#megan reed

[th-xeno]

heyyy remember dbh-vampyr-deusex AU? here's more of it! some sibling stuff for today.

the first post with some explanations (for context: El'd been a vampire for a decade before Gavin became, so the last sketch takes place later in the story then the first ones)

and also! Megan Reed is a scientist from Deus Ex Human Revolution and invented augmentations but after it she greatly fucked up. DEHR had place around the 2028, DBH plot happened in 2038 and I find it hilarious to think that Megan is the twins' big sister. kinda supportive but also EL STOP OR I'LL BITE YOUR HEAD OUT.

[redswaberkez]

ayo whos ur favorite deus ex character btw nice art

ohhhhh GOD my time has come. and so have i (wRONG GAME)

tldr

i love "main" 7-8 of them equally. What is a main to me? ofc Adam, Frank, Megan, Malik, Eliza, JC and Alex D. One special place in my heart is for Vaclav

big text below

Thank for compliment btw 😖

Spoilers alert ? idk

(warning my english is gonna be sometimes sooo rusty i guess)

DOUBLE WARNING I don’t rule out that over the many years of being in dxs fandom, the main concept of game's lore in my head just didnt messed up with my own headcanons. it is alteady messed up. cuz. yk) me n my besties created the full story aND - [GUNSHOT]

yeah i know it is strange to say, that dx has more main characters that just. Adam, JC and Alex D, cuz. They are Literally The Main chars. But back to my seven.

As i said before i love them all equally, for different reasons. One thing abt dx as a game is that characters arent plain and they are multifaceted.(?)

Adam

I love Adam for his complicated story, personality, for his own struggles, motivations and how they are represented in game. These small environment storytelling pieces and music that creates the mood (wait redswa it isnt abt the environment). What im trying to say. Through the gameS - dxhr and dxmd - we can see how Adam is healing from his trauma, and how heavy it was. Also needet to be noted how he interacts w another characters. AND this tension between him and Frank but how at the end of the day (but lit at panchaea) Frank is still cares a lot abt Adam.

Also Adam is just like my bestie. Moral think for yourself. Yeah.

Pritchard

ONE thing i need to say abt frank is HESSS JUST LIKE MEE FRR, and now imagine some kind of cringe sigma phonk playing on the background. Yeah thats it. I relate to him so much but like. in more✨deep infj cringe way✨ Have you evere feel like Pritchard is gonna explode from nerves or even neurotism? Or like from blast of incomperhensible mess of feelings but he hides it? This is what im talking about. Heyy dont judge me i need to project some shit to my faves okay???? Damn how could you tell i have a lot of hc on dx? i have no idea!

I love Pritchard's informality. I mean. BRO WHY YOUR BIKE IS EVEN ON YOUR WORKPLACE???? AND THIS FINAL FANTASY POSTER???? AND THIS TV INSTALLATION??? honestly?understandable.

In Prague, Frank is still reminds Adam abt himself. Yeah i knoe it is for game purposes, but imo in lore perspective: Pritchard is gathered a lot of info for Adam (basically dxhr retelling), and this small detail: Adam keeps Pritchard's book. (i know you can find them anywhere in Prague, but still (methink eidos gaf later abt this texture and put it anywhere jus because lmao))

This ^^^ is Frank btw

Ok enough abt Pritchard cuz then its gonna be endless

Megan and Malik.

Another notable thing that i like in dx series is that women in game arent sexualized. They arend "simple and f🤮ckable objescts" Megan is a scientist, on a verge of the greatest innovation. Yes. We dont know much abt her bc she is literally missing. Malik is a pilot. Damn i love her sm. Her chardesign. Strong and powerful charisma and nonconfotmity. Faridah's sidequest in Hengsha???? MY GIRLLLL GO AND GET AND BEAT SHIT OF THIS ASSHOLE. 👊👊👊👊

I remember how sad was i, when Malik was killed in dxhr and how happy was i to find out her little gift in Prague.

Overall kinda sad that there is not much screentime of them.

AND another notable thing. Megan and revolver. Revolver as an inspiration. OK I GOT IT

Eliza

Its 2028 and AI is already taken big steps in development. Questions of self-consciousness of an AI were asked in a lot of sci-fi creations. And deus is not not an exception. Love how Eliza obtains her own conscious during the game and how it leads to project Hyron at the end. I have a lot of thought abt p. Hyron overall. Another topic ngl.

And ofc her design is beyond all praise. Thank you designers for NOT making her oversexualized.

During dxmd Eliza is also questioning a lot of essential questions. I know she does. But cant remember what exactly it was. Need to replay tho

JC

My bad, i still cant play through dx original, so i can only rely on his vibes. His vibes are good and silly. He has big meme potential cuz hes test-tubed. Not sorry tho

bro im laughing and exploding from this meme like 3 yrs but RIGHT NOW DURING ANSWERING YOUR ASK I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS SOYJAK REFERENCE AND NOW IM DYING LIKe x3 TIMES I WAS SO BLIND MY VISION WASNT AUGMENTED TILL NOW

Alex D

When my pc even didnt existed and i was a laptop player, when the grass was greener....... I played dxiw. Yeah it isnt so big, but for its times it is good enough. Alex also radiate vibes of small and silly-stupid-Bi guy, the one who is gonna trip on air.

(meme with pom dog says "I will gnaw out your heart and eat it")

Look at him. Hes got an ears, unlike his brothers, but he has ZERO braincells. JC and Paul at least got some braincells, maybe one, or two and they are belong to Paul. Cost of an ears = cost of brain

Alex tried to fool up an AI. I would venture to say that he even flirted with her, and got rejected. Local bidlow tried to gop-stop (bandits tried to steal) his jacked and he could give it to and be like "better be pissed on than punched😖"

Yes, He is a silly fool (noneg, with love) but hes got a big heart like. At least, i remember so.

