#on one hand... I watch that tv show once every three months and I can't keep watching it on very low definition on YouTube for ever

[writtenbythemoonandstars]

Camping

Part 4 of the First Date series

Possible content warnings without spoiling too much include: descriptions of injuries and medical procedures and discussion of past sexual events.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

1.8k words

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Robby has always loved camping. The smell of pine trees and sap, of fire and smoke. The serene sounds of birds, crackling fires. When he was a kid he'd camp by the ocean and the waves crashing were always enough to put him to sleep at night. 

The taste of bug spray bitter on his tongue as he accidentally breathes it in. "Honey, I think you've scared off enough bugs. Put it down." His voice soft amused. When he'd heard she hadn’t ever been camping before Robby quickly booked them a site the first weekend they were both free. 

"I'm allergic to mosquitoes you know." She sighs, spraying her arm one last time before setting it down. "Not like… deathly but I don’t want to break out in hives." 

"I don't think anyone within a hundred mile radius will come in contact with any bugs thanks to you." He teases, laughing. Raising his hands in surrender when he gets a look.

"Maybe I forgot to mention that just because I haven't ever been camping before doesn't mean I felt like I was missing out on anything. It's great that you're Bear Grylls or whatever but I'm meant to sleep in an actual bed. Not like… a sleeping bag on the dirt." He just continues to chuckle at her. Not taking any offence. 

"You'll have fun I promise." 

There are a lot of things you don't say in the ER or as a doctor in general. Things like, "Seems quiet" or "calm" or make promises which you have no control over. 

Which is probably why two hours later it starts to pour rain. Making it difficult for Robby to start a fire. Seeing his… girlfriend? Is that what he calls her now? They haven't really talked about it but he's not seeing anyone else and she's been coming over at least three times a week for the past four months. 

Anyway, she's drowning in the jacket he fortunately packed. Causing him to be the one that's soaking wet. "Is this how I looked when I showed up for our first date?" She asks. Amused as she observes him work. 

"Better." Robby replies, winking when he catches her rolling her eyes. 

He ties a tarp high enough it wouldn't catch fire but also cover the pit from the rain. 

"That’s really hot." She says. Resting her head in her hands, watching him. "It's so…" She shrugs, not thinking of the right word, "manly?"

"Yeah?" Robby stands. Moving closer, his hands sliding around her hips. "You like it?" 

"Mhm." Nodding, eyes closing as he kisses up her neck. 

"You taste like bug spray." He comments after pulling back.

"I used an entire bottle before I got out of my car. You can imagine what that smells like." Robby laughs. He moves to sit down on the log next to her.

"I may hate it out here but I can see the appeal. The rain, the fire, it's all very calming." She nods. 

"We'd camp every year, sometimes more than once, when I was a kid." Robby tells her. He feels her nod and lay her head on his shoulder. "Grandma was a really big fan of Survivor." He adds, "recreational camping is obviously a lot different than the tropical survival they do on the show but sometimes she'd make my brother and I do puzzles or eat rice and fish out here."

"Oh yeah?" She snorts, "Grandma has taste." Robby feels her nod. "Watching Survivor was probably one of the only times my family and I got along growing up. Probably because we were all sitting watching tv instead of talking to each other." 

"Are you my girlfriend?" He can't help but blurt. The thought on his mind for a while now.

"What do you mean?" Her head tilts up, "w1hat else would I be?" 

"I don't know… I- I just… we hadn't ever talked about it. Officially. I didn't know if you wanted to put a label on it." Robby says honestly. 

"Michael." Looking at him in the eyes. "You were the first man to eat me out. That's not nothing." He rolls her eyes as she laughs. "I'm serious though. I'm not seeing anyone else." 

"I'm not either." 

"Good. Then we can label it." She nods. "Boyfriend." 

"Girlfriend." Then he leans in to kiss her. The fire burns on it's own while Robby pulls her into the tent…

The next morning Robby wakes her up early. As if they hadn’t stayed up late the night before. She groans. "Isn't camping supposed to be relaxing? Waking up at-" Checking her phone, "5? Jesus, Michael." 

"This is the whole reason I brought you out here. Come on." He throws her a jacket and crawls out of the tent to wait for her. It's the excitement in his tone movements that has her moving, though mumbling complaints about it. 

"It's only a mile baby." Seeing her frown and the protest on the tip of her tongue. "I'll carry you if it's too much." 

She rolls her eyes. "With that back?" He just waves her off.

Her mood improves though when she sees why they got up before daylight. Seeing the sunrise from the top of this hill after a mile- an uphill mile she wants to add that Robby conveniently "left out". 

If only Robby remembered that due to the rain last night the dirt trail would be incredibly muddy. On the walk down both of them shared stories about work. Robby thought about her question, "Have you ever had any patients where they stayed totally calm in a situation where they should not be?" 

"I had this guy come in with a nail in his hand. Like, straight through the palm. Kept joking that now he could finally get out of helping his brother move this weekend. Meanwhile I’m trying to keep a straight face while removing an actual hardware-store nail from a human hand. It missed all the major nerves and tendons by millimeters. I stitched him up, wrapped it, and told him to avoid power tools for at least a week. And definitely not to pick up any couches-" He turns when he finally realized there were no sounds of footsteps behind him anymore. 

Where did she go? One minute she was right behind him, grabbing the water from his backpack, and now…

"Michael?" Her voice broken, he nearly didn't hear it. 

She'd fallen down off the side of the hill, laying at the bottom. Slipped in the mud and just tumbled all the way down. 

"Fuck. Hold on. I'm coming." He has to be careful getting to the bottom where she is. 

"Did you hit your head?" Robby reaches her quickly. Swiftly checking over her condition. He doesn't hear an answer right away and snaps his head to her face. "Baby? Did you hit your head?" Robby pulls a pen light from the first aid kit in his backpack. 

"No, but your water bottle hit me." She picks it up. Her eyes are normal and reactive to light. Despite the metal bottle to the head he rules out concussion for now. 

There's no blood, which is honestly a miracle, except for a small scratch on her chin. Doesn't even need stitches. 

"Michael?" Her voice strained. Nervous. He looks up from where he's securing a small bandage to her chin. But she's not looking at him. Following her eyes… his heart drops. 

"My ankle isn't supposed to look like that right?" She quickly grabs on to the pocket of his jacket. 

"No it is not." Robby can tell it's fractured. 

"Fuck…" She replies slowly. "Do you have to like- uhm- like set it? Or Whatever?" Both of them still looking at her foot.

"Yes I am." He already pulling out his phone, despite not having any service he should still be able to contact emergency services. 

"Wait-" Her eyes wide, holding the jacket he shucked off, "this is going to hurt?" Well, he didn't shove it in her mouth for no reason. 

"Yeah honey." Robby nods, the expression on his face telling her it physically pains him to have to do this. "But only for a second. I promise." A kiss is pressed to her forehead. 

He can see the apprehension on her eyes. "I'll get you the biggest margarita or ice cream sundae or honestly whatever the fuck you want baby." Hating the situation they're in. "You're so brave… and strong-"  

"Holy- Fuck. Okay." She nods. "Giant fucking margarita… Count to three?" 

He nods except he doesn't want her to tense when he gets to three. So, he says, "One. Two-"

The crack and pop is sharp in the otherwise quiet morning in the woods. 

The jacket sleeve falls from her mouth as she gasps for air. Choking which turning into gagging and spitting up some of her granola bar from an hour ago. Robby rubs circles across her back.  

"I thought we said three." She snaps though not necessarily mad at him. Just in pain. 

He moves his hands up to her shoulder. Letting her grip his wrist tightly. Leaning in to his lap. "I didn't want you to tense up." Kissing the back of her hand. 

"Paramedics will be here in twenty minutes. But I have to get you out of here." He splints and ties up her ankle before helping on to his back.

"What about-" He shakes his head. "I'll be fine." Waving her off. 

It's about halfway when he feels himself seizing up. "T-tell me a story-" going back to what they had been doing on the walk down the hill. 

She rubs his shoulders the best she can, knowing this isn't easy for him to be carrying her like this. "I had a client a few months ago who I hadn't talked to in a while. I saw her email name had changed and I asked if she had recently gotten married-" She stops talking when he stops walking, needing a break. The tension tight in his back. "Keep going." He nods to her. 

"She told me she'd been recently divorced." He starts to walk again so she continues. "It got so much worse after that and it was already awkward… I don't even remember what sparked her to tell me but she said she caught her husband cheating on her with her best friend.."

"What did you do?" They're nearly back to camp. 

"I told her I was sorry and after we finished the meeting for the day I pawned her off on a coworker and never spoke to her again." The embarrassment of what happened and the guilt of cutting her off after their awkward encounter creeps in from time to time but she forces herself to push it down. 

The paramedics arrive soon after Robby sets her down carefully then stretches his back. He watches her sleep on the ambulance ride to the nearest hospital after she was given some pain medicine. 

A boot for 6 weeks and some physical therapy. 

"You know…" She looks over at Robby slowly. A little loopy. "I had a lot of fun camping." 

That makes him laugh. "Did you?" 

"Mhm. We should do it again." Nodding. 

"I'll ask you again when you're not on drugs." He softens his laugh to a light chuckle. Pressing a kiss in her hair. 

"Okay…" She whispers before falling asleep again. 

---

Let me know what you think!

Also, btw, I know there hasn't been any mention of Robby having a brother but I added him in just for the sake of the story he was telling idk

Unedited...

[httpsdana]

Hiiii!!! can you write a jamal story with promt 107 where they're having an argument (he's at fault 🤭) with like HEAVY angst where jamal is lowkey being a meanie and not trying to understand readers side but ends in the cutest fluff tho (cuz can't accept sad endings 😭)

Btw FREAKING INLOVEE WITH UR WRITING UR LITERALLY SAVING THE JAMAL GIRLIES I SWEAR!!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻💗💗

Also thank you in advance!!!!! 😽🩷🤍

Lost In Translation~Jamal Musiala

THANK YOU SM FOR UR SWEET MESSAGE. i hope u enjoy this one 😙🫶🏻

request from here

master list

players/drivers I write for

107-"please stop. you're scaring me."

She felt it from the start of the season. Jamal had said he was going to give his best this season and push himself to his limits. He promised to avoid any distractions and focus solely on football, fully committing himself. What she didn’t expect was for him to avoid her too. It made her feel like she was the distraction, rather than the support he needed.

y/n woke up every morning without Jamal by her side. Every day, she rushed to the kitchen, hoping to see him and wish him a good day.

All she wanted was to hear those three words she felt like she hadn’t heard in forever. But every morning, she was disappointed to find that he had already left without even a "good morning."

When she returned from work, Jamal still wouldn’t be home. She knew his training sessions were intense, but she also knew he couldn’t possibly be training from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She made him dinner every night, hoping they could share a moment together when he came home exhausted from practice. Instead, he’d arrive late at night, claiming he had been at the gym after training.

He no longer wrapped his arms around her at night. He hadn’t touched or kissed her in over two months. It felt like she was invisible to him, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to tell him how she felt, or she would have no choice but to let him go.

y/n sat in their living room, waiting for Jamal to come home. It was 10 p.m. After what felt like 100 episodes of her show, she finally heard his keys and the door opening. She remained seated on the couch, waiting for him. He walked into the living room, seeing her sitting there, watching TV.

“Hey,” he mumbled, dropping his bag on the couch and sitting down, keeping his distance from her.

She wanted to ask him about his day. She wanted to ask how he was feeling about the start of the season, especially given his incredible performance. But she didn’t. She just wanted to know what was going on and why he was avoiding her.

“We need to talk,” she said, looking at him intently, her voice blank and direct.

Jamal sighed, running his hands over his face, exhaustion clear in his features. “y/n, I’m tired. I just want to shower and go to sleep,” he said, already standing up to leave the room.

That’s what he always did, avoiding any conversation with her.

“No, Jamal. You’re not running away this time. We need to have a serious conversation, and you need to listen to me for once,” she said, standing up too, her voice tense with all the frustration she had been holding inside for so long.

He turned around, surprised by her outburst but clearly annoyed that he was going to have to talk. “What is it now?” he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice weak and hurt.

“What do you mean, what’s wrong? You’re the one who said we need to talk, and now you’re asking me what’s wrong?” he snapped, his voice getting louder with each word.

“What’s wrong with us? What happened? Did I do something to upset you? Why are you avoiding me and acting like I don’t even exist in this house?” she said, her voice trembling as she fought back tears.

“Oh my god. You’re always so needy, constantly craving attention. I can’t have you clinging onto me all day, y/n. I come home every night exhausted, and all I want is to sleep. But you’re there, nagging me because you can’t survive without attention. What am I supposed to do?” he shouted bitterly, stepping closer to her.

“I’m not asking for anything crazy! Just acknowledge me. Say good morning, make me coffee before you leave, tell me you love me at least!” she yelled back, her hands dropping to her sides in defeat.

Jamal was fuming, his face red with anger. She had never seen him like this before, and it scared her. He paced around the room, his steps heavy, before kicking a vase, shattering it to pieces. y/n flinched at the sound, stepping back slightly as Jamal moved closer.

“Please stop. You’re scaring me” she whispered as he stood in front of her, his face inches from hers. It was the closest he had been to her in weeks. She could feel the heat radiating from him, but his cold expression sent chills down her spine.

Jamal didn’t seem to hear her or care. Instead, he continued hurling hurtful words.

“I come home to rest. I don’t need anyone ruining my mood before I leave for training. I don’t need anyone distracting me from having my best season. So stop with the attention-seeking and deal with it. It’s not like I’m treating you as if you’re dead,” he spat, his words cutting deep into Y/N’s heart like knives.

She fought back the tears that threatened to fall, refusing to let him see her break.

“But you are, Jamal! You don’t look at me anymore. You don’t remember anything. You’ve forgotten our date nights, and we haven’t had a Sunday date in weeks. Sunday is your rest day, but instead of spending it with me, you choose to hang out with your friends, friends you see every day at training. Why can’t you acknowledge your girlfriend, who’s doing her best to stay calm and deal with the consequences of dating a footballer?” she cried, finally letting out all the words she had been holding inside for months.

