#she is doing a good job with him in many ways! he's vaccinated and he gets all sorts of boosters and she's got tricks & tips for everything

[confines]

my littlest cousin is very sick with some sort of upper respiratory for like the 20th time in his very short little life. 😢 it's so hard not to mentally backseat parent in a situation like this. at least his mom is always quick with the doctor's visits, that makes me feel better at least.

[randomfoggytiger]

Hello, would you know of any post apocalyptic AU fics that don’t have to do with the colonization plan or Purity? Just good old fashioned zombies or other deadly virus (or fungus, I see you The Last of Us) lol

Collector's Edition: Mulder, Scully, and Post-Apocalyptic Survival

There was one fic that legitimately did fit your criteria (dianasicarus's "The Dead Come Back"); but it was deleted off of Ao3, and I can't find it anywhere. So.

Anyway! These are mostly virus or alien-related fics (because the specific niche requested is rare)-- however, I tried to keep them Colonization-adjacent, or Colonization-peripheral, rather than full-on aliens, vaccines, and the like.

Loose chronological order below~

Callunarose's Heaven Came Crashing Down - Chapter 4

It sends a chill down Mulder’s skin to see the state of Skinner’s office. The large table, a fixture in so many boring meetings, has somehow been split down the middle, chairs lie in bits around it, and the windows behind Skinner’s desk are shattered. It smells like smoke and fire, and a thin layer of ash has blown in through the broken window panes like some absurd festive snowfall. Skinner’s computer is on the floor, and it doesn’t take a federal agent to understand that someone has jumped up and down on it repeatedly, smashing it into bits. Scully is standing behind the desk it once sat on, staring down at it.

AU-- Post Millennium Mulder and Scully find D.C. abandoned.

@audriesfic/audries/inkspl0tchess's

repechage

there are four things that are the same. endlessly, always. four things that he will always know to be true. four things he’d picked up between preschool and middle-age. four things he would have passed on to his son if he’d had the chance. not that his off-brand form of wisdom could have saved him, or anyone, in the end.

still, they are as follows: water is wet, gravity is at the center of all things, scully is (just is. in general terms, specifics don’t apply, not anymore) and a baseball diamond on a summer night is the closest you will ever be to anything as divine and illusory as heaven.

these are the things he knows. not necessarily in that order.

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully stumble across a baseball diamond.

seiche (Tumblr)

“Say you believe it, too. Say there’s going to be an after. Say we’re going to live.” 

Her mouth winced. She couldn’t look at him anymore and didn’t, tucking her chin. “I can’t.” 

“Why?” He sounded raw. Scully felt herself to be unknowable and cruel. The waiting room feeling. “After all you’ve done, after all we’ve been through, why can’t you believe we’re going to win this?” 

“Because I don't know what happens next,” she told him, “if it isn't the worst thing.” 

AU-- Mulder and Scully didn't change their partnership (yet), despite impending Colonization.

@seepunkrun/Punk Maneuverability/Punk/runpunkrun's Opsis (Gossamer)

He'd picked the wrong day to be lonely and had definitely picked the wrong way in which to show it. If he wanted something from her, comfort or companionship, he would have to ask. She wasn't going to play games with him.

He'd balked at the door, but when his hesitation didn't result in apology, she'd pushed him the rest of the way out and thrown the dead bolt, glad to be rid of him. Finally turning the lights on, she'd walked into the bathroom and crouched by the toilet to throw up what seemed to be a city's worth of ashes.

Colonization Scully's transformation after the world is set on fire.

contradiction_to_nature's XF Writing Challenge:  Clothes

She finally nips the bag with her index and middle fingers, gingerly drawing it out.  Her careful wrapping job has done nothing to protect the delicate weave from absorbing the ever-present dust in the air.  She has given up on ever having clean hair again, her face always coated with a smothering sheen of sweat and airborne grime.  Pulverized concrete, unearthed trees, ashes.  So many dead, gone.