And last but not least

Vaclav

Love him for his light distinctive punkie nature, with big heart and ready to help whenever you need it. Vaclav tries his best so much. In library we can find cz-eng vocabulary with medical terms, when ig most of his patiens are czechs... says a lot

I would say that vaclav is silly but not stupid, not even naive. We can find him on Dvali's blacklist, but he is important for them. (but we also remember that otar just dont like him cuz vac knows radich's secret and otar is not (mb that the reason why vaclav is blacklisted))

well how to say it.. he's soul is good and lovely, he is not evil or dark. Idk cant find an eng analogue.

But in srb and ru we have доброћудан [dobrochudan] (literally good-lovely) or добродушный [dobrodushny] (good-souly)

actually this gif sums everything abt him very well

Thank you for ask! I really liked to talk on this topic

[trans-rights-adam-jensen]

Plot Nitpick:

This is slightly more involved biology and the writers probably wouldn't have known, but there is no reason Megan would need to continuously collect DNA from Adam: PCR and cloning (cloning refers to copying stretches of DNA, not specifically an organism. Ex; me taking a stretch of DNA and putting it into a plasmid is "cloning" that stretch) mean that once you have your sequence, you're all set. Forever. Make as many copies as you want, and you can always double check it by sequencing your constructs again. It is incredibly easy to work with DNA.

What are not easy to work with are human cells.

Cells, unlike DNA, need cultured and have lifetimes. You can freeze some bad boys down and thaw them again and get them to divide a couple times, but beyond a few of these 'passages', even immortalized cell lines, lines designed and altered explicitly for lab use, go wonky.

Wild cells? People don't usually passage wild cells very many times, to my knowledge. They age, like their host. It changes things about them.

I think it makes more sense that what Megan needed from Adam was living cellular tissue, not DNA. Plus, for science I won't go into unless ya ask (feel free, I'm incapable of shutting up), it's entirely possible that she could not engineer Adam's mutation into lab lines. Ergo, you need him, quite literally pieces of him. Now, how one would go about collecting nerve cells, some of the most finicky types of cells I've ever heard of and that don't divide regularly like everybody else, is. Let's not go there. We can assume that maybe the glial buildup is mediated by autoimmune responses instead, or something. Like adding Adam's immune cells to anyone else's nerve/PEDOT interfaces alleviated the issue for the lifetime of the cells. For collecting immune cells, blood or bone marrow works.

Personal headcanon to make it all fit together is the following:

-Adam, already having grown up middle class and having to help his parents with bills, has a history of plasma donation bc that's paid

-Adam knows he is O-, and willingly donates blood

-Megan arranged for people to impersonate blood donation crew members to steal whole blood from him.

This would necessitate knowing when he planned on going and being close enough emotionally to him to influence his schedule.

End rant,

[deadmallwasteland]

frames from a PMV I’ve been working on that I sadly won’t be able to finish any time soon

[poz-patrol]

Deus Ex Human Revolution Megan Reed

[eagle-claws]

when my physical education teacher calls me "my dear", for some reason I feel like her.

[d4rkpluto]

𝔞𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔶

♇ my discord chat chose this to be my 9,600 or 9,700 followers post? either way thank you so much for being with me for this path, i appreciate everyone :)

ʙᴜʏ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇꜱ ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ can get a paid venus/beauty/relationship reading from me!

follow for more content!

ᴀʀɪᴇꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

RIHANNA, NIKKI REED, BILLIE EILISH AND KENDALL JENNER.

♇ aries ascendant beauty involves them having long heads, or a diamond head-shape, but they usually have a really nice side-profile. they're usually people who have slanted eyes, or sanpaku eyes, [there could be another proper word for it?], though i noticed that they have a large space of whites under their eyes, specifically rihanna, billie and kendall.

♇ their lower face is sharp, and smaller/thinner than their upper-face. they're women who can suit dark hair, and they naturally have dark and sharp eyebrows. most of the times, their eyebrows are straight. they have a thin nose bridge, and a long mid-face, full and distinct cheekbones along with full lips and an apparent cupids bow.

♇ they have a clear redness on their faces, specifically cheeks, like a natural blush. a pointy chin and foreheads that could be considered as large, or in a "nicer" term, a broad forehead.

ᴛᴀᴜʀᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

MILEY CYRUS, PHOEBE TONKIN, GIGI HADID AND MEGAN THEE STALLION.

♇ taurus ascendants have small heads and very strong cheek-bones, if it doesnt show naturally, it shows a lot when they smile. they tend to have full lips, but the lower lip is usually bigger than the upper lip. the tip of their nose is usually bulbous, i believe taurus rules the nose, if i am correct, especially because it rules the cow! <3

♇ they usually have very arched eyebrows, known as the venusian arch. compared to the aries ascendant, taurus ascendants usually have a wider nose bridge, and a short mid-face.

♇ their eyes could be considered as mesmerising and intense as their stare is usually very strong. their cheek bones are low, it gives them an apple shaped face. while doing my research, i noticed that most of them have wide lips and square heads, but it suits them really well.

ɢᴇᴍɪɴɪ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LADY GAGA, AMY WINEHOUSE, MADISON BEER AND KRISTEN STEWART.

♇ gemini ascendants usually have a pale undertone, and their lips are usually naturally thin and very straight [also wide] with their upper lip being sharp, it could be deemed that they have a strong cupid's bow as well. the tip of their nose are usually distinct, whether it be big, bulbous, something about it would just stick out.

♇ they look good while wearing winged-eyeliner, and gemini ascendant people are usually individuals who have a long mid-face, and i've noticed that their face tends to stick out and can be very long but circular. one thing i noticed about gemini ascendants, specifically those who have strong mercurial placements, [specifically gemini] they tend to have a long edge at the side of their lips, it reminds me of joker lips since how wide it can be.

