#i guess??? does sbs spoilers count??????

[previousloversandmuses]

FREQUENCY: Episode 7 - A Soldier Boy Story

FREQUENCY: A Soldier Boy Story

EPISODE 7: “Dead Man Walking”

WORD COUNT: 6033

PAIRING: Soldier Boy X Reader

WARNINGS: (NSFW) SMUT (spoiler sorry) (finally) P IN V UNPROTECTED SEX (pls use proper birth control in your everyday life) Mentions of suicide, depression, drug & alcohol use. Violence, stalking. Homelander and SB being themselves. Offensive slurs.

A/N: This story is dark, and covers mature themes. The main character, as well as other major characters, are offensive in nature, and may offend some people. Please peruse with caution, and remember that this is fiction. Reader discretion is advised. Please message me for any questions, comments, or concerns.

PLEASE DISREGARD SPELLING ERRORS AND FORMATTING ISSUES SOMEONE BROKE MY COMPUTER AND I HAD TO FINISH WRITING AND UPLOADING THIS ON MY PHONE. I WOLL EDIT THIS WHEN I GET HOME TMRW ON MY DESKTOP BUT I WANTED TO GET IT UP ASAP ILY

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Sure, he could have ventured downstairs and harassed Vought Security by now, but no. He wanted the satisfaction of guessing this. He wanted to know how well he knew her. He wanted her to know how well he knew her. That he would appear on her doorstep like a knight in shining armor. But right now, he’s convinced he doesn’t know her much at all.

He started with her birthday, which he didn't know, but neither does she-- at least, he didn’t think she did. He’s not sure when his birthday is either, and they were both raised in the lab, so. That makes sense, right? He tried her favorite color, which he thinks may be green? That would make sense? She likes the forest? But it also could be pink because she is a woman after all, and all women love pink. Celebrity crushes? Him, of course, but that doesn't work either. And he thinks he doesn’t have the emotional security to even try another name.

“ILoveJohn…”Johnandme”...“John123”… “john1234” … ”homelander” … ”ilovehomelander”...”green”...”green123”...”password”... “frequency3” … “frequency123”... “freak+john”... “freakandjohn”... “ilovepink” …

She has her real name too, not “Freak”. Her real name, her given name, her birth name-- which he's sure is beautiful and suits her well. He just has no idea what it is. He has scavenged every computer file attached to Vought for years trying to find out even a hint. It has always come up dry. Without a lead. He has brutally assaulted security personnel over it.

“How fucking hard is it to find a fucking name? A registered supe name?” He would scream.

They would stammer, and quiver, and beg for their lives. Saying some Vought files are strictly kept on paper, so they could avoid the possibility of a cyber attack. That, of course, was never good enough for him.

“And you can’t even tell me the location of the fucking file, at least? Are you that fucking incompetent and mentally retarded? How the hell did you idiots even get a goddamn job here?”

Then he would raid storage rooms all round the city. Data centers from here to DC, which contain the most sensitive information. Of course, he’d threaten them too.

The worst part of it all, the only person he’d met that knew her name, was her. And of course, she never, ever told him. She taunted him with it. He begged like a dog salivating over raw meat.

He works at it for a few more hours until he goes for help. He must've just spelled something wrong, or is having some sort of brain fart.

When he enters the security room, the intern from the other day is already there. She had the night shift tonight, he's assuming. Although he hopes she isn’t on the clock as she snores onto the keyboard in front of her.

He clears his throat, looking around awkwardly--which does nothing. He then grabs a pen from next to her, and pokes her with it. Still nothing. He rolls his eyes, then claps so hard her hair flies back in a gust of wind. She jolts awake. Disoriented. She grabs her ears in pain.

“What the fuck?” She cries.

“Move.” Is all he says as he pushes her out of her swivel chair and takes her place. He hands her the computer from over his shoulder like it's a piece of paper. She grabs it reluctantly.

“What is this?” She asks, rubbing the side of her head to self-soothe.

“You have eyes. I need you to unlock it for me.” He mumbles, peeking down at his cuticles.

She inspects the computer, then sets it on the table next to him. She squats down onto her knees so she doesn't have to bend over. Grabbing a cord from the computer, she connects it and then waits for her main system to boot up.

“I need you to move a little, please…Sir.” She grimaces, moving over his shoulder to begin working on unlocking the computer.

He sighs, craning his neck over to the left so she could squeeze in. She begins to type, pulling up some system he doesn't want, or care to know about. She taps her hand impatiently on the mouse until-

“A-ha,” She says smiling, leaning back over to the laptop and typing in the information. “There you go.”

She hands the open laptop back to him. He inspects it with hesitance. Almost nervous to see the contents inside.

“What was it?” He asks, trying to be nonchalant.

“What was what?” She asks, not daring to look him in the eyes.

“The password.” He presses, glaring at her.

“Oh, um,” She pulls at her collar. Was it getting hot in there? “It was uh, fuc….”

He tilts his head towards her in a feigend attempt to understand what the fuck she just said.

“I’m sorry, in fucking english please.”

She swallows the lump in her throat.

“It was, uh, fuckyoujohn…nicetryasshole…” She grimaces.

He nods his head. Right. Of course it was.

---

When a maaa-aan loves a woman

Can't keep his mind on nothin' else

He'd trade the world

For the good thing he's found

The club had gotten significantly more packed as the night went on. The two of them are squished together, her back to his front. He nestles his face into her neck as he sings along to the songs blasting through the speakers. They are both wasted beyond belief. Ama and Asher had bought everyone a round of drinks after the long awaited makeout.

If she is bad, he can't see it

She can do no wrong

And turn his back on his best friend

If he puts her down

This was it. This is everything he needed to feel better. It was like he was floating. Her smell was intoxicating. He had never been this close to her skin before. It radiated a bouquet of roses and vanilla, even through the sweat and cheap liquor. He would never admit it to her, but he thinks he was pining for her since the moment he saw her. Like a mirage. It was one of those moments where the breath is stolen from your lungs. Where you’re taken aback by the sheer intensity of the moment.

When a man loves a woman

Spend his very last dime

And trying to hold on to what he needs

He'd give up all his comforts

And sleep out in the rain

If she said that's the way, it ought to be

When a man loves a woman

He begins to think in his foggy, mashed potato brain, that maybe, just maybe, everything he ever did, everything he ever experienced, was to lead him straight to her. That his time hidden away, chilled to the bone, was the universe crafting her especially for him. Like she was a hot summer day, and he was a piece of ice thawing out on the hot pavement. That he got to spend thirty years in hell to reflect and remember and regret, so he could be ready for her.

I give you everything I've got

Trying to hold on to your precious love

And baby baby please don't treat me bad

When a man loves a woman

Deep down in his soul

But he could just be drunk. Lovesick after what felt like eons of being starved of affection. Maybe he was more drunk off the scent of her than the liquor. He used to be able to hold it much better than this. But as she sways, and sings, and keeps her sweet feet planted on the ground, he can’t help but imagine that this was all he was ever made to do. Gee, when did he become such a sucker?

On the other hand, she definitely doesn’t have the capacity to even think in abbreviations, let alone full, complex, and poetic run on sentences about how they quite possibly had been made for each other. She was so drunk, she almost called him John a few times now. I mean, like father, like son, right?

Ah- there it is. There’s the thing she was so eager to stow away into the deepest parts of her brain the moment she even began to feel an inkling of attraction to this ancient man.

Her hand flies over her mouth- she thinks she’s going to be sick. What a way to ruin a great moment.