“For fuck’s sake. You just don’t get it, do you? I’m going to shower and then go to sleep. I better not hear about this childish problem you’ve made up in your head again,” he said coldly, leaving the room and heading to their bedroom.

y/n collapsed on the couch, the tears she had been holding back finally breaking free. She pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed into them, her heart aching.

She didn’t understand how Jamal had changed so much, why he had become like this. They had been dating for years, and every year he wanted to have a great season, but this was the first time he had acted this way. She felt their relationship slipping through her fingers, and she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

After crying for a while, exhaustion overtook her, and she wanted to sleep. But she couldn’t bring herself to sleep next to Jamal after the hurtful things he had said. She began walking to the guest room when she heard his voice behind her.

“Where are you going?” he asked, making her turn to look at him. He stood there shirtless, fresh from the shower, his hair still wet and dressed in the shorts he always wore to bed.

“To sleep in the guest room,” she replied, turning away.

“Fine, be like that,” he scoffed, and she heard the bedroom door slam behind her.

She sighed and entered the cold, empty guest room, with only a bed in the middle. Lying down, she felt as though she were on a rock.

She closed her eyes, hoping for some rest, but after tossing and turning for hours, she gave up. She sat up, running a hand over her face, wondering if Jamal was struggling to sleep too.

A part of her hoped he was awake, thinking about her, just as she was about him. But she knew he was probably fast asleep, after using "needing sleep" as an excuse to avoid their argument.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. She looked up and saw Jamal peeking his head in to see if she was asleep. When he saw her sitting up, he entered the room slowly, standing awkwardly by the door.

“Can I... sleep next to you?” he asked nervously, avoiding her gaze and looking at the floor. When she didn’t reply, he looked up, seeing the hesitation in her eyes.

“I won’t touch you or anything. I’ll stay as far as I can,” he pleaded, his eyes begging for some rest.

y/n thought about it. She couldn’t sleep without him next to her either. “Please,” he said softly, and she finally gave in, nodding her head and moving to the far side of the bed, turning her back to him.

She felt the bed dip as Jamal lay down next to her. Even with the distance, she could feel the warmth of his body close to hers. y/n closed her eyes, hoping to finally get some sleep. As she drifted off, she felt his arm drape over her body, a small smile forming on her lips as she welcomed his warmth. She knew they would need to talk about their fight in the morning, but for now, they could rest.

Next morning, y/n had woken up by the sun that was shining in the guest room. She turned around, hoping Jamal was still next to her, but as usual, he had already left the room.

She let out a sigh, knowing he probably left to training too. She hoped he would stay and explain his hurtful words, but it seemed as if nothing happen to him last night. y/n entered the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth, before going to the kitchen.

She was surprised when she saw Jamal there, his shirtless back to her as he was making breakfast. When he noticed her, he smiled at her, making her more confused. "good morning darling. I made you coffee" he pointed to the cup of coffee that was next to the coffee machine.

Jamal moves quietly around the kitchen, the sound of eggs sizzling and toast popping up from the toaster filling the silence. y/n sat on the counter, the cup of coffee next to her, arms folded, watching him, her heart heavy with the weight of the argument that’s still fresh in her mind.

He seems to be gathering his thoughts, carefully plating the breakfast before he turns to her, his expression soft but full of regret.

“I’m really sorry,” he starts, his voice low, almost hesitant.

“I’ve been thinking about everything, and I know I shouldn’t be trying to explain why I acted the way I did, because none of it excuses what I said or how I treated you. It was wrong, and I wasn’t supposed to do any of that.” He takes a deep breath, looking down at the floor before meeting your eyes again.

“But with the new coach and the new season, there’s been so much pressure. The coach has been really strict about us not getting distracted, and I... I let that get into my head.” he said, his voice weak and unstable.

y/n doesn’t respond right away, waiting for him to continue, her gaze steady as she takes in his words.

"I thought that maybe you were a distraction," he says, shaking his head at himself.

"But that was so wrong of me. All you’ve ever done is support me. You’ve been there through everything, my ups and downs, every game, every challenge, and instead of seeing that, I pushed you away. I don’t even know why I said the things I did... I just... I took my stress out on you, and I’m so sorry for that. I know it hurt you, and I regret it more than I can say.” he stuttered, seeming nervous

Her chest tightens, emotions swirling inside her as she thinks back to how hurt she felt. But she remains silent, waiting for him to finish.

“I shouldn’t have acted like football was more important than you," he continues, stepping closer.

"Because it’s not. You’re so important to me. Honestly, most of my success, it’s because of you. You keep me grounded, and your support means everything. It’s not just my talent that’s gotten me where I am, it’s you. And I was stupid for not seeing that." he said confidently, stepping closer to her

He looks at her, his eyes full of sincerity, waiting for some kind of response. She hesitates, his words slowly sinking in.

"You really hurt me, Jamal," she says softly. "It wasn’t just about football. It was about how you made me feel like I wasn’t enough, like I was in the way." she said, her voice filled with pain.

He nods, a look of guilt flashing across his face.

"I know, and I’m going to spend every day trying to make up for it. I want to fix this. I don’t want you to ever feel that way again." he said honestly

There’s a pause before he speaks again, his voice even softer.

"I took the day off today. I thought maybe we could go for a walk, spend some time together, and get some ice cream, if you want? I just... I want to make it up to you." he hesitated, waiting for her to speak

She tries to hide the small smile tugging at her lips.

"You got me with the ice cream. I can’t say no to free ice cream." she jokes

He chuckles, though there’s still a seriousness in his gaze.

"I really am sorry. I swear to you, nothing like that will ever happen again. Football’s important, but so are you. More than that, you’re more important." he said, grabbing her hands in his

"i believe you Jamal. I hope you don't break your promise this time" she said, giving him a small smile.

He smiled back, squeezing her hands in his.

"you won't regret it i promise" he said

After breakfast, they walk side by side, hand in hand, talking and catching up on everything that’s happened since the argument.

Slowly, the tension between them begins to ease. As they sit on a park bench, ice creams in hand, y/n leans her head on his shoulder, the warmth of the moment filling the space between them.

"I missed this," she says softly, closing her eyes as she let the comfort of his presence wash over her.

"I missed it too," he murmurs, placing a gentle kiss on her head before resting his against hers.

Everything was fine now.

[goldenlikedayl1ght]

do i wanna know? | connor rk800

a/n: oh hi!! i am like 99% sure no one is going to gaf about this fic besides my two irl friends who i'll send this to. the moral of this story is: don't watch the big bang theory while high because you'll watch a scene and get inspired to write a fic based on it. season 7 episode 15 if anyone's curious. enjoy! warnings: touch starved reader and asexual/autistic coded connor, connor's kind of a dick and doesn't understand social cues or dating AT ALL, some light angst, kissing, a lot of awkward conversation between reader and connor, not canon compliant AT ALL reader is always dealing with bullshit BRO GET UP, gavin reed is the worst! also some cursing, but overall very sweet and corny word count: 3.2k summary: you spend your first valentine's day with connor. pairing: connor rk800 x gn!reader now playing: do i wanna know? - the artic monkeys (covered by hozier) "do i wanna know?/if this feeling flows both ways?/sad to see you go/was sort of hoping that you'd stay/baby, we both know/that the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day."

You have always hated Valentine’s Day.

You’ve had a couple of alright Valentine’s Day, but for many years, February Fourteenth meant minor discomfort at best and heartbreak at worse.

Until you started dating Connor.

You met Connor at work. You worked as the sketch artist employed by the police station. So, you’d run into him every so often.

As his software instability increased, your affection for him did as well.

By the time Valentine’s Day rolls around, you’ve been dating for six or seven months. You push him to do things he never imagined doing, and often, you spend your time together either trying new things (Ice skating, unsuccessfully. Pottery, successfully.) or you’re watching movies or tv shows Connor has had recommended to him. It’s nice.  

You had agreed to take things slow. Connor was very new to this whole relationship thing. The whole being human thing, too.

More often than not, Connor isn’t comfortable with physical touch, finding himself hesitant to hold your hand, and not to mention the fact that he never says anything nice to you without it being weird—

(“You have excellent bone structure.”

“Oh. Thank you, Connor.”

“I bet you have a very distinct skeleton.”

“…Thank you. I think.”)

So, by Valentine’s Day, you haven’t even kissed him. Your friends think you’re crazy. Dating an android is bad enough—An android who doesn’t even kiss you is insane!

There’s been quick pecks, maybe three or four times since you started to date, only ever on Connor’s jaw, when you were sure he wasn’t paying attention, and once, he kissed your head when you fell asleep at your desk. But you’ve never actually kiss him—

You know, a kiss that lasts more than a few seconds, a kiss that isn’t so awkward, a kiss where you feel your lips against his—

A kiss that you feel like isn’t just an obligation to Connor, something he barely tolerates.

So, Valentine’s Day should be fun.

When you first asked him about Valentine’s Day, he seemed to be agreeable to your desire for a romantic evening. And maybe ‘agreeable’ isn’t how you would’ve liked to describe your boyfriend’s attitude towards Valentine’s Day.. But beggars can’t be choosers.

“So, we’ll do dinner that day, then?”

“Sure,” Connor agrees, and he’s barely looking up from the case file he’s reading over. Hank raises an eyebrow as he watches the interaction from his desk. “What did you have in mind?”

“Have you ever tried sushi?” You ask, and your face breaks out into a grin when he shakes his head. “Perfect. There’s this really nice place I’ve been meaning to try. We’ll go there.”

Finally, Connor looks up from his work at you.

“That sounds nice. I look forward to it.” And then he smiles.

Your heart melts because you know this is the closest your boyfriend will get to conveying actual excitement at this point.

“Great. It’s a date.”  Resisting the urge to kiss him goodbye, You smile back. “Okay, great. Have a nice rest of your day, Connor.” You say, standing from your position leaning on his desk, a hand landing on his shoulder and giving a soft squeeze as you pass.

“Have a nice day,” he says, watching as you leave. He goes back to work for a minute, before glancing at Hank. “Hank?"

“Yeah, Connor?” Hank asks, taking an opportunity to sip his coffee.

“Valentine’s Day is important, right?”

Hank hesitates, contemplating how much help he should give Connor, and, by extension, you.

“To people who have been married for forty years and have built a life together? Usually not. To you and your seven-month-old relationship? Yeah, I’d say it’s important.” He watches as Connor processes this information.

“Huh.” Is all he responds with, “Interesting.”

And then he goes back to work.

Hank just silently prays you haven’t gotten your hopes up too high.

-

Valentine’s Day rolls around faster than Connor would’ve anticipated, and it happens to fall on the day that Connor and Hank make a major arrest in a recent murder case they had been handling. Hank gives you some of the credit, since they never would’ve found him if you hadn’t done such a good job sketching the suspect.

But an arrest means paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Connor’s week had already been stressful, between this case, dealing with emotions he’s not familiar with, and this case was just.. heavy. So he feels as if he can barely focus on the report in front of him.

Hank heads home around 5:30, watching the clock.

“Connor, don’t you have your date soon?” He asks as he pulls on his jacket.

“I don’t have to be at the restaurant until 7:00, Lieutenant, I have plenty of time.” He assures, “I’m sure I can get this done quickly. That way I can give Valentine’s Day my undivided attention.”

“That’s..” he hesitates. “Actually, kind of reasonable. I’ll see you at home, Connor.” He concedes.

Connor wishes him a good night, before turning his full attention to the report he’s working on. As six o’clock begins to roll around, he’s made progress, just not as much as he would’ve liked. That’s when Gavin Reed strolls over to his desk. Connor notices they’re the two last people here.

“You’re still here, Bolts?”

Connor is not amused.

“Yes, Detective, I am.”

“No plans with Damaged Goods for Valentine’s Day?”

Connor finally looks up at him.

Bolts & Damaged Goods.

Reed’s impressive nicknames for the two of you. He isn’t sure why he calls you that, but he has a feeling it would be intrusive to ask.

“Actually, detective, I—”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” He drops a thick folder on Connor’s desk, “Listen, I have a hot date tonight. Do me a solid and help me out with some paperwork so I can get out of here?” He asks.

His LED light flickers yellow.

“Aren’t you supposed to do the paperwork yourself?”

“C’mon, bolts,” He huffs, “Just help a guy out. You’re faster at it than I am, anyways. I’d owe you one.” He promises, and Connor can’t tell if he’s lying. He can still be in time for dinner and get this work done..

“Fine.” Connor resigns with a sigh, “I—”

“That’s great, you’re helping me out a lot,” From the smirk on Gavin’s face, Connor realizes he’s made some sort of mistake. “See you, bolts, Happy Valentine’s Day!” He says as he grabs his jacket and then walks right out of the office.

Connor’s attention is turned back to the paperwork at hand.

At 7:15, he gets a call from you.

Connor only got a phone recently, since both you and Hank agreed that the two of you needed to be able to reach him if need be. Mostly, his phone is barren. Hank is saved in his phone as ‘Lieutenant Hank Anderson’, and your number is saved under your full name too. He knows in your phone, he’s ‘connor’ with a simple blue heart emoticon.

Guilt eats at him as he answers the phone.

“Hello?” He answers.

“Connor? Where are you, we were supposed to meet at the restaurant fifteen minutes ago for our reservation.” He can hear the frown in your voice.

“I got caught up doing paperwork.” He answers honestly, “Detective Reed needed help with some reports and he.. sort of left before I had the chance to say no.”

Silence.

He knows you don’t particularly care for Gavin Reed.

“How long do you think you’ll be?”

“I’m not sure,” he says, “Maybe half an hour?”

You can hear the lie despite the distance between the two of you.

“Connor, It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Correct.”

You realize he doesn’t understand why you’ve brought it up.

“Okay, you know what? You finish working and I’ll… figure something out for us to do instead.” You offer.

“Okay,” He says, his eyes already wandering back down to his work. “Is there.. anything else?”

“No, Connor,” Your voice holds a bitter edge he doesn’t pick up on, “I’ll let you go.”

“Okay. Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

When you hang up, you glance around the restaurant. You observe happy couples of all types, sipping wine and enjoying delicious food, large smiles on their faces, fingers laced together.

