#and I didn't know how to reconnect him with Nina

[simwithsparkles]

Nick, Margo and their parents. 

[sturniololuv08]

The Game Part Two (Matt - PG)

Song: My Favourite Game - The Cardigans

Tumblr: @kirby0strombolli

She decided she wasn't going to lose her favorite game, instead she was going to have to bend the rules a little bit. She just wasn't sure how.

"So, how was Chris?" Lizzie asked as they reconnected in the middle of the ongoing party.

"Amazing. I think he likes me." She fibbed. She wasn't sure how to own up to her mistaking his identity. She didn't want to own up to it until she knew how to get to the real Chris' attention. She never even got that other boy's name.

"I guess we'll see tomorrow," Lizzie said coyly.

"What is tomorrow?" She asked her friend.

"Nate invited all of us to go to his lake house. I told him we would go. And you know who Nate is best friends with." Lizzie nudged her friend expecting her to be excited. Of course, Nina was far from excited. If Chris was there there was a good chance he would bring his brother along ruining any chance she had with him.

"Great." Her sarcasm went unnoticed. Nina and Lizzie went back to her house after the party died down. She was relieved she never ran back into that random boy for the rest of the party. While Lizzie and Nina spent the rest of their night looking for clothes to wear tomorrow the love-struck boy was also trying to prepare to see the school's most popular girl again.

"There is no way Nina was into you." Nick laughed. Nick wasn't Chris' level of popularity but he knew Nina was still out of his younger brother's league.

"I swear. She came right up to me and told me she liked me." Matt remembered her body grinding on him. He purposely left that part out of his story. Even though he wasn't versed in women like Chris, he still felt he did good at kissing her. His body wanted more of Nina. Not once did he ever think the school's most eligible bachelorette would have been into him. He was pretty sure, up until now, she didn't even know his name.

"She probably was drunk." Chris scoffed. He was well aware of who Nina was. The type of girl she was. He knew she played guys and was never held down for long. Not worth his time.

"Yeah, you are right." Matt felt a little saddened by the possible truth. He got a little excited at the thought of someone being interested in him. Chris always stole every girl that came their way. Not on purpose just naturally. They all gravitated towards his charm and outgoing self. Looks didn't make much of a difference because they all looked alike. The only way to tell them apart was Nick having a nose ring and Chris being loud. Matt was just there.

"I guess we will see tomorrow. Nate is having a small get-together at his lake house." Chris rubbed Matt's shoulders trying to hype him up. But now after talking with his brothers Matt was only worried he was going to get rejected in front of everyone.

"Great," Matt said sarcastically. Chris didn't notice it but Nick did.

"I'll see you fellas tomorrow," Chris announced to them and went to his room to go to sleep. Matt spent the whole night overthinking, tossing, and turning.

The next morning Nina woke up with Lizzie all in her personal space. It was her turn to overthink. She desperately wanted to ask Lizzie for advice but she didn't like admitting her mistake, even to her best friend.

"Liz." She stirred awake.

"Huh?" She looked at her phone to see the time was in the afternoon.

"I made a mistake last night." She had to own up before she was publicly embarrassed at the lake house.

"Chris isn't all your hopes and dreams anymore?" Her friend was hardly awake but already making jokes.

"More like not the guy I was with last night..." Nina cringed. She hated the feeling of messing up. Lizzie sat straight up.

"Who were you with?"

"I don't know he looked just like Chris. Said he was his brother or something."

"Matt, dorky doesn't know anything about talking to girls, pussy dries up when he walks in the room, Matt?" She was astonished.

"So you know him?" Nina wanted to learn more about her mistake.

"He could be cute..." Lizzie thought aloud to herself. "Wait, you kissed him?" She looked over at her friend.

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Actually? Really good." Nina couldn't lie about that. She remembered grinding on his growing bulge and instantly shivered.

"Wait, you don't want him do you?" Lizzie asked like it would be a problem.

"Of course not. I want Chris but how do I get close to him with my situation." The truth was again hidden from her friend because she had thoughts about the mysterious Matt. She wasn't sure if she liked him the way she liked Chris but she couldn't stop thinking about the innocent boy underneath her body. She was losing her mind thinking about Matt, which made her lose her mind even more because of her feelings for Chris.

"Maybe 'macking on his brother would make him jealous." Liz had a bad idea.

"Actually, though." Nina had an agreeing thought. The girls got ready for the day on the lake by putting on their pre-planned outfits. They grabbed their bags and drove to Nate's place all within the hour. All The boys were already there and hanging out. Nate invited over a few other females who were already fighting over Chris' attention. Matt was fidgeting thinking about his second chance with Nina.

"Just act like Chris and she might like you." Nick was only half encouraging. Matt could only fake a half smile. He looked over to see Chris brushing one of the girl's hair behind her ear. One of his signature moves he used to show he was interested in her. Matt sighed.

"It's game time." Nate walked past him and Nick to a car that was pulling in. He helped a bright blonde out of the driver's side. And then he saw her. She stepped out and flicked her highlighted brown curls behind her shoulder. She was wearing a dark purple bathing suit making her sun-kissed skin look lighter than it was. He couldn't tell where her attention was because of her large sunglasses covering her face. Matt froze. Nina was too good for him.

Nina's attention was split between Chris, the boy she wanted, and Matt, the boy she found herself wanting to know more about. She felt jealous the minute she saw Chris giving a different girl his attention. But then she noticed the shy timid boy who was watching her walk up to the group. The way he watched her so closely was flattering. She made the decision to walk towards Matt. Lizzie said making Chris jealous was the best way to win the game so she was going to see if she could.

"Hey." She said confidently to the wrong boy.

"Hi." He was looking her up and down in the most uncool way. Chris and Nick were surprised at how she picked Matt out of the crowd. It was confirmed to them that Matt must have been telling the truth. He felt a slight confidence boost. The hottest girl in their school wanted him and not Chris. It felt good.

