#Pale-bordered Field Cockroach

[northerlyy]

Pale-bordered Field Cockroach (Pseudomops septentrionalis), taken May 31, 2025, in Georgia, US

A very distinguished cockroach! I understand not liking pest cockroaches, but I don't know how anyone can hate all cockroaches when cuties like these exist! This spring is my first time seeing this species, and I'm already enamored. They're quite small and very agile, swiftly flying from leaf to leaf when they want to escape me. I saw one from afar for the first time and instantly recognized it from a camera product review example photo lol! Needless to say, I was on that individual in a heartbeat, silently begging it to stay still long enough for photos, which it kindly did. These pictures are my third time seeing one of these, and probably my best so far!

[saturniidays]

I just found my dream species to find and I’m so happy

[wanderingokali]

bug studies

did these directly in pen, in about 5-10 minutes each, based on pictures. sources in the readmore! :3

[that-crazy-scorpio-man]

A beetle friend.  Not a beetle friend.  Turns out that it’s a cockroach.

[classicroach]

Cool cockroaches I've learnt about pt 4

Polyphaga saussurei

These cockroaches are found in South Asia and North-East Caucasus. They are great pets but not commonly kept. These are very interesting as these two are the same species but the males (left) look incredibly different from the females (right). They can live to over 2.5 years and produce an unpleasant odor when disturbed. They are very similar and potentially the same as Polyphaga saussurei (Giant sand cockroaches).

Pseudomops septentrionalis (Firefly cockroach or pale-bordered field cockroach)

These cockroaches look super cool and almost cartoon-like. They are found in the South-East of the US in low-growing vegetation and flowers. The 'pseudo' in Pseudomops means fake or false. This makes sense as these are seen as pseudo fireflies.

[bugsandnaturethings]

Pseudomops septentrionalis, Pale-bordered Field Cockroach

This dude is a really neat firefly mimic. Never seen a roach like this before

[vulpinmusings]

Ski’tar and Friends part 15: Hidden Truth

This week, Ski’tar, 6, and Vemir head into the shielded insect city to learn the mysteries of planet Elytrio

To the start

Previously

Archive

Before we left the Husk hive, we traded some basic information with Klarima so we would know what to expect in the city and so she could introduce us properly.  Klarima’s people called themselves the Membrane Gebrani, while our tribal cockroach-y hosts were called the Husk Gebrani.  The two peoples were evolutionary offshoots of the same ancestors, with the Husks having lost the ability to fly while the Membrane retained it.  Klarima credited the divergence to the influence of the local Mother God, Taloo, saying her people were chosen and blessed while the Husks were outcasts.  She clearly looked down on the Husks as objectively inferior, but she held no malice toward them and was grateful that they had found her wounded by a kind of razor-sharp tumbleweed and bandaged her up.

Klarima was amazed that 6, Vemir, and I were all completely different species despite us not looking at all alike.  When I explained the differences between android 6 and my simpler drone, Klarima declared it must be just like the difference between Membrane and Husk Gebrani.  She understood the idea of space travel, but it was something beyond her people’s current abilities.

With the introductions out of the way, we prepared to leave, only to be stopped momentarily by the Husks so they could bestow some gifts on us for taking down the big lizard.  The gifts consisted of three vials of a substance that I quickly determined had healing properties equivalent to the most basic form of Healing Serum, and one of their rifles, which 6 took.

Captain Navasi called, asking for an update, and I was all too happy to inform them that the locals seemed perfectly friendly and that we had found a guide that would get us into the city.

During the long walk back to the city, Klarima warned us about some of the dangerous flora, particularly the razor-sharp flornettles she’d run into earlier.  We encountered one of those rolling across the ground at one point, just when Vemir was being distracted by his own thoughts enough to blunder right into it.  It didn’t hurt him too much, but his pride was quite wounded.

We arrived at the border of the city of Archeos as the sun was starting to set.  To get us in, Klarima produced an old, clunky datapad and entered a code, although it took a few tries for the signal to actually be received and processed correctly and open a hole in the force-field large enough for us to pass through.  Archeos was definitely a city designed by creatures capable of flight.  All the Gebrani that we saw were flying as they went about their business, and the tower buildings had absolutely no doors on the ground level.  The only things on the ground with us were automated drones sweeping up garbage.  The city’s artistic architecture gleamed, but on closer inspection we saw many signs of deterioration, especially down on our level.