You try to remember that Connor is a deviant, someone who is trying to navigate the emotions you came to terms with in your adolescence. Of course he doesn’t understand the importance of Valentine’s Day, he’s never celebrated it before. These two facts do not sooth the frustration you feel inside.

You inhale deeply as a plan begins to form in your brain. Fuck Gavin Reed. You can still have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your boyfriend, it’ll just take a bit of.. extra flexibility.

At some point during his paperwork, Connor drapes his suit jacket over his chair and rolls the sleeves of his button up to his elbows, his stress only growing. At around eight, he needs to grab a witness report from another room.

When he gets back, he stops in the doorway to absorb the new additions to the room.

Candles are lit, sitting on his desk, not touching the organized paperwork he had been chipping away at. Three different sushi rolls are laid out, along with two wine glasses. The picture is completed by you, sitting at the other end of the desk from where he usually does, a nervous smile on your face, a bottle of wine in your hands. You look nice.

You look.. beautiful.

Connor’s LED lights up blue.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” You finally break the silence. “I figured if you couldn’t come to dinner, I could bring dinner to you.”

Dinner’s more for you than anything else. Connor always takes a few bites of whatever meal you share, just to try, but he doesn’t need to eat or drink to sustain himself. Although, he can’t deny that, while unnecessary to him, the dishes you pick out are always delicious.

He moves from his place in the doorway to sit down across from you.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he says gently, unable to take his eyes off you. He’s not sure why. “I can’t believe you came here and did this..”

You just smile.

“I still wanted to see my boyfriend during Valentine’s Day, even if you have to work.” You say, imagining that he’ll only be busy for maybe another twenty or thirty minutes.

“That’s very nice of you.” He watches as you pour wine into each glass, “You’re sure you don’t mind if I work?” He asks.

You shake your head, digging into the bag you had brought with you and pulling out your sketchbook.

“I’ll just draw until you’re done.” You promise. He had seen your sketchbook several times. You had a large one you use for work, but when you were on break, he had seen this smaller one you carried around. He’d never peeked, not wanting to invade your privacy.

But that didn’t stop his curiosity.

“Okay.” He nods, “This’ll be nice.”

You spend the next five minutes showing Connor how to properly use chopsticks, and then, time starts to tick by as you watch him do work, occasionally doodling in your sketchbook as you eat in silence.

Twenty minutes go by.

Then thirty.

Then forty.

At nine, you finally decide enough is enough. Connor doesn’t even seem bothered by the fact that you just close your sketchbook, and sit there, arms crossed.

“Connor?” You finally say at ten past nine.

“Hm?”

He doesn’t look up.

“Are you almost done?”

You see him pause.

“Soon.”

Another pause.

“Connor?”

The way he grips the pen in his hand tighter is not lost on you.

“What?” His voice is strained.

“It’s almost nine thirty, maybe you should just leave it to be done on Monday.”

Finally, he looks up at you.

“I told you, I’m almost done, don’t you get that?” he asks, and you can hear the frustration in his voice, “What’s the matter with you?

His question snaps something in you.

“What’s the matter with me?” You ask, “It’s Valentine’s Day! We’re supposed to have a romantic dinner, enjoy each other’s company and spend it growing closer, like every other couple does!”

“Every other couple?” His LED light flickers yellow. “You want us to be just like ‘every other couple’?” Connor isn't even sure he knows how to be like this couple, let alone every other one!

You decide now is as good as time as any to voice your frustration. Valentine’s Day is already ruined, why not just dig the hole?

You stand, beginning to throw out the empty sushi containers and tuck away your sketchbook. Connor watches you.

“That’s not what I meant,” You start, “But Connor, we’ve been dating for seven months! God forbid I feel like I deserve some romance!” You huff.

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Connor is processing this, but you can tell anger is bubbling up inside of him.

You round the corner of his desk as he stands up too.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

You sigh.

“I’m leaving.”

“How come?” He asks, and you can tell he’s being rhetorical, that the stress from the week has become too much on him. “It’s Valentine’s Day,”

“Connor, Don’t—”

“No,” He starts, only standing about two feet away from you now. “I can be romantic, If you want Romance, let’s do romance.” He begins to search his memories for romantic scenes in movies and television, looking for this 'romance' you crave so badly. He glances to the wine on his desk, “Wine’s romantic,” He starts, and you roll your eyes as he picks up his glass and takes a sip. You watch as his face twists, the taste of wine not one he loves just yet. You can tell by the way his LED flickers yellow, and then he puts the glass down.

“Stop it—”

“We can gaze into one another’s eyes,” Connor bends down a bit to make eye contact with you. He’s got a good couple of inches on you, so he has no other choice. You roll your eyes and Connor shrugs, “You blinked, I win.” He reports.

You’ve had enough of this.

“Connor!”

“Alright, what’s next,” He takes a second to think, and then it hits him. “Oh, kissing’s romantic!” And before you realize what’s happening, Connor is bending over again, and his lips are against yours.

You freeze.

You don’t know what to do. On the one hand, you feel like you’ve done something wrong by making him so upset, that maybe he didn’t actually want to kiss you, that you should pull away. On the other hand, you’re sure that if you do pull away, you’ll never feel the sensation of his lips against yours again.

So, you wait for Connor to make the first move.

You’re sure he’ll pull away.

But this sensation is new to Connor. The warmth that’s started by the heat that comes from your lips spreads through him. An unfamiliar urge overtakes him. He has no name for it, but he doesn’t break the kiss as he takes a few steps towards you, his body relaxing into the kiss. He stands tall, but your head tilts up to keep kissing him. That unfamiliar urge tells him to get as close to you as possible. To chase this warmth.

His hand even moves to rest on your waist, and your hand rests on his bicep.

Why hadn’t he done this ages ago?

He tilts his head a bit into the kiss, unsure of how to advance but not wanting the moment to end. You, on the other hand, need to breathe, and he knows that. He slowly pulls away his eyes locked onto you.

Your attention is caught by his LED light, which lights up a soft pink.

This is romantic.

Neither of you say anything, just looking at each other, both too afraid to shatter the moment that has swept you off your feet.

Finally, you decide on,

“That was nice.”

Connor nods.

“It was..”

Silence.

Delicate silence, this time.

“May I walk you home?” He asks.

“What about your reports?”

Connor doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“They can wait until Monday.”

A smile tugs at your lips.

“Alright. Let me just get my jacket.”

Connor ignores the disappointment he feels as you pull away, already missing the warmth that came from such proximity to you. He just grabs his own jacket and slips it on. He doesn’t even bother cleaning up his stacks of paper, he just waits by the doorway as you blow out the candles and tuck the bottle of wine into your bag.

He can’t stop looking at you.

When you get to the doorway, you smile, your flushed cheeks revealing your happiness.

“Ready?” You ask.

Connor’s hand finds yours, locking his fingers against yours. Your heart thumps out of your chest.

“Ready.” He responds. The two of you head out of the police station, a warm silence filling the air. As he walks you back home, a small one bedroom, one floor house you rent from a woman who now lives in Florida, snow begins to fall around you.

Not heavy, thick, annoying snow. Just flurries that stick to Connor’s hair and make you shiver. Connor, who is now calculating the most appropriate way to assess that unfamiliar urge he felt makes no attempt to stop you from leaning against him as you walk.

You pass other couples who make their way home from their own Valentine’s Day plans, but instead of the jealous, bitter feeling you usually felt towards these couples on the holiday in the past, all you can focus on is Connor.

You squeeze his hand when you step onto your porch. The two of you stand under your porch light, snow falling around you. Your free hand comes up and wipes some snow from his hair.

“Tonight was wonderful.” You say honestly.

Connor feels awful for his behavior, but he’ll tackle that later.

“It was.” He agrees with a smile. His eyes flicker down to your lips, and you watch as his LED flickers that light pink again. He doesn’t ask, he just leans down and kisses you again, and he feels your hands coming up to rest on his jaw, your thumb rubbing gently against his cheek as you kiss him back.

He knows he’ll be chasing the warmth even more now. More and more each time he kisses you, and he will chase it until he dies.

He pulls away from kissing you, and his face is just an inch or two away from yours.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” He says gently.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Connor.” You smile. He hesitates, but eventually he pulls away and you unlock your door. You stand in your doorway, just looking at him.

“Goodnight.” He finally says, his LED still pink. He turns and makes his way down the steps of your porch. When he steps onto the concrete, back in the snow, he glances back and takes another look at you.

You’ll catch frostbite at this rate, just staring at each other. So, you take the plunge and slip inside your door, closing it behind you.

Best Valentine’s Day Ever.

[digitulworld]

DHMIS teachers answers if you asked them the interview questions

Where do you live?

Sketchbook: In the dark, sometimes.

Tony: Midwest.

Shrignold: Far away from you.

Colin: Indoors, outdoors, sideways, vertical, and horizontal.

Spinach Can: Ping-pong galleria with my friend Schmuck.

Steak Guy: In your house!

Lamp: A magic barn.

What do you like to eat?

Sketchbook: I’m on a liquid diet.

Tony: It’s in the attic somewhere.

Shrignold: Something very warm.

Colin: Extra large cereal.

Spinach Can: Cardboard

Steak Guy: I can’t believe you would ask me that.

Lamp: Pink bones, red fibers, and a spinning wheel.

What is your favorite color?

Sketchbook: Green. Is this a trick question? It’s green.

Tony: Tan.

Shrignold: Lots and lots of purple.

Colin: The one with five letters.

Spinach Can: What color is grass?

Steak Guy: Grey horses.

Lamp: You're being too silly right now, you have to stop.

Do you like cows or goats?

Sketchbook: Anything yellow.

Tony: It doesn't matter to me. Nothing matters to me.

Shrignold: A baby sheep, is that like a goat?

Colin: Lizards.

Spinach Can: I made a cow mad once, and then got Cow Mad Syndrome.

Steak Guy: Big ones. Just the big ones.

Lamp: It jumps over the moon!

Do you have brown hair?

Sketchbook: Only on Tuesdays.

Tony: Are you stupid?

Shrignold: Lime green, like my mothers.

Colin: I asked you first!

Spinach Can: You should stop asking me that, I'll give it back later.

Steak Guy: It just gets stuck like this sometimes.

Lamp: Yesterday I saw a dog, but it was an evil dog. Don't ask me how I know.

What is your blood type?

Sketchbook: I had to glue some on myself so they'd stop bothering me.

Tony: Just a big clump.

Shrignold: I don't know, they all look the same.

Colin: I can't remember what it looks like! It’s very shy.

Spinach Can: What the *beep* is blood?

Steak Guy: Blood? Is that what they call it nowadays?

Lamp: Theres worms in me.

What are you allergic to?

Sketchbook: Having a nose.

Tony: It changes every day, and has been for the past 977 days.

Shrignold: Absolutely positively everything.

Colin: Fish paste.

Spinach Can: Eggshells, all of them. They pushed me down the stairs once.

Steak Guy: I don't need one!

Lamp: The Boogeyman. We’re on bad terms.

Whats your favorite idea?

Sketchbook: Anything but this question.

Tony: The giant bird that appears in my dreams sometimes.

Shrignold: My favorite pair of shoes.

Colin: My idea website. It generates ideas, like fun ways to hold a spoon.

Spinach Can: Hammers! Lots of hammers! And a nickel!

Steak Guy: Throwing my keys into a hole.

Lamp: TV shows about Alaska.

What do you find exciting?

Sketchbook: Big balloons, the alphabet, kites, gas planets, carpentry, a sock. The rest is personal.

Tony: Basements with creaky stairs.

Shrignold: Moths in small amounts.

Colin: Every 14th day of the month.

Spinach Can: A really really really small traffic cone, that tells you when you're going to die.

Steak Guy: Mold.

Lamp: Four trampolines.

What happened after the olden days?

Sketchbook: TVs started using colors, and now people are ungrateful.

Tony: I’m not playing your little game.

Shrignold: Everyone got sad, so I had to help them.

Colin: There were three wars, four explosions, and two train crashes, all in 1958.

Spinach Can: The world got mucky and ate dirt and beans.

Steak Guy: A rude mouse flipped the bird at me.

Lamp: They had bigger and bigger dreams, and then everyone got so big, they had to stop eating foods that made them dream big. The moral of this story is that you should wash your hands twice a day.

What are you scared of?

Sketchbook: Medium-sized rodents.

Tony: 7:00pm.

Shrignold: Whatever you're scared of.

Colin: A pound of sand.

Spinach Can: Mud crunching.

Steak Guy: Holes in pudding.

Lamp: The big night sky we’ll all get lost in one day.

What are your hobbies?

Sketchbook: Throwing vegetables at paintings, you should try it one day.

Tony: Watching people blink.

Shrignold: I sew clothes for my friends, but their first question is always, “How do you know my exact measurements? I never told you them.” You just can’t please everyone.

Colin: Data analyzation, accounting, coding, excessive security measurements.

Spinach Can: It’s beach ball related, if you know what I mean.

Steak Guy: Meat hobbies.

Lamp: Finding used cigarettes on the ground and taping them together to make a big cigarette, I call it The Ultimate.

What is your favorite song?

Sketchbook: Banging plastic together, if thats a song.

Tony: The Screaming Album, 1938.

Shrignold: I made all of them up.

Colin: Trapezoid Angles by Super Henry 3

Spinach Can: Four of them and they’re bad.

Steak Guy: Just noises?

Lamp: Mr. Bungle

Where do you go on holiday?

Sketchbook: My imaginary imagination place.

Tony: I just walk around.

Colin: If I leave my house, I die instantly.

Shrignold: Every day is a holiday if you know what you're doing.

Spinach Can: Mister Loopy’s Pizza Restaurant that I keep getting kicked out of.

Steak Guy: Where all the pigs are.

Lamp: Nightmare Land.

Who do you love?

Sketchbook: The letter B

Tony: Boys? Girls?

Shrignold: Please don't.

Colin: My toothpaste bottle cap.

Spinach Can: Cheese thrown against the window.

Steak Guy: Finger soup! Teeth! Orphans!

Lamp: The giraffe I met once, that I went on adventures with.

What is love?