"So everything in the house is fair game. The boat we can use too just not the jet ski. My brother will kill me if we touch his jet ski."  Nate had his arm around Lizzie's lower waist as his other arm gestured wide to the house. Everyone flooded in the front door and Chris disappeared with the rush.

"We should probably go hang out with everyone, yeah?" Matt bit his lip. She nodded knowing it was probably for the best if they hung out in a group setting first. However, she worried about how she was going to feel around Chris. She had pined over Chris for months and she was unsure if she could turn off those feelings in front of everyone. After some random conversations and eating mixed with drinking the group settled on a 'harmless' game of spin the bottle.

"Who is going first?" Nate asked very outgoing.

"I'm not scared." Lizzie spun the newly empty bottle in a circle and watched it land on someone from the lacrosse team. She looked at Nate first and because he seemed unbothered she quickly kissed the guy. Everyone was laughing, including Nate.

"Your turn." Lizzie passed it off to her best friend. She wasn't surprised she was next to go but her true surprise was where the bottle landed. Staring at the glass she followed its direction to meet Chris' gaze. She had waited for this moment for months. She felt herself get tingly in her stomach. Chris slowly crawled toward her. She sat frozen as he passed the sleek glass bottle that put her in her dream position.

"You okay?" He whispered directly in her face. She nodded. She was ready but she wasn't prepared. Chris took her cheek in his hand and pulled her right into him. He collapsed his lips on hers roughly. His face was prickly and she didn't like it. He pressed onto her hard and smacked his lips on and off her mouth creating loud suction noises. She tried to keep up with him but it was hard to. He was rough and unconcerned about her. The tingly sensation she felt in her stomach was long gone and she was more focused on how rough he was. Everyone cheered and she pushed on his chest to get him off of her. She faked a smile so no one knew how she truly felt about her dream kiss. She had wanted that kiss for so long but the only thing she could think of was how much she hated it.

It was someone else's turn to spin and she immediately thought of her kiss from yesterday. The tongue wasn't too aggressive. The long fingers gliding over her shoulders made her feel like everything was okay. She looked at the boy with whom she had shared that kiss. Matt was pissed. He knew Chris was only playing a game but he didn't have to go that hard. He roughed her up in front of everyone and it made him mad. Matt just prayed when it was his turn he got to kiss her. He wanted to feel her lips again. He wanted to show her a real kiss. A few more people spun and everyone was cheering every time. Matt stayed focused. He was silently thinking of a way to rig the bottle to land on her. Luckily no one else's spins landed on her so he was safe there. Chris had kissed almost the whole circle by now. He even kissed Nick on the cheek to save their brother from having to kiss a girl which created laughs from everyone.

"Matt's turn." Chris cheered the attention to his older brother. He hesitantly took the bottle under his palm. All of his pretend math went out the door and he spun it fast. With every circle, the bottle turned Matt couldn't breathe. Everyone watched it in dead silence. It stopped. Nina looked up at Matt and couldn't help but smile. Matt was also smiling. It worked. He started to crawl towards her but after comparing her dream kiss to the kiss she wanted more of, she was eager to kiss him again. She wanted the same feelings she had last night. She met him in the middle of the wide circle. Matt didn't have a chance to ask for permission because she was already leaning into his proximity. She started kissing the dumbstruck boy. Their lips locked together and Matt tucked a strand of hair behind her ear but left his hand holding her cheek softly. He smiled a little to himself but Nina still felt the motion on her lips. She was feeling a tingly sensation building in her gut the more she kissed him the more she found herself wanting him. Nina hadn't won the game, not yet, but the rules had changed.

[necroromantics]

🧺 — Laundry And Taxes

chapter 14. // (masterlist)

(AN: SORRY For the lack of updates, life has been very hectic lately and I haven't been too confident in my writing/story-telling skills so I have been slacking fr. I can't say Ill be posting regularly again, but I AM NOT abandoning the fic. L&T will get its ending eventually, thanks for sticking around 🫡 Enjoy)

The afternoon sun beamed down as a crowd of people swerved around the dramatic scene which had been playing out in the midst of the bustling winter market. The girl, who Toby knew as Nina Hopkins, collapsed into Natalie’s arms, nearly sobbing about how much she had missed them.

“It’s so good to see you two are alive!” Nina spoke out, clinging to Natalie’s body, which had tensed up like a nervous cat.

“You’re causing a scene,” Toby muttered lowly, glancing at the people who were giving strange looks as they passed by the teens.

“Let her do her thing, Toby,” Natalie scolded quietly, patting the girl on the back with an awkward fondness.

Toby shuffled in his place uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his sweater pocket as he waited for the girls to be done with their heartfelt reconnection, secretly hoping to himself that Nina wouldn’t have any tears left for him. The boy looked over the sea of people rushing by, and then down, to see a little boy clinging to Nina’s side. He looked to be about 9 years old, with neat brown hair, and he quietly glanced around with a subtle sort of embarrassment.

“Who the fuck are you?” Toby spoke out at the child, catching his attention, and Nina’s, who glared at the older boy as she slapped his arm.

“That’s my little brother, you jerk.”

“Oh, so that's why he looks like that.”

The group of eccentric teens pushed through the market as they exchanged casual conversation, splitting off from the crowd in the snowy streets of the market, and made their way into the Bulldog Tavern. The atmosphere was a relaxed contrast to the midday busyness of the town outside, and there was no one in the empty tavern but the four youths who sat themselves down around a table. The overhead lights draped over the room, a soft golden glow, shining off of the wooden floorings and bottles of alcohol sitting untouched on the shelf behind the bar. It smelt like rye whiskey and firewood, and only the bubblegum-pitched sound of Nina’s voice rang throughout the room.

She explained that she had found herself in the new world with her back pressed against the same bed she had slept in when she was a teenage girl, in mid-October. Confined by the same poster-filled walls she had once torn down, to escape into the arms of a man who didn't care if she lived or died, in another world. When she found herself back in her mother's house, Nina had come to the understanding that even after she ran away, even after all the atrocities she had seen and done, she hadn't lived a life any different from the one she had lived as a 16 year old girl. She still tied her hair back with ribbons, and she still smudged her mascara. She still wanted to find Jeff, and she still wanted to be loved.

