#but liv and samantha are bringing IT

[mermaidsirennikita]

The best part about everyone losing their shit about The Serpent Queen is that I watched the pilot and not only is it the best product Starz has put out in years based on money spent, writing, and casting—it also possessed way more attention to historical detail than anything the Tudor shows have been serving…. Maybe ever?

Not y’all being too simple to realize that a woman can be presented as Not Always Good and sympathetic at the same time…. And letting that cloud any openness to the show at all.

[impossible3girl]

Some of my favourite women in police/military uniform. Why? Oh just because they are fucking hot.

[sw-33-ts-stuff]

Could do tara carpenter x fem reader

R is Wrongly accuse of being ghostface and conviently disappeared even though she innocent *amber frames r by planting all the stuff the killer use in her bag and now everyone but mindy and Sam hate r as everybody suspect her of doing this except for mindy and Sam even to the point of hating her*

Tara is upset and hurt even believing that r is the killer because ghostface called and said stuff that only r knew about

*both Mindy and Sam have known r for a long time considering how sam used to babysit all of them and how attach r is to Tara when they were little. And they know r is not the killer as they know how much she loves and care for both Tara and Sam. And Sam was happy for r as she really approve of her dating her sister since she always was willing to do anything to make Tara happy*

Maybe have Tara and other come to r rescue *she was trapped in amber’s house the whole time which explain why she didn’t return their calls or text*

I really hope I did this request justice .........

Tara Carpenter X Fem!Reader

Samantha Carpenter couldn't leave her little sister unprotected especially now as she had been attacked. She thought back to when they were younger and how she watched all of them.

Images of a young Mindy, Chad and Y/N playing with Tara in her backyard going through her mind. She'd laugh as she'd watch Mindy and Chad try to tag team to beat Tara in a game and Y/N always came to the rescue even when she knew she'd get the brunt of their force. 

Her shiny (e/c) eyes always looking to her younger sister in complete adoration. 

She remembered the day the girl ran in the rain searching every sidewalk for Tara's favorite necklace. The younger Carpenter heart broken until the two came back necklace in hand. Y/N even going as far as cleaning it and putting it in a jewelry box to keep it from getting lost again. 

"Babe we're here." Richie broke Sam from her trance as she parked in front of the familiar house. She knocked quietly pushing the door open and finding her favorite kids sitting in the Meeks-Martin living room. She started introducing everyone as she hugged them going last with Y/N as the two stayed embraced just a little longer. 

To Sam, Y/N was family. She remembered when she had first found out about her situation at home and the blatant neglect her parents gave her. She'd allow the girl to stay over for nights on end worried that her abusive father would bring harm to her. Sam barely spared a glance to Amber who just gave a fake smile in return. It took a moment before she realized the black haired girl was wearing Tara's necklace. 

The group were discussing their list of suspects The former sheriff Dewey providing his insight as well.

"And where were you Y/n?" She saw the girl flinch from the corner of her eye as she and Amber began to stare each other down. 

"Like I told the police I went out to get food." 

"Suspicious." Muttered Wes. She turned her narrowed eyes to the blonde. 

"Tell me Wes what motive would I have for hurting Tara?!" The boy gave a sarcastic grin. 

"You mean besides the fact that she left you for Amber?" Y/N's jaw clenched as Sam's eyes shot up in surprise. 

Amber chuckled shrugging. 

"What can I say? The heart wants what it wants, and he does have a point. Didn't the police mention how the killer somehow knew about Tara's alarm system?" 

You just grit your teeth not bothering to respond as Mindy went to defend you. 

"If that's the case Wes then don't both you and Amber have just the same chance at being the killer?" The blonde and raven haired girl turned to the female twin. 

"Excuse me?!"

"Seriously?"

Mindy scoffed. "Oh please Wes we all know about your crush on Tara even before she began dating anyone, and Amber may want to make sure no one can take her the same way she got her." She paused for dramatic effect. "If I can't have her no one can." 

Chad and Liv still eyed Y/N who had yet to say anything to defend herself. 

Amber just smirked as Wes panicked to defend himself. 

"I have an alibi!"

"Aren't there usually two killers in the Stab films?" Liv spoke from beside her boyfriend. 

"Not in the 8th film Liv stay in your lane." The pink haired girl scowled. 

"I'm sorry and you are?" Richie asked.

"Liv, Chads girlfriend-"

"Of six months!" The overly cheerful boy finished making her kiss his cheek. 

"And no one thinks that's suspicious?" Dewey spoke from his seat. He turned to Richie. "And how long have you and Sam been dating?" 

Richie mumbled. "Six months." 

Sam turned to Y/n.

"You guys finally got together?" It was the first question she'd ask since she got there. The younger girl nodded a small smile on her lips before it fell. She did not explain any further as she looked out the window.

Sam thought back to the day Y/n came to her for advice on her feelings for her younger sister. The poor girl felt as if something was wrong with her because she felt warm whenever her sister was around. How she found everything about her fascinating. She was sweating, fingers picking at the skin as she was scared Sam wouldn't love her the same.

Sam tried her best to make sure the girl knew her feelings were perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of. She knew they'd probably take a while to officially get together but she'd hope once they did they'd stick together no matter what. She also hoped she'd know that they would always be there for her no matter the circumstance.

Ambers phone rang. "That's Tara, if you guys don't mind I think I'm going to go make sure my girlfriend is protected." 

Everyone had left the Meeks-Martin household and Sam had sent Richie back to the hotel. Before she pulled off she rolled her window down seeing Y/N about to walk home. 

"Hey, are you hungry?"  The younger girl gave a small smile and nod. The were sat in the booth waiting for their orders when Sam finally broke the silence. 

"What happened?" The younger girl shrugged picking at a napkin. 

"I really don't know. One day we were fine the next I'm hearing about how cool Amber is and I let my jealousy get the best of me. I made a dumb comment that if Amber was so awesome then she could date her. When I went to apologize I headed over to your house and found them kissing on the front porch." 

Sam's eyes softened. 

"And you guys still hang out as a group?" 

"Of course, she may not be my girlfriend but I did make a promise to always be there for her." Y/n chuckled. "Plus Mindy wouldn't let me sit in my room and cry for more than a couple days." 

Sam laughed as their food was placed before them.  "And when did you became a couple?"

Y/n sighed. "It was a couple of years ago, she was getting a lot better so I took her out for a picnic on the beach. She was mad I had to cancel our plans the day before." 

You smile softly at the memory. Picking at the food on your plate as she did the same.

"I don't even remember what she said I just remember kissing her and telling her that I was in love with her and have been for as long as I can remember. I told her I'd never leave her side and asked her to be my girlfriend. I told her no matter what happens between us good or bad at the end of the day we'll fix it. I thought we were doing great but as you can see six months later I guess we couldn't."

When they had finished, Sam offered to drop off Y/n but the younger girl insisted she go check on Tara, since she couldn't at the moment. 

.

.

.

On her way to the hospital, Sam found cop cars outside of Sheriff Hicks house. 

"What's going on?" 

"Can't tell you."

"I used to babysit the boy who lives there."

"The sheriff and her son have been murdered."

"What?!" She turned and saw a familiar face. She ran up to the tall man. 

"What are you doing here?!" He could barely get words out before she spoke again. 

"Who's at the hospital protecting my sister?!" 

Her phone rang. 

"Sam-"

"Richie I need you to go to the hospital to check on Tara." 

She jumped in the surprised when Dewey got in the passenger seat. 

"DRIVE!"

She grabbed her phone to dial Y/N only to receive a voicemail. Her brows furrowed. 

Over the years she'd kept in touch with her to keep tabs on Tara no matter what the time was she always answered the phone. 

She tried again.

And again.

And again. 

Tara sent Amber home. She went to call the nurse and received no response. Sensing something off she begins to get out of the hospital bed and into the wheelchair nearby. 

She begins to wheel herself out the room as she spots a pool of blood. Following its trail she finds the security guard behind the desk bleeding out. His mouth gaping trying to form words. Tara feels tears begin to fill her eyes as she places a hand only her mouth biting back a scream. She goes closer towards his holster. 

Fuck! No gun. 

She hears a crash nearby and hides in the nearest room. She hears footsteps draw closer looking around she grabs a bed pan. The door to the room over opens. She steels herself as the door opens. She swings as hard as she can and nails someone. 

"Ow goddamn it!" 

"Richie?!"

"Sam called said you were in trouble-"

"Look out!" 

He turns in time only getting his arm sliced. Richie falls to the floor screaming as Tara flings a box of nearby syringes at Ghostface. Ghostface falls back into the nearby bed as Tara tries to wheel out of the room. Richie moves to get up but Ghostface kicks him in the face knocking him out cold. 

Richies phone begins to ring. 

"Hello Samantha. Richie can't come to the phone right now due to his impending death."

Tara keeps trying to wheel herself down the hall her bloody hand pushing as best it can.

"Please don't kill him!"

"This is what happens to people who stick their noses in business that has nothing to do with them. Or...should I carve up little sis again instead? Tell you what, you can chose. I'll only kill one. Who do you want to hear die?"

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Oh come one Sam didn't daddy always say it was a lot scarier when there was no motive?" 

Ghostface yanks Tara from the wheelchair making her crawl to the elevator.

"Now chose. Or I kill them both." She sobs.

"Really? You can't save your own sister? All you have to say is "Kill Richie."

"Please-" she's cut off by the sound of groaning. Richie awake tries to crawl but Ghostface flips him on his back. 

"Or you can save the man you love. All you have to do is say "Kill Tara" and I'll put her out of her misery." 

"Please I'm begging you.."

"Chose now. Last chance to save one."

"I can't..."

"You want to know why I'm doing this,Sam? Maybe it's because you're a selfish bitch who can't even make a decision to save the life of someone you love! Maybe it's because you're too weak for this franchise!" 

"Maybe...maybe you're right....or maybe I'm stalking for time, fuckhead." 

The masked villain is shot three times as Sam gets to Tara.

"I'll get Richie!" 

Dewey runs to help him back turned to Ghostface who raises their knife.

"Not today." He head butts Ghostface who falls back and shoots him in the chest a few more times.

