#i vote to send Jen at him and watch

[shadowsofhaddix]

(For anyone forgetting, Jason was the one who manipulated Nina and worked with the Population Police to turn kids in.)

[mxndanemagic]

Prom

"She isn't going to let me go." A lamenting sigh comes from the young woman. Hugging her legs close and leaning against the window whos ledge she's seated on, Ella glances over to her older brother. "Scarlet says they'll know exactly what kind of girl I am. That I need stay home and repent for taking to Lucifer's temptations."

William doesn't hold back a frustrated groan, going over to the other and placing a hand atop her head. "That mother of ours isn't well. I know you've been having a rough time at school and Scarlet isn't much help either. But I doubt making a friend is worth the fuss she's causing." Sweeping a brief look across his sister's arms, William spots fading blotches of bluish purple. "Did she do that?"

Or was it the bullies?

"My throat was getting dry from reading verses. I stopped for a moment and she got upset. I don't think she's ever gotten this bad." Ella admits. "I think she misses you." Their mother had always been frenzied about keeping "sin" and the "devil" out of their lives. When her brother graduated and chose to attend a college far from home, she seemed to take it personally. Accusations of taking part in witchcraft, wanting to let the devil into her life, and seducing demons began to become part of her daily life when William left.

The blonde shakes his head in disbelief - moving away to rummage through his weekend bag. "Think I got some concealer in here. You told me you got asked to the dance by one of the popular guys, right? What's he like? He isn't trying to mess with you is he?" Williams questions follow one after another. He only wanted to keep his sister safe from any further harm.

"Do you like him?"

Ella looks up confused but lets out a laugh. "No. I just know him because Moira does. If she's friends with him then he must be doing this to be nice. I'm just relieved not everyone at that school sees me as a freaky witch."

"...Come on, you should get ready. I'll make sure mom doesn't find out where you went and I know Moira snuck you out to go dress shopping." he smiles.

The younger Nowell flusters at being discovered but she thanks her brother who heads off to see where their mother is.

She hadn't been nervous earlier but once the sight of the time and realizing she was ready to go, Ella could feel her heart racing. Was her dress fine? Her hair just right and makeup fine? Would the other students mock her for attending the dance with someone so well known?

Just make them shut up for good.

The thought startles her - causing the witch to go still. Maybe she was more anxious than she thought.

"I hope this isn't too much for you, Liam." her words stumble out during the walk to the school. Ella had insisted the other didn't make a grand show when it came to taking her to prom. Now they were strolling together through the neighborhood. Liam however had been rather silent throughout the trip. "Is everything okay?" Maybe he was having second thoughts.

Liam responds as if he was caught off guard, a hand going to the back of his neck. "Y-Yeah. I just...you look nice." he mutters, keeping his eyes to the ground. "The dress too!" a rushed addition to his compliment is given.

Ella's face softens, a gentle smile taking place. "You look nice too." It seemed like the right thing to say after his kind words. Maybe her mother was all wrong about things. Not everyone she would meet was going to be cruel...

"There you two are!" Heather is first to greet them - her hands clasping Ella's close. "I told Jen you weren't gonna let her little subordinates get to you. Thought for a second Liam got lost on his way to your house." she looks over to the other, giving him a stern look. "He didn't do anything did he?"

"I was the perfect gentleman!" Liam counters, earning laughter from the two girls. "I'm getting some punch." he grumbles, breaking off from them and into the bustling crowd of prom attendees.

Heather leads Ella to an empty table away from the dancefloor, near the stage decorated for the main event of the night.

The reveal of this years Senior Prom Royalty.

"I made sure nobody would give you trouble tonight. I haven't even seen Jen or her boyfriend either after talking to her. Maybe she got bored and left." Heather sounds hopeful. It would take away some concern for the evening if that were true. "Didn't think your mom was gonna let you out, Ella. I was ready to drag Liam to your place so we could sneak you out." she grins.

Ella returns a small smile, fidgeting with the corsage on her wrist. "Will surprised us with an early visit. He wanted to make sure I could go with you guys." Being able to attend felt like the first step in concluding her unpleasant senior year on a good note.

"Testing, testing!" The sound of a stage mic being adjusted by an MC has the lively chatter in the gymnasium quiet down. "Nice to have you all here tonight! Dancing, mingling, and of course waiting for the results of our most coveted titles this years prom!"

The crowd answers with rallied cheers and impatient encouragement. Eyes watch with anticipation as a single envelope is brought over to the MC. "Let's see here~ Your King and Queen for tonight's Senior Prom are-"

"LIAM MASTERS AND ELLA NOWELL!"

The announcement surprises the woman, looking up and around as a spotlight brings attention to her and Liam - who makes his way to the stage while signaling her to follow after.

"Go on up, Nowell!" Heather gives her a light nudge.

She was voted Prom Queen?

Her footsteps towards the stage feel light, her heart beating just like before when she was getting ready.

Ella wished her mother could see - see that her fear mongering was for nothing. Everyone was smiling and clapping! They were cheering for her...

A bouquet of black dahlias is handed over to her while she and Liam stand center stage, all eyes on them as a crown is put on her head.

"Give it up for our Prom King and Queen, folks!"

Ella holds her flowers close, giving Liam and the crowd a bright smile. The crowd is so loud with their excitement that she barely hears the sound of rope snapping...

A puddle of thick wetness drapes over her, splashing to the ground and staining anything it lands on. Her cheery expression falters into one of shock - gaze staring out into the audience that reacts with a gasp. The bouquet in her grasp tumbles to the ground, stained in red paint.

At least that's what Ella thought it was until she begins to try wiping it off her arms and dress.

It was blood.

She can feel it dripping into her hair, staining her skin, and the smell of rust sticking to her.

They're all staring - some crying out for her date who's stumbled to the floor of the stage after a knock to the skull from the now empty bucket that had been leveraged above them.

Others are falling into gossip and among them she spots the one likely behind it all.

"LOOK AT THE FREAK COVERED IN BLOOD!" Jen calls out, urging other students to point, laugh, and echo insults her way.

Chaperones attempt to calm down the crowd but they're only ignored as frenzy takes over.

Ella had been wrong.

The laughter is all she can hear as she stands there like their personal fool to mock.

That's when the witch understands. . .

They were never going to change. . .

The gymnasium doors slam shut.

Windows close with a thud.

Stage lights shatter. . .and the audience panics.

Her hand raises, levitating tables nearby to send them flying into the crowd. Others are slammed into the ceiling before being dropped with ease. Many scramble for the entrance and exits - futile attempts to get out. Scream and cries fill the room as stage curtains are set ablaze.

"Stop this! Let us out!"

A snap of bones is heard and the pleading voice has gone quiet.

The fire begins to branch out to the rest of the room and Ella is calm as she descends down the stairs of the stage, strolling through the gymnasium to taken in her work.

She drowns out the sobbing and yelling of what’s left of the faculty and students. They don’t attempt to get in her way.

Taking in only the sound of flames moving rapidly, stages pieces crashing to the ground and her own soft humming while taking gentle care to remove the corsage that had been given to her.

No longer would she be their plaything.

The main entrance doors open with ease as she approaches, shutting them swiftly behind her once she's out of the building.

Outside the night breeze is cool and the gymnasium is enveloped by the fire and terror that’s sealed inside.

All of it on display just for her to savor as she watches from afar with satisfaction and the sounds of sirens are heard in the distance.

Prom hadn't been so terrible after all.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 5, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

With Trump loyalists consolidating their power over the Republican Party, Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) today launched the Republican opposition.

Cheney is currently the House Republican Conference chair, managing committee assignments, media appearances, and certain debates in the House. Her refusal to whitewash the January 6 insurrection and to support the former president has led him to press for her removal from her position as the third most powerful House Republican.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have caved to that pressure. A vote will likely take place next week, and observers expect Cheney to lose. Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who voted against counting the electoral votes for Joe Biden on January 6, appears to be the front-runner to replace the Wyoming representative.

Cheney laid the stakes of this political moment out starkly in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. Trump continues to lie that he won the 2020 election and that Biden is an illegitimate president. That language provoked the violent insurrection of January 6 and, according to judges and prosecutors, still threatens to rally his supporters to attack the government.

And aye, there’s the rub: Trump has borne no consequences for the January 6 crisis, and there is every reason to believe he will spur his supporters to make similar efforts to install him as president again in the future. “Trump is seeking to unravel… confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law,” Cheney said. “No other American president has ever done this.”

She called for a bipartisan review of the January 6 insurrection by a commission with subpoena power to dig into what happened, and said that no member of Congress currently serving should participate. Instead, she proposed tapping former officials, judges, and other prominent Americans who can be objective. Rejecting calls of Trump loyalists to muddy the waters with a general commission that looks into the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the insurrection, Cheney wrote that a careful examination of the events surrounding January 6 is imperative to stop the “misinformation and nonsense circulating in the press and on social media.”

Such a commission would almost certainly want to interview a number of Trump loyalists, including McCarthy, who had a phone exchange with the former president during the insurrection that observers say devolved into a shouting match. It seems unlikely that all of those interviewed would come out looking good. Having thrown in their lot with the former president, Republican leadership is now yoked to the testimony about the insurrection—and the videos—that will come out in the future.

“The Republican Party is at a turning point, and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution,” Cheney wrote. “History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process.”

Cheney is no Democrat. She voted with Trump nearly 93% of the time (compared with Stefanik’s nearly 78%). It is impossible to argue that her opposition to Trump is partisan, which makes it all the more powerful. She looks to be trying to reclaim the Republican Party from Trump and his supporters, and she has a decent shot at it.

First of all, she is already getting a lot of airtime, and being tossed out of House leadership for refusing to lie will get her even more. She has the backing of the low-tax, no regulation, military hawk, business side of the party, which also happens to be the side with the most money. Corporations have been dragging their feet at supporting the Trump wing; she will offer Republican policies without the overthrow of the government.

The anger of Republican lawmakers at corporations withholding money from those who backed the insurrection suggests they are keenly aware that they will have to turn entirely to the Trump base for cash. According to Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham brought this up last night when he spoke at the annual fundraiser for the Georgia Republican Party. Informed that corporations had been reluctant to chip in for the event, Graham said: “I don’t know how much money you lost from these corporate sponsors not giving you money but I’m gonna get on Sean Hannity’s show we’re going to raise every penny of it back—and these people can kiss my ass as far as I’m concerned.”

That quest for money from the grass roots is behind at least part of today’s outpouring of fury from Trump loyalists after Facebook upheld the former president’s ban. Facebook was key to Trump’s power: he used it to gin up his base’s anger and then to get his supporters to send him money. Losing that platform weakens him.

For his part, the former president today attacked Cheney, and also Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump blamed for refusing to stop Biden’s election. Far from abandoning the Big Lie, Trump doubled down on it, insisting that the 2020 election was fraudulent. If only Pence and McConnell had been stronger, he wrote, “we would have had a far different Presidential result, and our Country would not be turning into a socialist nightmare!” He ended with words that proved right the concern that he will continue to back attacks on our government: “Never give up!” he wrote.

Pro-Trump Republican leadership is now tied to that mess. Cheney and those who might rally to her side are not.

While today’s drama played out among the Republicans, Biden and his administration kept moving forward. When asked about his support for Cheney, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said simply, “One-hundred percent of my focus is on stopping this new administration.” Asked about McConnell’s comment at today’s press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “I guess the contrast for people is 100% of our focus is on delivering relief to the people and getting the pandemic under control.”

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[azozzoni]

I need a continuation of the roadtrip au! Maybe with vds reuniting at the very end of trip?

“I can’t feel my legs,” Jens complained, trying to stretch out in the back seat of the car, but after two weeks of being stuck in a car with three other guys, there wasn’t much he could do to get comfortable.

“I’m hungry,” Aaron said from next to him, sifting through the empty wrappers on the floor for a moment. Jens couldn’t remember the last time they’d thrown anything out, which was probably what was responsible for the smell permeating the car. That and they had spent the last three days sleeping in various parks. What Jens wouldn’t give for a shower.

“Do we have any money left?” Robbe asked, twisting around in the front seat. Moyo turned up the radio as Jens dug in his pocket.

“I got, like, twenty euros?”

“I’m almost tapped out,” Aaron said, glancing at Moyo. “Think maybe it’s time to go home?”

“Home!” Moyo scoffed. “We live on the road now.”

“I don’t want to smell your BO for the rest of my life.” Jens laughed, tucking away the money. They were definitely running low on funds, and if they didn’t have enough money for gas, he didn’t want to know what might happen.

“Where are we anyway?” Robbe asked, peering out the window as if a sign might magically tell him.

“Germany?” Moyo said, and Jens rolled his eyes.

“Was that a question, navigator?”

“I provided the car,” Moyo said. “No one said anything about directions.”

They were definitely lost, Jens thought, leaning back to watch the landscape wooshing past the window. Everything was green and lush, the sky a pure blue that made him think of lake houses and beers around a bonfire, a beautiful boy with deep blue eyes smiling at him across the bar.

He hadn’t heard from Lucas, not that there was any way he would. He didn’t even know Lucas’ last name. Just that he lived in the Netherlands somewhere. The odds of Jens seeing him again were probably slim to none.

Sighing, Robbe pulled out his phone, bringing up the map.

“We’re in the Netherlands,” he said simply, flashing the map at Jens. Their little blue dot traveled down the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

For a moment, there was silence, and before Jens could open his mouth, Moyo shook his head sharply.

“Don’t even say it.”

“What?” Jens asked, as though he didn’t know perfectly well what Moyo was referring to.

“We’re not going back to that bar,” Moyo said. “It took us a week to get you to stop talking about Lucas every five seconds. I’m not going to suffer through that again.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Jens said simply. It hadn’t been every five seconds. Five minutes, maybe, and compared to Robbe texting Sander constantly, he thought there was no comparison.

“He probably wouldn’t even be there,” Robbe said, and Jens punched his shoulder.

“Whose side are you on?”

“I’m on your side,” Aaron piped up, and Jens nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah,” Aaron went on. “I would never turn down sex.”

“It’s not just sex,” Jens started, but Moyo groaned.

“I can’t. I can’t listen to how beautiful Lucas was, or how you’re going to get married and adopt a bunch of kids just because you had one slightly-drunken kiss behind a bar. I can’t do it!”

“Chill, man,” Jens said, grabbing Moyo’s shoulder. “I never said anything about marriage.”

“Dude, you have not stopped talking about him for weeks,” Moyo pointed out, taking a turn towards what looked like a city. Houses popped up now, getting closer together, and Jens wondered if Moyo really had no idea where they were. “You’re this close to putting a lost and found ad on the internet for this guy.”

Maybe Moyo had a point, Jens admitted as he sat back in his seat. After all, he was never going to find Lucas again. And even if he did, they’d only spent a few minutes together. Everything he thought he knew about Lucas was only in his head. What if Lucas was nothing like that? Maybe the fantasy was better than the reality and he was better off not knowing.

“Can we please stop for food because I’m starving,” Aaron said a minute later, staring out the window as they passed restaurants.

“Alright, fine,” Moyo allowed, nodding at Robbe. “Find somewhere to stop.”

They weren’t going back to that bar, not that Jens knew exactly where it was anyway. He didn’t even know where they were now. Some bigger city with a bunch of canals running through it.

Jens groaned as they finally stopped and he could stretch his legs, climbing out of the car. He was definitely ready for this road trip to be over. They still had a few weeks of summer left and he planned to spend them at the skate park or making out with girls at dark parties where he wouldn’t have to think about Lucas anymore.

The restaurant was a small place, the scent of fries wafting through the air as they entered and approached the counter.

“We’re about two hours from home,” Robbe said after they ordered and piled into a booth by the window.

“I vote we go home,” Jens said simply, sniffing his clothes. “I think we all need showers, and I’d like to spend the night in a bed rather than a bench.”

