#whoa two pictures at once?? crazy

[sunny-darlin]

Y’all have been good to me so here’s my butt ☺️

#whoa two pictures at once?? crazy #sunny speaks #oh look it’s sunny

[luvyeni]

❛NICE GUY❜ ( l. haechan )

p. stalker!haechan x fem!reader w. 2k+

warnings? dark fic, stalking, non consensual photo taking, unprotected sex

— 𖦹 ( in the midst of your stalker running lose you trust haechan , he seems like nice guy ) !

freaktober masterlist

“what’s his name?” your friend asked , her senses going off. “lily , i told you already.” you sighed annoyed , you had been talking about this date for the past week , but your friend had been skeptical. “it’s haechan.”

“well I’m sorry for being concerned for your well being.” your friend said. “especially with all those weird messages you’ve been getting , and plus you don’t know this guy , he could be crazy.”

your friend , although her nagging was annoying , she was right , it was a big risk meeting haechan – also known as donghyuck , you had been getting weird messages and pictures from a random number for the past few weeks , this stalker had known all your information - where’d you work , your address. he even knew where your childhood home was – it was super creepy.

you had found hyuck on dating site about two weeks ago , and he seemed like a nice guy. he was cute , held a good job at a good company – and of course to make sure he wasn’t catfishing you , you’d facetimed a few times before agreeing to meet him at a bar.

so hear you are , at 9pm walking to the bar listening to your friend nag you over the phone. “lily , listen.” you interrupt her rant. “I know you’re worried – the stalker thing creeps me out too , but what should i do? i can’t stay in the house forever.” you said. “plus i’ve talked to haechan , i’ve seen his face and he genuinely seems nice.”

your friend sighed in defeat. “i know you want me to be safe , but it’s fine , plus the bar will be crowded.” you reassured. “okay fine , you win.” she said. “just be safe , and don’t go home with him.” you hummed , the bar came into view. “i won’t , i’ll see you later okay?” you said. “okay , please call me when you’re on your way home.” you agreed , hanging the phone up , pulling the bar door open , walking in. if you’d only turned back once , looked around at your surroundings just once – you would’ve realized that you were being followed since the moment you walked out the house.

you sat down at the bar , the bartender coming up asking for your order. “oh i’m meeting someone , he should be here in a few minutes.” you smiled politely , he nodded excusing himself to take another order. you decided to text him , opening up your phone to text him , only to be met with 2 new messages , but not from haechan – but from your stalker. ‘you look sexy in that dress.’ your eyes scanned the messages. ‘have fun tonight my love’

he knew you were out on a date? had he been watching you? was he still watching you? you began to sweat , anxiety slowly kicking in – what were you supposed to do now , what if he was watching you now. “(y/n)?” you gasped , jumping , quickly swiveling your body around. “whoa! you okay?”

you sighed , heartbeat coming back down after you came face to face with the man. “haechan.” you said , he smiled. “you okay , you seemed scared?” you nodded , he sat down next to you. “i’m okay , just a bit nervous.” more like scared shitless , but you didn’t want to let him know that. “nervous?” he smirked. “meeting me made you nervous , i’m flattered.”

he sat down , the waiter returning to take your orders , bringing you your drinks , while you got to know each other. “so tell me about you.” you told him what you did for a living , your family even about lily your best friend. “she wasn’t too keen on me coming here alone.” you said. “she’s just a little overprotective , but she means well.” he nodded. “i get it , her best friend is going out with a random dude , i’d be a little weary to , maybe if this goes right , i can prove one day that i’m a nice guy.”

he was such an absolute blessing , like the perfect guy. he was attentive , he listen to everything you said – funny , not even a try hard , he genuinely made you laugh. he was also extremely flirty , not enough to make you uncomfortable , but just enough to make you shy away with a smile , as the date was coming to a end , you felt sad. “why are you frowning , a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be sad?” you smiled , his hand coming up to rub your knuckles. “you are just such a great guy , i just don’t want this date to end.” he smiled , your lips fell into a pout. “it doesn’t have to end here.”

that’s how you found yourself in his car , driving around the city to his condo. “i promised lily i’d come home early , she’s gonna be so mad.” you said , pulling your phone out to text her. “you’re safe with me , i promise.” you smiled , you did feel really safe around him , you felt no sense of danger around him , no red flags going off in your head.

he had your hand in one hand , typing in the passcode to his condo , letting you walk in. “this is really nice.” you took your shoes off. “you must do really well for yourself.” he followed behind you as you walked around. “well i do alright , i work at a tech company.” he was checking all of your boxes , good job , kind , sexy as hell.

“computer nerd , so your sexy and smart.” he came up behind you , his hands ghosting your waist. “sexy huh?” he nose nudged against your neck , you sighed. “yeah.” you breathed , he kissed your neck. “you’re sexy too , been trying to be a gentleman all night long , it was so hard.”

things only escalated from there , he dragged you to his room , unzipping your dress letting it fall the ground. “such a pretty body.” he unbuttoned his shirt , letting it hit the floor , grabbing your jaw , slamming his lips into yours. teeth clashing , messy kissing as he backed you up until you fell onto the bed , undoing his pants. “lay back baby.”

he climbed on top of your body , heavy breathing – his hand coming under your body , undoing your bra , throwing it across his floor. he grabbed your boobs , bringing his lips around it. “fu-fuck haechan.” you moaned , your hands tracing his body until you reached his clothed cock , palming his hard-on. “off , take them off.”

he got off the bed taking his pants off , you took your panties off. he got back on the bed , grabbing your waist , putting you in the face down ass up position. “so fucking wet.” he grabbed the fat of your ass , spreading your cheeks , his face close to your cunt , spitting on your hole , before licking a stripe up your cunt. “h-haechan , oh my god!” you squealed as he ate your cunt like he was starving.

he inserted a finger into your hole , fingering you as he licked your cunt. “you taste so fucking good , pussy is so fucking sweet , want you to cum on my tongue.” he buried his face in your cunt , slurping up all your juices. “haechan , i’m gonna cum!” you were moaning so loud , haechan was sure he’d get a noise complaint , but he didn’t care at that moment , especially when your little hole was clenching around his tongue , signaling that you were close. “fuck , i’m cumming!”

your legs shook as you came , he drank up all your juices , making sure to clean you up real well , before finally coming up for air. “shit , your pussy taste so good , gonna get addicted to it.” he slapped your ass , you moaned , backing your ass up against his cock. “pl-please fuck me.”

he damn sure wasn’t denying you , pulling his underwear down , his cock springing out , slapping against his stomach. “you ready for my cock?” he rubbed his cock along your folds. “yes.” you whimpered. “please put it in.” you wiggled your ass. “want it so bad.”

he pushed his cock into your hole , holding your waist as he seethed his cock all the way inside your hole. “fucking tight cunt.” he pulled out , slamming back into you. “haechan fuck!” you screamed as he rammed into you , cock stretching you out. “fuck your pussy feels like heaven around my cock.”

he pushed your back deep into a arch , hitting a deeper angle , the ass rippling at the impact of him rutting into you. “look at that ass bouncing against me.” he slapped your ass. “beautiful baby , fucking beautiful.” He groaned. “you were made for me , made for my cock , i knew it the moment i saw you.” he grunted. “i knew only you’d be able to take my fat cock.”

you could barely register what he was saying , your mind on cloud 9. “did i do it? did I fuck you dumb?” he darkly chuckled , he could feel your cunt pulsating around him. “you’re gonna cum , i can feel your pretty pussy tightening around me.” he moaned. “go ahead cum for me.” he slapped your ass. “cum on my fucking cock.”

your mouth fell into a ‘o’ shape , eyes rolling to the back of your head as you came , screaming his name. “fuck fuck fuck !” your legs were shaking as he kept slamming into you. “fuck i’m gonna cum , gonna cum on your back.” his thrust began to falter , his falter , his quickly pulled out , cum shooting from his cock on to your back , all over your ass , dripping down to your cunt.

you fell flat on your stomach , worn out. haechan hovered over your body , heavily breathing taking in the sight of your body. “you look beautiful.” he kissed your shoulder. “took my cock like a champ.”

you had fallen asleep , still covered in his cum , haechan promised to clean you off , and he was , he just wanted to look at his work a little longer. he slowly got up , careful not to wake you , reaching for his trusty polaroid camera – cursing as your phone went off , your body twisting and turning at the noises. he picked up the phone reading the contact ‘lily🤎’ , he sighed , he knew from the very beginning she’d be a problem , he’d have to get rid of her sooner or later.

he turned the ringer off , putting the phone down , picking up the camera. he took a photo of your body from every angle , zooming in on your ass , his cum beginning to harden , he had to be quick. he quickly put the camera away after all the photos developed , he made his way out of the room. “haechan?” your voice groggy , he held the photos behind his back , turning around. “gonna get you a rag to clean you up with , go back to sleep.” you nodded drifting back off.

haechan made his way down the hall , to his special room , unlocking the door , walking inside where he is greeted with the hundreds , maybe thousands of photos of you – eating with friends , at work , coming out of your family home after dinner. his cock getting hard again , as he hung up the photos of you covered and his cum ,hanging up the last photo - the picture he took of you sitting at bar fear evident on your face.

it was because moments before he sent that text about how sexy you looked in that dress.

©LUVYENI

#kpop x reader #kpop smut #nct smut #nct hard thoughts #nct hard hours #nct x female reader #nct x reader #nct fic #nct fanfic #nct dream x reader #nct dream fanfic #nct dream smut #nct dream fics #haechan x reader #haechan fic #haechan smut #haechan imagines #lee haechan x reader #lee haechan smut #haechan scenarios

[steddielations]

It's just another boring day running the store, even more boring than normal since Robin’s out sick. There’s not any kids around either, the beanbags by the bookshelves have been empty all day.

Steve’s working his shift alone. It’s all very mundane, just waiting for the clock to run out. That is, until the door flies open.

It’s just a flash of black clothing and the clinking of metal accessories as the figure suddenly barrels right over the counter. Steve shouts and immediately reaches for the nail bat— yes the nail bat— he keeps behind the register. He brandishes it menacingly as the person stands upright.

It’s a man, with crazy wild hair and even crazier eyes, widening comically at the bat and holding his hands up. He squawks at Steve.

“Whoa, hey! What is that thing?! What the hell, man!?”

“Don’t ‘what the hell’ me, I’m the one what the helling you here!” Steve snaps back.

“What!”

“Just tell me what you think you’re doing here, punk!”

Something like disbelief comes over his face, and he lowers his hands to gesture over himself, “Dude, I’m clearly a metalhead.”

“I’m gonna put some metal in your head if you don’t start talking,” Steve snarls, gripping the bat tighter.

“Okay, okay!” His hands flail, shifty eyes bugging out the front windows before he suddenly crouches down behind the counter, “Just let me hide out here for a minute, there’s— people after me that I can’t deal with right now.”

“Oh yeah, what 'people’?” Steve narrows his eyes at the expensive looking chain dangling around his neck, some kind of red pendant on it, “Did you get caught stealing from the jewelry store next door?”

Again, he gives that look, not the typical guilty look when Steve chases down the usual petty thief, he just looks like he can’t believe he’s in this situation, as if he’s not the one that hopped over the counter.

“I didn’t steal anything, alright? I just need to wait here until it’s all clear.”

“Mr. Simon is chasing you, isn’t he?” Steve groans, lowering the bat to rub his hand over his face. He hates that old jeweler, always complaining about Steve taking his parking space when he doesn’t even have a car to use it. “Christ, okay. He might have a war flashback and actually kill you, and I already have enough shit on my conscience. You got two minutes.”

“Five?”

“One and a half.”

“Okay, Jesus. Two please and I’ll let you have a picture after, whatever you want.”

Steve thinks it’s a weird thing to offer at first, then it clicks.

“Yeah, I do want a picture ‘cause your ass is going on the banned wall,” Steve points the bat to the array of photos on the back wall, right up there with the little pricks that kept asking what shelf the skin mags were on, and the asshole that was rude to Robin once.

The guy looks over and he… chuckles, “Starting to think I picked the wrong counter to hide behind.”

Steve glares when he’s met with the stranger’s smile, “You think?”

“The rainbows in the window caught my eye, thought they were pretty cool,” he gives Steve a kind, but measured look, “I’m assuming the bat is for people who don’t?”

That rocks Steve a little. The subtle touches of rainbow decorating the storefront were Robin’s idea, just a welcoming sign for those who know what it means, who need it. Which, apparently, is this guy too, dark eyes watching as Steve makes the connection.

Plus, the kind of kids that get off the bus and hang out in the beanbag corner of the bookstore, also tend to be the type that bullies flock to, but not here, Steve makes sure of that. Not with the nail bat, that’s for things more serious than school bullies.

“Is that who’s after you?” Steve asks, shooting a look out the window. His gut starts to twist in some form of empathy for the guy, it would make sense why he hurtled inside so quickly.

“No, nothing like that, but I still need to lay low for a second.”

Steve squints, empathy gone.

“Okay well, the bat is for thieves too, then. You know, Mr. Simon might be a mean old shit, but he doesn’t deserve to be stolen from. He’s got a family, dude.”

“Well, isn’t that admirable. Look, I appreciate what you’re doing here, the whole local protector, vigilante bat-man thing, it’s pretty badass,” A pun. This would-be thief really just made a damn pun about Steve’s would-be murder weapon. “But I didn’t take anything from anyone, Stevie boy.”

Pun forgotten, Steve grips the bat tighter, demanding to know, “How do you know my name?”

Another annoying smile as the guy gestures to his chest, where Steve’s name tag is. Right.

“Tell me yours,” he counters, noticing how the guy’s smile falters, looking hesitant, crouching lower, hiding. Steve sighs, “I’m not gonna go to the cops, man. Your face is going on the wall and your name is going on the list.”

This guy is just smirking way too much for someone in his situation, “Wow, I must be real special then. It’s Eddie. Eddie Munson.”

“Okay then, Munson,” Steve narrows his eyes at the necklace again, “If you didn’t take anything, then where’d you get that chain, huh?”

This Eddie looks caught off guard, his mouth already formed into some excuse that Steve cuts off.

“Just hand it over,” he flourishes the bat this time, satisfied with how Eddie looks both impressed and intimidated. His eyes stay on Steve as he removes the necklace, dark and alive with something, like he’s enjoying this somehow.

“Okay fine, easy with that thing, big boy. You can keep it for now as collateral for letting me stay.”

He passes Steve the chain, and Steve doesn’t want to fuss with his jean pockets so he just slips it over his head, Eddie’s eyes tracking where it falls around his neck. He sees it’s not a pendant like he thought, it’s a red guitar pick resting against his chest. Not Simon’s usual merchandise, but the chain definitely is, it’s expensive, Steve can tell.

“But, as good as it looks on you, I’m gonna need it back when you realize it’s not stolen.”

Annoyance. That’s the flare of heat Steve feels, it has to be, this whole exchange is getting him hot under the collar. He obviously knows Eddie’s hitting on him, not the first time he caught someone up to no good, and they clocked the rainbows and tried to flirt their way out of it. And this guy isn’t bad looking, maybe under different circumstances in a nice bar somewhere, Steve would flirt right back, but he’s not falling for it now.

He’s glad the couple minutes are up, doesn’t know why he checks out the windows to make sure it’s all clear for Eddie.

Bat still in hand, he makes Eddie stand while he fishes out the polaroid camera behind the counter.

“Don’t you want to get in the photo?” Eddie asks.

Steve’s free hand snaps to his hip, “And why would I want that?”

“Right,” Eddie grins, sticking out his tongue when Steve holds up the camera, throwing up that same hand sign that Dustin keeps making nowadays when the flash goes off. “No fun kissin’ a picture of yourself. Or, maybe it is when you look like you do.”

Steve rolls his eyes, “Playing cute with me isn’t gonna get you off the hook,” and sits the newly printed polaroid on the counter, ignoring the way his cheeks feel hot. It’s just the adrenaline coming down.

He finally puts the bat away, still watching warily as Eddie comes closer, picking up a pen and scribbling what looks to be his phone number on the photo.

“Gotta say, this was nice, Steve. I’d love to do it again sometime,” he smirks, hopping back over the counter the same way he came, “I mean it though, give me a call about that necklace. What kinda rockstar would I be without my lucky guitar pick?”

“Yeah right,” Steve snorts, “I don’t wanna catch you around here again. I never forget a face, Munson, especially not yours.”

“I’m flattered,” he pats his hand over his heart, then throws Steve a wave as he pushes open the door, “Keep that up and you can call me anytime.”

One last wink that sort of makes Steve’s chest flutter and he’s gone. It’s nothing, just some crazy guy that annoyed him half to death, and he hopes he never sees again.

When his shift ends later that evening, he goes next door to try and return the necklace to Mr. Simon, but he insists that it wasn’t stolen from his shop.

Steve’s starting to think he may have accidentally robbed someone at nail-bat-point. But it’s not possible because that’s not possible. How do you accidentally rob someone? What crime would he even be charged with? A little oopsie burglary? Ridiculous.

No, the old man is just out of his mind and doesn’t recognize his own shit. It’s the only thing that would make sense in that whole bizarre situation. Who else would Eddie have been ‘hiding’ from? Why else was it so urgent that he handed over the necklace without much fuss?

It’s not until days later when Dustin hops onto the counter that Steve really realizes.

“Steve,” Dustin says slowly, “Why am I looking at a picture of Eddie freaking Munson on the banned wall?”

Steve looks around, “That guy? You know him? I caught him stealing from Mr. Simon the other day.”

“You— He— What!? He was here?” Dustin sputters, “Steve, I’m 1000% sure he wasn’t stealing shit! What did you do to him?”

“I did my job, Henderson. I banned him from the store and got back the necklace he took— What— Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Steve.”

It’s over the course of the next conversation, getting completely chewed up and spit out by Dustin that Steve learns he didn’t just accidentally rob someone.

“STEVE.”

He accidentally robbed a world famous rockstar.