"Let's go!" Dewey grabs Richie pulling him to his feet as they all get to the elevator.

"The head..."

"What?"

"We have to shoot him in the head....if we don't, they always come back." He begins to get out as Sam yells after him.

"Who gives a fuck?!"

.

.

.

Amber, Chad and Liv were all taking shots "in honor" of Wes as Mindy watched on slowly sipping a beer. 

She looked to her phone still wondering why she hadn't heard back from Y/N.

The trio made their way over to her. Chad speaking up first. 

"If you're still waiting for Y/n to respond you won't hear from her she's probably to busy stabbing someone else right now." Mindy glared at him.

"You really are stupid if you think she's the murderer."

Amber piped in. "Come on Mindy, it's obviously her. No girlfriend, no family, nothing to lose." She listed.

"Yeah her girlfriend was her family and everything to lose."

Great value blossom decided to jump in as well. 

"Wouldn't that be more reason for her to kill everyone then?" 

Mindy just glared. "Look if you wanna give up on our friend that's fine but I've known Y/n my whole life and I know better then anyone else that she would never have been capable of hurting Tara." 

Chad shook his head. "People change." 

The girl eyed her brother up and down. 

"They sure do." She turned to go watch Stab on the couch as Chad scoffed going to the love seat to make out with Liv. 

Amber went to the basement to grab more beer. Mindy getting up quickly to follow right behind her without her knowing. 

Amber jumped seeing the curly haired girl once she closed the refrigerator door.

"Jesus Mindy!"

"You really went to the basement alone? What if I'm the killer?"

"You're not the killer." Amber spoke confidently. "Because I am." 

Mindy eyed the girl before chuckling to ease the tension. She led the way up before she stumbled on a familiar bag, a knife and Ghostface mask. 

"Isnt that-"

"Y/N's bag." Amber stated. 

Sam, Tara, and Richie walked in disrupting the party and sending everyone home. As the two girls got upstairs Amber started shouting. 

"Y/N's Ghostface!" Tara felt herself flinch. She didn't want to believe what Amber was saying but the way the killer moved in her home as if they knew the place then the special knock they'd made so Tara would know who was at the door. Mindy spoke up. 

"That could be planted!"

Amber scoffed. "Jesus Mindy wake the fuck up your favorite couple wasn't perfect and shouldn't have existed."

"Where is she?" Sam spoke. 

Richie spoke from behind her. "Waiting to slash out our guts the minute we split up."

The girls looked to him incredulous as Tara got Amber to take her to her room to get her inhaler. 

Sam followed as Richie went to the basement stopping short for a moment. "Wanna come with me?" He looked to Mindy hopeful.

"Nope but nice try." 

She turned to watch the movie only to be stabbed a few moments later. Desperately pressing her hands to her neck to stop the bleeding. 

Sam ran when she found her, trying to help as Amber and Tara came down screaming. Richie appearing at the same time as Liv.

The pink haired girls hands covered in blood.

"Where's Chad?"

"He- he-"

"Oh my God!" Amber pointed. "It's you and Y/N, you're the killers."

"What? No-"

"You're the killer!" Richie yelled next.

"Fuck you Amber I'm not the killer." She smirked. 

"I know." A bullet went between Liv's eyes as everyone began to panic. "Welcome to Act 3." 

Tara tackled Amber as she went to shoot her sister. Amber tied her up smiling. 

"It's ok you'll love the next part and you'll get to chance to say goodbye to your ex." She opened the closet door to show you tied up as well. Blood dripping down your forehead eyes growing wider as you see Tara.

The younger Carpenter sister began crying. You tried to place some of your weight on her to offer some comfort. The both of you breathing heavy and unable to speak. 

Tara hoped you knew how sorry she was. She wished she never let Amber convince her that you weren't a good girlfriend or that you were Ghostface. In a way she was just as guilty for all of this. 

The door opened again to reveal Sam. She looked at the two of you untying you both as she placed a kiss to both of your foreheads. 

"Go hide." She whispered. Both you and Tara helped remove the rest of the duct tape from each other. Neither of you looking at each other as you did so.

You cleared your throat.

"You should hide in the bathroom Tara. I'll go down and use the element of surprise to get Amber and maybe with a distraction it'll give Sam enough time to get Richie." You turned to leave as Tara grabbed you by the shoulders to place a soft kiss on your lips sobbing as she did so. 

"I'm so sorry." 

"Why?" You looked into her brown eyes. "I thought we were good I know I said some stupid things but-"

"It wasn't you" she sniffled. "I was dumb and insecure. Amber kept saying how you were distant and should be doing more. Then it seemed like you would pay more attention to Mindy and I just listened. The more I hung out with her the less I'd trust you." Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. "Everyone leaves me anyway so what was stopping you from doing it too?" 

You shook your head. "You didn't even give me a real break up, you just showed up with Amber the next day."

The girl nodded. "I know."

"Even though it killed me inside I stayed."

"I know." She hiccupped.

"I still love you and I'm going to protect you no matter what." She looked up at you doe like eyes shining. 

"I know, I love you too." 

You nodded getting one more kiss in before you gently stroked her cheek. She pulled you back from leaving.

"When we get out of this we'll fix it right? Like we always do?"

You felt your lips tug up in a small smile and nodded. "Yeah like we always do."

You crept down the stairs as quiet as you could when you spotted Mindy bleeding by the TV. You took off your shirt pressing it against her wound. Bleary eyes looked at you. 

"Y/n?" She was getting weaker. You nodded placing a finger over your lips. 

You ducked when you saw Amber go to the door screaming before firing a few rounds at whoever was out there. She came back in running straight to the basement to put the Ghostface costume back on. 

Sidney and Gale walked in guns pointed at you. You lifted your hands up in surrender. 

"Everybody Ghostface or not better come out or they're getting shot." 

It was all a blur but you woke up on the floor next to Sidney and a bleeding Sam and Gale. 

Amber taunting Tara. "Come out come out wherever you are." She grabbed you by the hair making you yell. 

"You don't want your first love to die do you?" 

"Tara! Don't come out." Amber stabbed you in the abdomen. 

"You sure you don't want her to save you?" You glared at Amber. 

"Fuck you." You gritted out.

She walked around the corner getting hit by crutches. You jumped on her punching her repeatedly. The last punch you pulled her by her shirt collar. 

"And that's for stealing my fucking girlfriend you fucking cunt." 

A gun cocked and Richie stood before you.

"You really wanted to play hero huh?" A body slammed into him knocking him over. Sam straddling him and stabbing him repeatedly.

You looked down to see Amber had made it to the kitchen choking Gale. Sidney helped Gale get up before they both set the teenager on fire. You felt yourself sigh as a bloodied Sam hugged you in relief. 

Sirens growing in volume as they grew closer.

The two women came to join when a yell was heard. 

A half burnt Amber running towards you with a knife raised. She was stopped short by a bullet through her temple. You all looked to see Tara teary eyed as she lowered her gun slowly.

She limped over to her body ripping the necklace from her.

"You were a shitty girlfriend."

[storiesofsvu]

happy thursday hoes. time for some law and some order

Well fuck…what an opening..

“but there are definitely still traces of blood” girl… that hammer is COATED wtf…

I would like to point out that the way Kate runs her squad is the legit way that squads run. The CO (whether it be captain, lieutenant or sarge) is gonna stay in the office, they’re piled up with paperwork, the brass, putting out fires, they’re not out in the field…. Like svu. Ugh. I’m already not prepared for svu tonight, I’ve been watching through velasco’s eps and his older seasons were so good, esp compared to this year…

So we’re really doing this Ukraine surrogate/adoption plot line again, hey?

(I mean it is slightly different so far but like, it’s the same idea, right lol)

Samantha crushing it in the wardrobe dept as per usual

I like this new DA so much more than mccoy. Sorry not sorry.

I haven’t been paying too much attention to what’s going on (surprise) BUT, wtf does this case have to do with the grand jury that was taking place at the beg of the ep? With the girl all “he doesn’t know I’m here, right?” like, that girl was the murder vic? Or am I on crack? What is the connection?!

Uugggh… saaaammm my baby just needs a HUUUGGG

Okay, im actively not watching Toronto, see ya in an hour for svu.

Starting off with some personal, at home comfort. This is what we’ve been asking for forever (now give us rollisi at home pls).

OHHH GOD WHY ARE WE ALREADY BACK TO THE MADDIE SHIT FFS.

“I googled you”

Oh booooyyy are we in for it now. HOW MUCH DOES NOAH KNOW?! CAUSE LORD KNOWS HE PROBABLY FELL DOWN A PIT OF NEWS ARTICLES.

NO

WHY

WE DO NOT NEED TO BRING WL BACK TO THIS SHIT LET US HAVE SOME PEACE PLS.

Okay so we finally did get noah discovering where he came from. Woof.

Olivia kinda sucks at parenting sometimes. Like… he’s a kid, he’s an *adopted* kid who already knows about gramma Sheila and ellie… he’s gonna be curious, he’s gonna wonder, also what kid HASN’T snooped through their parents private things? Like yeah it’s not ideal… it’d be best for him to ask you a question and you slowly reveal into things or whatever but we all know she just would’ve shut him down right away anyways.

Lowkey love those heart lights in noahs room, ngl.

I’m not gonna lie. If it was olivia I’d be more concerned about him knowing/reading about William lewis and all the shit that went down than finding out johnny d was his dad…

You know what I think? I think this would be a great time to call you bestie amanda and have her over for a bottle of wine while you talk this through and see what jessie knows about her dad/how amanda’s gonna approach that. Also like, does billie just think sonny’s her dad or does she know? LOL. But will that happen? Obviously not.

Okay you know what, carisi is the second best bet so I’ll take this.

Olivia really needs to catch a fucking break

Carisi you sit like a whore. But we already knew that.

Is there not a way to trace this call? Or like, I know the phone is about to die but like…find my iphone even works on dead phones…use the stepmoms phone rn to find out where she is. Easy fix. Use your brains.

Man… parents on these shows are always so fucking trusting of their kids and they think they know everything about them. Like...what world are we living in?