She goes stiff in his arms, he doesn’t notice at first until he looks down and sees her clawing at Ama.

Her eyes are wild, nervous. She hates being sick like this. Vomiting was no fun for someone who not only was a germaphobe, but experienced the five senses tenfold. A simple puke in the toilet became something of midevil torture when you considered the sights, the tastes, the smells-

Ugh, why the hell did she take that last shot?

Ama holds onto her shoulders, cocking an eyebrow, visibly confused. That is until she sees just how cartoonishly green she is. Her skin is completely rid of all colors. Her legs giving out on the dance floor.

Ama yanks over one of the other girls from the res and peels Freak out of Ben’s vice grip.

“What the fuck?” He shouts over the music, watching as the two girls float her out of the crowd.

He follows them out, tripping over Amas heels.

“I was in the middle of using that!” He shouts.

Ama pushes Freak and her friend into the bathroom, and whips her head around to him, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, well that can’t hold its liquor and is about to spew chunks all over the place. So I’d recommend going back with Asher.”

“What?” He asks, trying to push past her and into the ladies room. “Is she alright? Let me through.”

“Oh no no no,” she says, stepping in front of him. “You can happily wait out here.”

A club goer leaves from the bathroom, her flaming, flamboyant gay as her accessory. She looks Ben up and down, scoffing.

“Pervert.” She sneers.

Her gay friend, who is wearing more makeup than she is, glares at him even harder. Ben watches them in shock as they go back out onto the dance floor.

“Was that a girl or a guy?” He grimaces.

Ama cocks an eyebrow, scoffing.

“Please go listen to NPR, or put on CNN, I’m begging you. For the good of the world.” And with that she shuts the door in his face.

Ama walks over to the stall Freak is currently knelt in. Their friend holds back her hair as she dry heaves into the toilet.

“J-John-“ she groans incoherently.

Ama and the girl look at each other.

“Who is John?”

She puked again. Coming back up for air, “John- he’s John…”

BLEH

The two girls turn back to freak, cocking their eyebrows.

“Right…John…” Ama says, reaching down to pat her back.

Freak pulls herself away from the toilet, wiping her mouth off, trying to turn around to them.

“No j-john… he- Ben..”

BLEHHH

The girls grimace as she hurls into the toilet again.

“Freak, what about Ben?”

“He’s his dad…”

“Who is who’s dad? What about Ben’s dad?”

Freak grips on to the sides of the stall now, trying to bring herself up to her feet.

“H-homelander,” She grumbles.

Now that’s a name they know. And a name they know that she knows very well.

“Wait, Homelander is Ben’s dad? How would that even work?” Asks the other girl.

Ama glares at her, then turns back to Freak.

“What about Homelander? Does he know you’re here?!” Ama is worried now, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her towards her face.

She looks half asleep. She doesn’t answer, just smacks her lips and feels around for some sort of water source.

“What about Homelander??” Ama cries.

“He-“ She hiccups. “Homelander is Ben’s son.”

Amas eyes widen. She lets go of freaks shoulders and steps back, hitting the door of the stall.

“I forgot- I feel like a pervert.”

Ama rubs her head, “No, no, you’re not a pervert.”

She squats down to get onto freaks level.

“He- I don’t know. This may change things. How angry would Homelander be if he knew you were going to screw his dad?”

Freak smiles, her eyes glossy and heavy. It’s a goofy smile, one that makes Ama grimace. There’s no way this girl had only four drinks.

“Let’s just hope,” she hiccups. “That Ben doesn’t find out I screwed his son.”

And with that she passes out onto the grimy tile floor.

-----

Her computer is exactly what he thought it would be like, organized and hard to maneuver. He didn’t understand her filing system, and he sure as hell wasn't going to ask the intern to figure out any more of her offensive passwords.

As he looked around in the files, he noticed that almost everything had been wiped clean. All the folders were empty, just leaving the titles of what could have possibly resided in them before. Bringing his eyes up to the top of the screen, he sees the history tab. He thinks there is no way she wouldn't have cleared it, but it's at least worth a try. He brings the cursor up, and selects.

Yahtzee.

She cleared everything else but this. Quite possibly the most valuable information of all. Her search history.

He begins to scroll down, taking note of the last visited websites. Wikipedia, and mapquest. He goes for the mapquest link first. It takes him to coordinates that look to be in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York. No buildings for miles. He sighs. Scrolling back up to the top of the screen, he then selects the wikipedia link. The color drains from his face. He looks like he's seen a ghost.

“Soldier Boy”

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

----

A picturesque morning. The birds are chirping. The sun is shining in through the cracked windows. A stream crackles along in the distance. The smell of coffee brings her out of her slumber.

Ah, what a beautiful day.

She sits up slowly, stretching out her sore limbs. Cocking her head to look out the window, she is greeted by sun rays--only then to let out a rough groan, grabbing her head in pain.

Fuck, she thinks. What happened last night.

The memories flood back like a scrapbook. More like images than pieced together scenes. She can see hints of the night, the important parts obviously sticking out like a sore thumb.

She drops her hands into her lap, looking down at her palms with shame. Was that- is that blood? No, no. It’s lipstick. Okay, just lipstick.

Turning her head cautiously, she checks the other side of the bed. It wasn’t undone, so it obviously wasn't slept in. She nods, applauding herself for not doing anything too stupid. Peering down at her body, she notices she’d been dressed in her own pajamas. That’s also a good sign. She knows for a fact if Ben undressed her, he would've just put her into bed stark naked.

From what she can ponder through the ringing in her ears, and the relentless pounding of her head, she doesn’t think she regrets the acts of the night before. She knew the moment she stared into his eyes last night that she had obviously felt something for him the whole time. She wonders if it's the mutual trauma bond. Similar to the one she and John share. John…his son. Bleh, and there is the warranted nausea. She doesn’t even remember how the hell she got home.

Did Ben carry her? Did Ama and the girls drag her down the road by her hair? Judging by the Sinatra playing from the kitchen, there really is only one way to find out.

She stares at the door in deliberation, stretching one last time. Why is her heart racing? Taking a deep breath, she pulls herself out of bed and through her bedroom door.

He sits on the sofa, coffee in one hand, the paper in another. She squints her eyes at him, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry- are you reading the New York Times?” She gapes, cocking her eyebrow.

He turns back to her, taking a quick intake of breath. He smiles softly, setting his coffee down onto the table in front of him.

“I made coffee too.” He says smiling, like it was some huge feat

She looks around with her eyes, wondering what was so impressive about that. He notices her aloof response and sighs.

“I haven't made coffee in thirty years…and that one has a computer in it.” He crosses his arms.

He refers to the digital screen on the Keurig.

“Ohhhhh,” She says, grasping the importance. “It’s not a computer you idiot.”

“A small celebration for you and an all encompassing victory for me.” His ego was visibly bruised by her indifference.

She smiles at him softly. She thinks something would have been different. That maybe he would have lifted her off her feet when he saw her. Spinning her around and placing hundreds of little kisses all over her face. Enveloping her in their beautiful slow burn love story--unless last night was really just the heat of the moment. I mean, he was the player of the century after all. She looks down at him from her spot in the kitchen, and he meets her with the same eyes he always has. A sharp pain rings out in her chest, her heart sinking down into her stomach.

What a silly little girl, she thinks. A silly little girl to think something like that wouldve really meant something to him. The guy was out of his mind on any substance the facility had to offer last night. Nearly a gallon of liquor, for starters.