The scars that once etched itself out from the corners of her mouth had washed away, alongside the chemical burns that previously littered her body. Nina rubbed her hand over her arm, a melancholic smile painted onto her teenaged face. She looked softer, healthier, than Toby remembered. The girl radiated the same type of glow as rave lights; flashing, headache-inducing.

Nina explained that as soon as she made an ounce of sense of the world she woke up in, she began to obsessively search for answers.

“So what about Jeff?” Toby blurted out, asking the question Natalie dreaded to ask. Nina blinked for a moment, a layer of uncomfortable silence dancing around the bar, then she awkwardly laughed to herself.

“Oh, yeah, I’m totally over him. I did a ton of digging but couldn't find anything on him, so I don't know if he even exists here. It’s whatever.”

“Well that's a relief. We’re all better off without him here anyways,” Toby said as Nina’s painted nails twiddled with the ends of her hair, which had been tied up with a purple ribbon. He crossed his arms over his chest in irritation as Natalie nudged him to shut his mouth, and leaned into the conversation.

“So what's your plan now?”

“Oh my god, I don't even really have a plan. I just had to get away from my mom and stepdad, and crazy enough, I found out where Clocky stayed, so I took Chris and ended up here.”

The little boy sat silently beside his older sister, looking around at the desolate bar, trying not to think too much about the strange things she had been discussing with the two others who were sitting across the round, walnut-wood table. Nina glanced over at her little brother, placing her cheek on the palm of her hand, as Toby leaned over towards Natalie, and whispered to the girl about how she's too easy to find, which earned him another rough elbow into his side.

“I was actually going to ask if we could, like, stay with you guys for a bit? Just until I get a job!” Nina squeezed her hand closed, and anticipation buried itself onto her sun-browned cheeks, and into her bright eyes. She sounded desperate, maybe a bit hopeful, as she pleaded to her two old friends.

“No.” Toby quickly shut down, before being brushed off by the girl next to him.

“You can stay with us, but with a few conditions.”

Natalie crossed her slender arms atop the table, laying down the rules of their stay as the older boy sulked, sinking angrily into his seat. The conditions were that the siblings both had to enroll in school, help around the house, and Nina had to actively look for a job. All of which, to Toby’s dismay, were ones the eccentric girl across from them agreed to with a wide smile on her face.

The February frost mingled on the worn, decaying front porch step of the small farmhouse, and only the sound of ragged sneakers and winter boots stomping off excess snow spread out over the quiet, white winter fields as the four youths made their way inside. Nina held stars of awe in her eyes as she looked out at the vast countryside property, and a girlish sort of excitement as she followed her friends through the dim hallways of the house, only lit by the sun shining through the icy window panes. Chris followed closely behind, he didn't say anything at all, but he took in the chipped gray-blue wallpaper, the lifted old wooden floorings that squeaked under his weight, and the smell of something dead, like cigarette smoke. There was a strange sense that there had been something lively here once, maybe a family, maybe a boy his age who would run through the halls as his mother cooked dinner, or an elderly couple who never wore their rings, waiting for the day the other passed.

The little boy ran his hand along the walls as he wandered behind his older sister, not bothering to listen in to the conversation she held with the two strangers who showed them where the bathroom was, then the kitchen, then the living room. Then, they came to the old art room where Chris and Nina would be sleeping. When the older boy opened the creaky door for them, there was a grand reveal of nothingness. A completely empty space; like a blackhole had swallowed the life out of the room one night, and never spat it back out.

“You’ll have to sleep on the floor for right now, at least until you can afford mattresses,” Toby said, gesturing his hand out at the lack of furniture.

Nina waltzed into her new bedroom, and Chris hesitantly followed after her, uncomfortable. He tugged on her coat to catch the girl's attention, and whispered to her, a horrible confession of sorts.

“I don't wanna live here, Nina. I don’t wanna sleep on the floor.”

The girl had a rich history of sleeping on forest grounds and dirty carpets in the old world; so often, that sleeping on the floor was just another thing she had grown accustomed to, alongside the stench of blood and rot. It was almost more comforting to Nina than the bed she'd woken up in when she came to the new world. She was grateful to have a roof over her head, and told Chris to be as well, ignoring his complaints.

Natalie threw down a couple of pillows onto the floor, and a few blankets she found tucked away in her bedroom closet. The sun outside the window had begun to hide itself behind the winding hills of the farmland, the orange-red skies reflecting off of the glistening snow as the room darkened. The forest trees in the distance stood tall, still, and branched over the warm gleam of the horizon.

“This should be good for tonight. Let me know if you need anything else, alright?” Natalie said with her hands on her hips, looking down at the two guests sitting in their makeshift beds.

“Thanks so much, again, seriously. You're a lifesaver Clocky,” Nina smiled at the tall girl as she curled herself under the blanket, her dark hair sprawled over her shoulders and pillow.

“Just call me Natalie,” she replied as she turned to leave the room, flicking off the lights, leaving only the dim glow of the sunset draping itself on the floor over the pair of siblings, and reflecting from the girl's tired eyes.

“Night, Natalie.”

“G’night, Nina.”

As promised, through the course of the early February days, Nina had enrolled Chris in the small elementary school in town. But instead of finishing her high school education, the girl had focused entirely on getting a full-time job. She would sit for hours at the old library computer, and perfect her resume, before handing it out to every retail store and salon she could find. The winter frost kissed her cheeks as she buried her chilled face into her wooly scarf, mitted hands hugging her body for warmth as she made her way back to the tiny farmhouse, nearly every day.

Eventually, as her friendship with Lady Luck would bring, Nina had found herself working at a clothing store in the smalltown mall. Cursed with the boredom of a 9-5, but thrilled with her first legal paycheck. And the first thing she bought: a pair of new shoes she had kept an eager eye on from the boutique the girl had spent time window-shopping, which instead cursed her with sore feet, and a scolding from Natalie about her poor financial decisions.