Before we got too far, we were stopped by a bunch of Gebrani dressed in guard uniforms.  They wanted to throw us out on principle for not being Membrane Gebrani, and Klarima’s attempts to persuade them that we should be treated as guests didn’t go over well. Fortunately, Vemir managed to sweet-talk them into giving us a chance, and after some heated whispering with Klarima, the guards agreed to take us to their leaders, the Most Elevated, for closer consideration.

The Elevated’s tower was in the center of the city, naturally, and the closest entrance to the ground was eighty feet up, four times as high as Sixers or my Jump Jets could lift us.  Klarima solved the problem with her datapad, summoning several table-sized cargo-hauling drones that we would need to balance on.  The drones seemed stable enough at first, but they accelerated to dangerously high speeds as they rose, and just as we reached the top, Vemir’s ride suddenly glitched out and fell back down.  The drone managed to reboot before impact, but it was a lot slower coming up the second time and Vemir needed a second to find the courage to stop holding it in a death-grip and hop across the gap into the tower.

The five Elevated were sitting at a long table in what had probably once been a throne room with a tall dais in the back.  They were quicker to accept us than the guards had been, and we traded information with them again.  We learned that the planet had been ravaged by a terrible war, although the Gebrani couldn’t tell us many details since it had been so long ago that the Gap – that mysterious event that had wiped several centuries of history across the whole galaxy – obscured everything except the end, and the city’s survival was credited entirely to Taloo.

I started to get the feeling that the Gebrani weren’t really on the same level as the city’s technology anymore, and when the dinner bell rang my suspicions were confirmed in the most unappetizing way possible.  Feeding time for the Gebrani seemed to dissolve all social boundaries, as the Elevated, Klarima, the guards, and we three all sat at the same table and were served by drones.  The food was presented as being a delicacy provided by Taloo herself, but it looked like anything but.  It was a jumble of unidentifiable bits of protein and carapace suspended in a clear, pale gelatin, making the whole thing look more like the contents of an old deep fryer that had just been cleaned for the first time in years than a dish fit for a goddess.  I poked my serving for several seconds, trying in vain to determine precisely what it was and whether it was fit for Ysoki consumption, while Vemir dared to actually take a bite out of common courtesy and barely managed to keep it down.  Sixer evidently decided not to claim that androids didn’t need to eat (which I’m sure the Gebrani would’ve believed), instead opting to sneak his portion onto the plate of the guard sitting next to him.

With the Gebrani starting to look agitated that I wasn’t eating, I decided to try and get it over with and took a huge bite for experimental reasons, with the intention of just storing the rest in my cheek pouches for later, discreet disposal.  Sadly, my stomach violently protested to the meat gel, which somehow tasted a hundred time worse than it looked, and I had to quickly improvise a theory that Taloo never intended for Ysoki and Gebrani to subsist on the same kind of food while making sure none of my innards had evacuated along with the food.

I thought we were in the clear after that, but then the drone brought out seconds and our hosts insisted we keep eating.  As I paled at the thought of putting any more of that gunk into my body, even just my cheeks, the lights suddenly went out and my group quickly seized the opportunity.  I opened my drone up and stuffed my servings inside, taking care not to short anything out and swearing to erase the moment from the drone’s memory banks later so it wouldn’t resent me when I eventually upgraded its AI.  From the sound of things, Vemir was agilely darting to the nearest window to throw his mess out, and when I looked up I saw him grinding on a banister to make back to his seat in time.  6 Just tried to throw his plate as far away as he could, and accidentally hit one of the guards in the face. Oddly, that didn’t start a fight.

When the lights came back up, the drones returned with a third course, but everyone ignored it until the cleaning drones took it away again.  We asked what had happened with the lights, and one of the Elevated waved it off as just the city’s mainframe glitching. It did that all the time; it was nothing to worry about.  When we pressed the issue, we were told that the mainframe’s building was taboo; no Gebrani was permitted inside.  Worried that the blackout was a symptom of a larger problem that could potentially destroy the city before the Starfinders could contact Elytrio again, we pointed out that we were not Gebrani and thus shouldn’t be subject to the taboo.  The Elevated were initially unsure, but after some discussion they decided it might be ok for us to go inside.  They arranged some quarters for us so we could get a little rest before tackling the problem.

