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pies-database · 7 months ago

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SMILER [They/it]

Name(s): Sylvester, SW7

PHALANX code: ALTN - 007 - 013

Nickname(s): Syl

Likes: Puns, dogs, lasagne, cough sweets, apples, calpol, EDM music, Drum N Bass music, brutalism, warehouse aesthetics, urban exploring, biochem, cilantro, marmalade

Dislikes triggers: Medical settings, touching their face/scars uninvited, boredom, being handled in any form.

Personality: In a completely complex situation where it is constantly trapped between being a complete Smiling Advocate and their own brain chemistry trying to reject the treatment due to inconsistencies.

They come across as very fidgety and unable to sit still and generally chaotic. They constantly are moving their hands and face and can sometimes seem like they're either not listening or just plain bored. That may not be the case, it just needs the stimulation.

They have a very strong personality, and will not be told what to do (if you are not close, at least). If they think it can do better than you, it will make that very clear, and can be downright cruel and insulting at times without realising.

When under duress is incredibly unstable and its a 60/40 about whether they'll fight or flee respectively. If they choose to fight you are not making it out with either your mind or body intact. They don't like to kill, but when under duress their body is quite literally fighting itself to the point where a splinter can make its system think its dying.

Abilities:

-Mind control, in the way that they can make people more pliable to commands by forcing their minds to release copious amounts of dopamine upon responding positively to their instructions. They can increase the amount released, but its a very fragile thing and can completely break people's mind when they're not careful. They can quite literally make it so they can't remember to breathe without it instructing them to.

-minor mind reading, moreso in the way they can just kind of sense certain emotions and glimpse some memories. The information just kind of imposes itself on Smiler and it's like they always knew it.

-increased resistance to drugs. Any and all drugs. Including medicine and alcohol.

Abnormal physical features:

-Larger top canines that constantly hang out their mouth, even in a more adapted form. They are straight and slightly hooked, good for stabbing and not leaving a clean wound [think like the blade of a fishhook.

-eyes are a bright yellow with a spiral pupil that starts at the centre of the iris and ends on the outside of the iris.

-Hair looks to be dyed yellow on top. That is not Dye.

-White freckles. Thats the point.

-Glasgow scars. Except they're not scars. Sometimes theyre scars, but only on good weeks. Most of the time theyre still open wounds.

-Pointed ears.

-claw-like fingernails. Ideal for cutting, forever stained a little red.

Backstory: PLEASE CHECK TWS/CWS IN TAGS

Its 2011, and kids have started going missing. Well, the posters don't exactly say "kids" but, they're teenagers. And homeless people, too, but people don't necessarily talk about that one at all. Not frequent enough for national outcry, but enough for a curfew to be announced. Its 2010, and Sylvester is 15, and a downright menace to anyone who knows him that's not in his little group.

Sylvester, of course, is above just going missing like that. His mum cares way too much, its embarrassing really, but there's no way someone has it out for him that much that they'd greatly upset his charity-running, gold star mum. And he seems to be proved right, when there isn't another abduction for 6 months.

The missing posters slowly get replaced for advertising to this behavioural summer camp thing, and the incidents don't go forgotten, but they get buried. He goes on with his gang, picking fights where they can, and getting reactions where they can't.

Sylvester is 16 years old when he comes home to find his mum stood ashamed to the side, with two smartly-dressed men in his living room to tell him they were taking him to a place where he could be better. Just one summer away, yes? That's all they'll need.

They let him pack a suitcase. And, Syl thinks, these 'summer camps' never do much. Colour in this sheet, tell me how you feel, now fuck off back to your cabin.

They drive for an hour or so, before they come to this small village, and they drive into the hills.

Its not a camp. Its some kind of warehouse, and it's not just kids here. There are people in white coats stood next to two middle aged women, dressed in what would seem to be every day clothes. Clothes you'd go take the bin out in. The women just stare at each other. Smiling.

"Where am I?" And they don't answer.

"We're here to make you better." Is what they say instead.

They take his suitcase, drag him to a room at the very back and very top of the facility. Its dank, It has a bed. It has a bathroom. It does not have a bath. It does not have a single surface. It does have a clock.

The next day they drag him down to a doctor's room for an hour, where a guy in a white coat performs a checkup.

The next day, they take him down to another room. They leave shortly after, completely alone. There are two vents. The room slowly gets stuffier, it gets harder to breathe. The lights flash. They can't see, he can't breathe. They get back 1 hour and 30 minutes after he left. He can't remember much of it.

The next day, they take him down to perform some tests. They tell him to do some relatively simple activities. They don't know why, but they do it almost immediately. but then the people start complaining, "No, you haven't actually organised those books have you?" They had. "Do it again." Well, now he doesn't bloody want to, thank you very much, he already did as you asked.

They get back to the room exhausted, with a faint tinge of confusion. They had been gone for 3 hours and 47 minutes.

This happens on a cycle. The calendar in the doctor's office gets crossed off every day, they are gone for 4 weeks before something happens.

A new doctor comes in. They announce their name as Doctor Kelman. He is here to help with treatment, you see, they weren't responding as hoped, so they wanted to try some old tactics, see if they worked better than new ones.

He pinned Syl down with ropes. He took the scalpel off the surgery table. He scored two lines down Syl's face.

Looking in the mirror, 6 hours 2 minutes and 30 seconds after they had left, they recognised what they were trying to do. A smile constantly stapled to their face. They poked the tear tracks staining their cheeks, felt the flush of blood from under their skin. Good.

They wrote in their own blood under the bed. They can't remember what they wrote.

They continued the cycle. The treatments were harsher, the gas turned to a syringe, their mouth forced open with some horrible metal contraption until their muscles ached. They found, after a while, it didn't care much about all that.

What really irked it, was the trials. The instructions felt like they kept getting vaguer, and they would get more and more upset whenever they'd "tidy this space" or "Make a shopping list for cake" wrong.

At the end of the day, theyd come back, and write on the wall again, always in its own blood. They can't remember what they wrote. It would always get rubbed off.

Things continued, but this could barely be described as a cycle, it would be more apt to say a spiral.

30 weeks after their first meeting with Kelman, they sat and scratched out in their wall the same message they had written in blood all previous times.

2 weeks after that, the Ministry found out. And Sylvester met The Maitron.

It can't remember what happened in that room, with Maitron. But it returned to its room 6 days later.

It scratched the message out in the wall again.

It spent 12 days with the maitron.

On the 13th, things changed once more. Before Maitron came into the room, Syl was starving. Starving, pumped full of drugs, barely aware of their own name. Maybe it wasn't theirs anymore anyway.

They started scratching at the rope, and it started snapping. And when Maitron came back in, to see all the ropes hanging loosely around its body, to see what was left of Sylvester stood tall, smiling manically, she must have realised that would be the very last thing she would see.

That warehouse was discovered a week later, after an anonymous tip. 14 bodies were discovered, some that seemingly went missing up to two years ago. Most of the bodies gored past recognition. It was deemed an animal attack due to the claw and bite marks. All of them in white lab coats.

You think that's it? No, Syl tries to run. And they run through the hills, as fast as possible. Into the forest. They hang out there a little while, finding an old abandoned pub to set up in. It went 2 weeks before being found. Smiler, at 17 years old, was first touched without bad intentions for the first time in almost a year.

Oblivion was the one to find it, actually. And when Smiler got tired of stealing markets from the markets, He was who they turned to to start a "fun new project" .

Said fun new project took 5 years to come to fruition, showing the long deceased people of the old Ministry Of Joy how mass brainwashing Should Be Done, jackasses. Smiler acting as the main brains behind the operation, trying to form a new drug that could be taken as a liquid or inhaled. And it worked really well on the neighbouring village! For less than 5 months before someone broke through enough to start a revolt, and send a letter to the government to make the Phalanx officially recognised and funded. Which. Unfortunately. Passed.

Back into the Labrotories Smiler goes!

Current residency: an abandoned pub in X-SECTOR

ASKS: OPEN

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golden--doodler · 2 years ago

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Bob's Burgers Random Facts

I love this show, so here are some random facts about it that I've discovered and want to share. Some are fairly obvious/well-known, but I also wanted to add some more obscure things as well. I might make a part two, but not sure yet:

--Linda's maiden name is Genarro! This was revealed in Season 12, Episode 20 "Sauce Side Story", where it's also revealed that Linda's family has a crazy feud going on

--Gene's favorite keyboard was a Christmas gift from Bob and Linda (as seen in Season 5, Episode 17 "The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee"), which he immediately fell in love with, which is adorable. I like to believe this being a gift from them made it that much more special to him

--It's never outright stated, but heavily implied that Bob has Hemophilia, because in Season 3, Episode 20 "The Kids Run the Restaurant", Linda states that Bob bleeds a lot if he injures himself and his body has a lot of trouble clotting. This episode also reveals he gets light-headed at the sight of blood

--The Belchers live in the state of New Jersey! This is revealed in Season 3, Episode 18 "It Snakes a Village". A cute little map is shown, featuring the Belcher's car, which is clearly seen in New Jersey

--In Season 6, Episode 6 "The Cook, The Steve, The Gayle, & Her Lover", Tina sings a bunch of random Spanish phrases which Louise translates very inaccurately, in an effort to break up Gayle and Mr. Frond. And apparently, in the Spanish dub (yes, this exists), Tina sings these random phrases in English instead, and it's hilarious

--Bob and Gene are both allergic to shellfish (which is probably why Bob hates Lobster Fest), and apparently, on Bob and Linda's first date, Bob got an allergic reaction to some shellfish. However, Linda somehow remained unaware of it the entire time, and to this day, still doesn't know he has a shellfish allergy despite him telling her about it multiple times. I personally like to believe she still took care of him after it happened, she just didn't know what was going on

--According to Gene in Season 6, Episode 13 "Wag the Hog", Bob isn't a fan of cilantro

--One small, funny thing I noticed is that both Bob and Linda's previous lovers before they met each other were blonde (Barbara Bunkley and Hugo Habercore, respectively)

--In Season 6, Episode 1, "Sliding Bobs", in Tina's story about an alternate universe in which Linda and Hugo actually got married and Bob becomes the Health Inspector, Bob mentions offhandedly that he tried renting out the building where "Hugo's Hot Dogs" is twenty years ago, implying that Bob and Linda have owned "Bob's Burgers" for around twenty years

--Not only has Bob forgotten his own birthday on one occasion, as seen in Season 1, Episode 1 "Human Flesh", but Linda has accidentally forgotten his birthday as well, as seen in Season 8, Episode 16, "Are You There, Bob? It's Me, Birthday". It seems on occasion Linda isn't great with dates, either

--As seen in a framed photo in Bob and Linda's bedroom, they actually got married at City Hall, and boy, do they look adorably happy in that wedding photo. I like to think that even though they canonically still had to work at the restaurant that day for money reasons, they still had a really nice wedding with cake and wholesome/tear-jerking vows

--According to Season 10, Episode 1 "The Ring (But Not Scary)", Bob, unfortunately, couldn't afford to get Linda a ring when he proposed to her, and instead gave her a nice high-five to make up for that. Also, in the episode, it's shown he's come a long way from "Human Flesh" by actually remembering their wedding anniversary and getting her a ring (I know she doesn't mind not having one, but it's too bad she still was never able to get it, thanks to it getting lost)

--In Season 8, Episode 13 "Cheer Up Sleepy Gene", it's revealed Bob and Linda both snore quite loud, and it's actually comforting to them both in a weird way and helps them sleep. Not only that, but they find other quirks of theirs comforting, as seen in Season 12, Episode 15, "Ancient Misbehavin'" when Bob admits he misses hearing Linda talking "emphatically" in her sleep. Even better, actual studies have shown that if you sleep in the same bed as your partner, it improves your sleep, even if they snore

--In Season 11, Episode 21, "Die Card, or Card Trying", it's revealed that Louise has been making the same "serial killer" smiling face in their family photos since she was really young, and it's really a sight to behold

--In the "Bob's Burgers Movie", it's revealed that Felix Fischoeder has a framed photo of his brother, Calvin, in his bedroom, which is surprisingly wholesome

--In Season 12, Episode 1 "Manic Pixie Crap Show", it's unfortunately revealed that Linda, when she was young, got incredibly attached to a neighborhood stray dog named Bottlecap (who got the name because he could balance bottlecaps on his nose) only to witness him getting run over by a hot dog truck. Apparently, she also witnessed her eighth-grade teacher get run over by a truck. Jesus, poor Linda ): It's implied this is a reason why the Belchers have never had a family pet before, besides being poor

--When Linda was young, she wore a pair of braces, though it's never stated how she felt about them

--According to Season 3, Episode 12 "Broadcast Wagstaff School News", Bob looked almost identical to Gene when he was young, which Gene is originally not happy about, but grows to accept. I like to think he'll look like Bob when he's older, even though that's one of the things he was worried about in the episode

--According to Season 3, Episode 14 "Lindapendent Woman", Linda actually has a really complex monetary system for the restaurant's finances, which keeps the family from being in too much debt. It's so complicated that Bob can't figure out how to do it himself once she temporarily leaves her job at the restaurant for another job, proving why she needs him around, besides the fact that he loves her and loves seeing her every day

--In Season 5, Episode 17, "The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee", it's revealed that Gene actually only knows how to play one chord, and isn't experienced musically in the slightest, struggling to get through doing scales a bunch of times when he briefly takes piano lessons. He even calls scales "gross". However, as seen in Season 3, Episode 16 "Topsy", he is still able to create amazing, Broadway-worthy musical numbers when he wants to despite this.

