)

Myshunosun- Art room (all),Garden stories Patio (all), Simmify Guitar, Dawn living

Max20- Garden at home, Southern Bedroom

Peacemaker- Hinterlands (all), Hudson bathroom (all)

Pierisim- Stefan (all), Tidying up (all), Pantry Party (all), Domaine Du Clos (all), MCM (all), Coldbrew (all), Auntie Vera Bathroom (all), Oak house (all), Woodland Ranch (all), Combles (all), David's apartment (all), Winter Garden (all), Unfold (all), The office (all), Outside (all), Precious Promise (all)

SYB- Highschool (all), Cheap & Chipped (all), Alaferme (all), Happy Stairways (all), Oh la la (all), Loce is in the air (all), Attic (all), Painter Studio (all), Plouf (all), Loft (all), Life Bathroom

Dust Bunny- Laundry (all)

ClassicPixels -Ralph Lauren Throw pillows

Lilli's Place- Folklore (all)

MROLKAN- Pool recolours

Do check out my Tiktok, live almost everyday building!

INSTRUCTIONS

Please directly move all the files in CC zip folder to your Mods folder.

Please move  Tray files (Tray files folder) to your Tray folder (enable bb.moveobjects on).

Gallery ID-  SimmerVlogs (Enable CC)

TikTok- simmervlogs

Note-  I have placed this down in Brindleton Bay (40x40 lot)

Thank you once again to all CC creators!

DOWNLOAD (Patreon)

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Cute & affordable little house in the well respected neighborhood of Indian Village within Gentilly, New Orleans, Louisiana. It's a 1940s brick home with sleeping loft, a modified 320 sq. ft. refrigeration container workshop, an abundance of salvaged, high-quality building materials, antiques and tools…. and everything is included in the sale! 1bd, 1ba, $127K.

It's cute in a hippie kind of way, right?

Are those old books on the back wall? If so, I like the look.

Remember that you get everything with it, and some of it looks nice- you don't have to keep it all.

Check out the big fan in the kitchen ceiling. Someone did a cute painting on the fridge. You can decorate this so sweet.

A washer/dryer unit is worth not having to go to a laundromat.

Like the pedestal sink and the wall, but the toilet platform needs work. I would imagine that there's a shower behind the curtain on the right.

I would definitely have to put a full floor up in the loft.

Looks like a little bamboo hut up here, but the holes in the floor are too big.

This is the interior of the workshop. Nice for an old semi truck container.

Outdoor work area with all this material included. If you don't want it, you could probably sell it and use the money to fix up the house. This is building material, so maybe it can also be used in the house.

I like this funky little property and the cute garden.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2920-Powhatan-St-New-Orleans-LA-70126/149030137_zpid/

[octuscle]

Is it that easy ? Ok here I Go.. "Baggage Claim", then I give you my destination. BEG. Yes, that was it!

You and your buddies are on vacation in Croatia. And there you thought a suitcase from Belgrade could be useful. Of course, Serbs and Croats have not always been the best of friends. But let's see what develops. At least it's a huge sports bag that you got there. There should be enough stuff in it for the three of you. Even if most things are rather too big for you.

The sun is setting, the beach day is over. Your buddies help themselves to their clothes. You try out something from the bag from Belgrade. Yes, the T-shirt is too big. But somehow it feels good. It gives you strength and self-confidence. And even if you were always the smallest of the three of you, tonight you are somehow the leader of your little group. Although you just arrived this morning, you somehow know your way around the place. You feel a bit at home. And you speak a few words of the strange language.

The next morning, you grab a pair of shorts and running shoes from the gym bag. It's only 5:30 in the morning, but a run on the beach at sunrise is great and part of the vacation for you. When you arrive sweaty in your hotel room, your mates are still snoring. Let them, it's vacation after all. You pack your things for the beach and start the beach day in the outdoor gym with a few pull-ups.

Your lads spend most of the day on their beach loungers. You have to work off your excess energy. While you're at it, you make friends with some of the other lads on the workout machines. There are also a couple of Serbians, so communication is easier with them. But your Croatian is also getting better and better. The only thing that annoys you are your curls, which are always wet with sweat. You ask a local to give you a tip on where you can get a proper haircut. You plunge into the nightlife with your pals with very short hair.

After your lads have slept away the next day on the beach, you urge them to join you for a training session before dinner. You throw them something from the sports bag to wear. And you urge them to work out on the machines. You can afford it, God knows you've worked out enough today. After you have completed your program, it's straight to dinner. Unshowered. And not back to your hotel either, you go to the restaurant of one of your workout partners. Your lads finally have to get something decent to eat. Raw meat instead of fried stuff. And then it's off to bed early.

During the sunrise run, your pals' clothes are still very loose. You can't say that about your shirt. But hey, you have a few years of workout and experience ahead of them. And they really try hard. And tonight, after the day at the seaside, it's off to get a haircut. Those two look like girls.

If your lads really want to achieve something, an open-air gym like this might be a nice change. And it's also good for a basic tan. But you also have to go to a real gym. To the really heavy weights. So that your youngsters become real heavyweights, too. And if the two behave well today, it goes tonight as a reward again in the tattoo studio. After all, the muscles need to be decorated. And as a good coach, you have to take the stick and give them the carrot.

[skarloeyspa]

it's finally here! RWS-inspired uniforms for my SR main six! Also wanna thank @/glowynviator for the inspiration! Go check out their designs they're super lovely!!!!!

Design notes below as always!

1864 - 1910s

Taking heavy inspiration from the dude in the blue hat and purple/pink vest in all these illustrations

Their uniforms are fancier based on the initial reason for Skarloey and Rheneas' purchase - developing Skarloey as a tourist attraction, namely a spa (wonder where I've heard that before...)

1910s - 1960s

(goofy dudes in the first pic lmao)

So the tourism thing didn't last very long and the railway became more reliant on its original venture, which was its quarries

This was also the time when the railway's main income came from its quarries

Their uniforms became more quarry-appropriate. But since they still had the occasional passenger train, they still had finer clothing like a blazer and tie and hat

The gloves are cotton! Intended for outdoor work!

The pictures featured are Welsh slate workers and I have no idea where the overalls idea came from

1960s - Present

Revenue began increasing during this era with the newfound slate and Book of Sir Harald, which brought in more passenger traffic

With more passenger traffic the railway reintroduced more formal uniforms for their engines

I had a lot of fun doing Skarloey and Rheneas because this was basically the whole reason I took on these designs hehe

So obviously the colors! Bright red livery and blue lining! It wouldn't look too nice if I just made everything bright blood red so!

Buttons are buffers! Their painted names are golden embroidery! Ties are their TVS liveries (because I said so!)

Speaking of TVS, Sir Handel, Rusty, and Duncan are wearing their TVS boots! Having regained their footing, the SR introduced a more formal uniform but they still had some freedom in their uniform (as demonstrated by Duncan)

Sir Handel's blazer is a bit long...not because he's short or anything!

Peter Sam wears a knitted vest instead of the waistcoat that everyone else has because...it just suits him...Duncan isn't even wearing a vest so there you go!

Everyone's number is a badge on their hat. Since Rusty's hat is more functional than decoration, they wear their number as a little badge on their lapel! Their name is still embroidered tho :)

I promise the railway can afford whatever nice shirt Rusty is wearing BECAUSE I SAID SO I WILL IT TO BE I'M THE RAILWAY MASCOT I AM (miscellaneous rodent scritching)

Engines with longer hair are required to tie them up for tidiness! Big L for Sir Handel as always.

Skarloey is wearing a ring! Because of the brass ring on his funnel!! I will make you aware of this detail!!!

And that's it I think! Thank you as always for reading to the very end :] It means a lot to me that people find my designs interesting enough to want to read my rambles on them lmao

Anyway!! Since you're here...I'll tease a bit about my planned projects! I want to share some refs for other standard gauge characters I've designed! I also have some ideas for an animatic or two similar to the one I made for Ryan last year :]

[matchalattegreen]

Christmas with the greasers hc

My first headcanon guys hope it turns out ok!! (Sry it ended up being so long)

(Also please if you have any ideas for new headcanons or fanfics just drop them in my inbox like actually PLZZ I need some ideas)

Darry would totally be in charge of everything. Anything he doesn't do needs to be approved by him first

Ponyboy and Soda would decorate the tree very precisely

Johnny would put the star on top

Soda and Steve do the outdoor decorations but Darry watches them the entire time to make sure they don't do anything dumb or screw something up

Dally would simply sulk on the couch while all the decorating is happening

Two Bit would walk around giving unhelpful feedback for all the decorations but not actually offering to help decorate (tbh nobody really wants him to help anyways)

On Christmas Eve, they would have a Christmas movie marathon

Darry and Ponyboy really want to watch classics like It's a Wonderful Life

Soda wants to watch cheesy rom-coms like Love, Actually

Steve will say he wants to watch what Soda wants but get bored five minutes into the movie

Two Bit wants to watch Mickey Mouse Christmas specials

Johnny loves classic TV Christmas specials like Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Dally doesn't really like watching movies but will totally suggest that they watch Die Hard or Gremlins and put up an argument that both are very much Christmas movies

Ponyboy and Johnny make the best Christmas cookies

Soda wants to help them but Darry doesn't trust him in the kitchen

On Christmas day, Two Bit would totally run around the house trying to wake everyone up

Once Soda is awake he'll join

Opening presents is the best part

Darry gets everyone useful things like clothes

Ponyboy gives everyone a copy of his favorite book

Johnny gives everyone little origami swans that he made

Soda didn't really know what to get so he gives out bottles of Coke from the DX

Steve takes partial credit for the Cokes since he didn't buy any gifts

Two Bit would give the best gag gifts (he definitely stole them)

Dally wouldn't get any gifts, just say that his being is a gift enough

Darry would cook Christmas dinner, focused on perfection

No one else is allowed in the kitchen while he's cooking (he can't afford any distractions)

Two Bit, Soda, and Steve definitely eat until they get sick

But overall, everyone had a great Christmas!!