Toby tossed a piece of chopped wood into the dying flames of the fireplace, listening to the crackle as the lumber began to be overtaken by the eager fire, and watching as it burned to char. The sparks danced, scorched, in his eyes; the color of pinewood being set ablaze. The boy remained still for a moment, and witnessed, with a sort of hunger that he couldn't quite name. Then, he heard the sound of the front door creaking open, and the sound of little footsteps stomping off snow. Both Nina and Natalie had been kept busy at their jobs that awful season, and sometimes Nina would stay late into the evening, leaving Toby to watch over Chris after the young boy had returned from school.

Chris quietly shuffled into the livingroom, and sat on the couch, reaching for the TV remote, and turning it on. The blare of the television overtook the room with a laugh track from an early-evening sitcom, and Toby looked over at the child who’s gaze was glued to the show. He stared at Chris’s face for a moment, his full cheeks like his sister, neat brown hair, big brown eyes that haven't yet seen half of the world in its tainted glory. Toby turned to look down at the boy’s hands, which settled around the remote mindlessly, and how his legs were too short to touch the floor as they dangled over the edge of the couch. A bright, wide smile crept onto Chris’s face as he exhaled out a repressed laugh at the juvenile joke on TV, followed by another ear-scorching laugh track.

There was a sick sort of feeling gripping the older boy’s chest as he eyed the child next to him with furrowed brow, and he couldn't help his face from scrunching in a sort of disgust, or anger, or guilt. The only thing Toby could think of, was the guttural sobbing of the mother he had witnessed that dead winter night, through the shattered window, watching as she held the body of her child, wailing, pleading to a God they both knew wasn't listening. And when Chris laughed again, at another childish joke on that blaring TV, boyhood resting innocent in his eyes. Toby could only picture him dead.

The older boy quickly stood to his feet, placing a hand over his stomach as a wave of disease and dizziness overtook him. Chris glanced over at Toby with an unassuming concern, but didn't say a word, and watched as the teen stormed out of the livingroom.

Toby had begun to develop an unfortunate habit over the days of avoiding the little boy. He hid in bed to avoid looking at Chris, because he didn't want to look in his eyes and see the terrified, pleading eyes of the children he had to kill before him. He covered his ears, because he didn’t want to hear the soft, quick, tiny footsteps of the boy wandering the halls outside of Toby’s bedroom; unseen, like a ghost, haunting him. And soon thereafter, Toby had begun to make home with the snowy forest landscape outdoors, ignoring his ice-bitten hands, because it was better than facing punishment in child-form.

He laid himself back in the snow, and stared up at the cloudy afternoon skies. Gray and dark, as if there had been a forest fire, and the smoke had spread over the wide heavens. But the woods around the boy remained quiet, only interrupted by the occasional deer running past, or rabbit. And everytime an animal would rustle through the frost, or a twig would snap, Toby would jolt up, heart beating, looking around for the source of the sound, before collapsing back down into his white, cold cradle. He sighed deeply as his heart slowly settled after another twig-snapping scare, and looked up at the dead tree branches towering over him, reaching across the gray skies. The boy felt his eyes grow heavy, and tired, and when he stretched his arms up, he noticed how red his fingers had gotten, nearly blue with chill. Toby let out a groan of irritation at the condition of his hands, and pulled himself to his sore feet, brushing the snow off his sweater as he made his way towards the warmth of the farmhouse.

Toby huffed out hot air into his palms, and rubbed them together before going to open the backdoor, entering into the kitchen. The first thing he saw was the sniffling boy sitting on the floor by the dinner table, and then he saw the blood. Toby didn't quite understand physical pain, but he was taught from a very young age that blood meant injury, and injury meant something bad had happened. Toby looked down at Chris who shied away in shame, rubbing his teary eyes, and turning his bleeding forehead away from the olders gaze. There was a violent sort of feeling that rushed through Toby’s body, a loud irritation, frustration, and his lip twitched.

“Get the fuck up, stop crying,” he shouted out, gesturing the boy to stand up, which he did.

“You hit your head on the table? Are you fucking stupid?” Toby yelled at Chris, who didn't say a word.

For a second, Toby could only look down at the child, and see his 9 year old self looking back up at him. Angry, and so small. And for a second, Toby could only look up, and take a deep breath in, and try not to think of his father. He stood tall across from Chris, who’s gaze remained firm at his feet, and there was no more shouting. Toby’s hand slowly made its way down to the hatchet that sat on the holster of his belt, and gripped the handle for a moment. He stared down at the little boy, half-imagining his younger self who he had killed long ago, alongside many other little boys, because it had to be done, and Toby realized something horrible. Standing over the child, his hand gripping the hatchet handle, the frustration that steamed off his sun-spotted shoulders — he was in control. And even worse, Toby had been in that place many times before, and he made his own decisions, and it haunted him, and now, the ghost stood quiet before him, in the form of a child choking back tears. A child that sort of looked like him.

Toby took a deep breath, inhaling the early evening sun, which had already begun to set, and the musk of the old kitchen. He knelt down, and met Chris’s height, and raised his hand off the hatchet handle, to which the little boy fought against a flinch at the movement.

“Alright,” Toby spoke quietly, “How bad is it?”

Chris sat still on the wooden dining room chair, his feet unable to touch the ground, as he tried not to look at the older boy who shuffled through an old first-aid kit he had found under the bathroom sink. He pulled out peroxide, and a large bandage, and turned to face the boy.

Toby pushed back Chris’s hair from his forehead as he washed the small wound out, holding his head firmly in place as he winced.

“Quit moving, I gotta clean it out,” he muttered as blood gathered on the wet cotton ball he patted gently over the cut. He examined the wound over again, before peeling open the bandage, and placing it onto the boy’s forehead.

“You’ll be fine,” Toby awkwardly reassured as he finished up, avoiding the boy’s uncomfortable glances and turning around to put the supplies away.