Awweeee lil carisi back in cop mode!

Girl… you barely looked in that one, that’s not clear

Me: where do I know this actor playing the step mom from?

Checks imbd: ah. She’s been on svu as a diff character before. Of course.

We love a good parent who immediately offers up all their money to pay ransom of their kids bff with no question.

I swear to god it wasn’t raining 5 seconds ago.. I get that these are likely filmed on diff days but that really came outta nowhere

Olivia’s drenched and velasco’s barely wet… wtf lol

Oh god she’s really about to go feral isn’t she?  Like, even velasco’s nervous af.

That’s exactly what I knew he was gonna say. Like, liv should’ve just said she was dead.

Okay what about the other three perps? Where are they?

JESUS FUCK. Velasco… be mean to me. yell at me.. degrade me. jfc.

Okay I love that when she told Velasco to put the perp in her car he was all “uh… that a good idea boss?” kinda unsure thing but as soon as she started going feral he was just all “yup. Okay. I know how to do this.” And was totally on board. That’s my boi

“youre lucky im not in IAB anymore” damn right bitch.

That’s a cozy ass looking sweater liv has on and I want it

He already knows about ellie…why are we starting there?

I can’t wait until this conversation sparks a “hey… can we go see grama Sheila? Is she still sick?” and liv THEN has to explain that gramma Sheila is in fact in JAIL because she kidnapped him

Okay… that episode was honestly really good. It was a nice balance of the at home/personal lives and the case.

OC time.

Pls god have a last time on cause I do not remember what was happening… baby bro joe was doing heroine? That’s all I remember

Is this his apartment or elliots apt? it looks similar but also I like it better lol.

Bernie is a blessing to this show.

Elliot all “an intervention?” as if they didn’t host one for him like two years ago?

Also I JUST watched the ep with Muncy’s brother this week and that actor is baby boy joe stabler so this is throwing me off.

Is this an apt or a hotel? CAUSE ITS GORGEOUS!! HOW TF ARE THESE STABLER MEN AFFORDING THIS SHIT IN NYC?!

 “we don’t do that…” jet. Another fucking legend on this show

SO glad Bell’s back.

Clearly im not paying attention to this ep in case anyone’s wondering (and yes, it is because it’s a stabler ep…)

Leave it to stabler to be there less than 5 mins before beating someone

OH MY GODDDDD BELL LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD IN THAT BLUE SHIRT

Thank god bell had bobby with her cause homegirl had a cane last week, there’d be no way she should be on a foot chase rn. Lol

Omg jet and bobby UC yet AGAIN. I fucking love it.

Jet being absolutely the person that likely annoys the hell outta her, love that. 

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

COMPLEX CHARACTERS

Opening today:

Freud's Last Session--The "session" in question is fictional, or at best nervily speculative--a meeting of the titular psychoanalytic pioneer with the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis. It's September of 1939; England has just declared war on Hitler's Germany, and Freud, who has fled Austria for England with his obsessively devoted daughter Anna, is in the agonizing homestretch of terminal mouth cancer. Irked by Lewis' parody of him in The Pilgrim's Regress (1933), Freud has invited the young Oxford don to his house in London for a civil but contentious chat.

Freud is played by Anthony Hopkins; Lewis is played by Matthew Goode. The direction is by Matthew Brown from a script he co-wrote with the American playwright Mark St. Germain, based on St. Germain's play (which I saw well-produced by Arizona Theatre Company in 2013). The play is a two-hander, but this handsomely-produced movie expands on it with scenes involving Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) and her partner Dorothy Burlingham (Jodi Balfour), flashbacks to Freud's childhood traumas and to Lewis' PTSD from the trenches in the earlier war, his eyebrow-raising cohabitation with Janie Moore (Orla Brady), etc.

But the juice in the film is still in the theatrical sparring between the two leads, especially Hopkins as the chuckling, cheerfully furious Freud. He's as lovably cantankerous here as he was as Pope Benedict in 2019's The Two Popes. For his part, Goode is smart enough not to make Lewis saintly or jolly; he gives him an edge of defensive aloofness alongside a deep decency.

It's hard to say which, if either, of the two men's viewpoints St. Germain and Brown are most in symapthy with. Many of us are likely to feel ourselves somewhere between Freud's staunch and bitter rationalism and Lewis' somehow rather half-hearted pose of orthodoxy. But the point of the film seems to be that what underlies both is, at least partly, existential terror, of a sort to which intelligent, intensely imaginative people like these two are particularly subject. Neither strict nonbelief nor strict belief seems to offer much deliverance.

Mean Girls--"It's a cautionary tale..." So the Greek chorus characters Janis and Damian sing to us at the beginning of this musical remake of the well-loved 2004 teen comedy, pared down from the 2018 Broadway version. This may be the secret of Mean Girls, in each iteration: it really is a moral tale with a cautionary point, and the heroine really does go to the dark side.

As you'll recall, Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is a smart kid who grew up in campsites in Africa; her mother (Jenna Fischer) is a researcher. When she lands at a suburban American high school for junior year, the divisions in cafeteria clique and caste strike her as similar to those in the animal kingdom. She gets sucked into spending lunches with "The Plastics," a circle of glamorous sycophants led by uber-mean girl Regina George (Renée Rapp). Cady agrees, initially, at the urging of artsy girl Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and big gay Damian (Jaquel Spivey) to serve as a double agent in a revenge plot against Regina. But gradually, of course, the plastic begins to take over for real. 

Or maybe the secret is just that the film, scripted, like the original, by Tina Fey (freely adapting a book by Rosalind Wiseman), is funny and sweet, but not so sweet that it forgets to be, you know, mean. Or maybe it's that most of the songs, by Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond, are delightful, and buoyantly staged by directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez, Jr.

Overall, these actors don't have the vibrancy or distinctive personalities of the original film's cast, but they make up for this with terrific musical performing. Rapp brings such a baleful moan to "Meet the Plastics" that she really is a little scary, and Rice shades herself from guileless to conniving very believably. A few vets are around; Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the first film, and Busy Phillips and Jon Hamm contribute funny bits. The standouts, however, are Cravalho as Janis and Spivey as Damian, both equipped with gorgeous voices and the ability to act while they're belting.

Fey's generous-hearted--and sensible--take on popularity and self-esteem has provided a solid and unsentimental piece of role modeling for teens (and the teens that endure within most adults) for twenty years now. Maybe this movie will extend it for another twenty.

[havenridgerp]

mwm and mwf?

Thank you for your question, Anon. While we would love any face you bring, here are just a few of our favorites:

Most wanted females: Pinar Deniz, Greta Onieogou, Hilary Duff, Chase Sui Wonders, Samantha Logan, Phoebe Tonkin, Elizabeth Lail, Alexandra Shipp, Tessa Thompson, Jessica Chastain, Aja Naomi King, Jennifer Garner, Madison Iseman, Brianne Tju, Ashley Moore, Brianne Howey, Riley Keough, Suki Waterhouse, Kiana Madeira, Adria Arjona, Aiysha Hart, Alicia Vikander, Annie Murphy, Camilla Luddington, Christina Ochoa, Chyler Leigh, Cote De Pablo, Daisy Ridley, Danai Gurira, Deborah Ann Woll, Dichen Lachman, Emma Mackey, Famke Janssen, Gemma Chan, Gina Torres, Han So Hee, Inbar Lavi, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jamie Chung, Jessica Henwick, Kat Graham, Kate Siegel, Kimiko Glenn, Lauren Ridloff, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Lily Tomlin, Lisa Ann Walter, Mandy Moore, Marie Avgeropoulous, Meagan Tandy, Melissa McCarthy, Melissa O'Neil, Melissa Roxburgh, Ming Na Wen, Natasha Lyonne, Parveen Kaur, Sonequa Martin-Green, Tati Gabrielle, Victoria Pedretti, Viola Davis, Yael Grobglas, Zendaya

Most wanted males: Daniel Ezra, Luke Grimes, Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, JD Pardo, Chris Evans, Jon Bernthal, Raymond Ablack, Rafael Silva, Henry Golding, Sam Claflin, Jacob Elordi, LaRoyce Hawkins, Ryan Gosling, Alex Meraz, Alfonso Herrera, Andrew Garfield, Andrew Lincoln, Avan Jogia, Boyd Holbrook, Casey Deidrick, Dan Stevens, Savid Castaneda, David Harbour, Dev Patel, Diego Luna, Eli Goree, Gabriel Luna, Giacomo Gianniotti, Hale Appleman, Hamish Linklater, Idris Elba, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, John Krasinski, Justin H Min, Kieran Culkin, Lewis Tan, Marwan Kenzari, Mena Massoud, Michiel Huisman, Milo Ventimiglia, Nick Sagar, Nyle DiMarco, Oscar Isaac, Osric Chau, Philemon Chambers, Rahul Kohli, Rege-Jean Page, Ricky Whittle, Riz Ahmed, Ronen Rubinstein, Sean Berdy, Sean Teale, Sinqua Walls, Steven Yuen, Tom Holland

Most wanted trans/nonbinary/gender fluid: Alex Blue Davis, Amandla Stenberg, Asia Kate Dillon, Chella Man, Elliot Fletcher, Elliot Page, Emma D'Arcy, Jamie Clayton, Laith Ashley, Liv Hewson, Nicole Maines, Quintessa Swindell, Sara Ramirez, Zión Moreno

[wemakeourownhope]

An excerpt from today’s episode of ELIZA: the “Oh! I have DID?” season…

My plan was to come back to Tumblr, but really let « Éliza » come back, really (as herself, so to speak), thus my new francophone Tumblr I created yesterday.

And then…

Today, I (think?) I was basically “told” about how we…actually I’m still not sure how to say it quite yet, I guess…

What I know, is that I was brought to re-contextualise a part of one of my fanfic stories (LSAYA, or in full, “Loving Someone as You Are”). A specific section, but really the section shows a way I discussed a theme (a dynamic between 2 characters too, really) which I’m now thinking/realising(?) was 100% due to who I/we even am/are, as opposed to just some sort of “oh, wouldn’t it be interesting to write of these characters this way?”