My first one, hope you liked it!!

[strangermarvelss]

the pain of letting you go- e.m (epilogue)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x AFAB!Reader

Summary: a few years have passed since your lunch at the diner with eddie

Warnings: birthday shenanigans, fluff, domestic!eddie, best uncle steve and aunt robin ever, mentions of sex, suggestive language

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: the finale has arrived! thank you to everyone for the continued support, i have loved writing this series and loved hearing your theories and suggestions! reminder: if the topic is sensitive for you, please do not read. enjoy! :) -sava

september 1994

The fall leaves swirl around the backyard as you watch a gaggle of kids run past you, their giggles filling the blocked off outdoor space and warming your heart. You watch your son Christopher smile, the party hat situated on his growing mane of hair waving about as he runs with his friends. It was hard to believe that your baby boy was ten years old. Double digits. It feels like yesterday that you and Eddie were holding him in your arms, newborn home straight from the hospital and ready to begin your new lives as parents.

You find yourself half-paying attention to the conversations happening around you, the parents talking amongst themselves as you try to add to their different topics sporadically, silently wishing for some of your own friends to show up and save you. There was nothing wrong with the parents of your son's friends, other than how quick they were to gossip about and judge you a few years back. You were just wanting to crave any actual conversation with people you loved.

“Auntie Robin has arrived,” Robin announces from inside the house. You stand from your position on one of the chairs situated outside, sliding open the back door of your home to come and greet her. Bags are hanging to her sides as she lets out a small squeal, rushing over to hug you tight. Wrapping your arms around her, you return the gesture, happy to have her here to help endure the countless screaming children and judgmental parents that made your life all the much harder four years ago, but insisting that it no longer bothered you for the sake of the kids. 

"Where's Vickie?" You question.

"She'll be by later, she's wrapping a few things up she had planned out a while ago. I tried telling her that the kids don't want to go to band practice on a Saturday, but she said they needed the extra practice before heading to their competition next weekend," she explains. She looks around the house for a moment, chin resting on your shoulder as she takes in the decorations.

“Can't believe it's taking me this long still getting used to the new house. The old one just held so many memories, ya know? But I do like the upgrade,” Robin tells you, breaking away from the hug and sending a smile your way. You take the bags from her and place them on the coffee table, guiding her into the kitchen for a snack or something to drink.

“It definitely was time for the upgrade. With my promotion money plus Eddie’s hefty contribution, we definitely could afford it,” you explain a bit, pouring a glass of water and offering it to her. She takes it and gulps it down, sighing in relief before her brows twist in a bit of concern.

“Speaking of, where is Eddie? Is he outside with the rest of the kiddos?” She asks, looking through the large window in the kitchen to try and spot him.

“Actually, I think he’s upstairs with-“

“Here we are!” Eddie blurts out, darting from around the corner and greeting you both. “Sorry to keep you waiting sweetheart. Kas here decided she didn’t want to wear the outfit Mommy laid out for her, so she gave Daddy some grief. But we worked it out, didn't we Kas?”

You reach out for the two-year-old, hands resting underneath her tiny armpits and bringing her close to your body, placing her on your hip. Eddie reaches out to plant a kiss on your lips, a quick peck before offering a hug to Robin. You raise your index finger and play with your daughter, tickling her chubby cheeks and watching her giggle. 

“Now why didn’t you want to wear the pretty dress Momma laid out for you, babygirl?” You ask her, your voice pitched up as you stare at her in wonder. You turn to Eddie with a smile, taking in his slicked back hair and nicer attire before opening your mouth once more. “How’d you convince our little stubborn princess to wear it?”

“I may or may not have promised her a big piece of cake,” he admits, coming over and wrapping his arms around you. You shake your head, laughing as you play with your daughter’s hair a bit. Robin sets the glass of water down, looking between you two for a moment before reaching her arms out. You give in and hand Kassandra over to her godmother, watching the smile on Robin’s face grow as she begins to dance to the low music playing in the living room, extending your daughter’s arm in an attempt to dance around with her.

Robin makes her way into the living room, leaving you and Eddie alone in the kitchen. His hands find purchase on your hips, tugging you close to him as he dips down to take your lips in his again, making sure to take longer now that your hands are baby-free. You bring a hand up to cup his cheek, melting into the kiss as you taste his minty fresh breath. Eddie sighs, his fingers hooking into the loops of your jeans and trying to tug you closer, leaving no room between you as your bodies press together.

“Alright, alright. It’s still a kids birthday party after all. No need to scar any kids today,” you tease, pulling away from his as you play with his beautiful brown curls. He smiles as you, hands still on your hips as he traces random patterns into them with his thumbs.

“Okay, okay,” he says, admitting defeat. You chortle, looking deep into his eyes before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek and peeling yourself from him. “I called for pizza on the phone upstairs, so it should be here shortly. Cake is still in the fridge, away from the tiny grubby fingers. Do you need me to do anything?” 

“No, I think everything is handled right now,” you tell him, flashing him a smile. He comes over and presses a kiss to your shoulder, before you both turn to the sound of the door opening. You walk towards the front door, watching Steve and a very pregnant Nancy come into view, your smiles stretching as you greet them. 

“How are you guys?! I feel like it’s been forever since we properly hung out, even if it was just three weeks ago,” you ask, retreating to Eddie, who is quick to wrap an arm around your waist. 

“Yeah, I know! I’ve been pulling a couple weekend shifts at the Hawkins Post since my due date is coming up. Trying to get everything situated there before I start maternity leave,” Nancy explains, extending the gift resting in her arms to you. You're quick to put it on the table with the others, jogging back and nuzzling into Eddie's warm figure.

“I still can’t believe you took the job there after all the shit that went down during your internship back in ’85,” you let out, shaking your head. She laughs, rest her hand on Steve’s arm as she nods.

“Oh trust me, I know. I was really worried about going back but the new management is so much better, and with all the creative freedom I was promised and have now received, helped with the decision. Plus Steve here," she looks to him, smile big and bright as she rests a hand on his arm. "Helped convince me to move back and take the job. And I'm glad I did, I’m really happy there. Hey, is there somewhere I could sit? My back pain has been horrible since the third trimester started.”

Nodding, you lead Nancy towards the backyard, allowing her to take the seat you were sitting in before Robin's arrival. Meanwhile inside the house, Eddie clasps a hand on Steve’s shoulder, a smirk situated onto his face as the two boys watch you make your way outside. Eddie turns to Steve, who has a face full of admiration.

“Can’t believe you’re finally gonna be a dad man. I’m really happy for you and Wheeler. You have everything ready? The due date's coming up soon, right? Couple weeks now?” Eddie asks him.

“You know she doesn’t go by Wheeler anymore, right? Like we've been married for two years now man.” Steve chuckles out.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Old habits die hard I guess,” Eddie lets out, shaking his head as he walks into the kitchen.

"But yeah, we've got everything ready. Nursery is done and the bag for the hospital is packed. Baby proofing has been done for a bit now, so we're just waiting for the main event."

“That's really great to hear, I can't wait to meet the little guy. You want something to drink, man? We have sodas and water out in the coolers, as well as some juice boxes, and for us adults,” he pulls out a couple of beers. “We have brewskies.”

Steve reaches out, taking the beer from the metalhead's hand and clinking it against his. Twisting off the cap, he brings the glass bottle to his lips and lets out a sigh, relishing in the crisp taste.

“So how was the tour?” Steve asks. Eddie’s eyebrows lift as he tears the bottle away from his lips, nodding as he wipes the small amount of beer dripping from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

“It was awesome! We had an amazing turn out, which was metal as hell. Really happy it happened during the summer so I could take little man on the road with me for a few stops, and he loved it. It was tough being away from Y/N and Kas for so long though, so I’m glad to be back home for a good bit,” he tells Steve, smiling as he peeks out the window at the sight of you, hands moving everywhere as you animatedly talk with Nancy.

“That’s great, I’m happy for you man. And I’m really glad things worked out between you and Y/N. I know it was a bit difficult a few years back, but I had faith that the two of you would work your problems out and get back to being the annoying loving couple everyone knows you to be,” Steve teases. Eddie smiles, a blush creeping onto his cheeks at his friend’s kind words. He clasps a hand on his shoulder again, nodding at the words. 

The sound of the doorbell pulls Eddie from the conversation, excusing himself from Steve as he jogs to the door to greet the pizza delivery person. Grabbing the multiple boxes of pies, he tips them and bids them a good day, shutting the door with his foot as he walks through the house towards the backyard, carefully gripping and balancing the tower of boxes. 

“Alright kiddos, it’s pizza time!” Eddie shouts playfully, letting out a “woohoo” as he sets the boxes down and starts laying them out on the table. He flips open a box and takes a big whiff, sighing in content as the delicious smell flows through his nose.

You watch from your spot next to Nancy as the child line up by the snack table, Eddie taking orders and dishing out the slices, making jokes and hearing the kids roar in laughter. You can’t help but beam at him, which doesn’t go unnoticed by both Nancy and Robin.

“So how have things been now that Eddie’s home from tour? Happy to have him home?” Robin asks, handing your daughter back to you as she begins to cry and using her now free hands to scoot closer to Nancy, forming a small circle between the three of you. 