She looks down at her feet, then bends down to pick up one of her earrings she assumes fell out during her wrangle inside. She stares at it, turning it over in her hands. Her eyes are bruning. Are they- is she really welling up with fucking tears right now? Because she thinks some prehistoric asshole wouldn’t be willing to give her the time of day? She huffs, turning around and making her way into the bathroom.

“I’m taking a shower.” She calls as she closes the door behind her.

He sits on the couch with a confused expression.

She looks in the mirror. God she looks awful. Her makeup smeared, her eyebags sinking deep into the pits of the socket. Her cheeks hollowing out. She looks grotesque, and gross. Obviously someone who is planning on being gone within the next few weeks.

Right, she forgot about that. The activities with him from the night before distracting her from her imminent demise. A distraction, right. Thats all he is. She doesn’t need to be wasting her time on a man anyway. The future was what was really important. Her end goal being the greatest win of all. The most satisfying feat.

She steps in the shower, letting the warm water cascade down her hair and skin. She cups the water, bringing it up to her face, rinsing off the night before. She sticks her hand out of the shower, grabbing her toothbrush from the counter. She makes quick work of her teeth, also making sure to properly cleanse the impurities from her face and body. She sticks her arm back out to place to toothbrush back on the counter. A hand wraps around hers, grabbing the toothbrush. She jumps in response. How the hell did she not hear him come in there?

He takes the toothbrush and sets it back down on the counter. She rolls her eyes at him.

“A knock would be nic-” And before she can finish her sentence, he rips the shower curtain wide open.

She jumps again, her wet body fully exposed to him.

“Ben-” She begins, going to cover her breasts.

“Don’t,” He says, stepping one foot into the shower, fully clothed. She stammers, objectively confused. He shakes his head, looking down at her figure, and then back to her face, caressing her pretty cheeks. He then leans in. She's reluctant at first, her eyes staying wide open. She still has her body covered. But he takes his arm and wraps it around the small of her back and she's putty in his hands. She melts into his embrace as her eyes flutter closed. His mouth and hers mold together as the kiss becomes heated and sloppy. She can taste the fresh toothpaste from her mouth inside of his. The waster rushing in between them making it hot, wet, and messy. The water is hard, tasting vaguely of minerals. She doesn't care. She pulls back a little, but his mouth follows the flow of her face. She takes in a quick breath, gasping for air.

“Your clothes,” she starts, through broken peppered kisses all over her mouth and face.

“So take them off.” He mumbles like it was obvious.

This was a new one for her.

His clothes are heavy and fully drenched. She goes to lift off his skin tight shirt but struggles. He just reaches up and pulls at the collar, the whole thing ripping in two from the middle.

She looks down at his now exposed torso, brining a delicate hand up to rub up the ridges of his stomach. He looks down at her with gritted teeth. He hadn’t been touched like this in a very, very long time. He thinks he feels his skin burning. He sucks in air into his parted lips. Her mouth is agape, admiring his chiseled torso. She drags her hand up to his chest, her nails digging into his skin. Bens eyes roll back into his head. She’s not sure what to say.

“I,” she starts, chasing the rest of the sentence.

He looks down at her through heavy eyelids, bringing his hand up to her jaw and gripping it tightly. He holds onto her awed expression. Searching her face for any sort of reluctance. He sees nothing, although she is hard to read. Such an intense gleam of bewilderment.

He takes her hand from his chest and moves it down to the front of his pants. He lets out a deep groan. She looks up at him with the innocence of a girl gone untouched for years. She palms him gently, trying to elicit some sort of verbal response again. She enjoys the sounds he’s made. No sex had ever felt this intimate before.

She grips onto him harder, wrapping her nimble fingers up and around the button of his jeans. He watches as her hands make quick work of the top of his pants, beginning to drag them down the length of his legs. She follows them down to the floor of the shower, now ending up on her knees. She stares up at him through her eyelashes, staring directly at his rock solid package, begging to be set free.

He steps out of his pants, she grabs them and throws them out of the shower. They plop into a puddle on the floor. Her reaches down and grabs her chin again, pulling her up to meet his lips. He slips a strong arm behind one of her knees, hiking it up around his waist, never once breaking eye contact. Their lips graze, never touching. He reaches his hand behind her and grips her ass, kneading it like dough. She tilts her head back, letting out a small gasp. He leans into her neck, leaving a trail of nibbles from her clavicle all the way up to under her ear. She writhes under each one, her body struggling to stay upright. He doesn’t mind of course, this was light work for him. She was light as a feather.

He drags his other hand up her chest and around her supple breast. He toys with her nipple, pulling and twisting at it. He watches her pleased face from the crook of her neck. Then moving his mouth down and wrapping his lips on one of her stiff peaks. He sucks on it, nibbling slightly on the top. She watches him from her spot on the tiled wall. Her hand moving up and into his hair, scratching up and down his scalp. She swears he’s moaning more than she is. His eyes have gone white, making a new home in the back of his head.

He pulls back, now hiking both of her legs up and around his waist. He pins her against the tiled wall. Their noses brush, their lips grazing over each other. Her womb aches, begging to be filled. She had never felt this way with John.

“I’m rusty,” he whispers.

“If this is rusty I’m scared to see you well practiced.” She laughs breathlessly.

He smiles into her, kissing her gently.

“How are you feeling?” He asks, genuinely curious.

“Better now,” she coos.

He chuckles, planting a kiss on her cheek. His hands massage her ass, pulling apart the skin. Grazing his fingertips around the spots she so desperately wants him to fill.

“I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression this morning.” He starts.

She rolls her eyes, leaning her head back into the headboard.

“Is now really the time for small talk?” She asks, cocking an eyebrow.

He laughs again, moving one of his hands around to her front. He cups the soft skin of her pulsating heat. Teasing his digits around her swollen bud.

She moans, which in turn, elicits a big goofy smile from him.

“I didn’t realize you wanted me so bad.” He toys.

“I didn’t either,” she starts, arching her back off the wall. She gets in closer to his ear. “If only the V worked the same way on you. The only thing I could smell last night was how much I needed you.”

He groans into her neck, slowly inserting a long, thick finger into her dripping cunt.

“You feel that?” She asks.

“Fuck, do I?” He breathes.

He starts his slow assault on her pussy, rubbing his fingertips up and around inside of her. Massaging his augmented digits around until he can hear himself reaching the right spot. With her long, strung out moan, he can tell he’s gotten there.

From that, he inserts another, and begins to pulsate his hand in even, steady beats. She writhes against the wall, her stomach pushing into his. He kisses at her neck, biting and nipping, sure to leave a mark. All this talk of V has him forgetting how fragile she really was.

He pulls his hand out, and drops her legs. He steadies her as her feet slip around on the wet shower floor. He rips the curtain open. His hard cock standing at attention. Her mouth waters at the sight.

“Eyes up here, sweetheart.” He motions his hand out for her to take.

She looks at it reluctantly, then he leads her into the bedroom.

“I’m soaking wet,” she starts, yelping as he picks her up and tosses her on the bed like a ragdoll.

“Mm, that’s an understatement.” He smirks, crawling up the bed and nestling himself between her thighs.

“What if I told you I need you inside me right now?” She asks, pleading with him to fill her up.

He smiles, leaning down to face her pretty slit.

“Then I’d tell you you’d get it right after I had myself a quick taste. I’m starving you know?” He rebuttles, only then licking a thick, wet stripe up her dripping hole.

She tosses her head back, mewling. Her legs going to clamp around his head. He grabs her knees, spreading them apart, and pinning them down to the bed.