Moyo scoffed. “Aren’t you proper.”

“We also don’t have any more money,” Jens pointed out. “If you want to hitchhike home.”

Moyo shrugged, but Jens knew he’d made a point there. Jens glanced at Robbe across the table, already typing something into his phone, snapping a picture of his food, probably to send to Sander.

“Where are we exact—” Jens cut himself off abruptly as his eyes landed on the two people who had just stepped inside. It couldn’t be. He was hallucinating. His mind had spent so much time thinking about Lucas that it was projecting him into this restaurant.

“What? Robbe asked, frowning at Jens and twisting to see what he was staring at. He turned back sharply. “Oh my God, is that—?”

Jens could only nod, watching Lucas approach the counter. There was a girl with him, cute with curly brown hair, and he wondered for a second who she was. That wasn’t important right now. What was important was that Robbe saw him too. Lucas was really here, ordering food, not glancing around at the rest of the tables.

“Ow!” Jens jumped as fingers pinched his arm. He turned to Moyo. “What the fuck?”

“If you don’t go get his phone number, I’m leaving you here.”

Jens wanted to roll his eyes, but he was already halfway out of his seat, a sudden bout of nerves building in his chest as he approached Lucas.

“Hey,” he said before he could stop himself. He’d spent two weeks thinking about Lucas, but nothing compared to the real thing, the way Lucas turned to him, eyes widening in surprise, mouth falling open slightly.

“Hi,” Lucas said, sounding taken-aback, as if he’d never expected to run into Jens again. Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe it had been a one-time makeout behind a bar kind of thing and Jens had been making it into something it wasn’t in his head.

The girl next to Lucas was frowning between the two of them before she poked Lucas in the side. Blinking, Lucas seemed to snap out of whatever shock he was in at seeing Jens.

“This is my friend, Isa. Isa, this is Jens. We met a couple weeks ago at the lake.”

He remembered his name—that was a good sign, Jens told himself as he smiled at Isa. She smiled back, eyes sliding down him.

“Cute,” was all she said, tilting her head to the side and touching Lucas’ shoulder gently. “I’m gonna get a table.”

She left them alone, and Jens wasn’t sure what to say as Lucas bit his lip, almost a smile as he met Jens’ gaze.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again,” Lucas said at length. “How was your trip?”

“Smelly,” Jens admitted, watching Lucas laugh. It did weird things to his stomach, Lucas’ smile. “And very long. You really shouldn’t stuff four guys into a car for that long.”

“You’re out now,” Lucas said, glancing over Jens’ shoulders to where Moyo, Aaron, and Robbe were all craning to watch. They jerked their gazes away as Lucas caught them. Jens didn’t rub his forehead, shaking his head instead.

“So do you live here?” Jens didn’t even know where ‘here’ was. Somewhere in the Netherlands, two hours from home.

Lucas smiled slightly. “Yeah.”

Jens could practically hear Moyo hissing in his ear—“If you don’t fucking tell this guy you like him, I will get his number myself.”

“I thought about you,” Jens admitted, which was a lot better than telling Lucas he’d spent the last two weeks annoying his friends talking about him. How much better, he wasn’t sure when Lucas’ eyebrows went up.

“Me?”

Jens couldn’t take it back now and he wasn’t sure why he was nervous. They’d already made out. “Yeah,” he said, turning more towards Lucas so the guys couldn’t see as much. “I wanted to call you, but I didn’t have your number.”

Lucas’ cheeks went pink at that, and Jens smiled to himself. Maybe Lucas did like him. Maybe it wasn’t all in his head.

“I looked you up on Instagram,” Lucas mumbled a minute later, glancing up at Jens, as though embarrassed to admit it. “But I didn’t follow you.”

“Why not?”

Lucas grimaced. “Because adding a guy you made out with for twenty minutes didn’t really seem all that normal.”

“Give me your phone,” Jens said instead, holding out a hand to Lucas’ unsure expression. He could do this. Be confident. It took a second, but Lucas handed it over.

Opening up Instagram, Jens searched his name and clicked follow.

“There. Not weird at all.”

Lucas took back his phone, frowning down at it for a moment, and Jens wondered if he’d done something wrong. He looked up finally, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Do you still want my number?”

Relief washed over Jens as he smiled, pulling out his own phone. “Definitely.”

Jens glanced over his shoulder as Lucas typed in his information. Aaron gave him a thumbs up while Moyo shook his head, and Robbe grinned at him. He turned back as Lucas finished, handing the phone back.

Lucas smiled slightly, warm as they stood there. Jens wanted to ask him to go somewhere right now, but Lucas’ friend was waiting for him, and if they didn’t leave now, they might never convince Moyo to go home.

“Text me sometime?” Lucas said finally, and Jens smiled.

“I will,” he promised, reluctant as he turned away from Lucas and headed back for the boys, who immediately leaned in when he sat down.

“Well?” Moyo demanded. “Do I have to hear about him for the rest of the trip?”

Jens smiled, pulling out his phone. “It might be longer than that.”

Typing into his phone, he hit send, listening for the noise across the room. At a table on the other side of the restaurant, he watched Lucas read the message on his phone and smile, meeting his eyes. It was going to be a good rest of the summer. He just knew it.

[robot-unicorn-attack]

CHAPTER 01 - WIDOWMAKER

(written by @now-on-elissastillstands)

...CHAPTER 01

She has a headache already.

Len takes a slow sip of her tonic water, glaring out at the room over the rim of her glass as her mouth flooded with bitterness. All the drinks look the same in the strobing lights. Every bartender in the City knows her order by now; she slips them extra cash before the events to keep them from telling her special to the paparazzi--Widowmaker's a woman who should be able to drink every soul in the bar under the table, but Len hates alcohol. The last time she got drunk was when she was seventeen. She spent the night crying into Sol's lap. Drinking makes her two things: pathetic, and sentimental. She has time for neither.

She doesn't glance up when someone taps her on the shoulder. "What do you want, Ardua?" she asks in a bored voice, swirling her drink around in her tumbler. The bubbles catch on the light like little stars, winking in and out of the night.

Ardua is the sorry bastard who got assigned as her publicist--her handler, more like--for the event. She's a good woman, as far as LAZER watchdogs go. Born on Hughes, studied hard in school to get as far away from there as she could. Has a wife who works on metal purification and children she's putting through school on Evangelin. It's a pity then, that her job involves corralling Len from race to race, making sure that she stays on script. Len doesn't envy her.

"You should go mingle," Ardua says into her ear. "You know all of these people."

Naturally--because she's the child of a spy, licensed to kill. It's almost a miracle, the kind of bull LAZER plasters onto its racers. Len tips the rest of the drink into her mouth, barely suppressing her grimace at the taste. She chose it for a reason; it doesn't let her get too comfortable. "Let me guess--you have their information for me?"

There's a beeping sound by her ear. Ardua leans down and whispers, "Just transferred it all onto your screen. It'll erase itself in a minute and a half, so read fast."

Len rolls her eyes as she double-taps at the switch on her watch's clasp, pulling up a holoscreen to hover over her palm. The room is filled with minor politicians and Estrellan elite who invested in the races--none of them important enough so she'd have to worry about them wondering about the identity of her fictional parents, or seeing her face on an anti-Estrellan sedition watchlist, either. They all fall in the zone of people who think that they're just important enough to commit fraud, to disenfranchise the people they represent, to dabble in corporate corruption and extortion. Scum of the worlds. Unimportant, uninteresting scum.

She pauses at the final politician bio, a middle-aged City councilor. Three divorces, accused multiple times of taking bribes from mining lobbies but never charged, currently considering retirement and dating a woman a fraction of his age. So predictably unpleasant that it makes Len's jaw twitch. She pulls up the details of his council record. 

Cedric Abraxas. Voted against sending aid to Ser'hld IX, three times before the moon was finally destroyed.

"Well? Have you found someone you feel comfortable terrorizing, Widow?" Ardua asks.

Len's holoscreen glitches as the data erases itself. She glances back at her handler. Ardua is on her third cocktail, smiling soppily down at her personal screen while she thinks no one watches. She and her wife are so besotted that it sometimes makes Len feel sorry for them.

Len casts her eyes around the room until she sees a knot of revelers in sequins and glitters, all surrounding a man in a dour suit. She bares her teeth in a grin. "I think so."

-----

"Councilor Abraxas. I don't think we've met."

The man breaks off mid-boast when Len slinks into his circle of followers. There is no denying that she is proud of the way she looks. She disrupts space--the angles of her are too sharp, her gait too bold to be compartmentalized with the shine and sparkle of elite Estrellan fashion. She stands out like a starved wolf among preening sheep, and when she smiles, it is a wolf's smile, and her grin grows wider when she feels the people around her shift uneasily.

Abraxas stares at her for a moment, face red. Kings never like it when the entertainment upstages them in their own court. 

"Here, ladies and gentlemen," the councilor says, gesturing with unease, "is one of the stars of the race! Widowmaker! You're--" he glances around nervously, "--early."

He didn't know she was coming. She settles her hip against a corner of the bar and signals for the bartender. "One of the usual, Kay," she says, not taking her eyes off of the councilor. It always makes them uneasy. 

As it should.

No one talks until Len gets her drink and takes a long pull from it. "I heard," she says, "that you plan on voting for rezoning in the Barzan provinces."

The councilor splutters. "Come now, Widowmaker, no shop talk while we're all having fun--"

"But I'm not here as a racer, councilor." She sets her drink aside on the bar. "I'm here to talk to you about your Barzan vote. You do realize that there's a civil war happening there, don't you?"

Abraxas grows pale. He turns to his group, "Excuse us for a moment, ladies and gentlemen, we just need to--we'll be over here for a--" he cranes his head around until he sees an empty table, and gestures her towards it, "--Widow, if you would be so kind--"

She follows him serenely to the table and sits down across from him. Abraxas leans across and hisses, "Where the hell did you find out about the Barzan revolution? That's classified, it hasn't even hit the papers here, where did you--"

"I have my sources," Len says placidly. She takes another sip of her drink. "And my sources are very invested in knowing what you've been doing in Barzan, Councilor."

She smiles her wolf's smile at him again, and he grows paler. She knows he's thinking of what LAZER's said about her. She knows he's wondering what she knows.

Sometimes, it's good to be a racer.

"You should start talking," Len commands gently, and he does.

-----

She sees Sol flirting with Flower in a little nook in the corner of the room after she leaves Abraxas. It makes her stomach tighten, but she ignores it. Len doesn't trust Flower half as far as she could throw her--she clearly knows what she's doing to win over the masses, and she clearly likes it, too--but Sol's a big girl now. She can handle herself. And if a RISE upstart takes advantage of her--

--that's her own fault, not Len's. 

Len slips out of the Neon Demon through a staff exit and climbs her way down one of the fire escapes. The city below her is lit with iridescent violets and yellows, like stained glass backlit with sunlight. She dangles her feet over the railing and stares into the incandescent sea below her.

Footsteps clang on the metal stairs behind her. "Fancy seeing you here, stranger," a deep voice says.

"You're late," Len says without looking back.

A tall woman with long dreadlocks drops down to sit next to her. "You look beat."

Len doesn't deign to debate that. "Go to hell, TJ," she says instead, without heat. She lowers her voice. "I got Abraxas' travel schedule; just sent it to you in the channel. The code's the one we always use. He'll be in LW central for the Torrid Gorges race, and then he's travelling through the neutral zone in a shuttle to the Barzan provinces. He's staying there for a month--he says to negotiate a peace, but he's funding weapons sales in the area, he practically confessed as much to me."

TJ whistles. "Busy little man, isn't he."

Len nods, scrubbing her hands over her eyes. "He might be a little antsy from here on out; he thinks a TEF bigwig is after him. The area from Torrid Gorges to the NZ is one of the most dangerous areas in Fed space. You have the West Pass and the Belt. And Barzan--you know what Barzan's like right now. It's practically begging for an accident." She lifts her head to stare at TJ. "You think we can pull it off?"

"If we can't six him in Barzan, we've lost our touch. You gave us the lead on Vesuile last month; if we could take down an Icer on Ice World proper, we can take a city slicker on our own turf." TJ claps her on the shoulder. "You're our torch, Len. We'll keep you in the loop, but--hopefully you'll see it on the news before then."

TJ works as a holoscreen repair tech by day and a coordinator for their faction in her free time. She was the one who convinced Len that sticking to LAZER and finding ways to fight as a racer would be better than spending a decade and a half in prison for theft of government property. She is one of the few people Len can count as a friend.

When they were both seventeen and desperate, TJ swore that she would die in a raid on Estrella, and Len loves her too much to stop her when the time comes.

"Who's gonna replace him?" Len sighs, rubbing the tightness she can feel in her neck. "Jen Xaner? Gutierrez?"

"I'm hoping Gutierrez. Her record's good."

"Starry hell, TJ, none of them actually care about the provinces. The most they care about is getting sponsorships." 

"That's still better than nothing."

"You're too optimistic for a raider."

"Racing's doing a number on your head." TJ nudges her shoulder. "What race is next? You're headed back home--Torrid Gorges, right?"

If she was younger, angrier, she would still be bitter at the mention of home. Now all she does is nod. "I'd better win. Get some home pride going. The celebrations'll distract from Abraxas."

They stare at the shining towers on silence. When Len first saw the City, she thought for a moment that heaven was real. No human hands could have made something this bright and beautiful. But human hands were the instrument by which the City was built. Human hands and human deaths, all for this spectacle of consumption. 

This is why the Federation needs to be stopped.

"I need to get back before they miss me," Len says, levering herself to her feet. "Ardua's probably done vid-chatting her wife now and wondering where in the void I am."

"You like this one." TJ grins at her.

Len scowls. "As much as I can like any prison guard." Her face softens. "I'll see you next month. Safe roads and kind stars, TJ."

"Safe roads, Len. Don't let them drag you down."

When she steps back into the Neon Demon, the noise washes over her like a breaking wave. All of the sponsors are still milling about, cocktail glasses in hand. She sees other racers she half-knows--Lani, drinking up a boisterous storm at the bar. The main Twilight racer--if they can't be assed to call her anything other than Widow, she certainly isn't going to remember their names--glittering as she holds court with a smiling Flower, stars only know what those two are up to.

Sol. Drink in her hand, eyes glinting in delight as she tears to whatever poor wretch who decided to approach her on the dais. Her followers are either fools or masochists.

Len signals for another drink. She needs something to keep her hands busy.

"I was wondering where you'd ran off to," a voice coos in her ear.

Len glares down at the gold nails on her shoulder. "Weren't you just talking to one of your adoring fans?"

"Yes, but then I saw you."

Len turns around to stare at Sol. Her eyes gleam on the club's lights like small suns. They're beautiful--she's always beautiful, it's part of her image, she has to be--but there are days when Len half-misses the young Sol's eyes, dark and hard.

Pathetic and sentimental, that thought. Sol's fans were all fools and masochists, and damn it all, Len might be both.

Len lifts her glass to her mouth. "And as you can see, I'm busy."

"Drinking your special, huh, Leni?" Sol takes the glad from her hand and takes a tiny sip. Her grimace is comical. "It never gets any less vile. Would it kill you to order ginger ale?"

"No one asked you to come over here and drink it, Nyx," Len says levelly, with only the slightest emphasis on Sol's racing name. She doesn't want to deal with Sol right now. Not with her loudness. Not with her strange kindness.

Sol's face twists. "Well, if that's how we're playing it, I don't have time for you either." She pauses, then adds. "Widow."

"Precisely. You can go back to your adoring fans. Or to that Sky Worlder you like so much; I saw the two of you getting close back there."

Sol's gold eyes widen. "Oh. Oh--I see," she says with a grin. She has the audacity to wink. "You don't have to worry, Leni, I'll always have time for you--"

"Believe it or not, I have more important things to worry about than you," Len says flatly.