--As of Season 13, Bob and Linda officially have actual smartphones, because they had to upgrade after Grover Fischoeder threw their old phones in the ocean in the "Bob's Burgers Movie". Kind of ironic, considering in the two-part Season 4 finale, Calvin laments about how Bob hadn't purchased "a better cellphone". It's shown in Episode 11, "Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang", that Bob is still struggling quite a bit with using his.

--According to Season 11, Episode 2 "Worms of In-Rear-Ment", Linda has always wanted to be a mother, ever since she was young. Despite her worries about how she's doing as a parent, I think she's doing pretty great

--Apparently, (as seen in Part One of the Season 4 Finale, "Wharf Horse") Linda told Bob she was pregnant with Louise on top of the Ferris Wheel in Wonder Wharf, and he "just kept screaming". They also share a sweet kiss in the same spot in Season 1, Episode 1 "Human Flesh", so that place is pretty significant for them. It makes me wonder how she told Bob she was pregnant with Tina and Gene

--According to Tina in the "Bob's Burgers Movie", she doesn't actually own her own phone despite being a teenager, and it gets "harder to explain every year". Hopefully one day she can get one

--According to Louise in Season 3, Episode 22 "Carpe Museum", not only is Louise secretly a huge daddy's girl, but she also truly believes Tina and Gene will stick Bob in a nursing home one day, and "not one of the nice ones"

That's all for now but hopefully, I'll make a part two if I can think of enough fun facts that I missed!

#bob's burgers #bob belcher #linda belcher #tina belcher #gene belcher #louise belcher #bob's burgers fun facts #I thought this would be fun #Just realized this is mostly Bob and Linda #But that's okay because I love them

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arthkael · 3 months ago

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Miss Sherlock Episode 3: Lily of the Valley

"Sorry, but it's already 3 minutes since the last time I invaded your personal space."

Spoiler free summary: Sherlock is asked by researcher Reiko Haitani to recover her research data that she gave to a famous pharmaceutical talent hunter, Arisa Shina. Even though Sherlock is successful, she realizes that Reiko's case is tied to the disappearance of doctor Hiroshi Watanuki, a genius chemist who was trying to produce a drug that could cancel fear. When Watanuki is found, severely wounded and completely amnesiac, Sherlock and Wato are involved in a complicate investigation that will put their lives in danger.

Triggers: 70r7ure, gor3, ch1ld abus3 (mentioned)

SPOILER:

This time the episode doesn't open with the two residents of 221b, but we are in a dark, dingy basement where a man tied to a chair is reciting numbers. Numbers that seem to form a password, because an unseen person is typing them into a password box as the man lists them.

But the password doesn't match, and the person who was typing doesn't seem happy about it...

The next scene is far brighter, because it shows Wato at a job interview. She doesn't want to work in the medical field anymore, so now she's trying to figure out if "librarian" is a viable career for her. While she goes back she receives a message from Sherlock that asks her to buy something before coming home:

Lao cilantro is another name for dill, but Wato doesn't know that, so she just buys normal cilantro and Sherlock isn't impressed: Wato has to go back immediately and change it.

One of Sherlock's hobbies is creating essential oils, and she needs Lao cilantro because it has a sedative effect. Sherlock explains a bit the properties of essential oils and says that, in example, ylang ylang is an aphrodisiac. Wato is very interested in this information for reasons that will be evident in a while.

(Sherlock, don't give her ideas. Or maybe it's Sherlock the one who has ideas?)

Mrs. Hatano introduces a new client, her horse riding friend's daughter. I would have like it if in every episode Mrs. Hatano revealed a new hobby, even more bizarre than the previous one and considered unsuitable for a woman of her age, like, I don't know, skydiving. Missed chance.

The client, Reiko Haitani, is a young pharmaceutical researcher. She's quite accomplished for her age, a few of her papers had been published in several scientific journal abroad. Recently she has been contacted by a talent hunter, Arisa Shina, for a job offer from a big pharmaceutical company, Mawson. But after a first contact Arisa Shina disappeared without a trace, taking Reiko's papers and all the data with her. Reiko was worried, but it seems that Arisa is really a talent hunter, since she was interviewed by a famous magazine.

Reiko doesn't know what to think, but she wants Sherlock's help to recover her papers.

Looking at the photographs that illustrate the article of the magazine, Sherlock pinpoints the location of Arisa's apartment. There they find Yuma, Arisa's sister. She says Arisa is abroad and tries, successfully, to contact her.

Arisa immediately apologizes to Reiko, reassuring her she will prepare the contract for her new job as soon as she will be back in Japan, but Reiko decides to not accept Arisa's job offer, she just wants her papers back. They are in Arisa's archive, and Yuma promptly retrieves them and gives them back to her owner.

All's well that ends well? It seems so, but Sherlock, ever observant, notices a series of numbers written on the envelope of Reiko's papers.

The bonus screencap of this episode is Wato's awkward reaction when she realizes that Sherlock is super close to her.

Meanwhile the famous chemist Hiroshi Watanuki has been found wounded and unconscious and immediately taken to the hospital. Reimon and Shibata are talking about the necessity to summon Sherlock to investigate the case. Shibata doesn't like Reimon's attitude, they are cops and investigating is their job, why should they entrust the cases to a civilian? Reimon answers that if they will make a mistake they'll never find the culprit, and Sherlock's methods are the surest way to close the case.

Sherlock and Wato arrive at the hospital and they see for themselves Watanuki's conditions: after he went missing three days earlier he has been tortured with electroshock, his frontal cortex is destroyed and he is completely amnesiac.

He was a researcher at Mawson, incidentally the same company Reiko should have worked for, and he was famous for his work on psychiatric drugs.

A visit to Mawson confirms that Watanuki was one of the top researchers (notice how it's Wato who starts the conversation asking questions about Watanuki's life. She's growing into her role of assistant).

Sherlock redirects the conversation on Watanuki's projects and asks about on what kind of drugs he was working on. His assistant, Sanada, denies Watanuki was planning to produce some kind of top-secret drug, but Sherlock doesn't seems convinced.

While they are leaving, Sherlock notices that there are employees who have a different badge and Sanada explains her that research fellows have a higher security clearance and can access all the labs. Only researchers who published their work on a reputable journal overseas can become reserach fellows and only seven...ooops, six people have those badges, one of them quit recently, Reiko Haitani. Sherlock shows Sanada a picture of Arisa Shina, the man confirms that's Reiko.

Arisa Shina stole Reiko Haitani's identity and used her work and her resume to access a research position at Mawson, probably she wanted access to some kind of database.

Wato begins to work at the library. One of her coworkers is kind, cute and he's writer to boot (we'll see Wato likes artistic types)! She talks to him for five minutes and already develops a crush.

Embarassed, she tries to find a quiet place to try to get herself together, only to find Sherlock, who chose Wato's library to do some research, making a mess of the chemistry section.

Sherlock found a book written by doctor Watanuki: one of his dreams was finding a drug that could erase bad memories. She is almost certain that it was what Arisa was looking for. They have to check.

So Wato and Sherlock crash poor Sanada's lunch and ask him to fess up and tell them what Watanuki was working on. Sanada admits that the doctor wanted to develop that fear-erasing drug to help victims of abuse or people who were traumatized by war. He succeded, but realized that that substance was too strong and could have been used as a weapon. The government helped him, but Sanada doesn't know anything else.

Kento, who was called by Sherlock, gives them a ride and asks them to quit the case. The data of Watanuki's research had been stolen a month ago, but...

Watanuki was probably kidnapped and tortured because the thief wanted the password. They don't know if the kidnapper managed to obtain the complete password, but at the final stage there's a trap that erases all the data if the wrong password is entered. The only hope is that the thief activated the trap and lost all the data. The public security office is on the case, Sherlock and Wato would be in the way, so they have to quit. Of course, Sherlock refuses.

At home, Sherlock and Wato summarize the case: Arisa Shina stole Reiko's identity to steal Watanuki's research, but she hadn't the password, so she kidnapped and tortured the doctor.

The number on the envelope was probably the password. Is it possible that Arisa managed to put her hands on those data?

The next day, at her counseling session, Wato has a pleasant chat with doctor Irikawa about her new job and the fact that she made a new friend. Also, that her deepest wish is to have a love potion that works instantly on a man. For the end of the season, because of the things she witnessed, Wato will completely change her mind about relationships and marriage (and she will admit it). For now, keep dreaming, Wato.

Meanwhile, Sherlock visits Yuma at her workplace. They go to the roof to talk (and the company installed there a target for employees to play with), and Sherlock tells Yuma what her sister did.

Yuma is not surprised. When they were children, their parents divorced and Arisa went to live with their father, who was a violent man. He died in what looked like an accident, but Yuma is sure it had been Arisa who killed him. Also, her sister hates society because it failed to protect her. Sherlock recommends Yuma to call her the moment Arisa will be back.

The next day Wato is preparing to go to work, and has the inspiration to rummage between Sherlock's collection of essential oils to take a bit of that ylang ylang essence. Maybe it will help her enticing the cute writer who works with her? In this scene we also learn that every now and then Sherlock sleeps on the couch, and talks about cryptography in her sleep.

But Arisa is back in Japan, it's time to go to work, for both of them. Wato almost succedes in slipping away with the oil, but Sherlock noticed what she did and tells her that she didn't take ylang ylang, but a remedy against athlete's foot. Sherlock put the essence Wato needs in a very convenient and comfortable adhesive patch. Does Wato want it? Of course she does, so Sherlock attaches a patch on her nape.

It's the first personal space invasion of the day, and Sherlock didn't even have breakfast. Also in these few scenes Shihori Kanjiya makes a ton of hilarious facial expressions that sadly I can't post here without breaking the 30 images limit, so please watch the episode.

At the library, Cute Writer doesn't even talk to Wato before inviting her for lunch. Wato can't help but marveling at the efficiency of Sherlock's essential oils.

At the same time, Sherlock is at the sisters' apartment. Arisa came back and left a mess, broken glass and a word written on the window.

Sherlock believes the word is a hint. Adamas also means diamond, diamonds are made of carbon, whose atomic number is 12. Dividing the string of numbers on the envelope by 12 you have a 16 digit number. Grouping the numbers by four, you have the atomic weight of 4 elements: Lithium, Oxigen, Flourine, Vanadium and Aluminium.

Li O F V Al - Li of val

Lily of the Valley, a flower that blooms in spring. That's the real password. Sherlock also realizes that a listening device was hidden in plain sight in the room: Arisa listened to her explanation, so now she has the password.

Wato is having lunch with Cute Writer. Everything seems to go swimmingly but, unbelievably, Sherlock found the restaurant Wato and her date are having lunch at, and of course she sits on Wato's chair, asking her to ditch her wannabe boyfriend because she has to go with her to chase Arisa. As you can see from the screencap below, Wato is overjoyed.

Why is Sherlock so adamant about having Wato with her? Well, probably because Sherlock is perfectly aware she's socially inept. In the first episode, when they went to Kuuya's apartment, she rang the bell then she shoved Inspector Reimon ahead so he could interact with Kuuya's girlfriend. Now this buffer role belongs to Wato, who in the last two episodes showed a certain capability when it comes to interact with people and to rein Sherlock in (something that Kento, who is as smart as Sherlock, noticed immediately).

Sherlock explains it's an emergency because Arisa found a way to extort her the password, but even though Wato is worried about the data ending in the wrong hands, she has a date and she doesn't want to waste it.

At that point Sherlock proceeds to list all the reasons why Wato shouldn't bother with him, because he's just a narcissist loser looking for an easy prey, and invited Wato out for lunch just because she's a doctor. But Wato doesn't want to listen to her.

Ouch.

Unfazed, Sherlock goes to find Arisa alone, but Cute Narcissistic Poser, terrorized by Sherlock, decides to ditch the date leaving Wato to pay the bill. Poor Wato, what became bad day is going ot become a lot worse.

Meanwhile Sherlock is contacted by Yuma: Arisa asked her to join her for lunch in a hotel. Sherlock bursts into Arisa suite only to receive bad news:

Yuna kidnapped Wato. She's the psychopath, not Arisa, it was her who killed their father, she hatched the plan and she tortured Watanuki. The password is multilayered just like Kento said, Lily of the Valley just gave access to a second password box and an hour time limit. It had been a nasty surprise for the Shina sisters, that forced them to kidnap Wato in order to blackmail Sherlock.

These are the conditions: Sherlock will crack the password. Every time she will fail, Yuma will shock Wato upping the voltage a notch. If she won't succede at the third try, Wato will die. The original time limit, an hour, now is reduced to just a few minutes, so she has to hurry.

For the first time we are showed Sherlock's reasoning process, and it's a pity it hadn't been used in all the episodes, because I liked the way the images materialized onscreen following Sherlock's explanations. But the first attempt is wrong, so Wato receives a first shock.

Sherlock can't focus, she needs to eat, so she begins to tear into her omnipresent chocolate box.

The second try is wrong too, and Yuma is ready to give Wato a second shock.

Wato asks Yuma why is she doing this, the girl answers that she wants that drug to help children, so they will forget their suffering at the hands of their parents and will be able to confront the society that allowed them to be targets of violence.

Sherlock immediately calls out Yuma's hypocrisy: she doesn't want to help children, but to forget her own suffering.

Yuma shocks Wato a second time and threatens to kill her. Sherlock encourages her to go on, because she had always wondered what 1000 volt can do to a human brain. But not cracking the password would be a pity, so che goes for the last try: flowers of may were born from the Virgin Mary's tears, so the password is formed by the atomic numbers of Te (tellurium) and Ar (Argon). Arisa tries immediately and at last the molecule of the drug is visible. Sadly, Sherlock got the password wrong, and the data are cancelled before Arisa's eyes, just like Kento said.