“Keep these open.” He mumbles.

He dives in feverishly, like he hasn’t eaten in years, and all things considered, he hasn’t. He starts on her clit, drawing circles with his tongue. Going back and forth between kitten licks and long thick stripes. He makes audible slurping noises, lapping up her juices from her hole, only to spit back into it making it even sloppier.

She is writhing back and forth, shaking as she fights to close her legs. Not that she even wanted to. Her body and brain were disconnected in this moment. Her muscles constricting and spasming. Her altered touch sense doing a number on her reproductive organs.

She tries yanking him up by his hair. Obviously he doesn’t budge. Still going forward with his assault.

“Ben,” she moans, giving up on physcial methods. “Ben please, I want you.”

He mumbles what she thinks is a “you have me”, but she isn’t too sure. Either way he doesn’t stop.

“No,” she whines. “I want you inside of me, please. Need it so bad.”

He lets out a deep groan, rubbing his hard cock into the mattress. Doing everything he can to relieve the intense pressure.

He sticks his head back up, his face glistening with her sweet juices. She moans at the sight. Sticking her pointer finger up, she beckons him towards her. He crawls on top of her until he’s hovering over her mouth.

Their lips barely touch, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. She wraps her hands around his torso, digging her nails deep in his back. He sucks in air through his teeth. He lifts her knees up and over the bend of his arms, pushing them down onto the mattress. She watches from under him as he lines his angry, red cock right up to her slick entrance.

He sucks air in through his teeth as he sheathes himself inside of her hot core. His eyes roll back into his head. Fuckin A, he thinks. He feels like an addict getting their crack fix. He feels like a caught fish being thrown back into water. This was it. This is everything. Now he remembers why he was such a fiend back in the day. When good pussy was his only kryptonite. But pussy never came like this, he thinks. Pussy with personality, and similarities to himself, and beautiful eyes, and darkness, and light, and human. For once something he dips his cock in really feels human.

“Fuck me,” he groans, beginning to move into her slowly.

Her mouth is wide open, nothing coming out but strangled grunts. She takes it like a champ. Savoring every second his big meaty cock massages her deep, tight ridges.

He watches her face in awe, bringing one of his hands up and brushing strands of hair away. He kisses her lips, keeping his mouth there as he begins to speed up, hiking her legs up higher, and plowing into her sopping wet pussy.

The room is loud. Wet sounds and muffled moans fill the space. It’s hot, and humid. He swears the windows have begun to fog up. The two of them are ravenous. He tries to hold her down but she’s able to lift her hips up to meet his in a fit of impressive determination. This girl is a dream.

He readjusts, hiking her legs up onto his shoulders, admiring her smushed, fat pussy glistening under the flourecents. He watches himself disappear into her juicy folds, hugging onto him like a warm coat. Like a life vest. Squeezing him like a fucking blood pressure monitor.

He’s relentless now, pounding into her, and leaning down to suck her perky tits into his hot mouth. She gapes, her face contorted in pure ecstasy. No sounds leave her lips. Having the breath fucked out of her.

She regains it, letting out a shallow, strangled breath.

“Just like that,” she gasps. “Please, God, don’t stop.”

He smirks at her, wrapping a secure hand around her throat. Not squeezing, just simply for his own leverage. He goes harder, her poor legs definitely will be bruised by his fingertips tomorrow.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” He shouts through gritted teeth.

His head flies back as he spills himself into her. She milks him for all he’s worth. He thrusts into her a few more times before collapsing on top of her chest out of pure exhaustion. He takes deep breaths, trying to catch his breath, which never happens to him. But this took everything. Something so pure and raw and good. A craving that had finally been satisfied. She rubs her hands into his scalp as he lays his head on her sweaty chest. He leaves cute, and quaint little kisses. This is it. He thinks. This is every reason to stay.

If only she felt the same way.

——

He stalks up to Ashley’s office, an unreadable look on his face. He barges into a meeting with her and some other Vought executive. Both of their heads flying up in surprise.

“Homelander, what a nice surprise.” She exclaims.

“Shut it, Ashley,” He presses, turning to the executive. “Get the fuck out of here.”

The executive looks at Ashley, and then scrambles away out the door. She watches him in horror as he leaves the room, the door slamming behind him. John doesn’t take his eyes off of her for a second.

“Why didn’t you tell me that the CIA had Soldier Boy's body?” He asks, cocking an eyebrow.

He gets closer, staring down at her with an intense gaze.

“I-,” she starts. He holds a hand out to stop her.

“And why the fuck didn’t you tell me that he had been fucking kidnapped from the bunker in upstate New York?”

She stumbles over her words as he glares at her. She can’t bare to look him in the eyes.

“Okay, first of all, we were under the impression that he had been eliminated.”

“Well, obviously he hadn’t been fucking elimated, Ashley!” He bellows.

She trembles, finally turning to face him. His nostrils are flared, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Let’s slow down. How do we even know he’s still alive? How do we know that he’s even escaped?” She searches for the right things to say. The way she knows to console him.

“Are you really fucking questioning me right now?” He scoffs.

She just stared up at him with big eyes, unsure how to continue.

He sighs, beginning to pace around the room. If Vought found out about Freaks' plan for the summer, they would surely kill her, which he didn’t want. Killing him? Obtaining Soldier Boy? That was fine. He’d happily fly him into the arms of the military and let them do whatever the fuck they wanted to him. But she was off limits. Anything that would happen to her would be in his own hands. He decides to not push it. Maybe just letting Ashley know about his disappearance was enough.

“You know what,” he lets out an ominous chuckle. “It’s fine. It’s fine! I’m sure he’s gotten himself out and is halfway through South America by this point.”

Ashley looks around, nodding her head. Anything he says goes. She'd rather keep her head than question what the fuck he had to say.

“Forget I even said anything.” And with that, he walks out of her office.

He’d take care of this himself.

Masterlist | Taglist

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[fireemblems24]

Chapter 8 of Scarlet Blaze

Spoilers for up to Ch 8 beneath the cut. This chapter fucking sucked.

Also, I know I tagged this as SB, but be warned this was pretty critical of it. If anyone is actually still browsing tag and thinks I should remove it, I will.

STORY

Hell, yeah, Dimitri was taking names.

This plot is . . . kinda stupid. I feel like Edelgard is just running back and forth the whole time, accomplishing nothing.

LAMO, Omg, she just straight-up blamed all the deaths from the previous battle on . . . Claude 😂

Edelgard really be like "Why did Claude make me hit him!"

I'm pretty sure the writers didn't intend for SB to read like a Monty Python skit, but Edelgard has less self-awareness than Sir Lancelot when he kept apologizing for slaughtering the wedding party because at least that he was aware enough to apologize.

Oh, Randolph. So how many times does he die this time?

So, like, does Shez want people to get executed if they flip sides? He's like, geeze, how dare Claude and Dimitri forgive people.

Shez is like "I don't understand a word you say Edelgard, but I'm helping you slaughter your way across Fodlan because you may rub off on me!" More "SB is a comedy in disguise" fuel.

I wish I picked F!Shez for every route. I like her VA a lot more. Plus, I've seen this personality on a male character in the countless number of shonen anime and manga I've watched/read, but not as much in a woman. And unlike M!Byleth who's gorgeous, M!Shez is alright, but not super hot or anything.

So Lindhart mentioned that the Kingdom and Alliance can rally against the Empire because of the relics and crests. And like, I don't see how killing Rhea will make that power vanish and people not desperately want it. I feel like so much of Edelgard's spiel is an edgelord's power fantasy with no basis in reality.