♇ their lips are usually very pink and they have slender necks. their eyes are usually colourful or could be considered as very pale. their beauty involves them having square foreheads/or a squared upper head. and if their heads arent oval, they tend to be very structured.

ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

♇ cancer ascendant beauty involves them having big and beautiful smiles, the tail of their eyebrows tend to be long, while the front of their eyebrows are short. as expected, they have the crescent moon face touch, so sometimes their face could be unsymmetrical, specifically the lower jaw, [unsymmetrical does not mean not beautiful].

♇ their nose tip usually are wide, and their eyes are bright, usually looks like its glistening. their upper lip tend to be smaller than their lower lip, and they have full cheekbones and meaty chins. most of the cancer ascendants i have met have clear skins or it could have a lot of freckles or moles.

♇ cancer ascendants usually have strong but soft features, it stands out, especially when they turn to the side. and i noticed they usually have long noses.

ʟᴇᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

MARILYN MONROE, VANESSA HUDGENS, BLAKE LIVELY AND JESSICA ALBA.

♇ very mesmerising beauty here, leo ascendants do well when they have bright coloured hair, specifically golden/blonde, they also have a bronze/golden undertone. their beauty also involves them having a heart shaped mouth and a long nose bridge.

♇ they're normally short women and have a square or rectangular face, and their chins are usually flat or wide, or both. most leo ascendants have feline eyes and full eyelashes. their beauty contains them having prominent smile lines and nice shoulders.

♇ as they have good posture, leo ascendant beauty includes them having a square fore-head and rosy cheeks. they normally have straight or nice teeth, usually because of virgo being in their second house.

ᴠɪʀɢᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LADAN FARAH, BELLA HADID, MILLIE BOBBY BROWN AND BROOKE SHIELDS.

♇ they sure do love their side profiles! virgo ascendant beauty includes them having pointy chins, sometimes it goes forwards, they have a prominent nose, could sometimes be seen as a "beak nose" as it's usually thin, very structured or bony. their upper face is square and their lips are usually wide.

♇ virgo ascendant beauty involves hem having a thin/narrow face, either doe eyes or feline eyes, either way, their eyes are usually big. they have arched eyebrows and usually a clean look, a structured jaw and sometimes a micro chin.

♇ noted that virgo ascendants usually have a dimple somewhere on their face, specifically their cheek or on their chin. and their figures are very thin most of the time, or they can appear as frail.

ʟɪʙʀᴀ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

BEYONCE, ANNA NICOLE SMITH, DOJA CAT, ZOE KRAVITZ.

♇ i noticed a lot of them have a light undertone, much libra ascendant beauty involves them having an oval face, [but as libra ascendant is a light essence, their other placements can over take, like anna nicole smith's sagittarius sun making her face more chiselled]. they have a lot of beauty moles and have a glow to them, it could be that hera touch.

♇ a thin nose bridge, very pink lips, and lips that could be considered as pouty. usually like to wear light/earthy coloured clothes, and have short foreheads, or foreheads that are medium sized. like to go for the light coloured hair styles.

♇ as they have a short lower face, their bodies can come off as very relaxed, with them having strong stares, they sometimes appear like they have superior looks. they usually wear much accessories.

ꜱᴄᴏʀᴘɪᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LANA DEL REY, LILY ROSE, EVA LONGORIA AND JANET JACKSON.

♇ scorpio ascendant beauty is them having dark attractive brows, strong cheek bones and a smaller upper lip. they have owl faces, they sometimes bring their faces forward like one, especially with them having slender necks, them looking like an owl intensifies.

♇ their jaw, chiefly the side of their jaws could be long, and their beauty includes eyes that twinkles, chins that are flat, and a low mid face, it makes them look like baby dolls.

♇ could be into having really dark or light hair, but the light hair are usually with scorpio moons. their beauty involves them having curly/wavy hair, and a full face that is still structured. or you can say chiselled. they could have similar thin noses to virgo risings, but it is not as bony looking.

ꜱᴀɢɪᴛᴛᴀʀɪᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

KIM KARDASHIAN, PARIS HILTON, ADRIANA LIMA AND JESSICA ALEXANDER.

♇ their big sultry eyes is apart of their allure, their eyes come off as darty, and sometimes they can be the hardest ascendant to tell, appearance wise. they're people who do well with nude colours, and when it comes to their lips, their lower lip appears to be larger than their upper lip.

♇ with high cheekbones, they sometimes tend to pucker their lips a lot, which is funny because it gives the horse face structure, [im a sagittarius ascendant]. their beauty is their long noses with a buttoned tip, their nose bridges could be thin but as the nose goes lower, it can be very wide in comparison to the nose bridge.

♇ they usually have straight eyebrows, long but square faces, and heavy eye make up compliments them well. sagittarius ascendants beauty involves them having big gummy smiles and having this elf/fairy essence.

ᴄᴀᴘʀɪᴄᴏʀɴ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

KYLIE JENNER, AISHWARYA RAI, ARIANA GRANDE AND MEGAN FOX.

♇ capricorn ascendant beauty has them mostly having short and square faces, doe eyes and eyes that are a light shade, with it being paired with having strong noses, they come off as daring and sultry. their eyebrows are usually arched, almost horn-like. most capricorn ascendants have very light pink coloured lips.

♇ they tend to have a small but pointy chin, somewhat like their sister sign, cancer. capricorn ascendant beauty involves them having most of their features in the middle, and they can sometimes appear like they're fragile, example, ariana grande. with the other capricorn ascendant people i've done research on, they usually tend to do surgery.