Steve spends the next few days so deeply embarrassed that he can’t even dare to pick up the phone. He gave Eddie such a hard time when all he needed was a place to hide out so he didn’t get mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Looking back on it, knowing what he knows now, Eddie handled it with such grace. Steve’s even more ashamed, not because of the whole rockstar thing, but because it's shitty to hurl accusations and a deadly nail bat at anyone, and take their stuff on top of that.

He finally bolsters up the courage to dial the number. As soon as he hears ‘what’s up, it’s Munson’ on the other line, he lets loose a string of apologies and a promise to give the necklace back as soon as he can.

It gets cut short with that same chuckle that still gives him a warm chill even down the phone line.

“Keep it. Looks better on you,�� he can hear the smile in Eddie’s voice, “But that means you’re gonna have to come to my show tonight. Can’t play without my lucky guitar pick, can I?”

#and that’s steve’s meet cute gone wrong with his rockstar boyfriend #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #rockstar eddie munson #steddie fic #famous eddie munson #steddie ficlet #bookstore owner steve #eddie munson headcanon #my fics #steve harrington headcanon #rueswriting #steddie headcanon #steddie fanfic #stranger things #meet cute #maybe i’ll fluff this up into a full fic at some point who knows

[sports-on-sundays]

hiee, could you do a pau x reader where they've known each other since middle school or so and started dating in high school and are best friends before anything else. but as he starts to get famous and known in the group he gets his head in the clouds and starts neglecting her and is embarrassed by her (?) she tries to save their relationship but gets sick of it and breaks it off and gavi has to knock some sense into pau. (pls make it angsty 😭) i love your writing so much!!

love and fame / Pau Cubarsí

Summary: Pau x girlfriend!reader - In which the fame starts to get to a certain teenager's head.

Warnings: angst, neglect, crying, censored cuss

Requested?: Yea

Author's Note: This is a very good, well thought out request; thanks for the great idea! And honestly it makes me so happy to know you like my writing so much; thank you! Also I don't know if you meant it to be a romantic relationship, but I made it that in the end and only realized you may have meant something different once I was finished, so I'm sorry if I misinterpreted that, and I hope you like it still, either way!

It's like you knew what would happen before you even knew it.

"Wow, Pau," you had grinned, high-fiving your boyfriend after a game. You gave him a short hug, patting his back. "You're getting pretty famous, huh?"

"Yeah," he had laughed a bit. "It's crazy. Months ago, I felt like, you know, just me. Just Pau. Now people know me. They're asking for my autographs more and more. Someone wanted me to take a picture with their baby!"

Your nose had crinkled up, but also you laughed a bit at that. "Whoa." You lean back to look up at him, crossing your arms. "Well, you've always been 'just Pau' to me. Cute Pau, who plays football, and who my friends all tell me has a crush on me."

"Yeah, until I confessed it," he said with an eye roll, feeling as though he'd heard this a million times, but still enjoying hearing it, regardless.

But for right now, he looked at you with meaning, and pride. "But aren't you impressed? You know, that I'm going big?"

You grinned. Right now, for now, he cared about what you thought. He cared to make you proud.

Still.

"Hmmm... Ask me again after you've won some silverware," you had teased lightheartedly, obviously proud of him.

He grinned back and claimed confidently, "It's only a matter of time!"

Then you had started walking together, with his arm around your shoulders. You hesitated, pondering for a bit on your words, before casually commenting, "Just don't let the fame get to your head."

"What do you mean?" he had asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"You know... I just hope you'd never put it before me. Or before any other people you love, for that matter."

But he laughed, brushing it off right away. "Of course not, Y/n. No need to worry about that!"

And by the way he said it, you believed him. That sounded so genuine. As if it was silly for you to worry about such a thing. So you trusted him.

Now you see he should've given that comment from you a little bit more thought before openly denying it could ever be a possibility.

Because now, scarily enough, it looks like a very likely possibility.

You're visiting family in Seville, and planned it that way so you'd be able to surprise Pau by meeting him at his game. You weren't exactly expecting him start the game, but when you saw he was, that made it even better.

Or so you thought it would.

Well, it was a great game to watch. Anyone could say that much. A 2-4 win with a hat trick from Ferran- you're happy this is the away game you were able to plan to come to.

Now you laugh and exclaim when you see Pau after the game, all dressed in street clothes again with a few of his teammates- the two goalscorers themselves, and Iñaki Peña. But when he looks up and sees you, he suddenly looks-

uncomfortable?!

"H- Hey, Y/n," he quickly says, glancing to his teammates.

"What's your problem?" you demand, promptly shoving Ferran a bit in order to get to your boyfriend and stand in front of him with crossed arms.

"Nothing... Just, come on..." he says, grabbing your hand and starting to walk quicker down the hall. You see him eyeing both his teammates and a camera in the hall very nervously.

"Is something wrong...?" you inquire.

"Nope! But yeah, great game, no?" he says as you exit the hallway. He seems to be keeping a strange amount of distance between you and him.

"Right... You did great..." you respond, nodding slowly, your thoughts now completely elsewhere.

"Why?" you demand, crossing your arms. You were all ready, wearing your backwards flat cap, football jersey, and shorts. You were just tying up your hair, sitting across from him in an ice cream parlor, when Pau dropped his stupid little suggestion. "Why can't I come to training with you?"

"Be- Because it's not for you!" he argues. "It's for me. You're not a part of the team. You're not even a guy. It's not fair for you to just show up."

You frown. "What, did someone tell you that? Or did you just make that up on the spot, because there's some other reason why you don't want me coming?"

After knowing each other for five years, you and Pau have pretty much figured out how to catch if the other is lying or not.

Pau's face lights up pink embarrassed, proving your suspicions to be true.

You frown. "Pau, your whole team loves me! They don't mind if after training I kick the ball around with them a bit! What, is that the reason? Are you jealous?"

"No... no. That's not it," he shakes his head slowly, before suddenly looking at his watch. "Oh, God, I've got to go now, otherwise I'll be late!"

"I'm coming with!" you demand, standing up.

"No, no!" he says, gently pulling you away from the door. He forces you to look him in the eyes and mutters, "Please?"

You frown deeper. Hesitate. You sigh and mutter, "Whatever. Sure. But we're going to talk about this later."

He nods, seeming a little too relieved for it to be normal, before he walks out of the parlor, shutting the door behind him with a jingle of it's bell, leaving you standing alone in there, looking like an idiot.

You sigh, trying to process all this, but not understanding any of it one bit.

When you see Pau again, he somehow manages to avoid that talk you promised him by just being the sweetest with all his cuddles and compliments. You don't realize it was forgotten before he's gone, and it's too late now.

You sigh, deciding to brush it off. Convincing yourself it's nothing.

But then it goes weeks. No communication, or very little. It's strange, and extremely unlike Pau, who has always been one to always respond. Always spam rants. He always has the last word.

So to be suddenly sending short, dry, infrequent texts? And not inviting you to any dates or events?

It gives you a bad, bad, sinking feeling.

"Hey, Pau!" you attempt at smiling when you finally see him again. "It's been... too long, love..." you start. It's after a home game, and you wanted to catch him.

But he sort of just...

Puts you aside.

"One second, Y/n. I've got to finish something. And, uh, can you not just show up at a game like this...? You're kind of...?"

"I'm kind of... what?!" you demand, grabbing his shoulder, forcing him to give you his attention.

He hesitates, before muttering, "You're kind of dragging me down."

Your mouth drops at the same time as your heart does in your chest. "I'm- I'm what?" Your eyes are wide.

He blushes and mutters, "I guess I just... I kind of want to have you and my... my football life, my fame, separated."

You glare, crossing your arms. "Since when have you wanted me separated from anything in your life? What is this all of the sudden?"

He frowns, blushing deeper. "I don't know... I just... I don't know."

"Okay," you snap. "Whatever." And you walk off in anger, just like that.

He doesn't call you back, so you suppose you're leaving, just like he wants you to.

"So?" you stare across at Pau, unimpressed. You invited him to your house, and now you sit at your kitchen table with your hands resting on it, crossed.

"What?" he sighs, looking guilty.

Well, he probably is guilty. He's super guilty. This conversation is just a matter of figuring out what he's guilty of.

"Why have you been ignoring me? Why have you seemed embarrassed any time I'm around? Are you ashamed of me?"

He frowns. "Uh..."

"So you are ashamed of me?" just the question of that sends a pang through your chest.

"I-"

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing! It's just... Y/n, listen. I'm famous now. You're, like, just Y/n. You're just a regular girl... I just don't..."

"You don't want it being known you have just a regular girlfriend?!" you fume. "You said you wanted to be 'just Pau'! You said you didn't mind that!" You stand up. "But now you can't have your girlfriend being 'just Y/n'?" you jab in a mocking tone.

He takes your hand and says hesitantly, "You can be my girlfriend... I just..."

"You just don't want anyone seeing me, ever. You're ashamed of me," you confirm, pulling your hand away from his. You hesitate, before saying, "I'll give you a chance. If you can get your head out of the clouds, do it, because we have something that isn't worth losing over this."

He looks up nervous. "You would break up with me?"

"If you don't fix this, Pau. I love you, but I won't-" your voice falters for the first time. "I won't stay with you if you don't fix this. You can't expect me to put myself through that."

He suddenly stands up and hugs you, but it doesn't feel right. It should feel more comforting than it does.

But you swallow. You need to trust him. You should trust that the boy you've loved for years wouldn't throw away your relationship so easily.

He wouldn't, right?

You lay awake at night, laying on your back, staring up at the ceiling. Tears run softly, slowly down the sides of your face, onto your pillow, sinking into it.

Disappearing.

"Pau," you whisper into the empty, stuffy, lonely dark room. "What is it about me? Is there another girl you like more? Am I really that much to be... To be ashamed of?" You groan.

Great. Now I'm talking to myself, because I know I couldn't say this right ot his face.

I'd be too scared to know what his answers would be.

I just want him back. The Pau I know. Not this distant, strange thing he has going on. I want the sweet boy who always wanted me around. The boy who could never shut up about me, never stop raving about me.

Now he's ashamed of my very existence, it seems.

Is it really just the money breaking him? The fame, shattering him to pieces?

That's the only solution you can think of, but you don't want to settle for it.

You shut your eyes, convincing yourself that sleep is needed now.

Though shutting your eyes just pushes more tears out of them.

"It's over..." Somehow, you clench your jaw and stare into him. Somehow, you force yourself to look as hard and cold as a rock.

And as strong as one.

But inside, you're being shattered to pieces, and it's only a matter of time before you break.

Like, for real.

"What? Y/n, no- Please!" But his words, and his tone, doesn't match up with the look in his eyes.

Not exactly.

It's like there's two parts of him, inside, battling each other.

One sees the worth in this relationship. One regrets, and wants to amend. One wants to hold on.

But the other more predominant part is ready to let you go. It sees you as a burden, as a girl that's going to drag him down and make him look bad. A girl who isn't charismatic enough, or pretty enough, to be the girlfriend of a celebrity. A girl who just doesn't make the cut.

Now, you can't stop tears from filling up your eyes as you snap back bitterly, "No, Pau. I gave you a second chance. And a third chance. You didn't listen. You clearly don't care enough about me to get your head out of the clouds and actually make a change! So it's over! Over!"

And by the time you walk out, you're sobbing. Tear, streaming down your cheeks. Your legs shake, and everything feels so wrong.

It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair.

We were meant to be.

Forever.

We were suppose to be made for each other.

You sit alone in your room. Pulling at your messy, knotted hair. Feeling unwanted.

You are unwanted, Y/n, a voice in your head screams. He was the one that seemed to love you most, that seemed to never want to hurt you. And he was the one who let go of you, in the end.

You choke out another sob. Your parents were concerned, trying to figure out what was wrong, but right when you yelled when you walked into the house that he's an ungrateful b*tch and you never should have gotten with him in the first place-

You suppose they figured it was Pau.

You swallow back your tears, though you know that won't do anything in the end.

They're just going to keep coming.

For months, it's like you were holding this all in. All these emotions. The hope that things would turn around kept you strong enough not to fall apart.

But now here you are.

Falling apart, because now you see there is no hope.

And it really is over.

You roll over, staring at the wall. Tired, blubbering, whimpering back the sobs that softly escape from you. Staring at the peeling Barcelona posters. Anger boils up in you, and you suddenly reach up. "I don't want anything to do with you and your stupid club that changed you!" you suddenly scream, tearing it off the wall, throwing it on the floor.

You press you forehead against the cool wall, breathing deeply and sniffle pathetically, "I loved you."

And you add as your head pounds from all the confusion and tears in a soft cry, "And I still do."

"Is something wrong?" Gavi quite suddenly asks of Pau during some light warmups.

"Why do you ask?" Pau demands, meeting his eyes.

"You've been... quiet. Seems like something is on your mind?"

"Not really," Pau lies.

"Yeah, right."

"Why do you say that?" challenges the younger of the two teenagers.

"Because I know you're wrong. I know something is on your mind."

Pau frowns, pouting a bit at that. "How could you tell?"

Gavi shrugs casually, stretching out his leg gently. "Just can. But anyway- what is it? Does it have to do with your girlfriend suddenly seemingly disappearing off the face of planet Earth?"

Pau groans, leaning his head back. "How did you know?" he says, sounding more sarcastic and defeated this time than he sounded last time.

Gavi shrugs once more. "Two plus two equals four. So she ditched you?"

"That's a harsh way to put it."

"So she ditched you," Gavi repeats, but this time it's not a question, and more like a confirmation. He waits a few seconds, grabs a ball, then starts doing keepie uppies. After some more time, he passes the ball to Pau in the air as he asks, "So why was it?"

"Why was what?" Pau asks, playing stupid, as they continue passing the ball back and forth, doing a few kick-ups in between each pass.

"You know," Gavi says simply.

Pau sighs heavily. "Ask her, if you want to know why she broke up with me."

"But I'm asking you."

"You're nosy!"

"Okay, sure. Anyway, why did she break up with you?"

Pau frowns. Hesitates. "I don't know. I think she didn't think I was giving her enough attention?"

"Were you?"

Pau glances away.

"Were you?" Gavi repeats.

Pau sighs again. "Probably not." But then he quickly adds, "I just don't know if she was good for me."

"What do you mean? Why not?" There's no judgment in the nineteen-year-old's voice. Just inquiry.

Pau shrugs tentatively. "I don't know... I mean, like, she's just kind of regular."

"Regular?" Gavi asks, and now there's judgment in his tone. Judgment that Pau doesn't particularly appreciate.

"Yes, regular! She's just, like, some girl! I'm getting famous now, and there are so many girls that have crushes on me... like, all over. I mean, you know how it is. Would you settle for some random girl-next-door type, when you have so many options?"

"What do you expect to get?" Gavi demands. "Some girl who looks pretty but has no heart? Some girl that wants your money over your personality? Pau, if I had a girlfriend that I'd have known for as long as you've known Y/n, I wouldn't let go of her for all the money in the world."

"Maybe you're a different person than me, then!" Pau snaps, getting red in the face.

"Of course I am! But I'm just telling you my opinion. She's sweet, and she loves you. She has your interests, she cares, and you already know each other's families. Do you really not love her, or are you just embarrassed that you love her?"

Pau's jaw clenches. "I- I don't know." But something about what he just said, deep down in his chest, seems to hit home.

"And, God, she's pretty. I think you're being a bit too high with your expectations. Seems to me you think you're better than you are." Gavi looks up as he passes the ball in the air once more to Pau. "Maybe you should get your head out of the clouds, step down from the pedestal you've built yourself, and look at things a little bit more rationally to how reality actually is." As the ball lands at Pau's feet, Gavi turns with a wave. "If I were you, I would think about this more. It's clear you're not the same without her. You think you'll be happier without her, but clearly, you're not."

As Gavi walks away, paying careful mind to his knee, he comments, glancing back one more time, "You should think about apologizing. Think about what I said. Because that girl is worth a lot more than you think she is right now."

And Pau is left there, standing. Staring.

And, yes, he has a lot to think about.

It's not too far off to say that you've been a shell of yourself since the breakup. There's a hollowness to your eyes, and silence to your vocal cords, and a constant slight shaking to your hands.

It's like you're holding on my a thread, because at any moment, you could break.

Again.

Sometimes you wonder to yourself why you would let a boy control your feelings so much.

But then you remind youreslef that usually, you wouldn't.

Pau was always just different.

Something about you and him clicked.

Perfectly.

There was never a fear of a breakup with him. You never even expected that to happen. You imagined yourself always to be with him. Someday, you might even get married.

Of course, you had had your fantasies about that.

But now that expectation is crushed, and your heart can't deal with it.

So much so that you had to block is number. And all his socials.

Because it was too much of a temptation to just text him. And beg for him to accept you back.

And you knew that wouldn't do any good in the end.

After all, there was a reason why you broke up with him, and a good one, at that.

But in the end, that makes it harder for Pau, two weeks of thinking and stressing after his chat with Gavi, to talk with you.

So he has to go to your house to talk to you.

No getting out of this the easy way, through a text conversation.

Gavi's words just kind of hit a cord in him. Got him thinking. And now as he walks up to the house with a pathetic bouquet of roses behind his back, he's nervous. He feels emotional, but isn't sure how to deal with the feelings he's experiencing.

He supposes when he sees you, he'll just let whatever comes out of his mouth come out, like he usually does, and he'll hope this time, it's something good.

He knows that's not the best approach to life, but can't think of a better way.

When you hear the doorbell ring, you don't really care. Probably just a delivery man, or your parents friends, or something like that. Something you don't care about. So you continue zoning out on your phone, laying on your bed, wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants.

When your mother answers the door, Pau immediately blurts nervously, "H- Hey... Mrs. Y/s/n. Is Y/n home...?"

She squints hesitantly.

Of course. Probably Y/n trash talked me, Pau thinks to himself. Will she even let me in her home?

But after some thought, she turns and calls into the house, "Y/n! There's someone at the door to see you." She gestures to Pau, beckoning for him to come in.

So she leaves the room, and you enter.

And freeze.

Here Pau is. The first time you've seen him in... way too long. And you're wearing pajamas. Your hair is messy. You probably look so tired.

"Pau?" you barely speak. "Why're you here?"

Suddenly he pulls out a bouquet of bright red roses from behind his back, and blurts, "I'm so sorry, Y/n."