“It’s been good! Like, really good. I missed him a lot but I know he was out doing what he loves and what was important to him. I'm just glad he's back now so the bed doesn't feel empty anymore. Not to mention that we've-” you look around you, making sure there are no children within earshot before covering your daughter’s ears. “We’ve been having sex like…non stop. It’s fucking amazing, like mind-blowing orgasms left and right, multiple times a day even, but I’m almost worried that I’m gonna get pregnant again if we keep going at it like we have been.”

“Would that be such a bad thing? Do you see yourself having a third?” Nancy asks, letting out some laughs. You bite your lip and think for a moment, before nodding.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to another. I mean, we have room for one more in the new house, so that wouldn’t be an issue. I think I’d want to wait a few more years before trying again though, that way I can soak up my time with baby Kassandra here before trying to tackle that all over again,” you answer, nuzzling into your daughter and tickling her sides, an adorable chortle coming from deep in her chest. The group of you laugh at your daughter’s cuteness, rubbing your finger at her chin to coax more giggles out of her.

“That’s really good! Happy things are working out between you too, really,” Robin lets out, rubbing your arm gently.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies,” Eddie cuts in, sliding in between the small gap of the seats and holding out a plate of food to you. Nancy takes the plate for you as you hand off your daughter to him, watching his eyes become bright and his smile stretching as he makes eye contact with her. He lifts her up into the air, shaking her around and pulling more laughter from her tiny body. You thank Nancy and take your plate, eyeing Eddie and Kas as your heart melts at their behavior. 

The idea that your marriage nearly came crumbling down four years ago felt weird to think back on, considering how things have evolved since then. Some days aren’t as picture perfect as other, and the negative thoughts haven't left your head completely, but it isn't nearly as bad as things were all those years ago. You were content with where you both stood, with the two of you still attending therapy every few months and communicating with one another about certain problems that may arise. But ultimately? You were in a much better place than you found yourself at Christopher’s sixth birthday party. 

Christopher runs up to you, smiling as he shows you his empty plate. You laugh at the boy, tussling his hair a bit as you pull him onto your lap and take a bite of your pizza.

“Hey Robin, do you mind taking a family photo of the four of us?” You ask, reaching over towards the outside side table and grabbing one of the disposable cameras you bought for the party. She nods, taking the device from you as you playfully pinch Eddie on the leg, waving him over as he dramatically gasps.

He sits down in the chair Robin was in, scooting it closer to you and turning it to face her. Resting Kassandra on his lap, he reaches around to lay an arm on your shoulder, bringing you closer as you all crouch into one another, the biggest smiles adorning your faces as you wait for the camera to snap the memory into existence forever. The flash goes off, freezing the moment in time before Christopher hops off your lap and takes off running after his friends. Eddie’s figure stays close to you, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to your cheek before moving his lips closer to your ear.

“I love you so much sweetheart,” he whispers, pulling away with a grin. Looking into his eyes, you can't help the genuine grin that creeps onto your face, handing resting on his knee as your chest fills with awe.

“I love you too baby. Now give me my daughter and go get ready to bring the cake out, you big sap.” You tell him, before moving your own lips close to his ear. “I’ll show you just how much I love you later tonight, big boy.”

[wudlund]

GROWING UP LEGACY CHALLENGE

* ˚ ✦

| by wudlund

i wanted to create a legacy challenge that focusses on the parent-child relationship and how that impacts their adult life. (i know growing together would be the perfect pack for this challenge, but i can't afford it rip)

-> this has not been playtested so pls let me know if anything is too difficult or doesn't work :)

-> included packs: get to work, outdoor retreat/jungle adventure, city living, get together, seasons, cats & dogs, discover university, high school years, parenthood, strangerville, island living, paranormal stuff, snowy escape, cottage living, nifty knitting, eco lifestyle (if you don't have a pack, just exclude that part of the challenge)

-> for each generation, they should complete their aspiration, master any skill(s) i've outlined, complete a collection and master their career (if relevant) the recommended world is only my opinion, you do not have to live there :)

-> whenever 'parent' is mentioned, i mean the founder/heir before as some generations do not specify a spouse (they are secondary characters here, babes)

GEN 1: The Parental Scriptures

You grew up hopping between various foster parents and children’s homes. You vowed to adopt as many children as you could handle as an adult and make them feel as loved and welcome as possible. Incorporating your passion for writing, you write novels about each of them throughout their lives.

Traits; Family Oriented, Childish & Good

Aspiration; Big Happy Family

Career; Writer

Collection; Postcards (recieved from grown up children living in different locations/worlds)

Max Skills: Parenting & Writing

Recommended World; Henford-on-Bagley

Start as a Young Adult

Have an 8 sim household (can be a single parent for ‘hard mode’ or married), adopting 6/7 children

Write 6/7 books (corresponding with however many children you have)

Name each book after the child that it's about

Hire a nanny to help with the children

Celebrate every holiday fully (e.g. decorate to the max)

Help children with homework and interact with them as much as possible

Take lots of pictures of each child at each life stage (e.g. toddler, child) and decorate your house with them

Go on holiday to a vacation world every summer with all your children

Buy all grandchildren a toy for their first birthday (aging up into an infant)

Don’t die before becoming an elder (this will be important later !)

GEN 2: The Malevolent Amalgam

Growing up, you despised your parent. They were so overbearing and involved in your life, something burned inside you. You channelled your rage into criminal activity and found a love for experimental dishes. You hatched a nefarious plan to get revenge on the parent that you hated so much.

Traits; Evil, Mean, Hates Children

Aspiration; Public Enemy

Career; Criminal

Max Skill; Mischief

Collection; Experimental Food Photos (inspiration for murderous plan)

Recommended World; San Myshuno

Have 2 best friends in childhood who you pull pranks with

Skip school/play hooky regularly

Have a child by accident with someone who is similar to your parent (at least 2 of the same traits)

Have one child who you are very distant from

Have other parent of child die by cowplant or denizens pond ("accidental")

Never celebrate holidays (cancel them when they start or remove from the calendar -> however you may want to keep them for future generations)

Instead, go on vacation to any vacation lot without your child or partner

Learn Pufferfish Nigiri

Kill parent with dish

When your child moves out, give them 1200 simoleons

GEN 3: The Questioned Innocence

Throughout your childhood, you were very close to your grandparent, who died under very mysterious circumstances. Once you were old enough, you dedicated your life to investigating the death of your grandparent, finally finding out the truth. You begin to wish you’d never started investigating.

Traits; Genius, Loyal, Paranoid

Aspiration; Strangerville Mystery

Career; Detective

Collection; Fossils (clues about grandparent's death)

Max Skill ; Logic & Medium

Recommended World; Strangerville

Start with 1200 simoleons (after purchasing lot)

Keep the toy/soft toy from your grandparent for the rest of your life

Have 3 children

Buy them all a newer version of your favourite toy (different swatch)

Live on a remote lot (to avoiding your investigation being detected)

Complete the Strangerville Mystery

Confront and fight your parent in adulthood and have max negative relationship when they die

Contact your grandparent from beyond the grave and have them move into the household as a ghost

GEN 4: The Sidelined Affinity

Your parent loved you but never had much time for you, being so absorbed by their work. You maintained a positive relationship with them, but decided to take your life in a different direction. Beginning freelance work at the start of your adult life, you quickly realised animals had your heart.

Traits; Cat Lover, Dog Lover, Clumsy

Aspiration; Friend of the Animals

Max Skills; Veterinarian & Dog Training

Collection; Feathers (mementos of your pets)

Recommended World; Brindleton Bay

Meet someone as a child and date through your teen years until the start of young adulthood

Regularly get boba tea with your pets

Always have one cat and one dog in the household

Work in any freelance branch you choose through young adulthood

Have one child by accident in young adulthood

Buy a vet clinic on your birthday into adulthood (cheat for money - it's a gift from your parent)

Adopt another child later

Marry a spellcaster as an elder and become a spellcaster yourself

Take in your grandchildren after their parent dies

GEN 5: The Regimented Defense

You grew up seeing how unattached and careless your parent was. You hated it. Life is meant to be structured. There are rules. You always knew you were destined for bigger, better and more organised things.

Traits; Hot-Headed, Perfectionist and Proper

Aspiration; Bodybuilder

Max Skills; Fishing (only peaceful time in your life)

Career; Military

Collection; Fish

Recommended World; Oasis Springs

Join the Scouts as a child and get all trophies

Marry childhood sweetheart in early young adulthood

Have 2 children, use strict parenting methods

Sign both children up for after-school clubs

Both children must earn Good Manners trait from childhood

Set an early curfew for both children

Mount one of each fish you catch

Your spouse has an affair in adulthood and elopes with their partner

Have the workaholic lifestyle

Die in adulthood (you can cheat this to be any death - like dying on duty)

GEN 6: The Detached Secrecy

You learned early in life how unpredictable and fleeting life is and how futile attachments are. You decided to never allow yourself to get tied down and live life as meaningfully and freely as possible. Any commitment scared you, leading to you exploring all corners of life and finding out what it truly means to live.

Traits; Adventurous, Noncommittal, Loves Outdoors

Aspiration; Serial Romantic /Live Fast

Collection; Frogs (exception to the rule of 'no attachments')

Career; Secret Agent

Max Skill; Rock Climbing

Recommended World; Mt. Komorebi

Do not complete your aspiration as a child (can be any aspiration)

Complete the Live Fast aspiration as a teen

Drop out of High School early and move out of your grandparent's house

Never marry, date different people sporadically (never for longer than a week)

Have triplets - you will probably have to cheat this :)

Give them names beginning with the same letter or names that are very similar

When one child demonstrates an interest in fame, actively discourage them

Have a frog that you are a little bit too attached to

Retire and move worlds (must be a different climate to one you were living in - e.g. mt. komorebi to sulani)

GEN 7: The Unsatisfied Luxury

You actually might have had the most average, normal childhood ever. One of three children, you didn't even have individuality to your name. Nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary. Although, you never did find out what your parent’s career was… probably something normal, right? You set your sights on something a little less ordinary. You wanted to be rich.