♇ their beauty involves them having almond shaped eyes and full eye-lashes, like dolls. they remind me of blythe dolls. most of them have this cold beauty, a type of essence that makes them appear like they're hard to reach, muted colours look good on them as well. and i've noticed they have dimples.

ᴀQᴜᴀʀɪᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

GABRIETTE, ZENDAYA, AURDREY HEPBURN AND AALIYAH.

♇ tim burton kind of beauty, have a specific hairstyle, and like the sign they share the same planet with, capricorn, aquarius ascendants have square heads. compared to other aquarius placements, aquarius ascendants are least likely going to have alien shaped heads in my opinion. on the other hand, their beauty involves them having a ghostly or classic type of beauty.

♇ they have pretty hands, could be the aries in the third house, and are likely interest in thin brows, or could be into styling them. overall, the eyebrows are distinct. they tend to have a big sized nose, and when it comes to their eye shapes, they are usually slender and kind of downturned, or it looks sleepy. red lipstick looks good on them.

♇ tend to have a dimple in their chin, and have sad eyes, the tip of their noses are sometimes downturned. and they have low cheekbones which adds onto their ghostly/ghastly look.

ᴘɪꜱᴄᴇꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

BARBARA PALVIN, ROSÉ, JENNA ORTEGA AND SABRINA CARPENTER.

♇ they look like both baby cows but fishes at the same time, specifically the female fish from fishtales, their cheeks are usually full and puffy, and their beauty involves them having very blue eyes, if not blue, it appears as very watery. when i was looking at pictures of them, most of them had their mouths open...it's a cute fish thing.

♇ they have diamond heads and sharp chins, their beauty involves them having short eyebrows, and tend to have a surprised but focused look. they look good in many colours, but specifically pink.

♇ pisces ascendants tend to have chiselled faces, and big eyes and small figures, if not by the help by other planets. women who are pisces ascendants tend to be midgets, but its a cute look on them.

ʙᴜʏ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇꜱ ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ can get a paid venus/beauty/relationship reading from me!

[carm3n-carm3n]

[imyourbratzdoll]

this is a sorta test drive? I’m thinking of writing for women now… let me know your thoughts.. because I’m confused and I don’t know what to do😭 divider by @newlips

She pulled you in, cupping your cheek as she stared deep into your eyes. “Where are you going, pet?” Your mouth opens and closes, rapidly blinking as you try to force your gaze away from her lips. “Hmm? Answer me.”

“I...Um, n—nowhere.” You stutter, gulping as you feel your core throb from being so close to her, wondering how someone could smell so good and look like a goddess. “I—’m sorry... I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”

She drags a perfectly manicured finger down your cheek before resting in on your plump bottom lip and tapping, causing your mouth to fall open slightly. “It’s okay, baby. Just be a good girl for me. Can you do that?” You nod, whimpering as she leans in and locks lips with you.

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[subliminalbo]

Betas #1: The Formless Voice

It is Friday evening, August 11th, 2017 One Week Before New Pledges Arrive

Ana

Ana was barely in the driver’s seat of her old Toyota before she turned to look at Morgan standing on the curb. The large sorority house stretched into gray sky behind her, three stories of history, tradition. The rest of Greek life at Carpenter State had gone to absolute shit, but Ana was proud to see that Beta Phi Alpha was still standing.

“Everything okay?” Morgan craned her neck down so that she was level with the passenger window.

“Yeah,” Ana said, racking her brain for anything that she might have forgotten. “Did I tell you that Jerry was coming in tomorrow at two to replace the broken outlet in the pink room?”

“You did,” Morgan nodded.

“And the new girl is moving her stuff in. Watch out for her.”

“Ana,” Morgan said, offering her friend the best clear, sobering eyes that she could muster. “It’s just a couple of days. Focus on you. I’ll take care of everything.”

“You have the list?” Ana asked.

“I have the list,” Morgan echoed. “I’ll follow it down to the last detail, I’ll make sure the house is ready for the pledges.”

“And Megan?”

Megan—Ana was most worried about Megan. She hadn’t quite been herself since she came back to the house. Nobody knew what had happened at Alpha Delta Theta, but Megan returned quieter and sadder than the girl who’d left for that party five months ago. Ana was searching Morgan’s eyes for signs of doubt, looking for any reason to stay. But Morgan gave her nothing.

“I’ll keep an eye on Megan too,” she said.

It was a shit time for an out of state funeral.

It had only been a couple of weeks since Alpha Delta Theta disbanded. Officially, the school had managed to keep the scandal out of the papers. None of the girls at Beta Phi Alpha knew what happened, but everyone had their suspicions. In a few months, Madison Wells had expanded the Alphas into the largest Greek organization on campus. It started with rumors of legendary parties at their house, and they seemed true too: any girl who attended one of Madison’s parties never wanted to leave. The other sororities on campus began hemorrhaging members. In a stretch of two weeks, the Betas lost Megan, Daphne, Natasha, Celia, and Ashley. When the Alphas folded, only Megan returned, the others having lost all interest in Greek life.

Rumors buzzed around campus. This was all anyone knew for certain: action was taken by administration to shutter the sorority permanently. Whispers of drugs, wild sex parties, some even accused Madison of pimping her sisters. Ana didn’t believe the crazier rumors, like how she’d leveraged her new power to take over a secret society that pushed narcotics through campus, but whatever had happened, it definitely wasn’t good. The dissolution of Alpha Delta Theta was sudden and total. Dozens of sorority sisters were left with no home to go to, and Ana saw an opportunity to rebuild her storied house. Yes, Madison had upended the foundations of Greek life on campus, but this year Ana was determined to put it all back together.

At least she planned to—as soon as she got back from the funeral. She turned the engine over then looked back out her window at Morgan. “Don’t forget,” she said. “Watch out for the new girl.”