You stare at the roses, before hesitantly taking them. "Uh, I..."

Suddenly he takes your free hand in both of his, wrapping it around his two. And he starts rambling. "Y/n, I'm so sorry... I was wrong; I didn't know what I was doing or talking about. I was stupid... I was putting other things over the most beautiful girl in the world. Your heart is one of gold... I'm so stupid, and it took one of my friends talking sense into me for me to even realize what I was doing,- the exact thing I told you I would never do. So I'm sorry, and I want you to please take me back, because I feel like we are actually meant to be. It feels wrong with you not as my girlfriend, so I, uh... I think I want to try this again and show you how much of a good boyfriend I can be. I can put you above the fame, because I think I really do love you, and my heart belongs with yours. I- Are you crying?"

You sniffle, wiping at your eyes. "P- Pau..." you murmur, your voice cracking. "You... You're so..." You cough a little, and let out a little hiccup.

"You... I'm sorry for making you cry..." he says right away, concern etched into his face.

You throw your arms around him and begin crying softly into his shoulder. He gently rubs your back, as you press the roses against his.

"You made me cry so much," you breathe. "More than you'll ever know."

"Oh, Y/n," he breathes. And there's regret in his voice. Real regret. "I'm so sorry... Please let me make it up to you now."

You sniff, leaning away to look up at him. "You don't care that my hair is tangled right now? Or that I'm just wearing my pajamas?"

"If I did, that would show I really haven't come around. Of course I don't care. I'm just glad you're here... In... in my arms again."

You sniff and nod. "Thank- Thank you, Pau... For everything. And I forgive you. I forgive you," you take in a few deep breathes, before adding, "And thanks for the roses. They're nice. Smell nice."

He nods, his eyes softening even further. "So... you'll give me another chance?"

You hesitate for only a second, before nodding. "Yes, I will."

He pulls you into another hug, wrapping you in his strong warmth.

It feels like true comfort. Like he really does care.

You breathe a breath of fresh air.

#sports-on-sundays #fcb #fc barcelona #fc barça #barcelona #fc barca #barca #barça #barcelona fc #barcelona spain #spain #laliga #la liga #football #barcelona imagine #barcelona imagines #barcelona fluff #barcelona angst #barcelona blurb #barcelona blurbs #barcelona one shot #barcelona one shots #barcelona oneshots #barcelona oneshot #barcelona fanfic #barcelona fanfics #barcelona fic #barcelona fics #barcelona fanfiction #barcelona fanfictions

[cariantha]

A Chance Encounter (3/3)

Book: Open Heart (Pre-Series) Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: Teen Category: Fluff Word count: 1.3K Series Summary: Ten years before meeting at Edenbrook, Ethan and Sawyer have a chance encounter during spring break.

Chapter Summary: Almost two years after moving to Boston and meeting Ethan Ramsey, Sawyer realizes her spring break dream guy and current boyfriend are the same person.

Part One | Part Two

Part Three: The Realization 

March 2024 - Boston, Massachusetts

“Okay, okay! Truce!” Sawyer surrendered with breathless laughter. She and Ethan, and most of the surfaces in the room, were dripping wet in the aftermath of their impromptu water fight at the kitchen sink.

Ethan playfully swatted her bottom with a dish towel before he started mopping up the countertop. “Hey!” she jumped with a laugh. “You started it, mister.”

“Uh-uh. You did when you gagged at my recipe idea.”

“Sorry, not sorry. But it was a terrible idea. Who puts raisins in pasta? Who puts raisins in anything? Gross,” she shivered in disgust. Changing the subject, “Hey, speaking of terrible things… did you hear about all those spring breakers who ended up in the E.R. last night?”

“I did. I saw it on the news as well. It’s a miracle no one drowned. Fifty people crammed onto a pontoon boat… what a bunch of drunken idiots,” Ethan commented and shook his head.

“So, I take it you never did anything crazy or reckless on your spring breaks?” She stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. “Did you even go on any spring break trips?”

“Once.” 

Nearly a year and a half since meeting in the lobby of Edenbook, Sawyer still hadn’t remembered their encounter over a decade ago. And Ethan didn’t want to tell her. He wanted her to realize on her own and was still hopeful she would. Something would eventually jog her memory and he wanted to witness the moment she finally connected the dots. The more senior doctor had always been fascinated with how his protege’s mind worked, how an everyday random thought became the key to unlocking a medical mystery. He wondered if it would be like that when she finally remembered. But then again, Sawyer didn’t even know there was a mystery to be solved, so maybe not. 

“Once what?” Sawyer asked, walking to the dining table to collect the wine glasses, “Once you were reckless or once–” She cut herself off as her foot slipped out from under her. “Whoa!” she yelped, clipping her elbow on a metal cabinet handle as she fell on her rump. “Owww,” she whimpered, cradling her throbbing funny bone. 

“Shit! Are you okay?” Ethan rushed to her side and crouched down. He peeled Sawyer’s hand away from her elbow and saw red. “Come here.” Scooping her into his arms, he stood and gently deposited her on top of the kitchen island. Reaching for a roll of paper towels, he tore a couple off. “Here, keep pressure on it. I’ll be right back.” A minute later he returned with a first aid kit. 

Needing a distraction from the throbbing pain, Sawyer watched him sort through the kit. “Tell me more about your spring break. I can’t quite picture you partying on the beach in Florida. Isn’t that where all the east coasters go?” 

“It was during med school,” he answered. “Tobias’ stepdad had a house at the beach, right on the water. We spent a few days there with a couple of other buddies from school. It wasn’t anything wild like the scene in Florida… pretty upscale… but Tobias did throw a big party while we were there.” Having gathered the needed supplies, he lifted the paper towels and examined the gash on her elbow. “What about you? Let me guess… Mexico? Lake Havasu? Vegas?”

She shook her head as she also assessed her injury. “I was on scholarship. I couldn’t afford to go anywhere. But sophomore year, my roommate invited me to go with her to New York. She was a nanny for a super-rich family from L.A. They let her bring a friend since she was giving up her spring break to travel with them.” 

Standing between her legs, Ethan cleaned the wound. When Sawyer turned her head and flinched from the sting of the antiseptic, he leaned down and blew on her elbow. 

Sawyer snapped her head back to him. When he lifted his eyes to meet hers, memories of her time in the Hamptons with a handsome young stranger came rushing back. The stranger who traveled with three friends and whose roommate had a wealthy stepfather who owned a house on the water. A medical student at John Hopkins. A coffee snob with eyes the same color as the ocean.

“You– You didn’t say where you went for spring break,” she commented quietly.

Ethan stepped away to dispose of the bloody gauze and paper towels. His back was to her when he answered. “The Hamptons.”

When he turned around, he saw the realization dawning in her glassy eyes. 

Sawyer stared back at him for a moment. "Moondoggie?" she asked softly, her throat suddenly tight as she swallowed her choked-up tears.

Ethan smiled as he returned to the counter and rummaged through the first aid kit for the right size bandage. 

“You’re… it was… it was you?" she stammered, putting the puzzle pieces together. As he applied ointment to her wound, her mind wandered to the countless times he had lovingly kissed and caressed the barely there scar on her thigh. "Why haven't you ever said anything?" 

"It was complicated. You were an intern. I was an attending. Cracking that door open would have made it even harder to keep things professional.” 

"When exactly did you realize?" she wondered. 

"In the waiting room of the E.R. The moment I saw and called you over to help,” he admitted, tearing the wrapping away from the bandaid. 

“But you acted like you didn’t know me.” 

“I recognized you immediately. How could I ever forget these bewitching green eyes?” he said, his knuckles caressing her cheek. “I just didn’t know your name.”  

She held her tongue as he concentrated on placing the butterfly bandage just right. When he was done, Sawyer slugged him. 

“Ow! What was that for?” he moaned, rubbing his shoulder.

“We met. We had this incredible connection. Had a magical night together. And thennn, we meet again ten years later, unable to resist each other, and you still don’t believe in soulmates?!” 

Ethan shrugged. “You know I believe in science, not star charts. There’s a perfectly logical explanation–”

Sawyer shook her head and cut him off before he bored her to death with scientific reasoning. “Ethan… I can’t believe this… you were my… my–”

“Spring break hook-up?” he tried to finish for her.

“No… well yes, but you were my– my first.” 

He stopped what he was doing and looked her in the eyes. “Are you serious?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well, clearly it was not very memorable,” he poked fun at himself as he started to move away and clean up.

Sawyer quickly grabbed his shirt and tugged him back. “Are you kidding?! I’ve never forgotten that night, Ethan. I never forgot how you made me feel,” she told him, wrapping her hands around his wrists to keep him close. “You know, the first time I saw a picture of you, I thought you looked like him. The guy I met on spring break. It was always at the back of my mind, but I figured it was just wishful thinking...” She trailed off, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “It's probably why I didn't recognize you as my medical hero when we saved that woman's life. Seeing you again short-circuited my brain," she chuckled. Locking eyes with him, her tone became more serious. "That guy from the beach was my dream guy. I’ve never forgotten him and I compared everyone who came after to him.”

“Is that so?” he asked in a near whisper, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yes.” Sawyer shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t remember right away. I suppose once I started to get to know you… once I found the real thing… I didn’t need to hold onto the memory of the dream guy anymore.” She locked her legs around his waist and her arms around his torso, drawing him as close as possible.  

“I see,” he said, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “Well, maybe if I play my cards right, I can be your first and your last.”

“Take me to the bedroom, Moondoggie,” she smiled. “You can be my first, last, and right now.”

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @peonierose @potionsprefect @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter @queencarb @coffeeheartaddict2 @quixoticdreamer16 @jamespotterthefirst @liaromancewriter @zealouscanonindeer @tveitertotwrites @tessa-liam @youlookappropriate @kyra75 @socalwriterbee @txemrn @midnightmelodiz

#open heart #open heart choices #open heart fanfic #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan x mc #ethan x sawyer #choices stories you play #choices open heart #playchoices #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week

[lukin08]

Up In The Air Chapter 5

Kristanna Modern AU

Rated T

WC 2164

Summary: Tired of her nomad lifestyle, traveling nurse Anna Arendelle on a whim picks Pensacola Florida as her new town to try find a sense of home. Meanwhile, Navy Pilot Kristoff Bjorgman has accepted a dream position at the Naval station in the same town. After a chance encounter goes south, the two of them find their lives entwined, with neither of them all that happy about it!

Also Available on AO3

Previous Chapter

“I forgot to mention,” Cliff said as he jotted down a measurement.  “I stopped by Uncle Craig’s the other day.”

Kristoff looked up at his dad.  “How’s he doing?”

“Good.  The business is doing well. Your cousin coming on board has re-energized him and the business.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah.  He was asking me if you were still seeing the girl you were with last time you were at the bar.”

Kristoff froze.  He had done everything he could to block out the memory of that night a few months ago.

“Last time I was at the bar I was with Sven,” Kristoff said as uninterested as he could sound.  He kept his head down, focusing on the piece of tile he was laying.

“Craig said you were with someone after Sven left.  Something you want to tell me?”

“Nothing to tell.”  Kristoff chanced a glance at his dad and knew he wouldn’t get off that easy.  Reluctantly, he answered. “The bar was short staffed, so I leant a hand after Sven left.  There was a girl that spilt all her drinks.  I helped her with it and talked with her for a while after.  That’s it.”

Cliff went back to writing in his notebook.  “Funny.  Uncle Craig described it differently.”

“Yeah?  Tell Uncle Craig he has a bad memory.”

Cliff held up his hands when Kristoff shot him a look.  “Whoa, did I strike a nerve? I was just curious.”

“Dad, I left for El Centro right after Sven went home.  I’ve been gone for over two months.  When do you think I’d have the time to see anyone?  Assuming I’d even want to.”

“You’ve been back for two weeks.  Plenty of time.”

“Dad.  There isn’t anyone.  The end.”

“Got it.  No one.”  Cliff went to step out of the bathroom.  “I’m going to cut the rest of the tiles.  Try to get this group laid before I’m back.”

They made quick work of the rest of the bathroom floor.  Thankfully, Cliff didn’t press for more information and Kristoff pushed the memory of that night back out of his head.  Instead, he focused on being with his dad.  They hadn’t had this much time together since before Kristoff graduated from the Naval Academy and he was enjoying this.  He still wasn’t used to his parents being a ten-minute drive away.  The idea of being able to see them whenever he wanted felt strangely foreign to him.  

“I’ll do the grout when you’re away this weekend,” Cliff said as they put away the last of the supplies.   “It’s a good house.  Starting to shape up nicely.  It will be great for a family once you get all the work done.”

“Good time to sell it then.”

“You sure about that?”

“It’s just a house.  I’ll find somewhere else to live.”

“Well, hopefully you can enjoy it for a little bit before you do anything.”  

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.  It still needs a lot of work, and my schedule is busy, so it’s going to take a while.”

“Promise me you’ll at least take some things out of boxes.  It will be good for you to make this place feel more permanent.  Plus, its driving your mother crazy.  If you aren’t careful, one day you’re going to come home from a show and everything will be out.” 

“She wouldn’t do that?”  Kristoff looked at his dad. “Oh… yes, she really would.  Fine.  I promise.  One picture.”

Cliff patted Kristoff on the back.  “That’s the spirit.”

**********

“Lt. Cmdr. Bjorgman?”

Kristoff looked over to the entryway to his office and motioned for the volunteer coordinator for the Blue Angels to come in.

“What can I do for you today, Martinez?”

The petty officer stepped inside.  “I’ll only be a minute.  Just looking to fill in some information.  You’re from the area, right?”

“Yes.”  Kristoff drew out his answer, wondering where this was leading.

The petty officer checked his notes.  “And your father, small business owner.  Mother a teacher?”

Kristoff nodded.

“And you attended Gulf Breeze High School, correct?”

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to have me speak there.”

There was a small uptick to the corner of Martinez’s mouth.  “No promises.”

The petty officer went through a few more questions, then thanked Kristoff, got up and saluted him.  Right before walking out of the office, he mentioned he’d see Kristoff at the team brief.  The hint of a smile was back, and it was all it took.  Kristoff knew his fate was sealed. 

**********

“Bjorgman,” Boss Kesselring called out.  “I thought I told you to get a haircut.”

Kristoff bit back a groan.  He thought he a skirted by Kesselring noticing during the meeting.  “It’s regulation length, sir!”

Kesselring failed to hold back a small laugh as he shook his head.  “Humor me and go get it trimmed.”

“Right on it,” Kristoff smirked.

Kesselring tilted his head down and looked directly at Kristoff with a sternness that had earned him his captain rank.  “Today.  That’s an order.”

“Yes, sir,” Kristoff responded, setting his face to a neutral expression and sitting up as straight as he could.

“Ok, one last topic and we’ll be done for the day,” Boss Kesselring said as he picked up a stack of envelopes from the desk and held them up for the team to see.  “Your season’s outreach assignments.  It should be straight forward, but I’ll let Petty Officer Martinez discuss in more detail.”

Martinez entered the brief room as Boss Kesselring handed out the envelopes.  Kristoff opened his and sure enough, the first assignment listed was for his old high school.  He wondered what menacing joy Martinez had sticking him with that.  Luckily, it was just for the ROTC and sports program this year, not the entire school.  He skipped past the details of that brief, ignoring Martinez droning on and started scanning his other assignments.

**********

“How long are you going to be gone?” Camilla asked.  She was leaning over the nurse’s station as Anna scanned the screens on the wall that monitored all the patients’ vitals on the floor.

“The meeting is scheduled for an hour.  It’s only supposed to be introducing everyone and going over the goals for the committee.”

“I still don’t know why you want to be part of this.  Seems like a lot of time.”

Anna shrugged.  She didn’t really want to get into how this just felt right.  She wanted to do more around the hospital and community.  It was something she enjoyed but didn’t have the time to get involved when she was a traveling nurse.

“It sounds like a smart idea,” Sue chimed in.

Anna looked over at Sue.  “You really think so?”

“Of course.  The committee reports to the CEO.  There’s good visibility being on the committee when you’re looking to move up.”

“Me?”

“Yes you.  And don’t give me that face.  You’re a natural leader.”

Anna scoffed, making a note on the chart of one of the patients.  “I think you have me confused with my sister.”

“No, I’m talking about you.  I can see it.  You’re already a shift supervisor.  Head of the department makes sense for you at some point.  You’d be great in management someday too.”

“I like being a nurse.”

“Sure.  But that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t like doing that either.  Plus, selfishly, you’d be a hundred times better than anyone we have in management now.”

Anna got up from her stool at the station.  “I have half a mind to check to see if you’re delirious with a fever but thank you.”  She grabbed her notepad and a pen.  “Well, wish me luck then.  I can’t be late to my apparent first step at a promotion.”

One of the lab specialists Anna knew from being on patient interdisciplinary teams together caught up with her on the way over to the meeting.  They were also on the committee and Anna was glad to have someone she was familiar with in the group.  It also helped take her mind off Sue’s ridiculous comments.  Never mind that Anna did have ideas on how the department could improve and maybe some more thoughts on the nursing program at the hospital. But that could wait for another time because she was focused on the outreach committee and that was it.

Anna followed the lab specialist into the conference room, scanning more for open chairs around the large rectangular table than faces.  It was the clothes that caught her attention first, standing out from the scrubs, white coats and business attire.  When she looked at the face, Anna locked eyes with him, stopping in her tracks as she gasped.    

While only a split second, the shock was all over his face before he quickly set it back, looked down and pretended to write something on his notepad.  Luckily, no one else had noticed when Anna had froze.  She looked around and found a seat as far away from him as possible and scrambled over to it.  

Anna tried to keep herself busy until the meeting started, pretending to check her emails on her phone and introducing herself to the person next to her.  She gave in after a couple minutes and snuck a peek across the table, hoping she didn’t look too flustered.  Anna tried her best to set her face with a mix of disapproval, disgust and anger in case he was looking at her.  He wasn’t.  In fact, he was doing an excellent job at looking occupied, purposely not looking Anna’s way.  But the flush in his cheeks was a dead giveaway that he remembered exactly who she was.  