Sketchbook: Anything that smiles.

Tony: Something not very important.

Shrignold: Do you want me to tell you? I’m a little busy.

Colin: One of the twelve main Brain Viruses.

Spinach Can: Endless sink drains.

Steak Guy: A string of hair. A lot of hair.

Lamp: It grows two legs, and then one day it’ll kill you.

What do you dream of?

Sketchbook: Pools and pools of blood tubes.

Tony: It all became a blur to me, I had to stop before I went mad.

Shrignold: So many little squirrels eating me.

Colin: Untied shoelaces.

Spinach Can: Peanuts, but they keep spelling their name wrong.

Steak Guy: Markets that only sell one type of vinegar oil.

Lamp: I can’t dream, I have a condition.

[sluts4matt]

SECRET (part three)

pairing: nate doe x sls!erika sturniolo

summary: she had hidden her feelings away for years, but with growing up and toxic relationships it was all starting to resurface.

warnings: none

word count: 1283

authors note: i'm sorry updates for this are so slow. edit: sorry for not posting this last night my little brother was in need of cuddles to sleep.

view my master list here

the past two weeks had been agonizing. i wasn't allowed to hang out with nate for a month. yet here he was, sitting in the living room after school playing play station with the boys.

i rubbed my hands over my face, sighing as i walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. "hey erika," nate greeted, causing me to smile. "hey nate," i say, getting a juice from the fridge.

"where's mom?" i ask.

"garage maybe?" nick said, looking away from his phone for a split second to look at me. "thanks," i say, shooting him air guns.

"mom!" i call, walking towards the garage. "mooooom!"

"what erika?" my mom says, poking her head out from behind the garage door.

"can kayla come over?" i ask, looking at her with pleading eyes. she sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "yes! thank you!" i exclaim, smiling widely. "thank you thank you!"

i run over and kiss her cheek, making her laugh. "open doors," marylou states with pointed fingers, "open doors." i roll my eyes and smile at her, nodding.

i pull my phone out of my pocket and dial kayla's number. "hello?"

"my mom said you can come over," i say excitedly. "be there in five," the girl on the other side giggles.

"she's gonna be here in five!" i yell, walking up the stairs. i get no response from any of the guys, and sigh, knowing they can't hear me over their own voices.

i go into my room and change into a new shirt, tossing my previous one into the hamper. i sit at my desk and wait for kayla, "i'm here!" a voice exclaims, making me turn to the doorway.

"she's here," i repeat, giving her a hug. "what first? gossip about sydney?" she asks, i roll my eyes at the mention of one of the girls we hated the most. the only true reason being she was rude as hell.

"no," i say, sitting back down, "how are things going with you and jay?" she groans and plops onto my bed, her eyes closed.

"not well," she groans. i give her a questioning look and she sits up. "i'm pretty sure he has a thing for someone else," she huffs, her hands moving wildly around her face.

"no," i deadpan, "what? no way. i thought he really liked you?"

"that's what i thought," she sighs, looking up.

"i'm so sorry kay," i whisper, hugging her again.

"it's fine," she laughs, her mood changing. "so, let's talk about you," she smirks. "not much there," i say, not mentioning anything about nate.

"sure," she chuckles. "oh, did you hear about the party at liz's house?" she asks, her eyes wide with excitement.

"liz? party? you've got to be kidding," i scoff, laughing a bit. "my mom would never let me go, especially not right after i just got busted for smoking and drinking," i tell her.

"that's why sneaking out is a fun thing to do," she says and i shake my head. "did it once, do it twice it becomes a habit," i state.

"oh come on," she whines.

"kay, if i get caught, i'm done," i stress. "fine," she pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

"you can go," i say, her eyes lighting up, "but i can't, kay." she smiles and hugs me. "thanks eri," she says, standing up. "i'll see you at school," she says, walking out of the door.

"bye!"

a few days later, it was the weekend, and i was bored. the boys were on a trip to california and kayla was sick. i sighed as i watched the tv hung on my wall, changing the show every so often.

knocks sounded from my door, causing me to turn my head. "it open," i call. the door opens, showing my mom's face as she peaks her head in.

"i'm going shopping, need anything?" she asks, i shake my head and she shuts the door. a few moments later i hear her car leaving and the sound of the garage shutting.

i walk downstairs and check the time on my phone. 10:49 in big white letters, i groan, tugging at my brown roots.

"i should dye my hair," i say to myself, pulling my phone back out to google ideas.

after 30 minutes, i had a few good ones, i instacarted black and red hair dye to the house, as well as hair bleach and began the process.

i grabbed bowels, going to the bathroom where i set out old and stained towels.

i took a deep breath, looking at myself in the mirror. "don't fuck up," i mumble to myself. i wet my hair, then began adding the bleach after mixing the toner and developer together.

as i applied the bleach, i foiled the strands. when i finished i set a timer for thirty minutes as i waited for the bleach to do its job.

after the timer went off, i rinsed my hair, the water running a gross, pale-yellow color down the drain. i washed my hair with purple shampoo to tone it, drying my hair some with a towel before parting it down the middle of my head.

i opened the red dye first, squeezing the contents of the tube out. i sectioned the hair on the left side and began adding the dye.

i repeated the steps until the whole left side of my head was covered in the red dye.

i repeated the steps with the black, waiting an hour for it to develop on my head before i rinse.

after i rinsed, i wrapped a towel around my head, blow-drying my hair and brushing through it. when i pulled the towel off, i smiled, running my fingers through the soft, now black and red strands.

i took a snap sending it the kayla, with the text 'thoughts??'.

'omg!'

'you look hot!'

'so much better than that boring brown'

i smiled at her texts, feeling a little more confident with my appearance. i put stuff away, throwing the empty tubes of dye in the trash and washing the bowels that held the contents.

i ran upstairs, grabbing my phone and flopping on my bed. i scrolled through tiktok, stopping to watch videos every now and then.

as i was about to fall asleep, my phone rang, making me jump. my mom's name popping up on my phone, the options accept or decline flashing.

"yeah?" i say, answering the phone. "be there in five, i need help carrying in groceries," she says. "ok," i reply, getting off of the bed as the phone goes dead.

i slip on some shoes and walk outside, the cold breeze blowing against my warm skin. i see my mom's car pulling up, before it pulls into the driveway. "you changed your hair," she states, getting out.

the trunk pops open, revealing the back loaded with grocery bags. "i was bored, do you like it?" you ask. she runs her fingers through it, squinting slightly due to the sun.

"looks good on you sweetheart," she says, smiling.

we make multiple trips, bringing in bags as fast as we can. "how was shopping?" i ask, helping her put the stuff away. "fine," she breathes, putting canned foods on a shelf.

"you have work later?" she asks, and i nod my head, "six o'clock sharp." she nods her head, "when's dad getting off work?" i ask, "four," she replies, checking the time.

"what's for dinner?" i ask, closing the fridge and grabbing my phone. "probably spaghetti," she says, "can you help set the table when it's time?"

i nod my head, "yep," i say and then go back upstairs.

tag list:

@hysteria-things @tillies33ssss @soimightlikeoldmen69 @sturniolossss @freshsturns @etvar12 @sstvrnioloo @junnniiieee07 @sturnioloa @chrryclouds @sturniolhoe @sturniolowhore @imwetforyourmom @novasturniolo03 @spencerstits @junovrsmp4 @breeloveschris @skyslondon @stars4chratt @monkeyscientist22 @sophssturn @hearts4chriss @l5ka @sturnlovr @blahbel668 @sturncakez @livvy4realll @raysmayhem-72 @jnkvivi @mssturniolo

[missameliep]

For Lorelei, the ☼ and ♥️ head canons, please! 🥰 (~agentnatesewell)

Thank you so much for the ask, Mar, for allowing me to talk about my favorite detective and share some of the many drabbles I have in store 💖

☼ - appearance headcanon

Lorelei is short (5'4") and has medium length chocolate brown hair cut in the same style for as long as she remembers. She trims the bangs herself when it gets too long and annoying. During her first semester at college, she decided to do something bold and dyed her hair blonde (platinum blonde) but hated it. Three weeks later, when she got the money and time, dyed it back to brown. There's one picture of this blonde hair. Felix found it in Lorelei's apartment. There's a drabble about it somewhere I can't find, but I have something else I haven't shared before (my FC is Felicity Jones)

♥️ - family headcanon

Her mother used to be her entire world. At least until she was about 10 years old. She craved her attention and affection. The little time she offered was a treasure. She did everything to make her proud, to draw her attention. When she was a child, only the sitters (the supernaturals working for the Agency) took her to school and went to the parent-teacher meetings and other activities. Until 6th grade, she still performed at school plays, hopeful to see her mother's face amongst the other proud parents. Only once she showed up, and before Lorelei went to the stage went outside to take a call never to be seen again. The sitter took her home that evening. That was the last time she performed. That was the last time she tried.

They're not close, her mother and Lorelei. She calls her Rebecca because it hurts her, it reminds of the gap between them. A gap as wide as a canyon that she dug over and over, with every absence, every lost call, every fever a stranger watched over her sleep.

Her father died when she was too young to remember. Most of what she knows was learned from townspeople and her grandmother Nena, but it wasn't much - she never got over her children dying so young and barely spoke about either of them. However, at her home at the northern part of Wayhaven, close to the lake, there were mementos of his childhood and youth, from a time before Rebecca: pictures, books, a collection of miniature cars. She liked to piece it together. To imagine who this man she never met was.

When she was twelve, her grandmother Nena broke the hip after a fall at home; at the time she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Due to her insistence, Nena came to live in their home at Wayhaven. Rebecca opposed, she barely spent any time at house and worried it would be too much for Lorelei. It was the first time she raised her voice to her mother. Nothing she ever did to her stirred that reaction; but this time, it did. It was a stored rage, too big to be contained. Rebecca agreed, and a new kind of sitter was sent to their house. She lived with them until Lorelei went to college. The next day she was sent to a nursery home. Rebecca said it'd be better; Lorelei disagreed and visited as often as college allowed her to. On her last year of college she was weaker and too ill, and Lorelei dropped and went back home. Over the years, her grandmother had forgotten her and her name. The blank look was the hardest part. Childish as it was, she wished her grandmother would miraculously remember her like in those emotional videos on morning TV. She didn’t. Not once. She looked at her and at best remembered her children, Lorelei’s father and aunt. She called her by her aunt's nickname, and every now and then would ask why her hair looked different or where her brother went. She spent years peppered with a love that was not hers. But it was all she had. Her favourite picture of Nena was taken when she took her home one weekend; they worked on the garden, her hands were dirty and her smile broad. She ran inside, picked her camera and took the picture. Nena died three months later; she buried the camera behind boxes of books. The idea of living in the house by lake was tempting for about two weeks. The sale sign was placed in the front yard the same day she filled the trunk of the car with treasures that now adorn her home.

_____________________

From this OCs asks

[strangerwheelerthings]

maybe this is a weird question, but how do you think the main female characters in the show would deal with periods? (nancy, robin, max, el) in the sense of like how bad theirs is, unique symptoms, varying moodiness etc. idk it’s just such a big part of being a teen girl and yet it’s not brought up at all in the show. little things like that interest me

Hmmmm, that's a tough (but interesting!) question. I gotta be honest, I have no frame of reference for how a typical period feels for most people, as mine are Not average. But I'll do my best.

Because I connect most with Nancy, I'm making her share in my misery. She's wiped out by severe pain for the first two days of bleeding, and mostly just miserably holds up in the couch watching whatever on TV. There's no earthly power that is strong enough to make her move during the worst of it, as any moving can cause an extra severe spike in pain. She only gets up for bathroom breaks, and when the nausea gets severe enough that she knows she's about to actually throw up and is forced to move. There's no way to hide her misery, so this time of the month is the one time Karen can get away with doting on her eldest. In fact, this is the one thing that gets Nancy to occasionally ask for Mom time.

Nancy dreads it, and yet, every month, she approaches it as if *this* time she'll stop being "dumb" and just work through it. "Mind over matter" or whatnot. She can power through the pre-period cramps and depression well enough, but once the bleeding starts, she's reminded that no, she wasn't just being stupid and weak every time before that, it really was bad enough that not functioning was justified. It took her a long time to realize that most girls aren't just that much better than her at dealing with extreme pain. (Barb's were also more painful than average)

She also feels useless and bored during it because she can't even focus enough to get easy things done like homework or reading. But pain medicine barely makes a dent. But it's just two days a month, she can handle it just fine. She's making a big deal out of nothing. (She is not.)

I think El, on the other hand, does not have to deal with bad periods at all. For a long time, she's not even aware it's much of anything aside for a time of some bleeding and craving sweets. She feels a little pain, but she's got a high pain tolerance, and it's also honestly fairly light even by normal standards. She is somewhat affected by moodswings but nothing that anyone would really notice. She just goes about her day like normal. But her cycle is really irregular, and she can go three months without bleeding sometimes, and at other times, it's only two weeks apart.

Max is who eventually introduces her to the knowledge that periods can be painful. While hers don't take her down for the count, she does rely on painkillers and shear grit to make it through school and such semi normally. She's absolutely moody and somewhat antisocial. Her self-esteem plummets, but she hides that behind extra irritability. Her immune system is also weaker around this part of her cycle, so she's sometimes just straight up sick, too.

Lucas goes out of his way to make sure she has chocolates, so she tolerates his presence, but Mike better not step foot within 10 feet of her. (She doesn't hate Mike, in fact they are much better friends than people realize, but man do they have a tendency to get on each others nerves sometimes and that time of the month is not the time to deal with that.) She likes to spend the day with El, and ride out the misery with sugar and cuddles.

Robin gets nauseous and achy across her body, but her cramps are fine. She's not significantly affected by hormonal mood swings, but every once in a while, she'll be caught off guard by crying really easily over a movie or something. The back and random leg pains make it a little harder to sleep, but she's not a heavy sleeper in the first place. It does make her extra extra tired, though, on period days, and she mostly just goes about her day listlessly. Splurging a little on treating herself.