Traits; Materialistic, Self-Absorbed, Ambitious

Aspiration; Fabulously Wealthy/Admired Icon

Max Skills; Charisma & Dancing

Career; Retail Store Owner

Collection; Crystals (imagine they are rare jewels etc.)

Recommended World; Del Sol Valley

Have lots of friends as a child/teen

Be Prom Queen

Work on the Admired Icon aspiration as a teen

Own a retail store, selling very expensive items

Become famous (at least Rank 4)

Have 4 children with a big celebrity

Own a fancy dog (e.g. poodle, bichon frise, pomeranian)

Have a messy divorce from the parent of your children, fighting regularly

Lose relationships with children

When you die, have no strong relationships (no more than acquaintances with anyone)

GEN 8: The Inspired Modesty

You got to see first hand what a life of money and fame does to a person. You knew you wanted something more modest, finding your purpose in life through painting. You had a turbulent family life growing up, so you channelled those feelings into paintings.

Traits; Art Lover, Gloomy, Lactose Intolerant

Aspiration; Master Painter

Max Skills; Painting & Cross Stitching

Career; Painter

Collection; Seashells (you find beauty in everything, no matter how small)

Recommended World; Sulani

Buy most of your clothes via thrifting

Join the cheer team but move to the football team later in high school

Live on a 20x15 lot

Dumpster dive for furniture etc.

Use the recycler for trash

Sell your work on Plopsy

Find your soulmate at work (also a painter)

Have 2 science babies

Have close relationship with only your first child

Paint portraits of your spouse and children

Make cross-stitched hoops as gifts for your children's birthdays

Have spouse die just after second baby is born

Never remarry

Heir must be the second child

GEN 9: The Broken Machinery

After your parent's death, you detached yourself completely from your family, swore off relationships and delved into your studies. Your remaining parent tried to connect with you but you felt incomplete, missing someone you never knew.

Traits; Genius, Geek, Socially Awkward

Aspiration; Computer Whiz/Whiz Kid

Collection; Voidcritters (as a child)

Max Skills; Rocket Science & Robotics

Career; Engineer

Recommended World; Britechester

Complete the Whiz Kid aspiration as a child

Join the Chess Club in High School

Have one best friend growing up (never speak again after school ends)

Attain Distinguished Physics Degree from Foxbury Institute

Meet another friend at university

Get a cat after leaving university

Be friends for at least 2 months before starting romantic relationship (fearful to lose them like you lost your parent)

Have a child together in late adulthood

Your partner must be revealed to be an alien after you become romantically involved

Build rocket ship

Travel to sixam with your partner

GEN 10: The Last Hurrah

You admired your parent for being so skilled and intelligent but you just weren’t up for that. To be honest, you didn’t have the energy for it. You never aspired to much but you were happy.

Traits; Lazy, Cheerful, Unflirty

Aspirations; Party Animal/Joke Star

Max Skills; Charisma & Comedy

Collection; Gardening (have a little herb garden)

Career; Odd Jobs

Recommended World; Henford-on-Bagley

Go to prom with your best friend

Have a games room in your house

Never marry but have multiple long term relationships

Have no children

Have a big dog

Have lots of close friends and party with them regularly

Create and maintain a club

Attend the Henford-on-Bagley village fairs (you do not have to compete, just engage with it)

Visit every bar and have a drink in every world at least once (like a pub crawl)

Have the people person lifestyle

Live on the same lot the founder lived on (the house may be different)

if you play this, pls use the #growing up legacy challenge tag so i can see your posts <3 - essie xo

[mymelodymia]

Autumn days 🍂 Dad!Tony stark x daughter!reader

summary: your feeling a bit down, so your father does something special for you.

Warnings: none <3

+•°+*°•++•°+*°•++•°+*°•+

You had always loved the fall. The cool wind, the mesmerizing outdoors, the rain. You loved everything about it. Your favorite being the cozy vibe it gave off. Never failing to cheer you up while in a bad mood.

tony took note of how down and upset you were feeling all of a sudden. He woke you up very early. Like 5 am kind of early that day.

"Hmmmmm" you groaned, not wanting to wake up.

"Sweetheart come on i have something planned for you" you only sighed and stretched your legs out, pulling your blanket down. Tony poked your now slightly exposed stomach, in order to wake you up more.

You hopped out of bed, going to your bathroom. You heard tony rummaging through your wardrobe. When you came out of the bathroom, you saw a very comfy outfit sitting on your bed waiting for you.

Which included a soft white tee, a comfy sweater, a hat, sweatpants, and boots. You smiled at the decent looking outfit, giggling you took it and walked back into the bathroom, you also brushed your teeth and hair, walking out you saw tony in the same spot. But he had clearly gotten up to do something.

You saw him sitting comfortably on your white sheets, with an outfit identical to yours.

You sat down next to him, Smiling to yourself.

"Come on, lets go eat" he said taking your hand and standing. Walking toward the door and into the hall, where you asked him a question.

"What are we gonna do today" you asked curiosity as you walked past the living room and into the kitchen, where there was fresh pancakes. You giggled to yourself.

After you finished your meal, tony lead you out the door, and made sure to turn on the heater on the car.

You arrived at a parking lot of a coffee shop. That was connected to the most beautiful town you had ever seen. Looking like it was straight out of pinterest.

You both walked into the small coffee shop. You sat down and simply talked to your father, about what had been bothering you. But you also accidentally just drifted off into talking about a Disney movie.

Once you finished this short activity, you both walked down a beautiful path, decorated with leafs, given that it was quite early, no one was driving. No whooshing cars even near you.

You saw a small bookstore and decided to go inside, where you were greeted with a very sweet old man running the place. And even gave you free tea/coffee.

You both bought a few books that looked interesting, you also got a few bookmarks, the price was quite average. You were glad there was finally a bookstore with affordable products.

Tony took the bag from the elderly man, and held the door for you. Walking down the same path you saw a movie theater, and tony was already prepared.

"Look! They're playing that movie we wanted to see" you said pointing toward the colorful lights coming from this cinema.

And tony waved two tickets in front of your face. You laughed at him.

After your movie was over you and tony were worn out. And walked down the beautiful path you had grew quite fond of one last time. You saw a bench and decided to sit for a few moments. You sat down patting the space next to you for tony.

You rested your head on tonys shoulder, and he put an arm around you.

"I had a really great time today dad. Thank you, i love you" you said looking off into the distance. "I love you too baby"

You both stopped at a pumpkin patch before you left. Tony promised to carve them with you this weekend. So you now had someone to look forward too.

You most definitely fell asleep on the ride home. Holding the two pumpkins in your arms in order too "protect them" in your words.

When you arrived home, tony told you to go and get a shower and you did just that. There was a pear of pajamas on your bed, that tony was definitely wearing as well. About 15 minutes later you came down to see your favorite fall movie ready to play on the large flat-screen. And a few candles lit on the fireplace in order to make a warm environment.

You sat at the couch, only to fall asleep again. With your father holding you.

+•°+*°•+

Tags

@animealways // @white-wolf-buckaroo // @tonystark-au // @yummyangy // @zebralover //

[crystalninjaphoenix]

The Christmas Special - Part One

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Twenty-Six

A JSE Fanfic

I absolutely did not intend this adventure to be a two-parter but in retrospect of course it is, a lot happens. It's Christmas Eve and the guys have varying feelings on it. Chase and Schneep are excited for their family Christmas party! But JJ and Marvin are not as enthusiastic about stuff. Fortunately, it looks like things will be a bit exciting for them as JJ gets a visit and gift from a pair of strangers. This chapter is a lot of setup for the next one and it's still 7200 words. That should tell you all about how excited I am for this! :D Hope you guys enjoy!

More of this AU | From the Start | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

++++++++++++++++++++

Over the next few days, relatives from Chase and Schneep’s extended family started pouring into the small town of Hollewych. They would always stop to say hi at the house before going to the hotel they were staying at. Chase had forgotten how overwhelming it was to see everyone in the same location. Or maybe this was just the first time he really noticed how many people were in his family.

By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, everyone from Mom’s side of the family had arrived—save for the ones who weren’t invited. But though Mom assured Chase that he invited his dad’s side of the family, he hadn’t seen one of them stop by yet. “Flights across the ocean are really hard to get around Christmas,” she assured him. “They probably couldn’t afford it. At least we’ve got cards from most of them.”

Even with her reassurances, Chase couldn’t help but feel disappointed. There was one person he’d really been hoping would show up who hadn’t yet. He was still hoping to see him, though! Maybe he would show up on Christmas Day.

But at least there was stuff to do to distract him from that! Mom and him made gingerbread houses with Schneep, who had never done it before. They showed some of the visiting relatives around the city—Grandma and Grandpa said the nearby church was prettier than any they had back home—and Mom even offered to take the two of them caroling, though they both declined since it didn’t sound interesting. The living room had been decorated and the tree had been put up back near the beginning of the month, but Mom went shopping with both of them so they could buy ornaments for themselves.

“It’s a tradition we’ve always done!” Chase explained. “I get to pick out a new ornament for the tree every year. Mom said that it’s so when I grow up, I have ornaments for my own tree. It’s only fair that you get one too.” This year, Chase picked out an ornament in the shape of a skateboard. Schneep looked at a bunch of ones, almost overwhelmed by how many there were, until he settled on one that looked like a rocket ship.