**********

“Which one are we talking about again?” Camilla asked.  

“The cute one,” Sue answered.

“That doesn’t help.”

“The blond.”

“Ahh, ok.  I couldn’t remember which one it was.  He was cute!”

“I know!”

“Neither one of you are helping.”  Anna was a ball of nervous energy and Sue and Camilla were not making the situation any better.  She practically ran out of the conference room when the meeting was over, taking the first set of stairs she could find to avoid having to be anywhere near Kris.  Or Kristoff as his name apparently really was.  Sue and Camilla were supposed to help her get out of this situation, but they were having entirely too much fun with the information Anna gave them.

“Wait,” Sue said.  “I thought he told you he was local.”

“He did.”

Sue chuckled.  “I guess technically he wasn’t lying.”

Camilla joined in.  “She didn’t get that far in the discussion to find out what he did.  Too busy kissing him to ask!” 

Both Camilla and Sue burst into a fit of giggles.  Anna’s head fell forward, stopping when her forehead met on the top of the station desk.  “Don’t remind me of that.  I’m glad this is amusing to you two.  Any other laughs you’d like at my expense?”

“Did he at least look good in the uniform?”

“Sue!”

“Ok, ok.  I’m sorry.  I wonder why the Navy would send a representative.  Did he say what he does?”

“No, but here.”  Anna lifted her head and found a set of papers.  “Everyone’s bios are there. “

Anna crossed her arms and chewed at her lower lip as Sue perused the paper.  

“Oh wow,” Sue said after a minute.

“That doesn’t sound good. What does it say?”

Sue cleared her throat and started to read aloud.  “Ascension welcomes Naval representative Lieutenant Commander Kristoff Bjorgman from NAS Pensacola.”

“Oooh an officer!” Camilla noted.  “Impressive.”  She nodded her head along with Sue.

Sue started again.  “Lt. Cmdr. Bjorgman has over ten years with the Navy… blah, blah, blah…will fill the position for the duration of his assignment at NAS…. blah, blah, blah…. currently serving his first year as a pilot with the Blue Angels demonstration team…. that,” Sue pointed her finger to the paper. “Is impressive.  And it explains why he’s on the committee.”

 “Explains what?”  Sue might as well have been speaking a foreign language.  Anna didn’t understand anything Sue had read.  

“He’s a Blue Angel.”

“A what?”

Camilla smacked Anna’s shoulder.  “You remember.  The blue planes!”

“I remember how loud they were.”

Sue went on to explain.  “The Blue Angels used to do a lot of PR at the hospital.  They must be looking to start that up again.  That’s good.  They are a hit with the patients.” 

“Great.  He’s a celebrity.”

Sue shook her head.  “Not him.  But the suit kind of is.”

“Oh, the suit!  I forgot about that!” Camilla exclaimed.  “Anna, was he wearing it?”

“He had on a normal plain tan uniform.  Why.”

Camilla had an evil grin on her face.  “Just wait.”

One of the monitors started beeping and all three women shot up to look at it. Anna was first to respond.  “I got this,” she said focusing on the job at hand and trying to remove any more thoughts of Kristoff Bjorgman out of her head.

#Up In The Air #kristanna #Edin What did you write #Frozen #Anna #kristoff #Up In The Air Chapter 5 #frozen 2

[jerzwriter]

Are We Dating the Same Guy? Ethan Edition

There are Facebook groups called "Are We Dating the Same Guy?". They exist to "expose" cheaters and guys who are just creeps in general. Women will post a photo/profile and ask if anyone has any tea or red flag alerts. The other day I was scrolling through a local one and saw a friend of mine. Talk about a WHOA moment. A few days later, the "AWDSG? Boston" group was recommended to me, and my mind automatically went to... what if Tobias and/or Ethan were on this? I ran the idea past @lucy-268 and @genevievemd and asked if I should do it for Ethan or Tobias. Their answer was, "Both is good." So, in honor of them, I'm doing both. I posted the Tobias version here, and now, I present Ethan's.

Book:               Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing:           Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Kaycee MacClennan)

Rating:            Teen

Words: 1,723 plus edit

Summary: Sienna's dating luck hasn't been as good as she had hoped, so on the advice of her best friend, Kaycee, she is looking to see if her matches appear in the "Are we dating the same guy? Boston/Cambridge", group on Facebook. But instead of finding her most recent match, she finds... Ethan. Here are Kaycee's (and Ethan's) reactions... as well as the post itself.

A/N: The story precedes the FB post of Ethan on the "AWDSG?" page. *** Participating in @choicesjunechallenge Cocktails (they needed one or two... lol)

“Oh my, God,” Kaycee cringed, her forehead falling into the hand that wasn’t gripping her phone.  

“I hope you’re not upset. I…”

“No! No, Sienna… I appreciate you letting me know. Can you forward the link to me? I’d like to see it before I break the news to him.”  

“Damage control?” Sienna giggled.

“Yeah, well, I’d like to see how much damage there is.”

“Sure. I’m heading back to the hospital, but text me if you need me, OK?”  

“Of course. And Si, thanks again; I appreciate the heads up.”

“Hey, what are best friends for if not for letting each other know when their fiance is on some weird stalker page on Facebook.”

Kaycee was relieved Ethan was still out for his daily run. It would allow her some time to research. The irony was delicious. She was the one that recommended Sienna start checking out the “Are we dating the same guy?” group to weed out potential creeps. After Wayne and a couple of terrible online dates, it sure wouldn’t hurt. The last thing she expected to happen was for her best friend to find her fiancé.

“May as well bite the bullet,” she sighed, about to click the link. But then she thought it would be best to have some support on hand… in this case, a mimosa and Jackie. Once the drink was made, she dialed her friend.

“OK, I just sent you the link,” Kaycee stated. “We’ll open it together on the count of three.”

“I don’t understand,” Jackie whined. “If Sienna found this, why isn’t she stuck dealing with it now? Why drag me in?”

“Because she’s working, and if you think I have the self-control to wait ten hours before she’s off shift to open this, you’re high. Now… open!”  

“Damn, you’re bossy. I don’t know why Ethan puts up with you. But then again… once we check this out, maybe you won’t want to put up with him….”

“Jackie, please…,” Kaycee interrupted. “I’m sure he’s not doing anything wrong. I’m just curious to see what people had to say about him. Now ready… one… two… three!”

“Hmm… decent enough picture…” Jackie started.

“Yeah, it’s not his best, but… oh my God!” Kaycee exclaimed. “This sociopath took his picture without him knowing! Carmen is right! That is creepy! What kind of a woman does that?”

“Who is Carmen?”

“I don’t know… but she commented. The point is, she is right. Ethan was clearly dating a crazy woman.”

“Hmm. That checks,” Jackie deadpanned. “Crazy women are apparently his type because I remember someone taking many pictures without his knowledge… across a crowded nurse’s station, in Donahue’s, when she saw him strolling down the street…. What kind of serial killer does shit like that?”

“That was different!” Kaycee defended. “ I knew him. He was my attending.”

“Yeah! That makes it so much better.”

“You’re not focusing!” Kaycee admonished. “Holy shit, Erin sure had a lot to say!”

“Erin? The nurse on four? Is that the one he used to date?”

“One and the same… you know, maybe I shouldn’t read this. Maybe I should just tell him about….”

“Oh, hell no!” Jackie interrupted, her interest suddenly piqued. “Now I want the juice!”

“Don’t you mean the tea?”

“Juice, tea? I don’t care; it’s all served at brunch. Now what do we have here…. Erin seems cool … girlfriend clearly had some feelings about being dumped, but she still gave him the thumbs up. Wait, who is Marissa?”

“Marissa?”

“Yeah, apparently she banged your man when they were both residents….”

“RAMOS!” Kaycee screeched. “He banged Marissa Ramos?”

“Did you not know this? Shouldn’t you have known this?”

“It’s not like I asked him for a dossier of everyone he ever slept with… or vice versa! But he could have told me about her,” Kaycee sighed. “Then again, maybe it would have been better not to know. Fortunately, we rarely hang around with her and her husband. It will be awkward looking at her over the dinner table now.”

“Will it? Is it difficult for you to look at Harper?” Jackie asked. “Does he have trouble looking at Bryce? Face it, a slight tweak here or there, and your story would have been a hit on any Mexican telenovela.”

“Jackie!”

“OK. Maybe it would be better geared toward an Indian soap opera. Hey, wait! That’s it. I’m taking your story, embellishing a little… I think it can sell! This may be how I pay off my student debt!”

“Jackie!”

“What? Do you or Ethan watch Indian teledramas?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the harm? I’ll give you a cut of the profits.”

“You’re not really helping,” Kaycee groaned, rubbing her temples.

“I know. That’s the plan. This way, you'll wait for Sienna when something like this happens again. She’s the supportive friend; you should know better than to involve me. Although… now that you’re part of my new get-rich-quick scheme, I suppose I’ll have to put up with you.”  She cleared her throat. “So, Kaycee… what do you need from me? How can I support you?”

“By hanging up,” Kaycee spat.

“That’s not the answer I was hoping for… how can I get more material if….”

“Jackie! Ethan just got home. I want to go fill him in.”

“Of course! Any chance you could record his reaction to this? I’d love to use it when I….”

The line went dead as Kaycee ended the call and threw her phone in her pocket as Ethan approached.

“Oh, hey, baby,” she smiled nervously. “How was your run?”

Ethan came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaving a soft kiss on the side of her neck.

“Exhilarating,” he half smiled. “Or as exhilarating as a run can be on an eighty-nine-degree Boston day. What about you?” he asked, thumbing through some mail on the corner of the kitchen table. “Did you have fun while I was gone?”

“I don’t know if fun is the word I’d use to describe it,” Kaycee winced. “It was… interesting? Maybe informative?”

Ethan looked over quizzically, both brows raised. “What, were you watching a documentary?”

Kaycee spat out her tea, wiping her mouth with a laugh. “Not… exactly.”  She extended her hand. “Come… join me in the living room.”

“All right… what did I do?” he asked with a grave tone as they sat on the leather sofa. “You know, I’m already a decade older than you, Kaycee, and when you do things like this, I swear, you take years off my life.”

“Me?” she bleated.  “I didn’t do anything! But… I can’t guarantee this won’t take years off of your life.”

She reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone and handed it to Ethan.

“There’s a page on Facebook,” she started. “Where women post photos of men they’re talking to, or just started dating, and….”

“IS THIS ME?” Ethan yelled.

“It is,” Kaycee said, rubbing his knee. “It’s not recent… it’s from 2019, so….”

“So this has been viewable for the past four years!!”

“Uh.. apparently, it has.  But it’s not as bad as it seems….”

Ethan began to read through the comments rapidly, his face becoming paler by the second until it turned crimson red.

“This… this is … this is an atrocity! Is this even legal?”

“I assure you it’s perfectly legal. I mean, I assume someone could have a defamation suit depending on what is said.  But your former chicks seemed to speak pretty highly of you, so….”

Ethan jumped from the sofa and began to frantically pace the floor. His attempts to speak were thwarted when words failed to come… Kaycee wasn’t sure she had ever seen him this flustered.

“Ethan, you’re going to hyperventilate.  Breathe….”

“How… how did you even find this?”

Her explanation failed to offer any relief. “Great! So Trinh knows. Do you know how many others could have seen this in the four years it was up?”

“Well, it was liked by seventeen thousand people, so….”

“SEVENTEEN THOUSAND!!!”

“What do you expect, babe… you’re hot.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he whimpered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m feeling lightheaded.”

Kaycee jumped up and ushered him back to the couch.

“Here, baby,” she comforted, trying to conceal her amusement at his overreaction. “Do you need me to get you a glass of water?”

“No. I need a Scotch.  This occasion requires Scotch.”

“Very well…” she said, pouring his drink. “Ethan, I think you’re making too much of this.”  

“I’m not making too much of it.  I like my private life to be, well, private.  And this is not….”

“Private,” she finished.

“This is the opposite of private!” Ethan downed his drink, then held Kaycee closely in his arms. “I hate the modern world,” he groaned.  

“It’s not all bad,” she smiled. “Why don’t you must message the group’s admin and ask her to take it down. NICELY!”

He shot Kaycee a look that made it clear that her statement changed his message's tone.

“Fine! Hey, out of curiosity, is anyone else we know on this thing?”

“Tobias is,” she smirked.

“Jesus, I can only imagine what people had to say about him.  How many likes did he have?”

“19,500,” Kaycee winced.

“Wait! He has 2,500 more likes than me?”

“That’s unimportant, baby,” she redirected. “What’s important is we get your post taken down.”

“Well, maybe not,” he concluded. “Maybe I should leave it up a little longer. Maybe things will even out – considering our engagement may have this trending.”

“Trending?” she laughed. “Do you seriously want to leave your private life viewable for anyone to see… just so you can attempt to get more likes than Tobias?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he smiled.  “By the way, what would you have said about me… you know… if you had chimed in on this.”

“Me?” She grinned. “There is none better, but he’s taken… and you don’t want to mess with a girl from South Philly.”

“You know,” he chuckled. “That’s kind of a turn-on.”

“Is it,” she cooed. “Why don’t you head into the shower, Dr. Ramsey… I’ll meet you there in a few?”

“That sounds like a plan, Dr. MacClennan… you know… maybe this wasn’t such a big deal after all.”

“Yeah,” Kaycee laughed. “Funny how that worked out.”

Perma: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @doriopenheart @differenttyphoonwerewolf @fayeswiftie @gryffindordaughterofathena @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @sophxwithers @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

More tags in reblog.

#choices fanfic #open heart #open heart choices #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #choices open heart #open heart fanfic #playchoices fanfic #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #choices monthly challenge

[artzychic27]

Just a bunch of classic Cartoon Network quotes because those shows were my life

Lila: Care to give a free sample to a pretty lady?

Cosette: Sure. Do you know one?

Lila: … Care to give a free sample to an ugly lady?

Cosette: No, ugly ladies have to pay.

—

Max: Try thinking of something dry!

Adrien: Like Ivan’s sense of humor?

Max: No, that’s too dry.

—

Nino: Guys! I found this in Adrien locker! *holds up a letter*

Alya: Let me see that! *reads the letter* “Leave your team behind or we'll put your behind in the school yearbook?"

Kim: What does that mean?

Alya: I have no ide- *takes out a very interesting photo and appears shocked when they look at it* Oh... oh, oh no...! Is that Adrien’s heiny?!

Ivan: *looks at the picture* Wow. That is one big butt.

Alix: Let me see! *takes the picture away and looks* Whoa. Ohohoho! Wow! Wohohohoooo... wow!

Rose: *laughs* Where'd they get a camera big enough to capture all that tushie?!

Alya: C’mon, guys! This isn’t funny! We have to do something!

Nathaniel: Yeah, guys! We’ve gotta get to the bottom of this!

Akuma Class: *Laughing*

Alya: Now, come on, guys!

Alix: That is not going to fit in the yearbook!

Nino: Unless they put a big section in the rear!

*everyone except Alya laughs*

Alya: Okay, now come on, guys!

Kim: Well, if I were Adrien… I would just turn the other cheek!

Akuma Class: *Laughing*

Alya: *desperately trying not to laugh, but then gave in* HAHAHAHAHA!

—

The Science Kids From the First Floor: Finally! The Kids Nextdoor Super Top Secret Files!

*Once Marc opens the box, they hear ticking*

The Science Kids From the First Floor: … Jean! You’re an idiot!

—

Max: Oh! It is on now, girlfriend! *Grabs an apple and attempts to throw it at Aurore, but fails*

Aurore: Ha! You throw like Marinette!

Marinette: That is not true! I throw much better than he does! *Throws an apple, this time knocking Aurore’s parasol out of her hand*

—

Nathaniel: *Listening to Louis’ screams from outside the art classroom with Marc* Yes! Any second now, he’ll say it! He’ll say I’m the better artist!

*It suddenly goes quiet*

Nathaniel/Marc: …

Nathaniel: Any!… Second!… Now…

Marc: Louis?

Nathaniel: … What have I done?… *Takes Marc’s hand* Marc, sweetie pie, remember him fondly, for he was a good person, keep him in your heart like a candle keeps its flame, lalala.

—

Adrien: We’re locked out?!

Simon: Yeah! Our dumb principal screwed up the code!

—

Mme. Mendeleieve: *Gasps* Rose knows the code!

Lacey: LET’S GET HER!

—

Ismael: I thought you were baaaad! You ain’t bad! You ain’t nuttin!

—

Mme. Mendeleieve: We’ll see about that! You’re going down, old man!

M. Monlataing: NO! You’re going down, OLDER woman!

—

Denise: Mme. Mendeleieve, why is Mme. Bustier’s class so weird?

Marc: *Belches* And gross, too!

—

Rose: Ooh! I see! This is a game where we make stuff up! Then I see a big green elephant! Named Herbert McHoover! He plays the drums and listens to freedom rock!

—

Luka: Professional friend, imaginary! I love everyone!… Except Mari.

Marinette: *Tearing up*

Luka: You know what you did!

—

Nathaniel: *Hitting Emani with a stick* I’ll jab you good, you filthy bug!

Emani: Why can’t you love me, Doll?! I’ll be anything you want me to be!

Nathaniel: I WANT YOU TO BE DEAD!

—

Austin T: This test might stop me from fulfilling my lifelong dream of growing up to be a smart and successful businesswoman.

—

Adrien: What about your fear of professional figure skaters?

Juleka: That’s not a fear! I just don’t trust the way they spin is all.

—

Austin A: Just think, TeeTee. You, me, all the control, all the power, ALL THE FREE CHICKEN!

—

Max: At the rate this Akuma is getting people areested, I predict this prison cell will be full in… Four hours!

*Two hours later, the Akuma Class plus Marc are all in the prison cell*

Max: Damn, he’s working fast!

Marc: I’m not even in this class!

—

Alix: You think you’ve won? *Lila nods* You think you’ve humiliated me, broken me, driven me crazy? When every waking moment, I’ve had to deal with-

*Quick montage of every Adrinette plan*

Alix: Compared to that, you’re just an insignificant zit on the butt of the world’s smallest amoeba. You have no power over me.