Scully mournfully studies her torn, bloodied suit.

@lotsoforangesoutside's Wednesday 100s (Tumblr)

In another universe, they got married during a lockdown, a complete lockdown, three months after colonization.

Colonization, quarantine, and regulations.

soundingsea's (DW) in the lonely cool before dawn

Scully shakes her head. "Mulder, nobody's heard from Southern California in over a year; there are blockades starting at Vegas. Ever since the Hoover Dam went, it's been considered a loss. Not much agriculture with no water."

"Doesn't look like water's going to be a problem here," Mulder replies, eyes turned upward.

Scully breathes in the smell of oncoming rain. 

Colonization hits, and hits hard.

@writingwell/RocketMan/Darkstryder's (xffics) Live Free

Desperate to make them quiet, Mulder raised his voice to be heard above them.

"Do you want to hear a story?"

Some heads turned to see him; one of the older ones next to Scully started quieting the kids in the back; it seemed a good distraction.

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully hold onto hope while huddled with a small, underground group.

Seema/SeemaG's (unbound@seema.org, LJ) Stronger than Death

...I'd been there when they'd forced her mouth open, poured the black oil down her throat, and then thrown her into the cell. I'd held her in my arms as she'd trembled and squirmed against the madness slowly taking her over, and then I had her brought to the infirmary. A shot of precious morphine later, I'd tied her limbs down to the table; she stopped struggling and I'd leaned over, closed her eyes with the palm of my hand. Nine hours later, Susan died and I held her earrings in my hand.

"Scully."

"We can risk it," I told Mulder. "We have a choice to make."

"I can't run."

"I know that." I took a deep breath. "But do we stay?"

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully, prisoners, hatch a plot to escape.

@spooky-nerd/spooky_nerd's Beyond the Setting Sun: a Post-Colonization drabble (Tumblr)

“Scully, if the sky crumbled and fell on top of our heads tomorrow, you would find a way to rationalize it,” Mulder had told her once, with equal parts awe and irritation in his voice. If only she had known at the time how prophetic those words would turn out to be.

They had been on a case when it had happened. She still remembers the shrill, earth-shaking scream of the crafts as they had broken through the dark and split the peaceful night apart. She had woken with a dread like no other. The back of her neck thrummed. They were here.

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully are separated when her chip begins to control her.

Jenna Tooms/misslucyjane’s (mulderscreek) "...missing..."

Things she misses.

She misses her apartment, her mother, Mulder's fish tank, William's morning noises. She misses Frohike's leers and Langly's t-shirts. She misses wearing a badge and being an authority figure. She misses doing good, being good, feeling good.

She misses Skinner's gruff voice and Monica's wide smile and Doggett's soft drawl. She misses her baby. She misses her friends.

She misses her hair.

Post-Colonization Scully counts her losses.

pokeitlikejello's

The Drabble Files - Chapter 14

He made her a promise and God, she was so scared. Why did they have to split up? Was it his idea? Hers? She couldn’t remember. Not after all the concussions.

Post-Colonization Scully waits for Mulder's whistle.

@leiascully's (Ao3)

X-Files OctoberFicFest Day 30: Dazzle

The end of the world is dazzling. The sun is too bright. It glares off the sand of the beach. The shoreline is higher than it used to be, but the waves have pushed the sand up where there used to be beachgrass or even lawns. The shore has been reshaped, just like everything else. The waves ripple around the ruins of expensive houses. Once upon a time, they lived fairy tales here.

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully did what they could.

One word prompt: beach

The loose linen is nothing like the suits she used to wear, before. Before the downfall of the organization she'd trusted, before the invasion of her body by the alien virus.

Post-Colonization Marita feels the cumulative weight of her life.

Sarah Segretti/sarah_segretti's Operation Clean House (Ao3)

He’s been attached to Special Ops. He’s one of only two people on this planet who have been inside one of Their ships and lived to tell the tale.