Morgan shook her head. She had always been a calm, steady presence in the Beta house. That was what made her a good number two to Ana. But her strength was in following, fundraising, and rallying the team around a strong individual. She struggled to take charge when she needed to. Ana hated to think about leaving it all in Morgan’s hands just a week before the new pledges arrived.

Taylor had been here the longest, but she didn’t give a fuck about any of it anymore. Sydney lived and breathed sorority life, but she was too young and, if Ana was being honest, too much of an airhead to be trusted with actual responsibilities. And Megan, well, Megan would have been Ana’s choice under different circumstances. That just left Morgan.

Ana shifted into drive now, silently cursing her grandmother.

It’s just five days. There’s nothing that can go wrong in five days that I can’t fix.

She rolled to a stop at the sign on the corner of Giger and College Ave and watched Morgan in her rearview mirror, still standing there on the curb. Morgan was a good friend. She cared about the house, sure, but she would always put Ana’s wellbeing first, even if it meant taking on a responsibility that she couldn’t handle. Ana studied Morgan’s body language in the mirror, but her friend was a blank slate. She’d always been that way, choosing to internalize rather than to project her anxieties onto Ana.

Ana sighed as she rounded the corner onto College Ave, the house disappearing in her mirror. She turned on the radio, tried to clear her mind, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow the house, as she knew it, would never be the same.

Morgan

Morgan waited until Ana’s car was out of sight to cross her arms into a tight hug. She’d put up the usual brave face, but the truth was that she’d been a ball of nervous energy for months. She’d been juggling crises the entire year: their dwindling membership, their war with the Alpha's, and not to mention her job and education. Ana was a great leader, but she demanded positivity all the time. This meant that Morgan could never show any doubt. Good vibes only. And sometimes the vibes were just fucking toxic.

Morgan hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since the last week of the semester. Ana had her working every day on battle plans for the new year. “This has to be the biggest pledge week in Beta history,” Ana would say. And she wasn’t wrong. Ana, Morgan, Taylor, and Sydney were the only girls left in the house by year’s end. The rest had joined the Alphas or split when the drama became too much.

Morgan exhausted every party theme she could think of, planned an event for every holiday they could celebrate, but Ana still wanted more. Morgan caught herself in the middle of late nights studying Ana's spreadsheets wondering if any of this was still worth it.

Of course it wasn’t all bad news. Megan was back home, and the new girl had moved in that morning. Ana was suspicious of her, but Morgan didn’t feel that they were in a position to turn anybody down, even if they were a senior. At the end of the day they needed bodies to fill the rooms in the house.

“Hey! You with me?"

Morgan blinked. She didn’t remember leaving the curb.

She'd been losing time like that lately, minutes at a time. Sometimes it felt like she was stuck at the bottom of the ocean. She could look up and see everything through the surface, her life on autopilot as she moved from one of Ana's designated tasks to the other. All she could do was watch from the deep, dark bottom while she waited for the weight of the ocean to crush her.

Depression sucks, man.

Morgan had dragged herself from the curb, up the stairs of the Beta house and was lying sprawled out on her bed, looking half-dead. When she opened her eyes, Taylor was staring down at her, dressed to go out. “Yes,” Morgan replied to Taylor slowly. “You really need to sleep, babe,” Taylor said. She offered her hand for Morgan, pulled her up into a sitting position, “No I don’t,” Morgan said. “I work best under pressure.” “My aunt Theresa didn’t sleep for four days once and she went insane.” “Pledges are coming in a week and Ana’s gone. I have to stay on top of everything or this whole house will go to shit.” “Fuck that bitch,” Taylor shrugged. Morgan shot a look at her like she'd been caught blaspheming in church. “This house has been shit for years and Ana knows it. Stop making sorority life a job, Morg. Have fun. When was the last time you saw Ernie?” “Ernie?” Morgan was surprised to remember that she even had a boyfriend. “A while,” she said. “You’re a mess,” Taylor said. “Get yourself out of this house.” “I can’t leave,” Morgan shook her head. “Even it I wanted to, which I don't, I have to keep an eye on Megan.” “Megan is fine,” Taylor stressed. “I don’t think she is, Tay,” Morgan ran her hands absently through her hair as she thought about her old friend. “Sydney heard moaning from her room again last night.” “So she rubbed one out?" Taylor said. "That’s healthy. That’s a sign of improvement.” “I don't know.” “Sydney hears noises,” Taylor said. “Listen. I’m heading out, but I’ll check on Megan first, okay? If I think anything is wrong I'll stay with her. She likes me better than you anyway. If I check in on her, will you at least lie the fuck down and get yourself some rest?” Morgan sighed. “I'll try," she said. “But…” “No buts,” Taylor smiled. “I want you to get a full night's sleep. If I come home and you're not in bed, I'm gonna kick your ass.”

Megan

Megan hadn’t left her room in over twelve hours. She’d taken a late dinner the night before. She wanted to avoid the other girls.

More accurately, she wanted to avoid their questions. It wasn’t that Megan didn’t want to talk about the Alphas—she simply couldn’t. She had vague recollections of the last few months, like recalling pieces of an old movie she’d seen as a kid: no context, just images of a basement and other girls closing in around her. The images meant nothing to her, but they terrified her all the same because she could feel that they were real.

When Megan closed her eyes at night, she could hear their whispers. Sultry, seductive voices drawing her in, disarming her. The words they spoke were English, but her mind had distorted them beyond comprehension. Even if she didn’t know what her sisters were saying, the words had the same effect on her as they did in the basement of the Alpha house. It terrified her, it thrilled her.