Lila: … *Walks away*

—

Nathaniel: *Painfully smiles*

Akuma Class: …

Marc: …

M. Monlataing: *Biting his nails*

Sabrina: You ever get the feeling something really bad is about to happen?

*Cue blindingly white explosion*

Everyone: *Screaming*

M. Monlataing: *Crying* SO BEAUTIFUL!

Mme. Bustier: What have we done?!

Marc: You fools! You’ve messed with the natural order!

Luka: Reality is falling apart!

Adrien: What’s gonna happen to us?!

Luka: I don’t know! *Hugs Adrien* But I’m gonna hold you tight and never let go!

Adrien: I love you, Luka!

Marinette: What about me?!

Luka: Uh… You’ll be fine.

—

Andre: Let’s get this started. Do you, Jean, take Austin to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Jean: I do!

Andre: And do you, Austin, take Jean- *A guard whispers to him* Not a wedding? Oh well. You’re the judge. *The guard whispers to him again* What do you mean I’m the judge?

—

Lacey: You’re boring! This is boring! Your life is boring! And this episode is boring!

—

Ivan: How would you rate Jagged Stone as a caregiver?

Luka: Uh, pretty good, I guess.

Juleka: … Except that he’s never remembered our birthday.

Luka: Or paid child support. In fact, he usually just plays loud guitar music in our ears.

—

Max: There’s something familiar about that Dora girl, I can’t put my finger on it... Let’s see... Dora... Lunch Box... And there’s that kid who goes around sprinkling pixie dust everywhere... What’s his name? Peter something... Oh yeah! Pan!... Wait, Pan. Dora. Box. Pan, Dora, Box! I just realized something horrible!... I’m about to miss my favorite show!

Kim: Oh! You mean that show about the little girl who wanders around the jungle without any adult supervision, adverting crises, conversing with wild animals with the aid of her foreign language speaking monkey?

Max: That’s the one!

—

Mme. Mendeleieve: Our battleships will dock at the north bay as our infantry gains ground on foot, making way for our tanks to plow through enemy lines! Thus, crushing Caline’s forces and resulting in a glorious victory for our class!

Reshma: Pardon, but we have no battleships, infantry, or-

Mme. Mendeleieve: Just keep throwing more food.

*HOURS LATER*

Simon: *Voiceover* Day three. War continues to rage on. The will of my men is slowly being broken.

Mireille: Hey, can we go home? I’m getting tired.

Simon: Less talk, more throwing!

Mireille: Fine. *Throws macarons at the Akuma class*

Simon: We have sustained many casualties on our side. Innocent lives have also been taken.

*Austin A gets hit with an apple*

Austin A: Ouch! I’m dying! I’m too young and beautiful to die! I’m dying!

Simon: It’s been months-

Austin A: Did I mention I’m dying?!

Simon: It’s been-

Austin A: Ooh! The pain! DYING! DYING! WHY NOW?! I had so much to almost live for!

Simon: … It’s been months since I’ve seen my loving spouse and kids.

Denise: What are you talking about? We don’t have any kids. And we’re not married.

Simon: I hate when they read my thoughts.

Denise: Then quit thinking so loud. *Leaves*

Simon: Why couldn’t they have gotten hit with a croissant?

—

Simon: You and that girlfriend of yours are great enough separately, but together... you're insufferable.

Cosette: Insufferable? I don't even know what that means. And hey, Zoé not my girlfriend! She's just a FRIEND, who happens to be a GIRL, just like I happen to be a DEMIGIRLFLUX, and you happen to be a DEMIBOY. It's the differences that make our planet so rich, diverse, and wonderful. *Rainbows appear in the background*

—

Alix: *Answers her phone* Hello?

Rose: *Whispering* Ultimate power.

—

Nathaniel: Yes, my boyfriend is actually a human-spider hybrid. Nobody can tell you who to fall in love with, but we've managed to make it work all these years. Leaving a whole lot of questions that don't need to be answered.

Ismael: Eh, works for me.

Jean: Me too.

Reshma: Ditto.

Cosette: ...But how did you and Marc-

Nathaniel: Leaving a whole lot of questions that don't need to be answered.

—

Chloé: My mom's ancient and grappling with the onsets of menopause.

—

Alya: Yo' momma's so ugly that people go as her for Halloween!

Students: Oooooohhhhhh!

Austin B: Yo' momma's so stupid, she sold her car for gas money!

Students: Oooooohhhhhh!

Alya: Yo' momma's so ugly, she made an onion cry!

Students: *Laughing*

Austin B: Yo' momma's so ugly, she turned Medusa to stone!

Students: Oooooohhhhhh!

Alya: Yo' momma's so stupid, she took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept!

Students: Oooooohhhhhh!

Austin B: Y-yo’-

Alya: Yo' momma's so stupid, she cheated off Chloé test!

Chloé/Students: *Laughing*

Austin B: Yeah, well! Uh-

Alya: Yo' momma's so ugly, she looked out the window and got arrested for mooning!

Students: Oooooohhhhhh!

Austin B: Uh, uh, uh, Yo' momma.

Alya: Now let me tell ya somethin! Yo' momma… Is so ugly... I tell ya she's so ugly, she needs two bags to cover her face!

—

Alix: Love makes people do all sorts of stupid things.

Rose: I love everything!

Ismael: That explains a lot.

#grim adventures of billy and mandy #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #camp lazlo #codename kids next door #foster’s home for imaginary friends #chowder #mlb incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes

[e-munson666]

What happened to our bb eddie why is he arrested? Also steve has totally lost it

I suppose I have made you wait long enough

PT4 STEDDIE x girlfriend

Warnings ⚠️: Dark Steve, pregnant girlfriend, protective Eddie, language, violence, kidnapping, assault.

Taglist: @eddiemunsons-missingnipple @kylaasposts @joekeeryworld @aggressiverocknoises @need-a-life-or-grass @godcreatoreli @jajqtfjkop6786 @sapphicandserendipityy @tlclick73 @xashleymariexo @tracymbcm @eddiemunsonswife2 @steamystrangerfics (im so sorry if I missed anyone)

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3

🖤Lady Hellfire🖤

"Hop?" Eddie asked with a broken voice as the chief walked over to him.

"Hey kid, we gotta talk" Hopper said, twiddling the handcuffs in his fingers.

"Hop look, I didn't do anything, I just broke in looking for my girlfriend, please don't do this" Eddie begs, tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

"What? No, no kid. I'm not here for you, I know Steve has her, I came here hoping he'd come back." Hopper said, raising his hands up towards Eddie.

"Wh....what.....then why...?" Eddie stuttered, pointing at the handcuffs.

"I got a call about Steve dragging your girl into his apartment, stopped down the road because I saw blood on the pavement.....I can assume thats from you?" Hopper asked. Eddie nodded.

"When I got here and saw you stomping out I figured he was up there with a broken nose, but she's not with you......so where is she Eddie?"

"He fucking took her Hop. He's been fucking following us and today he just snapped. I found this" Eddie says raising up the map, "in his apartment, and I just know he took her here"

"Whoa kid slow down" Hopper says, putting one hand on Eddies shoulder while putting the handcuffs back in their spot on his belt.

"Let me see the map Eddie"

Eddie hands Hopper the map, watching as the chief scanned the route that was marked. He let out a deep sigh looking back up at Eddie.

"His parents cabin?" Hopper asks, "why?"

"They broke up and he lost it, he has a fucking marriage license in his apartment Hop, he's fucking crazy" Eddie almost yells, frustration growing in his voice.

"Get in the truck kid" Hopper nods, turning on his heels back to his vehicle.

"You believe me?" Eddie questioned, hurrying himself into the passenger seat of Hops truck.

Hopper let out another deep sigh before turning to Eddie with a solemn look on his face.

"This isn't the first time he's done something like this kid. When Steve was still in high-school I had run ins with him several times for stalking girls or freaking out on them when they rejected him." Hopper shook his head before continuing.

"It got so bad with the Wheeler girl he locked her in his house for two days. His parents buried the whole thing, threw money at the town, the Wheelers, saying it was all a big misunderstanding" Jim looked over at the horrified look on Eddies face, seeing the wheels turning in his head as his eyes darted around.

It explained so much. Why Steve had always acted so weirdly towards Eddie once he came into the picture after awhile. Why Steve got meaner and meaner to you for hanging out with Eddie instead of him.....the thought made him want to throw up.

"We have to go get her Hopper, NOW" Eddie seethed.

"We'll get her kid, I promise, we'll get this son of a bitch this time" Hopper said, peeling out the parking lot and onto the main road. Eddie writhing in anger as they drove.

"Please be okay, please be okay" is all he could think as he started to quietly sob next to the chief of fucking police.

*

*

*

Just a little shorty for this part and I just COULDN'T have Eddie get arrested I just couldn't do it lol

#fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson #eddie the freak munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie the banished #eddie munson x female reader #dark steve harrington x reader #dark steve x reader #steve stranger things #steve the hair harrington #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #king steve #dark theme

[fabianvalencia561]

⚠️ Warning: *before you read this part of the story* BLOOD AND GORE *it's not a lot but it's a warning*⚠️

(eventually Jackie snapped out of his memories to realize what happened. He looked down at the person that he was talking to. It was snowing hard and the wind blew quickly.)

???: You alright there Jackie... *The person said.*

Corrupted Leader: .... !!- uhh o- of course...

???: ...hmmm.... Well I said that I'm glad that you were able to send that ghost to Bertram (aka: Sir Topham Hatt) though I did wish you got any other spirit than... Hector...

Corrupted Leader: Well.. if I did anyone else it probably wouldn't have worked.... Besides you know Hector is afraid of you even when he's dead....

???: I guess you are right.. well.... I should be heading off now....

Corrupted Leader: Wait! ..... *He was quiet for a bit.* ...... Actually can you do me a favor?

???: *They were a little bit shocked* really?.... Hmm... Well what is it my dear Jackie?

Corrupted Leader: ... I was wondering if you can find these guys for me...*he hands them a picture. The picture was of the two diesels he was remembering.*... Please I need anyone's help to find them.....

???: *They were quiet for a while* I think... I know who they are... Don't worry me and the others will gladly bring them to you....

Corrupted Leader: Good.... Thank you....

*The person left quickly. Corrupted Leader walked back into an abandoned building he stood there for a bit and then he looked at the book. The book was resting on an old table.*

Corrupted Leader: ..... *He heard something that was coming from his bag.* ???

*He opened it and realized that it was Scotsman well Scotsman's in his core.*

Scotsmen: *He was very angry.* .... *He slowly came out of his core.*

Corrupted Leader: .... Why so angry?

Scotsman: You know damn well why.... I heard what you did...

Corrupted Leader: what it wasn't bad--

Scotsman: IT WAS BAD EVERYTHING YOU DID WAS BAD!! *he looked at the book* AND THAT BOOK IS GOING TO BE THE END OF YOU IF YOU DON'T GIVE IT BACK!!! IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!!!

Corrupted Leader: .... Well I believe you are wrong... I'm fixing up this world.... And THIS book is helping me.... And when I think about it..... I don't have a choice to give the book back so might as well use it.... Also like I said I need it...

Scotsman: For what exactly? You already have enough of those... Corrupted... To easily take over... This.. world *he soon realized what Corrupted Leader was going to do with that book* .... So other universes... you want.... Everything to be-

Corrupted Leader: -Fixed.... So no one can suffer or hurt like I did.... If I fixed everything then... No more suffering no more any of that..

Scotsman: .... This man is insane... *He thought to himself* ....

Corrupted Leader: now I'll put you back in my bag... Maybe later on I can get to work on fixing smaller universes.... *He opened up the book and looked around for different kinds of universes* .... Hmm I think I know which one to fix soon... Well better get to work....

........

Patchwork: is something wrong Diesel??

Diesel: ..... Nothings wrong..... I think.....

Patchwork: then why do you look so tired?

Diesel: I've... I've been having a strange dream for a while now.... I used to have this dream when I was younger but eventually it stopped but it seems like it came back....

Patchwork: What is the dream about? *He asked quietly*

Diesel: ... Well it was nothing crazy.... But in the dream... There were just these two eyes looking at me they seemed to be crying... The whole dream was about that... I tried to talk to them but.... Once I talk they seem to get scared and disappear then I would be alone in darkness....

Patchwork: whoa that's a very strange dream.... And kinda sad....

Diesel: I'll admit... I feel like I'm... Connected to those eyes.... They feel familiar... But I don't know why.... I should probably ask my dad... Or Proteus and Pinchy.... I don't know...

Patchwork: Well maybe.. I can try to help you first... Because they seem busy... Maybe we could talk to the Proteus out there in the sheds and also he's with that other angel... Atharva I think is his name..

Diesel: ... Well maybe me and you can try to figure this out on our own first...

Patchwork; ok...

..... :]

#ttte #thomas the tank engine #ttte corrupted au #ttte humanoid #ttte Jackie #ttte corrupted leader #ttte scottman #ttte scotsman #ttte diesel #ttte past diesel #ttte splatter #ttte dodge #ttte splodge #tw gore #tw blood #tw horror #tw heavy gore #horror #gore #blood #comic #ttte patchwork

[foxydivaxx]

Gossip Girl AU Prequel Chapter 4

How messed up is Zoro? The man finally tells us here. Not for the faint-hearted. Warning: Contains mentions of sex, partying, alcohol, drugs and rape.

Hello Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here. And once again, I am here to give the delicious deets on the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite. Now onto the main course.

The summer holiday is slowly coming to an end and everyone is rushing to go get the school supplies. Now that brings the question; is Z retiring from the entertainment industry for good? Or will he just take a break and focus on being a normal kid?

I ask these questions because of the court drama that has played between his dads and his mother lately. Then there is the rumour about his record label dropping him for a supposed new It boy. From what I gathered, that was who Z hooked up with during his little rendezvous in Paris 2 years ago.

This will definitely cause tension between him and S because the two just started dating. And what’s going on with E and SU? Are those two dating or is this a friends with benefits thing? Those two have been getting real cosy these days.

Only time will tell.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

"HOLY SHIT!!" The guys were going through Zoro's clothes and found some rather interesting outfits. Very sexy and revealing outfits at that. Zoro smirks. No one really knows about that other side of him besides Perona and his mother who was against it.

"How the hell were you able to bypass your mother to go clubbing?" Sukuna asks. The truth is, the others were not aware as they were busy living their lives in other parts of the globe.

"Simple. I bribed the guards and various staff members who helped me cover up. Perona knows all these club owners and various other people and also she hooked me up."

Zoro chuckles as he sips some wine. "I thought as much because Mihawk has loads of connections." says Eren. "Still, this is pretty sexy." says Sanji as he holds up the grey T-shirt that had ripped hole in front.

"Perona and the maids helped me get those slutty outfits. What I do is that I made sure mum was either not around or that she was asleep. Once the coast was clear, I would then change into my slutty outfits and do my makeup downstairs."

He then shows them a picture of himself at one of those parties. "WHOA!! DUDE YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING DIFFERENT PERSON!!"

Zoro chuckles. "That's not all. I had a lot of sex at those parties as well," he said. "Wait a minute. How many people are we talking about here?" His smirk broadens. "Sometimes threesomes, other times foursomes at times fivesomes. Truth be told, I almost always have sexual orgies almost every single week. Thinking about it now is making me horny."

Their eyes widen. "NO FUCKING WAY DUDE?!" Sanji just pouts. "I wish I was there." he whines. "I know right? I would kill to have a front row seat to see the crazy bad boy Zoro Roronoa in action." Zoro raises an eyebrow. "You sure you wanna see that? 'Cause I could show you how wild I can get tonight. If you want."

“Nah let’s not go there. Still it is kinda sad how you got this way.” says Sukuna. The others nodded. Zoro used to be a kind sweet kid. But now, that little boy is long dead.

Zoro smiles sadly. “I am done being nice. I am tired of being used and betrayed. So I became the guy that I am now. I no longer care anymore. So long as I can gain some form of pleasure to escape the shit in my life. Then I am fine. So long as I do not feel that pain anymore then.....it is all good. And so that's what I did to survive. Open my damn legs and let all kind of guys to fuck me senseless until I cannot remember my name that night.”

The others exchanged looks. This was the first time they would hear Zoro speak that way. Truth be told, there are still some things they do not know about him. Hearing this shocked them. Yes, they have done equally horrible things but Zoro’s situation hits different once you remember what she had done to her son.

"That woman ruined him." says Sukuna. He always sued to get into arguments with Terra a lot because he noticed how much that woman hurt her son and had enough decency within him to call her out. Sukuna may be an ass but even he would never cross that line with his own kids.

“They better let you guys win.” says Eren. Zoro nods. “Anyway enough of that. Congrats on your debut Sanji and Eren.” he said with the fakest smile plastered on his face. A couple weeks ago, Eren, Sanji and three other guys announced that they would debut as the boyband Aogiri.

Now don’t get Zoro wrong. He is happy for them, especially Sanji. But he felt this strange emptiness. Nah I can’t be jealous. He worked hard for this.

He remembers how the media often tried to pit them against each other and created a rivalry that was none existent back then. He found out weird especially since it was a well known fact that he was in love with the boy.

What he fears more than anything is the fame getting into Sanji’s head and Sanji suddenly abandoning him. Just like majority of their other friends. Like Sesshomaru. Agh….not those voices again!!

“Honey are you okay?” Sanji’s sweet voice was enough to snap him out of his trance. “Oh nothing. Just picturing you onstage.” Partially true.

Soon, Sanji and Eren get picked up by their manager and Sukuna gets called away by his dad leaving Zoro all alone.

Once the others were gone, his mask gets quickly discarded. “Why is life so hard?” he mutters as he sits on his bed, staring at the pile of clothes that lay all across the room.

He was deeply confused. One minute he was on top of the world. The next, he was a mess. Can death just come and claim me please?

“Is it me or is Zoro hiding something?” Sanji asks. He and Eren had just finished group rehearsals and were taking a break.

“Looks like I ain’t the only one that noticed.” Says Eren. “What did the woman do to him?” Marimo please don’t hurt yourself. I beg you.