She’s the other. But she doesn’t remember the details.

He’s never quite forgiven her for that, she thinks, although he knows – and she knows he knows – that it’s not her fault. She wishes she could remember. She doesn’t want to be separated from him on this night.

Post-Colonization Mulder has to go on a mission alone.

Branwell's Won and Lost

They nicknamed the third assault force Operation Pest Control. The regular army sent in a thousand men at each site. They traveled in tanks or helicopters, and included units with powerful explosives. Missiles couldn't be used effectively against foes who had dug themselves in deep during the Stone Age.

The enemy died by the dozens. The soldiers died by the thousands within minutes of reaching shifting zones around the ships.

DOD HQ organized Tiger Teams that included specialists in tactical nuclear weapons. The President's family arrived at the bunker in West Virginia, where they were forced to stay in total ignorance and confusion.

Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully: indestructible.

AUs

EmScully's Not Alone

 Scully struggled to pull the door closed and stepped gingerly down the porch towards the outhouse. The small building groaned around her and she moved quickly, already chilled and missing the warmth of her little stove. When she stepped out of the outhouse she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, she did a double take and froze. The dead carcass of the alien next to her porch was being torn into by a very much live version, blocking the way of her front door. 

AU-- S7 Scully is abducted instead of Mulder; and both are aided by their son from the future to find each other in a world turned upside-down (and infested with monsters.)

@scullyphile's The Lure of the Paranormal (Tumblr)

“What’s going on? I thought we were having a good Sunday morning. Puns, flirting, fishing, sunshine. What’s wrong?” She asked. When he met her eyes, she knew. “It’s about William.”

Post S9 Mulder and Scully use fish puns to hide the pain.

cthene's In the Watchfires of a Hundred Circling Camps

Frothing and wheezing on his back, the kid claws at Mulder’s face with his nails. His black eyes bulge like quivering pearls of tapioca. He’s afraid. 

Mulder freezes. A silent scream lashes across his mind, confirming what he already knew, and his grip fails. Someone’s son or grandson is still in there.

“Mulder!” Scully yells at him.

The trachea uncrushes itself and the kid sucks the air, already lunging upward again. 

Mulder watches himself grab his skull and brain him against the floor. With vicious force he wasn’t capable of two seconds ago, he hammers the kid’s head over and over again into the tile until the tile cracks. He feels his own hands cleaving open the base of the skull, a plate of metalicized bone falling away like a shard of eggshell to let the sticky albumen run out. Mulder’s fingers plunge into the wet brainpan, closing around the slippery stem and yanking it out as the body beneath him seizes and dies. 

AU-- Post S9 Mulder is turned: a new creature in a new world, in search of his and Scully (and their son's) place in it.

@poeticsandaliens/aster_risk's OctoberFicFest Day 30 - Rental Car

William loves these days, ripping down an empty road to the next empty town in the next empty state, searching for the next unclaimed rental car. It’s only desolate once they get there. When you’re the only humans left on the planet, civilization is a thousand times more desolate, and nature is a thousand times more beautiful. 

AU-- Mulder, Scully, and their son live life on the road.

@pinebluffvariants/@flukemen's (Ao3) Baseball

“Let me tell you a story. I wasn’t always a total idiot - no, don’t deny it, I’ve heard you talk to people - anyway, my story. It was about twenty years ago. We’d already known each other for almost ten years but for various reasons, nothing had happened between us. Actually let me take that back. So much had happened between us, just not what we both wanted. I knew it, it was so obvious, but we were scared.”

“Scared.”

AU-- Mulder retells The Unnatural date night to William as a bedtime story.

stellar_dust/stellar_dust's The City and the Stars (Combined) (Ao3)

No one would have believed in the last years of the twentieth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.

How fitting, then, that it was, finally, a woman with a microscope who discovered the key to their destruction.

AU-- Mulder, Scully, their son, Skinner, Doggett, and Monica sneak into town... then everything devolves into chaos.