Here’s the section that I was brought to re-contextualise:

 Sam awoke the next morning and knew – felt – immediately that something was off. She needed to get ready for work, but she also wanted to get to the bottom of what this feeling was. She began laying out her clothes and otherwise getting ready when a thought occurred to her… She brought a couple fingers to her lips, holding them in place on her lips for a few moments, before bringing them to her nose to smell. What she smelled, well, it definitely wasn’t her and it wasn’t even Liv…she thought for but a second more over what this could mean, before she quickly sat down and stormed into her and Reign’s shared mindscape, with such ferocity, the place seemed to shake. As soon as she found Reign, Reign began pleading with Sam. “Samantha, please calm down! You’ll make the place collapse!” “No. Now you listen here, Rei! I told you, you could date under one condition! I would ask if you remembered it except after last night you obviously don’t!” Reign’s expression turned forlorn at that, as she finally clued into what all this was about. “Oh.” “Yeah, ‘oh.’” Sam paused before continuing on.“Look, we’ve had our issues, but I thought we’d basically figured out this whole sharing a body thing. But this is not going to work if you pull things like this! It’s weird enough that I’m with Liv and you’re with Iggy and yet you and I share a body, but I can move past that as long as you don’t force me to feel it each time you’re intimate with her! At this point, Reign was beginning to curl inward some.“Look, Samantha. I’m sorry. We did get a bit carried away. I’m sorry. I really didn’t even know we were going to kiss as we did. I know – I should have cleaned up when we got home. I’m sorry.” She said all this while her breathing began to get heavier and heavier. While Reign spoke, Sam was calming down, and recognised the effect of her yelling on her mindmate. She sighed and moved towards Reign. “Sorry, Rei. I didn’t mean to get so loud and angry. This is just…I don’t know a whole new dimension for us to navigate that we haven’t really had to yet…Truth be told,” she looked up sadly at Reign, “it kind of brings up scary feelings about not feeling like I have control over my own body, that I haven’t really had since I first learned of your presence.” 

The “thing” that was happening to me that triggered this re-contextualisation was that while Éliza was fronting it became clear that the water glass we had been drinking from would do no longer.

At this point we have now switched to our Dalek mug and it’s much better.

I began trying to see if others have had such a “thing”/un truc happen with their various alters too, and found some folks talking about different alters having different tastes food-wise (spicy/not spicy, for example) which actually happened today too, as it seems now that Éliza doesn’t like (at all, it really seems, too) the oatmeal I used to eat quite often and had for breakfast today, too.

But the water “thing” seems separate, maybe…?

Any others with DID have any thoughts on any of this?

[aquamarineglow]

Remember this post when I said Liv should divorce her husband and marry Samantha?

No?

Well, I wasn't joking.

After finding out her husband faked his death to keep working, Liv is no longer able to trust him and their relationship fizzles out.

Suddenly she finds herself alone, no husband, no home, no money. She needs a job.

Fortunately there is something she's really good at: Cooking.

Liv gets a job preparing meals for a pregnant woman named Samantha. She also cleans the house and does other chores.

Samantha is really appreciative of the help and the two women get on great.

However, the situation is very unusual.

Samantha insists that Liv keeps her employment a secret and to hide from her husband, Danner. This is because she doesn't want her husband to know that she is pregnant and can't work anymore.

She tried to tell him several times but every time resulted in him yelling at her for distracting him from his work.

Seriously. There's a scene in the episode where he yells at her and she drops the tea she was bringing him. Then he slams his hand on the table and she visibly flinches. I don't like Danner.

Samantha feels like she is a burden on her husband and wants to keep him happy.

Having never shared such an intimate secret with someone before, Liv finds the whole situation a bit exciting. It's fun to sneak around the house. And she gets to spend all day with Samantha, who she become very close to.

However, it's only a matter of time before Danner finds out and is mad at her. Samantha explains how she feels and he promises to look after her better.

Liv is happy that Samantha is happy, but feels sad deep down. She thinks it's wrong to feel so strongly towards a married woman and she doesn't want to intrude on their happiness. So she leaves.

Samantha misses her friend, but is very busy with her pregnancy. Once the baby is born everything starts great, but Danner soon returns to his old ways. He starts working more, they argue more and she feels just as lonely as before. Eventually they separate.

All alone, Samantha calls her old friend Liv who shows up five seconds later. They tearfully reunite.

After living together for a few months, Liv confesses her feelings and Samantha accepts them.

The two women then marry and raise their baby together.

Samantha is happy to have a spouse that takes care of her and never shouts at her.

And Liv is happy to be married to somebody who appreciates her hard work and constantly compliments her.

The end.

💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

These characters appear in episode 2 and 31 respectively so go watch them if you want to see more of them.

[landonfell]

Finding Home Again | Landon & Liv

It’d been a rough week, to say the very least. Landon had this feeling of immense guilt for not speaking with his baby sister, Sam, for quite awhile. On Tuesday he received a call at his work from the Mystic Falls Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office, requesting his presence for a visual identification of a deceased body they believed may be Samantha Fell. Apparently the cause of death was a presumed animal attack, a bad one. He couldn’t imagine Sam that way, fearing the sight of a malled and battered body. He hoped greatly that it wasn’t her. It was no surprise that his parents were AWOL, per usual. They had never exactly been good parents, or ones that were really ever present. After that call, he dropped absolutely everything, put everything on hold, and booked the first flight out of California. He packed his bags, not knowing how long he would be gone or what was to come, and took off. In just a few hours, he would be finding out whether or not his little sister was dead. Countless times he had tried to ring her cell phone, but there was never an answer. Had the last time he’d seen her really been Thanksgiving, last year? He had needed a fresh start, so a few years back he decided to leave the east coast altogether, trading it for a lifestyle in SoCal. He’d found success in opening a few bars. 

As he sat on the plane, contemplating life and death, he remembered some fond memories of Sam and Liv - the two were inseparable in high school, always causing shenanigans. Going home was bringing back a load of memories he’d suppressed. When Olivia and him had broken up, following the advice of his parents to go further in higher education and take the acceptance to Dartmouth. A hole had been left in his heart. After how little love his parents had shown them, notorious for prioritizing money alone, he had become just like them. In the following years, no amount of money earned or success he found ever surpassed the love he had for that woman. Leaving her behind and the grief that came with that choice changed Landon, making him jaded and bitter.

Surely by now she’d been claimed by some nice guy who would give her a nice life, and she would be happy. Part of him hoped this was true, but another part longed for it to not be. Did he even have the courage to speak to her again, after how he’d left? He had made no move to contact her over the years, mostly due to stubbornness and being a coward. Still, he wondered how she was doing. 

*A few hours later*

Landon’s hand caught the outside railing and he slumped down onto the concrete step, just outside the Coroner’s office. His whole body felt numb and broken. It was her. She was....gone. He had so many questions, so many worries and concerns surrounding her obviously traumatic death. This was no common animal attack. There were bite marks all over her, but most noticeably on her neck. What had happened to Sam? Landon feared this to be some kind of twisted homicide. 

He wasn’t sure how close Sam and Liv had still been. All he knew right now was that he needed to see her. It was all that made sense and automatically, he was driving to the only place he knew where to find her, her mother’s house. He’d been alone for so long and despite everything that happened between them, she needed to know about Sam. What was she up to these days? He wasn’t even sure if she had graduated and become a nurse like she dreamed of. 

He knocked on the door, waiting tensely for an answer. 

[rokunamizine]

THE WAY YOU REMEMBER ME: A ROKUNAMI FANZINE— CONTRIBUTOR LIST

Thank you for your patience! The stars have aligned to show us our weavers, and we’re thrilled to announce the contributors for The Way You Remember Me: A RokuNami Fanzine, a charity zine dedicated to the pairing RokuNami from Kingdom Hearts! 

A big thank you for all the support! We’re excited to bring this project to life!

🧶ARTISTS

AmyHayaNora 🧶Anoko 🧶AoKagi 🧶APTICHO 🧶BlissfulNightRain 🧶Chia 🧶Clover 🧶Enmoire 🧶Forze.del.Male 🧶Hachuu 🧶Hadai 🧶Has 🧶Holley 🧶Juliet 🧶Kasurias 🧶Kizzy Dreams 🧶MageofSpace 🧶Melnhia 🧶Meri 🧶Nico 🧶odori-hoshi 🧶Paopu 🧶Sakuraloid 🧶Samantha Foster 🧶Sera 🧶SomniumArs 🧶Starlotte 🧶TeganNat 🧶Tixca 🧶Vanekaiiri 🧶Wondy

🧶 WRITERS

Alja 🧶Aquarius Shadow 🧶Gee 🧶Liv 🧶Mage 🧶Melisa 🧶Natalie 🧶Palette 🧶Phoenix 🧶Rapis-Razuri 🧶Raye 🧶vannahfanfics

[generalfoolish]

Feel The Heat

Part Three: Architect

Rating: 18+ (minors take a hike)

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, implied drinking and driving (hey! don't do this!), some making out, mentions of sex but no actual sex, and some trauma reflection.

Word count: 3k

Pairing: Frankie “Fish” Morales x OC Juniper Collins

Summary: Idiocy continues. June and Frankie have a date, and a sleepover.

A/N: Hey babes! Sorry for this one in advance. She's not my best. She's also a hundred percent filler. We love her because she's necessary, though. I know it's a little shorter, but I have finals and a million other ideas keeping me from putting the work in. Also, I kind of like where I left it. Feel free to yell at me. Enjoy, anyway 💕

Masterlist | Part Two | Part Four

June took another sip of the wine, she had nearly drained the bottle; and she didn’t even want to know what number beer Frankie was on, but it was good. They had been propped up in the restaurant for long enough that the waiter stopped coming over.

“So what’s Fish about? I’m dying to know.” She asked brazenly, her cheeks tinged pink from the wine, and though her lipstick was long gone, her lips were stained red.

“Ah, I was wondering if you were gonna ask. It’s...not interesting.” He finally said, and they both laughed. “I like to fish, and the spot I go to has a bunch of catfish. I’ve been that way since forever, and in basics the name just stuck. Catfish, that is. The guys shortened it later to just Fish, which is...unfortunate.” June leaned forward on her elbows, and listened. She realized she was in trouble. This man could make anything sound interesting.