Inspector Reimon enters the room, saying that he listened everything they said: Sherlock's chocolate box hid a small transceiver (a bit of a revenge on Sherlock's part), and the police has enough evidence to arrest both Shina sisters.

At the same moment, Shibata with a squad of cops prevents Yuma to kill Wato and takes the woman into custody.

The next morning finds Sherlock and Wato sharing sleeping quarters. I don't think I need to point out how cute Sherlock is, asleep with her head on Wato's legs.

For whoever might be wondering, of course Wato has been brought to the hospital after Shibata found her, she spent the night there and the next day, after the doctors completed all the necessary check ups, she was transferred to 221b where she just fell asleep on the couch, with Sherlock staying by her side until she woke up. It's not mentioned in the show, but this explanation can be found in the novelization.

After encouraging Sherlock to get up or her back will hurt, Wato asks her if she is upset because she couldn't solve doctor Watanuki's enigma. She will never know the password. Ah, the password?

And Sherlock proceeds to explain, with some sort of manic glee, that March winds and April showers bring May flowers, as they say in England, so you need Winds-W like Tungsten, and Showers- S like Sulphur to make the flower bloom, their atomic numbers form the last password. So Sherlock gave Arisa the wrong password on purpose.

What?

That crazy woman almost killed her! Also, how did the police find her in time? And at last we know how Sherlock (and consequently Shibata) was able to find Wato at the restaurant: the patch Sherlock gave her wasn't an aphrodisiac, but a GPS.

This woman is unbelievable. Reimon arrives to ask about Wato's health and to show Sherlock a notebook that belongs to Yuma: the words Stella Maris are repeated thousands of times on all its pages, and there are other notebooks full of this stuff.

Stella Maris was one of the epithets of the Virgin Mary, and also one of the names of the North Star, one of the stars of the Little Dipper, because sailors used it to find the way when sailing.

Sherlock remembers Akiko's phone case had the Little Dipper on it, and thinks that Stella Maris might be some kind of group, that helped Akiko with the bombs and probably helped the Shina sisters too. Now the game is afoot.

In the next episode Sherlock and Wato will meet a vampire, Sherlock will explain why she doesn't like children and Wato will manage to win Sherlock's respect showing that emotional intelligence can be pivotal to solve a case. And no, they still aren't friends.

#miss sherlock #tv series #arthrecaps

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hime-memes · 2 years ago

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• Not-Your-Mother’s™ Character Building Questions •

- Hime’s character building questions with a twist ! -

** If this goes well - I may make a part 2 ! **

As always: Feel free to change anything within these that you see fit to make it work for your muse & the receiver’s muse !

Recommended For: Adult muses / plots / timelines. ** ( Could also work really well for those that employ video responses for their ask answers ! There are multiple parts to some questions and it has potential to open the way for more in-depth RPs and character development ! ) **

Trigger Warnings For: alcohol / drug references, NSFW-ish innuendo, swearing, death mentions, violence.

1 | Does your character have a favorite swear word ? If so, what is it & why is it their favorite ? 2 | If your character could fight any muppet, which would it be ? ( Bonus: At what location ? ) 3 | Is someone else going to have to clear their browser history if they meet an untimely end ? What message would they give that person ? 4 | What cartoon / fictional character was their sexual awakening ? Looking back on it, how do they feel about that choice now ? 5 | What fills them with unbridled rage & how often do they encounter this thing ? 6 | If they could switch bodies with ( 1 ) animal for the day, what would it be and why ? 7 | What’s their favorite youtube viral video & how did they find it ? 8 | Which social media site do they use and what do they think is the worst part(s) of it ? 9 | Picture it: your character wakes up in a booth, at a crappy diner, across from a ( clearly ) dead body with ‘ What’s new pussy cat ? ‘ playing on a loop. What’s their first guess as to what happened and what is their next move ? 10 | What clickbait title would your character use to describe themselves ? 11 | What’s their favorite saying ... and why ? Does this have an impact on how they live their life or is it a silly thing they just like to say ? 12 | What targeted ad shirt would they un-ironically own ? 13 | If they could cause whatever chaos they wanted -- Where would they start and would they escalate their antics quickly ? 14 | Which anime would consume their lives as a teen and why ? 15 | What’s their favorite insult to use and when / where did they learn it ? 16 | What family tradition(s) have they modified, or simply grown to ignore ? Is there a reason they’ve done so ? 17 | If their personality was an alcoholic beverage ... what would it be and how do they think others will interpret this information ? 18 | What would their social media handle(s) be and what significance do they have for your character ? 19 | How many demonic chihuahua - toddler hybrids could your character reasonably fight before they were overwhelmed and overpowered ? Did they walk into this scenario with a plan in place, or are they winging it as they go ? 20 | What’s the worst bootleg movie they would become invested in by accident ? 21 | How do they insult the average reddit / tumblr user ? ( We all know they deserve it. ) 22 | What does cilantro taste like to your muse ? Delicious herb -- or -- corner store bathroom hand soap ? Do they eat it anyway ? 23 | What’s the craziest thing your character has done for love ? Did it pan out ... or did it start their villain origin story ? 24 | What’s the hot button issue that they use to rile the people around them up so they can just watch the chaos and stupidity unfold ? 25 | What’s your character’s snide comeback to the family member that constantly asks them if they’re dating now, thinking about having kids, getting married, etc. ? 26 | What’s your character’s reaction to brand™ twitter ? 27 | What big chain store would they single handedly and with no remorse put out of business if possible & why ? Would their plan to do so be successful - or just make stocks in the company rise from the attention ? 28 | How does your character feel about adult Minecraft & Roblox youtubers ? Is their criticism valid ? 29 | What 3 AM infomercial can they recite verbatim ? Can they do it right now ? 30 | What modern slang word do they detest above all others ? Can they tell us why or when the first realized they hated it ? 31 | What fanfiction would your character write & for what fandom ? What’s the most interesting tag they’ve given / would give a fic ? 32 | What is your character’s favorite meme and in what contexts do they use it ? Has it ever caused a misunderstanding or fight ? 33 | Oh no ! Your character just sent a late drunk text ... who was it to, what was it about & what did they say ? ( Bonus: Tell us the response they got ! ) 34 | What is your character’s favorite vine™ or tiktok™ ? Can you quote it for us ? ( If applicable ! ) 35 | What’s your character’s least favorite color & who’s wardrobe would they change to nothing but that color just to add an extra reason to hate them ? 36 | Your character is told to make one dish / meal for someone they like -- What do they choose that will make their crush fall in love with them instantly ? 37 | Can your character describe what kind of phone they have, their favorite apps, the person they contact the most, and what their favorite phone case / accessory is ? 38 | If your muse could be isekaied into the another dimension/time, where would they choose to go & would they survive the trip ? Would they bring anyone with them ? How do they think their companion would react ? 39 | Tell us, is your character creative ? If so, in what way do they stand a cut above the rest ? Are they aware of this ? 40 | Give us the style run down for your character ! What sorts of items do they go for when creating their signature style ? Do other people try to replicate this / even if they did, would the look have the same impact ? What are their influences when dressing themselves ? 41 | Forget love interests; when your character saw their nemesis did they know immediately that they were the one, or did they have to antagonize one another first ? What kind of relationship do your character and their nemesis have ? Do they foresee it changing in the future ? If so, how ? 42 | What’s the most expensive gift your character has received & how do they feel about it ? 43 | What lyrics speak to your character’s soul and why ? Do they have any musical selections that would surprise the people that know them ? If so, what might they be ? 44 | What does it take for your character to stand up for someone else ? Are they a reluctant protector -- or bold badass ? Who’s behalf do they step in for most often ? Does teh other person seem okay with this or are they usually annoyed ? How does your character feel about that reaction ? 45 | Can your character name a movie and a book that has fundamentally changed them in one way or anther ? Can they elaborate on why ? When did they first encounter this media and why has it stuck with them for so long ? Do they often watch/read these ? 46 | After some snooping, someone’s found your character’s dating profile: what’s the most shocking thing they find out about your character ? How accurate is your character’s dating profile ? Can you tell us what their bio says ? Which dating site do they frequent ? Have they successfully met someone using it ? 47 | What smells / flavors do your character associate with themselves ? Would this be accurate if they asked other people ? Why do they feel those scents and flavors are representative of them ? 48 | Would your character rather fight a baboon once a month, or fight a chicken every time they needed to get in a vehicle to go somewhere ? 49 | What’s the most pained your character has ever been ? Was it physical, emotional, or mentally ? Is it something they’d be willing to discuss ? If so - how have they come to terms with it ? 50 | Your character has to write a haiku that describes their dominant emotion: tell us what it says and see if we can guess the emotion it’s describing !

#original rp meme #rp meme #character buillding meme

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dreaminlittlenightmares · 3 years ago

Note

how do the antags deal with sensory overload? what causes it?

Anon with the interesting asks, everyone! For this one, I referenced back to the Neurodivergent ask for a good chunk of them

The Maw

the Janitor: He's prone to auditory overload, so loud ringing sounds bother him. He freezes and shudders in pain until it stops

the Twin Chefs: They're both prone to olfactory overloads, mainly with fresh, sharp smells (like lemon or rosemary). Both normally dry heave and have to walk away for fresh air

the Lady: Susceptible to flashing lights. Gets headaches quickly and feels nauseous afterwards

the Granny: Also prone to olfactory overloads, but not necessarily intense smells. The second she smells cool or dry air, she feels sick immediately

Pale City

the Hunter: Certain textiles bother him, like rubber and steel wool. He can normally work with these anyways, but he'll avoid them if he can

the Teacher: Jumps at certain high pitched noises, and avoids eating foods that are "dry". That second one just makes her think she's eating styrofoam

the Doctor: Has a weird reaction to both sight and touch sensory overloads. Whenever he sees a static tv screen or anything curly, he starts itching himself

the Thin Man: Is also susceptible to flashing lights, and it's worse if it's a strobe light. He can feel his bones vibrate painfully and will run outside to make it stop

The Nest

the Craftsman: Sound overloads whenever he hears the stacking sound of poker chips and knives sharpening. Get super irritated and fidgets until it stops

the Butler: Seems to have a sensory overload for everything, which is why he's very particular about things. Anything that can give him a headache makes his telekinetic powers uncontrollable

the Pretender: Surprisingly prone to sound overloads, but in the opposite volume. Dead silence makes her feel uncomfortable and fearful

Extras

the Ferryman: Taste overloads on cilantro. He's one of those people where it tastes like mouthwash to him. Feels nauseous and get irritated about it

the Mirror Man: He has a touch overload, but it's hard to describe. Whenever someone touches a mirror, he feels it too; and it always feels like clammy, wet hands touching his bones

the North Wind: Touch overloads on drastic temperature changes. They usually live high in the atmosphere, where it's cold. Whenever they fly down, they go slowly to avoid stress

#little nightmares #the LN villians #the Janitor #the Twin Chefs #the Lady #the Granny #the Hunter #the Teacher #the Doctor #the Thin Man #the Craftsman #the Butler #the Pretender #the Ferryman #the Mirror Man #the North Wind #dream granted

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skztalkergo · 4 years ago

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stray kids reaction: you got your wisdom teeth removed

chan

lowkey traumatized but he’s the nation’s father so he’s gonna step up to the plate or die trying

waves away the nurse with the wheelchair while you’re still half-conscious and carries you to the car himself

drives you to his place and tucks you into bed and stalks around the dorm yelling at people who are louder than his newly-instated appropriate decibel level

also yells at anyone attempting to record you and your loopy behavior

religious about your medication, you will not miss a dose, even if he does get kinda squirrely when you request the codeine

brings his work home for once and sits in bed next to you on his laptop until he’s deemed you Safe To Leave Alone

addresses you by dumb things like “hey there superstar” or “that’s my brave girl!”

minho

has had his phone out and recording since the moment the nurse came to get him from the waiting room

the 20 minute long, deeply unflattering y/n crack compilation will be available for viewing before you’re back to eating solid foods

that being said, he’s surprisingly helpful and blows off practice because he refuses to leave you alone for the first 24 hours post-op

threatens to tape your hands together if you don’t stop poking at the stitches

spoon-feeds you applesauce and does not hesitate to scream “HERE COMES THE AIRPLANE” even though you’ve been lucid for several hours at this point

changbin

another videographer, but considers this to be a boyfriend privilege and will not hesitate to fight anyone else with a phone in your vicinity

really stressed and fails to conceal it, resulting in you comforting him before the surgery

afterwards, though, he goes into full Mom Mode, going so far as to call both his mom and your mom to gauge appropriate steps (he doesn’t trust the internet)

will attempt to cook for you, but if it falls through he’ll badger chan or minho until they make you soup (and he’ll pretend he made it, and you’ll pretend you believe him because you love him <33)

hyunjin

kind of helpless but does not hesitate to baby the actual heck out of you

A Level 10 Fusser

he changes the pillow arrangement of the sickbed he’s made you so often that you yell at him because it keeps waking you up

can’t cook, so he boils chicken broth and stands over you menacingly because you are legally obligated to drink the entire mug

also force-feeds you healthy things like mashed up avocados and mangoes and doesn’t listen when you tell him you just want to consume Spaghetti-O’s

squishes your swollen cheeks and won’t shut up about how cute they are

brings kkami over to comfort you, but then gets jealous when you cuddle kkami instead of him

jisung

also kind of clueless, but puts his whole heart behind it

sits next to you in bed while you nap and memorizes the entire WebMD page on dry socket, so that when you wake up he’s there with ice packs and tea bags and salt water and a billion other things to try

tells you that you shouldn’t talk to speed up the recovery process, but forgets his own rule 10 seconds later and gets confused when you won’t answer his questions

freaks the heck out when you start bleeding again a few hours after the surgery and has you halfway to the car before you tell him to just help you put some gauze on it and wait it out

pets your hair and sings you to sleep

felix

Stage 5 Clinger

assumes personal responsibility for your recovery and is probably more invested in the process than you are

not afraid to get his hands dirty and do the un-glamorous things like change your bloody gauze and carry you to the bathroom when you’re still loopy

stress bakes while you’re asleep but bakes the cookies half as long as normal so they’re kind of mushy and you can still eat them

canned soup is his vibe but he’ll put cilantro or something on top so he feels like he did something

sleeps wound around you like a little boa constrictor and isn’t mad if you drool on him

seungmin

medical philosophy is that you should let nature take its course, so he’s not really a coddler

more of the type to put you in bed with a stuffed animal and pat you on the head and then go sit in the living room where he can hear you call if you need him

good to have around if you’re nervous before the surgery, because he’s extremely calm and has the power to rationally talk you down from all your irrational fears about complications

will cook simple foods for you until you’re better

super good about remembering when you have to take your meds, and won’t go to sleep before you in case you’re in pain

jeongin

also vaguely traumatized, he has less than half an idea what to do but he refuses to leave you alone

even if it means getting chan or hyunjin involved, he is going to treat this as a learning chapter on his Road To Ultimate Boyfriend

holds your hand in the car the whole way to the doctor’s, and buys you flowers afterwards even if you’re too loopy to appreciate them

sets up camp wherever you are, complete with his laptop that is playing your favorite movie on loop and a list of internet-approved soft foods

keeps a meticulous list of all your medications so he can remind you when to take them, and dresses you in his oversized hoodies because it makes him feel better more than it makes you feel better