On the 23rd, it snowed overnight. Mom said that the weather predicted a lot of snow tomorrow and on Christmas too, so Chase insisted that they do fun outdoor stuff today before the storm really rolled in. So, after Mom made some calls, the three of them headed down to the park to meet up with some other family members.

“You should really join in and stuff,” Chase said to Schneep on the car ride there. The two of them were sitting in the back together instead of Chase being in the front. He wasn’t sure when they started sitting together in the car. But he knew this wasn’t the first time. “I don’t think any of the kids in the family really, uh, got to know you much before. Jordan is your age I think. Maybe he’s a year younger.”

“We are the same age, Chase,” Schneep said, grinning.

“...well not exactly,” Chase said defensively.

Schneep laughed. Then he looked out the window at the street. The glass was starting to fog up. “I do not know.. . I think I would not enjoy snowball fights and snow angels. I do not like the cold.”

“Uh well when you move around a lot you don’t feel as cold,” Chase said. “That’s like... science. And also like—Bella and Jordan and the twins and the girls probably don’t know you too good. They might think you’re, like, a nerd.”

Schneep nodded. “I am a nerd.”

“You know what I mean!” Chase sighed. “They won’t know that you’re cool.”

Schneep smiled. “Thank you Chase. But I... I-I do not know if...” He sighed. “I am not good with other kids.”

“You get along with the Jacksons and Jackie and Stacy just fine,” Chase pointed out.

“That is true. But the family feels... different. I should know them, but I feel I do not.” Schneep looked down, kicking his legs for a little. “Chase, can I... ask you a... question? You do not have to answer.”

“Uh, sure.” Honesty, Chase wasn’t sure how to respond to Schneep’s issues, so he welcomed the change.

“Why did your papa leave?”

And now he regretted it. “I... I-I don’t really know,” he said quietly. “Mom and Dad were... They said that they ‘fell out of love’ and that it wasn’t because of me. So... that’s why, I guess.”

He never knew if he believed what Mom told him, though. He often heard the two of them fighting upstairs while he was in the living room playing video games. They didn’t shout, but their voices still carried. He would sit there with his game paused, listening to Mom throw around words like “irresponsible” and “dismissive” and, most importantly, “a bad example for Chase.” Dad would say things like “uptight” and “pressuring” and “it’s not a big deal.” They were fighting about him, in some way. About... how they should take care of him? Something like that. So... he knew it wasn’t really because of him. He hadn’t been a bad kid or anything. But sometimes he thought that, maybe if the two of them didn’t have a kid at all, none of the fighting would have happened.

“We’re here,” Mom announced. Chase jumped in surprise. He forgot she was driving the car for a minute. He wondered if she heard any of what he said.

“Uh—cool!” Chase said, quickly opening up the car door before the car even fully came to a stop. “Come on, Schneep! We can figure out something for you to do!” He undid his seatbelt and hopped out.

“Alright, alright, I am coming!” Schneep undid his own seatbelt, then scooted along the car seat until he was able to climb out the door. “I will follow your lead, unless it is too cold.”

To his credit, Schneep did try to join in, but he clearly wasn’t enjoying the snowball fight so Chase assured him it was fine if he wanted to just sit next to Mom. He did that for a while, but evidently just sitting on a bench was too cold, so he got up again and started walking around, kicking up the snow. Until he decides to make a snowball of his own. And to see how big he could make it by rolling up. Chase soon left the snowball fight to help him, and suggested they make it into a snowman. Schneep had never done that, so Chase took it upon himself to teach him. Soon, they had a three-ball-tall snowman and the other cousins were competing to see if they could make a taller one. In only a couple hours, most of the snow in the park had been rolled up into an army of snowpeople of varying heights and designs, and all the kids were shivering. Mom lured Chase and Schneep into leaving by promising to get them hot chocolate from Zelly’s on the way home.

All in all, Chase thought this was a great start to Christmas. And judging by Schneep’s smile, he thought the same. Tomorrow, the party would begin. Chase couldn’t wait.

++++++++++++++++++++

It was hard to ride a bike through the snow, so JJ ditched the bike on the way back and instead walked alongside it. Christmas Eve morning was cold and crisp. JJ needed a big winter coat to keep warm.

Mam and Dad didn’t know where he was, for once. And he relished that fact. He’d snuck out early that morning, asking Marvin to cover for him if anyone asked. “Huh? Where are you going?” Marvin had asked. JJ just replied that he wanted to be alone for a little bit, and that was hard to do while in their house. Marvin blinked, probably not entirely understanding why JJ would want that right now, but he nodded and said he’d pretend JJ was still in their room if anyone asked. JJ ran into Granmam for a moment when getting his bike, but she said nothing, only smiled and wished him a happy holiday.

Even when biking, the doll followed him. His bike had a basket in the front—he’d wanted it so he could put his bag there, but he’d deliberately left his bag behind for once, only taking the cell phone in his pocket. Nevertheless, when he let his attention wander to the side for a bit, the doll appeared in the basket, wearing a small version of his winter coat. Frustrated, JJ shoved his coat into the basket, hiding it from view. He tried to forget about it for the rest of the bike ride. But eventually he had to get off and walk.

He hadn’t been fond of Christmas for a while. When he was younger, he remembered it being so exciting, but over time, both he and Marvin got tired of seeing it everywhere for two months straight. And, just like with their birthday, they both became... aware, over time, of how... their parents got them different things. And how it was never really what they wanted. That really killed their enthusiasm for the holiday. And also, the two of them were never too keen on the celebrations their parents insisted on. Church was boring, opening presents took too long, and dinner was good but always a bit awkward. All of this, combined with the doll issue he’d been facing recently, and he’d almost been dreading Christmas. He just... he had to get out of the house for a little bit. He had to think.

But he couldn’t stay out all day. Not just because it was cold. He didn’t want to make Marvin cover for him all day. And lunchtime was approaching, which is when Mam and Dad would start to ask the most questions. He had to get back before then.

He turned his bike onto the street where their house was, walking down it towards home. A couple cars passed by, but besides him, there were no pedestrians on the street. No, wait. That wasn’t exactly true. He could see a couple of people lingering near the front of one of the houses.

...That was his house. There were people standing in front of his house.

JJ stopped walking for a moment, freezing, unsure what to do. Who were they? Part of the Circle? He stood in place for a moment until the cold started to bite at his coatless arms, and then he started to walk again, mind scrambling to come up with what to do if some of the Circle people tried to command him to do something.

But... no, wait. The pair of people weren’t adults, they were just teenagers. About Jackie’s age, maybe a bit older. The Circle wouldn’t let teenagers join, would they? So it’s probably not them. But still, that begs the question: why were a couple of teenagers hanging out by his house? Were they friends of Jackie’s? JJ couldn’t remember what Jackie’s friends looked like off the top of his head, but he didn’t think this was them.

As he approached, he noticed something. One of the teenagers was speaking in sign language. Huh. That was... unusual. He’d never heard of any teenagers who knew BSL. And while he clearly didn’t know everyone who spoke in sign—that was just absurd—he couldn’t help but think that he would have heard of someone like that. If only from other teachers in school mentioning it. There was only one secondary school in Hollewych, after all, all the kids would be taught there eventually.

He gave the two teenagers a look-over as he kept walking closer. They were both guys, both with dark hair. One was wearing a lot of black, with sleeves that had white stripes on them, and even a streak of black in his hair. The other was wearing a blue t-shirt over a white button-up, and had some sort of necklace or pendant. He was soon able to hear and see their conversation. “...won’t be any, like, consequences for this?” asked the one in black.

If we’re very careful, the one in blue replied.

“I dunno, like, it sounds a bit risky.”

Well we’re already here.

“We can just fucking leave. It’s so easy to not do something.”

Look, honestly, I think there will be more problems if we don’t do this. It’s going to start opening up questions if memories don’t line up, you know?

“Hmm... yeah, I gue—oh shit!” The one in black saw JJ approaching and jumped in surprise, staring at him with blatant shock. The one in blue spun around and looked at JJ with that same expression.

JJ walked up next to them, looking back and forth between the two teenagers. Now that he was closer to them, they looked a bit familiar. He wasn’t sure where he knew them from, though. Maybe he just saw them around school? He decided to be blunt. Why are you outside my house? he asked.

“Uh—well, uh—” The teenager in black hesitated. “...fuck, we didn’t actually come up with what we were gonna say.”

The one in blue laughed. Maybe YOU didn’t, but I’VE been thinking about this for a while.

“Well of course you have, fucking...” The one in black started to grumble.

The teenager in blue reached up and took off his pendant, briefly looping his arm through it while he signed. This is going to be very hard to believe, but we’re here to help you. You and your friends are currently dealing with a group called the Circle, right? And some annoying guy named Anti?

JJ started. How do you know that?

It’s hard to explain, and I don’t know if you’ll believe us, anyway, the one in blue continued. But we really are here to help. We know that something is going to happen tonight. This could help with that. He held up the pendant.

...What is that? JJ asked, eyes narrowed.

I’ve left some instructions for you on the inside, the one in blue said. I think it’s easiest if you read those. You’ll know when to use it.

JJ frowned. He didn’t like how vague these guys were being.

“Uh... J—my friend?” The teenager in black tapped his friend’s shoulder. Or—actually they were probably family. No, they were definitely family. They looked a lot alike. “Maybe explain a bit more?”

Well how do I do that without sounding crazy or threatening? The one in blue asked.

“Uhhhh...”

Exactly.

So, you want me to take that necklace thing? JJ asked, looking at it warily.