Although he and Zoro have been having sex, something still felt off. He was a lot distant and rarely spoke. It seems that it could be connected to sexual trauma. It was then that Sanji remembered his own traumatic past and panicked inwardly. Did that witch sexually abuse her own son?

Meanwhile Mihawk and Arashi were busy chatting in the kitchen whilst having some coffee. “Remember when Buggy accidentally burned down part of the kitchen whilst trying to make some spaghetti for Shanks?

Arashi laughs. “Zeff almost killed him that day.” Mihawk chuckles. Nothing like reminiscing about your younger years with your childhood friend. “I can’t believe Zeff let him into the kitchen.”

Mihawk spots Zoro who had just come down the stairs and was lurking around. “Oi Zoro you okay buddy?”

The boy just stares at the ground. Arashi walks over to the boy and hugs him. “It’s okay kiddo.”

“Dad. I have a confession to make. It is related to mother.”

Both men stare at each other before staring back at the boy.

“Tell us.”

Zoro gulps. He actually wanted to tell his friends but he felt it was best to tell the dads first. “M…Mother raped me when I was 7.”

“WHAT?!”

The poor boy finally breaks down in tears. The two men immediately pull him into a warm hug. “God I failed you Zoro!! Why did I not see that?!” Mihawk exclaims.

“It’s alright Mihawk. All that matters is that we protect him now.” says Arashi. Mihawk nods. “Oh that bitch is gonna pay for what she did to our son!!”

Zoro smiles. The weight has finally been lifted off his shoulders. His siblings overheard the entire conversation and were horrified. “How could mother do this?!” Miku gasps.

“Pure evil I tell you.” says Perona. “We need to protect him at all costs.” says Kuina.

#one piece #sanji #zoro #zosan #attack on titan #eren jaeger #jujutsu kaisen #Sukuna #fanfiction

[mortalisla]

Once More With Feeling

Characters: @amicocasio & @mortalisla Song: There's Nothing Holding Me Back, Shawn Mendes with lyrics changed (x) Note: These aren't starters, but muses are welcomed to reply to sing back

This night was something special. Unbothered by prejudice or fear, the young human had never known such fun and comfort. Her side hurt from all the laughter, her cheeks were sore from smiling. And Isla couldn't help but think that she hadn't found conversation or enjoyment so easy until the demon at her side. This part of her, this part that was so happy, fought with another part of her that she knew was there and that she hadn't had much access to until the moment that the music started.

"I wanna follow where he goes," Isla starts to sing, watching Amico as he cheers at the animal show. "I think about him and he knows it. I wanna let him in some more. 'Cause every time that he gets close, yeah... He pulls me in enough to keep me guessing... Hmm, and maybe I should stop and start confessing... Confessing, yeah." Isla takes the demon's hand abruptly and pulls him away from the crowd. Amico is clearly shocked at first until she smirks. They're dancing together as she sings. Others start dancing around them.

"Oh, I've been shaking, I love it when you go crazy. You take all my inhibitions. Oh, yeah there's nothing holdin' me back... You take me places that would tear up my reputation. Manipulate my decisions. Oh, yeah there's nothing holdin' me back."

"There's nothing holdin' me back," Isla sings excitedly as they dance. She hadn't ever moved like this, hadn't felt so carefree since she was a child. "There's nothing holdin' me back."

"He says that she's never afraid," she sings, mischievously halting their dance as she pulls Amico towards her. They're both moving through a tunnel of dancers. "Just picture everybody naked. He really doesn't like to wait... Not really into hesitation. Pulls me in enough to keep me guessin', whoa-oh... And maybe I should stop and start confessin'. Confessin', yeah."

And they start to dance together again, the rest of the dancers surrounding them in a circle. "Oh, I've been shaking, I love it when you go crazy. You take all my inhibitions. Oh, yeah there's nothing holdin' me back. You take me places that would tear up my reputation. Manipulate my decisions. Oh, yeah there's nothing holdin' me back... There's nothing holdin' me back."

Their dance slows.

"'Cause if we lost our minds and we took it way too far... I know we'd be alright, I know we would be alright. If you were by my side and we stumbled in the dark... I know we'd be alright, I know we would be alright."

The dancers started to harmonize with her. "'Cause if we lost our minds and we took it way too far... I know we'd be alright, I know we would be alright. If you were by my side and we stumbled in the dark. I know we'd be alright, we would be alright." Everyone else started singing as the two danced a bit more, laughing and spinning.

"I feel so free when you're with me," Isla sung in the midst of it all. "Demon, there's nothing holding me back."

#interactions ✎ (rather die on my feet than live on my knees.) #senatus.midsommar #senatus.event

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Giving Gifts and Getting Ghosts

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Four

A JSE Fanfic

I’m slowly integrating this AU into the normal schedule, but I was just too excited to wait the full three weeks. This story is really fun and I like writing it :) Anyway, this one is divided into two parts. The first one is actually from Jackie’s perspective, as he gets some unexpected visitors at his birthday party. And the second section has the whole group tackling their ghost problem. And that’s all I have to say. I’m excited to share! Enjoy!

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

It was a beautiful day outside. Normally, Jackie found it annoying whenever someone said “go outside, you’re wasting the day!” and would stay inside just out of spite. But today, he wished that someone would tell him to go outside, just so he could get out of the house.

He didn’t hate his whole family. But there were a lot of extended family members who he hardly saw, and that made it awkward—at best—when they all decided to descend upon his house for his sixteenth birthday. He’d spent most of the morning either greeting new arrivals or helping set up all the food everybody brought in the kitchen, most of which he didn’t even like. There was a corner in the living room that was starting to pile high with gifts, most of which he could tell just from the wrapping that he wasn’t going to like. People he only half-recognized kept coming up to him and asking what year he was in school, if he was dating anyone, if he had a job yet, and it was driving him crazy.

By the time one o’clock rolled around, the arrivals had slowed down, and people had been too distracted by food to ask him questions. He made some lame excuse to his dad about needing to do something and retreated to his bedroom—the one spot in the house nobody had been in. Probably. He hoped his ‘Keep Out’ sign was deterring them. Maybe not. But he tried to put that out of his mind as he went into his bedroom and closed the door behind him, breathing in slowly and enjoying the silence.

And then there was a ringing noise.

Jackie dug into his pockets and pulled out his phone, taking the call as he pressed it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Happy birthday!” Two voices, male and female, shouted in unison over the phone. This was followed by one of the callers blowing a noisemaker while the other clapped.

Jackie laughed. “Thanks, guys. I didn’t expect both of you to call! Are you over at Mincy’s house again, Syl? Hmm?”

“Whoa, hey, there’s no need for that tone of voice!” The male voice belonged to Sylvester, one of Jackie’s best friends. “I just—I think it’s a nice place to hang out.”

“You also like getting free dinner from my parents.” And the female voice belonged to Mincy, another good friend.

“Hey!”

“Good to hear you guys are having fun together,” Jackie said, laughing again.

“How are things going with the aunts and uncles?” Mincy asked. “Any cousins showed up yet?”

“Some, but they’re all a lot older than me. Like, old enough to have kids.”

“Did any of those kids show up? Second cousins?”

“Actually, they’d be cousins once removed,” Sylvester said.

“Ah, whatever.”

“No, none of them, either.” Jackie shook his head, despite knowing they couldn’t see them. “I guess it’s not an important enough event to bring little kids all the way here. Seriously, I don’t think there’s anyone here younger than twenty-five except for me.”

“Do you want us to stop by?” Sylvester asked. “We can bring you your presents early.”

“It’s fine, really,” Jackie insisted. “Just a little...weird, you know? I think one of my aunts was trying to hit on my dad, and that’s...well...”

Mincy made a gagging noise, sounding as though she was leaning away from the phone. Sylvester sighed. “Don’t they have any shame?” He could practically picture him shaking his head in disappointment.

“Nope, apparently not. But it’s fine. I can deal with it, no one needs to stop by.” Jackie leaned against the wall, right in between his door and a poster. “I’ll see you all on Saturday. Oh, we’re all still on for that, right?”

“Well, we’re definitely coming!” Sylvester said, and Mincy “whoo!”ed in the background. “Ram obviously has to be there, and Fengge said he’ll probably be there, too. Celine can’t come, though. She has some sort of family thing that day. Short notice, but that’s usual for those guys. Says to go ahead without her, if you’re okay with that.”

“That’s fine, I don’t mind. We can see her again some other time. Can Ram make it work with four people?”

“Oh, you know they can,” Mincy said, leaning back towards the phone. “They’re great at this. You’re gonna love it, Jackie, they keep going on and on about what they have planned. Spoiler-free, of course.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “If they end up killing my character for my birthday campaign, I’ll be pissed.”

“Whaaat? They wouldn’t do that.” Mincy giggled.

“You know they love to make the players suffer, Mincy. Remember how Astaria got put in a coma?”

“Well to be fair, that was because Mincy was going on vacation,” Sylvester said. “And if your character does end up dying, it’s just a one-shot, we can say it doesn’t count.”

“Yeah, true.” Jackie nodded. “Well—” There was a knock on his bedroom door. “Oh, wait, one second.” He pressed the phone to his shoulder and opened the door, revealing his dad standing there. “Yeah?”

“Hey, there’s some kids in the living room who want to see you,” Dad said. “You, uh...done with your thing?”

“Oh yeah. One second, I’ll be right there.” Jackie briefly closed the door again and moved the phone back to his ear. “Are you guys at my house?”

“Ummm...no?” Sylvester said, confused. “Why?”

“Dad just told me there are some people here to see me.”

“Could be any of the others,” Sylvester suggested.

“Well, either way, I gotta go see what they’re doing here.” Jackie held back a sigh. He appreciated his friends stopping by, but he just knew that certain relatives of his would be saying things about them. His friends deserved better than that. “I’ll try to call you guys back later.”

“Alright. We’ll see you later, then,” Sylvester said.

“See you!” Mincy shouted.

“See you. Bye.” And with that, Jackie hung up the phone. He opened his bedroom door and saw Dad standing patiently outside. “Sorry. Saying goodbye. I’m good now, let’s go.”

The two of them headed down the hallway to the living room, passing a few relatives on the way until eventually reaching the center of the crowd. Jackie liked their living room, but moments like these, he realized it wasn’t built for this many people. Most of the visiting relatives were standing around, with the sofa and two armchairs taken. At some point, Dad had grabbed their camping chairs from the basement and set them up, but that still left a lot of people standing, holding paper plates in one hand and cups in another while they talked with others.

Jackie edged his way around the relatives to the front door, expecting to see Ram or Fengge or Celine standing around it—or some combination of the three. Instead, he was met with four younger boys. “Jackie!” Chase shouted, waving. “Happy birthday!”

“Wha—” Jackie stopped for a moment, processing the sight. Then he laughed. “Hey, little guys. What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry if we’re interrupting anything.” Chase’s mom, Ms. Walker, was with the boys. “They heard it was your birthday, and insisted that you get a present.”

“You have so many relatives!” Marvin said. “I mean, holy sh—” He was cut off by Jameson suddenly covering his mouth with his hand.

“No, no, it’s fine, really,” Jackie reassured her.

“I think it’s real sweet,” Jackie’s dad said, coming up behind him. “Hi Jess. How was the drive?”

“Hi Richard,” Ms. Walker said. “It was fine. The most that happened was picking these two up.” She gestured at the twins.

“We could’ve ridden our bikes here,” Marvin said, pulling Jameson’s hand away. “We ride our bikes or walk everywhere, it’s really not that hard. Our grandma says the city is very walkable. But I guess it’s nice to not have to walk sometimes, especially when it’s raining outside, that sucks. Chase’s mom’s car is very nice! But next time we all drive together I want the front seat.” Jameson nodded, backing up Marvin’s claim to the front.

“Well, if Chase ever calls me for another ride for you all to get somewhere, you can have the front, then,” Jackie said.

“Aw.” Chase looked a little disappointed, but he moved on quickly. “Aren’t you gonna ask about your present?”

“I was going to wait for you guys to do it, actually,” Jackie said.

“Sch—Henrik has it,” Chase said, pointing at Schneep, half-hiding behind Ms. Walker. “He wanted to carry it.”

Schneep nodded. He stepped forward and handed Jackie a large gift bag. “I think—I-I hope you will like it,” he said. “We talked for a long time about what you would want.”

“Open it now!” Marvin shouted, flapping his arms up and down in excitement.

“Alright, if you guys insist.” Jackie opened the gift bag, pushing aside tissue paper to grab something soft at the bottom. He pulled out a mass of red cloth. “Oh. Oh, wait, did you guys get me a second hoodie?”

They all nodded. “We were gonna get you another beanie, but Mom said that you might not want that,” Chase said. “So we decided on that instead. Cause teenagers like clothes.”

“Teenagers do like clothes, you’re not wrong,” Jackie said, grinning. He held up the new hoodie. It was a zip-up, just like the other red one he had, but it looked much newer. The hood and the cuffs around the arms were a slightly darker shade of red than the rest of the hoodie. “Thanks, guys, my other one didn’t really fit properly.”

“And there’s more,” Chase added. “Look again.”

“Hmm? Okay.” Jackie once again reached into the gift bag and pulled out a small, black rectangular bag.

“That was JJ’s idea!” Marvin reached over and pulled Jameson closer, who looked a bit surprised but let it happen. “Chase said that you’d had a digital camera when he met you and JJ said that cameras of all sorts can have bags so he put up his allowance for a camera bag and Schneep convinced Chase’s mom to add more money. We went shopping for it earlier, so if it’s not the right size or something you can take it back and exchange it for a new one. We put the receipt in the bag just in case.”

“...oh.” It did look like it was the right size for a digital camera. Jackie squeezed the bag a couple times, feeling the padding inside (and also the slight crinkle of a receipt.) “That’s...I-I can’t believe you remembered that. Wow. Thanks.”

“So...you like it?” Schneep asked.

Jackie nodded. “Yeah. I like both of them. You didn’t really have to spend this much, you know.”

“Oh, hush.” Ms. Walker spoke up for the first time in a while. “Think of it as a thank-you for your help on Monday.”

“Oh. Right, yeah.” Jackie nodded absentmindedly, remembering the monster dog that had broken into Chase’s house that evening. As far as anyone else knew, it was a rabid animal that escaped the zoo in the next city over. But as he glanced at the four boys, they all exchanged a look of knowledge. “Well, thanks again.” He put the hoodie and camera bag back into the gift bag. “I’ll use both of these. Promise.”

“Great!” Chase was practically beaming. And he wasn’t the only one. Marvin reached over and squeezed Jameson in a tight, happy hug, who grinned and squeezed him back. Even Schneep gave a small smile. “Well, uh...I guess we should leave your party now,” Chase said, starting to back up.

“You sure you boys don’t want some cake or anything?” Jackie’s dad asked. “We were just about to bring it out.

“Cake?!” Chase immediately changed his mind. “What kind?”

���Chocolate,” Jackie said. “If you want to stick around for a few more minutes.”

The boys all looked at Ms. Walker—their ride. “Alright, we can stay for a cake,” she said, and the four of them cheered and rushed towards the kitchen. Jackie laughed. Ms. Walker watched them go and shook her head fondly. “So how’ve you been?” she asked, turning to Jackie’s dad.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Dad said. “I’m getting calls from some of the PTA members already. I keep telling them that school just got out and to let the kids enjoy summer, but you know how some of them are.”

“Are you still planning on that camping trip? Might be a good way to get away from them.”

Jackie quietly excused himself from the conversation, sensing that it was about to take a turn for the boring. He headed towards the kitchen. But before he even got halfway through the living room, he was stopped by one of his aunts.. “Oh, wow, is that you, Little Jay? You look so different! Your father let you cut your hair?”

“Uh, hi, Aunt Rose.” Jackie stopped awkwardly, glancing over her shoulder to the kitchen, where he could see Marvin and Jameson poking the food choices with plastic utensils. “Yeah, uh, he did. I’m sorry, but I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Oh. You were chasing those boys, right? Whose are they? I don’t recognize any of them.”

“They’re some kids I babysit for, actually,” Jackie explained.

Aunt Rose raised her eyebrows in unmistakable surprise. “You babysit?”

“Yeah, uh. So excuse me.” He stepped around her. But much to his internal dismay, Aunt Rose kept following him and talking, saying something about how surprised she was at how responsible he was turning out. He pointedly ignored her and immediately engaged in conversation with the four boys once he reached the kitchen table. “You know the cake’s not out yet, right? My dad’s going to go get it soon.”

“They’re the ones poking the food,” Chase said, pointing at the twins.

“Chase!” Schneep hissed, surprised. “You do not just throw them over the bus!”

“Under the bus,” Jackie corrected gently. “And they can do that. There’s a lot of it.”

“Oh, aren’t you some cute kids,” Aunt Rose said, drawing attention back to her. “It’s so sweet of you to stop by for Little Jay’s sweet sixteen.”

Chase looked confused. “Isn’t a sweet sixteen, like, a thing girls do?”

“...Yes,” Aunt Rose said slowly.

Jameson signed something, and Marvin nodded. “I think she’s just saying it because she’s a girl. I don’t think she means it like Jackie’s birthday,” he said.

Aunt Rose paused for a while. Then put on a smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, and quickly retreated.

Jackie waited until she was gone before laughing. “You guys can stay for as long as you like if you keep doing stuff like that,” he said.

“What? What did we do?” Marvin asked. Jameson and Chase looked equally confused, but strangely, Schneep seemed to understand. Or at the very least, he made direct eye contact with Jackie and nodded solemnly. Unusually resolved for an eleven-year-old.

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Jackie said. “I’ll go see if Dad can get the cake out yet.”

The four boys ended up staying later than intended, even if they left just before an hour passed. But even that short amount of time greatly improved Jackie’s mood. He was surprised at how much, actually. But hey, if it made his birthday an actually happy one, he was glad to have them stop by.

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

Thursday morning dawned, and Chase immediately set about preparing for their return to the library. They were going to confront a ghost. Though...he wasn’t exactly sure how to do that. He went online and searched ‘how to get rid of ghosts,’ and that led to a bunch of weird witchy stuff, followed by some weird religious stuff, and then weird videos about ghosts that were probably fake but that scared him enough to stop searching the Internet for the night. And none of it was really helpful.