Blackwood's (site) Restless Vespers (site)

The sofa creaks as she rises. He feels her standing behind him, knowing what she will say before she says it. "We did all that we could. You did more than anyone could have asked."

"Did I?"

She lays a hand on his sleeve, but he isn't ready for absolution. "Of course you did," she says so gently it feels like a caress. "You're Will's father. You negotiated with the Rebels when no one else could and," she pauses. "I never would have survived without you."

"You would have gone on, Scully. It's who you are."

"Breathing isn't the same thing as living."

"It's Life."

AU-- Post-Colonization Mulder and Scully have a chat.

@danascullysjournal/Paper_hearts_and_homemade_arts's Chrysalis

Dana Scully bandaged them both the best she could, but her training was of flesh and bone, stitches and scar tissue, medication to stave off the searing pain.  Grossly unqualified for the patient before her, she prayed silently for a breakthrough.  Anything to help a man whose soul was eclipsed.  

The date for colonization had come.  And gone. 

And now… the man in her bed was not the same. 

Post-2012 Scully talks her partner through his grief.

@all-these-ghosts/all_these_ghosts's radio nowhere - Chapter 30

When he gets to the plateau at the summit, there is nothing left but dirt and ash and blackened, jagged shards of metal. Every tree and shrub and blade of grass has been leveled. Below him the mountainside is charred from the flames that rained down after the explosion. The late afternoon sky is dark and tinged red.

AU-- Revival Mulder Is stumbling around the ruins looking for his son.

afg's (mulderscreek) Mendocino (mulderscreek)

Skinner had once told him over a bottle of Scotch, how surprised he'd been that Mulder had not killed himself and confessed to him drunkenly, that he and the rest of the group had had him on a sort of unofficial suicide watch for months after Scully had been killed.... In truth it had been touch and go. Many a long night, he had sat with his gun in his hand trying hard to think of a reason to stay. He'd failed her on that last day, the least he could do, he thought, was to tough it out until the end. He couldn't light candles or recite a 'Hail Mary' but he could stay alive. It was his penance.

AU-- Post-Colonization Mulder lives just a bit longer than Scully.

Pale The Chicken Slayer's "Seven More Days" (xphilefic)

The flu hit, distroying cities and states. I'm not sure if the whole world got it, but it's a safe bet. America is dead, almost time for the funereal, when we lay the past into the ground. Mulder died, one of it's earliest victims. The sky scorched with a pale black horizon, like a mystery or a dream. The world seems like a novel, ripped from the pages and brought into our small lives, the authors don't realize how their works will affect us. And ruin us.

Post-Colonization Scully roams the world, immortal.

@scully-loves-ruthie's Prompt: There's only us

Mulder hiked his pack higher up his back, it took a couple weeks, but he and Scully soon learned there was no one to fight for supplies, and worse yet no one to save.  An unholy trip to Maggie’s followed by an understated mourning at Skinner and Monica’s.  It didn’t take much after that to understand there would be no finding, no saving, no banding together to ride out the apocalypse, a ramshackle collection of misfits suited for an FX series.

Post-Colonization, there are only two people left alive.

Oracle (The Other Side) At Sunset (Gossamer)

"William, we don't have to stay another year," she says. "Your dad visits me sometimes, at night. He doesn't speak, but he sits beside me. We talk without sound."

"Mom -"

"I know you don't believe me, William, but I see him. I see them all. Sometimes, under the red moon, I walk to the top of the cliffs and I see them. They look up at me from the desert, expectantly. Waiting for us to join them."

AU-- Scully and William are the only survivors.

@lepusarcticus's the after

“Happy turning day,” she smiled, setting a mug on the side table. He caught a whiff of the contents. Rich. Heady. Intoxicating.

“Don’t know why you still keep track of these things. It’s been centuries,” he mumbled, playing at sleepiness.

AU-- Immortality and vampirism.