The one in blue nodded. You don’t have to. Here. He walked over to the front door and put the pendant down, inside an empty flowerpot (Mam always said she was going to put plants in there but all that ever went in was dirt). Then he walked back over. You don’t have to pick it up if you don’t want to. The two of us will be back here around ten thirty to pick it up from that same spot. If you don’t want to use it, just leave it. If you do, just remember to put it back by that time. You should be back home by then, if I remember correctly. Understand?

JJ blinked. Back home? From what? Was he going somewhere? He didn’t have any plans to. Christmas Eve was blessedly less busy than Christmas Day. You said you knew that something was going to happen tonight, JJ recalled. How?

The one in blue hesitated, so the one in black jumped in. “Look, it’s complicated, and we don’t even know how much we can tell you before fucking weird shit starts happening. It’s greenlight stuff.”

You know about greenlight?!

“We know about a lot of shit,” the one in black said. “Now. The longer we’re here, the bigger the chance that Mam and Dad might see us. And that’ll make shit weird.” He glanced at the front windows of the house nervously.

You don’t have to do anything you do want to, the one in blue said. Not just with this situation. With any situation. You can do what YOU want. He smiled, the expression unusually soft. Things will get better with time.

JJ just stared at him. He looked at the other teenage boy. The two of them really, really looked like each other. And they seemed to know what was going to happen. No... surely they couldn’t be... A lot of weird stuff has happened but that must be impossible...

“We’re, uh—gonna go now.” The one in black grabbed the one in blue’s arm. “See you!”

We’ll be back at ten thirty! the one in blue said quickly. Goodbye! Good luck!

And with that, the two of them ran off down the street, dodging patches of ice and snow. JJ stared at them until they suddenly ducked into the gap between two houses. He saw a faint flash of green light. And then nothing more.

...Somehow, that was the strangest thing he’d experienced yet.

He turned back to the house, walking over to the rain gutter and chaining his bike there next to Marvin’s before hurrying up the front step. The flowerpot sat there. Totally normal. He crouched next to it and looked at the pendant curled up inside, on top of the small layer of dirt and snow. The pendant was silver, totally circular. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached in and picked it up, sticking it in his pocket. If he was right about who those guys were, he should probably trust them. And besides, they weren’t pushy about what they wanted him to do. He liked that. So he felt he should at least check out what this thing was.

Upon heading inside, he immediately locked onto the sound of voices from the second floor. He froze for a moment, panic surging through his heart. That was Mam and Dad and Marvin. They were talking. Did they notice he wasn’t in his room?

Granmam poked her head out of the kitchen. “Scared of the stairs, lad?” She asked. “I don’ blame ye, given the birthday incident. Want me to walk up with ye?”

JJ nodded. He’d take any support right now. He hung his winter coat up on the coat rack, then together, he and Granmam walked up the stairs to the second story.

Mam and Dad were standing in the narrow hallway, looking at Marvin, who was standing in front of their closed bedroom door. Just the three of them was enough to block the hallway going forward. “—very important that both of you know the Christmas schedule,” Dad was saying, emphasizing his point.

“Well you can tell me, and I’ll tell him, that’s so easy!” Marvin said with the air of someone who’d been saying the same thing over and over and gotten nowhere with it.

“It’s much easier if we tell you both at the same time,” Dad replied, with that same air. “That way, nothing gets lost or forgotten.”

“It’s the same schedule as every year anyway!” Marvin folded his arms. “I don’t wanna argue anymore! I’ll just tell JJ, you don’t always have to talk to him!”

“I—Now—Listen here, young man,” Dad stammered, also folding his arms. “You don’t understand the value of—”

Granmam cleared her throat. All three family members turned to look at her and JJ. “Oh, um—Yeah I forgot! JJ wasn’t even in the room!” Marvin improvised. “He went down to—to—Granmam wanted to talk to him!”

“Oh my—Mam.” The boys’ mam sighed. “You couldn’ have said something?”

“T’is is me sayin’ somet’ing,” Granmam said, chuckling. “I jus’ wanted to ask the lads if t’ere was anyt’ing they wanted to do today, and JJ was the only one who came down the stairs. But I can’ blame Marvin for t’at—I would be worried around the stairs too, in his situation.” She stared at Mam and Dad very deliberately. “Wouldn’ ye also cut him some slack?”

Mam and Dad glanced at each other, looking a bit embarrassed. “Well... we just wanted everyone to be on the same page for Christmas,” Dad said awkwardly. “It’s easiest to discuss it with the whole family.”

“You two must’ve been talking for a while,” Mam said. “What about?”

“Oh you know, all the lads’ little friends,” Granmam said, smiling down at JJ and Marvin—though not too far down, JJ realized with a start. When did he and Marvin get so tall?

“Yeah, uh—Chase is having a Christmas party tonight!” Marvin said. “And we—want to go!”

JJ’s mouth dropped open. He stared at Marvin in shock. Had he lost his fucking mind?! They couldn’t just say that! What if their parents said no and didn’t let them hang out with the others at all from then on?! Marvin glanced back at him and subtly signed, Sorry, panic.

Mam blinked in surprise. “JJ, is this true?”

JJ didn’t answer, mind scrambling for what to say.

“Come on, JJ,” Granmam urged gently.

“Yes, tell us what you feel,” Mam said.

He felt that weird spell from the doll kick in immediately after Mam said that. Against his will, his hands began to sign. I really like Chase and Henrik and Jackie and Stacy and I want to spend part of Christmas with them instead of having it all be here. And I’m scared you won’t let me go see them because you want me in pictures or something else that happens every year. These are our first real friends and I think it’s more important to be with them for our first Christmas together than it is to do more of the same things we always do that never change.

The rest of the family was dead quiet as he signed. And the silence continued even after he was done. He looked back and forth between Mam and Dad, suddenly pale. Why did he say that? Why did he say any of that? The only good thing about any of that was that the compulsion only made him say what he was currently thinking, and didn’t force him to spill all his feelings. Even so—Mam and Dad would be mad about all of that, wouldn’t they?

“...well, then,” Mam said awkwardly, glancing at Dad. “I suppose... socializing is important.”

“Bet on my bollocks it’s important!” Granmam said.

“Mam!” Despite their mother’s shocked gasp, Marvin and JJ grinned and had to hold back laughter. Luckily, their parents either didn’t notice or didn’t care enough to chastise them.

“The lad just said it was their first friends,” Granmam continued. “They deserve t’spend some holiday time with them!”

“Well surely it’s not their first friends,” Dad said. “They get invited to all sorts of birthday parties.” Evidently he didn’t realize that they hadn’t been invited to a party since they were seven. “But... I guess they’ve never gone to someone’s house for Christmas... It might be a refreshing experience. What sort of party is it?”

“Uh... it’s for his family,” Marvin said awkwardly. “So like—there will be a lot of adults there, and stuff.”

“Hmm. A lot of supervision.” Mam nodded approvingly. “Are they going to serve dinner?”

“Um... I dunno. JJ, do you know?”

JJ shook his head. Chase hadn’t mentioned anything like that.

“Surely there will be dinner, Emma,” Dad said to Mam. “Who hosts a party for Christmas Eve and doesn’t serve dinner?”

“I suppose it will be less cooking, then...” Mam mused. “Alright. If you get permission from Chase and his mother, you can go over for the evening. As long as you’re back by your school holiday bedtime.”

Marvin made a fist pump, unintentionally sending a few greenlight sparks into the air. JJ jumped, glancing around nervously, but none of the adults seemed to see that. “Thank you!” Marvin said. “JJ, call them right fu—well I mean message them, but also, I wanna talk too, so—I-I don’t know! Contact them right freaking now!”

JJ smiled a little bit. He nodded, taking the phone out of his pocket. Then he inched past everyone else in the hallway, reaching for the bedroom door.

“Oh sorry.” Marvin scooted out of the way.

“We do still have to go over the Christmas schedule,” Dad said.

Let us reach our friends first, to be sure we can go, JJ said.

“Hmm. Good point, son.” Dad nodded, smiling approvingly. He patted JJ’s shoulder. “We’ll wait to hear from them.”

JJ smiled weakly back, and went into their bedroom.

Despite him leaving the doll in his bike basket, it was sitting on his bed when he walked in.

++++++++++++++++++++

“...huh.” Chase looked at the text he just got from JJ. Then he looked up, scanning the living room. The Christmas party was going to start soon. Well, technically it already started but only Grandma and Grandpa were here so far, Grandma sitting on the sofa next to Chase and Grandpa having claimed the armchair. There were some folding chairs set up around the perimeter of the living room for more visitors, since there weren’t enough seats in the living room normally. “Mom? Where’d you go?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” Mom called.

“Okay!” Chase got up from the sofa. Grandma gave him a friendly wave as he went into the kitchen.

Mom was busy setting up the snacks. The other family members had been asked to bring some food as well, so she was leaving spaces for their stuff. So far, there was only a platter of cheese and crackers and a mound of jello. Schneep was in here too, looking at the red gelatin with fascination. “Hey, sweets, what’s up?” Mom asked.

“I got a text message from JJ and Marvin,” Chase said, holding up his phone. “They want to come over for the party. Can they?”

“The Jackson twins?” Mom said. “Sure, they can come. They have to be prepared to stand, though, I don’t think we have many seats to spare, especially if more family members show up.”

“Cool!” Chase grinned. “Oh, can I invite Jackie or Stacy, then? We can all do stuff with the cousins!”

“Sure, but you have to be prepared for them having plans of their own,” Mom said. “Jackie might be having a Christmas party of his own, and Stacy might have plans with her family.”