“Why’d they need to shorten it? Catfish is pretty easy to say.” She mused, more to herself than him. He took a sip of his beer.

“It was in spec ops, and it was just a mouth full during the shit.” He told her, glancing down. She took the hint.

“Do you eat catfish? I don’t really like it.” She admitted.

“What? No, that can’t be right. It’s great.” He laughed, and took another sip.

“Yeah, great if you love eating a muddy bottom-feeder.” She retorted, rolling her eyes.

“You like shellfish? Lobster? Because, I got news for you.” He said, smirking, and she laughed.

“Can you cook it?”

“Of course, I can.” He scoffed.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to cook some for me.” She teased lightly, the alcohol swimming in her mind.

“No way.” He said flatly. Her face fell, and he continued. “You want to eat it, you gotta catch it first.” She grimaced and shook her head.

“Not so much for fishing.” She explained, dropping her eyes from his gaze.

“What do you do then? Besides, follow my every movement.” He added playfully and she laughed.

“I took up gardening recently.” She reminded him, tilting her wine cup towards him. Samantha wasn’t too far off, he was pretty great.

“It’s a little late in the season, to start.” He told her gently. She squared her shoulders before letting them fall.

“Yeah. I had this great plan, until I thought about it at all. Day drinking has gotten me into more difficult spots though.” She huffed out a laugh. “See, there’s this grumpy farmer I wanted to impress. I wanted to...well, it sounds stupid now, but I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just a pretty face. I was going to bring you something I had grown.” She laughed, and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t think about growing seasons, or the fact that it takes a miserably long time for anything to actually grow.” He laughed with her easily, and she smiled.

“I can’t wait to see what you grow, and I hope you’ll consider me when you have to give most of it away so it doesn’t spoil.” He chuckled, but she could tell he was being earnest.

“I also write.” She blurted out. She was looking to change the subject before it got too deep, before they could get tangled in the implications, and the first thing that came to mind was something she hadn’t told anyone. Ever. The only person who knew she wrote was her publicist, and even she knew June under her pseudonym. She flushed, and tried to backpedal. “I mean it’s not a big deal. It’s really just like not a big deal at all.” He studied her face carefully, before speaking.

“Sounds like not a big deal,” He repeated, each word weighted. “But, if you ever want to tell me about it, I would love to hear.” He smiled and leveled his gaze at hers. She felt incredibly stupid for even bringing it up, but he had managed to give her a graceful out. She wondered if she shouldn’t tell him. She had no idea if this was even a date anymore, and she wanted the weight off her chest. She squared her shoulders again.

“Okay, you drug it out of me,” she laughed, and downed her glass. “I am a published author and no one in my real life knows.” She didn’t follow up. Her words hung in the air, heavy and bloated, before he cleared his throat.

“Why would you share that with me?” The confusion was apparent on his face, and it wasn’t what she was expecting. He looked incredibly touched at the gesture, as if she had just given him access to her most intimate secrets. She paused, and realized dumbly that she had. She had absolutely just revealed to him what might be her darkest secret; and as tame as it was, it was hers.

“I don’t really know.” She said flatly. She felt odd though, as she didn’t regret it. In fact, she felt relieved. “It feels good though.” She assured him.

“What have you published?”

“A half dozen novels about cowboys.” She told him, lamely.

“Cowboys?” He asked with a smile dancing on his lips.

“Cowboys.” She repeated with her own coy smile. “It’s a series, and it is not popular. But, I love it, actually.” She continued, a little bashful. “I lost money the first few years, but sales are actually picking up. I’ll never make my living that way, but I love it just the same.” Her cheeks were blazing hot, and  she finished in a whisper. He nodded, feeling that much closer to her.

The waiter came over to tell them that they should leave, and the pair laughed at how long they’d been sitting and talking. June was disappointed to bring the night to a close, but knew she had class in the morning. Frankie walked her to her car, and leaned heavily against it.

“You going to be alright to drive home?” She asked, watching him sway slightly.

“No.” He told her flatly, a chuckle following. “I’ll get a cab.” She rolled her eyes.

“How old are you? Get in, I’ll take you home.” She told him, pulling him around to the passenger side. He fought her a little.

“I’m out of the way, I don’t want you to have to back track.”

“Fine, we can go back to mine, and in the morning I’ll drop you by your truck. This is on my way.” The proposition was out in the world before she considered it. The words were hanging between them before she had a chance to worry the details out. It seemed simple enough, but the implications went deeper than she was ready to admit. Her worries were confirmed when she heard him suck in a sharp breath.

“I’d hate to impose…” He trailed, but she was already unlocking her car and shoving him in.

~~~

“Of course, I’ll take the couch, you’re my guest.” She told him, huffing in finality. He crossed his arms. Frankie had only barely agreed to the sleepover; he wasn’t getting bullied in the sleeping arrangement.

“No way. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch in your own home.”

“The couch is comfy, though. I slept there last night.”

“All the more reason you should get a proper night’s rest in your bed.” They glared at each other, and Frankie won. Or, so he thought.

“Fine. We’ll both sleep on the couch.” His laugh was sharp and loud, ripped out without warning. He wasn’t sure if it was the booze, but everything June had said had warmed his insides.

“That’s reasonable.” He agreed, and without thinking too much about the movement, he pulled her to the couch with him. He had meant for it to be smooth, and maybe a little romantic. Instead, it was messy and tangled, but when she landed face to face with him it was hard to argue his methods. He felt her breath on his lips, and he leaned forward, testing the waters, and skimmed his lips against hers. She responded in kind, pressing her lips to his with more urgency.

Frankie shifted June so that he was seated and she was straddling him. He pushed back into her kiss, and deepened it slightly. He ran his tongue against her lips, and when she parted them, he slipped his tongue in, tasting and exploring inside her mouth. He licked under her tongue, sucking it slightly, and managed to pull a soft moan from her. He pulled back for air, and noted how her pupils were blown black with lust, her bright eyes darkened. He wondered for a second if his own were so dark, and then she was on him again. She kissed and licked down his jaw and neck, before focusing on his ear. She nibbled the lobe, licked and sucked the sensitive skin around it.

When she pulled away, he almost whined at the loss. She was panting a little, and already swinging her leg off of him. He frowned at her movements, but didn't stop them. She sat heavily beside him, and pecked his cheek.

"Not that I don't want to continue...I just don't think it's a great idea. We've both been drinking, and it's a school night." The realization hit her like a brick wall. "Crap! Frankie! Do you need to get home to Liv?" He chuckled in response, which let her calm down a bit.

“No, she’s at a friend’s house tonight.” June breathed a sigh of relief, and Frankie felt his lips tug up. “Thanks for checking, though.” She nodded, and he just waited, not sure what she wanted next. He hoped it was more than making out. She cleared her throat and faced him, and he felt his smile fall. She looked too serious for anything light., and he braced for impact.

“The way I see it, Frankie, is we have two options here. One, we go upstairs, and I fuck you out of my system.” He inhaled sharply, and swallowed heavily. He could have laughed, if he wasn’t so shocked. “Option two, I go upstairs, alone, and tomorrow I take you to your truck. After that, maybe we can have another dinner...or maybe I’ll go fishing with you.” He did chuckle at her scrunched up face, this time. He considered her options for a moment.

“Why not a third, where both options play out?” He was teasing, mostly. Mostly, he assured himself.

“Well, that doesn’t work for me. I have had too many option three relationships take a nosedive, and I want to give this a chance. But, if you’re not interested in seeing where we could go, then let’s get on with the fun part.” He studied her face, etching every crinkle and freckle to memory. It was so intimate, he realized, being this close without touching. He wanted to take her upstairs. He didn’t really want to even take her upstairs, the couch was fine. She had been burning him since they had met, and he had had every opportunity to reach out and extinguish it. He hadn’t, and he knew why. He knew they could have something here. He had just spent hours with her, and he was already missing her presence. It wasn’t a choice he had to think hard about. He wanted to see her again. But, he wanted her tonight.

He leaned in and kissed her lips gently, pulling away before it could turn into anything more.

“Option two, please.” He noticed her eyes light up, but restrained himself. He could just kiss her all night, if she’d let him. He watched her leave the couch and disappear into another room. He took the opportunity to steady his breathing, and hopefully, calm himself down. She returned with an armful of blankets and pillows. He took them from her, and she stepped away, putting more distance between them than necessary.

“I have some old pajama shorts and a t-shirt from an ex, if you would like something more comfy to sleep in.” She offered, tossing a thumb behind her. He nodded as he made up the couch, not watching her disappear upstairs. She came back quickly and handed them off. He tried not to imagine who had left these behind, which option they had picked.

“Goodnight, Frankie. Kitchen is that way if you need water or anything. Bathroom is there, and I apologize for not having more sleepover supplies, it’s been...awhile.” She apologized, laughing. He waved her off.

“Goodnight, Ms. Collins. Sweet dreams.” He watched her retreat slowly upstairs before turning back to the couch. He was in trouble.

~~~

June tossed for a few hours before relenting. She’d never get to sleep otherwise, she told herself as she slipped her hand beneath her cotton shorts. No, she was too worked up, she reasoned as she made contact with her clit. She came hard in only a few minutes, thinking about how hard Frankie had been against her on the couch. She had been frantic, trying to slow them down, for her own sake. She was already falling hard for him; she didn’t need amazing sex to be the last nail in her coffin. She felt like she knew him, intimately, already. It was ridiculous, she kept reminding herself. It was someone who she had only met less than a week ago. She shouldn’t have invited him into her house. She didn’t need to see him in the morning light to confirm her fears. She had moaned his name into her pillow as she came; no, she knew just what she was in for.

She groaned as she remembered what she had said. “Fuck you out of my system?” She whispered again in the dark, cringing. Who was she? She didn’t talk like that. She taught six year olds. She tried to breathe deeply, and not go into a full-blown panic attack. How had she never gotten any better at flirting? She was grown, she could hook up and still have a relationship.