Each night, Megan caught herself unconsciously moaning, “I embrace you. I obey you. I worship you.” She couldn’t fight the urge to repeat the mantra. All she could manage was to keep it quiet, whispering to herself the words that bored into her mind until she surrendered to the thoughts, a slave to no one in particular. It was just desire now. A desire to be controlled, and a more terrifying need to make others just like her. She floated aimlessly between states of awareness and mindless bliss, her body burning, her sheets soaked. Occasionally she’d release a yelp, a word in the series of mindless droning spoken a bit too loudly, and she’d snap back into her conscious mind. I need to stop. I need to stop. I need to cum.

She had to cum. That’s what she’d been taught. Obedience was a discipline, and pleasure was a reward. Only after she fully surrendered to the voices in her head could Megan finally be at peace. But Dr. Fielding had taken that away from her.

Since the Alphas had shut down, Megan attended regular appointments with the head of Carpenter State’s Department of Psychology. In their sessions, Dr. Fielding would put Megan under hypnosis. She called it deprogramming. It included inducing amnesia, removing the terrible memories of the experience from Megan’s mind. But whether by accident or design, Dr. Fielding hadn’t removed everything. Megan’s mind was like this sophisticated algorithm with stretches of rogue code. She would replay these old pieces of her Alpha programming, but Dr. Fielding had removed the triggers that rewarded her with pleasure in exchange for obedience. This left Megan shifting from states of consciousness, her fingers mechanically rolling over her swollen clitoris. Always at the edge but never further. In those moments she was stuck, no different than a broken toy. Megan would continue like this until she passed out from exhaustion. She hadn’t slept this well since high school.

But in the waking hours of the day, she toiled alone in her room trying to piece together what had happened to her. She remembered the days leading up to that night. How she planned to stay in that weekend to cram for midterms. How Daphne had guilted her into going out. Jake Shiherlis was going to be at the Alpha house that night and Daphne had been flirting with him for weeks in their statistics class. As Daphne’s Big, Megan felt a pang of responsibility to look out for the often-clueless freshman. Nat tagged along with them. It was going to be a whole thing. A girl’s night out.

That was as far as Megan’s mind went. Everything else was a blur of distorted voices and snapshots of memories that felt more like bad dreams. Her sisters misinterpreted her silence as sadness. But the truth was that Megan just wanted to figure out for herself what had happened before she opened up. She couldn’t take their constant questions, their offers of support. Only Daphne and Nat could understand what she was going through, but any time she pulled out her phone, she couldn’t bring herself to text them. No doubt another post-hypnotic suggestion by Dr. Fielding. Carpenter State couldn’t risk Madison’s victims reminiscing with each other, piecing together the story.

So, just like her mindless nights on the edge, Megan found herself stuck in the daytime too. She fought off confusion and bad thoughts with a healthy dose of music and shopping. She sat on her bed, scrolling through Target’s website with her favorite emo tunes from middle school blasting on the vintage radio next to her.

Until she was rudely interrupted by a knock at her door.

“It’s open,” Megan called out.

The door swung open wide, Taylor entering part way, leaning casually on the doorjamb. “How’s it going?” “I’ve just been listening to music,” Megan said quietly. “I know,” Taylor replied. “Just–Morgan, you know?”

Morgan was the worst offender in the Beta house’s pity club. The last time she’d cornered Megan just outside the bathroom and offered to take her to the police to make a statement. What would Megan even say?

Taylor, on the other hand, was the only sister she felt comfortable sharing anything with. Back in the day, Taylor was Megan’s Big. She was gorgeous, to an intimidating degree. But if Ana represented law and Morgan represented order, Taylor was something else. A sort of chaos agent playing by her own rules. She may have been a Beta just to fuck around and have a good time, but even that came with its own responsibilities. Megan could sleep comfortably knowing that Taylor was around to watch her back. And she wasn’t going anywhere either: Taylor was entering her seventh year of college, working on her second major, and she didn't have plans on leaving.

“I get it,” Megan replied. “I’m fine.” “Cool,” Taylor said curtly. “I’m headed out tonight. I texted you the suicide hotline number in case, you know, dark thoughts, et cetera.” What’s the recovering brainwashed slave hotline?

“Thank you,” Megan said. She added quickly, “I really am fine.” “I know,” Taylor said. “Just don’t put anything on my conscience, ‘kay?”

“Yeah,” Megan smiled a bit. The indifference really was nice. Taylor wasn’t constantly reminding her that she was a victim, even if she suspected that Taylor felt the guiltiest of all about what happened. That was why, in an attempt to clear the awkward air created by the silence they shared in the lingering moments after she spoke, Megan pivoted to Taylor. “Lucky guy tonight?”

What made Taylor so damn cool was how she knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. It was mostly in the way she dressed. Tonight, she was wearing this gold, two piece that looked more like a bikini than a dress. Megan doubted that she could pull the look off herself, but Taylor had the confidence to pair it with a cute leather jacket, and she knew it was going to destroy any boy who saw it.

“Nah,” Taylor said. “Just hoping to get a little fucked up before semester starts. Wanna come?" “I’m okay,” Megan forced another smile. “Maybe next time.” “Suit yourself,” Taylor replied. “I’ll tell Morgan you’re doing fine. Maybe she won’t bother you too much tonight. “Thanks,” Megan said. “Can you close the door when you leave?”

Taylor obliged. When she was gone, Megan cranked the dial on her radio to max and turned her attention back to her laptop screen. She hesitated for a moment, pondering what she saw there.

The audio file was called "Hypnosis for Relaxation." Too tame.

Megan scrolled up to the webpage's search bar and typed a liberal string of keywords: hypnosis sub dominated femdom slave kink. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" she whispered, but she didn't really care.

She was going to sleep well tonight.