Steve's first real exposure to periods was Nancy. Though she doesn't really let people outside of family around her during those first couple days, he still eventually realized that it was an extremely difficult thing for her. So when he became friends with Robin, he assumed it was like that for everyone and freaked out the first time he learned she was on her period while at work. He tried to get her to sit down and get her chocolate, etc, much to her bemusment. This is how Robin learns about Nancy’s periods, and has to set the record straight with Steve. He still goes extra easy on her during her time of the month, because she still doesn't feel well.

Once Robin and Nancy are real friends (or more), Robin comes over during Nancy’s (until they start to align and then it's during both of theirs) and they watch dumb movies, cuddle, and gorge on junk food. She holds Nancy’s hair back when she's throwing up and forces her to actually drink enough water. Nancy makes sure Robin doesn't pretend that just because hers aren't as bad, that she doesn't deserve a little wallowing in discomfort, too.

[canny-unvalley]

Stray thoughts on Dead Boy Detectives

So, five years after getting Gay Married, I am getting Gay Divorced. I'll be moving out in about a month but until then, my spouse/soon-to-be-ex and I still live together.

One of the things we can still do together is watch TV. We are overall rather different from one another in the way that we enjoy watching TV; my spouse largely prefers shows that are easy to digest and don't require reading subtitles, while I like to get totally absorbed by TV shows and don't mind subtitles. However, there are a couple of types of shows that we both love. Aside from Swedish gardening shows, we both like watching British crime stories and camp/kitschy supernatural stories.

So, right now, we are watching Dead Boy Detectives. We love it. One episode left, which we will watch later.

Something I am thinking about as I watch: Sometimes I like very realistic shows. And sometimes I love it when a TV show is like an anime, or a comic book. My spouse and I have several times commented upon how much the cinematography - the angles, the colours - remind us of the imagery in The Sandman, and that era of comics overall. I haven't read all of the original Dead Boy Detective stories, but I did read the Sandman parts of them, and I really enjoy the call of making them older teenagers and find a different death for Charles. It's a whole other story and I like it.

Various thoughts (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD):

I find it funny that Edwin has so many boys fawning over him, but it seems like he has a lot of fans on Tumblr and a lot of people love him and how many boys want him so I will take it as fan service. Not a bad thing, I just... I know he is supposed to be a character that rubs others the wrong way but is likeable for the audience but I find him hard to like. Not hard to feel for, he has clearly suffered, he is not a bad person, but I just can't really like him. Sorry.

Charles, on the other hand... he is so lovely??? Can't tell if I want to be him or if my inner teenager wants him. The best acting in the show, too, so maybe that's part of why he steals all the scenes. He kind of reminds me of this boy from my gymnasiet Spanish class. I had a huge crush on him but he liked... real girls I guess.

Charles' reaction to Edwin's confession was so, so good. Couldn't have been better. I honestly hope their relationship stays platonic. Just for once, I want to see someone fall for his friend and then get over it and find someone else to be in love with all while maintaining a healthy friendship. I am generally for The Gay but I would genuinely be disappointed if they get together in a later season lol

The librarian looked so straight. The only character in the show to do so. She was styled 100 % like a heterosexual Swedish HR dept employee with one OR three children (not two) and a husband that works with... I don't know, industrial economy or something. They go on trips to go skiing in the Alps together in the winters and they used to go on a sailing trip every year together when they were younger but now the husband is the only one that goes. I was really annoyed by this at first but when she turned out to be a crazy stalker I was happy about it.

When I was younger I used to wear my hair similarly to Jenny's and Niko's and I also used to colour coordinate a lot more and now I miss it so much??? It is extremely impractical how I both want to cut my hair short like Charles again and let it grow out to Niko hair again. Maybe this is my queue to start wearing wigs.

I want a whole mini-series about just Jenny and her emotional life.

Not sure how I feel about Niko as a character. I've seen some people appreciate her as a Japanese-American character and as an autistic-coded character. Personally I don't know what to think. I don't really like how pretty her weirdness is. She feels like a cute Goodnight Moon ASMR character [edited for tempering] and not necessarily in a good way. Still, she’s kind of relatable [edited] and I suspect that I would have been obsessed with her if I’d been a teenager.

Oh god wait I struggle w Niko and I struggle a lot with Edwin and now I realise they’re probably the two characters that are the most similar to teen me????? Help?????

My spouse was so moved that they cried during the scene where Crystal meets her ancestors. I really liked the scene, but the one of her scenes that I enjoyed the most was when she and her ancestors pushed David into the ground. Loved the juxtaposition of the serene beauty of the tree and the physical brutality of their entrapment. It made the tree - she and her powers - scary and powerful. In a good way.

Speaking of brutality, I love the witch so much. I love how she is full on a hag - strong and violent, beautiful and disgusting, funny and horrific. It's not hard to imagine her eating babies.

I am not saying that this is badly casted, because it's not - but I notice how hard I find it to actually see these teenage characters as teenagers and not as being in their mid-twenties, like the actors actually are and look like. However, this is a common trouble I have with shows of this type.

I would have fucked the Cat King.

[wanderingmind867]

Issue #17: With earth beginning to go mad, we finally reintroduce Beast Boy into this story. He's one of the few people who's slightly immune to the plague. Possibly because of his connections to the Doom Patrol, he's got some resistance to the madness. It affects him, but not enough so he becomes a gibbering fanatic. Similarly, the teenage heroes the Doom Patrol had been training (Lodestone, Blaze, Karma, Sprite and the Mind-Grabber Kid) are also somewhat immune. So by pure chance, they end up finding each other and teaming up to try and deal with the madness.

Along the way, they find a handful of others who're seemingly immune to the plague of insanity: people like The Joker and Ambush Bug. Turns out people who're already insane can't be affected by more insanity. They're pretty much immune to the effects of the sanity drain. And sadly for all of us, The Joker, Ambush Bug and their fellow insane weirdos may be earth's last and best chance at survival. While the Doom Patrol and the Brotherhood of Evil try to find a way out of Mister Nobody's surrealist pocket dimension, these people have to hold down the fort and prevent earth from completely folding in upon itself.

Issue #18: The members of the Doom Patrol are finally all reunited, but the reunion is not nearly as positive everyone hoped it would be. For at least a full year (if not longer), Niles, Rita and Larry have been trapped in torture chambers of Mister Nobody's design. Wild torture chambers of surreal design, each one uniquely designed to prey on their worst fears. The Chief, Rita and Larry have really lost any mental stability.

The Chief now has crippling guilt over his every action, to the point where he can't think beyond crying. Rita was forced to imagine a world where she left the Doom Patrol and lived with Mento, accepted by society yet always knowing they mock her privately. It's given her severe paranoia and self doubt. And Larry…well, I liked how the Doom Patrol TV show made Larry a closeted gay man. I want his torture dimension to have had Mr. Nobody preying on that, making his self-loathing ten times stronger than it ever was before. So all three of the missing Doom Patrol members have lost their mental strength and fortitude. And now Mr. Nobody wants to give the same treatment to Robotman, the New Doom Patrol members, and the members of the Brotherhood of Evil.

But what Mr. Nobody never counted on was the outside world interfering, and running him ragged. He can't focus on maintaining his 5-10 different pocket dimensions; not when the people of the outside world are also trying to unravel his mysteries. He tries to handle all 11 tasks at once, but he simply can't. As the New Doom Patrol members begin losing their sense of self like the old ones, the dimensions all dissolve around them. And then they're flung back onto earth, free from his influence.

Issue #19: Now that Mr. Nobody's powers have been stretched thin, the Doom Patrol (plus the three members of the Brotherhood of Evil) team up with their teenage members and with the already insane denizens of earth to put a stop to Mr. Nobody's mad scheme to drain earth of all sanity. Despite their incredibly fragile mental states, Larry, Rita and The Chief join in the fight too.

And eventually, the Doom Patrol and their allies manage to stop Mr. Nobody. They restore sanity to earth, which also means Steve Dayton is freed from his months long stint of possession and mental manipulation. Still, Mr. Nobody isn't dead. He's just too weak to continue his attacks. But he'll be back one day. And next time, he'll remember to bring allies. So watch out, earth. Your days are numbered. Then he vanishes, before anyone has a chance to follow him.

And now that the earth has been saved and the Doom Patrol have been exonerated, they're all free to return to their Midway City headquarters. But still. Trouble is brewing, and it'll need to be addressed. Rita and Steve need to reassess their relationship and help each other through their mental crisis. The Chief needs to learn to trust himself again, and to open up to Arani. And Larry needs to put all the pieces of his life back together again. But they have the time to do that now. The Doom Patrol is back. And once they've recovered, they're gonna be bigger and better than ever!

[heartofhubris-a]

Hello, as you are the top Harding blog...any HC you'd like to share? No problem if not, but a "hardy" congratulations anyway 👏

Ahhh thank you!! I've got a couple small ones, but as always, these are my own personal HCs!

He's a closed toed crocs truther. Originally, Harding swore by clogs that most doctors used, but it only took one time in the foam for him to realize that he was wrong on insisting on just the wood ones. He likes them well enough, but the comfort made the last 30 minuets of the surgery (closing up) a breeze. Plus cleaning and care are much easier.

Sex positive ace. He's a sexual through and through and never through anything of it because he's biromantic.... if he was introduced throughly to those terms. But, he's got Mar, and he really doesn't care if people are sexually attractive, since he wouldn't go after them anyway.

Low support autistic - type a or autistic, idc. He's so strict on the rules, so through on his reads and memories, his routines. Harding excels in social situations, meaning he never cared to think if he was autistic or not. The way he was was idealized in his field and family, so he simply thought himself playing his role - quite happily at that

One day post s1, Harding says something untold to Sung infront of Fran and within 30 seconds she swooped him away and was just "Harding!! Why??" Leading to his confusion, dismissal of Fran, and moving on. Until he mentioned it to Martha and she kind of hesitated, Harding asked why. Martha was slow to say "You do say racist things, dear. I think you should take Fran up on the class." And he does and though he never apologized to Sung, he does end up treating Sung much more like he does in the book - with some respect.

The only way Harding asks for support is in the middle of the night when he can't sleep and he slides into his partners arm. In the daylight, the best he would do is a tight squeeze of hand, and his smile only slightly more genuine.

He started the embroidered lab coats. He was made fun of for 3 months for the idea. Patients loved them. Hardijg once again pointed out the sanitary cost and the customization costs being roughly equal anyway. The lab coat became a right of passage. (He still has his first attempts)

If Harding really likes someone, he won't bring them to the bar or get to know them. He won't have lunch/dinner. He won't go to a Cafe. If he really wants to offer his emotions to someone, if he wants to really invite them close, he brings them to a park. If they're distracted by the bird calls naturally, he invites them into birding. If he has to invite them and they're excited, they're instructed on good sites and books. If they're dismissive, Harding doesn't treat them negatively, but he's certainly judged them harsher l.

He will openly and willingly teach anyone anything they'd like to know - providing they show humility. If they refuse to relinquish their pride, he will ensure they are treated to the highest of his standards.

What's modern media? Aka Harding just. Doesn't care to watch TV and media; he will watch instructional videos and he is not illiterate on technology, but don't ask him to summarize the most recent (Harding checks notes.) Game of thrones? Wait that's been off air for how many years?

When Harding was a young man, he had a very close friend. They'd been friends for nearing a decade when Harding was told suddenly by his wife the unthinkable. Due to stress at work and his life, he had taken his own life. Harding couldn't attend the funeral, but he did send the widow enough money from his funds to pay for the funeral and her own life for the year after his pension ran dry. To this day, Martha and he travel to see her and their children every year in that very month, as well as both deciding to send gifts for his three sons, and Christmas cards.

Martha was infertile. Harding, for his own merit, didn't have good faith in his own ability. When Martha told him her state, he laughed on accident, before very quickly explaining why. She was extatic, but they refused to foster as his job was too severe, and her career was too important to her.

Harding (book moreso) doesn't particularly care for alcohol. TV Harding isn't a huge fan but he likes to relax due to the first shot or two, but doesn't like how he feels after that.

Medical Marijuana? He's fucking THERE FOR IT.

Speaking of: harm reduction entered his vocabulary once and never left. Harding never wants someone to turn to drugs to dealjust with life, but fuck. Harding is going to encourage every damn oppuritinty to get someone better. He will encourage you if you succeed, and be extremely firm, though not hurtful, if you fail. He'd be there to remind someone of sobriety.

"A couple small ones" I claimed.

I'm sooooo in love with him

[biitchcakes]

@gammaragee asked: 🎥 - What’s your favourite tv show/movie? // ( accepting )

Okay, strap in ⸺ this is gonna get long I can feel it in my bones HGFDSGK I cannot. . . not talk about both of these things in a stupid amount of detail. I'm literally gonna just go ahead and stick the keep reading here.

Favourite shows ! I'll start off with SCRUBS. Oh, how I adore this show with every fibre of my being. My stepdad, someone pretty important to me, worked in the emergency room, and actually started his internship within a year of Scrubs beginning. So, watching it with him meant it was always going to cement itself into a special corner of my heart, but even with that aside ⸺ the show is just damn good. It's hilarious, it's heart wrenching, it's got a killer soundtrack each and every season. The characters feel so real, no matter how goofy they or the situations their in are at times.

I simply just think of the episode My Screw Up or My Fallen Idol and I feel a pit in my gut, I tear up. Everyone always brings those episodes up when talking about Scrubs, but there's a reason for that. MAN it's some good T.V. I hardly ever listen to podcasts, but the Scrubs rewatch podcast was one I tuned in for.

The way J.D. sees the world, his little fantasy cutaways, his rambles ⸺ hate to relate to the man LOL but boy does that hit home here. I was thinking about including a favourite scene but I couldn't. The whole show is just everything.

Next up: SUPERNATURAL. Man. I actually haven't seen much of the show past season nine. And even then, I haven't watched seasons 8 or 9 since they came out about ten years ago. And there's 15 seasons in total. That said, the first five seasons of that show. . . Holy hell. I can't begin to get into the way that show makes me feel 😭 It's so nostalgic, it's like coming home after a long time away. My one and only tattoo ( so far lmao ) is from that show. I know it can be cheesy at times, but that adds to its charm for me. I love how of it's time the first few seasons are.