We called Navasi to update him on our progress and assure him that we could get out of the city if things went wrong, and he told us the ship was ready to go whenever we were.  So, we slept easy.

The mainframe building was located at the outskirts of town, on the opposite side from where we’d come in, and in a neighborhood that was more run-down than anyplace else.  There were no Gebrani around except our guide, Klarima, just lots and lots of drones going in and out of the mainframe.  Klarima confided that she was curious about what was inside and asked us to tell her on the down-low when we got back, and flew off.  As the group approached the mainframe, we saw signs that we couldn’t read and realized that Klarima’s translation spell had worn off, so we had to track her down again and mime for her to refresh the magic.  I didn’t want to have to try and translate Geberani on the fly while also dealing with whatever security protocols would be on the mainframe.

Finally getting inside, we walked through a long, dirty garage containing many kinds of drones, including an orbital defense platform like the one we’d had to fight up in orbit.  Nothing bothered us, though, and we made it into the mainframe itself.  The antechamber was white and spotless, and there were several white coveralls hanging on one wall.  The door forward didn’t open when Sixer tried it, so he gave it a harder shove and activated a security trap: tesla coils behind the grates.  I ran over to the terminal and, by luck, found that the code Klarima used to open the city force-field also deactivated the traps before they got warmed up and unlocked the door.

The next room contained four waist-high power generators and four pillars covered in electronic coils.  The pillar in the northeast corner had a blinking red light, and when I investigated I found that one of the coils had come loose.  I re-seated it, and the system went through a reboot.  The lights came back up steadier and brighter, all lights were green, and two Gebrani-shaped security robots emerged from the walls to kill the intruders.

My first move was to activate the energy shield I’d been tinkering with and try to take cover behind the nearest generator, while my drone did its usual thing to little effect on the north-side robot. Vemir got his trusty sniper rifle out and caused serious damage to the south-bot, while 6 tried out his new Husk rifle, only for it to jam.  North-bot grabbed Sixer by the head and slammed him into the wall, while south-bot tried to hit us while strafing across the room. I fired at the south-bot, melting its head a little, while 6 tried to clear his rifle and avoid north-bot while my drone continued to shoot it.  South-bot strafed again, hitting Vemir and my drone, and ended up close to my position, so I decided to give my plasma lash a second try.  The lash had done nothing to the lizard, but it proved capable of cutting the old security robot in half with a single swing (or at least, to finish the job Vemir’s bullet had started).  6 resorted to his sword to fend the north-bot off, while Vemir landed a devastating snipe shot on it, prompting it to strafe across the room, hit my two friends, and right into the range of my plasma lash.  One swing left north-bot splitting in half as well, and decided I would keep the lash after all.

We proceeded to the last room of the mainframe, which proved to a long, narrow room full of server racks and a single console.  Hacking into the mainframe with ease, I found centuries of historical data and pictures that gave us a clear story of Elytrio unclouded by myth.

As we’d figured, the planet had once been lush and green.  There had been a great war, but the Gap obscured the cause.  After the Gap, there were records of cults to a bloodthirsty war god dominating the Gebrani culture and escalating the war all the way to nuclear annihilation.  Only the city of Archeos survived thanks to the force-field, but it was unable to support all the survivors living inside.  The city leaders decided to address this issue by staging several disasters and pinning them on the people’s lack of faith. The leaders had invented the goddess Taloo and proclaimed that she would bless anyone who was willing to leave the city and live out in the radioactive wastes.  Those who left and survived the radiation developed into the Husks, flightless and primitive, while the privileged few who were permitted to stay in the city became the Membrane and had been steeped in a religion that encouraged them to stay put and stagnate.