“Got it! I’ll message them all!” Chase started with typing a reply to the twins. Mom says yes so you can! Then he paused. “Oh, uh... when should they come over?”

“Whenever they want, don’t worry about it,” Mom said.

Chase nodded and added that. “You don’t mind them coming over, do you, Henrik?”

“Hmm? Ah, no, I would like them to be here.” Schneep tore his attention away from the jello to look at Chase. “I hope they do not feel too awkward surrounded by all our family.”

“Eh, they can leave if they want.” Chase finished up his message and sent it, then looked up at Schneep. “Why are you staring at the jello by the way?”

“I have not seen it in person before,” Schneep said. “Or not one so big. Sometimes Mama would let me have those little cups as a treat. I liked the red ones.”

Mom smiled. “Strawberry, right? That’s what this one is too.”

“Is there enough for everyone?”

“There’s enough for you to have a big slice,” Mom assured him.

Schneep smiled up at her, then looked over at Chase. “Should we have gotten presents for all our friends?”

Chase’s eyes widened. “You’re asking me that now? On Christmas Eve? It’s too late to go shopping!”

“Well I did not expect to see them until after the holidays! I thought that we could go shopping afterwards!”

Mom laughed. “Don’t worry about it, you two. At your age, you don’t really get friends Christmas gifts. But you should start to think about it soon. If you guys are really concerned about it, we could get them a little thing. Soap, maybe. Or candles.”

Chase groaned. “I don’t think any of them would like soap or candles.”

“Well, Marvin might, they seem witch-like,” Schneep said.

“Just think about it,” Mom said. “No pressure. Like Henrik said, we can go shopping after Christmas.”

Chase’s phone pinged with a new message. He checked it. Great! We’ll be there around 4 then! =)

Sounds good! Chase replied. “Mom, they’ll be here around four o’clock.”

“Got it.” Mom nodded. “Now go on and ask your other friends.”

“Yep.”

After a few minutes, Jackie and Stacy both said they would stop by for the party. Though Jackie said that he would stop by closer to dinner, and Stacy said she would come over around 3, so they wouldn’t all arrive at the same time. But that was fine. The family was also arriving at different times, though Chase knew that soon the house would be bursting full of people.

Over time, that guess proved to be true. Uncle Terry and Aunt Eva were next to arrive after Grandma and Grandpa, bringing with them all their kids. Theo and Tommy, the younger cousins, saw all of Chase’s consoles and begged him to play some video games with them. He showed them some of the multiplayer party games they had, mostly Mario Party. Bella and Jordan also wanted to play, so Chase essentially got kicked out of using his own console since there were only four players. He didn’t mind, though. It was fun to just watch them go crazy trying all the minigames.

Stacy did show up around three, shortly after Uncle Bob and Aunt Kathy. She looked around, seeming a bit lost. “Hey! Stacy!” Schneep shouted, and he and Chase ran over to greet her.

“Sorry, I know it’s crowded,” Chase said, laughing. “You can take your shoes off here if you want, or leave them on, the grown-ups like to keep them on, I dunno why. Oh! And your coat, of course! Put it in this closet!”

“Hey guys,” Stacy said, taking off her white puffy coat and kicking off her pink boots. “Is this all your family?”

“On Mom’s side, yeah, almost all of them,” Chase said. “There’s just two more coming, our cousins Corinne and Maddie and Maddie’s uhhh... what was that word, again?”

“Fiance,” Schneep said.

“Right yeah. Her boyfriend who’s gonna be her husband. So three more people.”

“Wow. Your family’s a lot smaller than mine,” Stacy said. 

Chase shrugged. “Well, like I said, this is just Mom’s side. Dad’s side is a lot bigger but they live all over.” He tried to not sound disappointed that none of them had bothered to fly out to visit them.

“We still have a pretty big family, I think,” Schneep said. “My Papa’s side of the family only had my Opa.”

“What’s that word mean?” Stacy asked curiously.

“Oh, grand-papa,” Schneep said. He paused. “I wonder if I should send him a card for Christmas... he was always very nice when I saw him. But, ah, h-he could not—His house was not good for children, so we... did not see him often.” Another pause. “I-I will ask Aunt Jess about the card later. F-for now, ah—” He looked at Chase for help.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to our cousins!” Chase said. “You’ll like Bella, I think!”

“Bella?” Stacy leaned to the side. “Oh good! I’m not gonna be the only girl here!”

The cousins immediately took to Stacy, though as expected, she and Bella bonded quickly over being the only two girls of the same age in the house. They immediately started talking about something called Bratz that Chase thought sounded boring but maybe it was a girl thing? Corinne, Madison, and Zeke arrived soon after that, and Stacy seemed happy to meet the older girls too. At one point, Schneep nudged Chase and chuckled, “Stacy looks at Corinne the same way you look at Jackie.”

“What? What does that mean?” Chase asked.

“Like they are the coolest person ever.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Chase grumbled. Though they did seem to be getting along.

JJ and Marvin showed up after that. Marvin had his cape on over his coat. “Hey guys!” Chase greeted. “Come on in! Put your coats in the closet and take your shoes off over here if you want.”

The twins did so—though JJ did so first, stiffening and following the directions robotically. “Duuude your family is so much bigger than ours!” Marvin said. “We just have Mam and Dad and Granmam pretty much.”

“Really? Wow. Stacy said earlier that our family was small.”

“Well I mean everyone is different, aren’t they? When we went to visit Jackie for his birthday he had a bunch of family there and there were more people there than here.”

Thank you so much for letting us come to the party, JJ said. Today was a bad day.

“You were having a bad day?” Stacy said, walking over with Schneep just in time to catch the sign. “I’m sorry. What happened?”

Just a bunch of stuff, JJ said vaguely.

“Oh come on, tell us!” Chase encouraged.

JJ immediately began signing. I’ve been having a bunch of bad feelings about how much this doll stuff sucks, especially with my parents always wanting me to do exactly what they say—

“You do not have to tell us!” Schneep hurriedly said. “If you do not want to!”

“Oh, shoot!” Chase winced. “Sorry JJ!”

JJ sighed, stopping his signing. See, this is what I mean. It’s so frustrating. I was getting bored of Christmas anyway but this is making everything really bad.

“It’s really shitty,” Marvin agreed.

“Well uh... maybe the party will make you feel better?” Chase offered awkwardly. “Our cousins are getting bored of Mario Party.” As he said that, Theo and Tommy started running around, eventually going upstairs. “Yeah, see?” Chase glared up after them. “Hey! You better not be going into our rooms!”

Schneep laughed. “I will go make sure they do not. You all can play video games if you want.” He headed upstairs.

“We always play video games while we’re here, do you guys have anything else?” Marvin asked.

“Uhhh we have cards?” Chase suggested. “We could do a card game? Maybe with the others?”

Marvin looked at JJ. JJ nodded. “Sounds great!” Marvin said excitedly.

The group of kids spent the next little while with card and board games at the dining room table, though they had to clear out after a while as the adults started setting it for dinner. Only then did they return to playing video games. They were halfway through a Mario Party game when Jackie arrived. “Jackie!!” All the kids shouted at once, even JJ signing his name as they all rushed over to greet him.

“Whoa! Hey, little guys!” Jackie laughed, shaking off some powdery snow from his reddish-brown coat. “There’s a storm starting up out there. I’m probably gonna be staying here for a bit longer than I wanted, don’t really want to drive in that.”

“Hey Jackie!” Mom smiled at him from the dining room entrance. “Good to see you made it! We were putting a plate out for you.”

Jackie waved. “Thanks for having me!”

“Your dad is fine with this? You don’t want to spend some time together?”

“He said he could go to a work party while I hung out here, we’ll probably be home at around the same time.” Jackie shrugged. “What are you guys having?”

They were having turkey (which Mom and Grandma had been working on basically all day), pork, mashed potatoes, rolls, some vegetables, the jello, and Aunt Kathy had brought some pies for dessert. There wasn’t enough room for everyone at the dining room table, so a card table was set up in the living room, and even then, there wasn’t enough room. The kids and Jackie decided they’d rather sit huddled around the coffee table to eat instead of fighting for space at the two tables. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but they didn’t mind.

Jackie brought his camera with him, and throughout dinner, he took pictures of the kids and the party. This continued as the party went on, with everyone snacking on the desserts and playing more games, both video games and cards.

“Oh hey, by the way, JJ, I was wondering,” Jackie said, looking at the last picture he took. “What’s that chain coming out of your pocket?”

JJ glanced down, mildly surprised. Not at the chain itself. More like, surprised at seeing it falling out of his pocket. He grabbed the chain and pulled it out, laying it on the table. It’s a weird pendant I got earlier.

Marvin blinked. “When did you get that?”

It’s a strange story... JJ told the others how he got the pendant as quickly as he could.

“Two teenage guys?” Chase repeated. “Do you know either of those guys, Jackie? JJ said they looked around your age.”

Jackie shook his head. “I don’t think so. That’s a pretty vague description of them, but I think I’d remember a guy who also used sign language.”

JJ nodded. That’s what I thought. 

Schneep stared at him. “Do... did you have some idea of who they were?”

It sounds crazy, but... I think I do. You guys have to promise you won’t laugh, but I think—

There was a knock at the front door.

“One second!” Mom called, leaving the dining room and hurrying over. 

The kids all watched, curious, as she did that. Chase had told the visitors earlier that no other family was expected to come. He perked up. But maybe—it was an unexpected visitor? Maybe from the other side of the family. Excited and curious, he got up and ran over to the front door—

But it wasn’t who he thought it’d be. There were four people on the front step outside. All grown-ups. Chase didn’t recognize three of them, but there was one he did: it was one of the doctors from the basement. One of the ones who’d almost poured Marvin’s blood into the Fissure. Chase froze.