#stray kids #stray kids reactions #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids headcanons #bang chan #lee know #lee minho #changbin #hyunjin #han #han jisung #felix #seungmin #i.n #jeongin

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buraibanzai · 3 years ago

Note

burai's thoughts on highly discoursed food items (black licorice, white choco, oatmeal raisin cookie, pineapple pizza, milk before cereal (alt: cup of milk, put in cereal, and drink the whole thing), candy corn, cilantro, etc)

this one is interesting and he def has strong opinions

licorice gross

white chocolate doesn't taste like choco and is also too sweet for him + technically isn't even chocolate >:(

he really likes oatmeal cookies but the raisins are hit or miss

used to be really anti pineapple pizza but he has friends who like it and he wants to live in peace. still wouldn't eat it tho

milk before cereal is actually insane though, he won't make peace with those people

he's done cereal in a cup before because it's easier sometimes but he didn't just chug it, he had a spoon too and he only drank whatever he couldn't scoop out (and cereal went in first)

he's never had candy corn but he really doesn't like the thought of it, makes him think of Shrek's earwax but colourful

he unfortunately does have the cilantro soap gene but he can tolerate small amounts or just avoids it entirely

not exactly a discourse but he does eat Starbursts with the wrapper on sometimes just to freak people out + it's easier

hot dog is not a sandwich, cereal is not a soup, he finds these arguments very stupid and thinks these exist only to be inflammatory

that being said, he will still argue for the other side because he likes sowing chaos

people get very angry about ketchup on hot dogs or not. he doesn't like any condiments so his hot dogs are plain anyway but doesn't care what other people do. unless it smells bad, then they need to get away

French fries dipped in milkshake is good (apparently this is discourse)

he has sandwiches crust off and he doesn't eat pizza crust unless it's stuffed, but you're free to take his crusts if you're so invested in it

i'm not sure what other discourse exists out there but this was fun lol, if you would like Burai's hot take on anything else just send it in

fun food related fact: Burai is mildly allergic to pineapple but didn't realise this until recently. he just assumed everyone got the same mouth fire reaction until someone told him otherwise and he surprise Pikachu face

edit: thought of some more

orange juice with bits > smooth

likes crunchy peanut butter in theory but it's way too hard to spread on things so he uses smooth

#bio tag #ask tag #burai banzai #zedthebuggy #ty ty

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kirstquad · 3 years ago

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Fussy eater and proud!?

I'm a fussy eater / a picky eater / I have a narrow dietary palate... whatever you want to call it! I don’t have ARFID and I know it’s First World Problems in that I get a choice about what I eat and how I like it. I am just sick of having to explain to other adults that I just don’t like all foods but am not like a 5 yr old who will only eat French Fries.

For example - French Fries, Chips, Chippy Chips, Potato Wedges, Potato Waffles, Hash Browns, Tater Tots and Small to Medium Sized Roast Potatoes - YES!

Boiled Potatoes, Potato Croquettes, Duchess Potatoes, Baked Potatoes and Mashed Potatoes - Just No! The texture, the taste - it all makes me gag and shudder even thinking about it!

I recently had to make a list of all the foods I like and the cooking methods for friends and family alike as they couldn’t understand my “rules”. Such as tomatoes are fine - unless they are gilled or cooked whole - withstanding that they are fine as a sauce - but I don’t like soup!!! I didn’t choose to be this way, I don’t enjoy going to fancy restaurants as an adult and having to order the Chicken Schnitzel, Burger with only Cheese and Salad - hold the pickles and sauce, an item from the kid’s menu or a couple of sides to make a “Fake Tapas”. I don’t enjoy the fear of being invited out and the restaurant not having an up to date online menu. I don’t enjoy missing family weddings because they are having a traditional wedding breakfast - with no options. At 36 years old I am still trying new foods and new methods of cooking them in order to make them more palatable and less disgusting to me! But certain foods I will never like and I just want people to understand that! I don’t want to have to explain to people “I just don’t like the taste or texture of any Mashed Potatoes, no matter how you season, mash or butter them.” to have them look at me like I am crazy or like I have suggested I will ONLY eat live puppies!

I want people to understand that whilst they might only have a dislike for Marmite, Surströmming, durian, olives or cilantro - my list is a lot longer and I have the same visceral, disgusted reaction to a lot of the things on my list and that I simply don’t want these foods anywhere near me, in my mouth or as part of my diet!

I don't want self help tools to LEARN to like these foods I find disgusting, my diet isn’t so restrictive I have health problems and I enjoy the food I do eat! What I do I want is understanding from fellow adults instead of distain. Understanding that everyone is different and that I struggle with this everyday but have come to a point where I am able to lead a full and delicious lifestyle and don’t appreciate your mockery and feel proud I have at least come this far!

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abiteofnat · 4 years ago

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If you’re reading this, I’m coming back to Chicago, beetch

The non-existent rumors are true. After a brief 10-month exit from the city to soak up the fresh air and social distance-friendly suburbs, I am now returning to Chicago as a single, slightly more anxious version of myself. While I’m still trying to kick some of the anxiety and OCD that COVID-19 pushed from “lifelong tagalongs” to “all-controlling demons”, I feel 97% ready to be back where I feel most myself, and cannot wait to welcome that change. While that 3% still makes me a little uncomfy and hesitant, I’m a believer in pushing your boundaries to allow yourself to grow, and also, I am really sick of suburbs food.

Ha! I joke. I wouldn’t move downtown simply for access to more diverse & higher quality food... or would I? All I know is while there are plenty of gems in the North Shore, I’ve eaten take out from all of them ten times over, and I did not foster my dislike of cooking out of nowhere. My parents do not enjoy cooking, my sister pretends to enjoy cooking, and I will cook if it is 5 ingredients or less. My latest speciality is a toasted bagel with butter, hummus, and EBTB seasoning. Voila. So when it comes to dinner, we are living off of a carousel of suburban favorites, and are losing steam as we are still not comfortable with dining inside (or dining inside in the city, where the fun food is).

All of this to say, it’s exciting to imagine what life is going to be like in a few short weeks. While I’m still extra precautionary, I can’t wait to have my own space downtown, where I can enjoy coffee on my little balcony (!!!) and dream of the days friends can come squeeze into my studio safely while I lay out an entire table of sharable spreads and snacks from Ema (Charred Eggplant Spread is the best one, don’t fight me).

So you may ask, how did you come to this decision to move to the heart of downtown out of seemingly nowhere, you hermit?

It starts with my mom and I having a brief, simultaneous breakdown and coming to the conclusion that we would both feel comfortable doing a staycation downtown, as long as we wore masks, sanitized always, and braved the cold to eat outside. This was big for me! As a person with real OCD, not cute TV show “I have to keep my pens straight” OCD, this would be the most exposure I’d had to a lot of uncontrollable variables since the pandemic started. If you’re thinking, “you get to spend a weekend downtown in a hotel with your mom, shut up”, know that I hear you. I am unbelievably grateful that I’ve gotten this time with my parents, and that we can do a staycation. However, having anxiety comes at a cost, and that cost is blowing everything way the fuck out of proportion instead of being able to rationalize it sometimes. Let’s! Normalize! Having! This! Discussion!

So, we went downtown in early March for a two-night stay, and oh my goodness. The realization that we got to be in a different space, and do different things, and eat different food for a weekend made it feel like a legit vacation, and not like we drove 30 minutes to get there. The view from our room was of Michigan Ave, and hearing the traffic and seeing the people out and about instantly made me feel a sense of peace I wasn’t expecting. I’ve lived downtown for 6 years, but it always shocks me how much the city feels like an extension of me once I’m in it after being away. My mom and I went out for a walk (gentle yet forceful reminder to please wear a mask), then decided to grab dinner while we were out. The plan was to bring it back to the room, but there was a warm spell, and there just happened to be a table for two at Topolobampo on Clark, and suddenly we were sitting on the patio under the lights eating masa quesadillas dipped in a spicy salsa verde. It just happened!!!

Before getting downtown, I was tentatively looking at apartments for the spring. I was looking at Lincoln Park, Old Town, maybe Lakeview, and came across a listing in the Gold Cost that caught my eye. That one was swiped out from under me within days, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the area. Then I discovered another unit that was available, and couldn’t shake it from my mind. Over mushroom tacos I discussed it with my mom, and we decided to go see it. Totally not what I had been planning for in terms of location, but why not?

Once we polished off breakfast the next morning (Eggs Benedict with fried eggs, extra hollandaise) we headed out to see the place. Let me say I have never seen my mom fall in love with a single apartment I’ve lived in, and she was ALL. FOR. IT. Unreal reaction on her part. Once I saw the west-facing views and the incredible natural lighting, I was 100% in as well.

We spent the rest of the weekend wandering the downtown area, enjoying another dinner outside at The Gwen and my mom’s first visit to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which was 95% more empty than I’ve ever seen it given we went in a pandemic at 8:30PM. Shit on Starbucks all you want, but that Roastery is an incredible use of space (in non-pandemic times) and the coffee & Princi pastries are really, really good.

When we got back home feeling refreshed and like we had actually gone on a vacation, I jumped into apartment shark mode real fast and signed as many documents as the very kind realtor could send over. One week later, whabaam, I was a Gold Coast girl. Ahem, *lady*. What better way to celebrate than going to Somerset and having the Rapini & Roasted Garlic Flatbread and Wild Mushroom Risotto? No clue. As I sat outside, yet again with my mom, I felt a wave of excitement come over me and realized, this is it. This is the sign and feeling I’ve been waiting for, telling me it’s time to move back to the city and start over. The creamy, herbacious risotto also helped solidify that.

SO. After all of that, the news is I’m moving, and you’re probably wondering why I shared all of this on a blog about food. I meant for this post to be about everywhere I ate during my staycation, but realized quickly we ate at some very basic places - DELICIOUS, but still basic. Oops. Below are all the dishes I had and a rundown of the flavors, textures, etc., however don’t expect to find any new, revolutionary restaurants. Sorry!

1. Topolobampo

This Rick Bayless restaurant has been around forever, and unfortunately, you can tell by the interior. We’ve eaten here as a family a couple of times before, but never had a noteworthy experience. I can confirm that in a pinch, the patio covered in fun lights & mini piñatas, and the sharable, filling bites will do just fine. This was my first time going to a Mexican restaurant as a non-alcohol drinker, and instead of my typical mezcal margarita, I opted for a Fresh Limeaide which was refreshing and flavorful. We split the Guacamole and Chips, which if you’ve ever stopped at the Frontera in O’Hare, you know is good as fuck. It’s smooth, creamy, tangy, and topped with chopped onions and cilantro for a little crunch. It’s not the most life-changing, but it is consistently satisfying. Next, we got the Mushroom Tacos and Masa Quesadillas. The Masa Quesadillas were a fun surprise, as instead of a tortilla, the masa is what makes up the outside. They are almost like empanadas and stuffed with gooey, melty cheese, and come with a spicy salsa verde on the side. I would come back for these alone - they’re rich yet light, warm, and comforting, all the things you would want when dining outside when it’s still a little chilly. The Mushroom Tacos were quite frankly unreal, because whatever they seasoned the mushroom slices with and grilled them on made them taste unlike any mushroom I’ve had before. There was definitely some meat crossover on the grill, so don’t order those if you’re vegan, or ask them to prepare the mushroom separately. I however was LOSING MY MIND. Over mushrooms. The joys of being vegetarian!