6 hypothesized that the mainframe had been declared taboo to prevent any Gebrani from discovering these history records, and after a brief discussion we decided it wouldn’t do them any good to learn the truth just yet.  The city was still sitting on the edge of ruin, and trying to convince the membrane that they were the descendants of self-serving liars and not blessed by a goddess would likely either lead to mayhem or us getting thrown out on our ears.  We’d have to report all this to the Starfinder Society and let the higher-ups decide if and how to help Elytrio recover.  I copied the highlights of the history logs, along with several relevant pictures, and some information on the planet’s orbital defenses and the city’s drone technology.  For good measure, I set up a new lock code on the server room to prevent any potential taboo-breaking Gebrani from getting to the computer before they were ready to learn the truth.

Klarima met us as we left the mainframe, and we told her the cover story: the mainframe didn’t appear especially holy to us, but there were places we couldn’t get into because Taloo probably didn’t think anyone was ready for what was inside.  We had fixed what was wrong, though, so the blackouts should stop.  Klarima seemed satisfied, and agreed to relay what we’d learned to the Elevated. She was understanding when we said we needed to report to our own leaders and expressed hope that we would be able to come back some day.

It would probably be nice to visit Elytrio again, but only after they’ve had more exposure to the wider galaxy and learned to make proper food.

Klarima opened the force-field so we could leave, and we reported back to the ship and set off for home.

[grailacademy]

Welcome To Grail Academy - Chapter Fourteen: Too Young To Die

For an abandoned taffy factory, the beastly structure sure was animated. The tall smokestacks obscured the light of the sun, like grey obelisks marking an apocalyptic shrine. Groups of men and women in beige jumpsuits and caps rolled large crates out on trolleys, loading the packages onto the backs of taffy delivery trucks. A man with a thick beard and baggy eyes barked directions from the catwalk above, his potbelly bouncing as he yelled. It was systematic chaos, ants gathering food, bees building a hive, cockroaches scattering under light. The floor manager saw the line of children file into the factory through a garage door, nodded and pointed to a hallway that funneled out of the worker’s space. Queenie leading the pack, she directed everyone to follow.

Rettah held onto Yorick’s sweaty hand, pulling him along like a puppy on a leash. She was rambling about something, it could have been about a comic book she was reading, or maybe she was explaining their cover at the factory, but he wasn’t paying attention. He was still in sensory overload. Her hand on his was like holding an alligator’s tail, he felt every pore and ring of her fingerprints, every drop of sweat. The shouting and mechanical whirring of the machines sounded like standing in the middle of a bomb range. His heart was a flamenco dancer twirling and leaping in his chest, his legs were shaking, the images of Buck were stained on the insides of his eyelids every time he blinked. Scarlet swayed behind him, hands on his head.

The noise, noise, noise of the factory rattled in the distance as a new sound overtook Yorick’s ears. An argument, behind a closed door of what looked to be a freezer, presumably the place where this taffy company once stored product preservatives.

“The shipments are ahead of schedule, but the border keeps stopping our deliveries before they can leave Calicem.” A man’s voice, deep and gravely.

“We certainly can’t go after city government. It’s still an independent settlement.” A woman’s voice, stern.

“That’s exactly why we SHOULD. There won’t be any assistance from Mistral military.”

“Yes, but you forget their connections to Haven. The alliances between academies could prove to be bothersome, at the least.”

“Those toddlers are only a small inconvenience. If we move fast, we can collapse the communications tower and prevent any distress signals.”

Another woman’s voice, gentle and soft, cut through the bickering and hummed “Goodness, you call the hunters children while I sit here with a couple of infants! Play nice, you two”, the voice tittered.

The door to the locker was pushed open and the meeting came into full view. A circular wooden dining table sat in the center, a series of eight mismatched cushioned lounge chairs sitting around it. A tray with a silver tea pot and bowls of sugar cubes and biscuits was adjusted directly in the center. Those sitting at the table were all holding a cup of their own, although some did not drink the warm beverage. The room was cold, frigid, not quite to the point of frost or needing a jacket, but enough to send a chill down Yorick’s back. A man in a heavy orange and gold coat had his fist clenched on the table, his clean shaven head glistening in the reflection of his tea cup. A short woman sat across from him, the locks of her chestnut hair curling over her shoulder as she sipped her tea delicately, with her pinkie out. A boy with ragged black hair, shaved short in some parts and left long in others, sat on a crate in the corner, arms folded over his chest. “Be patient.” the gentle voice continued, echoing from somewhere in the far back of the room, dripping from the darkness like molasses. “There is no need to cause such a disturbance over a few delivery trucks. Let our people do their jobs, they have families to feed.”