“Oh, hey Chase.” Mom looked down at him. “Is everything alright?”

“Wh-what’re they doing here?” Chase stammered.

“I was about to ask that myself. Apparently they’re not just here to visit for the holiday.” Mom turned back to the strangers. “Is there anything we can help you with? We’re a bit busy with a party.”

One of the strangers reached into his pocket and pulled out—is that a badge?! “We need to search your premises, I’m afraid,” he said. “There’s a chance that there are dangerous goods inside.”

“What?!” Mom gasped. “Dangerous—but I’ve—we’ve never gotten involved in anything illegal!”

At that shout, many of the guests inside turned their attention to the doorway. Chase quickly ran back to the coffee table where the rest of the gang was. “What is it?” Stacy hissed.

“There’s people saying that there’s dangerous stuff in here!” Chase hissed back. “And one of them is one of the dark doctors! From the secret hospital basement!”

Marvin’s face immediately turned paper white. “Wh-what? What are they doing here?”

“I don’t know! I think they want to come in?”

“Well don’t fucking let them!”

“How?!”

“I don’t know! Tell your mom to kick them out!”

Jackie frowned. “If they have a warrant, then she has to let them in, no matter what. It’s the law. She could get in trouble for breaking it.”

JJ shivered. He picked the pendant up off the table again. Those teenagers had said he’d know when to use it. Maybe... was this the time? He just had to figure out how to open this.

After a brief talk, Mom stepped to the side, and the strangers walked into the room. “You’ll really find nothing in here, I promise,” she was saying. “Please, try not to disturb the guests. They’ve all traveled so far to be there for our family.”

Schneep looked over at the four strangers, then ducked down, dragging the others with him. “Should we go hide or something?!” he whisper-shouted.

“I think they’ve already seen us!” Chase whisper-shouted back. “It’ll look suspicious if we leave.”

Mom was still talking. “—the four of you could split up, if you want, I’m sure that will speed things up.”

The doctor frowned. “The four of us?”

Suddenly, one of the strangers turned white—she didn’t suddenly go pale the way Marvin did earlier, she turned white, hair and clothes included. And then—she bursts.

A blizzard erupted in the middle of the living room. Screams filled the air. JJ found himself flung backwards until he hit a cabinet by the TV and slumped to the ground. DVDs and games clattered on top of him. The room was suddenly freezing. JJ squinted through the white storm that was filling the room. He could see Schneep nearby, trying to stand up, but a layer of ice was spreading across his legs, sealing them together. “W-what is this?!” Schneep gasped.

Some tall figure ran forward, only to get their head snapped backwards. They fell to the ground and didn’t get up again. Ice was growing over the furniture. People were shouting in alarm as they were frozen to the floor and chairs they were sitting on.

This must be it! If there’s any time to use the pendant, this is it! JJ turned around, putting his back to the rest of the room, and fumbled at the seam he’d noticed in the pendant with numbing fingers. The pendant popped open—revealing that it wasn’t actually a pendant at all. It was... a watch? Like an old fashioned pocket watch.

A piece of folded paper fell out, and JJ quickly scooped it up before the ice froze it to the snow-covered floor. He unfolded it and read a note in familiar handwriting. Turn the minute hand back and press the button at the top of the watch to activate the power. Maximum time is an hour. You cannot use it again until you get back to the time you used it. If you concentrate, your friends will remember, too. Good luck. - You-Know-Who

Yes, with the familiarity of this handwriting, he did, indeed, know who had written the note and given him this watch.

Someone screamed. JJ’s head snapped up. Was that Chase?! Bright greenlight was flashing through the air. Was that Marvin?! He could see a tall figure helping a small one, and a pair of pink glasses frozen to the coffee table. His own legs were being bitten by ice. He had to hurry!

Without really thinking, repeatedly mouthing the words Let my friends remember, he pushed the minute hand on the watch back about fifteen minutes. Then he pressed the button at the top, where the chain looped through a metal ring on the top of the watch—

Everything went dark. JJ felt the rush of wind around him, and something tugged on his stomach, like a rope was suddenly wrapped around it and someone yanked on it.

And then, he was back sitting at the coffee table.

“What the fuck?!” Marvin gasped. “How—what—huh?!”

“H-holy shit!” Jackie stood up and looked around. The guests at the party all stared at him, confused. “Um—”

“What just... happened?” Stacy said quietly.

Chase patted himself down, looking at his chest with alarm. “Huh?!”

Schneep blinked. Then he looked at JJ. “What is that? You are holding the—the locket thing?”

JJ looked around the room. Everything was... the same. The strangers were not in the room, and most of the plates from dinner hadn’t even been cleared up. He glanced down at the watch in his hand. Part of the clock face had turned pale green. About a quarter of it. It started at the spot where the minute hand currently was, and ended at the spot where the minute hand was before he turned it back.

Turned it... back...

This is a time travel device! JJ said excitedly.

“It’s a wha-huh?” Chase blinked.

JJ stood up. Let’s all talk about this upstairs, away from everyone else.

“Okay!” Marvin nodded and also stood up. “Come on, everyone, we’re going upstairs.”

Jackie’s eyes were wide. “Holy... oh my fucking god,” he breathed.

Quick! JJ said.

The rest of the kids all got up. Without saying anything to anyone else, they all headed for the stairs.

What just happened... had never actually happened. Not anymore. But they knew it could. Now, they could figure out how to deal with it.

Maybe this would be a good Christmas after all.

[madhatterbri]

Christmas/ New Year Prompts

Good morning, afternoon, and evening everyone,

Today is December 1st. Let's get those creative juices flowing!!! Thanks to my friends 🫶 for major help with the list. I will add more as I think about them.

Any and all fanfic writers are welcomed to join just please tag me so I can read it.

Please see the prompts below:

1.) First kiss under the mistletoe

2.) Playing in the snow together (snowball fight, sledding, building a snowman)

3.) Ice skating

4.) Sex by/in front of a fireplace

5.) Driving or walking around looking at Christmas lights together

6.) Christmas morning proposal

7.) Getting snowed in and can’t leave the house

8.) Christmas movie marathon (either actually watching the movies or getting spicy together instead)

9.) taking a vacation somewhere to escape the cold weather

10.) First Christmas together

11.) Camping in the great outdoors

12.) Role-playing in bed as a Christmas character 😂

13.) Being comforted during the holidays since its the first one without them here

14.) Perhaps a little adult time before the kids open their presents

15.) Adult time while the kids are asleep to celebrate the New Years

17.) Secret Santa idea where your name has a crush on another person and their best friend rigs it so they gift each other

18.) One of them sucks at gift wrapping

19.) Invited to a Christmas party (work, friends, maybe your ex will be there) and you beg the other person to be your date

20.) A couple broken up get Invited to a Christmas party.

21.) Your sibling, cousin, etc. is a huge fan and wants to meet the person you are dating/ friends with

22.) Christmas decorations (competing or putting up together)

23.) Bake cookies together

24.) Last Christmas your name gave their heart and the next day they gave it away

25.) Your name returns to their hometown and sees the person they left behind

26.) Friends dare you to kiss at midnight

27.) Morning after New Years (regret? Excitement?)

28.) New Years Eve on a boat watching the fireworks from there

29.) New Year proposal

30.) Bringing someone to a friend's new years eve party to not look lonely in front of your ex

31.) You swore someone off last year but now it's the new year so it shouldn't be too bad being in their bed, right?

32.) You both couldn't afford much for Christmas this year but at least you have each other. ❤️

33.) You are stressed about Christmas/ Eve meal and they comfort you.

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

What would be the RO's dream wedding? When, where and what kind of ceremony would they want with the MC? Will it be small or large? Curious to know all about them lol!

Hey Chaotic!

Cassandra: She would like a outdoor wedding, extravagant yet simple (one of those rustic looking weddings that look affordable but in truth were expensive). She would like to keep it a small wedding with select people attending, her dad of course and maybe a few social peers so she can show off how happy she is to other socialites.

Valeria: Small town church wedding with all of the food, pastries, and the cake made by her family. EVERYONE is invited so expect a crowd. She wouldn't want to spend too much money so she would like to prepare everything herself (read: force family to help) and hand make decorations and flower arrangements. Would like to have a beach wedding but that's more of a personal fantasy, those are expensive.

Tomás: Grand cathedral wedding, fit for royalty. While he personally wouldn't mind living a simple life, that fact that he comes from old money tends to show on huge events of his life. He wants it grand and memorable to everyone so he can brag how much he is willing to do for his beloved. Huge wedding venue with very few people allowed to attend, the grandness is for his and his lovers pleasure; everyone else can kick rocks. Will talk smack about how amazing the wedding was and then be like, "Oh yeah you wouldn't know because you weren't invited." It's revenge for everyone looking down on him and calling his a dog like his dad for years because of what his father did.

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Ludovica: Small private wedding, the details don't really matter. The last time she was a bride was extravagant but miserable, this time she just wants her lover and nothing else. She would honestly be content to just elope. If MC wanted a bigger wedding she would prefer to have a loving riverbank wedding, heartfelt decorations and meaningful music playing. Still would want very little people to attend.

Aurelio: Sigh.

Glitz, glamour, galore. The amount of money this thing would cost could pay off the United States national debt. I could see this bastard renting out the grand colosseum and inviting everyone in Romandi, rich or poor. This event is going down in history, the day this dog finally settled down. It's a very joyous occasion, only the very best food and music money can buy.

Elio: Lmao, your lucky if you even get him to agree to getting married. Whatever MC wants honestly.