This soldier is like "Dimitri labeled everyone who sided with his uncle as guilty in the tragedy of Duscur!" Lamo. Except it's true. Would've been interesting if it wasn't and see how Dimitri handled that. I sometimes wish he got more grey situations bc the writing in Hopes so far he's just . . . the good guy. Like straight-up the hero, no questions. Which, I love because at heart that's what Dimitri is, but I wish the writing would corner him anyways.

Oh, fuck. It's Sylvain. Oh fuck. I don't want to fight him. That sucked.

Count Rowe is being a backstabbing moron. I love how it's always the evil ones that side with Edelgard. It's an underrated thing no one talks about.

And now I have to fight Rodrigue :( Feels bad, killing Blue Lions+ members for the crime of defending themselves.

Ok. It's an unquestionable fact that when you find yourself fighting Annette, you are the villain. This is just truth.

Pretty sure this is heading to a temporary truce between Claude and Edelgard. Which, Claude's (and the Alliance's) funeral, I guess, lamo.

SHEZ & PETRA B SUPPORT

Petra's asking Shez about mercenaries. Questions if Shez would work for the enemy if they offered more money. Aww, damn. You don't have an option to say yes. :(

At least it's somewhat based in trust on their employer (and to get future ones) and not just mindless fangasming. I wouldn't want that in GW or AG either.

DOROTHEA & HUBERT B SUPPORT

This is their only support.

Hubert has a letter from the opera company and wanted to talk to Dorothea, so he's giving it to her in person.

Ohhh, he's bringing up how Dorothea hates violence, but stays and fights in the war rather than returning to the opera.

Glad this is finally getting addressed. Letting Dorothea talk.

It's part wanting to fight alongside her friends and part wanting to represent commoners in Edelgard's army. But also to score a rich husband.

Honestly, much better than whatever the fuck their Houses final support was.

HUBERT & FERDINAND B SUPPORT

So other popular ships got amped up (Dimilix, Dimidue, Marihilda - strangely not Sylvix though). So did the gay get turned up here?

Ferdinand is up late and Hubert wonders why. Ferdinand is studying the law to try and get his father arrested.

Oh, Ferdinand brought up the fact Hubert's father died. Putting Hubert to the question about executing his own father and mad he didn't judge his father in public

Hubert argues that his father would never have been found guilty.

God, that was SOOOOO much meatier than "I wanna serve Edelgard the best!" "No I wanna!!!!"

Monica took over the "pathetic Edelgard simp" to Hubert's "competent Edelgard simp" so Ferdinand could finally fucking get to run.

Ferdinand so far is 10000% the best part of SB (I'd say Petra competes, but I like her better in AG so far).

SHEZ & FERDINAND B SUPPORT

Shez thinks Ferdinand is faking enthusiasm. Not like that. Lamo. He's just overcompensating for his father's failure.

Ferdinand feels powerless and useless. I wish he was the MC.

Shez just wants to help Ferdinand feel better.

Ferdinand wants to surpass his father.

It's a repeat of his stuff with Edelgard and Hubert, but it's by far the most compelling part of SB.

PETRA & HUBERT B SUPPORT

Hubert is checking on Petra to make sure she feels comfortable and temps her with staying in the Empire, but Petra's like "naw."

Worth noting that Brigid is still under the thumb of the Empire. So Petra's a hostage basically forced into this war in order to secure the freedom of her country.

And they can't even go public yet, fearing the citizens get pissed off. Man, the Empire must be full of bloodthirsty land grabbers.

Go Petra! She low-key threatens Hubert and forces them to uphold their promises. Nice seeing her have a backbone.

PETRA & FERDINAND B SUPPORT

Ferdinand sung to Petra to ask her to spar. It's really cringe. Like, realllllly cringe. I would've been embarrassed if I wasn't playing alone.

He thinks this is some Brigid custom, but song and dance is only involved with religious ceremonies. Petra calls him out for finding her country so silly.

It's a mistranslation

Petra owned Ferdinand in this support and we are here for it.

FERDINAND & LYSITHEA C SUPPORT

Talking tea. Can relate.

Lysithea was ready to eat the food and bail. Nice.

But Ferdinand wanted to ask her about joining the commoner class. Lysithea insists she's fine with it and wants to.

Ferdinand doesn't know any de-nobled nobles who are happy. Lysithea know he only knows ones who got kicked out, he's not wrong.

Then he's like, you can't join them! Then you can't change anything anymore. But like what is he fighting on Edelgard's side for?

She, of course, doesn't have a future.

MONICA & BERNIE PARALOGUE

Bernie's enjoying her socially isolated life when Monica needs her help with something because there's no one else around.

You can have Shez agree she shouldn't come, and he says he'll slow them down, lamo. Bernie is offended.

They need to rid bandits out of a cave.

So his Duke is part of it. And he's had problems finding the Fetters of Dromini because of a TWSITD spy. It's also related to whoever kidnapped Monica.

So all I get is Shez, Monica, and Bernie. Only Shez has even looked at a battlefield and the other two are level 1 an 2. I can make 1 an adjunct, but not both. Ugh. Gotta go level at least one up.

Oh, hey, Myson.

I forgot how good of a unit Shez is lol.

Seems like Bernie actually has a decent mom. Bernie just wants to hide in the caves though. Monica advises against it.

DOROTHEA & MANUELA PARALOGUE

This one is easier since they're both leveled up already.

Everyone is fangirling over them. Dorothea assures Manuela that time hasn't tarnished her beauty, but she doesn't buy it.

They wanted Shez as a bodyguard because he's not a crazed fan. I wish real life celebrities would just whip out daggers on ridiculous fans.

This one's more entertaining than the last one. Random thieves are fans and if you defeat them with whoever they're a fan of (Dorothea or Manuela) they join you, lamo. Good both of them are already leveled up too.

Aww, Hanneman showed up to rescue Manuela.

The bandits were swarming the town because of the war. It's nice to see more acknowledgement of how Edelgard's war is screwing over the common folk.

Glad to see Hanneman get a nice little shout out despite getting demoted to NPC. Dorothea and Shez basically told them to get a room, lamo.

STORY/MAIN FIGHT

Edelgard is the least effective conquer I've seen in fiction.

"Defeat Dimitri" - How about, no.

I see "persuade Mercedes." Does that mean I need to bring Jeritza? Because it's not like Hubert or Edelgard are masters of persuasion.

"Defeat Dedue." I hate this. Monica's like, "If Dedue's here, then Dimitri is too." Even SB ships them.

Haha, they flipped sides to Dimitri after he was like "I don't want to kill you, please fight for me instead." And like, no shit?

Aw, shit. Now I have to fight Dimitri.

Oh, now I get to fight Ingrid too. Guys, I'm having so much fun right now. It doesn't help at all that SB is boring as fuck.

Oh, shit. Fuck. What the fuck. Ingrid just died. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Oh shut the fuck up, Edelgard. "Oh, this is so painful." IDK maybe stop trying to conquer everyone who doesn't kiss your ass. You too, Monica. "Oh, she was loyal to the end."

I'm beginning to remember why I hated Edelgard so much in CF. She's such a self-righteous idiot incapable of taking responsibility for her shitty actions AND has no sense of self-awareness.

Dimitri and Dedue sound so sad 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Dedue and Dimitri both taking the credit, meanwhile prissy ass is like "oh, wow, so sad these people died. No idea why."