“Pardon the interruption, but we have a new recruit” Queenie stated, gaining the abrupt attention of everyone’s eyes on her. She and Rettah stepped out of the way, and Scarlet shoved Yorick into the room. The boy on the crate shook his head and stood up, leaving the room. His arms unfolding as he trudged out made plain the dark marks on his back underneath his tank top, which Yorick stared at for a brief moment. He tripped over his feet and slipped into the room, not knowing what to do with his hands. He patted his legs and puffed out his cheeks, before that gentle voice hummed again. “You….”

suddenly, the darkness shrunk and a streak of black whooshed past the table. Now he was being embraced in a tight hug, by a pale woman who held his head to her naked breast. She was as cold as death, but somehow had the nurturing touch of a mother. She released him after an uncomfortably long five seconds, smiling excitedly and inspecting him. “Oh, he’s perfect! Just as I had imagined him. A magnificent specimen! Yes!” She poked the flesh of his forearms, prodded at his stomach, lifted the ends of his hair and counted a few strands, pulled one of his shoes off and felt around to make sure he had all his toes, stretched the goggles on his head as far as they could go, letting them snap onto his forehead when she let go. The process had Yorick giggling nonstop, since he had neglected to mention that he was extremely ticklish.

“What—Who are you? Where am I, what is this?” He asked, noticing the long trail of black hair winding behind the woman. She tittered again, petting his head and calming down.

“You must be very confused, I’m sure. My name is Sable Zil Alhaqiqa Trinity. But you may call me Sable. And this,” she held her arms out and gestured to the space around her, “is my temple.”

The man sitting at the table cleared his throat, and Sable turned to explain, “These are some of my disciples. Lolanthe Aylin, a scholar and the head of our production department, and Aurum Fitzroy, the leader of our field scouts.” She leaned over and whispered, “he also makes a wonderful raspberry biscuit.” Yorick looked back and saw that the man was angrily chewing on a biscuit with speckles of red berry in it.

A black tendril of hair draped itself over Yorick’s shoulder like an arm, Sable’s signal for him to turn around. “Walk with me, Yorick.” He glanced back to the rest of RSQ as the pair strolled down the hallway, and caught Rettah waving goodbye before the locker door shut behind them. “How do you know my name?”

“I know lots of things.”

Wow, that’s totally not creepy, he thought. Sable’s hair slid along the floor behind her, as if she wore a dramatically long veil to a wedding gown. They travelled through the factory, each assembly line and packing room adding to its daunting size. “Are you afraid of me, Yorick?”

“A bit, yeah.”

“That is understandable, haha.” She chuckled. He laughed as well, until Sable’s hair lifted off his shoulder and fell into place on her back. “I’m a strange person. We are strange people!” She was right about that.

“Do you know about the Hedge Witches?”

“We….learned about them in class, I think.” He scratched the back of his hand. The little he knew about them wasn’t exactly in a good light.

“Then you know what we do here.”

“You’re anarchists. Terrorists.”

Sable snorted, “Oh, nothing that dramatic.” They reached a room with ceiling-to-floor windows that hung above the work floor, but the windows were almost entirely covered with sheets of scribblings and notes. “My disciples are not mindless brutes. They are scientists, artists, teachers, chefs, lawyers, those who have been wronged by Calicem government. The ones who run this city, they are oppressors. They profit from marginalized people’s misery.” As she spoke, Yorick strolled around the room and read some of the notes. They seemed to be a combination of diary entries and experiment logs. “....The world has been cruel to us. We were born out of hate and fear, not love. That is why I do this, Yorick. I want to create a new world. A better one.” The branches of hair slithered up the walls of the room like spilt ink, and when Yorick turned around, Sable was reclining in a hammock of her own hair. He could sympathize with her reasons. But Yorick questioned her, “Why do you need me, then?”

“Because,” Sable plucked a piece of paper off of one of the walls and handed it to Yorick. ”This power is your destiny.” Yorick clutched the newsprint photo in his hand, recognizing the face of his grandmother on the paper.