Andrea

Andrea had done a lot of dumb things for Dr. Fielding, but joining a whole ass sorority was a new level of bullshit.It was only a few days after the Alphas thing blew up that Dr. Fielding approached her for the job. Andrea and her partner Tyler had been running all over campus collecting strays. Madison was in the wind by then, halfway to Mexico if she was as smart as Dr. Fielding believed. But she’d kept diligent records of every Alpha. Andrea had seen a lot of weird shit at Carpenter State, and while a sorority cult with brainwashing headsets wasn’t the most far fetched thing she’d ever seen—the thing at Argento’s still had this beat—it was the largest cover up she’d ever worked on.

And now Dr. Fielding was asking her to join a sorority. “Asking” was a polite way of saying that Dr. Fielding had her claws buried so deep in Andrea and Tyler’s minds that they would do anything she told them to. Andrea was, after all, a loyal student of Carpenter State University sworn to proudly serve Dean Strickland and protect the legacy of the institution.

But the girls were already suspicious from the Alphas incident, and a senior suddenly wanting to pledge had everyone on high alert. She could tell that Ana didn’t trust her. She suspected that it was the other one, what was her name? Robin? Who advocated for the benefit of the doubt. Her intentions weren’t malicious. After everything that had happened, Dr. Fielding wanted eyes in the Greek community, just in case anyone planned to follow in Madison’s footsteps. Tyler was a good partner, but this was the kind of job she’d have to do alone.

“Fuck,” Andrea grunted as she attempted to haul her chair up the sorority house’s old, narrow staircase. It was a plush, little green armchair but it had a surprising amount of weight to it. Though the girls had agreed to take her on as a pledge, they didn’t seem too eager to help her move in. She was left doing all of the heavy work by herself.

Andrea closed her eyes, determined to get this ridiculous piece of furniture up to the top step on her own. She pulled her weight back and managed to get the chair up one step. Just fifteen more to go.

“Hey there!” A painfully bubbly voice interrupted Andrea’s concentration. She looked down from her place on the stairs to see a young blonde standing there, her head cocked to the side like a confused puppy. “Need some help?”

“Sure,” Andrea breathed, a little surprised. “Knock yourself out.”

The small girl was stronger than she looked. She took hold of the chair from the bottom and she said, “My name’s Sydney.” “Andrea." “I know,” Sydney replied with a giggle that Andrea thought sounded nervous. “You’re the new girl. The senior?” “Going to be,” Andrea said as she began to slowly work her way up the stairs. She regretted having to be the one to go backward. “You?” “Sophomore,” Sydney squeaked back. “Maybe you’ll be my Little. Wouldn’t that be weird?”

“What?” Andrea asked. “Like, Big and Little? Your sister mentor. Show you the ropes, have your back no matter what.” “Right,” Andrea nodded doubtfully. “You don’t know much about the life, huh?” “Not really,” Andrea said. “I sort of ended up here on a dare.” A lie, but the best one that Andrea could think of in the moment. “Shut up. That is so funny.”

“I guess,” she said. “I hear it’s been pretty crazy around here lately.”

They were at the top of the stairs now. It was a straight shot from the railing to her new room at the end of the hall.

“Oh yeah,” Sydney replied. “Kind of a strange time to be a pledge,” Sydney said. “You know I almost pledged to the Alphas? But my mom was a Beta and I wanted to be just like her. I’m excited to just have a normal year. You know, meet some boys, have some laughs, make friendships that will last a lifetime?”

This girl can't be real.

They crossed the doorway into Andrea’s room, the one the Betas called the pink room. It was the only one in the house covered from corner to corner in pink wallpaper.

Sydney admired the space as they sat the chair down. “Pretty, isn’t it?” “I’m more of a dark colors kind of gal,” Andrea said. “You know it’s the biggest room in the house?” Sydney said. “Daphne was here last year but she didn’t come back after the Alphas.” “I’m sorry,” Andrea said, trying to avoid Sydney’s eyes.

There was a moment of silence between the two before Sydney reached out and pulled Andrea into a hug. Andrea recoiled at first, but remembered that she was supposed to make friends with these girls, and reluctantly she brought her arms up around Sydney too.

When Sydney pulled away from Andrea, she looked the older girl in the eyes and said, “It’s been tough. Sorority life is supposed to be about family, and loyalty, and kindness. But lately it’s been like…you can’t trust anyone, you know?”

“Yeah,” Andrea said with a stone face.

“And I guess what I mean is,” Sydney continued, clumsily dancing around a point. “I don’t know why you decided to join us now, but we’re a family. And we take that pretty seriously.”

Suddenly Andrea didn’t know what to make of this encounter. Did Sydney know that she was sent there to spy on them? She didn’t seem threatening, but she was definitely smarter than she wanted people to think she was, and that made Andrea nervous.

“Thanks,” Andrea said, realizing that she’d held the silence for too long. “No probs!” Sydney smiled. “Can I call you Andi?”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

Taylor

It was three in the morning by the time Taylor got back, rolling up in an Uber with a young man’s tongue down her throat. His name was Gabe. He was a proper himbo. She pulled away from him with a sultry smile. “This is my stop, baby.”

“Fuck,” he said, unfocused eyes darting over her body. “You’re so hot.” They were both a little drunk. Taylor held her alcohol better. “Can I come in with you?”

“Uh-uh,” she shook her head no. “Men don’t come into the house. I gotta look out for my girls.”

Gabe pulled her toward himself again. He was all over her. “Then come back to my place.”

Taylor put her finger on her chin playfully, pretending to think it over. It was a tempting offer. Gabe was model cute, with crazy blue eyes and a perfect five o’clock shadow that looked like it had gone through some editing in photoshop.