It's not a lie. She's a terrible liar. Avenging her family--her moon, her people--would always be more important to her than anyone or anything in the races. And if she's ever discovered as an informant, if they ever find out she's involved in planning politicians' deaths and plotting against the central government--

--Sol doesn't deserve to get caught in that. 

But Len sees open hurt in Sol's face a split second before her usual smirk takes over. She flicks Len off with a flourish and laughs, calling, "Get fucked, Widow!" over her shoulder as she strides back to the dais. Len stares after her, and all she can see is the girl who held her when she was drunk and crying for the first time she could remember. 

Len's been scared of drinking ever since. The tonic water had been Sol's idea.

She looks around the room. The party is still going strong. There are plenty of lower politicians she recognizes, from Ardua's bios and from her own work. Len stares at the back of the bar as she takes tiny sips from her drink. She smooths out her jacket and makes her face blank, bored.

When she turns around and walks through the crowd, they part for her like they would for a knife. There's Widowmaker, she hears them say above the heavy beat of the music. They always think that the bass will cover them up, but she's had a lifetime of listening. I've never seen her at one of these events.

Once, the whispers would have whipped her into a fury. Now, all she does is bare one edge of her wolf's smile. The voices grow louder.

I hear she's using antimatter in Voidmaker. Isn't tech against Federation statutes?

You think someone like that cares about Federation statutes? I hear she's about to get pulled from racing for a long-term mission in the Lava provinces

Hideous places, aren't they?

I wouldn't want to go near them. 

I hear she killed a man today.

Someone gasps. Oh, really? I heard that too.

Taglist: @ayzrules @bebemoon @jay-swagsby @filthysoulls @shiftyprincess @kzombi3 @now-on-elissastillstands @interluxetumbra

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible 2 Walkthrough: Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN | ELEVEN | TWELVE | THIRTEEN

Chapter Fourteen: Behind Closed Doors

ELIMINATION: Vince and Ivy/Slater will be Eliminated.

You: Whatever Omar’s told you, it’s… -A big misunderstanding! -Not Jen’s fault!

You: Because she has… -A real eye for talent. -An amazing work ethic. -The biggest heart!

You: Vince… -Pot, meet kettle. Vince -2, Allied Villain +2 -Have you met your partner? Allied Villain -2, Vince +2

You: Hey, Allied Villain… -Have fun being Vince’s sidekick. Allied Villain -2, Vince +2 -Watch your back. Vince -2, Allied Villain +2

You: The meeting was about… -The accident! +SECRET -Miniature Schnauzers! -SECRET -Carson! +SECRET -No action -SECRET

You: The Jury members… -Are a total blast! +SWEETHEART -Are too hot to handle. +FLIRT -Can jump off a cliff. +VILLAIN

-If you swapped partners

You: I picked a new partner because… -I hate to be pinned down. +FLIRT -Adam was dead weight. +VILLAIN -I had to follow my heart. +SWEETHEART

-If you didn’t swap partners

You: The answer’s obvious. Adam… -Is a serious piece of arm candy. +FLIRT -Is like a dumb puppy. +VILLAIN -Really understands me. +SWEETHEART

You: Honestly, I’m… -Not going down to those fools. +VILLAIN -Hoping for the best! +SWEETHEART -Way too hot to lose! +FLIRT

-If Adam is your partner

You: I want you to know… -I’m proud of you. Adam +2 -Giving up isn’t an option. Adam -2

You: We’re… -Screwed. Adam -2 -Golden! Adam +2

What do you do? -Build a snowman with Adam! -Stay in.

-If Derek is your partner

You: Won’t it feel good to… -Bring home a win? Derek +2 -Finally put AME behind you? Derek -2

You: Let’s focus on… -Beating these chumps. Derek -2 -Winning for your grandma! Derek +2

What do you do? -Make snow angels with Derek! -Stay in.

-If Mackenzie is your partner

You: There is. We can… -Fight for him! Mackenzie +2 -Send him packing. Mackenzie -2

You: Mackenzie… -You have to forgive yourself. Mackenzie +2 -Who cares what Natalie thinks? Mackenzie -2

What do you do? -Have a snowball fight with Mackenzie! -Stay inside.

You: Carson… -These twists are out of control! Adam +2, Allied Villain +2, Vince -2, Derek -2 -This is genius! Mackenzie +2, Allied Villain -2, Vince +2, Adam -2

-If you have a poor relationship with the Jury

You: We should tell them that… -We’ll make it worth their while. Mackenzie -2, Derek +2 -If they don’t support us, they’re supporting cheaters. Derek -2, Adam -2 -We’re clearly the ‘Most Eligible’ of the top six. Adam -2, Mackenzie +2

Who do you vote for? -Vince and Ivy -Vince and Slater -Mackenzie and Derek -Mackenzie and Adam -Adam and Derek

WEEK SEVEN ELIMINATION

What do you do? -Tell Vince off! -Tell Ivy off! -Tell Slater off! -Take the high road.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN | SIXTEEN

[xingjieisbaby]

Vacation Ch 5

Xiao Gui then walked back outside to see his members still in shock.

“Are you guys dead?” Xiao Gui asked. Justin shook his head.

“I just can’t believe you’re dating someone.” Justin said.

“I can’t believe he’s dating Song Miu. She’s god tier man.” Wenjun said.

“How did a rapper start dating one of the greatest vocalists of all time?” Jeffrey asked. Xiao Gui laughed.

“Yeah I thought you’d like someone like Song Aria because she’s literally the god of rap.” Justin said.

“Or Kim Jennie, her energy is like yours.” ZhengTing said.

“Miu balances me out. I have to be mature around her because she’s so vulnerable. But I like that. I like protecting her. I like being the one she calls when she feels sad or scared. I love waking up to her calls whenever she has a nightmare. I like being the one she relies on.” Xiao Gui said with a soft smile.

“How come you fell for her and not one of the other Guardians?” Jeffrey asked.

“Jie ge and Aria are basically the same person except she’s a whole lot scarier and quieter. I can’t date someone like Aria because well, she’s so independent and mature. Don’t get me wrong, she’s my best friend. But she makes me feel like a child despite me being older than her. Jennie is me in a nutshell. She’s super energetic and vibrant. But I also can’t be with someone like because well, it’s Jennie and Jennie is something else. She’s like someone you think is one way but when you meet them, they’re actually freaking crazy.” Xiao Gui said with a laugh.

“Is Jennie single?” Yanlei asked. Xiao Gui wanted to laugh.

“Yes but she and Yanjun are basically dating. They’re not officially dating but everyone can tell that they’re together. Ari says he’s too much of a dumbass to realize that Jennie likes him back.” Xiao Gui said.

“Are any of the Guardian members single?” Yanlei asked.

“The older ones are. Actually I think Mira Jiejie might find Jeffrey cute. She voted for him during the Aini stage and every stage after that.” Xiao Gui said. Jeffrey looked at him in shock once again.

“Eh? Really? I’m cuter.” Justin said. Xiao Gui looked at him, disgusted. ZhengTing hit him with a pillow.

“Xiao Gui, you have to tell us how she fell for you. It’s Song Miu. She’s the epitome of elegance and grace.” ZhengTing said. Xiao Gui shrugged.

“I ask myself that too. I ask her that but she’s too shy to answer.” Xiao Gui said. He then felt his phone vibrate. It was Miu.

Kaikai?

Hey baby. You done?

Yep~ I feel better now. Jiejie and Jennie Jiejie are here. I’m seeing Jennie Jiejie blush because of Yanjun gege.

Did he finally ask her out?

I don’t know. But I ship~

Xiao Gui smiled softly. He could already imagine her squealing like she normally does when she finds something cute.

You know who I ship?

Who?

Us.

On the other side of the screen, Miu blushed. Aria quickly noticed her sister’s change in demeanor and smirked.

“Linkai being his soft ass self when it comes to you?” Aria asked. Miu blushed even more.

“He’s not soft to me only.” Miu said. Jennie looked over at her friends.

“Yeah right. The kid is whipped for ya Miu. He at least fights back whenever Ari and I pick on him. But with you, he just smiles.” Jennie teased.

“Truth.” Aria said.

“Xingjie gege is the same for you though Jiejie.” Miu said.

“I don’t deny that.” Aria said. Aria then looked over at her best friend.

“Ya know, Yanjun be pretty whipped for ya Jen. Linkai told me how much he smiles when talking to you.” Aria said with a smirk. Jennie blushed and threw a pillow at her.

“Stop teasing me.” Jennie said with a groan, making the girls laugh. Miu then turned back to her phone.

Baobei?

Baby~

Babeeee reply to me

Kaikai misses you. Love him.

Miu smiled softly at her boyfriend’s neediness.

Xiao Gui pouted when he saw that she didn’t reply. The boys looked at him when he pouted.

“What happened?” ZhengTing asked with a curious look.

“She stopped replying to me.” Xiao Gui said. That’s when his phone vibrated yet again.

Sorry I was talking to jiejies

And I do love you silly. I love you more than anything.

Well, except Jiejie

Understandable. Damn I top Jennie huh.

LOL. Don’t tell her please~ also she’s about to live stream. Tell your friends to tune in if you guys wanna see what it’s like with Guardians at night.

“Jennie is gonna live stream if you guys wanna watch.” Xiao Gui said. The boys quickly turned on their laptop.

Tuning in.

Okie~ live stream is starting right now.

“Hello people of Earth~ it’s ya girl, Jennie! I’m currently in my hotel room with the Maknae line of the Guardians. There’s Miu and there’s Ari. Excuse our faces, none of us have makeup on right now because we’re about to sleep.” Jennie said as she panned the camera over to her friends.

“Hi guys~” Miu said with a wave.

“Hi from Australia~” Aria said with a wave.

“Alright what do y’all wanna do?” Jennie asked the girls as she jumped on Aria.

“Ow.” Aria yelped. Jennie laughed as she sat on her best friend.

“Hmm, let’s do a Q&A session?” Miu said.

“Down, Alright guys, send in your questions for us! We got quadrilingual girl squad in here tonight so you guys can ask your questions in Chinese, Korean, Japanese or English tonight.” Jennie said.

“First question, who are you guys wearing? And why are you sitting on Ari.” Jennie read. She looked over at Aria and laughed.

“Alright y’all, ootd! Let’s go. I am wearing pjs from my clothing line. Shameless plug but you asked for it! Go to Cherrykoko to cop these pjs~ Ari what are you wearing?” Jennie asked.

“A hoodie. now get off of me.” Aria said as she pushed her friend off of her.

“Aria is currently wearing a hoodie that’s also from Cherrykoko. Miu over here is rocking her boyfriend’s hoodie like it’s a dress. Miu give us a spin.” Jennie encouraged with a smile. Miu got and did a little twirl.

“How’s your hoodie sis?” Aria asked.

“Comfy.” She said with a laugh.

“Did you take it from him today?” Jennie asked. Miu shook her head.

“I’ve had this one.” Miu said with another laugh. Jennie shook her head with a smile.

“Next question: what are the rooming arrangements?” Jennie read.

“Okay so back at the dorm, we have separated rooms. All of us as of right now because we all have schedules at different times and some of us just have trouble sleeping. Like Ari has insomnia so if she wakes up, she’s gonna be awake until however long it takes for her to go to sleep again. I usually have schedules until late night because of filming and I would come home really late. So yeah we just have separated rooms.” Jennie said.

“While we’re on tour though, we share rooms depending on how many rooms there are. So if there are three rooms, Rita unnie would get one room to herself. Jennie and Mira unnie would share a room and then Miu and I would share.” Aria said.

“If there’s only two rooms, then it would be the Maknae line and Unnie line.” Jennie said.

“I wanna send in a question but I don’t know if they’ll answer it.” Yanlei said.

“What do you wanna ask?” ZhengTing said.

“I wanna ask their ideal types.” Yanlei said.

“Me too.” Justin said, typing in the comment section.

“What are your ideal types?” Aria read. Jennie looked at Miu with a smirk.

“Maknae, what’s your ideal type?” Jennie asked. Miu hid her face in a pillow.

“Stop making fun of me~” Miu whined.

Xiao Gui smiled at her cuteness.

“Fine I’ll go first. But you have to answer Maknae. My ideal type is someone who can make me laugh.” Jennie began to say. Aria smirked.

“Someone that tells bad jokes right? Like really really bad jokes?” Aria said, holding back a laugh. Jennie looked over at her and threw a pillow at her.

“I’m going to fight you.” Jennie said.

“Yay.” Aria said, laughing.

“Anyways, back to me, I really like someone that can make me laugh because like that’s how you cheer people up. This person has to be sarcastic because I’m very sarcastic and I need that in my life.” Jennie said.

“Ari, you go. As you guys know, our Ari has a boyfriend and she’s been in a committed relationship for three years now. Let’s find out what type of guy he is…” Jennie said.

“My ideal type? Hmm~ I like tsundere characters. Like you know the type that seems really tough and mean at first. But when you get to know them, they’re like the sweetest person ever?” Aria said.

“Describe your boyfriend in one word.” Jennie commanded.

“Omg why does only one word come to mind?” Miu said with a laugh.

“I know, I wanted to say that word too but then it would be too obvious who it is. Hmm, magician.” Aria said.

“Explain what that means.” Jennie said.

“He does a lot of magic tricks. It’s pretty cool. But I said magician because he’s capable of anything. There’s always something new to learn about him and I find that very intriguing.” Aria said.

“I would also like to note that he’s also willing to change for the sake of Ari.” Jennie said.

“Alright Miu~ your turn. Also guys, Miu’s boyfriend is currently watching our stream.” Jennie said. Miu hid her face behind a pillow again.

Xiao Gui wanted to laugh. She was just too cute.

“Okay, so my ideal type is someone that has lot of layers to them. Like there are a lot of sides. My boyfriend has a side to him that only I see and then there’s a side to him that the rest of the world sees. I like that… it makes me feel special that I see all of him.” Miu said. Xiao Gui looked at the screen softly. He took out his phone once more.

You are special Baobei.

“Wah Gui, already texting her when you hear her words huh. Nice nice.” Jennie teased when she heard Miu’s notification.

“Alright next question, ‘Ari can you please sing? You always rap but I remember that you can also sing.’ Wah OG fan right here. Ari sing.” Jennie said. Aria began to sing to her own song, Why Don’t You Know. Miu began to dance to the song as she remembered the choreography.

“Okay next question.” Aria said with a laugh.

“Okay! Um hahaha I like this one. If you could date anyone in Idol Producer, who would it be?” Jennie said.

[oldsuenito-edu]

º ⚬ ˚ •  𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 , 𝙲𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙰 , 𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 . . . welcome to the bulldogs , DAMIAN* and JOSI* ! make sure to catch your flight to south beach within the next 12 hours. ( faces tbd )

*we only accept faces of color for first muses , please send us a new fc !

º ⚬ ˚ • ( fc + brisa ) — signing into damian barros @ suenito.edu ☀️ … oye , damian! 🎉 time to set up profile. male , he/him , bisexual , 22 as of 10/12? 🗄️ records show graphic design classes , time for cashiering at novel ideas  , ( chess team ) practices , + ( bookish and billionaire boys) meetings. since the clip of u ( throwing eggs at the professors car) 📹 , the folks down at novel ideas have dubbed u the sleepaholic from NYC. voted most likely to go on reality tv , huh ? 🏆 typical libra behavior. even ur ( extra pairs of socks ) aside , that’s a lot to unpack. 🧳 ⌇ m , she/her , 21+ , EST

❝ i fell asleep at work and try and find new places to hide so i can get my naps in. i think it’s a fair name i love sleeping. ❞

º ⚬ ˚ • ( fc + arrebol ) — signing into JOSIAH RAMIREZ @ suenito.edu ☀️ … oye , JOSI ! 🎉 time to set up profile.  male , he/him , bisexual , 23 as of 09/10 ? 🗄️ records show criminal justice classes , time for WATCHING MOVIES , soccer practices , + BILLIONARIE BOYS meetings. since the clip of u BREAKING STREET WALKING SIGNS 📹 , the folks down at MAD TATTER have dubbed u the TROUBLEMAKER from LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. voted most likely to BE ARRESTED , huh ? 🏆 typical VIRGO behavior. even ur FACEMASKS aside , that’s a lot to unpack. 🧳 ⌇ jen , she/her , 18+ , est.