June squeezed her eyes shut against the memories threatening to crowd her, and reasoned she had made the better choice. They had been drinking, and it was too convenient. Hopefully, he didn’t think she was a psycho for inviting him over, making out with him hard, and then turning him down cold. Well, not cold, but lukewarm. She groaned again. Why was she acting like a teenager? She never fretted like this. Her mom’s cold words flashed in her mind, and she shuddered against them, willing them away. Too late, she thought about Terry.

Terrance, the one who had convinced her to move away from everyone. The one who had promised her everything, and then left her empty. The one who had no kind words or touches for her. The one who had left the taste of rust in her mouth.

She blinked against the tears, and tried to think about Frankie downstairs instead. All she could remember was the gruffness at the farmer’s market, the harsh words at the school, the disappointment in his eyes at dinner, and the coldness after she had turned down sex. She hugged herself tighter and tried to think about the soft touches he had given, the tender kiss, the personal stories, and the deep laugh she was falling in love with.

It was no use, she decided. Mid-spiral, she wasn’t good enough for anyone. She was glad she hadn’t invited him up. She was glad she wouldn’t be used by another man. She would drop him off in the morning, and then that would be that. If she didn’t start loving herself, no one would.

~~~

Frankie stretched against the soft material as light started trickling in through the blinds. He could hear the birds outside, and he whistled softly in tune. He folded the bedding, and padded to the kitchen.

After looking around a bit, he settled on coffee and pancakes. He had noticed the canned tomatoes in the cupboard, and made a note to ask June if they were the ones she had bought from him. He got busy mixing the pancakes together while the coffee brewed. He hadn’t slept so good in years. He had expected a sore back, at least, but that damn couch was probably better than his lumpy old mattress. He cut some berries up, while the pancakes were frying, and smiled as he heard June walk in.

“Morning!” He greeted, cheerfully. She winced, and he let a small chuckle out. “Sorry, uhm, coffee’s ready.” She nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He turned back to the oven, wondering if she just wasn’t a morning person. He noticed she felt colder this morning, and hoped it was because she was hungover.

“You were right about the couch, super comfortable.” He told her as she settled in at the counter. She only nodded, which he barely caught. He turned to face her, one hand on his hip and the other holding the spatula.

“Everything okay?” She nodded again, and he frowned. Something was definitely wrong, but if she wasn’t telling him what could he do. He made her a plate of pancakes and berries, and made one for himself. He sat down beside her, and she ate in silence. In fact, she didn’t say anything to him until they made it back to his truck.

“Have a nice day.” She had mumbled, her lips tight. He gaped a bit before getting out, and slamming the door a little harder than he had meant to. He got into his truck as she sped off, and he slammed the door.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked the steering wheel.

“Whatever,” He said, tightly, throwing the truck into drive.

[fulltimeallthetime]

BOOKS!

So I’ve recently found my love of books.  It started with audio books...and then reading while on the treadmill (giant ipad, big print).

I had to start tracking my reads because I would start a book and think I had read it before, but couldn’t be quite certain.

I’m into serial  killer, thriller books.  Definitely appreciate a strong female lead.

Here’s my list for the past two years!

2020

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

The Look Alike by Erica Spindler

Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon

Eight Perfect Murders, Peter Swanson

The First Mistake, Sandie Jones

The Perfect Wife, JP Delaney

One Night Gone, Tara Laskowski

Buried by Ellison Cooper

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

Cut to the Bone by Ellison Cooper

The Turn of the Key- Ruth Ware

The Twin by Natasha Preston

The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

The One by John Marrs

The Guest list by Lucy Foley

The end of Her- Shari Lapena

The Half Sister by Sandie Jones

Pretty Thing by Janelle Brown

Caged by Ellison Cooper

Have you Seen me? by Kate White

The Undertaker's Daughter- Sara Blaedel

Dear Girls- Ali Wong

Under the Table- Stephanie Evanovich

Watch me Disappear- Janelle Brown

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

A woman is No Man- Etaf Rum

Emma in the Night- Wendy walker

Never let you go- CHevy Stevens

Every Last lie- Mary Kubica

A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Caught- Harlan Coben

I see you- Clare mackintosh

The Girl Before- Rena Olsen

Yes please- Amy poehler

what she knew by gilly macmillan

what rose forgot - Nevada Barr

My Lovely Wife- Samantha Downing

How to be a Bawse- Lilly Singh

The Boy from the Woods- Harlan Coben

The Last Time I lied- Riley Sager

No Exit- Taylor Adams

Calm the Fuck Down- Sarah Knight

Girl, Stop Apologizing- Rachel Hollis

The Other Mrs- Mary Kubica

You Are Not Alone- Greer Hendricks

The Wives- Tarryn Fisher

When you See me- Linsa Gardner

The Kept Woman- Karin Slaughter

Criminal- Karin Slaughter

Lock Every Door- Riley Sager

Blindsighted- Karin Slaughter

Beyond Reach- Karin Slaughter

Snatched- Karin Slaughter

Little Fires Everywhere- Celest Ng

Trace of Evil- Alice Blanchard

Faithless- Karin Slaughter

A Faint Cold Fear- Karin Slaughter

Broke- Karin Slaughter

Indelible- Karin Slaughter

Behind her Eyes- Sarah Pinborough

Undone- Karin Slaughter

Outfox- Sandra Brown

Accused- Lisa Scottoline

Leaving Time- Jodi Picoult

Triptych- Karin Slaughter

The Ex- Alafair Burke

Someone we Know- Shari Lapena

Other Woman- Sandie Jones

The Better Sister- Alafair Burke

2019

The Last House Guest- Megan Miranda

Sleeping Beauties- Stephen King

RUnaway- Karlan Coben

Someone Knows- Lisa Scottoline

Girls LIke Us- Cristina Alger

One of us is lying- Karen McManus

Don't let go- harlan coben

Mean Streak- Sandra Brown

Fierce Kingtom- Gin PHillips

I Have no secrets- Penny Joelson

It's always the husband- michele campbell

Right behind you- Lisa Gardner

2nd Chance- James Patterson

The WOman in the Window- AJ Finn

NOS4A2- Joe HIll

The House Next Door- James Patterson

One Perfect Lie- Lisa Scottoline

The banker's wife- Cirstina Alger

The Whisper Man- Alex NOrth

Crash & Burn- LIsa Gardner

Without Merit- Colleen Hoover

Dark Sacred Night- Michael Connelly

1st to die- james patterson

Unsolved- James Patterson

Survivors Club- LIsa Gardner

The Grown up- Gillian Flynn

Touch & Go- Lisa Gardner

Pieces of Her- Karin Slaughter

A is for Alibi- Sue Grafton

Pieces of her_ Karin Slaughter

November 9- Colleen Hoover

Redemption- David Baldacci

The Perfect Mother- Aimee Molloy

THen She was gone- lisa jewell

The 4th Man- Lisa Gardner

If I live- Terri Blackstock

Never Tell- Lisa Gardner

If I run- Terri Blackstock

Why not me- Mindy Kaling

The Silent Sister- Diane Chamberlain

My Husband's Wife- Jane Corry

Murder Games- James Patterson

GIrl Wash Your Face- Rachel Hollis

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes- Karin Slaughter

Say Goodbye- Lisa Garner

The Woman in Cabin 10- Ruth Ware

GOne- Lisa Gardner

The Lying Game- Ruth Ware

SOmething in the Water- Catherine Steadman

One Dormant- Blake Pierce

THe Late show- Michael Connelly

The Silent Wife- ASA Harrison

The Killing Hour- Lisa Gardner

THe Fallen- David Baldacci

The Next Accident- Lisa Gardner

The Fix- David Baldacci

The perfect Husband- Lisa Gardner

The Last Mile- David Baldacci

The Anonymous Girl- Greer Hendricks

All the Missing Girls- MEgan Miranda

Memory Man- David Baldacci

The Chemist- STephenie Meyer

Last Breath, Karin Slaughter

Look for me- Lisa Gardner

An Unwanted Guest- Shari Lapena

Pretty girls- Karin Slaughter

Breakdown- BA Paris

FInd her- LIsa Gardner

Fear Nothing- Lisa Gardner

Luckiest GIrl Alive- Jessica Knoll

Catch me- lisa Gardner

Bring me back- BA Paris

The 7th Month- lisa Gardner

The girl before- JP Delaney

A Stranger in the house- Shari lapena

After anna- Lisa Scottoline

Love you more- LIsa Gardner

Live to Tell- Lisa Gardner

The NEighbor- Lisa Gardner

Hide- Lisa Gardner

Once Trapped- Blake PIerce

Alone- Lisa Gardner

Final Girls- Riley Sager

nOnce Bound- Blake pierce

Once buried- Blake pierce

the couple next door- shari lapena

once lost- blake pierce

behind closed doors- ba paris

the last mrs parrish- liv constantine

once stalked- blake pierce

[storiesofsvu]

Happy Thursday hoes, let’s get to it!

Todays pros: citytv thinks im in TO so I’m getting it started at six!

Cons: no subtitles.

Alright, OG up first.

Love this new detective that’s a fanboy of everyone, makes me miss rollins lol

Pls let it be a female perp. We love a good female perp.

Okay seriously, this very subtle shaky cam is fucking terrible and hurts my head.

The GROAN I let out at the sight of Samantha in her well fitted pants suit sitting there like a fucking badass pissed off look on her face. Ma’am. Please. (yes, she is the only reason I watch this show)

Okay, the pedo may be the only eye witness, but they still have blood on the murderers pants, don’t they? Would that not tie it together enough? Or is it because the eye witness was the one who lead them to him? God I hate the legal system.

I REALLY wish this show would show more of the arguing between Nolan and Sam, like these two do NOT see eye to eye or have the same opinions on basically anything. And while I know major fighting would be called unprofessional, we at least used to see the lawyers get into it, or bantering. There’s so many times that you can tell just by the look of her face that Sam’s pissed, that she doesn’t think highly of him or his decisions on cases, like she hates him. I wanna see that play out on screen LOL

SVU time!

Let’s see if this week is any better than the last ones

Liv back in therapy, we love to see it.

A crumb of EO? Will that keep the crazies at bay? (like, I don’t even ship it but fuck am I sick of it now, the baiting is hella annoying and terrible, make it happen or not, don’t keep leading the actual ship fans on…)

Uhhh… is there not some kind of patient dr confidentiality? Like this bitch could have just lost her job (esp with someone like mcgrath involved… wtf..)

ITS THIS KIND OF SHIT THAT MAKES ME FERAL. In previous episodes they’ve had situations where shrinks couldn’t testify when they were the ONE witness, and like the entire case went into the trash because of it based off this exact type of situation… where TF is the continuity??

Okay… so she’s a minor so I can see the loophole here, BUT the therapist should have told her parents….

I knew it wasn’t the math tutor…