2. The Gwen

On a happening Saturday night in Chicago, Upstairs at The Gwen is sure to be a packed scene. Located in River North, this hotel bar/restaurant offers a somehow cozy rooftop filled with loungey couches, fire pits, and ambient lighting, even though you’re surrounded by apartments and skyscrapers and there is nothing “cozy” about River North. Every table was filled, yet since you’re outside and it’s fairy spread apart, it still felt safe. I got my new classic, a Lemonade, and we got the Burrata to start. With sourdough, roasted beets, squash, pomegranate, pistachio, & arugula, this plate was nothing short of mouth-watering. It has textures! It has flavors! It has pomegranate seeds, the TikTok must have of the moment! The bread was 10/10, the burrata was 8/10, and all of the toppings made for a very find bite of salad on their own. For my main I got the Lobster Fettucine, a beautiful bowl of “charcoal fettuccine with saffron-tomato sauce, lobster, calabrian chili butter, and basil-brioche crumbs” as listed on their website. Take any of those ingredients and it’s going to be delicious, but all of them TOGETHER? INCREDIBLE. The chunks of lobster were huge, absolutely making the dish worth its price tag, and the sauce was flavorful, unique, and unlike any sauce I’ve tasted in the last few years. It’s typical to do a squid ink pasta with seafood and tomato sauce, but the saffron added a new element I very much appreciated.

3. The Starbucks Roastery

I KNOW. THIS IS A TOURIST DESTINATION. All I am saying is if there’s no line, go get an iced latte with two packets of sugar in the raw. That’s all. It’s really good after something like, I don’t know, Lobster Fettucine.

4. The Penninsula

You cannot go wrong with hitting up The Penninsula for breakfast or brunch, especially if you are staying there and have the option to do room service. Typically we would go to Pierrot Gourmet, the cafe in the ground floor of The Penninsula, however it has been closed temporarily. If there’s one thing to order with your breakfast, it’s the smashed fingerling potatoes. Delish.

5. Somerset

Somerset is becoming a quick go-to of mine for an impromptu dinner downtown, given it’s in the heart of Gold Coast and is cute if you’re sitting indoors or outdoors. The food is nothing too innovative, but it is done well, which is the most important part with “cuter” restaurants that may focus on the Instagram appeal over the food sometimes. Each time I’ve gone I’ve gotten the seasonal flatbread and a pasta or risotto, usually something with mushrooms, and it’s always been plate-licking good. To drink, I got -you guessed it- a Lemonade! For dinner I went with the Wild Mushroom Risotto which was everything you could hope for in a risotto, topped with olive oil, herbs, and local parmesan. We split the Rapini & Roasted Garlic Flatbread which was as it sounds, flatbread covered in rapini, garlic, and ricotta, which added a nice crunch and had enough rapini to feel like it was replacing a boring vegetable side dish or salad. The patio vibes were wonderful, the judgemental girls in the greenhouses looked like they were having a good time, and our waiter couldn’t have been sweeter. I will be going back to try the Fontina Arancini, which I just noticed on the menu. FRICK.

So there you have it, a very long-winded explanation of the last few weeks of my life and where you can find me on a staycation in Chicago. Hopefully once I move back to the city I’ll have endless new spots to try and won’t be basic anymore!

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie

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youralternantpersonality · 4 years ago

Text

Except For You

Embry x reader: Except for You

Warning: Death, Emotional support and control, CPS/fostering/adoption/homes.

***

Y/n was an easy-going kid growing up, full of life, happiness, and all things of that. It wasn’t until the tragic accident happened that landed you in foster care. CPS searched high and low for a family member to take you in. But to no avail, you were still in the system from the soft ages of five to 15.5 years (to be exact). It wasn’t the easiest, nicest, and not the most pleasant, but you survived and that’s all that mattered. At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

You were taken in by your great aunt when you were eight, but by then, the damages had been done. You were distant, hesitant, and deemed as an “aggressive” child. The only life form you ever let get close to you was the dog of the house, Manny. As soon as you entered the household, Manny was your comforter, protector, and your emotional and mental support. Your great aunt and uncle realized this and let it be. It wasn’t until another accident occurred that resulted in Manny’s death did you end up in a group home. The pain was too much, and because you weren’t properly taught how to express your emotions healthily, it resulted in a few tossed dishes, runaways, holes in the wall, and nights of screams and cries that could be heard for miles. Ever since, at the tender age of nine (at this point), you wouldn’t allow any form of being near you. The thought of going through that pain again only would hurt 20x more than the time you lost your family and Manny. And that wasn’t worth it.

That is until you were fostered by a couple who wanted to adopt you in the small town of La Push. You had met your foster mom, Emily, at the group home she volunteered at and for once grew attached to someone. It took a while, but something about Emily gave you a sense of home. She reminded you of your mother. Or what little you had of her. All you had of your family was pictures and trinkets you hid from the other kids, so they don’t mess with it.

You and Emily grew close. So close that Emily had to stop volunteering at the group home. Regret consumed you until you had a potential parental meeting to be adopted. When you walked into the room, the first person you saw was your caseworker, Lilly (the bitch), and then you saw her…Emily. You ran to her as fast as you could, hugged her with all your strength, and cried.

“What are you doing here?” You cried into her shoulder.

“I’m here to take you home Y/n/n.” you looked at her confused. She smiled and continued,

“That’s why I stopped volunteering. It would have been a conflict of interest and unethical to continue to work here and then adopt you, sweetie. So, I talked to Jessica and Leo,” the group homeowners, “and they said I would have to stop for a given month, place in an application, allow CPS to check if we’re acceptable to be able to be a contender. But Jess and Leo somehow convinced them to speed up the year process to five months. I’m so sorry Hun, I didn’t mean to be away for this long.” She said with tears forming in her eyes.

“You want me?” I said in disbelief. She smiled and looked up at a man I didn’t realize who was there. Big ass dude who looked to be “6’4”, broad shoulders, buff, and looks like he could intimidate and scare off anyone in his path. He grinned down at Emily and looked towards me. He held out his hand and introduced himself.

“I’m Sam, Emily’s husband. She has told me nothing but great things about you Y/n.” I hesitantly but confidently shook his hand and from then forward, I was accepted into their close little family. And to be honest, I wasn’t that was surprised at how easily I had grown attached to the two.

Six months later

I was in the garden with Emily fixing the flower beds when I heard the guys come from the forest. Emily and I looked at each other and went inside to clean up real fast and prepare for their ultimate feast. The guys had been training for some vampiric war due to this incompetent girl who can’t get herself out of trouble.

It was on accident really, how I found out what Sam and the guys are. Two things happened, one, Embry imprinted on me, and two, I was there that uneventful day, the first day I met Bella, where her dumbass punched Paul. Not only did I see Paul, but I also saw Jake transform.

Living with Sam and Emily for a month and a half

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” I yell at a distance, Embry, my imprint before I knew what it was, Quil, and Jered all turned to look at me.

“Fuck.” Sam said, he turned to look at me, but I took off. I didn’t know where I was running, but I ran. I wanted to go home, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know if Emily or Leah did the same thing. So, I just ran, ran until I got to First beach. I fell to the sand to catch my breath and just looked out into the ocean. I felt someone sit next to me, without even looking, I knew who it was. The second and last person I’ll let come as close as they were to me; the only other male to be within proximity of me. Enough to where our shoulders touched.

Embry. The cute and idiotic boy I took to instantly the second we met. I never understood or knew what it was about him, but whatever it was, I tried to fight it at first, but it hurt more than I thought it would. Emily said to just let it happen, let yourself feel, and not resist. It was hard, but after some time, he somehow looked like it affected him more than me, which worried and hurt me. Without a second thought, I accepted and allow myself to the possibility of gaining a closer friend. And since, he has been one of the closest people I have ever taken to. More so than Emily, and that says a lot. I broke the silence.

“Why didn’t you tell me,” I said without looking at him.

“I figured you’d want to get adapted to living here before you found out that our legends are true Olives.” I roll my eyes at the nickname he gave me as soon as he found out that I despise Olives. I looked at him and looked down as our knees were leaning on one another.

“You still could have said something…I don’t know. Anything. You know I hate secrets, especially coming from you Cilantro.” He wrapped his arm around me, and I easily gave into him. It used to bother me how easily I took to him being close to me, but now, I don’t fight it.

“I know, and I’m sorry. No more secrets, I promise. Unless I have to protect you, but I promise, I will try to keep you out of that situation Olives.” I looked up at him, I couldn’t look away even if I tried. His big soft brown eyes carried the light from the sun as if it was a sea with quiet waves. A whirlpool of honey mixed with chocolate. The boy had a grasp on me, but I wouldn’t break what we have for some weird crush. But apparently, he would because without a second thought, he leaned in and I felt two warm lips against mine. I did nothing at first, but when he pulled away, I leaned in and caught his lips to mine again to show him how I felt back. After that, we leaned our foreheads against each other and smiled. Thus, resulting in him to tell me about imprinting. Now, that, I understood why he held back from telling me. Thinking back on it, the ways the pack responded to us, it made sense.

“Awe, look at the married couple.” -Jared, when we were eating.

“You guys want us to leave while you have your privacy, or are we welcomed into the conversation?” -Brady, when we were hanging out at the beach.

“Get a room!”- Paul, when we were doing nothing but making stupid faces at each other.

Everyone knew I hated being touched or having someone too close to me, except for Emily. So, when I allowed Embry to do so, that brought on more teasing. And it wasn’t big stuff like wrapping an arm around me. It was small things.

When he’d sit next to me at the table, he would be close enough for me to cross my legs and rest my foot behind his calf, yet far enough so no one would be able to notice.

Sometimes Emily and I would be sitting at the table when the guys come in. He would purposefully be last so that when he came behind me, he would glide his finger softly at my exposed skin. At one point, he didn’t care, and Emily saw him do it then saw my reaction. She was happy to see my reaction but said nothing to me.

When Emily and I are cleaning the kitchen from cooking and the guys come in to eat, he’d get the silverware and slightly brush his shoulder to mine. Then bump me with it and head back to the table. I would do nothing but smile, which caught Paul’s attention, who then pointed it out. Asshole.

After that, Embry said, “fuck it!” and just found a way to get close to me. I didn’t mind. But it was moments like these, on the sand, with his arm wrapped around me that no one saw. It was something that wasn’t worth showing. Something that I was not comfortable showing. The slight touches, I’m ok. But PDA, I can’t do. Thankfully he understands this.

Present Day

Just as the boys were entering, Emily and I just took the food out. Like normal, the boys set the table and for some reason, Embry came up to me first, kissed my cheek, grabbed the plates, and went to the table. I was shocked, but I wasn’t mad. No one saw it, so that put me at ease.

After eating and relaxing, Embry and I went to his place to just watch a movie. It was times like these did he love the most. Why? Because I was always attached to him. With Embry, I can get lost in time and can easily feel physically deprived from. So, when we are behind closed doors, I basically turn into a big baby. Another thing that has scared me. But I am learning.

With Embry, I am learning a lot about myself. My boundaries, comfort zones, and what I want. With Emily and Sam alone, I learned what I want, Manny proved that to me too. With my great aunt and uncle, I learned what I didn’t want. At the group home, I was taught how to survive. With all these lessons, I learned a great deal about myself. And all of it came into play meeting up to the love of my life. And every day, I am grateful.

Masterlist

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harlot-of-oblivion · 5 years ago

Text

The Heart of the Camellia(Part 7)

After having dinner with the rest of the crew, Vergil offers to walk you home while trying to solve a puzzling conundrum: how to ask you to be his date to the wedding.

It's finally back after two LONG months! Hope you guys enjoy this flowery installment! 🌺😊🌺

The song featured is To a Wild Rose by Edward MacDowell, but I listened to the Emile Pandolfi version while writing that scene...its a tad bit longer and has more embellishments here and there. 🌹🥰🌹

Here’s the link to the list of all the flowers featured in this part.🌸💖🌸

Chapter 2: Wild Roses, Wild Nights

There is one thing that Vergil has not gotten used to since living in the human world, and that is being social among a big crowd of people. The clatter of utensils and clicking of glasses makes it hard to concentrate on his own thoughts as everyone chatters and bickers around the table. In all honesty, this racket would usually make him a tad bit uncomfortable, but the presence of you, his lovely rose, sitting beside him brings peace of mind during the chaos of dinner with the crew.

As you laugh at his brother’s punny jokes and smile happily while talking with Kyrie, he cannot help but to admire you from the corner of his eye. He especially pays close attention to the beautifully crafted flower crown that adorns your head. The delicate vines of pink wisteria intertwining seamlessly with the bright lavender asters adds a certain allure to your enchanting charm. His mind keeps mulling over the meaning of the flowers, which never fails to summon that familiar warmth deep within his chest.

I feel the blossoming of love.

And perfect patience will help it bloom.

Vergil’s hands begin to fidget underneath the table as he concentrates on keeping his usual cool composure. Normally, his demeanor is quite calm during these social engagements with the crew, but he recalls Dante talking him into wearing an entirely different wardrobe. It’s highly aggravating that my meddlesome brother has been going through my closet…again, Vergil huffs in his head. But he relents to his brother’s advice despite feeling wary about being deprived of a familiar comfort just so he did not keep everyone waiting.

He picks out a nice dark blue button up shirt and a pair of black dress pants with a matching trench coat before quickly getting ready. When he heads back downstairs, some of the crew raise an eyebrow at him, noticing the obvious change of his usual attire. But he swells with pride when he catches sight of your flushed face as he walks over to you. It reminds him of the expression you had when he was talking to you into the shop’s kitchen, cheeks growing pinker the longer your eyes linger over his bare chest.

As he remembers your cute blunder about “doing pretty boy” his lips twitch into a smug grin, utterly satisfied with himself for rousing such a flustered reaction from you. And when he discerns just how affected you are by his change of clothes…perhaps he should change his wardrobe more often, especially if it elicits such an endearing blush upon your lovely face.