❝ i can be a troublemaker sometimes, when i want to be just to spice things up ❞

[latchingontoallofyou]

Row Mates - Valenna

This is obviously fiction as you’ll see when you read it. I have set it back in time to August. This will make much more sense when you read it. I kinda based this off of the prompt you'll find at the end.

“Are you sure you have to go?” Jill asks Jenna as they sit in the guest room in Jill’s house that Jenna has been staying in for the past two weeks.

Jenna is folding her clothes and packing them away. She had to head back home to LA. She starts her new job on Monday and she needed the upcoming weekend to get adjusted to her new place.

“I pushed it off long enough.”

“If you aren’t excited to start then why are you taking the job.”

“I am excited for the job. It’s just the whole moving so far away from everyone that is hard. I mean I was never more than an a few hours drive away from Mom and Dad. Now I’ll be a couple hours plane ride away. It’s just going to be really different and probably really hard. I mean, I won’t have anyone there. That’s really what I’m dreading.”

“Oh Jenna. You’ll find people. You are so social that you’ll…”

“Jill, it won’t be the bonds I need.”

“They’ll grow. You know they will. Just don’t stress over it. You always have us.”

“But you won’t be there.”

“All you have to do is pick up the phone.”

“Jill, you have a family here.”

“I know. I might not be able to drop everything and fly to you but I can always talk with you for however long you need. You know that. It’s always been like that. You know I’m good at multitasking like that so don’t you ever be afraid to call me. You understand?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Now, tell me, am I more of a distraction right now or do you want me to hang around while you finish packing.”

“Don’t you dare go anywhere until I have to walk away into the airport. I’m going to need all the time I can get.”

“Alright. Let’s get to work then.”

Jill picks up a shirt out of the basket of freshly washed clothes and folds it before putting it in the open suitcase. The quietly continue to fold and fill the suitcase. At one point Jenna turns some music on quietly just have a little background noise.

“You know what I’m really worried about right now?” Jenna suddenly says.

“What?” Jill says softly, putting the shirt she was folding down and looking up at Jenna.

“The plane ride.”

“Since when have you been afraid of plane rides?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you scared something…”

“I don’t know. It’s like, um, the plane is filled with all these people I don’t know. Everyone on the plane are going through their own things and are all flying for their own reasons. I don’t know what they are. Someone could be flying to a funeral or maybe a wedding. Someone else could be going on vacation or going home, like me. Some could be having an amazing day, others, terrible ones. I don’t know. I won’t know my row buddies. I’m just a bit anxious.”

“Jenna, it’s not like you ever talk on the plane anyway. Especially not while in the air. You just put your headphone on and zone out. Just do that from the beginning and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“I guess so.”

“You’ll be fine Jenna. I promise.”

“How can you promise?”

“Jen…”

“I know. You’re right. I’ll be alright.”

“You don’t have to put on a brave face for me Jenna.”

“It’s not for you Jill. It’s for myself. I have to start saying it now so I can hopefully believe it by the time I board that plane.”

~

“Thank you for the ride” Jenna says as she climbs out of the car. Jill quickly climbs out too, rushing to the back of the car where Jenna is getting out her luggage. She pulls out the second suitcase and puts it on the ground before looking up at Jenna with a weak smile.

“I’ll be alright” Jenna says with a making weak smile.

“You’ll be alright. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you more.”

“Let me know when you land?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Love you.”

“Love you too. I’ve got to go.”

“I know. One last hug” Jill says and pulls her into a hug. They both hold on tight.

“You’ll send me pictures?”

“Duh. I did even when you were close by. I’ve got to go before that police man comes and yells at me.”

Jenna takes a deep breath, grabs her suitcases and walks away. She looks over her should when she hears a beep and sees Jill holding up her hands in a heart shape. Jenna smiles back and blows her a kiss before continuing on into the airport.

Jenna wishes she didn’t have to check her bags so that she could just get to the gate. Standing in line is making her more and more anxious for what’s ahead. She looks around at the people around her in line, wondering if one of them could be seat buddies with her. She seen a few that she hopes aren’t and a few maybes but no definite yeses.

Security was her least favorite part, but also her favorite. She hates it because it’s such a hassle. It’s more standing in line but this time she has to take her shoes off, pull out her electronics, and walk through the full body scanner. She like it because it is so accurate in the way of keeping people safe. The love hate relationship is tough.

After making it through, she heads through the airport to her gate, stopping along the way to grab a snack and drink for the trip. When she arrives at her gate, almost all of the seats are taken so she knows it’s going to be a full flight.

She looks around for somewhere to sit but they are all either covered by other people’s bags, or they are occupied by other people. She is feeling too shy to ask if the seats holding bags are open so she finds a spot along the wall that has enough open space and sits down, popping on her headphones and drowning out as much as she can of the world around her. She makes sure she can hear the announcements but doesn’t want to get distracted by those around her. She absentmindedly scans through Instagram. She sees the feet of those passing in front of her but she’s trying really hard not to pay attention to them. One pair of shoes keeps pulling her attention, so bright neon green sneakers. She doesn’t dare look up to see the face that goes with the shoes though. She just keeps her head down, well that is until those shoes stop in front of her. She waits for them to move but they don’t. She rolls her eyes and looks up.

The bright shoes match his bright smiling face. No doubt the man standing in front of her is gorgeous. He stares back down at her, a smile forming on his face. Jenna works really hard to hide the smile threatening to form on her own. He motions to his ears and catching on, Jenna removes just one of her earbuds.

“There are some seats open over there if you’d rather sit on a chair. I heard we might be delayed a bit.”

“Oh. Did they make an announcement?”

“No. I just heard it when I was walking past for the thousandth time.”

“Oh, well, I’m fine here. Thank you” she says and puts her earbud back in.

The shoes stay where they are for a minute before finally walking away. She thought about looking up at him before he walked away but especially as he walked off with his back to her. She fights the urge and stares at her blank screen on her phone instead.

She hears an announcement calling out over the loud speaker. She removes her earbud just in time to hear that her flight was delayed by a half hour. She looks around seeing everyone groaning and slumping into their chairs. Well, all of them but one. Bright shoes is sitting up straight and looking right at her. When she notices, Jenna quickly drops her gaze, trying to stop the blush from forming on her face but to no avail. She decides to watch a show on Netflix to waste the time.

Soon enough, the announcement comes on and they are ready to start boarding. She is in the first boarding group. She gathers her things, keeping her head down and gets in line. She has paused her music but is wishing she hadn’t she could use the distraction. She really doesn’t want to hear what everyone is talking about. All she wants to do is get on the plane and tune out everything again.

The line moves pretty quickly and she finally gets to her seat. She has a window seat, her favorite. She can put her music on and stare out the window. She usually waits until they are in the air to look out the window because there is nothing to look at on the ground. She tries to keep her head down but as more and more people start to board, she starts to wonder why her row hasn’t filled up. She keeps her head down but looks out with her eyes, looking at all those walking down the plane. She finds herself going back to what she was doing while standing in the check in lane. She’s looking at each person and in her head saying whether or not she wants them to sit with her. More often than not, she didn’t want them to.

There were a lot of families passing by her. Not many people seemed to be on their own like herself. The few that were still passed by her. One person she had voted in her head that she did not want to sit next to her stopped at her row, looking up at the row number but the shakes his head and keeps going. She sighs in relief.

Then she seems him. Bright shoes has just stepped onto the plane. She finds herself repeating over and over ‘Please sit with me. Please sit with me’. She tried to tell herself she didn’t really want that but there was no denying it. She had been hopeful for the second she looked up at him at the gate.

She watches as he looks up at the row numbers and smiles before stepping into the row. He sits down and smiles at her. She quickly turns away from him. She hears him laugh and can see him shuffle in his seat out of the corner of her eye. She feels him tap her shoulder. She reluctantly turns to look at him. He looks even more handsome up close. She feels a blush coming up but she pushes it away. He motions at his ears just like he had earlier so she removes one earbud again.

“So, we meet again.”

Unsure of what to say, Jenna just nods. He smiles his gorgeous smile at her. Her breath catches a bit but she hides it with a cough. It was starting to feel really awkward. He was still looking at her even though she was looking everywhere but him. Something feels so comfortable that it’s unsettling to her. She needs to block out the world again. She picks up the fallen earbud and starts to lift it to her ear.

“My name is Val.”

“I…” Jenna couldn’t find her words. Her mind was telling her to say her name. She was repeating ‘I’m Jenna’ over and over but it just wasn’t connecting to her mouth. She slumps into her chair embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll look away. I didn’t mean to… My friend was the same way growing up. You can tell me if and when you are ready.”

Jenna nods and looks out the window again, beating herself up in her mind. She can’t figure out what is going on with her. She was hoping he’d sit with her so why couldn’t she talk to him. She tries taking deep breathes. They weren’t really helping. She tried to focus on her music. She could hear a single word over her mind running circles. She felt close to tears when she gets a text. It’s from Jill.

Jill- I’m so proud of you Jenna. You can do anything. Be brave and trust the process. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you lots.

It was just what she needed. She turns off her music, takes off her headphones, wraps them up, and puts them in her bag before looking over at Val. He’s looking at his phone now and has music on himself. He looks so calm while her heart is going a million miles an hour. She takes a deep breath and taps his shoulder.

She watches as a smile creeps onto his face. He takes off his headphones and turns to look over at Jenna, giving her his full attention.

“I’m Jenna.”

“Nice to meet you Jenna. Val.”

“Nice to meet you too Val. I’m sorry for being rude.”

“You weren’t rude. You were just uncertain. I understand. It’s ok to be shy. Not all of us can be so…”

“I’m not shy. I just, plane rides aren’t my thing.”

“Haven’t been on many? I wish I could say that.”

“No. I’ve been on too many. Just not many by myself.”

“You know we are on a full plane” Val laughs. “Well almost full. Looks like our row mate may have ditched us.”

“Maybe but that isn’t what I meant. I mean like none of my family or friends are with me.”

“Oh. Well I’ll be your friend and then you won’t be alone.”

“I…”

“Too forward?”

“Maybe. No. I don’t know.”

“You don’t want to be friends?”

“I don’t know you.”

“Well I’m Val. I’m 31. I’m originally from Ukraine but we immigrated to New York. I was here in Texas for work but I live in LA.”

“Oh.”

“I know you are Jenna. Are you willing to tell me anything else?”

“Um, I’m 23. I’m from Utah. I was here visiting my sister before I move to LA for my new job.”

“You’re moving to LA?”

“Yes” she says quietly, nodding.

“Awesome! We really can be friends then. Not just plane buddies.”

“How long have you lived in LA?”

“Um, on and off for a few years. I go back and forth between here and New York. New York will always be my first home but LA has become my home home.”

“I’m… I don’t really know LA.”

“It’s a great place to live.”

“I won’t get to see a lot of it because of my new job.”

“Do you mind me asking what your new job is?”

“I’m a dancer and…”

“Wait, are you going to be on Dancing with the Stars too?” Val asks excitedly, his eyes getting wider in excitement.

“You’re on it?”

“Yes. Just signed on the other day. I think it’s going to be a great show. A big hit.”

“I hope so” Jenna says with a small smile. “I mean, I moved whole life around for this. It better last more than a season.”

“I bet it will.”

“It has to” she says looking down and away from him.

“Why?”

“Because I gave up so much for this. I moved away from my family, who I’m really close to. I decided against college to do this. I have other dreams but I decided to do this instead right now. I need this to work out so I didn’t do all that for nothing.”

“I get it. I have a good feeling though. Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. I think so. I hope so.” Jenna slumps down into her chair and looks away out the window.

“What’s going on Jenna?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, don’t worry about this. Let’s just focus on making the best of what’s in front of us now. Ok?”

“We’re on a flight.”

“I didn’t mean that. Well maybe a little. I mostly meant like making the most of this season. This time in LA. We both moved into a new city. We’re both starting the same new job. We both need friends. You have a place to live?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good.”

“Do you?”

“Yea. I have an apartment. It’s pretty close to the studio.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe we’ll be near each other. That would make it easier.”

“Make what easier?” Jenna asks looking back over at him.

“Us being together. You know, as friends.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Am I coming on to strong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sorry.”

“I just… I don’t know. I’m all over the place right now.”

“I get it. I can back off. I am pretty open and say whatever comes to my mind and sometimes that gets me in trouble. I’m sorry. I’ll back off.”

“No. I mean…” she takes a deep breath and looks away again. “It’s ok. I’m just, I…”

Noticing how much Jenna is struggling, Val takes a risk and slips his hand into hers on her leg. She moves to pull away for a second but settles their hands back on her leg.

“I’m just struggling to figure out all of my emotions right now. I have so many.”

“I understand.”

“Thanks.”

“Is this ok?”

“What?”

“This” he says looking down at their joined hands.

“Oh, yes. It’s ok.”

“Good cause I like it.” He looks over at Jenna and sees her trying to hide a blush. “So, what should we do to pass the time on this flight?”

“Oh um, I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, ok” Val says and let’s go of her hand.

She squeezes past him and walks stiffly towards the bathroom. When she gets inside, she locks the door and lets out a deep breath. She didn’t really need to go, she just needed a second to breath and figure out what she feels right now. Jenna leans on the sink and lets her head hang down. She wishes there was water she could turn on and wash her face with to help settle her. Suddenly there is a knock on the bathroom door.

“One second please.”

“Jenna, it’s me” she hears what she believes is Val’s voice say.

“Val?” she says and opens the door.

“Hi. You ok?”

“Yea” she says as Val takes a step closer to her.

“You were here for a while.”

“Oh, I…”

“Were you waiting for me?”

“What?”

“You know like…”

“Oh my goodness…”

“I’m sorry. I just I wasn’t sure because you were gone so long and…”

“I just needed a minute.”

“I’m so sorry. I overstepped again. I’m such an idiot. I’m just gonna…”

“It’s fine. Let’s just go sit down.”

Jenna walks past him, bravely putting a hand on his chest, looking at him with a smile and starts to walk back to their row. When Val catches up, he puts a hand on her lower back. When they get back to their row, Jenna goes in first, grabbing her blanket from her bag. They settle in their seats and Val helps lay the blanket over Jenna. She stretches it so it’s over both of their laps. Val puts his hand under the blanket and rests it on her thigh. Jena looks over at him with a smile.

“You tired?” Val asks.

“No” she says but settles against him, leaning on to him.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes. This is just comfortable.”

“That it is.”

“I have a book I planned on reading. Are you ok if I just rest here against you and read?”

“I like nothing more.”

“You wouldn’t rather talk and learn more about each other?”

“We’ve got time for that. A whole season at least. I’d like to spend a lot of that time together learning about you.”

“I’d like that.”

“Good. Now I’ve got some reading to do too” he says and pulls out his book from his bag. Jenna sits up and grabs hers before settling back against him. Val puts his arm around her rest it on her arm He rests his head on hers and they sit quietly together, enjoying being wrapped up together and reading. It feels like the most natural thing in the world.

~

“How many suitcases do you have?” Val asks Jenna while they wait at the belt for the luggage to come.

“I have two. Most of my stuff was shipped to LA ahead of time. That’s why I was visiting my sister. I had nothing at my place in Utah.”

“I had to do that too. I stayed at my parents’ house for the last few days before I went to Texas to check up on our studio.”

“You have a studio in Texas?”