Shit, Dimitri just mentioned Glenn. He sounds so broken up. Glad Dedue is giving Ingrid the credit for her own choices and actions.

She died defending everyone she loved.

I bet Edelgard will find a way to blame Rhea for Ingrid's death rather than take any responsibility for all the death she causes.

Only Dorothea fucking cares about Ingrid.

"We are nowhere near achieving our goals in the Alliance or in the Kingdom." - Edelgard. I can't fucking understand how some people argue she's isn't an Imperialist.

At least she's admitting she's fucking stupid with her army leadership inabilities.

I'd tell Edelgard to go fuck herself, but that implies a level of pleasure she doesn't deserve. #JusticeforIngrid #StoptheImperalists

xxxx

[sebeth]

Young Justice: Eminent Threat

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 S

P

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 Young Justice: “Eminent Threat”

 Courtney Whitmore, Star Girl, makes her Young Justice debut, but as a television interviewer. Courtney interviews Gar (Beast Boy). Gar is dating Queen Perdita of Vlatava. The couple is known to their fans as “Gardita”.

Perdita featured in an episode from the first season of Young Justice. Wally had to deliver a heart to the other side of the country to save Perdita’s life.

Gar and Perdita met at Wally West’s funeral.

Gar continues his campaign against meta-human trafficking.

It seems the creators are feeling very confident over the possibilities of future seasons. We wouldn’t get these side moments with Gar or the cute ending credit scenes if the creators weren’t positive of future seasons. Otherwise, every moment of screen time would be too valuable to waste on cute moments like Gar’s romantic life and Artemis’s dog sleeping with a Wally plushie.

July 31:

We switch to Markovia where Brian is encased in the activation goo.

Artemis has Halo stay with stay with Sphere as she and Jeff leave to rescue Conner.

Halo mutters “Kill” after the duo leaves.

Dick enters the hospital and stills a lab coat.

After getting past the outer layer of the hospital, Dick takes off the lab coat to reveal his covert outfit and gear.

The spy bug Dick sent in last episode and pranks him. Pretty sure Oracle is running the bug.

 Dick sneaks into the room holding Conner and Brion: “They have SB unconscious and in a pod”.

Artemis: “He is not going to like that.”

The pod will bring back unpleasant memories of Conner’s Cadmus days – and he’s already on edge from seeing the pods.

Count Vertigo arrives back at the lab: “I have just spoken with his Highness and he gave nor orders for the parting and tarring of a Prince of the Realm!”

Does this mean Gregor’s involved? Or is the Baron referring to himself as “Highness”?  

Ecks turns on Jace but she defends her actions: “I had to! His so-called ‘Highness’ is out of control. The things he has made us to. But now, we have someone with the power to stop him. To stop Bedlam.”

It’s not Gregor as he has been a genuine “Highness” since his birth.

Count Vertigo attacks Doctor Jace.

Baron Bedlam arrives and it’s the Queen’s brother.  If Bedlam is a normal human, does this mean he has no connections to Apokolips? Or did an agent of Apokolips kill the real Baron and replace him?

Dick: “How did I not notice Delamb is an anagram for Bedlam?”

I didn’t catch it either, Dick.

I’m assuming the Queen’s maiden last name was Delamb so that would seem to rule out my “Apokolips Bedlam killed and replaced the Baron” theory.

Plasmus attacks Artemis and Jeff. The duo is saved by Halo and Sphere. Halo proclaims “No kill” and throws up an energy shield.

Sphere is referred to as “Super-Cycle” which was its name in the Kon/Bart/Tim Young Justice comic book.

The cycle attacks the henchmen. Dick saves Jace. She frees Brion from the metamorphosis pod. We didn’t see any goo in Conner’s pod but it would be an easy way to develop his tactile telekinesis.

Dick frees Conner from the pod. Jace offers to destroy the activation tar.

The group is unable to rescue the kids as the pods are boom-tubed away. The group does destroy the facility.

The Baron returns to the pre-coronation ceremony and frames Brion as the one behind the metahuman trafficking ring.

Jefferson is not happy with the night’s events because of the lost kids. Dick attempts to soothe him with their limited success.

A panicked Brion regains consciousness. And rapidly loses control of his powers.

Conner, of all people, intervenes: “The more panic, the less control you’ll have. Focus on your breathing. Just focus on controlling your breath.”

Conner is the Young Justice member most familiar with forced scientific experimentation and waking up in a pod.

Oracle urges Dick to turn on the television – Baron declares Brion the culprit behind the metahuman trafficking ring and the assassination of the royal couple.

Brion declares “Lies” and runs away – losing control of his powers in the process.

Conner: “Following him with infrared. He’s headed toward the palace. I’ll try to cut him off.”

Count Vertigo and henchmen Boom Tube onto the beach.

Dick orders Conner to retrieve Brion while the rest deal with Count Vertigo, Plasmus, and company.

Vertigo has the same reaction I did to Dick’s plan: “Sending your heavy hitter away?”

Dr. Ecks multiplies himself – similar to Madrox and Triplicate Girl.

Brion arrives at the ceremony in a molten lava form. He’s not happy.

He attacks DeLamb who is not only immune to the lava but punches Brion across the yard.

I’d say the Apokalips agent theory is back in play.

DeLamb rips off his skin to reveal a stone form underneath.

Gregor is very confused.

Conner arrives: “Prince Brion, we gotta go. There’s a better way to handle this. And we can help you find it.”

Bedlam attempts to reclaim the narrative – accusing Brion of being in league with meta-human assassins.

Gregor points out the obvious: “You’re a metahuman.”

Bedlam defends: “I had to become one, to defend us against them.”

Brion and Bedlam battles.

We return to the beach battle – it’s not going well. Artemis neutralizes Vertigo but Plasmus viciously murders Halo.

Halo’s death triggers Jeff’s ability to use the full extent of his powers and he attacks Plasmus.

Halo shocks Artemis and Jace when she revives: “No kill. No dead. Not dead. Me!” She says this as half her face is burnt off. Literally burnt off – no skin, no eyeball, visible skull.

Halo uses a purple light to heal herself.

Superboy saves civilians while Baron and Brion battle.

Baron orders the soldiers to fire upon Brion.

Gregor countermands the order: “Disregard that order. Arrest Baron DeLamb.”

Gregor’s no fool and knows bullshit when he sees it.

Bedlam hurls himself at Gregor but is prevented from reaching his target by Superboy. Bedlam is taken down by Conner.

The ambassador urges Gregor to banish Brion from the country. I may be overly suspicious but the ambassador has the slender build of the modern Bedlam appearances.  Hmmm.

Brion is devastated by his banishment. Gregor asks Conner to “Take care of him. Please.”

The Markov brothers are breaking my heart.

Conner leaves with Brion.

Jeff and Plasmus continue their battle. Jeff spots the control disk on Otto’s back and destroys it. Otto has a flashback to his transformation. Otto has regained control of himself and destroys an Ecks clone.

Dick knocks out the main Ecks causing the clones to disappear.

Count Vertigo and his weapons henchman Boom Tube off the beach.

A nearby farmer shoots and kills Plasmus: “I killed the monster.”

Jeff angrily informs the farmer: “You killed a kid. When you realize that, you’ll regret it. Trust me.”

Halo attempts to heal Plasmus but cannot: “No life. Cannot heal.”

Conner and Brion arrive at the beach. Artemis asks Dick: “What do we do now?”

The end scene is a house and a car. The dirt road may be an indication it is the Kent farm.

The “What now?” question is intriguing.