The smug grin quickly disappears, however, when the rather awkward ride in the Devil May Cry van plays in his mind. Usually, there is just barely enough room for the whole crew to stuff themselves inside the messy RV, but there are not enough seats with you joining them. Dante loudly informs you that you can share “frowny flower’s” seat just as Nico revs the engine. Vergil glares his brother’s vulgar suggestion but makes the split-second decision to sit you astride his lap so that you would not get knocked back by Nico’s horrendous driving skills.

Just the mere memory of your body bouncing against his thighs makes his heart hammer in his chest while his hands fidget faster underneath the table. He remembers having to summon all his willpower not to visibly blush, trying hard not be enraptured by your intoxicating scent while you clutch his shoulders tightly. And any inappropriate thoughts about the sounds that came out of your mouth during the whole ride was quickly snuffed out before you or anyone was none the wiser.

“Flower for your thoughts?”

Vergil feels dainty fingers gently cover his jittery hands as your sweet inquiry brings him out of his improper ruminations. His eyes dart over and peer down at your slightly worried face, your thumb brushing the back of his knuckle fondly as you lean in closer to hear his answer. The corners of his mouth lift into a soft grin before he entwines his fingers with yours as he leans down and whispers by your ear.

“It seems the crew enjoys your company, Y/N.”

A brilliant smile lights up your face. “I can’t help that I’m so poplar!” you lightly jest with a cute pun, cheeks turning pink as you demurely turn your head away.

He chuckles softly, feeling much more at ease as his thumb strokes the back of your hand. When you slip back into the many conversations going on over the table, he notices a certain spark of joy in your eyes as you joke and chat with the rest of the crew. He knows how lonely you get outside of his visits to your garden, and when Dante suggested that you should tag along for dinner, he did not hesitate to invite you.

And now you’re the epitome of beauty in full bloom, my lovely rose.

Vergil continues to hold your hand away from the prying eyes of the crew underneath the table. He squeezes and caresses your hand every now and then all through dinner, secretly enjoying the subtle glances and coy smirks you give him while caressing his hand back. And towards the end of dinner, he finds himself easily joining in on whatever brash banter and ludicrous tales Dante is currently spinning, inserting his own wry and deadpan comments here and there in between his retelling.

After they are done with dinner, Vergil steels himself for another awkward ride as the crew heads back to the accursed van. You gently tug on his sleeve on the way though and softly point out with an encouraging grin that it is not too far of walk back to your home. His lips curl into a thankful smirk before offering his arm to you as he announces to the rest of the crew that both of you will be walking instead of enduring Nico’s reckless driving again.

“Pff! Still got us here before the big dinner rush, didn’t I?” Nico argues loudly as she tries to light up a cigarette. Before Vergil can even refute her claim, Dante rushes over and quickly cuts him off.

“Say it ain’t cilantro!” he exclaims dramatically while raising his fists towards the sky in mock anguish. Vergil just gives his fool of a brother a blank stare while you laugh and answer him with one of your puns.

“Get clover it!” you quip back playfully.

Dante clutches his chest and gasps. “Your words…they prick me, Buttercup!”

Vergil pinches his brow. “We must make haste before it gets dark, Dante.”

And with that, both of you say your farewells to the crew before departing. Kyrie and Lady both give you a light hug while Nero waves and nods from afar. Dante claps a hand on his shoulder and gives him the most exaggerated wink in all of existence. Vergil scowls at him, feeling close to summoning a sword right behind his nosy brother, but thankfully you are unaware of his brother’s horrible attempt at subtlety.

Both of you stroll down the street while you gush about the crew and how much fun you had getting to know them over dinner. Vergil smiles and listens intently to your enthusiastic praise, interjecting every now and then with his own commentary, most of them being sarcastic jabs directed towards his brother. You laugh at his wry attempt at humor, affection gleaming behind your eyes as you pull yourself closer to his arm.

Sometime during the light conversation, he recalls the reason behind Dante’s idiotic wink. A couple of days ago, he and his brother received an official invitation to his son’s wedding personally from Kyrie. The invitation itself was very elegant with neat cursive cordially inviting him and “plus one” to the wedding. He remembers raising an eyebrow at this odd phrase and asking his future daughter-in-law the meaning behind it. She smiled sweetly before explaining that she thought he might like to invite a friend as his date to the wedding.

It only took Vergil a moment to deduce Kyrie’s true intentions before his heart skipped a beat. Even now, as he walks through the city streets with you, just the mere thought of asking you to be his date to the wedding makes him feel both eager and apprehensive. What utter nonsense…a Son of Sparda shouldn’t hesitate, he mentally berates himself. But that still does not quell the odd churning sensation in his stomach as his mind begins to frantically reel, trying to sort out how he should exactly go about this little conundrum.

“That crinkly brow of yours has racked up quite the bouquet today!”

Your cheery voice knocks him out his fretful thoughts. “I beg your pardon?” he replies, never slowing his stride while peering down at you as his brow furrows in slight agitation.

“Oh!” you gasp. “Is that a grumpy frown I see?” you observe playfully, trying your best not to smile by biting your lower lip. “You know what that means…!”

Before he can even retort with his own wry response, you are already throwing the hand not currently wrapped around his arm high up into the air. The bright blue petals of forget-me-nots fall around him soon after, gracefully drifting down as a triumphant grin spreads across your face. Vergil sighs as he passes through the tiny cloud of flowers, but he can never find it in him to be truly annoyed by your spontaneous flower showers.

“You’re just as ridiculously charming as always, Y/N,” he teases you softly, the corners of his mouth twitching into a soft smile as he relishes the blush creeping up your jubilant cheeks.

You giggle softly before clearing your throat. “As I was saying,” you reiterate, placing your free hand back on his arm. “What kind of wedding present are you getting for the happy couple?”

“I must confess,” Vergil starts as you both pause at a corner of a street. “I am…uncertain of what is expected from me in regard to a proper gift,” he admits as his eyes check both sides of the road before leading you across the street.

“I can help you with that!” you declare with a vibrant grin.

Vergil gives you a grateful smile. “Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated, Y/N.”

Both of you brainstorm about what kind of wedding gift is suitable for a father to give his son for the rest of the walk. You list off a bunch of ideas while Vergil listens, nodding his head in approval at some of your suggestions while pondering why weddings have so many complicated customs. However, none of the suggested gifts resonate with him, so you go about it from a different angle. You steer the conversation towards his own interests, explaining that maybe Nero would appreciate a gift that brings his father joy and experience it together.

My lovely rose, you are not only beautiful, but utterly brilliant as well, Vergil mentally praises you as he gazes down at you warmly. He lists off a few of his interests, some you already know about it, but he goes into more detail about why he enjoys them. You grow quiet and stare up at him, tilting your head in thought as you listen attentively to his every word. Your eyes light up when he talks about his prowess in the world of music, absolutely gaping up at him as he mentions his preferred instrument.

“You have got to be plucking my petal! You play the violin?”

Vergil smirks at your astonished outburst. “I’m quite the accomplished violinist if I do say so myself,” he claims proudly just as he rounds the corner of your street. A contemplative silence is the only answer he receives from you as he leads you towards your very welcoming home. He looks over to see you chewing your lower lip, lost in your own thoughts as your free hand twirls the end of your intricately braided hair.

“Y/N?” he calls out softly as you both walk up your driveway. “Are you well?”

“Yeah!” You blink your eyes a couple of times as you look around and realize where you are. “Just thinking,” you trail off before flashing him a speculative smile. “Does the power of Sparda include the talent for musical performance?”

Vergil quirks an eyebrow at your curious question. “It just so happens that it does.” He ponders for a moment before the meaning behind your question truly sinks in. “Are you suggesting-”

“A violin performance!” you finish, shaking his arm in excitement as you pause in front of your porch. “A stirring violin solo for Nero and Kyrie on their special day!”

“Hmm…it’s an intriguing idea,” Vergil hums, brow furrowing in thought as he goes over the merits of such a gift. A violin performance does not align itself with the usual choice of wedding gifts, but it most certainly would be very memorable. It would also be a genuine gift from a father to his son, sharing a part of himself that no one has seen for many years. There is only one obstacle that stands in the way of this gift coming to fruition though.

“Unfortunately, the ever-present inconvenience known as my boorish brother does not make the shop the best place for practice,” he bemoans while rolling his eyes in irritation.

“You can borrow my music room if you want,” you propose sweetly.

Vergil’s eyes snap over to you, unsure that he heard you correctly. “Did you say…music room?”

“Yeah!” you confirm with a nod of your head. “C’mon,” you pull on his arm, gently coaxing him to follow you up the porch. “I’ll show you!”

“Well, this is certainly a surprise,” Vergil wonders aloud as you lead him through the front door of your home. “I did not know that you’re a musician as well.”

“I’m not really a musician,” you explain, putting down your purse and straightening your pink floral dress. “Not anymore at least,” you add wistfully as while making your way towards a set of stairs.

Your sudden change of tone does not go unnoticed by Vergil as he follows close behind. Ever since this friendship between you two has blossomed, he has only ever seen you sad once…when you shared your complicated family history. And now, as he climbs up the stairs, he surmises that this music room must have been your mother’s when both of you lived here. An awful stinging sensation starts to prickle in his chest, not enjoying the fact that he may see you wracked with melancholy again.

Both of you pass by a couple doors before stopping in front of one at the end of the upstairs hall. “And here we are!” you announce in a more chipper tone as you turn the knob and open the door.

The strong scent of dust assaults Vergil’s nose as he steps through the threshold. It is very reminiscent of the stale musty scent of old books wafting through the air of a foregone library. But as he surveys the room, he notes that instead of books, there are shelves and racks full of various instruments and musical accoutrements. And in one corner of the room sits an impressive grand piano, which has escaped the wrath of the dust by being covered with a big piece of white cloth.

“Sorry about the mess!” you fret softly, rushing over a particularly display case. “No matter how many times I dust…!” You take a deep breath and blow a heavy coating of dust off the glass, showing an array of unique instruments inside.

“I take it that all of this is…?” Vergil’s question trails off as his eyes motion towards the entirety of the room.

“My mother was also quite the accomplished musician,” you reveal while turning around to face him. “And she played…well, everything!” you laugh while stretching your arms out wide for emphasis. “This is her instrument collection.” You gesture towards the glass display cases behind you. “And this over here,” you walk across the room and pause in front of a couple of bookshelves, “is where all the sheet music is stored. There’s even some of my mother’s own music that she composed herself!” you announce proudly while pointing to a few folders abundant with pages of staff paper.

Vergil steps over to the shelf and examines the various selection of sheet music. “This is a very impressive collection,” he marvels. “May I?” He reaches for the folders that you indicated as your mother’s original work. You smile and give him an eager nod, which knocks your flower crown slightly askew. This, however, does not diminish your beauty; in fact, it just makes you even more lovely in his eyes. He finds himself subtly admiring you from the corner of his eye as he pulls out the proper folder and begins studying the a few pages filled with ingenious music.

Your smile turns into a pensive grin as you glance around the room quietly beside him. You hum quietly when something catches your eye in the corner of the room opposite of the piano. “This is where I practiced my breathing techniques,” you murmur, more to yourself than to him, as you wander over to a small chair and table with a candlestick atop its surface. “I tried so hard to not the snuff out the candle while I sang.”

“Now I know why your singing is always so impeccably in tune,” Vergil remarks without looking up from the sheet music. He sees your head snap over towards him in his peripheral vision, eyes wide in surprise as your cheeks turn wonderfully rosy. His lips curl into a cocky grin as he closes the folder and places it back to its proper place on the shelf. He turns his gaze over to the covered piano and raises an inquisitive brow at you. “Do you know how to play?” he asks, finally relenting to the genuine curiosity that has been building up inside him since walking into this room.

“My grandmother taught me when I lived with her,” you answer softly as you go over to the piano and grab one end of the cloth covering it. You swiftly pull it off in one motion and uncover a spectacularly crafted grand piano. The varnish of its black silken surface shines brightly as you clap your hands free of dust before propping the lid up. The stunning visual of dragonflies buzzing around colorful flowers is painted on the inner side of the lid, a hidden display of rustic beauty among all the elegant majesty.

You pull out the stool and sit down in front of the keyboard. “Hmm,” you ponder aloud as your hands take up position atop the black and white keys. “It probably needs to be tuned, but…” Your voice fades away as you begin to play the piano.

Vergil is transfixed on the spot as you fill the room with a sincerely charming melody. The song is a pleasant piece called To a Wild Rose if memory serves him right, but it is not what has him so captivated as he listens to your impromptu performance. He cannot help but to compare you to a flower blowing softly in a spring breeze as you sway gently in time with the tune. And every time you close your eyes when the music starts swelling up with emotion he feels utterly entranced like a bee to a bloom, drawing ever closer to his lovely rose as you continue to serenade him with delightful music.

Carefully, he treads across the room to stand beside you, making sure that his presence does not break your concentration as you continue to play. He takes the time to admire the lovely profile of your face as your fingers glide gracefully across the keys, adoring the subtle twitch of your lips as they curl into a tender smile at every musical refrain. But upon closer inspection his keen eyes detect a certain sadness within that warm smile. The pin prickling sensation that always arises within his chest at the mere thought of you being unhappy flares up again as you play the song to its conclusion.

The final notes of the song echo in the room as your eyes crack open and begin searching for him, looking a bit perplexed until you glance over to your side. “Hoppin’ hyssop!” you gasp, jumping in your seat a little as you clutch your chest in relief.

Vergil smirks as you huff indignantly at him, still so amused by your flowery exclamations every time he manages to startle you with his sudden appearances. But your annoyed expression soon melts away as he continues to hold your gaze. His mind begins to shuffle through many different possibilities, wondering what words he can say that will grace him with that radiant smile once more.

“Flower for your thoughts?”