“I know,” Chris muttered quietly, “my stepdad's hit me worse.”

Toby quickly stopped, his hands remaining still on the edges of the first-aid kit he had been packing back up. His heart sank deep into his chest, like it was revolted, or stabbed. He looked over at the little boy, who had not only spoken to him for the first time, but had confessed something, like he was on his knees in his bedroom at midnight silently asking God for help. Toby slowly made his way back over towards the child who sat uncomfortable, a bit sad, on the dining room chair.

“Uh, listen, Chris,” Toby stumbled over his words, trying to find something, anything to say. There was something small buried within him that wanted to be heard, something that had been beaten down for so long, that began to crawl, and scratch, and fight its way out of his throat. Toby sat down next to the boy, and there was a subtle, silent ambiance that settled over the two boys, battered and wartorn.

“I’m sorry,” Chris whispered.

“It’s not your fault,” Toby whispered back.

Natalie slipped off her work shoes as she entered the quiet house, darkened by the evening. She listened to the muffled sound of the TV playing cartoons from the livingroom as she shuffled tiredly down the hallway, and into the kitchen. Her overworked fingers dug under her ponytail, and wriggled the hairband off, letting her tangled hair fall on her freckled shoulders. Natalie turned on the squeaky sink faucet, and watched water pour into her cup, filling it nearly to the brim before she turned it off. The girl sighed to herself as she sat exhausted onto the dining table chair, and took a sip of her water. As she placed her cup down onto the table, she raised an eyebrow, and ran her fingers over the once-sharp corners, which had now been sanded down.

[crushedsweets]

neeed to hear the context behind ur most recent art. please enlighten us

you guys dont even know how excited i get when someone asks smth like this abt my art or headcanons or au.

i actually wrote liek a fucking essay oh my god im so sorry anon ill have the actual drawing context after the big bolded caps

TW for typical creepypasta story type stuff

anyway ok UNNECESSARY BACKSTORY: liu spent a long time trying to just psychologically recover from everything. he hated jeff and he hated the memory of everything. jeff signature murders would occur every now and again, each time liu would fall into a deep depression. the murders stopped for a while, and everyone believed jeff 'retired' or died. liu was conflicted about it. until Jeff committed his final full-blown 'jeff fashion' murder (janes family) in tuscaloosa alabama. liu had another breakdown and ended up moving to tuscaloosa because he was completely convinced he needed to find jeff again because he could fix it (or die trying and he'd be fine with that too)

nina was always one of those girls obsessed with 'true crime' but like.... the murderers instead of the cases. she was 12 when jeff's first rampage happened and she just fell head over heels in love with this freak. she began to act out, miss school for days, sneaking out to meet older people, etc etc. eventually she did the classic jeff smile cut into her face(she pussied out on making it like jeffs, so she has cleaner, less noticeable scars) . she started getting severely bullied (for being creepy and worshipping a literal murderer) and her parents sent her to live with her grandparents in mississpi. she started stalking liu through social media and whitepages when jeff was presumed dead. but eventually, jeff's final murder happened in alabama(a state away from her) and after turning 18, she ran away to go find jeff convinced he would 'save her' from the life she created for herself. nina got wrapped up in slenderman business because of her constant Tom Foolery. she met her idol

JEFF IS A BAD PERSON IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. he did a beautiful job in using his #1 fangirl and enjoying the worship. she scrambled for pennies to afford an apartment, she'd sleep on the couch if he wanted to use her bed, she's ride her bike hours to go get weed or something from rando drug dealers that give better deals to pretty girls, make him food, do his damn laundry, literally anything and everything bc THATS HER MAAANNNNN (no he isnt.)

jeff DOES NOT GIVE A FUUUCK about everything nina does for him . one day he finds her trying to creepily get into contact with liu (and liu actually responded) and he loses his shit and stabs her and goes on and on about how 'you ruined your own useless fucking life your family is never going to take you back you did this to yourself' etc. he didn't intend to kill her only cuz he knew she'd forgive him and he liked all the shit she gave him

NOW ABOUT THE DRAWING ITSELF:::::

afterwards nina gets patched up from jeff stabbing her, she has some weird 'liu will save me' spiral (not romantically just in a very literal 'he can fix this' way). liu's been on his own spiral since finding out jeffs alive which is the only reason he even gave nina the time of day. eventually she ends up at his house to 'talk about jeff' bc she sent him creepy pics proving she knew jeff yadayadayada.

im not sure the exact conversation i imagined for the drawing, BUT liu eventually says something that sets nina off and she tears at her stitches and breaks down and drips blood all over his kitchen talking about 'I CAN MAKE HIM LOVE ME AGAIN I JUST NEED YOUR HELP PLEAAASEEEE' or something.

liu's a good man, much to his own detriment, and can't help but comfort this kid who's bleeding and crying in his kitchen at the fault of his own brother. he's all too familiar with wanting to repair his relationship with jeff, despite the amount of rage, betrayal, misery, etc he felt at jeffs hands. he doesn't ACTUALLY want to reconnect with jeff, but it's a very deep internal longing for the baby brother he once had that VERY RARELY overshadows his hatred

i want to reaffirm that liu does not feel positively about jeff at all, does not want to see him, and only moved to alabama b/c of a long ass mental health crises and is now too wrapped up in new financial commitments(plus jane) to move again. and now he feels obligated to help nina

he just misses being a big brother :( not so much the jeff part

also none of this at all is shipping at all i am terrified at the idea of people taking anything romantically . even if nina is in 'love' with jeff its purely for the story/horror . ITS ALL REALLY BAD

[mauvegardens]

Michael and Drew are garbage and I hope Ned and Nina team up to take them down

Ok, what General Hospital stays trying to forget is CARLY AND DREW ARE GUILTY! Michael too.

No matter what you think of Nina, she didn't commit that crime, they did. It is NOT her fault that judge threw the book at him. And how many crimes have Drew, Michael and Carly committed since to "exonerate" Drew or whatever? So, so many crimes.