“Yes. A few actually.”

“What studio? Maybe I know it.”

“Dance With Me.”

“I think I know where that is. That’s so cool.”

“It’s my brother and our best friend as well.”

“That’s still awesome. You own your own studio.”

“Yea, it’s pretty great” he says but looks away. He looks almost embarrassed. She was going to press him on it but the luggage came and they had to grab their luggage. They each had two of their own. As they walk towards the exit of the airport, they are both quiet. Jenna isn’t sure what just changed between them but it’s become awkward.

“I have to call an Uber” Jenna suddenly says.

“No. I mean, I have a car. Well, my brother’s car. He’s here and is picking me up. He can take both of us. Well, only if you are ok with that. You don’t have to but...”

“I’d like that. It would certainly be easier. I don’t want to wait around here longer than I have to.”

“Great. Come on. Maks should be outside.”

“That’s your brother?”

“Yes. Maksim but he goes by Maks.”

“Good to know. You’re sure he’ll be ok with this?”

“Yea, he’ll be fine. Maybe a bit confused but he’ll be fine. We were thinking of grabbing dinner on the way. Do you want to join us?”

“Um, sure. You sure that will be ok? I don’t want to invade on your brother time.”

“Please do. We see enough of each other.”

“But he lives here and you…”

“We both lived in New York. He moved here last week. That’s why he has a car. He and his wife wanted to get settled. They have a baby boy they want to get used to being here before the show starts. They are both going to be on the show too. There he is. Come on. Let me introduce you.”

“Hey Val” Maks calls out as they get closer.

“Hi Maks. Thanks for coming to get me. Maks, this is Jenna. She’s going to be on the show too. We met on the plane.”

“Hi Jenna. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well.”

“She’s going to come with us.”

“Oh, ok. Come on, get it before we get yelled at” Maks says as he takes Jenna’s suitcases and throws them in the back of his car. Val then leads Jenna to the back of the car, opening the door for her. She climbs in and then is surprised when Val climbs in after her.

“Val, you could…”

“Ready to go” Maks says as he climbs in. He pulls the car out and heads out without waiting for an answer.

Jenna looks over at Val, a bit confused. He just winks at her. What she can’t understand is how Maks is acting like there is nothing different going on right now. Like he knew this would be happening all along.

“Where are we going for dinner?”

“We should go to that café I’ve been telling you about.”

“That’s like in LA. Jenna, are you ok to wait that long?”

“I don’t know how long that is.”

“Right. You don’t really know the area yet. It could be an hour or so depending on traffic.”

“Oh. That’s fine but it’s up to you guys anyway. I’m just along for the ride. You two get to pick so if that’s what you want, let’s do that.”

“Jenna, you have say in this too. Don’t think you don’t” Val says putting a hand on her leg.

“He’s right. You have probably more say than either of us. That’s just how we were raised so you tell us. Do you want to stop sooner or wait until we get into LA and go to Fratelli’s the café?” Maks asks.

“I can wait for the café. I have some snacks in my bag if we need to snack during the drive.”

“Good to know. Fratelli’s it is.”

Jenna looks back over at Val and he just smiles and shrugs. He squeezes her leg. She wishes she could scoot closer to him. She misses the contact they had on the plane.

“Oh Val, I told Peta we would tell her where we are eating. Since we are close, she might join us. Can you text her for me?”

“Sure.”

“Maks, Val said you have a little boy.”

“I do. Shai. He’s 7 months old. Here he is” Maks says and holds up his phone so his lock screen shows up. It’s a picture of Maks and Shai together.

“Oh, he’s adorable.”

“Thank you. I love him. You might meet him tonight at dinner. If not, you’ll probably see him around at the studio.”

“I can’t wait. I have some nephews who are little and niece as well. She’s a dancer like me.”

“How sweet.”

“Peta says they’ll be there. We just have to tell her when we are close.”

“Ok. Val, you won’t be far from your apartment after dinner.”

“Oh good. Jenna said she is near the studio too so I bet she won’t be far either.”

“Good. We’ll figure it out after dinner.”

~

When they pull into the parking lot near the café, Jenna starts to feel a bit anxious for some reason. She’s not quite sure why. They all pile out of the car. Jenna walks close to Val, happy to be close enough to him again to pull comfort from him. Val reaches out and puts his hand on her lower back. She moves even closer to him. She was tempted to take his hand in hers but she doesn’t. She just lets their hands bump each other as they walk.

“It’s so beautiful” Maks suddenly says.

“What?” Val questions.

“The weather. I love the weather here.”

“It’s a big change from Utah.”

“That’s where you are from?” Maks asks surprised.

“Yes. I was just visiting my sister before I moved here.

“I thought New York to here was a big jump but Utah to LA, wow.”

“It will be a big difference but worth it, I hope.”

“It will be” Val says pulling Jenna against his side.

Jenna catches Maks’ laugh but doesn’t see his smile as they walk into the café. She looks up at Val who smiles down at her and lets het move from his side.

“Welcome to LA” Jenna hears an Australian voice say.

“Thanks Peta. Hi Bublik” Val says and kisses the little boy kicking in his mother’s arms. Val then takes him in his arms when the boy reaches out for him. “I missed you buddy. Shai, this is Jenna. She’s pretty great and pretty gorgeous. Don’t you think so?”

“Hi Shi” Jenna says with a smile and runs her hand over his head. Shai watches her and gives her a big happy smile, squealing in delight before reaching out for her.

“May I?”

“Go head” Val says and passes Shai over to Jenna. She cuddles him to her chest. Shai reaches for her hair and grabs hold of a little piece before resting his head on her shoulder. Jenna kisses his head and looks over at Val. He winks at her and pulls out a chair for her to sit in.

“Thank you” Jenna says carefully sitting down holding Shai close as she does.

“Aw, he likes you already” Peta says with a smile.

“This is ok right. I…”

“Of course! He likes you. Just so you know, he might fall asleep. He likes to play with hair when he’s falling asleep.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“He gets it from his Papa” Peta says with a smile looking up at Maks. He just shrugs.

“You’ve got great hair Jenna. I’m a little jealous” Val says smiling at Jenna, earning a blush from Jenna.

“Thanks.”

“So Jenna, I hear you are a part of the dancing show with us. Is that how you know Val?”

“I am but no. I met Val on the plane. We were row buddies.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Are you guys all pros?”

“We are” Peta answers. Are you?”

“No. I’m a part of the troupe. We are like the extra dancers if you want them in your dances and we do bumpers.”

“That’s awesome. You’ll dance more than we will I bet.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Mandy said she’d tell me more about it when I get to the studio on Monday.”

“You know Mandy?”

“Yes. She’s told me to apply.”

“That’s so cool. Her work is amazing. I can’t wait to meet her” Peta says excitedly.

“She’s so nice. Very humble. Has a funny sense of humor too. I’m sure you’ll like her.”

“I’m sure I will. Jenna, do you mind me asking how old you are? You look young but seem so mature.”

“I’m 23.”

“Wow. You are so beautiful.”

“Thank you. So are you.”

“Val, she’s a …”

“Peta.”

“What?”

He just stares at her and Peta drops it. As Shai twitches in his sleep, Jenna rubs his back. Val’s hand finds her high again. They finally look over the menus and order. Jenna went for a salad, knowing that would be easier to eat with one hand. Maks had offered to take Shai but she said she was good.

~

“Well it was great meeting you tonight Jenna. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yes, it was great to meet you too Peta. See you Monday. Bye Shai. Thanks for letting me cuddle you” she says kissing Shai’s head. Peta’s holding her now awake son.

Jenna turns around to find Val and Maks waiting for her. With on last good night, they head back towards the car.

“So Jenna, do you know where your apartment is?”

“Yes. It’s on 8th street.”

“Hey, mine is too” Val says excitedly. “We must be down the road or something.”

“Dude, you’re so stupid sometimes. Jenna, did the show tell you about this place?”

“Yes. They said it’s the best option nearby. It’s a beautiful place.”

“Is it a high rise?” Val asks starting to put the piece together.

“Yes.”

“You two are at the same apartment building” Maks laughs

“That’s going to be so fun” Jenna smiles over at Val saying.

“It sure it.”

When they get to the car, Jenna and Val sit in the back again. Val thought about sitting in the middle this time but he knew he was going to be teased enough by Maks and Peta as it is. Sitting in the middle seat would just add to it.

“Wasn’t that place great?” Maks asks as he drives away.

“Yes. That will be a great place to go when we need to step away” Val says.

“And the owners are great. We’re becoming quick friends. He wasn’t there tonight but I’ll introduce you two to him soon.”

Jenna is confused as to where Maks is going. Neither Val or herself said where to go. She can’t imagine he and Peta and Shai live in that apartment.

“Val” she whispers.

“Yes babe?”

“Does he know where he’s going?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

“Everything ok back there?” Maks suddenly asks.

“All good” Val laughs.

“We’ll be there in a minute.”

“Thank you for driving Maks” Jenna says.

“You’re welcome. Glad you could join us.”

“Me too. I had a great time.”

When Maks pulls up to the front of the apartment high rise, he parks and goes around back to help get the suitcases out.

“Do you need any help?” he asks looking at Jenna.

“No, I think I’ll be ok. Thank you though. Thank you again for driving.”

“You’re welcome. Val, ubedites', chto ona dobirayetsya do yeye kvartiry (make sure she gets to her apartment).”

“Ya znayu (I know).”

“Goodnight you two. See you Monday.”

“Goodnight” Jenna smiles. “See you Monday.”

Val just nods. Once Maks has pulled away, Val turned to Jenna. He smiles at her and she returns the smile. He motions towards the door with his head and they both turn and head inside. Jenna lets out a deep breath when they walk into the lobby. She pulls out her eyes and looks at the number attached.

“What floor are you on?” Val asks.

“5,”

“Me too.”

Awesome. We’ll at least be close by” Jenna says as they walk into the elevator with their suitcases in tow.

“I like that” Val smiles.

They are silent after that, just staring at each other with smiles as the elevator continue. They are brought out of their trance by the elevator bell signaling they have made it to their floor. Val motions for Jenna to exit first. She looks down at her keys again.

“516” she says and looks at the sign on the wall.

“No way.”

“What?”

“I’m 518.”

“We’re two apart. That’s awesome.”

“Jenna, evens are on one side.”

“Oh… oh! We’re on the same side. Wait, does that mean…”

“We are neighbors. From row mates to neighbors.”

“That’s so awesome. What could be better. Thanks for the fun day Val. I’m so glad I met you and get to be friends with you now. See you Monday.”

“I was hoping sooner. Can we do breakfast tomorrow? I can help you set up tomorrow after that if you want.”

“You really want to spend your last day before we start working helping me move in?”

“I could think of a better way to spend it.”

“I don’t believe you but I’d love some help and breakfast. I’d cook us some but…”

“I have groceries. I can make us something. I’m make eggs. That’s about it though.”

“How about you come over at…”

“8:30 ok?”

“Sure. That will give us plenty of time. You bring over your groceries and I’ll help you cook. Then we’ll get to work.”

“Sounds like a plan. Have a goodnight Jenna” Val says letting go of his luggage and pulls Jenna into a hug. She lets out a sigh and holds him tight. Val kisses her head

“Goodnight” she whispers as they let go. She unlocks her door, turns on the first light and turns around, closing the door while watching Val through the door.

“What’s better?” Val says to himself. “Roommates. Row mates to neighbors to roommates. That would be better. That would be best” he says as he closes the door with a smile on his face.

Person A is one of those semi-miserable people that like sitting in the window seat of the airplane just so they have an excuse not to talk to whoever sits next to them. Contradictorily, they also like to chant “please sit next to me” in their head at whoever they thought was cute. However, when Person B takes a seat next to them, they’re breathless. A struggles for something to say and stutters once they started a conversation, but A and B quickly warm up to each other. Perhaps a bit too quickly. Maybe they even try to make it to the mile-high club. You decide.

[theday]

all for the ask memes k thnx, im looking forward to the quality content 👏👏👏👏👏👏

 falen already asked me some and i answered those here thank u so much 4 asking jen i hate u but also i love u

OK! Ready: are you looking forward to anything at the moment?

oh worm the new pokemon game lads

Innocent Love: do you remember your first crush? what was it like?

this made me laugh oh fuck again so i was like. 10 and i got a crush on this guy and it lasted for 3 years bc we were in the same class for the next 3 years rip me! but i was so fucking annoying honestly im so glad i managed to Not be like that again with my next few crushes though ofc i was still annoying 2 those and thankfully i am a changed person and honestly i just shouldnt have any crushes bc ill be annoying even if i have learnt from my Bad Past ufhfhhis

god this is is so embarrassing but when i was like 12 someone told him i liked him and i was like bitC????? and u kno normal drama shit my best friend at that time also liked him and i was like !!!!!! wow!!!!! ok!!!!!! and shit happened u know thank fuck i graduated from primary school and i never see them again 

i would send him like o*e dir*ct**n songs bc they had the [redacted] songs and essentially i would send him songs that made me think of him but we werent even friends so he never replied its so fucking funny im gna die i hate that im never talking abt it ever again

Morning Call: what time do you usually sleep and wake up?

its the holidays but i still sleep at 11pm lmofsinwij and i wake up slightly later at 9am it used to be 10am but i hate waking up later than 9am so

Puss in Boots: do you have any pets? (if you don’t, which animal would you want as a pet?)

i want a bird or cat or dog or fish or that!!! one!!! x animal i forgot the name but its kind of like a frog but flatter??? and it has like fins on the sides of its face??? its like :0 ?????? whats the animal someone hmu

Breathless: name the last thing that took your breath away

dare i say it?????????????????? minhyuk which one??? who knows

Polaris: name a place you’d like to go to and an idol you’d like to go there with

omg i instantly thought of amusement park bc i keep remembering the first episode of monsta x’s right now  gdhidnnj so id like 2 go with with hrmrmrmrmmm……… im gonna cry the first person i thought of was minhyuk

Growing Pains: how tall are you?

. 154 cm……….. sanha cant relate 

Confession: imagine your ub confessing to you - how would they do it?

this question is cancelled i dont have an ub and im not gonna list 18 whole scenarios 

Lonely: would you rather be alone with your ub or surrounded by your bias group?

surrounded by my bias group aka all 3 i love living the no bias life 

Star: what’s your star sign?

capricorn same as chae hyungwon and i will never shut up abt that fact bc it makes me happie

Again: top astro ships (doesn’t have to be romantic)

binu

socky

binjin???

Cotton Candy: compare any idol to a dessert 

rocky is warm like lava cake :-0 idk lmfao

You & Me: favourite line from any astro song

oooo weEEEEEEE 

but for real umMMmm i havent actually watched any lyric videos for astro lmao um,,,,,,, so easy to love you??? from csc idk its nice and i wanted to change my bio to that but thats 2 mch effort

Baby: if you could drink out of any of the dream bottles, which would you pick?

give me a second to watch th e baby mv agani 

ok itll be the aroha one bc its probably grape flavoured and the safest 2 consume

Dreams Come True: what do you wish for the most at this point in time?

have i answered this … i want day6 to win that best band performance award BLEASE i thought about how hard they worked and then saw that theyre losing and i almost cried idk much about cnblue so i cant say for sure but i know day6 and theyve worked so fucking hard this year with everyday6 and just?? holding concerts every month and!!!! fuck please if they dont win ill cry and now i just feel so fucking bad bc i couldve voted everyday but i didnt 

Every Minute: you’ve only five minutes left to live. which astro mv would you watch again?

csc bc i need to stream it…….

Lie: if you could watch astro perform one song live, which song would it be?