He tilts his head at the sound of your endearing question. “You play so beautifully,” he declares, enjoying the way your face flushes at his compliment as he bends down to take a seat on the piano stool. “And yet there was an air of melancholy around you while playing such a delightful song.”

You wince at his words and quickly glance away to stare down at the keyboard as he settles in beside you. Good going, you dunce, Vergil sarcastically rebukes himself. At this rate, you will assuredly win her over with this frank conversation. He flounders for a moment, trying to figure out how to salvage this blundering exchange, but your soft affirmation stops him short.

“I know,” you sigh, “it’s just…” you pause for a moment, hands wringing the end of your braid as you bite your lower lip. “This room is like bittersweet vines growing in a berry bush.”

Vergil’s brow furrows in confusion at your words. You look up from the keyboard and giggle softly when you see him arch an eyebrow, silently asking you to elaborate on your odd berry analogy. “No matter how hard I try to only pick the sweetest berries from the bush,” you begin explaining while leaning your head to rest against his shoulder. “I still end up eating a few bittersweet ones.”

It grows quiet between the two of you as Vergil makes sense of your words, turning them over and over in his head. He finds it hard to focus though with you nuzzling up against his arm, which summons a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach. But despite the pleasant distraction he somehow manages to understand your words, and it strikes a chord deep within him.

Even though you have moved on to live a better life…the past still comes back to haunt you ever now and then. He knows this feeling very well since he is guilty of brooding on occasion. The prickling in his chest squeezes around his heart as thoughts of his mother come unbidden to the forefront of his mind. Unfortunately, this always brings back memories of the pain he had to endure over the years since that dreadful day, along with the incessant urge to get away from these unpleasant recollections.

Vergil wraps his arm around your shoulders and pulls you closer to him, seeking the solace he currently craves while hopefully bringing you comfort as well. “If it’s too much trouble,” he whispers close by your ear, “I can find somewhere else to-”

“No!” You shake your head gently and gaze up at him with beseeching eyes. “You need a place to practice!” Your face softens as a reassuring grin enhances the rosy hue of your cheeks. “And I think it will be good for me to hear music in this room again.”

Vergil regards you curiously. “And why is that?”

“Even bittersweet berries can lose their acidity with enough sugar.”

And with that small bit of gardening wisdom you finally grace him with the radiant smile that always puts him under your dazzling spell. His lips curve into a warm smile as he lifts his other hand and straightens your flower crown. “Perhaps we can practice together?” he suggests softly.

“Oh, no!” you blurt out while bowing your head down bashfully. “I’m horribly out of practice and I would just slow you down.”

“Nonsense,” he scoffs as his hand gently lifts your chin and beholds your wondrous gaze as his thumb softly strokes your cheek. “It would be an honor to play the violin while you play a piano accompaniment.”

Vergil can practically feel the heat emanating from your blush as it rushes through your cheeks. “Umm, well,” you mumble quietly, “when you put that way…” You give him a gracious smile and a slight nod of your head. “How could I refuse a such an earnest request from such a strikingly handsome devil?”

The melancholic mood hanging in the air completely dissipates and the prickling in his chest releases its grip to make way for the pleasant warmth now flooding through his entire body. He hums and gives you a pleased grin before sighing softly. “I must take my leave soon,” he informs you, which makes your lower lip poke out in a disappointed pout. “But what do you say,” he continues while withdrawing from your personal space, “to a stroll in the garden before I depart?”

“Ooh!” Your pout instantly disappears as you playfully gasp in surprise. “You know it’s pretty rare for me to amble though the flowers at night nowadays!”

“Yes,” he grumbles lowly as his brow furrows in irritation while the memory of the Fury demon attacking you in your garden flashes before his eyes. “At least…not without me as your escort,” he tacks on as an afterthought, hoping that you understand that he only wants to protect you from another horde of demons should they show up after nightfall.

Your eyes soften as you reach up to take his hand, which is still holding your chin. “I know, Vergil.” You stare deeply into his eyes for a moment before flashing a bright smile. “Well, c’mon!” you exclaim excitedly, shooting out of your seat and pulling him around the piano by the hand. “Let’s go!”

Vergil follows you out of the music room, down the stairs, and through the hall into your kitchen. You open the back door and lead him through its threshold, instantly transporting him into another world filled with wonderous blooms. He takes in the pleasant perfume of your garden as you wrap your arm around his elbow. Both of you walk among the flowers nurtured by your own hand, enjoying each other’s company in comfortable silence as twilight settles over the sky.

Even though is quiet between the two of you, Vergil’s mind is a torrent of activity, going back to the matter of asking you to be his “plus one” to the wedding. This stroll through the garden is the perfect opportunity to bring it up, but he is still struggling with the proper words. As he guides you down a more secluded path of your garden, an impressive section of flowers catches his eye. Their delicately layered petals closely resemble a rose, but upon closer inspection he recognizes them to be camellias.

Vergil’s mind immediately stops whirling as he focuses on their meaning. His feet move of their own accord towards the romantic flowers while he draws out a plan inside his head. You look up at him inquisitively as he guides you off the path. “Straying away for a closer look?” you inquire sweetly.

“Yes,” he replies, determination flowing through him as he marches on until coming to a halt in front of the beautiful blooms. “I presume you know about the heart of the camellia?” he questions while peering down at you for confirmation. “How the petals and the…” His mind comes to a blank as he tries to recall the correct term for the leafy part of the stem.

“Calyx,” you inform quietly, nodding your head gently as your eyes gleam with interest.

Vergil hums in appreciation before releasing your arm. “They never separate from each other,” he begins to explain, bending down to pick a pink camellia, the marvelous flower of longing. “Even after death…the petals don’t fall off first like many other flowers,” he continues as his hand moves over and plucks a red camellia, the vibrant flower of passion and deep desire. “They’re always…” He stands back up and turns to face you once more with both flowers in hand.

As he takes a step up get closer to you, Vergil notes how the asters of your flower crown sparkle like stars in the waning light of twilight. His eyes never stray from your tender gaze as he reaches for your hand, and places it on top of his other hand holding the camellias. “Together,” he finishes softly, stroking your hand gently as he relishes the crimson blush spreading across your face, which can only mean that you understand what he is trying to say:

My heart yearns for you with a fiery passion every moment we are apart.

“Y/N, my lovely rose,” he utters the term of endearment he refers to you in the privacy of his mind aloud for the first. You gasp quietly as his body presses even closer to you and gazes upon your stunning visage with heavy lidded eyes, adoring the way your blushing cheeks glow in the fast approaching night. “Would you do me the honor of being my date to the wedding?”

Your eyes widen as his heartfelt request hangs in the air unanswered. But Vergil’s able to pinpoint the exact moment you comprehend his question as the light in your brilliant eyes shifts from uncertainty to elation. “Yes!” you burst out with a joyous smile. Your arms wrap around his neck as you jump up on the balls of your feet, pulling him into your tight embrace as you squeal in delight by his ear. “Yes, of course I’ll be your date to the wedding!”

Vergil stands there dumbfound for a moment, still getting used to this kind of close contact, but then he remembers to encircle your waist with his arms. He places the hand still holding the camellias in between your shoulders and the other rests on the small of your back. His head starts to spin as the fragrance of flowers along with your own intoxicating scent ensnares his senses and lulls him into a fervent stupor.

You shift your head back to stare up at him with a radiant smile, which only seems to set that warm feeling pooling in his belly ablaze. He bends his head down and just before he can even fathom what he is doing…his lips press a tender kiss between your brow. His ears pick up a low gasp from you, and he fears for a moment that this gentle gesture is unwanted. But when you let out a sigh of delight and slide your arms from around his neck down to rest against his chest, all tension leaves his body as he lets all his worries go and just basks in this intimate moment between you, him, and the lovely flowers.

It feels like an entire lifetime has passed until Vergil finally moves away, already missing the feel of your silken skin against his lips the second they leave your brow. He glances down and notices that your eyes are closed, so he rests his head against your forehead and hums softly before he speaks. “It’s getting late,” he murmurs, watching closely as your eyes flutter open and gift him with the sight of your adoring gaze. “I must take my leave now.”

A tiny sliver of sadness twinkles in your eye as your mouth twists into a forlorn frown. “I wish twilight would last just a little bit longer,” you grumble, pressing yourself deeper into his embrace as your hands cling to his shirt.

Vergil chuckles softly at your adorable show of stubbornness while he removes his hand from the small of your back to cup your cheek. Your face is so close his now…he can feel your every breath against his lips. It grows incredible quiet as something shifts in the air, the tenderness from a moment ago now replaced with something more intense. He wants to admit to you that he also abhors leaving your side day after day, but it seems his mind is struggling to find the proper words. So, he does what he has always done in the past: recite a poem that perfectly captures this heady moment:

Wild nights - Wild nights!

Where I with thee

Wild nights should be

Our luxury!

Futile - the winds -

To a Heart in port -

Done with the Compass -

Done with the Chart!

Rowing in Eden -

Ah - the Sea!

Might I but moor - tonight -

In thee!

When his recitation ends, he nuzzles his face even closer to yours, feeling you take several shaky breaths as he tenderly brushes his thumb across your cheek. Even though there is not much light outside his keen eyes can still detect the endearing blush upon your lovely face, reminding him more and more of the camellias at his feet. He can also see your eyes glowing with unrestrained ardor and once again he feels himself getting pulled closer and closer…

Vergil turns his head slightly and presses a soft kiss just above the corner of your lips. You whimper softly and clutch onto his shirt tighter, which only stirs the flames of desire as he withdraws, enjoying the satisfaction that comes with coaxing that exquisite sound from you. “I shall escort you back to you home now,” he declares softly while taking a step back and offering his arm to you.

“Huh?” You shake your head and blink your eyes a couple times before fully registering his words. You glare at him cutely as you take his arm and Vergil just smiles smugly in return before leading you back to your house through the garden. When both of you arrive at the backdoor of your home, you pout and sigh sadly as you glance up at him with doleful eyes. “Well…here we are,” you state the obvious as you continue to cling to his arm. “I guess I’ll see you soon?” you ask with a hopeful smirk.

Vergil hums in amusement before freeing himself from your vice grip on his arm. He gently takes both of your hands and places a kiss atop both of your knuckles before responding. “Until we meet again, my lovely rose.”

You grant him one last radiant smile before heading into your house, but then you turn around and peek your head out through the door. “Until then…Vergil,” you murmur back with an impish grin as you slowly reach out and take the pink camellia from his grasp. Your delicate fingers caress the inside of his palm before retreating to your side, giving him one last longing look before closing the door.

A dreamy smile sneaks onto Vergil’s face as he exits your garden through the back gate, not bothering with summoning the Yamato and opening a portal back to the shop. Instead, he strolls down several streets, feeling like the luckiest devil in the world while the day’s events play in his mind like a movie. The entertaining dinner with the rest of the crew, the discovery of your music room, the passionate moment by the camellias…he is still flying high from the fact that you wholeheartedly agreed to be his date to the wedding!

When he finally arrives at his destination, he completely forgets to reign in his dreamlike state as he opens the door and enters the shop. He is vaguely aware of Dante sitting behind his desk, gawking at him like an oafish buffoon as he drifts past the desk and up the stairs without so much as a greeting. His mind is too occupied with thoughts of your radiant smile, your welcoming embrace, and that lovely sound you uttered when he nearly kissed your lips.

As Vergil enters his room, he wonders if he could talk you into performing with him at the wedding. And if he is successful…he hums at his own clever idea since that would mean even more time spent with his lovely rose. He brings the red camellia up to his nose for a sniff, feeling excited by what may blossom from his more amorous advances in the future. And as he stores the desirous bloom with the growing pile of gifted flowers, he muses that you are like its delicately layered petals and he is like the protective calyx underneath them.

And both are bound together by the heart of the camellia.

Read Part 8 (Ch.1) right here

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kindofcashton · 5 years ago

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𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 • chapter 9 (Calum Hood AU)

HANGOVERS WERE SUCH a bitch. Not only was my head pounding like a jackhammer, my body felt physically ill. I could barely move when I woke up the next morning, not to mention the night before took a while to even remember. I pieced together flashes until a succinct timeline began to form. I remembered fruity drinks and loud music and a scratchy beard and a dark-haired boy that I kept pushing away whenever he reached out to help me. As soon as I remembered Calum practically peeling the stranger off of me, my stomach twisted into knots. It was humiliating, and my reaction to him didn’t help my case. I didn’t necessarily regret having fun with a random guy in a club, but it wasn’t my finest hour for sure. And though I was beyond irritated that Calum thought he had to save me, he deserved more of a thanks than I gave him.

But would I admit this to him in the light of a new day? Absolutely not.

I couldn’t stay in my room forever, and I didn’t want to give Calum any suspicion that last night meant something or had rattled me more than it did. My head was hurting way too much to study the details and figure out if Calum had any ulterior motives. Besides, so what if he did? I didn’t like Calum and he didn’t like me.

When I stumbled into the kitchen, surely looking like a zombie fresh out of a grave, Luke gave me a sympathetic smile.

“Morning, sunshine,” he joked lightly as I grabbed a box of cereal and collapsed in the chair next to him. His blue eyes were kind as he took in my awful appearance. “Fun night?”

“You could say that,” I grumbled, blindly reaching into the box as I ate the cereal dry. It was sugary and vaguely reminiscent of cardboard, but since I was hungover it tasted like the best damn food I’d ever had.

Hannah was sprawled across Ashton on the living room couch, and she gave me a half-hearted wave. He was rubbing her shoulders and she looked half-dead too. I bet her hangover was just as bad as mine.

“Why do we drink?” she groaned, rubbing her temples. Ashton laughed and toyed with her hair, but she swatted at him. “I’m serious, I always forget how much being hungover sucks.”