Ok… so mcgrath threatens to kill the math tutor, but when they’re picking up the son across the street he goes rage on benson?? And the iab captain? Shouldn’t you be attempting to punch the kid or something? God I really hope this ep is his last…

“can you drop that to me?” good thing Bruno’s there cause fin would have ZERO ideas on how to do that…

“until the age of 25 the male brain is about as useful as an electrified meatball” jfc… that wins for best line of the night.

Where the fuck is Velasco? Like.. man deserves his paycheques too..

Okay, mcgrath’s wife needs to shut the fuck up, liv’s trying to help her daughter and she accuses liv of gunning for mcgrath’s job.. jfc..

I was expecting mcgrath to throw hands not pull out his fucking GUN jfc… and like.. that was infront of two cars, that’s gonna be on a dash cam somewhere…

This is one of those one case turns into 4 but there’s only 5 mins left of the episode… cmon…

“I guess I didn’t see it in myself…” THANK YOU I was just gonna bring up the whole half assed back plot of mcgrath being abusive… (which is on par for cops, and ironic that the woman playing his wife was the wife of a cop who abused/raped her in 1.o)

This very much seems like a good bye. Pls let it be a good bye. Petition to bring back Garland!

Okay… im confused, I looked at my phone for 5 seconds and lost track of what was happening. Is the iab captain joining svu, cause that doesn’t work…theyre both captains. Or is she saying she’ll be filling in for mcgrath in the meantime??

Onto OC!

Okay, I am incredibly thankful for carisi on oc, but he’s the *sex crimes* ada.. not the only Manhattan ada, he wouldn’t be prosecuting this case… lol

Me: “wait I thought he was an officer.”

Reyes: “detective?” *side eye*

Me: ah yes, okay he was promoted the writers didn’t forget between weeks.

God this entitled pos teenager… wtf… its not *your* house bitch.

Ah, thank god, here’s the arguing that was missing in OG, not surprised its Elliot. Lol.

Oh god..the bratty teen overheard that didn’t she? Fuck..

God… this girl is gonna blow the entire thing, isn’t she? Like, in todays day and age with all the social media and how teenagers (and some adults) don’t know how to go without it, there’s no way they’d cut contact with everyone and delete socials and keep things quiet.

Aaaaaannd here we go. 5 seconds in and she’s blown their new location. (also WHY would the cops even tell them the location? That seems like something they wouldn’t do until they were halfway there…)

Okay… we’re missing a daughter.. I don’t know if this is supposed to be Maureen or elizabeth but I’m assuming liz as it looks like her kids are twins and she was the twin… Also where’s dickie? (I know the brother said something about someone not being able to get a flight? Im just deaf and without subtitles I couldn’t tell ya what exactly was said lol)

How old is this younger brother supposed to be? The only info online I can find is the actor is 50 which im not sure I believe.

Okay there’s dickie he’s in the background!

These guys KNEW they were in a high risk situation and none of them have a vest anywhere near them? ARE WE DUMB?! IS IT OUR FIRST DAY ON THE JOB?

Okay, there’s the other kid.

Maureen and Kathleen giving side eye while sipping their drinks while the tea is being spilt is the highlight of this moment.

This is SOOO awkward for everyone else at the table jfc… ESPECIALLY Eli’s poor girlfriend.. like. Welcome to the family drama, don’t worry we never have to come back…

Why the fuck did jet not grab the other gun?!

Me: unfazed at Elliot body slamming a teenager.

Bell: *casually* “I’m shot”

Me: ARE YOU FUCKING FOR REAL RIGHT NOW

THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING IF WE FUCKING LOSE HER I WILL ACTUALLY RIOT.

(BUT ALSO MAY WE STEP BACK TO 8 LINES EARLIER WHERE I WAS YELLING ABOUT THEM NOT HAVING VESTS ON?!)

I knew this other captain was going to be coming more into play, but im pissed its cause bell’s out with a gunshot wound.

Christ.

Okay well, another week and OC is continuing it’s reign as superior of the three!

Some pics for context/hilarity

[leah-jeffries]

Theme Thursday - Competition

The Revenge Playbook | Rachael Allen | @epicreads​ Type: Standalone Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Four girls. One plan. And the night that changes everything. Liv is the girl everyone gossips about. But when the rumors threaten to crack her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, she’s desperate to prove that not everything you hear is true. Peyton is the girl no one knows. But flying under the radar doesn’t mean she’s willing to let people walk all over her. Melanie Jane is the girl everyone wants to be or be with. Beautiful, sassy, and untouchable, she breaks hearts before hers gets broken. Most of the time. Ana is the girl no one talks to. Not after what happened at the party that ended her friendship with Melanie Jane. They have nothing in common…except for revenge. In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That's a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game

Jesse’s Girl | Miranda Kenneally Type: Companion Series: Hundred Oaks (6) Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol. But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?

The Way You Make Me Feel | Maurene Goo | @fiercereadsya​ Type: Standalone Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?

Madly (or the Potion Diaries) | Amy Alward | @rivetedbysimonteen​ Type: Series: Potion (1) Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn. Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime? And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news. No big deal, then.

Dumplin’ | Julie Murphy Type: Companion Series: Dumplin’ (1) Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back. Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Caraval | Stephanie Garber | @flatironbooks​ Type: Series: Caraval (1) Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.

[william-desmond]

Hey y’all it’s Dark Fire lore time because I’ve been thinking through this a lot and it’s probably never going to be brought up in the au itself besides maybe a passing mention SO also yes I know I said I wasn’t planning to bring any canon lore bits into the au but shhhh let me have this I’m having fun

In Dark Fire Adalia, Lilyana, Liv, Skyle, Samantha, and Jamie are still Alenor’s guardians! Though obvious protecting Alenor from a different kind of threat, one which I can’t specify rn because that does come up in the fics (though you could probably guess from the little story Lilyana told in Legend Has It). The guard is typically made up of the current ruler of Alenor along with a varied number of other Elementals to each represent an element/elements. In the very unfortunate case that the ruler of Alenor dies, the current guardians (if they are still alive) are forced to step down from their positions for the new guard to take their place. Regardless of the circumstances. Refusal to do so is basically treason. The current guardians also step down if the ruler of Alenor does from their position as well. This tends to be the rarer of the situations most of the time (people are really out here for the royal blood lol it’s wild).

Like a lot of information in this au, Adalia is completely clueless when it comes to knowing that Lilyana is the missing piece of the guard. Liv, Skyle, and Samantha are all aware of the fact but choose to keep it a secret from Adalia to avoid some, undesirable, actions being taken to deal with the trouble Lilyana has been causing (though Samantha isn’t particularly pleased with the decision). Jamie is also technically suppose to be part of the guard! But due to the fact that they’re ten Adalia and the others just sort of, look the other way on the matter (hence why Jamie didn’t come with them to Earth). Usually rule breaking such as this would be up to someone like the royal advisor to straighten out but Varis just lets them do they want. 

[lorirwritesfanfic]

Two Sides Of A Breakup (Lily’s POV)

Author's note: All characters are owned by Pixelberry Studios. Book: Bloodbound  Pairings: Adrian Raines x MC (Samantha) / Jax Matsuo x Liv Denara / Jax Matsuo x MC (Samantha) Rating: E Word count: 2536 Summary: Being friends with two people pining over each other but too stubborn to admit it will be quite a challenge for Lily. 

Lily opens the door to her old apartment and scans the living room. She's one hour late and Samantha, who used to be punctual, still didn't arrive from her dinner with Adrian. She rolls eyes and shuts the door, tossing the keys on the kitchen counter like she always did. She turns on the tv and her PlayStation. She's happy living at Shadow Den, but it's good to still have some of her things are at her best friend's apartment. She likes coming back once in a while to check on her best friend and the apartment was so full of nice memories. It feels good to still have this connection with her human life.

About half-hour later, Samantha walks in with a tired smile on her face and two packages from an Asian restaurant, probably Filipino, since it is her comfort food and Adrian certainly would want to spoil her. She knows Lily doesn't need human food anymore, but it doesn't matter. Whenever she ate something good, she would bring some of it to her best friend. She puts one of the packages on the counter, the smaller one in the fridge and takes a seat beside Lily on the couch, wrapping her best friend in a tight hug. 

Lily pauses the game to return the hug, but her enhanced senses make her wish her friend wasn't a hugger. Chicken, sweat, fancy male cologne, and cum. Again. Wow, Sam... Lily caresses her best friend's hair and pulls away. 

"Sorry I'm late..." Samantha smiles sheepishly.

"No problem, I was just killing some zombies here. If I don't play anything dark from time to time, the amount of cute family-friendly games I've been playing with Lula will make me burp rainbows at some point."

Samantha giggles. "We can't have that. It'll ruin your badass vampire reputation."

"I know, right? So, what am I having for dinner?"

"Chicken Teriyaki with brown rice and no salad. You never ate them while you were human, so what's the point?" Samantha affirms. "And ube ice cream for dessert. "

"That purple ice cream you like? Cool!" Lily goes to the kitchen, takes a seat by the counter and opens the package. "God bless human food..." she smiles inhaling the smell teriyaki sauce. "Change to Quickflix and choose the movies for our marathon."

Lily eats her chicken, eventually glancing at her friend from the corner of an eye. Samantha flips through the movie options on the streaming service absentmindedly, simply pressing her manicured fingers on the buttons of remote control. 

"I'm fully aware of your habits of never knowing what to watch, but this is a whole new level of indecision, Sam."

"Huh?" 

Lily stands up, walks across the room and sits next to her. "Sam, are you okay?"

Samantha shrugs, avoiding eye contact.

"You don't have to tell me anything now, but I'm here for you whenever you need me, okay?" Lily rests a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