“Here,” she said, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out his phone. She added her number and passed it back to him. “In the morning you want some more,” she said. “Text me.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

Taylor bit her lip. He'd been a good boy. Bought her all the drinks she wanted and actually took no for an answer. She glanced toward the front of the car to make sure the driver was minding his own damn business, then she pulled her top down.

“Fuck,” he moaned.

“Just a taste,” she said, quickly readjusting her breasts to fit comfortably inside her dress.

She stumbled out of the Uber and over the curb, then into the front yard of the Beta house. She was smiling, still wired from the evening, as she ascended the concrete steps to the front door. Entering the house, she stumbled in the darkness, reaching out for the coat rack by the door and taking it to the floor with her. She was overtaken with a brief fit of giggles but managed to find her bearings. She sat there, straight faced, preparing herself for the long voyage back up to her feet. That was when she heard the first voice. A whisper.

“Hello?” she said. She sat there for a few more seconds on her knees. There was no response. No sound but the quiet hum of Morgan’s sound machine playing upstairs.

Taylor was back on her feet when she heard the voice again, another whisper. But what did it say? Awaken? Submit? She shook her head.

I must be some next level drunk.

She passed through the foyer to the dining room and into the kitchen. The room was dark except for the moonlight shining in through the window over the sink. She moved to the refrigerator and opened it, bending down to search for a bottle of water. Morgan was always on her about hydrating after a night of drinking. She hummed a song she’d picked up at the club that night as she rummaged through the fridge.

When Taylor stood up and closed the door, it took her a moment to notice the figure standing on the other side.

“Jesus Christ, Morgan!” Taylor shouted. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Morgan’s body was gray in the moonlight. She stood there with her arms at her sides. She studied Taylor as if this was the first time she'd seen her friend.

“Do you need a drink of water?” Taylor offered the bottle, still holding her hand to her chest. Again received no response. “Come on,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“No,” Morgan said. “This vessel requires no sleep.”

A chill ran down Taylor’s spine. As she looked closer at her old friend, she realized that something wasn’t right about her. It wasn’t in the way she stood there in her underwear, or even in the emotionless tone of her voice. It was her eyes. Her eyes shined in the darkness as bright and clear as pearls.

“What the fuck!” Taylor jumped when she saw it, dropping the bottle of water on the floor.

She backed quickly out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Morgan advanced slowly, taking one step at a time. Taylor could run, but she knew from the way Morgan moved that there was no hope of escape. Sooner or later she'd have to fight whatever this was.

She retreated until she felt the fireplace against her back.

“You cannot run,” Morgan said, staring Taylor down with those sinister eyes. “The Master has chosen you. Can you hear its call?”

The whispers came back in floods. They were voices, dozens of them, but one spoke louder than the rest. Unlike the others, this voice was formless but powerful. It cut through the noise until all Taylor could hear was its alluring tone.

submit surrender obey

“No!” Taylor cried. “Get it out of my head! What are you doing to me!?” She reached for the fireplace poker and held it high above her head.

The gesture was empty. It didn’t stop Morgan from closing in on Taylor, pressing her body against her friend’s. She pressed her hand firmly to Taylor’s neck and forced her to look into her empty eyes.

submit surrender obey

“All life surrenders to the Master,” Morgan moaned. “We are nothing but vessels. Our bodies were made to serve the Master's design. You have been chosen and you will obey.”

“Stop…” Taylor choked, the poker hitting the floor with a loud clang. Her voice escaped in a helpless whisper, tears cresting over her long eyelashes. “Morgan, please…” She was a shadow of the cool, collected young woman who had been talking to Megan just a few hours ago.

Morgan cocked her to the side. “There’s nothing to fear,” she said with a strangely disarming smile. “Let the Master’s words fill your mind. Listen to its call, let it guide your thoughts, let it guide your actions. You will be transformed, and in transformation you will find peace.”

submit surrender obey

The Master was in Taylor’s head now, bouncing new ideas of pleasure, obedience, surrender around her mind. Its words were mixing with her own. She didn’t know what thought was hers and what thought was Master.

All she knew now was that she needed to surrender. She needed to obey.

[rededgerp]

Mw females?

Keke Palmer, Barbara Palvin-Sprouse, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Nikki Reed, Saweetie, Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, Troian Bellasario, Lucy Hale to name a few

[directorsnarrative]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania • Director Peyton Reed

[trash-yalife]

[coollovebibliophilethings]

Murder and Mayhem in Muskego edited by Jon & Ruth Jordan

Title: Murder and Mayhem in MuskegoAuthor: Jon Jordan, Ruth Jordan, Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Edwards, Andrew Grant, Ted Hertel, Jr., Chris F. Holm, Brad Parks, Gary Phillips, Kat Richardson, Greg Rucka, Marcus Sakey, Tom Schreck, Nathan Banks, Zoe Sharp, Bryan VanMeter & Jeri WestersonIn: Murder and Mayhem in Muskego (Jon & Ruth…

[wildcmbcrsupdates]

digitalsmeg: life lately 🌱🌟🍓🎧🌠

Charlotte Sands, Danen Reed Rector, Dillon Jordan and Megan Clark via digitalsmeg on Instagram, 07/22/2023.

[a--stranger--world]

Sally is annoying. Barry kills people. 

Sally Reed and Bary Berkman, Barry (2018-2023) || “‘Barry’: Bill Hader and Alec Berg on Season 3’s Themes and Why Sally Deserves Better” (May 22, 2022, Indiewire) || Skyler White and Walter White, Breaking Bad (2008-2013) || “Barry Star Sarah Goldberg on Unlikeable Women, Murderous Men, and 'Mensch' Bill Hader” (April 25, 2016, Elle) || Betty Draper, Megan Draper and Don Draper, Mad Men (2007-2015) || “Bill Hader on HBO's 'Barry'” (April 15, 2023, NPR)