“Who. The hell. Is Sable.” Esmerelda slammed her hands down on the headmaster’s desk, grinding her teeth. Her team and herself were all looking worse for wear, Bernard blinking in and out of consciousness on the couch in the corner, Nico sitting beside him with his partner’s head in his lap, wincing with every breath he took. The school nurse peeled Bernard’s eyes open and shone a small light to see if his pupils dilated (which they didn’t), and applied a salve to the many purple and red marks across Nico’s chest and stomach. “It’s a miracle you don’t have any broken bones. Just a couple of bruised ribs.” The nurse remarked while she wrapped gauze around Nico’s torso to hold him together. Esmerelda herself had bandages wrapped around her forearms where the wires cut her, and around her neck where Queenie had attempted to slit her throat.

“I understand that you’re upset-” Madehold tried to calm down her students, but to no avail. “-UPSET!? My team and I could have died out there. Upset doesn’t even begin to describe it. For gods sake, they took Yorick and killed one of their teammates! How could you let those monsters into the academy? And why did they know so much about you and the school? And WHO IN THE GODS NAMES IS SABLE!?”

Madehold let out a long sigh, lacing her fingers together and holding them up to her lips as she sat there. It was one thing to have to deal with these kids screaming at her so late at night, but it was another thing to do so while she was inebriated. After a moment, she turned in her office chair and stood, making her way to the window. “I guess I have some explaining to do, don’t I?”

[nanonaturalist]

A Love Letter to Cockroaches

Cockroaches, I love you. You are an essential part of the ecosystem, eating dead leaves and vegetation, and providing us with rich, fertile soil. You are fascinating and beautiful. I wish more people realized that only a few species are “pests” who have adapted to survive indoors with humans, and that most of you lovely creatures want nothing more than to scurry around outdoors and go about your lives. You are excellent mothers, carrying your eggs everywhere you go in a case called an “ootheca,” until your babies hatch. You are so wonderful. <3 <3 <3

Photos: 1. Arenivaga sp. [link] 2. Surinam Cockroach [link] 3. Pale-bordered Field Cockroach [link] 4. Banana Cockroach [link] 5. Smoky-brown Cockroach [link] 6 & 7. Gyna caffrorum [link] - Seen in Malawi 8-10. Smoky-brown Cockroach female carrying ootheca

Photos taken throughout 2017 & 2018, all at my home outside Austin, TX except for Gyna caffrorum, which was seen in Liwonde National Park in Malawi. Posted June 13, 2018

[megxrx-blog]

Event Questionnaire

"Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would they want as a dinner guest?"

Meg: "Well, I would have to say that I'd really like to have dinner with Donald Trump, if only to stab a fork into his tiny hands every time he opens his mouth. And then watch him choke on his hot wings." Madeline:  "I have to say Mrs. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's influential to the nation, and stands up for what she believes in. Even managed to be close friends with the man who's on the extreme end of her political spectrum. It's respectable."

"Would they like to be famous? In what way?"

Madeline: "Not really, not unless there's a way for me to be famous for fixing the legal system. Yourself?"  Meg: "Not really. Seems like an awful lot of work, plus I'd have people trying to dictate what I wore and what I said. It's a damn shame no one famous is real anymore."

“What would constitute a “perfect” day for them?”

Madeline: “Working hard on a case, seeing some of the kids I've helped through the year, then heading home with a glass of wine and someone special waiting for me at the door. You?” Meg: "Riding past the town borders off into the sunset on a full tank of gas."

“Secret hunch on how you'll die?”

Meg:"In my bed, safe and sound at the ripe old age of eighty, surrounded by my grandchildren." Meg let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling her eyes. "Probably soon,  doing something stupid and awesome." Madeline: "I'll die by some opposing side's client- undoubtedly. Just my luck." Madeline said, a bitter smile twisting up her lips.

“What do we have in common?”

Madeline: “Names begin with M. Both got fucked over by love.” Meg: “We both like wine and drinking when we've had a rough day. Both brunettes too."

“For what in their life do they feel most grateful?”

Meg: “My motorcycle. One day I'll have the chance to leave and I'll ride that thing as far as a tank will get me away from everyone and everything here." Madeline: “That the children I've helped through my job have come and appreciated my attempts. People like Flynn, Lucius, and others like them."