BONUS

If you're curious to read more Colonization content, I'd recommend the Colonization HQ, as well as @lilydalexf's and @dashakay's recs (here and here, respectively.)

Thanks for reading

Enjoy!

[helpsmybaby]

Hello, my name is Leena . I am 22 years old. I lived in Palestine for more than 7 disastrous wars here in my country. I have nothing left in my country. I have no safe home, no life, no future, and we have nothing here. We live in a very dangerous battlefield in Gaza, help me get out to a safe area for me and my family, thank you 😊 🙏

This is our child who has no home, no bed to sleep on, and nothing left for our innocent children. We truly live a difficult life in northern Gaza. Our children are starving. There is no milk or any kind of food for them. There are no hospitals for them or their vaccinations. To treat them, help our children meet their needs as quickly as possible by supporting me through the link 😭 .

This is my home, my memories, my dreams, my life, my clothes, my room, my kitchen I have nothing left nor any memory, my house has been completely destroyed, here is Gaza, here are the wars, here are the disasters in my country only 💣

He is our little baby boy. He was born in the war and did not receive any vaccination from the hospital, because the hospitals were completely bombed. His health is not good and his immunity is weak from the chemicals that he inhales and they are very harmful to him. He was displaced with us from house to house and from tent to tent and was exposed to many hardships, here. Gaza is not our life 🥹💔

I am Leena , I live in Gaza, a country of wars and massacres 🌚

I have a new hairdresser complete with everything

I have my own online clothing store

I have a house of my own that is in ashes

Everything was destroyed and all my dreams were destroyed with them.

Here, Gaza is a land of disasters. We have nothing left here

I am writing to you now while the sounds of bombing above my head do not subside. I have lived through many wars Gaza, from the time I was born until now.

But it is impossible for me to adapt to this terrifying sound. Indeed, this war is the most difficult of all.

I am just a girl from Gaza, who has her dreams, her work, her home... Suddenly everything disappeared from her life...

From a simple girl who loves life, to a displaced girl trying to survive. Being displaced from Gaza, displacement brings you a sense of loss, because you left your home, your clothes, your food, and your memories, and you were empty-handed.

I dream every day of my warm house, my heavy clothes, and my peaceful life before October 7, and I hope that the day will come when returning to Gaza becomes a reality. In this war, if we do not die from the bombing, we can die from hunger, death from thirst, death from cold... All roads lead to death...

I have no home, no job, no store, no hairdresser, or anything left. 😭 I want you to donate to me here on the Gofoundme website. Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a big difference in our journey towards safety and peace. Thank you for standing with us during this difficult time. I am not asking you to help me alone, but this aid will help all displaced people (because I am one of them). 🥹🙏

This is my little sister. Her school and all her dreams were bombed. She did not find any suitable place in Gaza for her to imagine. All the places were demolished and bombed. Despite all this, she laughs.

A new room for a new baby The war and its destruction came 😭💔

After enduring 430 days of ongoing genocide in Gaza, I made the extremely difficult decision to seek help to evacuate my family of 7 to find safety amidst the constant bombardment and hunger our community is suffering from. The situation has reached a critical point, and unfortunately there is no safe place in Gaza and the only way to survive is to travel abroad. To do this, you need between $3,000 and $5,000 per person for the airport to get out of Gaza, and this amount of money is literally unaffordable. That is why I am asking for your help, as we fear for our lives and the lives of our loved ones. We humbly appeal for your compassion and generosity to help us raise the funds necessary for our evacuation. Your support will provide us with the means to escape death and seek refuge in a place where we can live in peace, away from the constant threat of violence.

Help me 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[watchinglikeafangirl]

Short reviews because I'm so busy trying to study and work at the same time.

In the meantime, I caught up with every BL I have put on hold or lost interest in throughout its run.