Now Drew gets out of prison and Mikey learns the truth. What do they do? Spend time with Scout? Clear Ned's good name?

Nope.

Every other scene is Drew and Carly reconnecting. How many years did Drew dream of getting home to his daughter? Then he just, throws that away to save Carly from herself and we're supposed to be cool with that?

Even if they don't know Ned isn't Eddie anymore, Michael knows the truth, so now what? Let's blackmail Nina and plot to take over ELQ. Steal the company from someone whose daughter just got SHOT!

Straight garbage. I hope Nina and Ned team up and wipe the floor with them. Plus, I'm sorry, those two are Quartermaine adjacent. I hope once Tracy gets done with Deception she joins in too because it will be ON! No way she's letting those two run ELQ.

[countessofravenclaw]

1 and 7 for the drabble prompts <3

I wish we could talk more often. Let me hug you

"Did I mention yet that we got invited to a wedding in a month?" Nina said as the girls were driving back after their shopping session.

"No, whose?" Luna asked her from the front seat.

"Well, technically I didn't get invited anywhere," Nina clarified, "It was for Gastón and plus one. The wedding is Isla's goddaughter's. Full-on black tie, very big event. The family is apparently some older Columbian family who nowadays live at little bit north of Buenos Aires."

"Huh, do you remember the name?" Ambar questioned, "I don't think I know any Columbian families."

"Gastón said that he didn't remember how his parents even know them. Elizabeth Gomezelia, I think." Nina tried to remember. "Uhm... Gastón said that she apparently used to have a crush on him when they were 13... they haven't talked since."

"At least this is for her wedding and not some other attempt to reconnect," Ambar remarked.

"Oh, I am not threatened or anything like that. I already have the ring." Nina laughed, "We actually already sent the RSVP that we're going. I need to remember to talk to Jazmin about this."

"Gomezelia..." Luna mumbled all of a sudden. "LIZZIE! Oh my god!"

"Luna, you okay?" Ambar asked after scolding Luna about never scaring the driver.

"Yes... but I just realize... Lizzie. When we still lived at Cancun before Sharon bought it, it was the vacation house of this Columbian family. I used to play with their daughter often. Her name was Elizabeth. Nin it has to be her." Luna explained, "I wonder how she is doing. I don't have her contact, but I would love to catch up."

"Well, I can ask Gastón if he has her contact," Nina suggested.

*

"Luna?!" Luna saw a blonde woman enter Jam & Roller where she had been waiting. Nina had gotten her Elizabeth's contact and they had set up a meeting. "It really is you! It has been years!"

"Lizzie!" luan bounced to meet her, "Let me hug you!"

"It literally has been over ten years." Lizzie said as they sat down with smoothies, "How are you here in Buenos Aires?"

"Mom and Dad got a job her in 2016," Luna explained. "I thought you lived in Columbia."

"We moved here a year after they sold the mansion. How did we never run into each other?"

"I did upper secondary at Blake South college," Luna continued selling tales, "I am a professional rollerskater now, and I work here occasionally to train teams."

"Well, that is not a surprise." Lizzie nodded, "I went to a boarding school, and graduated as a cosmetologist last year. I am hoping to open my all salon. Well, after the wedding."

"I heard about that. Congratulation!"

"Thank you. I could say the same for you." Lizzie looked at the ring in Luna's finger. "How did you get my number? Don't get it wrong, I love to meet you again, I always wished we could have talked more, but my number has changed at least twice after Cancun."

"I heard you know the Peridas," Luna explained, "I got it through them."

"Yes, Isla Perida is my godmother. I was christened a little bit later on when I was 9. How do you know them?" Lizzie's eyes went to Luna's ring again. "He... He is not your fiance, is he?"

"Who?"

"Gastón Perida."

"Oh, no no no no no no no, no." Luna burst out laughing, "Could you even imagine?" Once Luna got herself under control again, she looked up and saw Lizzie's perplexed face.

"Gastón is my best friend's husband." Luna took her phone out and showed Lizzie one of the pictures that had been taken at Gastón and Nina's wedding. "Nina told me about your wedding invitation and I recognized your name from there."

"World really is small." Lizzie shook her head laughing. "Only thing I have heard if him through the years is that he was at Oxford."

"Oh yeah, they moved about 1.5 years ago. He is Matteo, my fiance's, best friend."

There we go! I don't know how many people remember the Columbian girl Sharon though was Sol for a slip second, well here is a reunion

[missymurphy1985]

There's Something About Kate (Cillian Murphy X fem!OC)

Follow up to The Heartache.

For those who didn't read it... Cillian's wife, Lucy, passed away from cancer a year ago. He hasn't worked since, concentrating on raising their 9 year old daughter Ava. Kate was their Macmillan nurse, and also lost her husband six years ago to the same disease. They've reconnected recently, having had a couple of dates. Lots of you said you wanted more, so this story follows their blossoming relationship. For reference, Cillian is 30 in this story.

Masterlist

Warnings - mentions of characters deaths (not Cillian or Kate) / fluff / eventual smut (not yet)

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @peakyciills @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @peaky-cillian @misselsbells06 @datewithgianni @heidimoreton @jardinsecos @bitchwhytho @gypsy-girl-08 @queenofkings1212

Kate sat on the small stool in her bedroom and winced while her best friend and flatmate Nina pulled and twisted her hair.

"If you don't keep still, I'll shave it all off!" Nina snapped, smacking Kate's shoulder playfully.

"I asked for a French Plait, not a form of medieval torture!!"

"Do you want to look good for your date or not?!"

She sat on the stool in silence, gritting her teeth and allowing the torture to continue.

"It's just dinner, Nina.."

"Oh shut up. It's a date and you know it."

"It's two friends catching up over a plate of hot food and a glass of wine!"

"Exactly. A date."