In the end, he grabbed a couple things from the house to take to the library. His baseball bat and favorite Nerf gun—they might not be able to do stuff against ghosts on their own, but he also grabbed salt from the kitchen and sprinkled it all over the bat and his foam darts. Because salt kept coming up online, so he might as well try it. Most of it fell off, so he put the saltshaker in his pocket to take as well. Schneep also prepared his own stuff in his backpack. Most of it looked like books. Not really that useful. But who knows? Maybe there would be something in those books that would be helpful.

Mom dropped them off at the library shortly after lunch: the time that the group had agreed upon in several exchanged phone calls and text messages planning their journey. She did ask Chase why he had his bat and Nerf gun, but he lied and said that they were going to the park after and they might want to do stuff. Mom was fine with this. Chase got the feeling she was just happy he was spending time with friends.

When Schneep and Chase arrived, the twins were already there. They were double-checking that their bikes were locked to the bike rack. “Hey!” Chase shouted at them, then walked on over. “We’re here. Those are your bikes?”

“Yep.” Marvin stood straight up. “This is mine, and that’s JJ’s.” They were both blue, but the one Marvin indicated as ‘his’ looked older, and the one that was JJ’s had training wheels.

“Uhhhh nice.” Chase nodded. “Did you guys bring anything for the ghost? In case we need to fight her?”

“Yeah, one second.” Marvin dug around in his pockets and pulled out a couple different shiny rocks and a salt shaker. “I have some rocks that might ward her off, and salt, which also could do that. Salt is a rock, you know. Isn’t it weird how we eat it? Do you think that if we had enough salt in our blood we would just ward off ghosts naturally?”

“It is not good to have a lot of salt in the blood,” Schneep said. “That can cause blood and heart problems.”

“I know, but like...maybe if you don’t have enough salt to die but still a lot, you could walk around and repel ghosts,” Marvin repeated.

“Bro, I brought salt too!” Chase pulled his Mom’s saltshaker out of his pocket.

Jameson finished fiddling with his bike lock and stood up straight. He glanced around and pointed excitedly. The other three turned around and saw Jackie approaching them, having just parked his green hatchback nearby. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Why do you two have salt?”

“The Internet said it can fight ghosts,” Chase said defensively, putting his saltshaker back into his pocket.

“We do not know the Internet is right, though,” Schneep piped up. “What if everyone is wrong? I do not think most people have seen ghosts like there is in the library.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot,” Marvin said. “I also have these.” He put his stuff back in his pockets and instead pulled out two pieces of folded paper. “This one has a cross, and this one has a pentagram.” He unfolded them to show off both symbols, drawn in black marker on the papers. “If one doesn’t work, we can try the other. I also cast a spell on me and JJ back at our house before we left to protect us from evil. I can put it on you guys too, if you want.”

Chase and Schneep shook their heads. “Thanks, but I think we’re fine,” Jackie said. “But now I wish I brought stuff to fight a ghost. I don’t know what I’d even grab.”

“It’s a good thing JJ and I brought all this, then,” Marvin said proudly. “Oh! JJ, show them the last thing.” Jameson nodded, and reached into his shoulder bag and took out...a small, red, handheld vacuum cleaner. He switched it on with a loud VRRRR! and grinned wide as he spun around pointing it at things. Then he turned it off and put it back.

“How do you have a vacuum?!” Chase gaped.

“Vacuuuuuum,” Marvin repeated, and laughed. “That’s funner to say than hoover. Anyway, it’s okay, our parents don’t even know we have this. They were gonna throw it away when we got a new one a couple months ago, but instead they decided to save it in case the new one broke. It didn’t, though. So they kinda forgot about it. We can use it to suck up the ghost! Like in that one movie, uhhh...I don’t remember, but the one with the ghost in the red circle with the cross.”

“Ghostbusters,” Jackie said. “And we can’t do anything to the ghost if we don’t go inside the library first.” He looked around at the others. “Are you ready?”

The others all looked at him and nodded seriously.

“Great.” Jackie nodded back. “You guys lead the way, then.”

Inside, the library looked the same as it had the last time they walked in. Which was impressive, actually, because that trip ended with books flying everywhere and breaking into paper. “Okay, so.” Chase stopped and looked around. “Where were we when the ghost showed up?”

Jameson, having anticipated this, had already taken out his notepad and pencil and written, We were in the reference section, around the M-Ns.

“Oh. Okay.”

“You kids are looking for a ghost?” That question came from the check-out desk, where a librarian with frizzy black hair and dark skin was sitting.

“Yeah!” Marvin immediately said. “We saw one, so we’re gonna talk to her, and maybe get rid of her.”

“Ah, I see.” The librarian nodded. Then she looked at Jackie. “Hey, aren’t you Mr. Mann’s kid?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” Jackie laughed awkwardly. “You know him?”

“I’m on the PTA,” she said.

“Oh, cool.” Jackie glanced at her nametag. It read ‘Olivia.’ “Are you...Oliva Kenricks?”

“Uh-huh.” Olivia nodded. “He mention me?”

“He’s mentioned a lot of people.”

“Neat. Well, enjoy your ghost hunting.” She smiled. “If you don’t find any ghosts in the library, you might want to check out the community pool.”

Chase rolled his eyes and groaned. “The pool sucks. It’s just a square of water.”

“Oh?” Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Maybe it was last year, but they closed early for the winter and spent the whole time completely redoing it. Now there’s a slide, and higher diving boards, and they sell snacks.” She leaned forward on the desk. “But...ever since they reopened it in June, weird things have been happening. Might be a ghost.”

“Huh.” Normally, Chase might not have cared about that, but after seeing a ghost and a monster dog within the past week, he was a lot more interested in ‘weird things.’ And looking around, he could tell the others were interested too. Marvin was literally bouncing with excitement. “Uh...maybe we’ll check it out after this.”

“I say it’s worth checking out anyways. It’s a lot nicer now.” Olivia leaned back. “Anyway. Don’t let me keep you. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Olivia,” Jackie said. “We will.” And the three of them headed back towards the reference section.

Things started to look a little different as they headed into the library. Most people might not have noticed, but Chase was keeping an eye out, comparing it to the last time they were here. There were a lot of blank spaces on the bookshelves that he was pretty sure hadn’t been there last time. And once they reached the reference section, the rows of metal bookcases were crooked. “Are you guys noticing this?” Chase asked.

Jameson nodded. It was like this when we checked it out after coming here the first time. It looks like the bookshelves were knocked over, and when they were put back up, it wasn’t quite straight.

“Didn’t you guys say some of the shelves fell down?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah, and we had to run away from them,” Marvin added.

“Uh-huh,” Jackie said slowly, looking concerned. “You guys are alright, though, right?”

“I think we got bruised up from some of the books that were flying at us, but nothing, like, bad,” Chase said.

Before anyone could say anything more, Schneep gasped and grabbed Chase’s arm. He pointed to the side, over the shelves, into a part of the library that was a bit darker. Some of the lights must have gone out. But because of that, a faint green glow could be seen in the shadows.

“Is that...it?” Jackie whispered.

The others nodded. Marvin got his rocks out of his pockets. Jameson put his hand into his shoulder bag. Chase loaded a foam dart into his Nerf gun, then took out the saltshaker and sprinkled salt into the spot where the darts came out. “Chase, can I hold your bat?” Schneep asked.

“Yeah, sure, here,” Chase said, passing it to him. Schneep clearly wasn’t sure how to hold it, but his grip was tight.

“I’ll go in front,” Jackie volunteered. “Let’s be quiet.”

They weaved through the aisles of bookcases, gradually approaching the green glow. After a while, they turned a corner into a row and saw...her. The ghost. They all stared. She was glowing green and translucent, just like last time, and she wore a long dress—old-looking, with long sleeves and ruffles. Her long hair was pulled back in a braid. If she was alive, she would have been...sixty or seventy years old, Chase guessed. Right now, she hadn’t noticed the group. She was floating off the ground and glaring at books on the shelves, muttering to herself as she ran her glowing hands along their spines.

“Um...” Marvin said in a slightly quiet voice. “Is it just me, or does she look a little different?”

Chase shushed him, but it was too late. The old woman had heard him. She turned around and saw them. “Well, what do we have here?” she said, putting her hands on her hips. Her voice was strangely echoey.

Nobody said anything. They were too shocked to hear an actual voice with words coming from this phantom. She hadn’t said anything last time. And, well...Marvin was right. There was something different about her. She looked more...solid. Still translucent and floating, but less like something made of light and more like an actual figure with edges and textures.

“Well?” The ghost flew towards them, stopping a bookcase away. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Schneep found his voice first. “It is summer holiday, ma’am,” he said in a quiet, polite voice.

The ghost glared at him, and he shrank back, partially hiding behind Chase and Jackie. “Oh, summer holiday starts now, does it? Is that so?”

“Uh...yeah,” Chase said, prompting the ghost to glare at him instead.

“Hey.” Marvin waved a hand. “Are you, uh...Debra Robinson? Did you work at the library here thirty years ago? Oh, wait, did you know you were a ghost? Sorry. Uh, you’re a ghost. You—”

“How old are you?” The ghost demanded.

Marvin blinked. “I’m thirteen.”

“Hmph. At your age, you should know when to keep that mouth shut.” The ghost leaned forward, and Marvin stepped back, despite the bookcase length between them. “But what should I expect? You’re spending time with this lot.” She gestured at Chase, Schneep, and Jackie. “Foreigners and...that.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jackie muttered.

“What was that?!” A wind rippled through the aisle as the ghost turned on him. The glow around her brightened.

“Uh, nothing!” Jackie said hurriedly. “But, uh—are you Debra Robinson? And what are you doing?”

The ghost folded her arms. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, that’s my name. And I’m aware I’m dead, thank you so much for reminding me. None of you think before you speak, do you?” Her glare intensified, and the whole group felt chills as she scanned them each in turn. And, finally, she noticed Jameson. “Well? Do you have any smart comments?”

Jameson quickly shook his head.

“Oh, so you’re not going to say anything at all, are you, then?” The ghost—Debra demanded.

“Hey, don’t be rude!” Marvin stepped forward again, holding his arm out in front of Jameson. “JJ can’t talk at all! It’s not his fault.”

Debra’s demeanor immediately changed. She drew back, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! You poor thing. Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

Confused, Jameson shook his head.

“I really am so sorry.” Debra looked at Jameson closer. “You look like such a nice boy. I feel like I owe you a warning: kids like this are trouble. You should really get some new friends, these ones are bound to be a bad influence.”

Chase glanced around at the others. Was this ghost seriously insulting them while they were standing right here? He half-raised his Nerf gun to point at her, but Jackie reached over and lowered his hand, giving him a warning look. Chase nodded, understanding. Probably best not to antagonize the ghost until it was necessary.

“And you should find another library, too,” Debra continued. “I’ve found all sorts of terrible things in this one.” She floated over to the bookcase and pulled down a thick book. It opened on its own, pages flying. “Look at this! It calls itself a history of women’s rights, but really, who would pay attention to that with some of the pictures in the latter half! Ugh, how obscene. And don’t get me started on what I found in the fiction section! All sorts of devilish stories. After I woke up, I made sure to clear all those from the shelves. It was easy enough, but disappointing that there were so many. Now I have to be more careful with these ones. Some of them are quite educational, but so many are just ridiculous. The earth is made of plates, how absurd. And these are just here for children to read! No wonder the youths are turning out like this.” She gestured dismissively at all of the group besides Jameson.

“So...that’s what you’re doing,” Jackie says slowly. “You’re clearing out the books you don’t like.”

Debra snapped the reference book closed and hurled it at Jackie. Luckily, he ducked just in time. “I’m clearing it of those bad influences!” she snapped. “With books like these in the library, you’ll get a generation of unholy, disrespectful youths!”

“Maybe you don’t deserve respect,” Marvin muttered. He ducked immediately after he said that, avoiding a book that flew off the shelves towards him.

“See? This is what I mean!” Debra shook her head and scowled.

“And did that...that shadow guy pull you out of the bookshelves so you could do this?” Chase asked, bracing himself for flying books.

“Hmm.” Debra pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. “I’m not sure what that young man was thinking. The last thing I remember, I was leaving this library and about to head home. Then, it was like I was asleep for a long time. And when I woke up, I knew I was dead and that thirty years had past, and that youth had just given me power. I can assume he wanted me to do this, but I can’t be sure. He wasn’t a very nice-looking young man. I thought he was a hooligan at first. But that power is what’s letting me clean this library. So, perhaps, he was an angel.”

“Wait.” Chase’s eyes widened. “You saw him? He wasn’t just a shadow?”

“Of course I saw him!” Debra snapped. “I may be dead, but my eyesight is perfect! It’s always been perfect! What are you doing here, anyway?! Where are all your parents? Why did they let you wander into a library by yourselves? I swear, nobody knows how to raise kids these days, and it’s just gotten worse since I died!”

While Debra ranted, Jameson leaned over to Marvin and signed something in small gestures. Marvin nodded. And immediately threw a rock at Debra.

Surprisingly, the rock didn’t pass through her translucent form. Instead, it hit her in the stomach and dropped to the ground. She immediately stopped talking. Not out of pain, she didn’t look hurt at all. The green glow intensified, and she turned to Marvin with rage in her eyes.

“Chase!” Schneep whispered. “Shoot her!”

Chase didn’t hesitate. He raised his Nerf gun and pulled the trigger.

That foam dart passed right through her, doing nothing. It did draw her attention away from Marvin, but only for her to focus on Chase. Several books floated off the shelves and raised into the air.

“Run!” Jackie shouted, turning around and grabbing Chase and Schneep as he ran. Marvin and Jameson also turned and started to sprint away.

Books darted at them, most missing but a few hitting their backs. At the end of the aisle, more books pulled off the shelves, forming a solid barrier of covers and pages. Behind them, someone shouted, and something crashed to the floor. Chase slammed into the book barrier, surprised at how solid and unmoving it was. He pounded a fist against it, but that did nothing. Next to him, Jackie was shoving his whole weight against the barrier, while Schneep tried to pry at the edges of the books.

Wait...weren’t the twins right behind them? Where were they?

“Jameson!” Marvin shrieked.

The other three spun around. A bookcase had fallen to the ground, but it hadn’t landed flat. Instead, it had somehow turned, and was resting on its narrow side, forming a metal wall that came up to Marvin’s shoulders. On the other side of the fallen bookcase, Debra was hovering high in the air, her feet level with the topmost shelf of the bookcases. Her ghostly arms were wrapped around Jameson’s torso, dangling him almost six feet off the ground.

“Let him go, you crazy fucker!” Marvin demanded, jumping up in the air and trying to reach Jameson.

“Whoa, hey, wait!” Jackie ran towards the sight, Chase and Schneep behind him. “You can’t do that! What if you drop him?!”

“I’m very careful,” Debra said, not moving despite Jameson squirming, hands scrabbling at her arms. “He’s clearly a sweet boy, and he needs to get away from you lot if he has any chance of growing up right. So I’m taking him away.”

“I’m his brother you dickhole!” Marvin shouted. He grabbed the fallen bookcase and tried to climb it, but he couldn’t get a good grip. 

“You can’t just take a kid!” Chase shouted. He aimed his Nerf gun at her, despite knowing it wouldn’t do anything. “That’s kidnapping!”

“Give him back!” Marvin yelled, tears in the corner of his eyes. “Our mam and dad are gonna be so upset!”

“If his parents want, they can come get him,” Debra said calmly. “They can have him back if they prove to me they can raise children, and if they promise not to let him see any of you ever again.”

“I’m his brother!” Marvin repeated, shouting even louder.

“Well, then things aren’t looking good, if you turned out like that,” Debra said. “Now, if you please.”

Chase looked around. Marvin was trying to climb the bookcase again. Jackie was staring at Debra, face tense as he tried to figure out what to do. Schneep was frozen in place behind them, holding loosely onto his bat. They had to do something! They couldn’t let this happen!

And then, there was a sudden, loud VRRRR!

Debra went pale, the green glow fading from her face, and shrieked. While they were all panicking on the ground, Jameson had managed to reach into his shoulder bag and grab the handheld vacuum inside. He turned it on and twisted around to point it at Debra. The results were instant. She began to lose the solidity she had, becoming vague shapes and light that cartoonishly defmormed as it was all sucked into the vacuum. Every single book rose from the shelves and started to fly forward, but none were fast enough. The last of the green light disappeared into the vacuum and the books fell to the floor. And then Jameson did.

Jackie shouted. In one swift move, he vaulted over the fallen bookcase—knocking it flat in the process and forcing the other three to back up—and caught Jameson before he hit the floor. Unfortunately, that meant that Jackie fell to the floor with the sudden weight, but that was much better than Jameson falling six feet.

For a moment, everything was still. And then Marvin ran forward, right over the bookcase. He reached Jameson and Jackie just as the two of them got to their feet and threw himself at Jameson, wrapping him in a tight hug. “You fucking stupid ass genius I love you but don’t do that ever again!” He half-shouted, half-sobbed.

Jameson patted him on the back, then pulled away to sign something one-handedly. Marvin laughed. “Yeah, try not to! I’ll cast a better protection spell next time, too.”

“Are you alright?!” Schneep shouted, breaking whatever kept him frozen.

Jameson nodded, giving him and Chase a smile and thumbs-up.

“I can’t believe the vacuum worked!” Chase laughed.

“I guess Ghostbusters was right.” Jackie patted Jameson’s back. “Good thinking, Jamie-boy. Hey, can I see that?” He took the vacuum from Jameson and turned it over in his hands. There was a faint green glow coming from it. “It feels weirdly warm,” he muttered. “What are we gonna do with it?”

“Can we smash it?” Marvin asked. “Our parents won’t mind.”

“But what if that lets the ghost free?” Schneep fretted. “She would be very mad at us!”

“I say we bury it,” Chase suggested. “Out in the woods. I hear some other kids bury old toys there.”