Based on the first three episodes, it looks like we will have two teams of Justice League and Young Justice. Possibly three teams of Young Justice – mainstream and rogue versions.

We have the “rogue” Justice League – Batman, Green Arrow, Katana, Plastic Man, Hardware.

We have Dick’s rogue team – Dick, Artemis, Conner, Jeff, Brion, and Halo.

Conner won’t be able to go to back to the mainstream Young Justice team. Bystanders were filming the brawl at the pre-coronation ceremony. Vertigo recognized Superboy. The Light and United Nations Secretary General Lex Luthor will smear Conner in the public. Possibly making Conner a fugitive from justice.

We also have the second rogue “Young Justice” team: Tim, Stephanie, and Cissie.

Gar has proclaimed himself a “metahuman civilian” and is focusing on his acting career.

We have two characters in the promotional materials that haven’t debuted yet: Arsenal and Metamorpho.

We know Metamorpho allies with Batman’s team. I assume he will show up the next time we see Batman’s team.

Arsenal is the true wild card. I have two guesses. Roy either 1) allies with Tim’s group or 2) has formed the Outlaws with a revived Jason Todd. We’d have a fourth Rogue hero team!

Tim’s group will clearly work with Bruce and company.  Does Dick’s team join the alliance or run their own plan?

An alliance would make the most sense as the various rogue teams have the same end goal. However, Dick and Bruce are known for their disagreements and “I’ll do things my own way” approach.

Three new episodes next week!

[junker-town]

The best and worst teams in each NFL division

Only eight teams can win a division crown each season. Here's who is in the lead right now ... and who has a lot of catching up to do.

The way certain teams have performed so far this season has been a surprise, to say the least. The Patriots have the same 3-2 record as the Bills and the Jets, which makes the AFC East an exciting race, especially after the Patriots have won it a record-setting eight seasons in a row.

In the NFC South, the Falcons were expected to stay at the top of a tough division. Instead, the Panthers look like they’ve shaken off last year’s Super Bowl hangover, and they’ve made a strong case to be the favorites in the division.

Some divisions are shaking out just the way you’d expect them to this season. The Chiefs were good last year, and Derek Carr’s injury put a damper on the Raiders’ chance to challenge them. The Broncos aren’t going down without a fight, and the Chargers are inarguably the AFC West’s worst team right now.

We asked SB Nation’s NFL team sites to weigh in on their respective divisions and where each team stands heading into Week 6 of the 2017 season.

AFC East

Best: New England Patriots ... or Buffalo Bills?

Pats Pulpit isn’t worried about the 3-2 Patriots:

The Patriots, for all their warts, are clearly the class of the division and their two losses have come against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Panthers, that have a combined record of 7-1 against non-Patriot teams in 2017. They’re good opponents that had good days, while the Patriots defense struggled to find its footing.

Buffalo Rumblings begs to differ about the Patriots:

Seriously. Someone has to win the division. It might as well be the Bills. New England has already won it for eight straight seasons. Sooner or later the law of averages has to catch up, right? Trust the process.

Worst: New York Jets or Miami Dolphins

The Phinsider says the Dolphins are better than the Jets:

The Dolphins are not a last place team. They will surpass the New York Jets this season — even though they already lost to the Jets once this year. They may not be able to surpass the New England Patriots, who should return to their annual position as the top team in the division, but they could challenge the Buffalo Bills for the second position.

Gang Green Nation says nope, the Dolphins are the worst:

Entering the year, many people thought the Jets would be the worst team in the entire NFL, not just the AFC East. Through five weeks, that does not appear to be the case. The worst team in the division so far is the Miami Dolphins, who were blown out by the Jets in Week 3. The Dolphins are averaging an unfathomably bad 10.2 points per game. Sure, their starting quarterback is out for the year, but even the Cleveland we saw on Sunday is over 15 points per game.

Who is the best team? I won’t answer just yet. We might have better idea on Sunday after the Jets and the Patriots play. I think we all know the most likely outcome. One team has Tom Brady. The other has Josh McCown.

AFC West

Best: Kansas City Chiefs

Arrowhead Pride is ready for the NFL’s only undefeated team to play its biggest AFC West competition:

The best team in the division so far is clearly the Chiefs. No one except Denver fans are arguing that. What I can’t wait for is when the Chiefs get a chance to prove that. After this week, the Chiefs play the Raiders in Week 7 and then the Broncos in Week 8.

Worst: Los Angeles Chargers

Bolts from the Blue says it’s obvious, but there’s hope for the future:

The Chargers are a team that has building blocks for the future. They have some elite talent already. And they are not necessarily one of the worst teams in the league, but the AFC West is the strongest division in football and they are by far the worst team in it. Perhaps with a strong offseason, they can crawl out of the cellar and maybe even challenge for a Wild Card spot next year, but for now, they are already out of contention.

And the rest ...

Silver and Black Pride just wants the Oakland Raiders to stay out of the cellar:

The Chargers are very capable of coming to Oakland and getting the win, and if they do, it would drop the Raiders to 2-4 and to the bottom of the division officially.

Derek Carr is expected back this week from his back injury. That’s good news for the Raiders, but Carr wasn’t playing well even before he left, so his return is no guarantee the Raiders will suddenly be dominant again.

Mile High Report warns not to count out the Denver Broncos, though:

As the only undefeated team left in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs are clearly the best in the west right now. However, the Denver Broncos are nipping no their heels after five weeks. It’s a two horse race.

Frankly, the Chiefs have a history of regular season prowess and then find ways to falter come January. The Broncos could be the spoiler that ruins their hopes and dreams, which would be glorious.

AFC North

Best: Pittsburgh Steelers or Cincinnati Bengals with Bill Lazor as OC?

Behind the Steel Curtain knows another AFC North title isn’t a sure thing:

Currently, the Steelers are still the team with the most potential. Their defense is by far the most talented in the division, and their defense is playing at a much higher level than anticipated coming into 2017. However, the Steelers are also a team who has some major issues which need rectified if they want to win back-to-back division crowns. The defense has been gashed by the run, while the offense hasn’t come close to living up to their potential.

Cincy Jungle says the Bengals went from worst to potentially first after the offensive coordinator change:

During the first two games of the year, the Bengals were arguably the worst team in the NFL due to the offense being led by Ken Zampese. His atrocity of an offense and play-calling were arguably the worst by any NFL coordinator. With the amount of talent he had at his disposal, Zampese managed to make this offense look like the worst in football, it was so bad that it made the Bengals arguably the worst team in the division.

But with Bill Lazor breathing life into this offense while the defense continues to play great, the Bengals now looks like the best team in the division, at least if we’re going off the last three weeks, during which the Bengals have shown their dominance.

Worst: Cleveland Browns

Dawgs by Nature knows the winless Browns are at the bottom:

There is no doubt it’s the Browns again. I don’t have to say anything more other than the fact that they are 0-5 and continue to have shuffling at the quarterback position.

And the rest ...

Baltimore Beatdown thinks the Baltimore Ravens are a second-place team:

The best team in the AFC North is inconclusive, but I’m giving the leader of the chase to the Steelers. Until Baltimore overtakes them by multiple wins, they are in second place.

AFC South

Best: Jacksonville Jaguars

Big Cat Country is confident the Jaguars are the class of the division:

This is a team that is playing historically good on defense and allowing their offense to function largely without a quarterback. They have the best run game in the NFL, their offensive line is protecting their quarterback better than anyone in the AFC, and the coaching is (finally!) good.

