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PPCOMM: Worming into Your Heart : Episode 0

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Worming into Your Heart

Episode 0

Bug Buffet: For the Love of Ketchup
_________________________________________

Our story begins in a cozy little home in a cozy little part of the woods. A television set is blaring rather loudly in the living room while a mother cooks dinner for her children; but suddenly, a catchy tune reminiscent of an oldies song began to play over the television and the children sang along.

"Wormy, wormin', gonna worm into your heart~
So baby, baby, you gotta promise me, we ain't never gonna,
Part~
Right now ya might hate me, hate me,
But I promise,
One day you gonna fall in love~
With me, baby!
'Cause I'm gonna worm, worm, worm, worm, worm,
Right into yooooour
Heaaart~♪"

The youngest child, a girl named Tiffany, ran into the kitchen. "Mommy! Daddy's show is on! We gotta watch it! Come on!" She tugged on her mother's apron, who turned and pat the girl on the head. "I'm cooking dinner now Tiffany, sweetie. Why don't you watch it and tell me what happens, okay?"

"Okay!" The girl ran back to her brother's side as a man in his early forties--the father of the two children--appeared on the screen. He was a jolly-looking man who clearly loved his job and was an entertaining host to boot. "We're back today with the first official episode of 'Worming into Your Heart' now that the heated elimination rounds are over! I'm your host, Stuart, and this is my co-host, the beautiful Grace!" The voice said over the screen, gesturing to the fan-favorite beside him.

She smiled a smile that would likely make all the men watching the show instantly fall in love. "Are you prepared to see what we've got in store for you today? Karaoke! ...with a twist? And a bug-eating competition! You voted what you'd like to see, so let's get started!"

________________________________________

Rhondoa Island


1448717 by Merieth
The set of Worming into Your Heart was set up on a remote, uninhabited island called Rhondoa. It was a thriving, exciting location that had been newly discovered and the reality TV giants claimed it for their use. The show has been running for 2 weeks already, but those were quick, fun elimination rounds that left viewers with only their favorite competing couples. "All right folks, we're live on the air!" said Stuart, and the camera man panned over to a long dining table, where 3 distinctly different couples sat.

"Kicking off the action, how about we get a word from the three couples who made it this far?" Grace said. "Why don't we start with the feisty, energetic Ashley and Matt!" The camera then focused on an athletic-bodied, tan young man with dark hair striking blue eyes and a curvy white young woman with straight, long blond hair and gray eyes. Neither of them looked all that interested in competing, but Grace motioned for them to smile. Ashley gave a smug yet alluring smile and Matt forced a smirk.

"And how do you two feel about today's challenge?" asked Grace.

"Well...I'm ready to do what it takes to win!" Matt tried to look enthusiastic, but he seemed distant at best. His partner, Ashley, only put on a bigger smile. "My boyfriend Matt is totally gonna win this challenge for us! He's a super amazing guy and I'm soo lucky to have him with me!" She put an arm around his shoulder, shaking him gently while grinning at the camera.

"That's right. Gotta impress my new girlfriend, and all you amazing viewers out there who voted for us!" Matt smiled nervously, as if he knew that Ashley was going to leave most of the work to him, as she usually would.

"Isn't that sweet?" Grace giggled. "Our next couple is the brainy Erica and the spunky Michael!"

The camera moved to a slightly overweight white young man with dark blue eyes, short black hair and a goatee. He wore a sneer on his face as he sat back, relaxed, in his chair and waved to the audience. His partner was a tall, lean black young woman with wise blue eyes and a knowing smile, though there was a troubled look hidden in her features. "What's up, friends? Thanks for tuning in to watch us kick major a--butt!" Michael obviously loved when the camera was on him, trying to look as charming as possible whenever the camera focused on him.

"I would like to thank the producers and you fans for your support," said Erica. "We'll do our best to make our way to the top!"

"Damn straight we will!" Michael broke in, leaning in front of Erica, who seemed slightly annoyed, but she quickly resumed her stoic look.

"And finally, our last couple, Sarah and Adam!" Stuart announced. The camera slowly moved to the final couple; Adam was a handsome, olive-skinned young man with a dazzling smile and blue eyes. His hair was brown and rather long and disheveled, but it gave him a rugged look that the fans adored. His partner, Sarah, a young white woman, seemed to shrink in front of the camera, but her shyness and innocence made her an instant fan-favorite. She was slim, short, and dubbed the 'Most Wanted Girl' by fans; her eyes were hazel and she had medium-length brown hair that rested on her shoulders.