I took a big handful of cereal. “Because being drunk is fun.” It was true; I don’t think I’d ever laughed as much in one day as I did last night. Sure, being drunk made me slightly stupid and naive, but at least I was blissfully ignorant.

“You would call what happened fun?”

My guard flew up as soon as Calum walked in. His tone was sharp and accusing, and I grit my teeth. I hadn’t told Hannah exactly what happened with the blonde guy; when she’d asked if I ever found him, I said I did and that he was a half-decent kisser. I left out the part where he nearly took all my clothes off in a crowded club and Calum came in to save me.

My skin prickled as he sat in the chair diagonal to me, eyebrows raised in expectation.

I chewed slowly on the cereal, tentatively asking, “What?”

“You’re eating my cereal.”

Blinking in surprise, I glanced at the box. It was the stupid frosted stuff he ate every damn day, and I had my hand buried in it. Flushing a deep red, I handed him the box and swallowed the half-chewed lump of cereal in my mouth, choking slightly as it went down the wrong pipe.

“Sorry,” I wheezed, avoiding his gaze as per usual. I had no idea what he thought of last night, and I wasn’t about to find out in front of all our friends. They began to clear out one by one though, as Luke and Michael left for work and Ashton attempted to disconnect from Hannah who held on to him like a child.

“You’re girlfriend is dying and you’re just gonna leave?” she cried, dramatically throwing a hand across her forehead. Ashton rolled his eyes and moved her legs off his lap.

“You’re not dying babe, you’re hungover. And you have Calum and Scarlett to take care of you.”

Hannah pouted. “Scarlett’s hungover too, so that leaves Calum alone to take care of both of us.”

“I don’t need Calum to take care of me,” I muttered, not even fully aware that I said the words out loud. Fortunately I said it too quiet for Hannah or Ashton to hear, but Calum visibly tensed in front of me.

“Oh, really?” he fired back, jabbing his spoon roughly into the bowl of cereal before him.

Leaning back with my arms folded, I forced my face to remain neutral. “Really. I don’t need someone coddling me, I can deal with things myself.”

This made him look up, and piercing brown eyes trapped my green ones. He looked almost angry. “And what exactly are you dealing with?” His question left me floored, and I couldn’t help the surprised gasp that left my lips. But then I straightened in the chair, controlling my shock.

“What are you talking about?”

He leaned closer so his words only reached my ears. “I don’t believe this bullshit about being on a break from school. We all know Hannah lied, so how do we know you aren’t lying too?”

“We should be respecting my damn privacy, because it’s none of your business.” Panic bells were sounding in my brain. I thought no one questioned my half-assed explanation for leaving school, but clearly one person saw right through the bullshit.

Calum exhaled through his nose. “Whatever it is you’re trying to hide from just became my damn business last night when I had to save you from yourself.”

“I’m not hiding anything!” I hissed. “And you don’t have to save me from myself, like I said I’m fine.”

“Bullshit,” he whispered, and we had both leaned forward to the point where we were only inches away from each other. “You were drowning your sorrows in cheap cocktails and gross guys. People who are fine don’t do that.”

My chest was rising and failing erratically, my heart pounding just as hard as the migraine in my head. “You don’t know anything about me, Calum.”

The intensity in his expression had me by the throat, and I couldn’t have looked away even if I wanted to. From such a close proximity I saw the way his jaw was set, how his brows were low with concentration. I also noticed the two small moles on his cheek, and how his hair had the gentlest of curls. I wondered what he was noticing about me.

Finally, painstakingly, he replied, “You’re right. I don’t have a clue.” And then he leaned back, breaking the brief connection we’d had and leaving me with a wall of cold air between us.

“What are you guys bickering about now?” Hannah called distractedly from the living room as she flipped through channels. Ashton had left and the three of us were alone. Calum shrugged his shoulders, still watching me even after our conversation had been forced closed.

“Nothing important, apparently.”

With that, he stood up from the table and left me alone. I thought he’d disappear in his room, or even leave in his car. But instead he went over in the living room with Hannah, and the two of them started watching some show they both liked. I didn’t have work today, which meant I had nowhere to go and no reason to leave. I thought I’d do something with Hannah, but with Calum suddenly very interested in spending time with her I couldn’t just steal her away.

I remembered what she said about being friends with Calum before anyone else. The way they laughed and joked together about whatever they were watching made me wonder how she was so close to someone that was so cold. But Calum and Hannah had some sort of understanding; they squabbled all the time, but were never mad at one another. They could go from criticizing one another to laughing about it a second later. I almost wanted to beg Hannah to tell me all of his secrets. What made him tick? Why was he so closed off to new people? Was there something about me he didn’t like?

I almost felt like I was invading something private, and so I stood up to go back to my room. But then Hannah waved me over. “Come watch, this episode is so funny.”

Glancing at Calum, who was very pointedly looking at the TV, I slowly made my way over. The only place for me to sit was next to Calum, as Hannah had stretched out on one side of the L shaped sofa. He had his long legs resting on the coffee table, looking nonchalant and comfortable. I tried to mimic my position to be just as carefree, but as I sat on a crooked leg I felt stiff and awkward. Why did he have such an effect on me? I couldn’t even sit properly in his presence, for god’s sake. Sighing, I shifted uncomfortably, and I felt his eyes on me for a brief second. But as quick as they came, they left.

For the rest of the day, we were an unlikely trio. We’d binged nearly a whole season of a TV show, and then got so collectively sick of it we had to do something else. Hannah said she wanted to make “something exotic” for dinner, so we spent the afternoon combing the cupboards for the proper ingredients. The most exotic thing we could think of making was a box of pasta with miscellaneous vegetables in the fridge.

Cooking together was actually sort of fun, and I was reminded of making that damned grilled cheese with Calum. A few times we locked eyes, and I was sure he was thinking of that afternoon as well. Having Hannah with us diffused a lot of tension, and a few times we even shared a laugh. The intensity of this morning had evaporated as the three of us worked on our concoction.

“Add garlic powder. No dish with garlic powder could possibly be boring,” I suggested to Hannah as she went through all of the seasonings.

Calum snorted. “I always thought cilantro was the secret key ingredient.” I smiled, stirring the tomato sauce as it bubbled in the small pot.

“You’re burning the mushrooms,” he warned me, and I let out an oh shit as I realized that the crackling sound in the background was my mushrooms turning to black. I frantically scraped at the pan, hoping I could salvage them. Calum came over to lower the stove-top temperature, and examined the wreckage.

“I think they’re done for,” he announced, and I sighed, hands on my hips as I rolled my lips into my mouth. A smile played across his face as he dumped the burnt remains into the garbage. “It’s alright, mushrooms are shit anyways.”

“Hey,” I protested. “I like mushrooms.”

He chuckled, resting the pan in the sink to be scrubbed off. “Duly noted.”

By the time dinner was almost ready the other guys had returned home. Michael immediately said he could smell our burnt food from the driveway, and Luke questioned if what we were making was even edible. Hannah angrily yelled at them and went on and on about how the three of us had spent all day kindly making them a meal and that they better shut up and eat it.

“I love when you get angry,” Ashton complimented as he gave her cheek a kiss. Hannah waved him off.

“Can’t kiss now babe, I’m working,” She was wiping down the plates and preparing them as if this was a cooking competition, while Calum and I leaned against the counter snacking on slightly burnt homemade croutons.

“You know, these don’t suck,” I said, referring to Calum’s handiwork with the croutons. He’d chopped some nearly stale bread and seasoned them with a bunch of things, and seemed fairly proud when they’d come out of the oven.

“Thank you,” he accepted graciously, a note of sarcasm in his voice. “I wish I could say the same about your mushrooms.” I elbowed him with a small chuckle, popping one last crouton in my mouth before leaning forward and joining the others at the table.

Hannah presented everyone with a plate of our pasta, which sort of looked like a lump of penne drenched in sauce with a bunch of nondescript vegetables. I took a seat next to Michael, and Calum took the one on my other side.

Luke poked his fork at a fairly limp looking piece of broccoli. “Yum,” he said with a wince.

Michael coughed slightly. “You guys love you some garlic, huh?”

My jaw dropped. “What, is it too much? I swear I only sprinkled the stuff.” Calum chuckled beside me.

“I told you cilantro was the better option.” I was about to come up with a witty comeback, but then my phone went off in the living room. I quickly went over and scooped it off the coffee table, thinking nothing of it as I answered.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Scarlett Mercer?” I recognized the sound of the woman at the bank. I’d spoken to her quite frequently in the recent weeks, since dealing with my parents’ accounts and what little savings I had required the expertise of an accountant.

I gripped the phone, lowering my voice so the others couldn’t hear. “This is her. Is anything the matter?”

“You received a bill in the mail recently, yes?”

Biting my lip, I responded, “Yes, from school.”

“And have you received the one regarding the pipes?”

My brow furrowed. “Pipes? What pipes?”

“At your parents’ house. A pipe burst in the basement and now there’s no water in the taps.”

I huffed, confused at everything she was saying. “I-I put the house on the market, it’s supposed to be sold to someone else. It’s supposed to be someone else’s problem.”

“Well, unfortunately it hasn’t been closed on yet, so you are still the one responsible for fixing any damages. No one would want to buy a house without working pipes.”

I didn’t appreciate the smart remark at the end of her explanation. I was already worrying about paying off school and did not need another useless expense. I hadn’t even thought of my old house in weeks, I thought someone had already bought it or it was being handled by someone else.

“Um,” I stalled, pressing my fingertips to my forehead as I fought to concentrate on her words. The others were laughing and chatting enthusiastically in the kitchen, sending a stab of remorse into my chest. “I-is there anything left in any of the accounts that I could use to pay for this? It’s just, I’m at a new job and I can’t--”

“There’s nothing else to tap into, unfortunately. The last amount went to finishing off hospital bill payments.”

“Right,” I said, panic bubbling up in my throat. “I...how much time do I have? It’s just, I have to figure out...some things before I can pay.” Yeah, figure out where the hell I’m gonna get the money.

“It’s not a pressing issue, but the sooner the better would be preferable.”

I wanted to throttle this woman. Which was it, not a pressing issue or the sooner the better? I sighed, pacing across the floor to quell some of my nerves.

“Okay. I will...call you, when I figure this out. I’ll call as soon as I can.” I didn’t wait to hear her reply, as I ended the call and dropped my phone onto the couch. My head was spinning as I returned to the table, suddenly sick to my stomach at the sight of my half-eaten food.

“Everything okay?” Ashton asked, stealing a crouton from Hannah’s salad. I nodded, not even really paying attention.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I ignored the way Calum’s hand stilled by his glass of water, obviously hearing my bullshitted answer and remembering how I’d said the same thing this morning.

I pushed the food around my plate until everyone else was done, and didn’t hesitate before fleeing to my room to be alone. I knew Hannah wanted me to relax about schoolwork, but for some reason hearing from the bank just made me desperate to dive into studying. It was a coping mechanism that definitely didn’t hurt anyone, just made me a little crazy and overworked. But now more than ever I wanted to reconnect with school, and what better way than to learn about the fascinating field of psychology?

Only I couldn’t study if I couldn’t find my textbook. I tore my room apart looking for the damn thing, finding only my notebook and a different textbook from my physics class.

“Where is it?” I murmured, pushing a hand through my hair as I left my room to check downstairs. I thought everyone had gone to sleep, but when I heard someone in the kitchen it made me jump. Calum was doing the dishes, alone and illuminated by only one light in the ceiling.

“What’s up?” he asked upon seeing my stricken expression. I shook my head at his loaded tone and looked around the kitchen for the book.

“I can’t find my psych textbook, and I really need to study right now.” I was well aware of how crazy I sounded, considering it was late and Calum knew I was bullshitting.

He didn’t say anything, just dried off his hands with a towel and left to go upstairs. I rolled my eyes, wondering how I’d pissed him off this time. Exhausted and defeated, I fell onto the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. A day that had seemed to be going alright ended shitty, as things always seemed to end with me. I didn’t think I’d ever catch a break, and knew that whenever I got comfortable something would come along to fuck it up.

“Forgot I had this.” Calum’s voice broke through my thoughts and I looked up as he entered the living room, handing me the very textbook I’d lost. I was so stunned it took me a second to actually take it from him, and once I did he casually stuck his hands in his jogger pockets. “I was bored out of my mind the other day and thought I’d give it a go.”

I frowned, flipping through the freshly dog-eared pages. “You felt like reading a psychology textbook for fun?” I closed the cover and held the book on my lap. Calum fell onto the sofa next to me, shrugging.

“It was fairly interesting, although I disagreed with a lot of theories. That Adler guy has inferiority complexes all wrong.”

My eyebrows shot up, not quite believing what I was hearing. “So you read it, but you also remembered a specific theorist and his ideas?”

Calum shrugged again. “Like I said, light reading.”

I narrowed my eyes, looking back down at the textbook. “You’re a lot smarter than you let on, huh?” I voiced aloud. Calum didn’t appear particularly book smart, and I wondered if he was ashamed of it or wanted to keep it secret.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, and I frowned at his unsatisfactory answer.

“No, you should be proud of it. Being smart is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Who ever said I was ashamed?” His voice was freezing, and for a second I was worried I’d pissed him off. But there was a glint in his brown eyes, and I shoved him lightly.

“Alright, wise guy. If you’re so unashamed then why don’t you help me study? Quiz me on anything.” I leaned my head back against the couch cushion, eyes closed as I giggled. Calum took the textbook from me, and opened to a random page to begin asking me questions.

I had my eyes shut most of the time to concentrate, but somehow I still knew he was smiling.

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