Worst: Every team but the Jaguars

Stampede Blue thinks the division is still up for grabs:

The division is still bad and while the Indianapolis Colts have certainly lost the throne, every team is closer to average than they are to dominant. No team has dominated the division in the same way as Peyton Manning did during his tenure in Indianapolis. He has a statue to prove it.

Music City Miracles says the Titans are the best with Marcus Mariota, but ...

Now that I have talked about how good the Titans are, they are the worst team in the division with Matt Cassel under center. We have talked about his limitations ad nauseam this week. He can’t make about 75% of the throws an NFL quarterback should be able to make. If the offensive line isn’t elite, which it hasn’t been this year, this team won’t win very many games (if any) with Cassel at quarterback.

Battle Red Blog gives the Jaguars the edge over the Texans ... for now:

On one hand, the Jaguars manhandled the Texans in Week One. On the other hand, that was before Deshaun Watson became the Texans’ starting quarterback and thus before Bill O’Brien’s offense rose from the ashes like a phoenix. Then again, the Texans are now sans Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt for the next eleven games, so how much will the defense fade in the coming weeks? Of course, the Jaguars still feature Blake Bortles as their starting quarterback, so can they really be taken seriously, even with that nasty defense and running game?

NFC East

Best: Philadelphia Eagles

Bleeding Green Nation is flying high and so are the Eagles:

Football Outsiders gives the Eagles a 66.9% chance of winning the division. They also give the Eagles a 22.4% chance of being the No. 1 seed in the conference — the best odds of any NFC team right now.

And are you ready for this? Guess which NFL team currently has the second best odds to win the Super Bowl?

That’s right, it’s your Philadelphia Eagles — at 9.3%.

Worst: New York Giants

Big Blue View didn’t mince words:

Your down-trodden, woebegone, wretched, dreadful 0-5 New York Giants are the worst. That would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago, but it’s true.

And the rest ...

Blogging the Boys says the Dallas Cowboys need to regroup during their bye:

Dak and Zeke are hitting their stride, but the team’s inability to close out games and slow down opposing offenses has proven costly.

Hogs Haven stills think Washington could challenge the Eagles:

At 2-2, (Washington sits) in second place but have quietly gained confidence against what looks like the hardest schedule anyone in the NFC East has faced.

NFC West

Best: Seattle Seahawks or Los Angeles Rams

Field Gulls knows the Rams are trying to come for the Seahawks’ crown:

I think Seattle is better one through 53, but there’s no argument Rams have some solid pieces. However, they also have two of the oldest 10 or 12 starting offensive linemen in the league, have had phenomenal injury luck thus far and have yet to beat a team that currently has a winning record. They’re better than they have been, but haven’t arrived just yet in my opinion.

Turf Show Times thinks that, despite the Rams losing to the Seahawks in Week 5, the true best team is to be determined:

The best team of yesterday’s NFC West remains the Seattle Seahawks. The best team of tomorrow’s NFC West looks like it could be in LA.

But today? I’m not sure if we’re closer to yesterday or tomorrow. And given what happened Sunday, I’m not sure that either of those two teams know either.

Worst: San Francisco 49ers

Niners Nation suggests the 49ers still have a shot ... at playing spoiler:

The 49ers close out their season on the road facing the Los Angeles Rams. It’s impossible to tell what will be happening at that point, but it would be pretty fun to see the 49ers with a chance to cost the Rams the division or a wild card berth in the final week.

And the rest ...

Revenge of the Birds sees a change coming at the top, but the Cardinals are still in the middle:

The Seahawks remain at the top, but now there may be another challenger appearing as the Rams look like the best option to challenge the Seahawks.

The Arizona Cardinals have fallen to the middle tier, where the Rams called home for so long, and the 49ers are in the midst of their third rebuild post Jim Harbaugh.

NFC North

Best: Green Bay Packers

Acme Packing Company presents the only argument needed:

The biggest reason for that is, of course, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has the same number of MVP awards, two, as the rest of the quarterbacks in the division have Pro Bowl appearances — combined. A year after leading the NFL in touchdown passes, he is doing so once again so far this young season and he is doing so with an increased completion percentage over last year and with nearly an identical passer rating.

Worst: Chicago Bears

But that doesn’t mean Windy City Gridiron has to like it:

I was really hoping the Chicago Bears would have won on Monday Night Football, because then I could have gone with the, ‘they’re 1-0 with Mitchell Trubisky argument,’ and not had the Bears as the worst team in the division, but at 1-4, the Bears are the worst.

And the rest ...

Pride of Detroit points out that the Lions are better than the Packers in a key stat:

If you look at the DVOA standings after Week 5, the Green Bay Packers aren’t the best team in the NFC North. In fact, they aren’t even a top 10 team. Here’s how the entire NFC North ranks according to DVOA.

Lions: 8th overall (21st on offense, 8th on defense, 2nd in special teams) Packers: 11th overall (4th/20th/19th) Vikings: 14th overall (5th/16th/22nd) Bears: 28th overall (28th/17th/26h)

So not only are the Packers second to the Lions, but the Vikings are right on their tail.

Daily Norseman would like to remind you that the Minnesota Vikings aren’t out of this yet:

On Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings have a chance to upset that mix a little bit when they host the Packers. If the Vikings should emerge victorious on Sunday, then they probably can make the claim that they’re the NFC North’s best, but there will still be plenty of season remaining.

NFC South

Best: Atlanta Falcons or Carolina Panthers

Everyone but Cat Scratch Reader thinks the Falcons are on top:

See, if you would have asked me this last year, I would have had to hold my nose and say the words ‘The Falcons are the best team in the NFC South’. But I don’t have to do that this year. The Panthers have found their 2015 form once again and are on pace to finish with a 12-4 record and a berth in the playoffs.

The Falcoholic says not so fast:

That said, are they more talented than the Falcons? I’d say no. I’d also suggest that they’re much more likely to run into issues on offense than Atlanta, given their recent track record on that side of the ball. I’d suggest that the talent gap, all things equal, will put the Falcons in a better position to win the South. We’ll see if that holds true, but the Falcons have the better ground game, receiving corps, offensive line, arguably linebackers, and certainly secondary and special teams. It should be enough.

Worst: New Orleans Saints

But Canal Street Chronicles thinks it may not stay that way:

No one is ready to crown the Saints, and rightfully so. They have lost to the Lions three straight seasons, and no one will hop on their bandwagon anytime soon. Victories over the Lions and Packers, two of the better (maybe best) teams in the NFC could very well change that. We want to see if the defense is real or fool’s gold. Still, offensively you have to feel good about what rookie Alvin Kamara has been able to do throughout the first part of the season, which helped lead to the dismissal of Adrian Peterson. Getting Terron Armstead and Willie Snead back will be a big boost to the offense, but will losing Alex Anzalone be a big issue on defense?

And the rest ...

The Buccaneers aren’t the best, and Bucs Nation isn’t happy about it:

Eh.....ugh. I guess I have to say the Atlanta Falcons here, but I hate it. Maybe the Carolina Panthers are slightly better, if the last results are an indicator. Who knows. Who cares. They’re both ugh.

The reality is that the Buccaneers aren’t the best team in the division, and they’re not even close right now. They’ve struggled to get to 2-2 against a fairly weak schedule and while they haven’t been bad, they’ve been disappointing—and nowhere near the best team in the division.

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Which division is the NFL’s best?

[lorillee]

girl oda needs to stop with the favorite foods and tragic backstories ... i cannot believe broth splatterina is dead................