“That’s probably our best bet,” Jackie said. “We don’t want to just keep this thing around. Okay, I can drive out there sometime in the next week and do that. My dad has shovels in our camping supplies.”

And then, they heard footsteps approaching. Jameson quickly snatched the vacuum back and shoved it into his bag, just before Olivia the librarian appeared at the end of the aisle. “Is everyone alright?” she asked, out of breath as if she’d run the whole way. “I heard...I-I heard a loud sound and shouting.”

Everyone froze. “It was crazy!” Chase blurted. “We heard that too, and when we walked over here, everything was a mess!”

“Uh, yeah!” Marvin nodded. “Fucking weird. I bet it was whoever trashed the library last week.”

Olivia sighed. “Damn it,” she whispered, almost too quietly for anyone to hear but not quite quietly enough. Then she continued, “Well, I’m glad you’re all okay. You...are all okay, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Jackie reassured her. “But it looks like our ghost was a bust.”

Olivia chuckled. “I’m sorry to hear that. Well, if you excuse me, I have to tell my supervisor about this.” And she turned and left.

There was silence for a moment as the whole group waited for her to be out of earshot. “So...now what?” Marvin asked.

“What do you mean?” Schneep wondered.

“Well, there’s clearly some freaky shit going on in this town,” Marvin said. “There was a ghost, then a monster dog, and I remember that librarian lady said something weird was happening at the pool. We just took care of the ghost. Do you think...we could take care of the rest?”

Jameson’s eyes lit up. He took his notepad and pencil out of his bag and scribbled something down. I think we did really well!

“You mean you did really well,” Chase laughed. “You took her down!”

Well, Jackie caught me, Jameson pointed out. And you and Marvin hit her with your stuff. And Schneep had the idea to hide under the desks the first time we were here. I think we could do this.

Jackie sighed. “Well, if you guys are going to get involved in this, I’m coming too. I didn’t let you come here on your own, I’m not letting you do the rest by yourselves.”

“Yeah, you can drive us to the places!” Marvin said excitedly.

Chase looked at Schneep. “Uh...what do you think?”

“Would your mom let us do that?” Schneep asked.

“Probably not,” Chase admitted. “But we don’t have to tell her. We can do this. It’ll be our thing.” He wrapped an arm around Schneep’s shoulder and brought him close. “I mean, I don’t blame you if you don’t wanna. But if you do...”

Schneep glanced at the others. He took a deep breath, and nodded. “Ja. Alright. I would like to know more about what is happening here. It is all very strange.”

Chase grinned. “Great! I’m definitely in! This is gonna be the best summer ever!”

“So, in that case, what are we doing next?” Jackie asked.

We have to go home first, Jameson said. And maybe we should take a few days before doing anything else. Maybe a week, and then we can move on to the next thing.

“What is the next thing?” Schneep asked.

There was silence for a moment.

“So, do you guys remember that thing about the pool?” Marvin asked.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #jacksepticeye au #septic egos au #jackieboy man #chase brody #dr schneeplestein #marvin the magnificent #jameson jackson #brigid writes fanfiction #pnptau

[walkswithdave]

Now write it as a conversation between two aesop's fable characters

Once upon a time, there was a wise old owl named Athena who lived in a tree in the forest. One day, a clever fox named Reynard stumbled upon a strange contraption in the clearing.

Reynard: "Athena, come look at this strange device I have found! It appears to have a small box with a clear front and a camera inside. There is also a monitor that displays what the camera sees."

Athena: "Ah, that is a Video Feedback Machine. It creates a closed-loop system where the output of the camera is continuously fed back to the monitor, resulting in the generation of complex and dynamic visual patterns."

Reynard: "Fascinating! I see the operator can move the camera and adjust the settings on the device to change the image on the monitor."

Athena: "Indeed, the operator can exert a high degree of control over the visual output by manipulating the camera's position and orientation in relation to the monitor. This is

Now write it for a 5 year old to understand

Once upon a time, there was a magic box that could make pretty pictures. Inside the box, there was a little camera that takes pictures and a TV screen that shows the pictures. The camera looks at the TV screen and takes a picture of the picture it sees. Then it shows that picture on the TV screen again. And it keeps doing that over and over.

It's like if you look at your reflection in a mirror and your reflection looks at another mirror, and it keeps going on and on. So, the pictures the magic box makes keep changing and they look like different shapes and colors. It's like a magic show that you can make by yourself.

Now write this in very religious overtones with overt religious symbology

The Video Feedback Machine is a blessed contraption, a gift from the heavens that allows us to glimpse the mysteries of the divine. Within its plexiglass enclosure, a holy camera captures the light of the divine and reflects it upon a sacred monitor, creating a mesmerizing feedback loop of divine energy.

As the operator, we are granted the privilege to guide and shape this sacred energy, moving the camera with the grace and precision of an angel, adjusting its angle and distance to uncover the hidden patterns of the divine will.

The four control dials, for brightness, contrast, saturation and tint, are the instruments of the holy spirit, allowing us to fine-tune the image and reveal the true nature of the divine. And as the image is mirrored on the large HD monitor, we are reminded that all of us are but a reflection of the divine will.

The image being created on the monitor in the plexiglass box is a reflection of the divine, it is a reminder that our own world is a complex feedback loop

Now write it like a new-age hippy who has just smoked a lot of weed.

Dude, like, have you ever seen like, this totally awesome machine, man? It's like, it creates these, like, crazy patterns and shapes, you know? And you can, like, control it all with this, like, yoke thing, right? And you can, like, make it go forward and backward and all around, and it's

Mix in heavy Jesus-freak religiosity with this hippy stoner character

Dude, like, have you ever seen like, this totally awesome machine, man? It's like, it creates these, like, crazy patterns and shapes, you know? And you can, like, control it all with this, like, yoke thing, right? And you can, like, make it go forward and backward and all around, and it's like, whoa, it's like Jesus is controlling it, you know? And the colors and shapes it makes, it's like, it's the beauty of God's creation, man. And you can adjust the brightness and contrast and all that, it's like, you're playing with the tools of the Lord, dude. And you can, like, watch the big screen, and it's like

Now write it like it's a Hemingway story

The Video Feedback Machine was a simple yet complex contraption. It had a small plexi-glass box with a small HD camera and an HD monitor that displayed what the camera saw. The operator would sit in front of it, using something much like a yoke on an airplane to move the camera forward, backwards, and 360 degrees around its axis. The operator would manipulate the camera's angle and distance to create intricate and sophisticated visual patterns.

The operator would use four control dial

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

1/25/2023 DAB Chronological Transciption

Genesis 38 - 40

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm China. Today is the 25 day. Wow, the 20 fiveTH day. That is our new metric of time, welcome. We are starting today. I don't know what that was that came out of my mouth, but today is the 25th day of January, welcome. It is so great to be here with you today. So glad that you are here reading the word of the Lord together and that there are so many of us all around the globe that are reading God's word together and that he is listening and the Holy Spirit is breathing and coming alive to us in the scriptures. And yeah, so maybe if you are listening alone or by yourself, may you just rest in the comfort of knowing that there are so many others around the global campfire who are listening with you today. So whether you have a cold weather day where you're at and you really do need a campfire, or the weather is not so chilly and you could do a campfire setting on YouTube and just have one of those running, those are pretty cool. But regardless, there's a global campfire here and we are coming around and reading and listening to the word of the Lord together. So let's jump in. Today we are continuing our story. We are in the book of Genesis with chapters 38 through 40, and we are in the Common English Bible for this week.

Commentary

So two crazy stories happen today. The first one is is so bizarre to me. It's like two different sexual affairs try to happen. One does happen, and then one tries to happen and is accused of being happening. Of happening. So she gets married and the first husband is immoral. So the Lord puts him to death, and then the second husband is being deceitful and he gets put to death. And so basically what's happening is they're waiting for a Shaila to grow up, which means there's a substantial age gap. And so they're just waiting for him to get older, for them to get married is my best guess here. And so while they're waiting for that time to come, she's realizing, okay, well, he's already grown up, but he hasn't been given to me to be my husband yet. So when Judah sees her, he assumes that she's a prostitute, which I'm like, okay, Judah like, time out. Both your sons were just killed by God because of their immorality, and yet here you are thinking that this woman's a prostitute. And so you're like, sure, why not? So I'm like, buddy, what's happening here? But he sleeps with her, she becomes pregnant, and that we don't see in the scripture. But I wonder if she okay. Pause. Sorry. My brains kind of go in a couple of different directions. One, how do you not know what your daughter in law looks like? How do you not know what your father in law looks like? It seems that she knows who he is and like, did she keep her face covered the whole time? Which is strange to me. Whatever. So my best guess here, and I'm not trying to make a theological statement, I'm just trying to understand the text a little bit better, I think my best guess, she knows who he is. He doesn't know who she is. She's like, let me set myself up here. One, I'll have a child, and two, I also won't get burned or killed because I'm going to have this statement that you slept with me. This was your idea. And so that happens. And then not only is she pregnant with a baby, she's pregnant with twins. And this part was really fascinating to me. Now that I've had a baby, I'm very aware of, like, birth stories, and I'm like, oh my goodness. If a baby came out with their hand out first, the labor for that is, whoa, intense. So I have heard. But okay, so then he puts his hand back. I'm curious how that would go. Once a baby is coming out, how does it hand go back? I'm not saying this is wrong or that I don't believe it. I'm just saying, wow, this is something that I'm picturing. And I'm like, okay, this is crazy. And so then for him to be retracted under the pubic bone, which is where you have to push your baby out of, and in the birth canal for him to go back, and then another baby come out, I'm like, okay, very interesting. That labor must have really sucked. Anyway, so that's like all the story that's, like, all the contexts that we have, they're named. And then we go back into the story of Joseph. Now, this is a very common, very popular story that we know, or maybe you don't know it. I'll break it down for those who don't know it, but we just read it, so there's not much that I need to break down. But what is very interesting to me is Joseph's heart posture. It always gets me. You know, he is towards the end of the scripture. He's he's talking about, look, I've done nothing to be down here. I've actually done nothing to even be sold into human trafficking, but he doesn't call it that to slavery. And then to be down here in this dungeon, I've done nothing wrong. But for him to maintain his heart posture, like, we don't see any Lord. Are you kidding me? Or any of, like, anger towards God or frustration towards man. We don't see that in the text. Maybe he struggled with that. I'm not sure that would kind of make sense. Wouldn't blame him. But really, he continues to be who God made him to be and who what God gave him the gift of is to interpret dreams. And he even says dreams are from God, and so interpretations are from God. And so he is again, this is now his. Sorry, I think this is his second time revealing a dream, there'll be a third that we'll read about. But what's the one thing that he asks in return is, please don't forget me. Don't forget me down here. And the the wine steward, the cup barer, he forgets Joseph. And so Joseph is is forgotten. There's not a phone line. He don't get a call. There's no, like, I'll scream loud enough, you can hear me through your floor, but there's none of that. I don't even know that the dungeon would be under the king's house or anything like that. I think it's separate. I don't know. But there's no way that he gets out of this in his own might, you know, and it doesn't even seem like he again, through what scripture reveals to us, I don't know how you could be content in a dungeon in prison. I don't know that he was or that he wasn't, but I do know that he continues to be faithful to the Lord and continues to be a good steward of what the Lord has given him, which is his dream interpretations and to wait on the Lord. And so I think this story really just shows me that when we are in less than ideal situations and we are doing everything quote right and doing everything, that we're just living our lives and then things have happened to us that we're like, time out, what is this? What's happening? Some pointers. One, I think the Lord isn't always behind those things. I think that he's in them and that he guides and directs us and nothing takes him by surprise because I don't think that God motive, it like, I don't think it was God who was behind just his brother selling him into slavery and then that he would be bought into Potipher's house and then Potipher's wife trying to sleep with him and then accusing him of rape and then him getting put in prison. I don't know that that was like, this is my plan for you, Joseph. It's going to be great. Could have been, I don't know for sure. But what I do know is that the word is sovereign. And he's like, okay, I'm going to use this all for my glory, and then you're going to be a mouthpiece. And through all of this, the Lord gets the glory and the honor. Maybe you have some things going on in your life that you're like, I didn't do anything. I was just living my life and XYZ is happening to me and gosh, dang, I can't catch a break. And I'm just trying to be a good steward, trying to be a good believer, a good person, and these things are happening to me and I just don't even know what to do anymore. We don't see that Joseph asks those questions. But like I said, it would make sense that he would it makes sense that we would have those questions kind of like Job, but then to also just kind of rest on the fact that the Lord is sovereign. And to trust that we again, like in this text, we don't see that the Lord is saying joseph, it's going to be this much longer, buddy. Hang in there. Things will look up, keep fighting a good fight. There's no indicator that the Lord is speaking to Joseph through this. Again, he could have, could not have. I don't know, I'm just going by what the scripture says, but I see that Joseph continues to be faithful to the Lord and to be faithful to what he has been given, which is his own dreams and interpretation of dreams, and we'll see how that really propels him. But yeah, some things that I think that are helpful to apply to our own story is sometimes things happen and we can't control them. We cannot control the outcome, no matter how much we are trying to. And then something happens and we're like, okay, don't forget me. Or maybe we're saying that to the Lord, lord, don't forget me. And then we feel forgotten. I can promise you, like, we're in the thick of this story right now, so I won't bring the outcome to make this a feel good message, especially if you're in the thick of your story. But what I can say for sure is that you're not forgotten. You may be in this place of a dungeon where you didn't do anything to deserve this or to get here. Is it not by your faultings? And you're here and you're being a faithful steward of what God has given you. You're doing what he's asked you and yet you feel forgotten. I can promise you the Lord sees you and I can promise you that you are not forgotten.

Prayer

So Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the guidance and the direction that it gives us, even when we can't see it, even when we can't feel it, even maybe if we don't really want it. We just want to feel the pain and the intensity of our questions. And God, I just thank you that when we have those questions and we have our pain, you meet us in them. And so I pray that we would be a people who can learn to be uncomfortable in our own questions and doubts and big feelings, but I pray that we would remember the truth, that you meet us there and that we would be sensitive to Your Holy Spirit. And God, I thank you that you always come to rescue us. You are always coming after us. And just like we are going to read soon in this story, we're not going to stay in this dungeon, we're not going to stay in this place, we're not going to stay in the thought or the wonder that you might have forgotten us. I think that the sweet truth is that there's nowhere we could go that you wouldn't be and there's nowhere that you would be that we couldn't be? And so I just thank you for your word today and it's in your name we pray, amen.

[firstimpressionsevelynsydney]

Your Personal Brand Is Showing — during every waking hour!

Whoa! Does your personal brand need reassessment? Not getting the recognition or job advancement you think you deserve? Feel that opportunities are passing you by? Here’s the rub — don’t look ‘out there’ for the answers, although it might be worthwhile asking a few people you trust for some honest feedback on the impression they have of you. You need to look ‘inside’ to find out what is really going on. Are you valuing yourself? Living purposefully? Honouring your highest values? Taking time for yourself? Dreaming big dreams?

Because people will form opinions of you based on the very superficial visual and behavioural messages you leave them with. Don’t complain — what else have they got to go by? Your work ethic? The time you get to and leave work? The amount of work you get through? Well — these things won’t cut it if you are looking haphazard, lack-lustre, dishevelled and lacking in energy. Worse still if the things you wear and carry are in the same condition. If this is the case — then move over for the up-and-coming ‘living purposefully’ hot-shots hard on your heels. YOU are about to be over-taken, left in the dust, forgotten in the bleachers. That is — unless you want to take serious stock of where you are at — and what you are willing to do to get you back on track.

Here are a few — yes, superficial… tips that will have you looking at your reflection in the mirror and seeing yourself once again in the role you either want to hang onto, or the one you aspire to. Or is it that you want to feel attractive again?

Tip 1 — Reality Check

Depending on your immediate agenda….e.g. want that promotion? want that job? Want to attract a life partner? etc. Then get dressed for whatever it is that you want to attract. For example — if you want that promotion — get into your best business attire, if you want a life partner or want to put some life into an existing relationship — get into your most appealing outfit.

Now go get a paper bag — and put it over your head — leaving two holes so that you can ‘see’ yourself without actually seeing your face — I know — this sounds crazy, but do it anyway. Now stand in front of a full length mirror and take a good hard look at yourself. Would you be attracted to ‘this person’? If you met yourself at a business event or at a party — would you be impressed? You see, when you cover your face — you take the ‘me’ part out of the visual picture which makes it easier to actually assess honestly what you see. Now making sense?

This can be a ‘moment of truth’ for many people. If you are not satisfied with the image staring back at you — you have work to do. Congratulations to those who are happy with the reflection they see.

Tip 2 — Toss the Tossers

Do yourself a favour — and go to your wardrobe and toss everything that doesn’t make you feel attractive when you put it on. Go on … toss all those nasty pilled shrunken sweaters, tracky-daks, oversizes T-s, flag-daddy shorts, anything oversized/undersized, washed out rags and those truly ugly shoes that look like old boats in Hong Kong harbour. Get rid of them out of your life!! Now.

Feel better? Like in relationships — you can’t attract the ‘new’ into your life without first getting rid of the ‘old’ :-) Oh — and don’t think about passing them onto your friends or rellies, because they won’t want them either. You are allowed a few old T’s to keep as polish cloths if you must.

Tip 3 — DIY or Engage an Image Consultant

If you can, create a list of must-haves you need to buy. Be honest. New suit? Two new suits? A fabulous dress ladies? Something appealing, alluring and yet classy? List everything you need. Don’t be put off by the length of the list — you can prioritise it and get the essentials now and the no-so-urgent things in the next few pay-cheques. If this is too daunting, then do yourself a favour and engage a recommended image professional who will take all the hard work out of this for you. No — I’m not talking about those shop-floor attendants who are now labelled as stylists. They may only know how to show you clothes…and more clothes to try on (more about this in another blog post). No — you need someone to work WITH you who will keep an eye on your current role/s, your goals. your preferred style/s and natural colour direction.

There are more Essential Branding Tips to follow. Visit us again in the next few days — looking forward to your comments.

Contact Us and let’s talk.

#image consultant #personal branding #image consulting business #image consultant sydney #image consulting #image consultants