Two weeks earlier, Kate had dinner with Cillian and Ava at his house, after bumping into them in the cemetery earlier that week. Ava had stolen much of the conversation, and Cillian had invited her back, but her work schedule was relentless. It had taken until tonight to be able to plan anything with him, but they'd messaged back and forth almost daily. And to say the messages had been slightly flirtatious would be an understatement. She felt like a teenager again.

She'd only dated twice since Jack's death six years earlier, it had taken her nearly five years to come to terms with his loss. Her last relationship, which in all honesty was more of a fling than anything else, had ended a few days prior to that chance meeting in the cemetery. He was a dick, and only interested in one thing - he led her on, had his way with her, then disappeared. All in the space of just three weeks.

Not this time, she promised herself. Slowly. Take it slowly.

An hour later, she made her way inside the restaurant. Telling the concierge her name, he led her towards a table at the side of the room, where she found him sitting inside a small booth. Glass of wine in one hand and his phone in another, pressed against his ear. She approached the table and he ended the call, standing up and giving her a gentle hug, she blushed as he kissed her cheek softly.

"Ava," he chuckled, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Checking up on her old man?" Kate laughed, sitting opposite him.

"Cheeky. Yep. She's been nagging me all day. Wash your hair. Wear the expensive aftershave. Don't forget to floss."

"And did you follow her instructions?"

"Always do, she terrifies me," he laughed, and Kate couldn't help but feel her heart jump a little.

The two of them talked. At no point during the meal did the conversation falter. No awkward silences. They talked about books, movies, her job, his job, Ava... And it felt comfortable.

He offered to walk her home, her house was only a short walk and he lived not much further after. He had his hands in his jeans pockets, and he offered her the gap between his elbow and ribs. Smiling, she slotted her arm through the gap and they walked side by side.

"Can I ask you a question?" Cillian asked, after a brief silence.

"Of course."

"How long did you wait, after Jack?"

"About five years."

She felt him tense, and look away over the river. Squeezing his arm, she stopped him and turned him to face her. Her hands now stroking his arms.

"Listen, Cillian, everyone is different. It took me that long because I had to rebuild my life again. I had to sell the house, move back home, work out a new plan." He nodded, feeling her hands move down to hold his.

"I like you, Kate, I really do. I just.. I feel like I'm cheating on her, you know?"

"I like you, too. And that's normal. I still feel like that about Jack sometimes."

"Have you done this with anyone else?" Kate nodded.

"Recently actually. But he was a prick... Only wanted me for one thing and fucked me off after he got it."

"Shit..."

"Yep, he was actually," Cillian chuckled at the swipe at your ex.

"For what it's worth, I'm not like that." Kate simply nodded. She believed him, but she was in no hurry to test the theory.

"What, shit in bed?" Kate laughed as she watched his cheeks burn.

"Holy fuck, no, I mean..." She watched him struggle for a few moments before nudging him playfully, linking her arm back into his and continuing their walk.

He listened to her hum a gentle tune as they walked and admired the Liffey. He recognised the melody, but couldn't place it, and there was no way he was interrupting her to find out what it was. It soothed him, somehow.

"This is me..." Kate unlinked her arm from his and looked up at the two-storey townhouse. Cillian's hands stayed in his pockets, suddenly completely unaware of what to do. What to say. He was back in the shoes of a teenager again... Although he was sure it was easier back then. Kate sensed his nerves, and took the lead.

"I had fun tonight, Cillian. Thank you." She squeezed his arm and gave him a smile, which he returned. She stroked the side of his face, and turned around to head up the steps to her front door.

She looked back a couple of times and saw him still stood there. The third time she looked back though, she nearly screamed as he was stood right in front of her, on her doorstep.

"I'm sorry, I just - " he paused, seeing her startled expression. Instead of finishing his sentence, he kissed her. Not a full kiss. Their lips simply met softly, his fingers stroked her cheek gently. He pulled away after a few moments, smiled, and headed back down the steps.

Turning around at the bottom, he looked back up and smiled to see she was still there, smiling right back at him.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

Previously you said that you didn't think Nina delivered a very strong performances of Katherine/Elena, and since I've seen other people comment about that too, it would be interesting if you could dive deeper into that? I haven't watched the finale, except from the SE scene (who I personally think was just as good as all scenes between Paul and Nina / Stefan and Elena) and Stefan and Lexi's scene, so I can't really make a stand point on the matter

To be honest, it’s difficult to distinguish between the performance being poor and the writing being poor, because I do feel like Katherine and Elena didn’t have enough adequate screen time for us as viewers to be able to reconnect with them. Bringing them both back for just one final episode seemed so rushed and I think that partly plays into the reason why the performances felt so poor. I mean, I’m pretty sure Katherine only got three scenes and Elena a few more than that, but still barely any real screentime or dialogue. Her main scene was basically the final scene where we had her voice over as she wrote in her diary, but to be honest, after the direction the show headed in after Elena was gone it felt kinda wrong to have her finishing the show, even though she was the one that opened it and was always the main character.  But to delve deeper into this I’ll analyse Katherine and Elena separately, because it’s just easier that way. I also won��t really discuss how the writing affected it, because I’ve already explained that I do feel the poor writing contributed to it, but you asked specifically about Nina’s performance, so that’s what I’ll focus on. 