Wandee Goodday

The first episodes were really promising. They have very good chemistry and both of them are very good at acting out heart-eyes, making me wish for somebody to look at me like that. The pacing was good as well, the pilot really hit it off. But then the show kind of lost itself, episodes kept being uneventful and I still don't understand why they are oficially together in episode 10 when they both knew they are having feelings since episode 3. It's unnessecarily stretched out while them both overcoming their trauma is poorly written. They both had some issues regarding their parents and self-love and while that is interesting, I feel like their traumas weren't talked about a lot. Dee's trauma was "solved" within one of the four parts of episode 8 (I think?). And Yak overcame his guilt in 3 seconds after Dee showed up at his fight and told him to just let go. In what world does anyone heal that quickly?

The vaccine ads were more present than them overcoming their traumas.

Most episodes felt so long and I've skipped throught the last three. There are so many cringey speeches in front of audiences and love confessions that feel like the same lines are repeated over and over again. And don't get me started on Cher and Yei. I do not care about their relationship even if Cher is cute and Yei is good-looking. I like them with Yak and Dee but they barely had any scenes and then there's a random sex scene, so we feel like we are invested in their story but it's just a poor attempt to make us believe we're having a good time with them.

Rating: 5/10

My stand-in

I was really excited about Up's new series. I LOVED him in "lovely writer" and I couldn't wait to see the angst this show would bring. I still think the first 4 episodes are the best. Joe keeps hinting that something grand is about to happen, that meeting Ming meant his life will turn into a nightmare. I was really shocked when he died but I just cannot agree with Joe's choices. I'm not saying it doesn't make sense but it's very self-destructive to go back to the same agency and be around the same friends and have the same job while people can't recognize you but keep on talking about your past self. Joe complains about being Tong's stand-in, he repeats how much pain it caused him but he chooses to be his own stand-in and complains again? It frustrates me so much.

But I have to say, the amout of joy I felt when Tong was without money and helpless and chased after. He absolutly deserved it and I dislike they try to redeem him at the end. Throughout this whole show, I never felt like he truly loves May, yet in the end he says he does and she's like "okay". No. That's not how redemption works. And Joe helps him, takes a bullet for him and forgives him after one tiny "thank you"...? Tong has to do a lot more than that.

I don't like the way Ming doesn't respect Joe. They have an eye-opening conversation in the car, when Ming forces Joe to go with him and Joe loses it because he doesn't want to be there. In the end, the car stops, he storms off and Ming runs after him and hugs him from behind. After shaking Ming off, Joe keeps leaving and Ming hugs him again. Ming hugs Joe three times in that scene. I feel like Joe should just leave.

The story also feels like it's losing itself a bit at some points. It's not really necessary to have that whole "dad doesn't approve" story when it's clear as day he will come around. They went to such extremes, terrorizing Ming and Joe but it doesn't really make sense. Ming's parents change their minds within like 20 mins (at least it felt like it), so why did we get so many tears? Why was I invested? And why did Joe help Tong? Why in the world would Joe switch places with Tong? They just brush it off with "that's just what Joe does because he's so kind" but no, Joe is just unreasonable.

Rating: 7/10

We are

This show starts with Peem painting and his off voice introduces us to him in a "hi, I'm Peem, I'm an arts student" kind of way. Honestly, the first time I watched this first scene, I immediatly closed the tab because most GMMTV shows that start like this end up being extremely boring. And after "never let me go", I was not convinced about Pond and Phuwin. I honestly didn't want to watch a show with them as the main leads and some of my problems were still seen in We are. But I'm not gonna name them since I'm not trying to badmouth people here.

But YouTube desperatly wanted me to watch this show, so I clicked on the first episode again and then I kinda bindged it lol. It's very funny, I love the friend group so much. Some people say there were too many couples but I feel like it was exactly right because if this show would have had two couples only, it would have been very boring. There is not much happening but the relationships make up for it. I felt alive watching this show and some scenes are so fast paced.

I hoenstly didn't expect Peem to bluntly kick Phum within the first 3 minutes. There were many scenes like that, especially when the friends were all together. There were some nice twists and jokes I didn't see coming but felt so authentic and not staged. The script is pretty good and it's an absolute gem.