“Change one thing on how they were raised- what would it be”

Madeline:"The fact that my parents were killed and I was sent to my uncle- I wish none of that happened.” Meg: "I wish my mom wasn't a goddamn idiot - getting herself arrested and me taken away from her until she cleaned up her act. I was doing just fine until I got put in foster care."

“If you could wake up tomorrow with one new quality/ ability, what would it be?”

Madeline: "I suppose a lie detector? It would be more helpful with my profession, for sure." Meg: "I think it'd be rather convenient to kill with a look, don't you? Or even to be like the sirens - able to make anyone do things for you with just your voice."

"Crystal ball could tell them the truth on one thing: what do you wanna know?”

Madeline: “Are my parents truly still with me- even if they're no longer beside me?" Meg: "Did he ever really love me or was it just an act the entire time?”

“What’s their life’s ambition?”

Madeline:"Save as many children as possible." Meg: "I mean...." Meg paused. "Can I pass? I'm still not sure what it is. I just... I know it's not this." She waved a hand, gesturing to everything around her

“What is the greatest accomplishment of their life?"

Madeline: Groaning, Madeline took a quick drink and shook her head. "Can I be cliche and say saving others? Or... making lasting connections with others." Shrugging, she slid a hand down her face in indecision. Meg: Meg let out a low wolf whistle. "Sounds like we've got an accomplished woman up in here. I'm gonna be basic, and go with making it this far. Who'dve ever thought little Floros would've gotten to 25 with a job and a place of her own?" Madeline: "Never had a doubt." Madeline said with a wink."

“What do you value most in a friendship?"

Meg: “One of the few," Meg pointed out, raising her brows and taking a sip of her drink. "Someone I don't have to be so guarded around - who doesn't want to fix me, who gets that I am who I am and that's it. Someone I can trust." Madeline: "I'd agree, someone I can trust. Loyalty is also huge for me." Madeline agreed, running the fingertip along the rim of her glass.”

"Most treasured memory?" 

Madeline: "Mine is winning my first abuse case and having the judge tell me I was born to be in this field." Meg: Meg hummed, nodding. "There was this one moment - just one of those when you have perfect clarity. Sure, I was high, and yeah, I might've jumped a fence to sit on a field and watch the military planes fly overhead, and true, what I was realizing wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was just this rush of clarity. It just hit me. And I've never felt half as in control of all my senses as I was in that one moment." Madeline: "Damn. I'll toast to that." Madeline said, raising her glass. "Now the worst memory..." Meg: Meg laughed. "The same moment. Ironic, right?" Madeline: "I'm sorry to hear that, Meg. Mine is probably the moment I heard my parents died, and I had to figure out life without them." Meg: Meg grew quiet. "I'm sorry Madeline. How old were you, if you don't mind me asking?" Madeline: I was seventeen," she said, taking a long drink and swallowing it carefully. "They were driving home, a storm rolled in and the rain and lightening... they slid off the side of the road. Rolled down a hill. They died while the paramedics were trying to get them out." Meg:"Damn," Meg took a sip of her beer. What did you say to someone after a confession like that? "I'm sorry for your loss." Madeline: "It's alright, Love. We all have loss." Madeline reasoned, finishing off her drink before pouring another one. 

"What does friendship mean to you?"

Meg: Was it cheesy to say this? Meg gave a half hearted laugh. "Trust. Being able to talk about all this and knowing it doesn't leave you and I." Madeline: ”Knowing no matter what you're going through or what you say, someone will listen and support you. Just as you've done for me." Madeline agreed, leaning her head against the brunette's shoulder for a split second before straightening up. "Positive characters about Megara... -Loyalty, -Honesty, -Understanding, -Realness... is that a word? I used it in a sentence so I'm saying yes. -Fighting spirit. I could go on, but I'd sooner write it all down so you can read it again later." Meg: Meg didn't know how to react to the girl's touch, just sitting still so she wouldn't disturb the woman laying on her shoulder. "Um...." She began, clearing her throat. "Well, there's compassionate. And focused. Driven that's for sure - dedicated. And intelligent." Madeline: Chuckling at her list, Madeline nodded her thanks. "How close and warm is your family..." the attorney trailed off, not realizing the next question until it was already too late. Meg: "Nonexistent," Meg shifted in her seat, moving her glass to her lips. "Next question." Madeline: "I could say the same. The orphans I've helped over the years are a different story. They're my adopted family." Madeline said, a sad smile in place.