"Glad to be back!" Adam exclaimed, looking fondly over at Sarah. "We're definitely ready for today's challenge, aren't we Sarah?"

"S-Sure. I'm definitely...ready! I'm gonna do my best, everyone!" She smiled awkwardly, her eyes wavering between Adam and the camera as she gave a thumbs-up.

"There you have it folks! Our official couples for the rest of the show," Stuart explained as the camera switched to he and Grace. "So, onto today's first challenge: bug-eating! That's right: you, the audience, have voted and we have delivered! Today's crunchy delicacies were hand-picked from around the island and some are even still alive!"

"First off we have a plate of five scrumptious crickets! Would you bring them out to our contestants please, Luke?" Grace fluttered her eyes to the camera and the shot switched to the table, where a scrawny-looking young man brought out three plastic boxes full of five, large crickets each. He set them the boxes on a plate and Sarah and Ashley erupted with a unanimous Ewww. The cricket corpses looked to be fresh, but that didn't seem to help the morale of the teams. The camera then focused on each contestant's expression one-by-one.

"Now, the rules for the challenge are simple: each couple has to eat all five crickets without throwing up in-between! If you eat all five and then puke, you're safe; if you puke after eating one and there's three more, you're disqualified and your partner has to pick up the slack. You can divvy it up between your partner however you wish, but if you don't eat 'em all, you fail the challenge!" Stuart's said enthusiastically. "Now who is ready to munch some bugs?!"

"You'll have ten minutes total to eat them all, and remember: You can't waste good food! Tee hee!" Grace giggled and the contestants began to murmur among themselves.

Adam was the first to open the box and pull out a cricket. He lifted it up to the camera, grinning. "This one's for you guys at home!" He took a large bite out of the cricket's head and chewed it loudly and vigorously in an attempt to make the others laugh. Sarah was half grossed-out and half amused by this display, but she didn't want to make Adam do all the work.

She reached into the box and took a cricket of her own and stared at its eyes. "...O-Okay...I can do this..." she took a deep breath and bit off the cricket's head, almost gagging when she tried to swallow it.

"You're doing great, Sarah!" Adam cheered her on.

Ashley was the next one to take a lid off of a box and stared at the corpses of the bugs with disgust. "Ugh. Matt, wanna try the first one?" She plucked one of the corpses between her index and thumb and smiled mischievously. "I'll even feed it to you. Here, say 'ahh'."

"Ashley, w-wait--" Matt protested, but before he could close his mouth, Ashley shoved half a cricket in. He bit down and there was a loud CRUNCH as the other half of the bug's body fell onto his hand. He looked pale for a moment but chewed up the bug and swallowed it before eating the rest.

Erica studied the crickets for a moment before taking off the lid. "Michael, why don't we split it evenly between us? It will be more plausible if we each eat 2.5 crickets, not to mention more fair."

"Ehh," Michael shook the box of bugs around. "Bug-eating really isn't my thing. But hey, I guess I can take a nosedive for the team, sure. After all, everyone knows I'm the greatest one on the show," he chuckled and picked up a cricket while Erica tried not to roll her eyes in disgust. "This one's for you, baby," he winked at the camera and licked the head of the cricket before popping it into his mouth. For a moment, it looked like he was turning green, but he kept up a pained smirk as he chewed the bug and swallowed it. "There, see? That's how it's done, kids!"

Erica took deep breaths--not to prepare herself for eating bugs, but to prepare herself for another arduous day of dealing with Michael. She ate a cricket without complaint, her facial expression hardly changing, even when Michael pointed out that there were cricket legs sticking out of her mouth.

The competition continued: Ashley went on feeding Matt cricket after cricket and they wound up being the first couple to complete the challenge. Immediately after he was done, he chugged an entire glass of water and then threw up all over the table, but Stuart didn't disqualify them since he completed the goal of the challenge, which was to eat all five--puking after the fact was entirely within the rules.

Sarah wound up only eating one cricket before admitting to Adam that she'd throw up if she ate another, especially after seeing Matt's vomit all over the table. Adam happily accepted, making jokes about the bugs' crunchy texture and exotic flavor to the camera while eating each one. They wound up finishing second.

Erica and Michael were having trouble after their first crickets, however...