AGAIN

butterfly: what song do you relate to each member of astro and why?

hRMM (based on the nature of the song itself since i dont know the lyrics also assuming we use astro songs)

myungjun - cat’s eye bc of the the egg……. (also cant believe that video was a year ago tf) also dreams come true bc of his oWWEOOWOOWOoo

jinwoo - confession bc whenever rocky and jinjin rap together i live 2 see another day?? and you smile bc i love jinjins smile :_) and he was jamming out 2 it during the jincha radio 2

dongmin - who is this dreams come true because during the most recent jincha radio didnt jinwoo say smth like… eunwoo this is ur song…idk….

bin - crazy sexy cool since it was said the song was originally meant to be his solo song oh confession for bin too bc every time he says “Hey baby geu ael ijeo” i hear jelly instead thanks jinjin

minhyuk - run because rocky!!! singing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and fireworks bc he choreographed the dance?? iirc…. fuck lets not forget every minute.. iconic.. i love his rap in it

sanha - baby bc hes a babie and he always does the soda sound and dances its so funnie and cute what a loser lmao oh or cotton candy bc the song is rly soft and cute in general??? 

ok thats all bc if i dont stop now ill never shut up….. but searching for the links made me realize how mnay songs they have that have the same title as justin b*eber like… bin please calm urself

run: who do you turn to / what do you do when you’re stressed?

when im stressed i just dont think about it LOL so in the end i dont rly talk abt the reasons for my stress????? if i do itll be 2 falen 

crazy sexy cool: attach your favourite meme of astro

i,,,,,,,,,,,,?????????? my minds blank this is too much its not rly a meme but jinwoo saying its me during that one thing is always so funny 2 me and bell wont shut up abt it so i think abt it like every day

[allinmycorner]

I would say the show was surprising but my phone told me Ray Lewis had withdrawn from the show about an hour before it began. But, yes, Ray had to withdraw due to an old injury. His doctor advised him that he couldn’t continue and while Ray was devastated, he had to do what was best for his body. 

Meanwhile, it was Movie Night! Each couple was given a movie and a song from that movie. They then had to perform a routine in tribute to that movie. We also had a visit from BB-8 and a sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars movie but they stayed away from the Disney movies this time. 

Ray and Cheryl were supposed to dance a tribute to Ferris Bueller. Instead, Rashad Jennings stepped in and danced it with Cheryl. And he can still move. It almost looked like they got a pro to dance with her! 

Let’s see how the rest of the night went! 

Ally and Sasha: Ally stole the night with her rumba to “Dreaming of You” from Selena. She looked amazing and performed the dance so well with Sasha. It was an amazing tribute to the movie and to Selena as Ally is friends with Selena’s family. And it was nice to see Ally’s family in the package! 

Kate and Pasha: Kate continues to amaze everyone! This time, she handled her quickstep tribute to 9 to 5 with grace and speed. Sometimes people struggle with the speed of the dance but she managed it well. I can’t wait to see what she does next time! 

James and Emma: How sweet was it that James dedicated his dance to his wife? “Shallow” was the perfect song to rumba to but he definitely needs to work on his hips for the Latin dances. 

Sailor and Val: Sailor took in the judges’ critiques and used them to improve. Her tango to “Mamma Mia” was very good. Not yet a standout but she’s enjoyable to watch. I can also see her potential, so if she keeps working hard, I think she’ll have her breakout moment in no time. 

Hannah and Alan: Hannah got to pay tribute to the movie Bridesmaids just as she was throwing a bachelorette party for her best friend. Alan even got in on the fun but they may have wanted to have a little more time to practice their rumba. Her movements at time weren’t very fluid and she looked a bit hesitant during the routine. 

Kel and Witney: Poor Kel! I don’t know why he ended up in the bottom two. While his rumba wasn’t as good as Ally’s, it was just as good as James’. Or do people still just have negative feelings about Titanic and that song? 

Lauren and Gleb:  Lauren had a pretty good tango to “Pretty Woman.” She keeps getting better and I think her breakout moment will be soon. She just needs to beat Sailor to it in order to make it to the finals, I think. 

Karamo and Jenna: Poor Karamo just can’t catch a break, especially when it comes to Len. His jive to “I’m Still Standing” (Rocketman) was fun and seemed to be decently performed but Len is still hard on him. Hopefully things improve for Karamo next time. 

Sean and Lindsay: Oh, Sean. I mean, you have to give him some points for really committing and having fun. He’s embraced the camp and enjoying himself. He still isn’t a great dancer though. I feel he might make it to Disney Week but not beyond it. 

Lamar and Peta: His routine started out somewhat promising as he performed with Peta. But he lost it in the middle when he fell out of step. He also still looks like he’s walking around the floor more than dancing. Ray’s withdrawal probably was the only thing that saved him from elimination because you know the judges would’ve kept Kel over him. 

ABC is reviving their old theme weeks, starting with Cast from the Past Week. Cast members from past hit shows (not necessarily ones that ran on ABC) are popping up on ABC’s current shows. Dancing With the Stars is no different as Leah Remini will be a guest judge! And who knows? There may be some other familiar faces in the ballroom as well. 

I’ll be at a concert on Monday so I probably won’t be able to watch until Tuesday--and I definitely won’t be able to vote. Please don’t send Kel home on me, okay? 

[winchesterprincessbride]

Political Animals-Election Day (Part 15)

A/N: Warning for gun violence in this chapter FYI. Well we’ve come to the end of the road with this story.  Thanks to everyone for your comments and your enthusiasm.  There will be an epilogue after this, and then it’s on to the next story.  Thanks for reading!  Jen

This is an A/B/O AU.  You are the Omega artist daughter of Naomi Novak, a world-class heart surgeon who is running for Mayor of New York City.  After a meeting where your mother’s advisers call you a “liability”, she tells you that if you don’t do as your told she will cut you off.  You storm out and wind up in a bar a few blocks away.

The hottest Alpha you have EVER laid eyes on with a scent so mouthwatering you’re practically drooling offers to buy you a drink.  It’s just a drink, right? What do you have to lose? Only everything.

Characters: Omega! Reader, Beta! Naomi Novak, Alpha! Castiel Novak, Omega! Meg Novak, Claire Novak, Jimmy Novak, Alpha! Sam Winchester, Alpha! Dean Winchester, Alpha! John Winchester, Omega! Jo Harvelle

Big thanks to @moansmisha  for letting me use some of her ideas from this post.

Master List

Part 1 (all parts are linked)

Parts in bold are text messages

It’s finally here.  The day that has been the focus of the Winchester and Novak families for the past two years.  Election day.  Today is the that will decide it all. By the end of the night, we would know if all the back-stabbing, mud-slinging, and name-calling by my mother had been effective enough to win her the election.

John had flat out refused to stoop to her level.  If he was going to be the mayor, he was going to do it the same way he did everything else, with honesty and integrity.  I admired him for that.

This election had truly brought out the worst in my mother.  She used every opportunity to bad mouth us in the press. The latest story she had concocted was that Sam had gotten me pregnant to trap me into marrying him. Seriously??

Sam was much better than me at ignoring my mother’s bullshit and laughing it off. I was hormonal and cranky and I usually just wanted to wring her neck on a regular basis.  Cas was at a total loss.  He told me on the phone the other day he had no idea who my mom was anymore.

“My best guess is she’s been replaced by an alien…..or a robot…”  he joked.

“Or she’s just lost her damned mind,” I complained irritably. 

“May the best man win,” Cas said seriously, and we both laughed.

“How are my niece and nephew doing?” he asked, trying to change the subject.  He knew my mother was a very sore topic for me lately. 

“Eight more weeks.  My belly is so huge, I haven’t seen my feet in ages.  Sam has to put my shoes on for me.  They are gonna have to roll me into the delivery room, that’s how enormous I am.”

“Are you going to be able to go vote today?” He asked.

“Are you kidding? I’ll get to the polls today if I have to CRAWL there, Cas.”

For the past three months, I had been campaigning for John. I had come to every event that Sam and Dean had attended.  The last one before the election had been the final debate between John and my mother.  She had forbidden Cas and Meg from talking to me, a command they had promptly ignored.  

She had glared at Sam all night, and she wouldn’t even look at me.  During the debate she had taken so many thinly-veiled potshots at Sam I was ready to confront her then and there.

“It’s not worth it, Y/N,” Sam told me, enfolding me in his arms and holding me tight until I had breathed deeply and his scent had calmed me down.  “She’s trying to provoke you.  If I can let it go, so can you.”

We skipped the reception after the debate because these days I tired easily and that way I wouldn’t have to see her again.

John, Sam, Dean and I entered the polling place amid the flash of many cameras.  It was time for the Winchester family to cast their votes for mayor.  Somewhere across town, my mother, Cas, and Meg were doing the same thing.  I handed the woman my drivers license and signed my name.  I entered the voting booth and she closed the curtain behind me.

I did my voting for the other elections first and left mayor until last.  I stood for a moment and looked at the names.  John Winchester.  Naomi Novak.  I thought for a moment about how much this election had changed my life for the better.  

I had gained an Alpha, a mate, and ultimately a husband, but more importantly, I had gained a family.  And in a few months, I would have pups of my own.  I would do my best to be a good mother and to always make sure they knew I loved them.

I look a deep breath, pressed the button, and exited the booth.

We were all spending the night at the Lowell Hotel in the city, where we would watch the election returns and hopefully celebrate John’s victory party.  As fate would have it, Cas had told me they would be watching the returns with my mom from a suite at the Westin, which was just three blocks away.  

The police had been unsuccessful in tracking down my father.  He always seemed to be one step ahead of them.  It was as if he knew they were looking for him.  The letters and pictures had stopped, so I hoped that maybe he had left New York City altogether.  I would be glad when this election was over and we could all get back to our regular lives.

Dean, Jo, Sam and John had gathered in the living room of John’s suite to eat and watch the early returns.  I had decided to lay down for a bit because my back had been bothering me all day.  Sam had offered to stay with me, but I told him to go on ahead.

“I just need to rest for a bit.  Go get some food.  You must be starving.  I’ll be along shortly.”

I hadn’t even laid down yet when my text alert beeped.

Cas: Y/N: I need to talk to you. It’s important.  It’s about your father.  Can you meet me at the Starbucks at the end of the block in 10 minutes?

Y/N: Okay.  I’ll see you in 10.

It didn’t even cross my mind to question Cas or to tell Sam where I was going. I’m such an idiot!  I headed for the nearest elevator and was walking through the lobby and out the door of the hotel minutes later.

  I was halfway to the Starbucks when I felt an arm reach out and grab me from the alley, something hard slam against the back of my head, and everything went black.

My head felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat. When I opened my eyes fully and the room stopped spinning I realized I wasn’t alone.  A man sat on the chair across from me watching me intently.  There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t quite place him.

Then it hit me.  He was the man I had chased the day I had gotten hit by the car.  And he had a gun pointed directly at me.

“Hello, Y/N.  It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” He told me. “Don’t try to run, I will use this if I have to.”  He gestured towards the gun.  

“You’re my father, aren’t you? Your the one who’s been sending me the letters and pictures?” I asked quietly.

“I’ve been watching you ever since I learned of your existence.  After my parents sent me away, your mother sent word she’d miscarried.  Lying bitch!  All this time I had a daughter and I never knew it.  She never once came to see me or answered any of my letters.  All that lost time….”

My father had a manic, faraway look in his eyes.  He was clearly off his meds and completely out of his mind.  I had to try to talk him down and get out of here before he hurt me.

“I’m sorry for how my mother treated you.  She has a habit of lying to people.” I said softly.

When someone knocked softly on the door at the far corner of the room I stiffened with fear and my eyes immediately flew to my father.  What was he going to do? Shoot the person?

He got up at looked at me intently.  “Do not move from that spot, “ he said, raising the gun in my direction threateningly.  He walked over to the door and looked into the peephole.

I tried not to squirm too much in my seat because my back had really begun to hurt and the babies were moving all over the place. When I looked up and saw who my father had by the arm and was pulling towards where I was sitting my heart fell.

“Mom?”

Sam’s POV

“Y/N must have dozed off.  I’m gonna go check on her.  I want to make sure she eats something.”

It had been over an hour since Y/N said she was going to rest her back.  We had all gotten caught up in the election returns and time had gotten away from us.  I excuse myself and walked back to our room.  The bed hadn’t been slept in, and the room was empty. 

 I immediately called her cell, and I got her voice mail.  I was just about to go down to the lobby to see if she was there when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, expecting to see Y/N’s number, but it was Cas.  Why was Cas calling me?

“Hello?”

“Sam, it’s Cas.  My mother is missing.  Do you know where Y/N is?”

I stood up at the sight of my mother and immediately doubled over in pain.  The pain in my back had gotten unbearable.  There was a sudden gush of warm fluid down my legs and my dress was soaked.

“I think my water just broke,” I whispered in a small voice.  “It’s too soon!  The babies aren’t due for another 8 weeks!”

My mother turned to my father.  “I don’t know what this is, Greg, but your quarrel is with me, not Y/N.  Let her go, and I will stay here.”

My father’s face contorted with rage.  “NO!  No one is leaving!  We are finally together.  Everyone stays.  Naomi, you’re a doctor, you take care of her.”

“Can I lay her down, at least?” My mother asked.

He pointed the gun towards the couch, and she helped me onto it.   “How far along are you?” she asked.

“32 weeks.  Fraternal twins.  A boy and a girl.  My back……it hurts!”  I muttered through gritted teeth.

“Why are you here, Mom?”

“I got a text saying I needed to come here right away alone because you were in danger and to tell no one or you would be killed.” She said miserably.

I immediately burst into tears.  “I want Sam!” I moaned as the pain in my back had me curling into a fetal position on the couch.

My mother stood up and turned to face my father.  “I’m sorry I lied to you! I’m sorry I kept Y/N from you! But I had no choice! You weren’t leaving the clinic, and Charles had threatened to take my son away from me if I left him.  What choice did I have?” She demanded.  “You need to let Y/N go! She is in labor!”

“You never visited me! You never even wrote me a letter! You just went on with your life as if I didn’t exist!” He bellowed, completely ignoring her comment about me being in labor.

This went on for hours.  My parents fighting, and me on the couch, my pain getting worse and worse.  My mother continued to beg my father to let me go, but he refused.

“I haven’t done a pelvic exam since medical school, Y/N, but I need to see how far along you are in case I need to deliver these babies, okay?” My mom finally asked in a gentle voice I had never heard her use with me.

I nodded. My Mom washed her hands and cleaned them with hand sanitizer. She examined me quickly and turned to my father.  “You need to let her go, NOW!  One of the babies is breech.  She won’t be able to deliver without a C-section.”

“No.” My father said simply.

“This is your daughter and your grandchildren, Greg.  Whatever grudges you hold against me, none of this is her fault.  End this NOW!” My mother demanded, her eyes blazing with fury.

My pain got worse and worse.  My mother continued to monitor me as my father paced, muttering to himself.  My mom leaned over me. “Listen carefully, Y/N.  Do you think you can run?”

“What?” I whispered, “Why?”

“I am going to distract him and try to get the gun away.  You need to get out of here and get to a hospital.  There is no way that baby can be born without a C-section, it’s completely turned, I felt its feet.  When I say run I want you to go as fast as you can and don’t come back no matter what.  Can you do that?”

“But Mom, I don’t know if I can.  What about you?” I whispered.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to help you sit up now.” She helped me to a sitting position and I moaned in pain.  “Wait for my signal.” She told me, and in a rare show of affection, she kissed me on the forehead.

My mother stood up, threw her shoulders back, and Dr. Naomi Novak was in the room. ‘Greg, you are going to let Y/N go RIGHT NOW! I will not have the lives of my grandchildren put at risk because of some silly vendetta!” She got right in his face.

“Sit down, Naomi.” He told her coldly.

My mother reached out and attempted to wrench the gun from his hands, they began to wrestle for control of it. “Run, Y/N!” My mother screamed.