The visuals of it, it's so aesthetically beautiful. And God, when the emotional scenes hit. . . they HIT. They punch through to the depths of my very soul.

There are things about both the brothers I find relatable. They're comforting to me, they're like family.

Last but certainly not least, THE GOOD PLACE. I nearly didn't watch this one. I got into it around the middle of seasons three, but I only knew the premise of "woman who should be in hell ends up in heaven by mistake". Which, if you've watched to show, you know is definitely not the only thing that happens DHGKSJ

I won't go into detail because I always want to avoid spoilers about it where I can because the twists the plot takes throughout the seasons are a lot of fun to experience first hand. And, even if you do know, the show is still super worth it. It sent me down my own philosophy rabbit hole for months. Already interested in it before, I've kept up on it since, I watch lectures whenever they pop up.

The finale. . . UUGGHGKSJDHGKS. One of the best on television. That show fundamentally changed me. I am chronically bad at finishing things, but I have finished both Scrubs and the Good Place. Boy am I glad I have. Best finales ever.

Alright this got away from me very quickly HGSDJK

I'll be brief here fhdskjfds so MOVIES ⸺ my top 7 are:

Willow

Meet the Robinsons

Shawshank Redemption

Lo

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Stardust

Here is my LETTERBOXD account.

A list of MY FAVOURITE FILMS.

( bonus ⸺ here are my favourite horror movies, as well as my ranking for animated Disney movies; I'm currently working on a list of Jessica's favourite movies for a post on here at some point. )

[dailyunstableeve]

Under The Spell

Chapter (2/9)

Miguel O'Hara x My oc (Eve)

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"C'mon Miguel, sing with me!" Eve passed Miguel a mic and had the music blasting in the room.

They're having their first hang out, Miguel doesn't have any ideas on what activity they could do so he lets Eve be the one who picks. And Eve decided to go to the karaoke.

Eve loves to sing, for her, songs could let her feel closer to her family.

"Wait, I haven't even queued this song yet," Eve frowned, looking at the TV, it's playing 'American Pie'.

"You said you love that song, I wanna hear you sing the whole song," Miguel looked at Eve.

"Gosh, how can I say no to this handsome face."

The whole song lasted for eight minutes long, Miguel just watched how Eve danced along with the music, her voice. Miguel didn't know he's enchanted by Eve's voice, he found that he loved Eve's voice.

Before he finally loosened up a little, he remembered the mistake he had made, ruined a whole universe and her daughter, disappeared in his arms.

The three hour karaoke ended quicker than Eve thought, maybe it's because she was singing most of the time and lost track of time.

"Let's go grab dinner," Eve suggested, she just wanted to spend more time with Miguel.

Miguel nodded, but his phone started to ring, he had no choice but to answer it because it's 'Jess'.

"Sorry," Miguel apologized and turned around, answered the phone.

"We need your help, get your ass here right now!" Eve could hear Jess' voice through the speaker, even Miguel is not on speaker.

"Alright," Miguel turned back to Eve, "I'm sorry-"

"It's all right, your speaker is quite loud," she chuckled, "go now, I bet it's urgent."

A bitter smile appeared on Eve's face. For once, Miguel is bothered by it but he still walks away to Jess' urgent call.

Miguel showed up after two minutes Jess called. With Miguel showing up, they manage to beat down the anomaly before it gets out of hand.

As Miguel asks Lyla to scan the area to check there's no more anomaly, Jess is just staring at Miguel. Once Miguel is done, he only notices Jess was staring at him all this time.

"What?" Miguel throws the anomaly in the portal.

"Ever since that incident, you've been acting really strange, like way more strange than you normally are," Jess sighed, "and now, you are nowhere to be found in the building."

"Oh, you care about that?" Miguel looked at Jess, with his head looking down a little.

"You basically let the spider-men join the society and these days, you weren't even doing anything about it, and everyone is asking me what exactly is the society for? Miguel, if you want to keep the spider verse to go as exactly it should be, get your ass back in that office."

"Ya, you'll be an excellent mom when the baby comes out," Miguel didn't even look back and walk in the portal.

"Was that sarcasm?" Jess exclaimed and walked in the portal as well.

★・・・・・・★

"You're telling me this is the reason he's not picking up calls?" Jess whispered to Lyla.

"He's been meeting up with that lady for quite some time now," Lyla said, "weirdly enough, I can't get any identity from that girl."

"Maybe she's not around here."

"Eve Ashby, family died years ago," Lyla finally was able to find some information about Eve, "she doesn't have any crime record, she even graduated from university and took extra courses for writing, language."

"So she's a smart ass."

"If you put it like that," Lyla said.

"Wait, where they go?"

Miguel and Eve disappeared from Jess and Lyla's sight, Jess hopped on the roof and started looking for Miguel and Eve.

They didn't know that, Eve pulled Miguel to a hidden alley, and they were kissing. Yeah, kissing.

Here's the recap:

It has been over five months ever since Eve and Miguel met, they started hanging out every once a week, slowly it turned to twice a week, three days, four days and five days. They basically just meet up five days out of seven, which leads to why Jess and Lyla are spying on them because Miguel rarely shows up.

"So, when can I go to your work place? I wanna see where you work," Eve asked as she's eating the cotton candy.

"Outsider can't get in," Miguel answered, knowing that if Eve saw hundreds of Spiderman in just one building, would freak her out.

"Then, sign me in," Eve begged, "my job's salary is getting less, like there's no business at all," Eve complained.

"I'll see what I can do."

Eve noticed that Miguel was looking at her cotton candy, she pulled Miguel into an alley, as she leaned on the wall, she looked up at Miguel's face, he's shocked by how Eve just easily pulled him in the alley. Eve took the cotton candy out of the stick, "eat it before it melted," then she put it on her lip, Eve didn't just eat it all, she had a bit of the cotton candy sticking out of her lip, hinting Miguel to eat it. Miguel hesitated for a bit and leaned towards Eve, eating the cotton candy slowly, and slowly, their lips connected.

Miguel could taste the sweetness on Eve's lip, must've been the cotton candy that melted on her lip just now, which makes him can't stop, he wanted to taste more of that sweet and soft lip. Miguel has his right leg between Eve's leg, allowing her to sit on his thigh, with his arm wrapped around Eve's waist and pulling her closer. Eve rested her arms on Miguel's shoulder.

"Was it too sweet to resist?" Eve smiled, looking at Miguel, "such a handsome face, and it's begging for more."

"Mi Amor," Miguel whispered, leaning forward and kissed her neck.

Miguel has fallen deep in love with Eve.

He thought that after the incident, he did not deserve any more love.

Until he met Eve.

Just because Eve looks so irresistible.

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Prev~

Next~

[stevethedweebpoetry]

Brothers

I am the oldest of nine. It's mostly boys, only a few girls. That being said, I only live with two of them. One named Jose, the black sheep if you will, and Quinton, the kid who was born a Dominican man.  

 Jose is by far the lightest member of my family: coming in at 5’4”, 100 pounds, and with skin so pale you can see him in the dark. Jose is named after my father but, for better or worse, he is nothing like anyone I have ever met. Jose is an artist, my family and I all knew it for years. Jose at an early age once drew a picture of Spider-Man on a sheet of computer paper, and on the back of the sheet Jose had drawn Spider-Man’s butt.

         Jose is also by far the most curious person on the planet.  As kids, Jose and I moved around a lot - a childhood that Quinton was blessed to avoid. But hey, it wasn't all bad; whenever we moved we would get a new cable package… and that meant we would get three months of the premium cable package: Every channel from HBO to Showtime and Playboy included. At the age of at most 3 (because Jose was still in Pampers and Quinton wasn't born yet), Jose did the funniest thing he has ever done:

My mom and I were in the living room watching some show, while my grandpa ate dinner after a long day of driving a taxi around. He finishes his meal and heads for his bedroom. To get to his bedroom he needs to pass by my mom’s room where Jose is watching the Backyardigans or some other kids’ show.  When my grandpa enters my mom's room he begins laughing, laughing a deep primal laugh, then he calls for my mom. “Yade!” he yelled as he laughed. --Yade being how Spanish people say “Jade”… and Jade being my mom's name-- Oddly quite a few Spanish people find joy in naming their kids things that can't be pronounced in Spanish… just look at my brother Quinton.

My mom and I come running, my mom because she has been called and me because if it's as funny as it seems, I'm so down. I sprint past my mom and run down the hall, and as I walk into the room I hear an odd sound; it is soft and airy. I enter the room and Jose is cross-legged, lying in bed as a Playboy movie is playing. My grandpa and I are now struggling to catch our breath; my mom, on the other hand, is not pleased. She runs up to the TV and changes the channel. 

Now, my grandpa and I usually have a great time together. But sometimes his actions have terrible consequences: my grandpa is the one who introduced me and my brothers to wrestling. Now for me it was a cool way to learn how storytelling can present itself in many ways, while introducing me to some of my childhood heroes like Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. But on the other hand, Quinton may just go to jail one day for hitting someone with a steel chair.

More than once, I have been woken up by Quinton yelling “Ding, Ding, Ding!”, and leaping onto my chest with a flying elbow drop. Quinton, for most of his time as a tiny person, was really testing just how flexible his bones were. Realistically, he also tested just how flexible Jose and my bones were, too. And, to the terror of my mother, we also tested the flexibility of her bed frame. From DDT’s to Spine Busters, my mother's bed frame gave out first, and then came the back of Quinton’s head. Well, first off my mom's bed frame shattered due to Quinton hitting Jose with the RKO, and you already know that shit came out of nowhere.

About a week after my mom jerry-rigged the bed back together, the two of them were at it again. But this time the bed had a bit more bounce to it due to the makeshift repairs. Now for context, my mom’s bed was pushed into the corner, and on one of the walls was a window. 

To this day Jose insists that he “didn't even do anything”, but Quinton flew across the room and landed head first into the corner of the windowsill. His head burst like a Fruit Gusher, making a big red mess. Quinton had poked a hole, without Jose's help, in the back of his head. While the bump certainly had that “oh this is a bad bump” sound, Quinton’s scream-- muffled by Jose's hand of course-- really resonated with me and my grandma (my mom was at work). We both sprinted to my mom’s room; my grandma from the kitchen where she was making dinner, and me from my room where I was playing video games. 

From the kitchen to my mom’s room it was a straight shot but my room was off the beaten path, if you will. So as I ran out I slammed into the hallway wall and knocked all the photo frames off-center. Usually messing up all the frames would have gotten me yelled at at the least, but this time me and my grandmother had tunnel-vision: As I entered, I skidded on my socks like Tom Cruz and started barking demands. “The fuck is going on here!”

“Nothing,” Jose yelled in a panic.

As soon as my Grandma entered, she saw Quinton, who was out of my line of sight. He was holding the back of his head, tears flowing down his face and blood dripping from his curly hair. The energy that radiated from her made Jose cry and Quinton cry harder. I hardened myself as I remembered my mom telling me not to cry when we would get our flu shots. I took my fear and sealed it away so deep that I wouldn't feel it until after Quinton was safely in the hospital. My grandma yelled “Estee (how Spanish people say my name) llama a Yade!” She and I ran. Me to my room to retrieve my cell phone, and my grandma to the closet to get a towel to try and stop the bleeding. When I ran back to the room I found my brother with his head wrapped in a towel, tears still running down his face - he was a child after all, and the towel was dampening. 

According to my mother, panic had laced my voice, but I tried to explain everything to her. She called two taxis: One for us to get Quinton to the hospital and one for her to meet us there. I got dressed and turned off the stove so dinner wouldn’t burn, while my grandma got the boys dressed, leaving her in only her house clothes. We headed down from our apartment to meet the taxi driver. In the back seat: me at one window, Jose in the middle, grandma in the other window seat with Quinton on top of her. 

         We got to Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital; we always went to Beth Israel when there was a flesh wound. We met my mom in the emergency room; we were seen pretty quickly, since there was a bleeding baby. We got called in, and the nurse explained everything while she cleaned up Quinton’s head. She bandaged up his head and let us wait for the doctor to come and do the actual stitching. When my mom got to the hospital, she asked my grandma to go home. Grandma got very nervous, and it's just not good for her health…not to mention she was still in her house clothes. My grandma took the now soaked-through towel in a plastic bag in order to try and salvage it.

         Without my grandma there, no one could keep my mom from bombarding Jose with questions and threats of being sent off to live in the DR (our military school). All of the yelling clearly started making Quinton feel worse, so my job wasn’t over just yet… 

         My mom asked what Jose was doing. Then I interjected, “He was trying to get a shot at my belt, right Quinton?!” Finally, I got Quinton to smile and my mom to calm down, even getting her to start laughing.

         “You're the champion?” my mom asked.

         “With my finishing move, the Back Breaker, no one is beating me.” I said as I picked Jose up, held him over my head, dropped to one knee and slammed him down. Now Quinton was laughing, too.

         “At least we're already in the hospital.” my mom said, and now Quinton was in stitches… metaphorically speaking. But after he finally got his stitches, he was left with the branding of a true Islander: a scar on the back of the head.

[sunnyie-eve]

29 | TV Show?

Series: Purpose

Paring: Chris Halliwell x OFC!

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

"Chris stop it." Cassie whines trying to take a shower in peace.

"Can't I just sit on the toilet and talk to you?" He keeps knocking on the door.

"Why?"

"You didn't say no." He orbs in so she pokes her head out.

"Why can't I have a few minutes to myself? For the past couple of months you refuse to leave my side for more than 30 minutes." She tells him annoyed.

"Because I love you. Hurry and finish your shower." He sits down on the toilet. "Can I ask you a question?" He speaks up again.

"What?" She asks washing her hair.

"Do we have kids?" He asks making her smile.

"Yes."

"How many?" He pokes his head into the shower.

"Three. Now get your head out of here." She pushes him out.

"Three." She hears him say in a happy tone. 

After a few seconds Chris ends up getting in the shower with her,  "That's not sitting on the toilet." I glare at him.

"I decided I need a shower too." He smiles giving her a kiss.