Katherine: Her portrayal of Katherine was so much worse than her portrayal of Elena. I’m assuming it’s because Katherine is more of a challenge to play because she’s so different than Nina, which Nina herself has even said in the past. It didn’t even remotely feel like the same Katherine to me. I have to admit, that the small details did affect my perception of her being Katherine and by that I mean her appearance. I understand that Nina is a real person off-screen that has changed and aged since she last played Katherine in season 5, but she just looked completely alien to me. Firstly, what was that hideous wig!? I’m still in shock at how bad it was. Her hair line was like 10 inches further forward than it was supposed to be and apparently there’s hairdressers in hell, cos her hair was a damn lot shorter than it was when she died. Even her make-up didn’t look right. I know Katherine’s signature look is the dark eyeliner and red lipstick, but it just looked so trashy. Then there’s the issue of Nina’s body language. The walk, the hand gestures, the posture, it was all wrong and none of it felt like Katherine. Katherine stands up right, when she walks she struts in an almost seductive and arrogant manner but there was none of that. The exaggerated facial expressions are one of the main things that have always separated Katherine from Elena. Usually I can tell just from seeing a gif whether it’s Elena or Katherine based on the way Nina is moving her lips when she speaks, because with Katherine it’s much more pronounced and dramatic. Nina did try and do that, but she didn’t go far enough. Her face looked stiff a lot of the time and the expressions were just lacking. Katherine has always been a character that communicated a lot physically, so through her expressions, her gestures etc. and all of that was stripped back completely. Then there’s the eyes and the smile. That vindictive and cunning smile Katherine had was no where to be seen and the glint in her eye to go along with it was also gone. Basically, Nina put on a deeper voice and did a more pouty face than she would as Elena and that was it. But everything that we know Katherine Pierce to be was gone in that finale and I wish they would’ve just left her alone instead of resurrecting her for absolutely no purpose. 

Elena: Again, the first issue I’m obviously going to mention is the same as Katherine - her appearance. The wig was atrocious and that alone was enough to make her look nothing like Elena to me. Nina’s strongest performance throughout the entire finale was by far the scene she had with Paul. There was real emotion in that scene that felt genuine. Other than that, I can’t really criticise her performance of Elena much more than that, because she didn’t particularly do anything wrong, it just didn’t really feel like Elena to me and I do put that down to the writing and time. 

I know I said I wouldn’t talk about the writing, but I can’t help myself haha. I understand the writers wanted to bring Nina back for the finale since she was a part of the show for so long and played two of the most important characters, but in a way it didn’t fit for Elena and Katherine to come back. In regards to Elena’s character, she was already up in the air anyway, because she’d been pretty poorly written since she became a vampire. It’s like the writers got confused between vampire and human Elena and she lost her personality and identity because of it. She was one person in season 4 when she first transitioned, another in season 5 and another in season 6, then in the last 2 episodes they made her human and did a complete 180 on her character by trying to make her the exact same Elena she was in season 1. Then she slipped into a coma and suddenly woke up in the finale, so we had all of 5 minutes to try and get to know who she was again and it just didn’t work. To be honest, Nina did ruin the show by leaving in season 6 and we all know it. The ending we would’ve gotten if she would’ve stuck around until the end would’ve been a million times better for certain. The writers have basically just winged it for these last two seasons to squeeze the final bit of money and life they could out of it before bringing it to an end. But Nina should’ve never left and this finale just proved why. 

As for Katherine, her character’s story ended a long time ago. They already unnecessarily dragged it out by making her a passenger in Elena’s body, which really served no purpose but to bring her back again for that pitiful finale was just wasteful and pointless. Katherine’s story had already had closure and although bringing her back could’ve been epic if it would’ve been done correctly, it really sucked. 

In the end, I basically think Nina’s return ruined the finale. I could write a million alternative endings I’d prefer to see, but this is just one of them: 

A villain (not Katherine) threatens Mystic Falls for who knows what reason (the writers always find some pathetic, small reason and turn it into a big one). Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt and Alaric all work together to defeat the evil. 

The person that dies is Elena. 

Right after they’ve defeated the villian everyone comes to the realisation that Elena is really gone and they’re all grieving for Elena 

We get a sweet Defan moment where they confess their love and cry over Elena being gone, but we can clearly see their relationship is finally on track and stronger than ever

At the same time we get a sweet Baroline moment where the girls grieve for Elena too 

After that, Stefan and Caroline come together and just sit together in front of the fireplace taking comfort in each other

In the meantime we cut to a Bamon scene, they’re maybe watching Steroline from a distance and Damon comments on how lucky they are to have each other. They basically chat about losing Enzo and Elena and their shared grief of simulatenously losing their partners and best friends. 

Some time after, maybe a week or two, we see Steroline go on honeymoon to distract themselves and just get a break 

Bamon decide they should go on a roadtrip to deal with their grief and just rediscover themselves. We see them driving off in Damon’s camaro. 

We jump forward 10 years or so and get a similar montage to what we got in the actual finale, of Matt being sheriff with Vicki and Tyler watching over him, Bonnie is with Ric and Caroline and they’ve set up a school for magical kids because of the girls and because Bonnie is inspired to use her magic for the purpose of teaching other witches. Damon arrives in his camaro with Stefan, who is dressed in a doctor/paramedic uniform. Damon goes right up to Bonnie, slips his hand around her waist and kisses her, whilst Stefan goes to Caroline and does the same. 

Like honestly, I would much rather have seen that than what we actually got. I just feel like despite all the constant Elena mentions, the show actually outgrew Elena in those two seasons that she was gone and the characters that stayed until the end deserved to be the ones that got the happy ending and were there to see it out. It kinda felt cheap that the characters that essentially carried the show for the last two seasons were completely cast aside and Elena who had been back for all of two seconds stole the show and took front and center stage. The show basically reinvented itself during seasons 7 and 8 and I do completely understand why the writers wanted to go back to the roots and try to recapture the essence of season 1. I thought I’d want to see that myself, but I can’t shake the feeling of how wrong and out of place it all felt. With how things developed and progressed, to go back to Elena at the end felt like taking a thousand steps back. Watching the finale really hammered home to me that it wasn’t about Elena like I first thought. It wasn’t even about Stefan either. It was about all of the characters that were left, the ones that had been on the show since the beginning and been on the complete journey. Elena wasn’t one of those people. 

And I’m aware that I’ve gone off on so much of a tangent, so I’m going to end it there. But my main point is that Nina’s performances were so terrible because the writing was terrible and the writing was terrible because there was just no room for Elena (or Katherine) in the finale and the writers forced it. How could Nina perform to the best of her ability when she hadn’t played those characters in years, the material she had to work with was so bizarre and OOC and when she was basically stepping into a completely different world of TVD than what it was when she was on it way back in season 6?