Samantha frowns and she bites her bottom lip as it starts to quiver. 

Lily pulls her friend into a hug.

Samantha finally sobs. "He hates me, Lil. He got these gifts from Kamilah and Adrian and he thanked Kamilah's assistant, but he ignored me. I spent days searching for an artist so they could make the shīsā statues for his office and he just ignored me. It was as if I wasn't even there."

Lily tightens the embrace. "He doesn't. It's just his defense mechanism to deal with these awkward situations."

"Why did he have to be so cruel?"

"Sam, both of you have your own ways to cope with the breakup. His way is a bit harsh than yours, but hey, it's Jax we're talking about."

"I know, but I didn't expect this." She looks down at her hands. "He must be over me, right?"

Lily scratches her head and glances away, unsure if she should say what she knows.

Ten hours ago

"Yeah!" Lula jumps and makes a happy dance while Lily turns off the videogame.

"All right, I have to admit you've got pretty good at Mario Cart. But I want a rematch," Lily affirms.

"Kay... But we can do it later. I want to play Go Fish."

"Go Fish? Really?" Lily makes a face.

"It's my favorite game. Jax taught me how to play it and I want to play with him."

"Lula, he must be busy with the renovations right now."

"He's always busy now. And sad. I think his heart broke," Lula pouts. 

"He's just a bit stressed out with everything. We're having some big changes here."

"I know, but it's not just that. He doesn't smile and doesn't have fun anymore."

She isn't wrong. Jax isn't quite the same since the night he ended things with Samantha. He spends most of the time on his own, at combat training or working. He doesn't join any other activities from the Clanless, he goes out every night and most of the time, he's lost in his own thoughts.

"True..." Lily agrees.

"It's not right. He needs laughs. I'll look for him to play Go Fish so he can smile again."

"He could be anywhere at Shadow Den at this hour, Lula."

"And I will find him." Lula stands up and leaves the game room.

"Ah, what the hell..." Lily shrugs and follows the little vampire around the Den. The two of them go to several rooms and ask people about Jax, yet he's nowhere to be seen. "Okay, this is getting boring..."

"We didn't go to his room yet. He's there."

"Lula, I'm sure if he's there, he doesn't want to be disturbed. Besides, this is way too much trouble for a simple game."

"But his heart is broken, Lily. We have to help him fix it," the little girl frowns.

"I know, kiddo, but Jax isn't the kind of guy who asks for help."

"Lily, we help anyone who needs help. Jax taught me that. And he needs us. We have to go." Lula turns away and marches down the hall leading to Jax's room.

"Ugh... Kids," Lily purses her lips and follows the child vampire once again. After a couple of steps towards Jax's bedroom, she hears sex grunts and moans. Her eyes go wide and she hurries to catch up with Lula. "Hey, kiddo! I think I heard someone saying Jax is out, so we probably should go."

"No one said that."

"Lula, come on. We looked everywhere for him. Let's go back to the game room and play something else."

"We have to look into his room first."

"Oh, that's so good..." Jax's hoarse voice echoes through the walls.

"He's here!" Lula beams.

"He must be busy. Come on," Lily reaches for her, but the vampire child runs for the door.

"No, he's here." Lula turns the doorknob grinning. "Jaaaaax!"

"Oh, shi--" As the door opens, Lily gasps, covers Lula's eyes and looks away.

 Jax has his pants undone while Liv is on her knees, wearing only an embroidered retro lingerie and stilettos. She has one hand between her legs and her breasts are coming out of her corset. He turns away to adjust his clothes whilst Liv picks up her coat from the floor and stands up with a smirk, brushing her manicured middle finger along the corners of her mouth as if to fix a smudge from her lipstick or clean something. She puts her coat back on, whispers something in Jax's ear then leaves waving to Lily.

"What are you both doing here?" Jax says, faking a smile as Lily uncovers the vampire child's eyes.

"We're here so you can play with us," Lula replies.

"I told Lula you were busy, but she insisted," Lily explains, still avoiding eye contact with Jax.

"Lily is right. I was busy. When I'm busy, you can't come in here without knocking," Jax affirms.

"Or maybe you could lock the door and not make so much noise, boss," Lily says under her breath.

Jax closes his eyes and shakes his head as his cheeks turn bright red.

"But you're sad. You're always sad and busy now. You have to play with us so you can smile again," Lula says.

Jax scratches the back of his head.

"Now that you're no longer busy with whatever you were doing earlier, you could play Go Fish with us," Lily suggests.

Lula nods with a smile and pleading eyes.

"All right, let me look for a deck of cards," Jax turns around looking for the cards in a drawer.

A few hours later, Lula is lied down on the carpet, watching an animation movie and eating popcorn while Lily and Jax chat in the back of the room in hushed tones.

"I swear I tried to keep her away as soon as I heard you in here, but that kid is really fast," Lily utters.

"Yeah, she's a handful. But she's also quite perceptive," he grimaces.

"You're not exactly hiding your feelings well, Jax," Lily gives him a knowing look.

He sighs.

"Are you okay? I mean, truly okay?"

He shakes his head.

"I have my first Council meeting tonight. She's going to be there, all poised and professional in one of those sexy assistant outfits and I don't know how to face her. The minute I walk in, her perfume is going to cloud all my thoughts. It already does and I'm haven't seen her up close since that night," he rubs the nape of his neck. 

"I'm so sorry, Jax."

"It's not your fault. If anyone is to blame here, it's me. I'm an effing moron."

"Effing moron?" 

He points his head towards Lula.

"Ah, yes..." Lily heaves a sigh. "But did you change your mind about the exclusive relationship thing?"

"Maybe? I don't know... I just know that I miss her in a way that I've never missed anyone before. But I think I blew all my chances."

"Why don't you call her? She must be awake now, getting ready for her shift."

"No." His features slowly harden. "She's probably with Raines now."

Lily nods, then furrows her brows. "Wait, how do you know that?"

Jax looks away.

"Dude, you said you were going to stop! It's creepy!" Lily swats his arms.

He barely flinches. "I just need to see if she's okay. We all got our enemies and you know how reckless she is."

She glares at him.

"What? She is."

"It doesn't justify the fact that you watch her sleep, you weirdo."

"I may be a weirdo, but for the record, I just look after her when she's alone. I do not try to get into her house, stalk her online, hack her phone or anything like that."

"You wouldn't have to do this if you just talked to her."

"What if she blows me off? What if she wants to humiliate me for crawling back to her?"

"You don't know that. Why don’t you call her? Don't you want to know how she feels about you now?"

"I'm not begging to come back, Lily. I do not beg." Jax hisses. 

"Dude, come on..."

“No,” he fumed."We're done with this discussion." He stands up and saunters over to Lula. "Hey, are you hungry?"

Lula nods.

"I'll fetch something for us," he says with a small smile and leaves the door, shutting the door on his way out.

"Ugh, don't answer... I shouldn't be bothering you with this," Samantha picks up a tissue to wipe her tears. "I don't want to put you in an awkward situation."

"You're not. I suggested coming here so we could talk about this, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're his friend and part of his clan. I can't do this. Let's just watch the movie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

Lily chooses the first movie while Samantha goes to the kitchen and comes back with the box of ice cream and two spoons. By the end of the first movie, Lily's phone buzzes with texts from her girlfriend. She answers them discreetly and turns to her friend. 

"Sam, can Gabs joins us? She loves Nightcrawler."

Samantha hesitates, her spoon mixing the last of the ice cream melting on the box.

"She's so much fun. You're gonna love her."

"Sure," Samantha replies absentmindedly.

Lily gapes at her best friend for a moment. "You don't want her here, do you?"

She nibbles her bottom lip nervously. "I'm not sure I can handle being next to a couple. I believe you, she must be great, but... I don't know if I'll be okay with you all cute and funny around her... It's just..." Samantha takes a deep breath, her voice croaking slightly. "I miss him so much, Lil. And it really hurts. Seeing you all happy with Gabrielle won't be easy."

Lily glances at the window, sensing a pair of red eyes watching them. "You know what? I'm tired of this shit."

"Excuse me?"

"This sad mutual pining thing between you and Jax, asking me stuff about each other and then pretending you don't want to know but you do. I'm done with this. It's stupid! So here's the deal: he misses you. You're all he can think about. And the shīsās you gave him? He's probably staring at them right now, just like you're here obsessively fiddling with this goddamn pendant!"

"I--"

"I'm not finished!"

Samantha's eyes go wide. 

"He has been watching you again."

"What?"

"Yeah, he stays at the fire escape and on the roof of the building nearby until it's almost sunrise. He says he wants to make sure you're okay, but I know he wants to see you. I told him it's the sort of creepy thing people go to jail for and it didn't stop him."

"Is he watching us now?"

"No. Because I'm here and I said he doesn't get to stalk you when I'm around. But he's most likely developing some sort of nervous tick because he can't see you tonight."

"What am I supposed to do? Go after him?"

"Yes!"

"Did you forget what I told you about meeting him tonight?"

"About how he ignored you in your workplace, the place where you have quickies with your boss? Yeah, I remember." 

"Hey!"

"Am I wrong?" Lily raises an eyebrow.

Samantha rolls her eyes.

"You both want to be together and you should. But I can't do that for you. Trust me, I've tried. But you can. You're the only one who can get through him and fix this. Do your thing to bring  him closer again."

Samantha furrows her brows.

"You go on and think about it while I wait for Gabs out front. I'm thirsty because I miss feeding to be here and my girlfriend asked a volunteer to drop by and let me feed on her."

"I’m sorry you missed feeding,” she looks down at her hands. “I could've let you feed on me." 

"I know you could, but I was looking for any excuse to see Gabrielle," she smiles. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Samantha nods.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Think about it. You have to talk to him and sort it out." Lily kisses her friend's temple and leaves, hoping for the best outcome for both of her friends.