Once their shower was over and they were dressed, they meet up with the sisters at Magic School to talk about theories with Wyatt turning evil. "It may not be a demon. Look, we've relied on magic all this time and it's gotten us nowhere. And since I can't rely on my premonitions to help, I've had to resort to statistics." Phoebe tells them.

"Statistics?" Piper asks.

"Yes. Did you know that fifty percent of violent crimes are perpetrated by someone the victim knew. So don't you see? Whoever turns Wyatt evil might actually be someone we know or even care about." Phoebe adds.

"A mortal? Impossible." Gideon speaks up.

"Really? Because the crime reporter at the newspaper said that it's usually someone you least expect." She tells him and Cassie watches how he reacts.

"Alright, now you're making me nervous." Piper tells her.

"Phoebe." Gideon slams a book shut, "This theory might make some sense in the lives of normal people but you aren't normal people. There's an entire underworld of demons out there who want you dead and today is no exception, which brings me back to the witch killer." He tells her.

"Hold on. Phoebe's onto something here. I mean, we've practically over turned every demonic stone, right? I mean, at least this is something new." Cassie speaks up.

"I don't believe this. Someone is killing witches, possibly as we speak. How is that not your only priority?" Gideon gets annoyed.

"Because we're running out of time, that's why." Chris gets up.

"What do you mean? Why?" Piper asks.

"I should've told you sooner. What happens to Wyatt happens before I'm born." Chris tells them making them say why wait to say it now. "I thought I'd given myself enough time. I'm so sorry." He apologizes to them.

"Then how do we know that this witch killer isn't the one that's after Wyatt? Given this new information it seems to time out properly." Gideon speaks again.

"Okay, it's time to divide and conquer. Paige, Chris, Cassie, you help Leo with the witch killer, I'm gonna go chase my theory. And Piper, you don't worry. We're gonna find this guy, I promise." Phoebe leaves the room.

Back at the manor after Paige getting a demon to question Chris and Cassie watch her zapping the demon laying in a circle of crystals. "What'd I ever do to you?" He asks her. Paige picks up one of the crystals and the zapping stops.

"You're sure he's a demon, right?" Chris asks her.

"Does that give you the right to commit unprovoked act of violence against me?" The Demon asks so Paige puts the crystal back down and zaps him again.

"Tell us everything you know about the witches that were murdered." Paige asks him.

"I don't know anything, I swear." Paige puts the crystal back down and zaps him again. He screams so she picks it back up, "Oh, the witches. The one last night, she put on a great show, she shot fire from her hands, and-and she put up a great fight." The demon says before Paige throws a potion at him and vanquishes him.

"Why did you just do that? He was just starting to talk." Cassie looks at her confused.

"He was lying. A) There was no witch murder last night and B)..."Paige stops as Leo orbs in.

"Another witch was killed last night." He tells the three.

"You were saying?" Chris looks at his aunt.

"Okay, that's just a coincidence. There's no way he could've been there to see that." Paige says.

"Did she have power to shoot fire out of her hands?" Chris asks Leo.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Leo asks surprised.

"More to the point, how did he know?" Chris means the demon.

"Huh?" Paige asks confused.

"Maybe he was working for an upper level demon." Chris suggests.

"Alright, we just happen to trap the apprentice to the exact demon that we're trying to catch and know nothing about." Paige picks up her crystals.

"What are we talking about?" Leo asks lost.

"Oh, the fact that Paige just vanquished our lucky break." Chris tells him.

"You don't know that."

"What do we know?" Leo asks.

"Well, we know that one demon can't possibly be doing all of these killings, so I'm thinking that someone is getting demons to join forces." Cassie tells him.

"So you think somebody is trying to organize the underworld?" Leo asks.

"Seems like it."

"And unfortunately, I seem to be the only person that is concerned about the fact that Phoebe is out there roaming around the world without any powers." Paige adds.

"Without her active powers. She can still cast spells." Chris adds.

"Great. So when the demon attacks her, let's hope that Phoebe can come up with a little rhyme just in time. No, no, no. I'm gonna go bring her some potions." Paige tells them.

"What should we do?" Cassie asks her.

"Pray that she doesn't get attacked."

"I'm gonna make a snack." Cassie leaves the attic with Chris following her.

"You really want to make a snack at this time?" 

"I'm hungry..." She looks back at him.

"One more question about our future... How old are we when we have our first baby?" He asks while she make herself a snack.

"Thirty."

"Thirty... Wonder if we can make that happen slightly earlier." He says making her look at him.

"Excuse me?" She can't help but laugh.

"Think about it... For mom. Don't want her being too old." Chris laughs so Cassie keeps looking at him, "It's just can't wait that long to have a baby with you. If we could have one now... I would be happy because I love you." He walks up wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her closer into him.

"We literally have three kids together, Chris. I know how much you love me." She gives him a kiss.

"So Chris is the last baby Piper and me have?" Leo walks in holding the book.

They look at him and keep quiet, "Must you interrupt us dad?" Chris tells him.

"Yeah, can't have you making a baby in the kitchen." Leo tells him.

"Don't worry Leo. Not anytime soon." Cassie tell him.

"Boo." Chris lets go of her leaving the room with his dad.

"When did you realize you liked Cassie more than just a friend?" Cassie hears Leo ask Chris in the other room.

"I've always known I was just to scare and nervous to do anything. That's why mom, Paige, and Phoebe say they'll make sure I do something sooner." Chris chuckles.

"I'll make sure as well because you are killing me trying to catch up on all the time you could've been kissing her." Leo says before Cassie joins them.

"So how are we going to figure out who's killing all theses witches?" She takes a seat on the ground looking through the book.

"Any demon that can be powerful enough to be organizing the underworld or any demon who might be running some sort of training camp for younger demons or any demon who could be..." Chris lists.

"So basically any demon." Leo looks at him.

"Yeah. This sucks, you know that? We're running out of time here and we've got nothing, repeat nothing, to go on." Chris gets frustrated.

"We've faced worse." Leo adds.

"What's worse than not knowing? For over a year now I've been looking and you didn't know this deadline was looming but I did. I knew every single day." Chris tells him.

"That's why he was never able to relax. That's why I kept an eye on Wyatt all the time. To make sure nothing got to him."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Leo asks.

"Because I didn't want to get you involved. I was trying to protect you." Chris sighs.

"Chris, we're your parents, we're supposed to protect you, not the other way around." Leo says so Chris nods his head, "And Cassie you're basically our daughter in a way so same goes for you. Hell, you're my daughter in law and you make me a grandpa." Leo smiles as Paige orbs in.

"Hey. I got a new scrying crystal. Amethyst. I thought we could use the extra power boost." She tells them.

"What exactly are we scrying for?" Leo asks her.

"Witches under attack. I don't want anymore of them getting killed, and that includes my sister who is now determined to stay at the office, ever since your son dropped his little bomb this morning."

"I already said I was sorry." Chris adds.

"And he shouldn't have to say it again." Leo reassures him.

"Alright, dad." Paige says as Gideon orbs in now.

"Gideon, what are you doing here? Is Piper okay?" Leo gets up.

"Hardly. Thanks to Phoebe's ludicrous new theory, everybody's now a suspect in her mind. She's terrorizing the entire school." He tells him.

"So you want me to talk to her?"

"I'd be eternally grateful." Leo orbs out, "What are you scrying for?"

"Witches under attack." The crystal immediately points to a place on the map, "Ooh. Caught one. In the mission."

"You three should go. Hurry." Gideon tells them so they orb out.

The three of them orb in so Paige throws a potion at one demon and vanquishes him. Another demon shimmers in behind the witch and rips her necklace off from around her neck then shimmers out.

They go to help the witch, "What the hell just happened?" Chris asks.

"I don't know."

"Who are you?" The witch asks.

"Um, I'm a Charmed One. Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe." Paige tells her and they all orb back to the manor.

"Where are we?" The witch asks.

"It's okay. You're gonna be safe here. What's your name, anyway?" Paige asks her.

"I'm Tali. How can I ever thank you guys for saving me?"

"Okay, I don't think you need to, because I don't think we did. I'm not even sure they were after you." Cassie tells her.

"Yeah, they were after your necklace." Chris tells her.

"Oh, my grandmother's amulet."

"Amulet. Is it magical? Does it have any power?" Chris asks more and she says not at all.

"Well up to the attic shall we." Cassie takes the lead and once up there they go through the book.

"That-that's him, the Brute demon." Paige stops Chris from flipping the though.

"Okay. Upper-level demons with overwhelming physical strength. They work alone, generally crushing skulls of their victims. You're lucky he wasn't after you." Chris tells Tali.

"Okay, this isn't making sense. Are you sure that that amulet did not have magical powers?" Paige asks her.

"Positive. It was just a family heirloom."

"Well, do you have anything else of your grandmother's?" Chris looks at her.

"Her wedding ring. Why?"

"That's a great idea. We can use it to scry for the amulet."

"And find out where the demon went." Chris adds as Phoebe walks in.

"Okay, people, heads up. I need your address books, your phone books, basically all your books. Hi, I'm Phoebe." She shakes Tali's hand.

"This is Tali. She was attacked by three upper-level demons today."

"Wow, and you lived to tell about it? Congratulations." She tells Tail, "Okay, about those books. I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Phoebe, we actually need your help."

"How bad was it?" She asks.

"Well, um, they stole my grandmother's amulet." Tali tells her so she explains it meant nothing so Phoebe leaves.

"So about that ring?" Cassie looks at Tali.

"It's at my place."

"Great, we'll go." Paige orbs out with her while Chris and Cassie go downstairs.

"Hey, how's it going here?" Leo asks.

"Paige and Tali went to get her grandmother's ring. How's mom doing?" Chris asks him.

"She's scared. She's holding up."

"And how are you doing?" Chris asks him.

"About the same." He answers as Paige and Tali orb in.

"Got it."

"So what are you planning to do when you find them? I mean, could this be some kind of trap?" Tali asks.

"Honey, it could always be some kind of a trap." Paige lets her know as she starts scrying for the Brute Demon.

"Which is why you shouldn't go alone." Leo says.

"He's right, Paige. If these are the witch Killers..." The crystal points to a spot on the map.

"Why don't you guys both go with her? I mean, if they wanted to kill me, they would have done it when they had the chance. Right?"

"No, I'm sorry. Can't leave you unprotected." Paige tells her.

"I'll stay." Cassie offers.

"Then Chris will be staying too because he won't leave his fiancée." Leo smiles at the two so he and Paige orb out.

"Well he wasn't wrong." Chris looks at Cassie.

"Because you never give me space." Cassie rolls her eyes at him, "Okay, Tali, you gotta get going. Is there any place we can go?" Cassie asks her as they wait and a darklighter appears shooting Chris and Cassie with his crossbow.

Leo heals Cassie's and Chris's wound, "I am so sorry. I didn't even see him coming." Chris apologizes.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. We're being watched." Paige lets them know.

"What?"

"Sons of bitches. Where are the cameras?" She looks around.

"What cameras?" Chris asks.

"There's some kind of live feed going on in the crystals." Leo explains

"Yeah, except for I think they cut it off. I'm not seeing anything." Paige tells them.

"Well, who?" Chris asks.

"I don't know. I vanquished the Brute Demon before I could ask him. What is this, some kind of game?" She keeps looking around.

"Actually, it might be. Chris, remember that rumor you told me about?" Cassie looks at him.

"I heard something when I was down in the underworld. But I thought it was just a rumor. That there was this demonic game show. Kind of like Survivor, but only for demons." He explains.

"And you didn't tell us this why?" Paige asks the two.

"Because I didn't think it was relevant." He tells her.

"Okay, that's your theme song of today. Did you notice?" She lets him know. 

"Look, I'm sorry. Well, at least it explains how the demon we trapped today knew that the witch died. He was watching it on TV. Pretty sick."

"No sicker than any other reality tv show." The three give him a look, "I'm just saying."

"Except this one's about killing witches for entertainment."

"Yeah. We have to get out of here. Because they are listening to us. We're gonna find you." Paige says.

To keep out of the cameras sights they head to the Magic School. While they were there Phoebe calls for Leo, Chris, or Cassie so Chris goes to her. He brings her back and she had a dagger she took from the demon.

They were all sitting around a watching Paige flip through a book, "Found it. Power-sucking athame."

"And?" Piper asks.

"Well, and that's it." She tells her.

"Wait, it doesn't say anything about what kind of demon uses it or what the WW stands for?" Phoebe asks her.

"No."

"Well, that's not a big help. Okay, well, we could scry with the athame or the crystal thingy." She asks.

"No, she tried." Cassie lets her know.

"How about a return to sender spell?" Phoebe suggests.

"Tried. Our magic is blocked."

"So then, we've got nothing." Phoebe sighs.

"Yes, we have nothing but a houseful of cameras, and an underworld full of voyeurs." Paige adds.

"Piper, why don't you go relax? We can take it from here." Leo looks over at her.

"No. I'm fine. I mean, and relax? Relax where? We're being watched." She tells him.

"Not here. Not at magic school they're not." He tries to help.

"Leo's right. You should go lay down. We've got it under control." Phoebe says so Piper gets up and Leo leaves with her.

After more time passes Cassie gives up on looking through books, "Hey, with your gift..." Paige looks over at her.

"No, Paige. It doesn't work like that. I don't get tiny details." She leans back in her chair.

"Don't feel bad, babe." Chris kisses the top of her head as Gideon walks in saying he found something and they see from the crystal the show is about killing the Charmed Ones.

"That's what their show is about? killing us?" Phoebe says.

"Then either me or Wyatt..." Chris adds.

"It has to be Wyatt, which means... oh, yes. This makes perfect sense." Gideon says.

"What about any of this makes perfect sense?" Paige asks.

"Don't you see? These Gamemasters are the demons that you've been looking for all along. The ones who are after Wyatt." He tells them.

"What? No." Cassie shakes her head.

"Think about it. They've been collecting powers, hoping to gain enough to be able to collect yours." He tells everyone.

"And then get Wyatt's."

"Well, it kinda fits into Phoebe's theory then, right? We don't know who they are. But they know who we are." Paige says.

"I'm gonna kill them." Leo says.

"No, Leo, you're an Elder now. Non-violent, remember?" Gideon reminds him.

"Watch me."