"This sucks! These are disgusting! I can't believe someone as intelligent as me has to participate in BUG-EATING. Why not a trivia game or something like solitaire or chess?" Michael complained.

"...Yes, the bugs are not to my tastes either, but this is for the competition--" Erica tried to reason with him.

"Uh-oh! Looks like Erica and Michael are having trouble! Be careful guys, you only have 1 minute and 47 seconds left on the clock!" said Stuart.

"Should we give them a hand?" Grace asked as the camera switched to her face. "What do you say?" She held up a bottle of ketchup and a salt shaker. "These two are our best friends when eating gross food, right?"

"Gimme the ketchup!" shouted Michael. "AND the salt!"

Grace giggled and walked to the table, looking back at the camera with a smile on her plump, luscious lips before placing the ketchup and salt next to Michael and Erica. Michael then took out two crickets and completely drenched them in ketchup, then dumped half the salt shaker on them and crammed it into his mouth. He then let out a loud belch and wiped his face with a napkin. "Ha! I did it. Salt and ketchup does wonders!"

Erica was biting her lips as she reached for the last two crickets, quickly nibbling them to nothing, just before the timer buzzed.

The second half of the bug eating challenge was to eat a live, juicy grub worm within two minutes. This time, ketchup and salt were provided for everyone. Sarah almost fainted at just the thought of biting down on one of the worms, so Adam valiantly offered to take the fall--armed with his trusty ketchup squeeze bottle, of course. He ate it in one bite, surprising both Grace and Stuart.

Ashley, of course, refused to even touch the grub but promised Matt a long massage later if he took the fall for her again. He tried to protest, but she simply stared at him and smiled that same sweet, smug smile that he was used to; he knew that she'd never let him live it down if he failed here. So, he decided that eating a nasty, slimy, wriggly critter the lesser of two evils. He ate his grub with some salt but wound up throwing up a second time, and this time...on none other than his partner Ashley.

Since the grub was the last part of the bug-eating challenge, she was allowed--rather highly encouraged--to leave the set and wash off and get changed.

Lastly was Erica and Michael; the former suggested that they split the grub in half, but the latter refused. "I ate three crickets last time. YOU only had TWO. So, Erica, I think it's your turn to prove your worth to the team! I'm not gonna carry you this entire time, you know!"

With that, Erica took out the worm and ate it, trying to keep a straight face as worm-guts oozed between her teeth. Even though theirs was the last of three teams to finish, Stuart and Grace gave them bonus points because Erica didn't even glance at the ketchup or salt.

Once the bug-eating competition was over, the producers cut to a commercial break. Ashley returned to the set before the break was over, looking displeased. Matt tried to apologize to her, but she ignored him completely. The contestants' moods ranged from sour to disgusted to energetic, but Grace and Stuart had a surprise planned for them.

"Since you guys did great today, we're going to have our second and final challenge be something fun: Karaoke! But the catch is...you have to drink a little before you sing," Stuart laughed, holding up a bottle of wine. "Now, you gotta be at least a little tipsy, so drink up before our extended commercial break is over."

In the background, the extra crew members were setting up a stage with speakers and instruments. "We've provided instruments as well, in case you wanna be even more creative," said Grace, always wearing her classic charming smile as she had one hand on her hip. "You might even get bonus points with the fans!"

"So just have fun with this next challenge, all right everyone? There are no conditions other than you have to be at least tipsy, but you can drink as much as you like. Just have fun, there's no winning or losing!" Stuart seemed enthusiastic. "I think I might have a shot myself, heh heh!"

"Aww, Stuart!" Grace giggled. "Don't drink too much or you'll have a nasty hangover in the morning. Our next episode won't be for another week, but we'll let you know who won today's challenge tomorrow."

"Winner gets a fancy, romantic dinner at the mansion and a spa day," Stuart added. "Ah, looks like the crew with our supply is here! Party's about to start." He pointed to a group of men who came onto the set carrying cases of beer, bottles of wine and whiskey and other alcoholic drinks. As the contestants and producers watched, the crew set up a miniature bar just beside the karaoke stage.

Soon, the second and final challenge of the first 'official' episode would begin.



Stay tuned to find out what happens next on...
HeartWorming into Your HeartHeart
part 1/6 of :iconsgtmitchell:'s paypal story commission!

characters (c) :iconsgtmitchell:
© 2018 - 2024 Merieth
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