I took off as fast as I could, completely disassociating myself from the pain in my body.  I wrenched open the door at the end of the hall and flew through it just as the gunshot sounded.  I took a few steps before my legs gave out and I fell to my knees. The pain was overwhelming.  I never even heard Sam bellow my name before I blacked out.

Part 16 (epilogue)

Tagging: @skybinx-blog @percywinchester27 @a-sea-of-fandoms @dorky-and-i-know-it@fangirl1802 @pinknerdpanda  @atc74  @moonlitskinwalker @we-are-band-sexuals@jayankles   @notnaturalanahi  @ariannalikescake @growningupgeek  @itsummertime22  @roseblood11   @demondeansdomme@cantchoosejustonefandom @ferferelli @midnightjazzmine @dr-dean@clairese1980 @moonstonemystyk @obsessedtmifangirl @bailieinabottle@mesomisha54 @agoodold-fashionedvillain @brewsthespirit-blog  @fucking-grapefruit @typicalweirdbookworm @the-strandedgypsy@meganwinchester1999 @maddieburcham1 @diabetus-swag @bohowitch@mizzezm @winchestergirl-love @vixenvindictive@theoriginalvicki @ayeeitsemry @kittenofdoomage@oriona75 @jotink78 @the-cucumber-who-lived @magickal-angel @gecko9596 @winchester-writes @valynsia @ronnie248-blog @inuhimesblog @phoenixia67 @afanofmanystuffs@sassy-losechester @mariairwin666@essie1876@shell-fire @becaamm @aalexandra2712 @stone-met@maxsaturdayhatesnarwhals@thelittleredwhocould@just-another-busy-fangirl@sunriserose1023 @blacktithe7@ajspencer1892 @mamabear82nd@notateenbeachmovie @i-just-wanna-live-gc @calicat79 @lovisathelins@evyiione @captainradicalpassion @scrumptiouswinnie @millaraysuyai @keelzythe2nd @disneymarina @blackcat995

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible Diamond Scene: Watch Last Week’s Footage

You: This is way too good to pass up.

You quickly lock the door. You: Better not let anyone walk in on this. You sit at one of the computers and open a folder full of videos featuring Adam, Mackenzie, Derek, and Jen.

Whose video do you watch? -[MLI]

You press ‘play’ on a thumbnail that shows Adam…

As the video starts, you see Adam in the mansion’s gym, whaling on a punching bag. Adam: Hff… hff… Suddenly, the door to the gym opens, and Mackenzie slips in. Mackenzie: Feeling aggressive, are we? Adam: What do you want, Mackenzie? Mackenzie: I wanna know if you nominated [Name] for Elimination. Adam stops short, turning to stare at Mackenzie. Adam: How can you ask me that? Mackenzie: That’s not an answer. Adam: Of course I didn’t nominate her/him! And before you ask, I didn’t vote her/him out, either. Adam: I’d never do anything to send [Name] home. She/He was the only person here I could talk to. Mackenzie narrows her eyes at Adam… Mackenzie: That’s what everyone’s saying, which means at least one person is lying. Adam returns his attention to the punching bag. Adam: Then why’d you bother asking? You already know you can’t trust anyone.

As the video ends, you lean back in your seat, absorbing what you’ve seen. You: Adam and Mackenzie didn’t take my Elimination well… You glance back at the computer.

-[FLI]

You click on the thumbnail that shows Mackenzie.

As the video starts, you see Mackenzie sitting at the kitchen table with the other contestants. Ivy: What do you think the next Challenge will be? I hope we get to leave the beach house again! As Ivy chats happily, Mackenzie glances suspiciously from one face to the next. Finally, she interrupts. Mackenzie: So, are we just gonna sit here like nothing happened? Ivy: Mackenzie, no one’s doing that-- Mackenzie: Save the nice girl act, Ivy. Someone here nominated [Name] for Elimination, and some of you voted her/him out. Zeke: Well, duh… but do we have to fight about it over every meal? Adam: Deflecting only makes you look suspicious. Derek: You gotta admit, Zeke, things without [Name] are weird. Zeke: Only ‘cause you keep making them weird! Ivy: We can’t bring her/him back, so can we please stop fighting about it? We still have half the summer to go! Everyone grumpily returns to their dinner, and the cameras fade out.

You: Looks like tension in the house was pretty high! You glance at the computer…

-Derek

You click on the video thumbnail that shows Derek.

As the video loads, you see Derek and Ivy on the rooftop, whispering. Ivy: I’m just saying, we should end it when the cameras are around. Derek: I agree, but we need to wait for the right moment-- Before Derek can finish his sentence, Ivy bursts into tears! Ivy: You’re breaking up with me?! Derek: I… yes. Derek: I’m so sorry, Ivy. I know we had this spark, this connection, after the boating date… but I just don’t feel it anymore. Derek: And I don’t think you do either. Derek: Before she/he was eliminated, [Name] inspired me to be my most authentic self. Derek: I owe it to her/him to be honest about how I feel. Ivy: Well, you really should’ve told [Name] that before she/he left… Derek: I’m sorry, Ivy. I didn’t mean to string you along-- Ivy: It’s too late for that, Derek! Ivy hesitates for a second… then slaps Derek across the face! Derek: Hhffn! Ivy: I’m leaving now. And don’t even think about following me! As Ivy storms away, the video ends.

You: Whoa, Ivy’s a better actress than I thought. You study the computer screen…

-Jen

You click a video thumbnail that shows Jen talking to Piper.

The video begins and all you see are empty couches. After a few seconds of silence, you watch Jen enter the frame. As she scribbles something on her clipboard, Piper marches in front of the camera and stops in front of her. Jen looks up, startled. Piper: I swear, Jen, if [Name] comes back during the Comeback Challenge, things had better be different between you two. Jen: Different how…? Piper: You know how. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you look at her/him! Jen: Nothing’s happened between us, I swear! Piper: For your sake, I hope that’s true. But the fact remains that you blatantly favour [Name]. Piper: As a producer, it’s your job to make sure all of your contestants are stars. You’ve poured way too much effort into [Name]. Jen: Because I thought she/he could win. Piper: And look what it got you. Your ‘winner’ was eliminated halfway through the competition! Jen: Because of the Audience Vote-- Piper: Enough excuses! Piper: You were too soft on [Name]. You need to toughen up… or have you forgotten it’s your job on the line? Piper leaves without waiting for an answer. Jen stares out the window, looking nervous. Jen: [Name]… Before the video ends, she slowly walks out of frame…

You: I guess that explains why she was acting so weird during my Confessional. Poor Jen. You look back at the computer screen…

You: Looks like that was the last video. I’d better leave before someone catches me. You quietly slip out of the producer room, your head buzzing with all the information you just learned…

[laceyeb]

DWTS Season 24 - Cast Announcement

For anyone new around here/to me... 

Years ago when I went off to college, my mom and I would send facebook messages back and forth as we continued to watch DWTS now without each other. It has evolved today into very long recaps at the end of each week plus my thoughts about the cast at the beginning of each season. Then I always post it all to tumblr because I like to share! Just keep in mind that my intended audience is her, so if something is weird or confusing, ask and I’ll clarify. :)

------------

OMG! I just realized I never typed up anything for you after the cast announcement! I was so excited about Bonner and Sharna that I completely forgot!

What do you think?! I think it’s going to be a really good season! The problem is that there is already so much talent on the female celeb side and it’s not going to easy for anyone to beat that.

Here’s what I think so far! I’m just going in alphabetical order from the wikipedia list…

Simone and Sasha - I’m sooooo happy she has Sasha, but that was just because I hoped it would lessen her popularity a little bit. I don’t think it’s going to make a difference though. I’m sure people are going to love her. I am happy for Sasha! He had such a good season last time and it’ll be nice to see him with someone as good as Simone. Do you think people are really going to want gymnasts winning twice in a row? I don’t know… Obviously they’ll make it very far, but I don’t think they’ll beat Val and his fan base. I’m curious to see if Simone is as popular as Laurie.

Bonner and Sharna - This is the most excited I’ve ever been for a couple after the cast announcement!!!!! OMG!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!!! I’ve been looking at every picture and watching every little video they’ve been posting and I love them so much! Obviously I had never heard of him before I saw his name rumored and I looked him up. I’m worried about all the other more well known celebs, but people are just going to fall in love with him and I can’t wait!!! They’re definitely going to be the showmance of the season (but there aren’t really any other good options so it makes sense) and I have no problem with that if it brings in more votes! I think he’s going to be good, too! But at long as he can move even just a little, he’s going to stick around for quite a while. I hope they dance to some good music, too! Looks like it could be Luke first thing in week 1! It seems a little early for them to already know that though. But maybe a cha cha? That’s a typical week 1 dance. I was hoping for him to start with a foxtrot, but we’ve still got over 2 weeks to go. Things could still change. Could this finally be Sharna’s chance?! I hope so!!! I feel like I’ve been saying that for about 5 seasons now! Again, it’s not going to be easy to beat Normani and Val. Aside from maybe Rashad Jennings, Bonner is the only male celeb that has any chance at all.

Charo and Keo - I forgot that Keo wasn’t on last season. Jodie was his last partner and that already feels like it was so long ago. Poor Keo. The only thing I know about Charo is that she’s definitely going to overstay her welcome…

Erika and Gleb - No idea who she is. Never even heard her name before. Apparently she’s a singer?! But wikipedia says “dance-pop diva” which I guess is why I’ve never heard of her! I don’t expect her to last too long more because of lack of popularity than anything. That’s a shame because Gleb had such a good season with Jana! But maybe Erika will surprise me…

Rashad and Emma - OMG!!! I’m almost as excited for Emma as I am for Sharna! A FOOTBALL PLAYER FOR EMMA?! It’s a miracle!!! FINALLY Emma gets a real contender! FINALLY!!!! From the little I’ve seen of him, he seems excited to be there and I’ll sure he’ll do pretty well, especially compared to most of the other male celebs. I don’t see them winning I don’t think, but this is going to be such a good season for Emma and I can’t wait to watch! I love switch up week, but I hope there’s not one this season! If there is, I want him with Sharna! I’ve already decided! And he probably would be. Or maybe Nick since he’s with Peta.

Chris and Witney - I don’t know this guy by name, but he looks familiar. He should be somewhat entertaining and Witney seems awfully excited about this season, so that’s good I guess! I’m sure she knows they’re not winning so she’s just ready to have fun. I don’t really have much interest in them. Much more important things to worry about!

Nancy and Artem - Back in the day, she probably would have had a real shot at winning a season. Not anymore. But she’ll be nice to watch and I think Artem will be perfect for her. They’ll probably stick around for a little while, but I expect she’ll be eliminated earlier than she should just compared to some of the other big personalities and more popular pros.

Normani and Val - This is going to be Bonner and Sharna’s biggest problem! They are going to be good. And with his fans and her fans, they’re guaranteed at least final 3. In fact, I fully expect them to win and I’m already bitter about it. I don’t really know much about her except that she’s in Fifth Harmony and apparently they’re way more popular than I realized. Like you were saying, they’re on a world tour right now. So Val’s going to be flying around with them all over the world and they’ll be going back and forth to do the show. (We’ll be hearing about that all season…) The one thing they have against them is that Val just won, so maybe more casual fans will be looking for someone else to win this season. Plus with both Maks and Peta back, maybe some of the votes will end up split between the three of them. Nick and Peta might not last to the end for the votes to matter, but Maks and Heather might. Votes could end up split between Val and Maks. We’ll just have to wait and see. I also don’t see Normani gaining a lot of new fans throughout the season like someone like Bonner will. But I still don’t think any of that will really matter. They’ll do very well.

Heather and Maks - I think I’ve already said everything I can about them. Plenty of people come into this show with some sort of advantage and experience in performing and different forms of dancing. It would be impossible to fill a season without anyone having some sort of advantage. But that’s people like the ice skaters and gymnasts and singers who have experience with dancing, but aren’t actually dancers. It’s just part of what they do. But Heather is a dancer. That’s literally her job. She has been paid to be a dancer. It’s what she does. I just don’t understand!!!! And they’re going to spend all season saying that she’s never done this type of dancing and that’s true. But I don’t care! She’s a DANCER! It’s that simple. The one good thing about all this is that most people seem to feel the same way. But that worries me about Normani and Val. Because if people don’t like Heather and Maks, they’ll be voting for Normani and Val. Ok. I figured it out! I need a Maks, Val, Sharna, Peta final 4! Can you imagine?! Normani and Val can be the shocking 4th place elimination. Then Heather and Maks can be third because who wants a professional dancer to win this thing. I think Val fans would sooner vote for Sharna over Peta. Maks fans will vote for Peta, but no one likes Nick the Bachelor anyways so it won’t make a difference. Then Bonner and Sharna win! I’ve got it all figured out!

David and Lindsay - I hadn’t heard of him, but that’s just because I don’t watch much baseball. I can’t believe he’s the first MLB player to ever be on the show! That’s crazy! Lindsay seems pretty excited about this season and so does he from the little I’ve seen of him. So he was with the Cubs when they won? I think that’s what I read. Wikipedia tells me he played 11 games for the Padres in 2005 so that’s interesting I guess…

Mr. T and Kym - I don’t even care that Kym is with someone who doesn’t have a chance. I don’t need her to win. I’m so happy with how her last season went, so I’m fine with her on to just have fun. Obviously she’s not going to top last time! But I actually think he’s going to really try and work hard, even if he’s not going to be that good. The best part of all this is that I’m sure Robert will be at the show all the time! I can’t wait for that!

Nick and Peta - I would be more excited about them if I didn’t care about Sharna and I didn’t miss Jenna so much. (I almost forgot about Jenna not being there and now I’m sad all over again!) I expect him to be about as good as all the other Bachelors (Jake Pavelka (I think that was way back in season 10), Sean Lowe, Chris Soules), which isn’t saying a whole lot. But they’ll be around a while just because of Peta. Those other three placed 7th, 6th, and 5th place (in that order) and I won’t be surprised if Nick and Peta actually end up 4th! I’m definitely excited to see Peta back! It’ll be fun to see her again.

Long story short, all I really care about is Bonner and Sharna. The rest can just stay home.

[placetobenation]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I begin this article tipping my hat to two podcasters who equally match wit and chemistry.  The podcast they share, on episode #561 of print, is one that others often try to emulate.  Financiers will spend tens of thousands of dollars in advertising budgets to build a brand that these two organically developed through talent alone.  That trinity of talent, chemistry and attitude ushered in a new era.  That effort has captured the entire globe in a cult following of professional wrestling and pop culture.  We quickly learned talented people are standing by to place pillars of excellence to further build upon.  This all started with a crackling into an MP3 file called “The Place to Be”.  Stumbling upon the new movement of radio on demand and jumping on the bandwagon these two were encouraging in the ProBoards format.  That is where I met Derek Cornett for the first time.  Then I met Jay Ouimette.  We will talk about him later.  The privilege in podcasting genius has made entertainment fun again, and we have had a decade of laughter in the process.  I can honestly say my quality of life is better because of that nucleus moment in February 2011.  Hence penning an article and being honest in my words.  To be accepted by a wide audience without judgement.  That, to me, is the Place to Be.  

             I woke up at about 9:45am on Tuesday Morning, September 11, 2001.  I turned on the news, hoping to hear more about Michael Jordan returning to the basketball court, and I see Peter Jennings on the local ESPN channel.  I am probably getting ready to smack my remote when I see a building standing amongst a billowing cloud of smoke.  I was trying to figure out where it was, and I saw New York on the scrolling headline. There is only one place in New York that looks like that.  Beginning to imagine the horror taking place before my eyes; this is clearly an act of terrorism before Mr. Jennings said it.  Not even 15 minutes later, another building collapsed. This day changed my life forever.