"We're gonna have to find them first. Do you think we could trace the signal back to them?" Phoebe asks.

"No, not without Piper. I think they're too strong already." Paige tells her.

"No, we don't need Piper." Phoebe picks up the athame, "Because we have this, and they're not going to kill us on TV. We're gonna kill them."

-

"What exactly are we looking for?" Paige asks as her, Chris and Cassie walk into the attic as a distraction.

"Anything that will let us vanquish the gamemasters without the Power of Three." Chris tells her.

"Anybody wanna play a game?" One of the gamemasters shimmers in.

Chris grabs a box and throws it at Corr. He telekinetically knocks it aside. Then Paige throws two potions at him but they don't harm him.

"When are they coming back?" Paige asks as they duck from a fireball.

"Can't you freeze him?" Chris asks Cassie so she tries to but it doesn't work.

"That's not normal..." She says confused so Chris grabs her to run with him and Paige to hide behind the couch.

"This game's over." Corr says as Phoebe shimmers in.

"I couldn't agree more." She throws an energy ball at Corr and vanquishes him then she turns to the camera, "See what happens when you make a play for our baby? Who wants to play next?" She shimmers out.

"What happed with freezing him?" Chris takes a seat next to Cassie.

"I don't know." She turns to face him then looks at the door trying to use her telekinesis to close it but it doesn't work either.

"Cassie?" Chris looks at her as Leo orbs in.

"Where's Phoebe?"

"That's a good question." Chris answers as Phoebe shimmers in.

"God, that was great. I wanna kill somebody else. Who can I kill? Chris, find me another demon to kill."

"Okay, we gotta get these powers outta her." Paige tells her.

"What? You're the one who wanted me to have a power, remember?"

"Yeah, not a demonic power." Paige makes it clear.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers. Oh, poor little powerless Phoebe. She can't even take care of herself."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I admit it. I was, I was wrong." Paige sighs.

"What did you say? Would you mind repeating that, please?" Phoebe smiles.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. I clearly underestimated you. You are very powerful." Paige says in a monk tone.

"That's all I wanted to hear. Now who wants to stab me?"

"What?" Paige didn't know.

"It's the only way to get the powers out of her." Leo catches her up.

"Come on. I dare ya. I double dare ya. I triple dare ya. I super duper dare..."

"Oh!" Paige grabs the athame off of Phoebe. "I'll stab her. Leo, be ready to heal." Paige gets ready to stab Phoebe so Chris turns his head away.

"Why did you close your eyes?" Cassie asks as Paige pulls out the dagger.

"I was scared." Paige says as Leo heals Phoebe.

[cheritzssebba]

Secret Ending Three - Chapter Six: New Me

The one with the New Year's 👌 just the Gregorian one, not the lunar one

Before any of us even knew it, it was New Year's Eve. Things have been moving so fast though, I wonder how many years have already gone by without us even realising it. How many years worth did I spend reliving the same four months over and over? Two? Or was it even more than that? The memories are still so jumbled, I should probably just start with trying to remember how today went, then work back from there.

Right. We've been celebrating the new year all day. The boys all have a collection of New Year's greeting cards from their fans, but the only ones we have displayed are the ones from Soi and Shinbi that came in the post yesterday morning. Tei and Yeonho worked together to make a delicious rice cake soup for us all, which was probably their best dish yet.

Lance insisted on studying, even despite the holiday, and Yuri still disappeared for a while. But I'm glad that, right now, we're all gathered in the living room to watch the fireworks together. Every single one of us.

I feel so happy, I can't even put it to words... I've spent so long reliving the past, it feels like it really has been years since I've done anything like this. Time has just been repeating itself over and over again. I'm so excited for life to finally move forward once more, to finally start making new memories, enjoying new holidays together with my new family.

"I actually always hated fireworks. They're way too loud for no reason, and everyone else screams really loud when they see them too," says my bear, sitting on the floor between my legs. I run a few strands of his purple hair through my fingers while my other hand rests on his shoulder and I just can't help but smile at him sympathetically.

"I have to agree," says Lance to my right. He shifts his position between myself and Red, squished up against us both awkwardly. Red seems unbothered. "Not to mention how dangerous they are. I can't imagine actually feeling safe next to one. Just watching them on a screen like this is bad enough."

"Lance agreeing with someone?" laughed Yuri. "Well that's funny. I, for one, don't mind them too much. Quite romantic to kiss a pretty lady under."

"It won't be as romantic when you start a forest fire with them though, Yuri," Tei smirked. But it's hard not to notice how much calmer their relationship is now. Yuri just rolls his eyes in response and goes back to watching the tv. Tei hasn't even chastised him for lounging across the couch like he owns the place either.

"I've heard that they're bad for the environment too though," Yeonho says from the floor.

"Argh, you guys! You're all ruining the fun! It's New Year's, we don't have to care about that!" Red groans, throwing his fists into the air. The volume pierces my ears but it's nothing new.

"Yeah, can't we just enjoy this? For some of you, it's the first time experiencing the new year, and for me, it's been a billion years since I've celebrated anything other than Christmas. Let's just have fun today."

Everyone made sounds of agreement at that, while Red looked satisfied. Then- "It's starting!" - he exclaimed and jumped into the air abruptly, pushing Lance into me and causing a domino effect across the couch.

The countdown to midnight started and the tv showed a huge crowd of people cheering and counting along. It happened slowly and powerfully, the screen exploding with colour when the moment hit.

Everyone counted together at once, Red cheered and Yeonho clapped happily. Yuri fought to plant a kiss on my forehead while both Tei and Lance rolled their eyes. My bear covered his ears at the noise but clung onto me on the couch after all the commotion had died down.

"Happy new year, everyone!!" I'm smiling ear to ear. I'm so glad to be surrounded by family again. Even though it's been so insane (so, so insane) I think this has been the best year of my entire life.

The new year... I don't know how to feel about it. Maybe some more insane things will happen. Maybe they'll be good things, maybe they'll be bad. But I'm glad... I'll be going through it all with them. And I don't mind that at all.

When I look at everyone, I think about what we all went through together. Lance, Yeonho, Yuri, Tei, Red...and my bear too.

When I look at them all, I have the feeling that things will be okay, finally. But...there's one of them that I do worry about more than the others... He's standing in the kitchen, tidying the plates away, when I can finally speak with him on his own.

"Happy New Year," I say, still smiling, but I think he can see the hint of hesitation on my lips. He's always been able to see through people so easily, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't approach the subject without sensitivity.

He pauses to look at me, but returns to his work instantaneously, and asks with a returning kind smile, "twenty fourteen. Are you looking forward to the new year?"

"Yeah, I'm really excited! Thinking back to the start of last year, I don't think the future's looked so bright in...well, ever!"

"Bright?" He doesn't sound surprised, but I can tell, after knowing him for so long, that he disagrees.

"Yeah! 'Cause I'm going into the new year with you guys! I've never felt so safe and surrounded with love. What about you? Did you ever think, this time last year, that you'd be here?"

"Well no, my life is definitely a lot better than it was at this point last year..."

"... But..?"

He stops in the middle of cleaning and closes his eyes. He seems conflicted...

"Tei..? Are you alright..?"

"Our current situation is better, but I don't know if it's the best. It's something I've always admired about you, your ability to look at life so positively despite everything, but I can't say I agree with that worldview at all. I think it's more realistic to keep in mind all the things that can go wrong in the future."

"I was thinking you'd say that... I was worried, so I wanted to check up on you. I'm sorry I haven't asked about this sooner, but...how's this situation been affecting you? Your thoughts? It was you who suggested I choose someone, and I was wondering about how you were feeling."

I really do wish I'd have spoke to him about it sooner though; I know how hurtful Tei's thoughts can be to himself, especially if he might feel betrayed, knowing that I love everyone else as much as I love him. But I've been so preoccupied taking care of my bear, planning for the future, I just haven't had the time.

Plus...I was worried that he might not tell me the truth, even if I ask. I'm glad though, that that's not the case. I feel really thankful that he's now comfortable telling me how he feels, even if it's not good news. If he tells me what he's worried about, it'll be easier for me to help him.

Tei soon finished putting all of the plates away, then took a seat on the couch before patting the seat next to him. I eagerly sat down to listen to what he had to say.

"I can definitely understand why you'd be so happy right now. Everyone you love loves you back greatly. You were alone, and then your dolls came to life, and then you loved each of them, went through hardships, then came out the other side with all of them still loving you. You have the freedom to choose which of them you prefer."

"... Are you worried I won't pick you because you hurt me..? It's not something to worry about, I know that your thoughts aren't who you are, and you wouldn't have those thoughts at all if it were your choice, and I know about them now, so it'll be easier to-"

Tei stops me by putting a hand up. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath.

"I'm not worried about you not choosing me. I don't want you to choose me. I don't want to participate in this competition for your heart."

"Oh... I... But..."

I've been rehearsing this speech in my head for days, imagining all the different ways he might disagree, but this wasn't what I thought he'd say at all. What does he mean..??

"Tei, but... Why? It was your idea... Do you not want to?"

"I don't want you to misunderstand: I still love you. That's something that will never change. But you taught me to be honest, and...I don't think it's wise for us to be in a relationship.

"I wouldn't blame you for not choosing me over them. I'm someone who's hurt you multiple times, and you've got four, five better alternatives than this."

"But- but you can't say that's how I feel. I never said I wasn't going to choose you. I already said, your past is in the past, and you don't hurt me out of a genuine desire to hurt-"

"No, I understand that that's not what your decision is. I knew that you would be too kind, that's what I love about you.

"But I'm deciding to make the decision for you... I'm sorry, owner." He spoke sadly and sternly, but ended the last sentence looking guilty...

It does hurt to hear someone I love so much say that they don't want to be in a relationship with me anymore...but I understand that he's doing it because he loves me and wants the best for me.

But still... "Okay. So am I right in understanding that you'd still want to be in a relationship with me if you weren't a danger to me?"

"That's right... I'm sorry. But I think it's just too dangerous. I should stay away from you for now. Things seem to have gotten better for you, but..." he sighed, and spoke the next sentence quietly. "I feel like I've just gotten worse..."

"Tei..." I feel so bad for him... No, I don't blame him at all for breaking up with me. I can only imagine how he must feel right now, how hurt he must be from this. "I'm sorry we're in this position, Tei... This is such a lose-lose situation for you.

"If I choose you, you'd worry about hurting me, and if I don't, you'll worry about someone else hurting me. I don't think it's right. You're unhappy in both outcomes. Do you think you'll ever be really happy? I hope you will, even if that happiness doesn't even involve me."

"That's kind, but unfortunately I don't think it's possible. It's just something I have to live with. But please understand that you are my source of my happiness. I won't find it outside of you... Sorry."

Tei looks regretful, but there's no hesitation or surprise in his voice. This is something that he's internalised and accepted for a long time... I...don't like it. No... I hate it.

"That's not true. Don't say it like it's something normal. You shouldn't have to live with never being happy, Tei. Don't just accept it."

He sighed at my response. "Eri-"

"No. I won't let this slide. Isn't there a way? For it to stop? For the pain to go away? We can do it. Together. We can make your thoughts go away, and you'll never have to worry about hurting me again. We can do it."

"I'm sorry... I don't think this is something that can be fixed just like that. I'm a broken doll, beyond repair."

"No, you are not. You might be broken, but there's no way you're beyond repair." I can't shake the guilt and sorrow on his face when I take his hand and pledge to him my belief that he can't be helped.

"There's a lot of things that have happened since you guys came to life. Some bad things, some good things. But something I've learned is that everyone has something they think is wrong with them and they think they're beyond help. But they never are. That's never been the case, not once. They always get better.

"People always get better when they're supported with patience and love-"

"But I'm not-"

"If I'm not enough to help, then we'll just have to look for someone who is."

Tei blinks at me. "Are you... Do you mean...professional help?"

"Yeah. That's what I mean. What do you think?"

"That's... Well..." Tei rests his chin in his hand and considers this... I think it's cute watching his eyes fix on one point of the couch as the thoughts start turning in his brain.

But he shakes his head with a frown and says, "Ah, no, what would they even do? The worst case scenario is that they'd take me to prison or a mental hospital because I might hurt someone."

"But the best case scenario is that the treatment works and you get better and will feel happy when you think about the future. Even if it might go wrong, don't you think it's worth the risk? Don't you wanna try, just in case?"

Tei sighs, not wanting to meet my determined eyes. In the time that he hesitates, we're interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. The smell of shampoo fills the air.

Red steps into the living room with a yawn, stretching in his pyjama bottoms. "Hm? You guys are still up? I thought the celebrations were over, it's like two in the morning."

"Aha, yeah, we'll go to bed soon. We were just talking about..."

"Oh, like a human birth certificate? I have one of them," Red said plainly.

"How it's difficult to do certain things because we don't have real identification. Some things, no matter how much we want to do them, might just be impossible without proof of our human existence."

Oh, ID. I assume Yuri just bribed someone to let the boys into the school, but for the doctors, I'm guessing it might be a bit more difficult, since they might be confused about why the boys don't have any medical history. And it's not like we can get Crobi Doll to give the boys ID.

"No, Red, we mean a real one," said Tei.

"Yeah, that's what I have."

"... Did you forget to take your brain with you into the new year?"

"No, I really have one!" he huffed and stormed off into his room. He was gone for a moment and came back soon with a document in his hand. "See? I have a real one. Except it says I was born in nineteen ninety five."

"Red... What?? Where did you get this?? When??" I pleaded with him, unable to perceive the reality of the paper in my hands.

"Ehh... Yeah, about that. I never brought it up 'cause there was never a good time...but the nice lady at the Crobi Doll shop in town gave this to me."

"... What?? When were you planning on telling me this??"

"Hey, it's not like it was a secret!! I was gonna tell you, but then you were sick, and then there was the play, and then there was Christmas, and then you disappeared, and then I forgot about it!!"

"How do you forget that Crobi Doll know that you came to life??"

"Uh, I don't know... Is it bad?"

"No," said Tei. His eyes are fixed on the birth certificate. I think I see a hesitant smile playing on his lips. Is that hope I can see on his face? "This can only be good news."