"Most embarrassing story?"

Meg: "I think this is the time I tell you about how I found out my ex was cheating on me after I already gave up everything for him and for months, kicked myself about how I missed the signs, but really, there was this one time I hopped a fence when I was fourteen. Got my pants pocket stuck on the fence and ripped my pants and got stuck on the top." Madeline: “No." Madeline covered her mouth to try and stop any laughter that threatened to bubble out. Megara trusted her with important information- she was no so foolish as to start outright laughing. Meg:“Yeah." Meg nodded, a grin playing about her lips. "And of course that's the day that I wore my wonder woman underwear. You?" Madeline: “Oh Hun, at least you chose appropriate underwear!" Madeline tried to reason, wincing in sympathy for the other's plight. “Alright, let me set the scene." Madeline held her hands aloft in front of them both, trying to paint the scene for Megara's pleasure. "Young woman, fresh out of college, a degree under my belt and feeling pretty smart. I was applying for an internship in New York- flew all the way out there to go to an interview. I'm dressed in white and pale pink- important details, I assure you. On my way there, I'm nervous. I grab a coffee from a street vendor. I make it all the way to the interview, take one last gulp of coffee as I'm about to pull on the glass doors, and not only do I smack my head right into the door because I don't see the glass, but I feel something with LEGS crawl in my mouth. Vomit, everywhere. The nerves kicked in, the sensation freaked me out, and the embarrassment was unimaginable. Turned out to be a cockroach, and it turned out vomit doesn't come out of a silk shirt. As for the interview, let's just say I came right back to Charming and grabbed the job here instead." Meg: Meg stifled her laughter unsuccessfully, the brunette breaking out into laughter, her shoulders shaking and her nose crinkling. "I'm sorry I just... Oh god. I can only imagine the interviewer's face." Madeline: Nodding, Madeline took a sip of her drink, letting the woman enjoy her laughter and offering a few giggles of her own. "It was so bad, Meg. So, so bad. Now, when did you last cry, my Dear?""I the other night- I heard someone's hypothetical abuse case and I went home and just cried on my sofa for a little bit. Yourself?" Meg: “I can imagine. Oh god. Well," she shrugged. "At least you came back - otherwise we never would've met." She paused, thinking about it. "Been a few years." Madeline: "I'm very grateful to be back. After all, I wouldn't survive without you and our little therapy sessions." Madeline offered, winking to Megara. "You know, I'm really grateful we get to do this little questionnaire, Megara. I've learned you're a very honest and real person- not someone who puts up charades like others I know. I appreciate your honesty, and I'm lucky to know you, my Dear." Meg: Meg grinned, though she hated the way that Madeline called these therapy sessions. She'd been in some fucked up situations before but successfully avoided therapy each time. "Yeah. I really appreciate your honesty. I know I can trust you with anything and it won't leave our conversation.Clearing her throat, she shot the other woman a grin. 

"What, if anything, do they think is too serious to be joked about?"

Meg: "In my professional opinion I'd say childhood trauma or parent shit. But everything else is fair game.” Madeline"Confidentiality is my specialty." Madeline joked, shooting her a quick grin before sobering at the topic. "Abuse, domestic violence, and anything pertaining to the Holocaust. The two for my profession, the third simply because I can't imagine it being a joke. Not in today's world."

"Let's say your house is on fire. What would you save from the flames?"

Meg: Meg nodded, silently agreeing. "My jacket. Wallet. Phone and charger." She laughed. "I've got very little in that place I'd want to remember. You?” Madeline:"Fair enough. Cash in on the insurance and make new memories somewhere else." Madeline agreed, nodding. "The photo albums. It's all I have left from everything. Everything else is replaceable."

"And now, for the grand finale, who's death in your family would you be most disturbed by?"

Meg: Meg let out a laugh. Another family question. Easier to answer since she was alone. "Mine. And you?"

Madeline: ”I'll toast to the same answer." Madeline agreed, raising her glass and offering it for a toast.