            My father has experience in emergency management as a career firefighter.  He has also served loyal and faithful duties to the United States.  On top of those, he is also a veteran. His service was interesting, due to his ability to duck and dodge a draft.  He enlisted in 1971; taking the test like his life depended on it and got college money as a bonus.  He spent a hair over two years in the United States Army as a welder in Germany, all the while when a Palestinian terror organization kidnapped and held hostage the Israeli Olympians.  No attempt in getting political, but these events have happened close to home for me all too often.  Coming back to that moment, as I am watching Mayor Rudolph Giuliani walk through the streets of New York, directing everyone away from the destruction, I have had enough.  As the days and weeks lumbered on, the more despair I felt because I wanted a piece of the action.  We have seen the shenanigans of the Al Qaeda terror network for far too long.  We watched the Beirut bombing in 1983, the first WTC attack in 1993, 1998 twin bombings of U.S. Embassies on the horn of Africa, and the 2000 bombing of a Naval Ship off the coast of Yemen, killing 19 Sailors in the process.  Osama Bin Laden has been practicing what he has been preaching for far too long, and by hell or high water, I wanted to be part of the solution.   We all watched the same terror training camp videos on the news, and I was hook, line, and sinker in to getting my hands on those bastards.  

            This decision to join the military happened fast, and over a six-month period, all at the same time.  I was deliberately not watching the news to cognitively process my emotions. Is this a decision I am ready to make?  Do I want to risk my life to take another?  These were questions I was saying yes far too easy to.  Hearing bag pipes at funerals for the next three months were a serenade to my thoughts.  

            What did not help in my congitive thought process was living so close to something like that, the entire community was hurting. In the summer of 2002, fresh off a split with my ex-wife, I went down to the World Trade Center site for the first time, out of respect and reflection.  What stood out to me were the flyers of loved ones everywhere. Old, young, man, woman, and child.  People were there crying over losses and having a hard time moving on.  These things that I was experiencing with my senses: the smell of a disaster, the sound of construction workers and crying, the vision of the enormous hole in the ground, and looking left and right and seeing the flyers. It was not necessarily my calling, but it was a gut feeling that I have never experienced before.  I just simply knew what I wanted to do, and I what I felt I had to do, for my own personal closure to such a horrific event that impacted not only America, but my community.  If these men can give their all for a greater cause, then why the shit shouldn’t I?  John Fogerty said it best, “Put me in Coach.  I’m ready to play”.     

            My real life was imploding because of my obsession to join the military, to defend a lot of different things I could not express openly, because I was not able to do so. I was only a civilian.  I had no credentials.  I wanted to defend our children against bullshit cowardly attacks that destroy our lives.  I wanted to defend the people who decided to jump to their death instead of using anymore time to save their life.  I wanted to defend the mothers, wives, daughters who lost a brave man to careers that scream danger.  Most of all, and I carry their mantra with me to this day and beyond, I will defend those first responders and civilian heroes on the battlefield (volunteer efforts and United 93 Passengers), who died attempting to save others.  The average reaction time for all the heroes, professional and volunteer, of September 11th was an incredible and astonishing FOUR SECONDS.  That is all the time they needed to cast their vote and say, “Not on my fucking watch”.  To me, those moments of pure adrenaline and selfless service were the first victories in the Global War on Terror campaign. Those heroes of the battle showed me the courage needed to take on a terror organization.  

            To describe my demeanor, at best, I am socially inept.  I am admittedly way more Dwight Schrute, or Andy Bernard than the cool guy Jim Halpert.  With that said, on September 17, 2002, I deliberately walked up to an Army Recruiter in his office and proclaimed, “I want to jump out of airplanes and kill the Taliban”.  I will never forget his response. “That is terrific, but you kind of have to sit down and watch this video first and discuss options”.  We discussed options, and the best he could do for me was an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 11B, which was an Infantryman.  If I wanted to go to a Special Forces detachment, I would have to meet their qualifications after initial service.  I accepted, scored well on the test, background check squeaky clean, signed the dotted line for a First Blood match with some Iraqi and Syrian forces, and only one walks out victorious.  I was headed to Fort Benning, GA for the first round of qualification bouts to step into the arena and dance with the Devil himself.  

            For the next 18 months, I trained and trained hard for a deployment to Iraq, with the 2-5 Cav (2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Regiment).  We went through grueling simulated combat operations for weeks at a time without so much as a shower, let alone a beer.  We were not simply going through the motions, we had leadership from the top down that firmly believed that combat training should be more difficult then real-world combat operations, so the fog of war will be easy to operate in.  We received our orders in November of 2003 that we will be headed to Sadr City, Iraq.  Everyone was pumped and excited to get their hands on these same individuals who believe that democracy must be defeated in war.  There was also motivation to let out aggression for the months of grueling training.  I was primed and ready to go.  

            To be prepared for battle in which a known enemy has you in its sights and ready to destroy you, you must have a certain mind set.  We were a highly trained unit, but only a handful have seen combat in Afghanistan since this was the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  We would talk amongst ourselves about being able to look another man in the eyes and pull the trigger.  The answer always came back to “its either you or him that is going to die.  Have a vote in the outcome”.  We all had that swagger in the tent in the days prior to actual combat, but none of us, commanders included, had no clue on what we were about to embark, a life changing moment for every single man in that formation.  

Through the Place to Be, I have been able to meet so many wonderful people who inspire me to be a better man.  JT has never left an empty message, even if it were to simply send a DM about a great show he had.  Andy Atherton for allowing me the opportunity to write this article.  Will from Texas, I was a fan of his before I discovered the Place to Be when he had Good Will Wrestling on Blog Talk Radio.  He allowed me to do one of the “For Your Consideration” podcasts.  Not only was that a gift in itself, but it was a three-man booth with Johnny Sorrow posted on the Fourth of July, 2017.  I listen to it back once, but the live experience was so good, that could never be duplicated.  Aaron Stolz and the genius he brought to the Saturday Morning Spectacular, and we served together in the same unit in Iraq.  Ben Ivanson, Steve Rogers, Chad Campbell, J. Arsenio D’Amato, Derek Cornett, Justin Rozzero, all guests on the Spectacular, all come from the Place to Be genesis.  I say thank you to you all, and most importantly, thank you ALL for YOUR service!

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

For yoh 300+ in group chat..

You seek Alex to learn more

0% of yoh ask him to seek me for knowledge when he says he doesn't know nor care.

Why? Why have you done this to yourself and the world?

Why? I pay you millions of dollars and you don't have the ability to foresee if you ask him to seek me i would post here and help the entire world -- Zillions of people.

Why is this so? Why do you not have the ability to help?

Is it fear of the Alex? Fear of me?

Or you just trust me So much that you know it will work?

Remember others do not. And i do not know the questions you seek answers to until i asked.

So help me help them, if you don't understand they (the world) don't either.

Only 49% have made the correlation to human traffic Victims comfort and the Quarantine and Social Distancing.

I make it graphic, i make it so visibly disturbing that they remember and understand on a Depth level that the heart forces the mind to comply.

So seek me So i can help the world to understand. I need questions worded a certain way. Without complaints.

Oh and also all illegal aliens and evil people -- the 45% of the known population -- will now have access to their DNA4U immediately disconnected. And all money that was available will go to a charity introducing childhood chastity and for more gifts for our living and survivors.

In places where access to DNA4U is used to gain access to food and other commodities you will br jailed indefinitely.

Simple swab will reallow you into the system. So allow the officer to swab you.

.... ....

Amazon employees got credits of $300 each because i had a public fit degrading their characters. I degraded the character of each employee. For that i apologize whole heartedly with tears because i was in a panic. It was hours until my precious people were kidnapped. So please enjoy your credits to shop on smile.Amazon.com -- remember world shopping at smile.Amazon.com allows Amazon to donate money based off a percentage of your shopping price to the charity of your choice.

Using the app donates to: Thorn (9 years), Cancer Society of America which prevents cancer treatments with chemo and radiation and uses only necessary surgeries, Shoes for Kids Across America, Turtle Evaluation to keep record of my endangered sea turtles i love so much, Food Distributions for low income families and homeless.

They get 1% each of each sale made in the Amazon app. We take 5% of all sales then we put it in a pot. At the end of the month we take it and divide it by 5 then pay it out.

But at smile.Amazon.com you get to pick where your 5% goes directly to.

Amazon employees must use smile they are not allowed to purchase from the app. They must independently choose where their donations go.

When using credits up to 15% of their purchase prices will be donated. At least 7%

Susan Coleman gets 4% normally cause they send 1% to another charity so we also send another 1% to the Muscle Dystrophy of America. So they get 8% and Muscle Dystrophy of America ends up with 4%

Money does not heal all wounds so remember social distancing. Remember wealth is in your heart and not in your hands unless it is a good human body that you touch.

Susan Coleman is Susan B. Anthony so that is an exciting home school project! She made the United States of America's 13 colonies flag. And much more.

So she also designed your colonies flags when you rejoin the Union. Up to 6 choices. For some she made 10. Queen Elizabeth II don't worry about a seamstress for your honors. We in the Americas remembered to honor and love home.

So we will gift you a wall template of all 6 flags per home. Also the voted pick in multiple sizes. And your personal 2nd and 3rd votes in smaller sizes. 3x5 and then a hand waver for each pick. 2 of each for the most voted

You are colonies. May your flag wave proud from the privacy of your bedroom where you've named it a sovereign country as you are allowed to.

Your vote choices you are allowed 3 for your colony's flag. You will receive a velvet embroidered cloth flag -- velvet on both sides. The size of a Queen size bed.

Then you will receive a printed microfiber blanket that mimics velvet of the United States of America Flag and then your current local state you reside in.

for all other countries. Like Italy. Italy is broken into Provinces. You will receive 2 embroidered velvet blankets of your Flag of Italy, your Province reasoning explained On the verse side. Then you will gain long 84" sheer curtains with the Constitution of the United States legible printed on them and the Declaration of Independence.

The curtains are see through. It allows light and sight to expand in the explained mind.

Futhermore the print is dark dark the darkest of black that looks almost like you can put your hands through the curtains lettering.

The words live. They float in the breeze of the air. They enter your heart, your mind, your tummy filled with guts.

There is nothing hidden behind or in the words. You can clearly see that. The words are honest and good and what we live by via government standards.

Worldwide are curtains. Blankets also.

Alex and i love the dark in a bedroom so the blankets include a black linen fabric to protect the flags and the blankets have loops. They are discreet and blend in with the blanket in an acceptable style and fashion.

So you may like to hang them. Also you can hang on walls. And curtain hooks and so on are provided as well.

Picnics. We will have better land. So the grass will be super soft and kind to us like velvet. But if you like to claim your own space and have s more valid sense of cleanliness they would be great especially for movie in the park nights.

Keep in your car for emergencies where you don't have a coat and you end up stranded. Or you want to stay over to sleep impromptu. Because drinking or late night film watching.

Don't worry we put yours and the world favorite names on them and your soulmates too

Aleins Favorite is Cleopatra. So i have allowed that as well it will help us realize our miskates. How we were used and manipulated.

Alex's favorite is Jesus.

World Favorite... Bonnie and Clyde.

Human favorite is Echinacea.

My favorite is Sabrina Leigh Jennings-Telles... Oh and you know all the rest i do just love me to death.

Tree favorite is Super Echinacea Archive. The Sea. And Tree original names. And since we knew all the same things they called me that too. It is i crested them when we went to live underwater as mermaids. I had to leave wisdom and guidance behind. So that is their Official Name. And if you have something very serious or dear to you all trees will turn in and completely 100% focus on you and will not multi task. As they usually do. They will treat you different. Very very formal as if you rule the world. And you do. I often think each mind is it's own world.

So on either side of the blanket one side lists who the other what.

So

Favorite of:

Humans

Animals

Etc

The other side of the same verse of the blanket flag has a column of names that is the favorite. The "what" because you will ask "what made it their favorite?"

So animals also get flag blankets of their preferred material.

So for the names you fold the blanket length wise them open one colum side and you can easier see the matches there will be instructions included.

You will not have a family crest. You will have half a crest at the center bottom or top of some of each flag blanket. It will match to the soulmate you have. Fold one and lay it atop the other.

Also you'll have s shield for your bedroom or if family wants to design living room or hallway is the absolute best with the crest upon it.

Then in the school store you'll have it uploaded and you can buy crested gear.

So we sre bringing the Pride of the Medieval as we have survived all wars.

So surf the wars upon your couched and sofas and favorite comfy chairs... Remember ice cream time.

Savor the cow milk flavours in the future you MUST make it at home with human breast milk.

Enjoy it. Cheese should be expected also.

Next week we add Cheese to your Whine. Both are ordered to ring up cheaper world wide and kids may sip or drink sparkling cider. The white grape is alcohol free but taste JIST like wine.

Countries worldwide are in competition for lowest prices and will receive prizes. There is a minimum of $1 per item. Or one Euro. Wherever you live that translates into about $1 for some countries it's 25 cents and that is fine.

South America you'll have the same fine free. Complying to be happy is your competition.

We have happiness meters on our cruise ships believe it or not. We have big Care Bear meter in all dining halls. Because the sky is scary to some so. We can turn it off if necessary.

The sky btw is recorded live with a 3 second feed lag time. So you will actually see what is outside your ship. The Windows also. So you won't miss a thing. Even when you're laying in bed. Rooms tho are a projection t.v. not all screens. So it's not crystal clear perfect like the dining halls. Unless your room is absolutely dark aside from the projector.

So many features come with that also. Like the bed can pretend to be a kayak and you pretend to row and it actually takes you to,real life where you row in real time.

It will automatically record and save to the DBR if you are in contact with sea life. Its a pretty amazing feature. It puts you and your boat outside and so it merges the reality of what occurred. You can talk to the sea life with esp. And even pet them with your soul metaphysical and they will see you in,their mind the reality of where you are. Its amazing.

So you will,get saved what they saw and what you saw and then a merge so it's like you was out on the water for reals.

They can even take you under water to see their homes.

Its one of the most blessed contraptions I've ever made. So,much love and amazement was poured into it.

There's rules and you could get banned. But I don't think anyone would really except a wild child and they would have a therapy conscious meeting with tree to see if the ban was necessary

Like some whales will say "hit me and we will go" but when you hit its a soft gentle pat. Even if you try to wham them. So if you're whacking every sea creature you see that is not correct behavior and you must listen to each animal to see how they went to be treated.

Dolphins and some whales will jist throw you on their back and take control of your whole day.

Turtles will ask you "now would you like to go see...." "Do you want to go with me now to..."

And you must ask to pet them. "May i touch you?"

Turtles hide their soft skin in their shell. They act afraid like an abused victim.

So ships with abused victims from violence will spend a lot of time in turtle areas. Because they will feel most comfortable. They will have the understanding.

Hyper activate children that aren't gentle will also be there.

First with the shark bait undertool swamp mate. Very similar to the blue whale. He will say to touch him.

Then the transfer information to the turtle well,the turtle Didjt say? What do i do?

Hopeful the child then thinks for itself and thinks oh i should ask!

If a turtle offers a shell,ride he will give rules about touching his body.

So this is per room. It will be real animals and you mind teleport there. Using technology to help clear it in your minds.

Because of the Zulululu and Orbits we have severe damage. To,what we can see, this will heal us

I have extreme damage. Alex has none. 92% of all world population. 32% of outdoor land has damage.

My total damage is 34% but it feels like 100 sometimes

Alex says it looks like it

But when he's being good with me he will say "you're seeing the visual wrong but yoh understand"

It's good enough to rule the world.

Again i have to experience so i can heal others. Or see.

In the future i will only have to window look like I used to.

But too much damage was occurring and how ?

So for the last 58 years Alex and I have gone through every social disorder imaginable that aliens created and gave to my precious humans.

So when i say i will kill on your behalf its Because i have experienced the Hell you have. Not licked it. Ate it and died from it. I have.

Survive and Fight for my own dignity i will. I stand for you my loved ones. My humans whom have no ideas they are special.