Rating: 9/10

[hoodlander]

Finally finished Season 4.

My thoughts:

Karl Urban looking fine as fuck even though Butcher is supposed to be dying.

And Colby Minifie is looking hot as hell this season, not sure what it is.

Overall, a strong finale.

The writing for the entire season has been all over the place though. If there was ever an argument for going back to the 22 episode seasons - this is it.

So many heel-turns that happened too fast.

And I felt like half the season sacrificed good writing for stupid shock value gags. Shocking scenes should have a place in the narrative, but not just added to try and shock the audience for no reason.

I love Hughie. I really love him. He was going through it this season. I am disappointed in Kripke and the other writers for thinking the Tek Knight stuff was funny and not seeing it for what it was. That is was the same thing that Deep did to Annie in S1. I am disgusted when male SA is not taken seriously in media.

And then the triple whammy with the shifter. Hughie needs a damn break.

I think Erin Moriarty did an amazing job with shifter!Annie though. She was brilliant to watch.

Frenchie and Kimiko’s storylines this season made little sense to me and didn’t progress their characters. I’m glad the writer’s back tracked the ‘platonic soulmates’ thing and made Frenchie/Kimiko genuinely happen. If you want to do platonic that’s fine, but not after what they went through for 3 seasons and how they behaved with each other. Glad that was rectified.

I love MM. And A-Train’s redemption arc was the strongest arc of the season for me. It was the best written imo.

The Deep has wanted to be BFF’s with Homelander since S1. Loved seeing him doubling down on getting that friendship bracelet. RIP Ambrosius. She was the one Deep. She truly, truly loved you you stupid fuck.

I like Firecracker, she is interesting. Having her doing things for Homelander out of gratitude and respect instead of attraction was very refreshing. And I love how she and Deep are Homelander’s Ride or Dies. Whenever I see the three of them together all I see are Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith.

New Noir is baby. Love him. As much as I miss Old Noir, this was a good way to progress the character and give Nathan Mitchell more to do. Loved his fight with the Boys as they reacted to him flying and talking.

Sage is fantastic. I love her. And her final scene with Homelander was brilliant. Like, yes girl come get your sad murder chihuahua he needs to go back in your purse.

And finally…

Grace really be making Homelander look like a #1 Dad.

Great idea, threatening arguably the second most powerful supe on the planet with imprisonment. I feel like she expected Ryan to be as easily radicalized as Billy. Then didn’t know how to handle his need for space. Like, kid just got a bomb dropped on him and needs to think. She couldn’t even give him that.

Whereas Homelander lets him go after their fights. He gives him space. And so far, he has shown Ryan genuine affection as much as he is capable of giving. If Ryan does go back to him in S5, which I think he will, Homelander will accept him back but then have to deal with some hard questions.

Ryan lashing out at Grace was expected honestly. She was going to gas him. He was already emotionally charged. He didn’t look happy or sad after her death. And if Billy only sees Ryan as Becca’s son if he kills Homelander then his love comes with conditions.

Grace and Butcher both fucked up.

Billy killing Victoria and putting his faith in the virus was short-sighted on his part. Vic could have helped them with the long game.

And ultimately the supe virus is a temporary genocide.

A virus only works when it has something to infect. If it kills every supe then Vought just needs to wait a few years to make sure the virus is gone and then start dosing more babies. And the cycle starts again. Vought could potentially find a vaccine for the virus as well.

The thing The Boys have to destroy is Compound V. And every Vought scientist that can recreate it by memory.

As long as Compound V exists there will always be Supes.

[deathlygristly]

This morning I was thinking about not hurting others and perceiving reality as well as you possibly can, and the perceiving reality comes from and is an integral part of not hurting others.

If you do not believe facts about vaccines and you refuse vaccines for yourself and others, you will cause illness and possibly death. If you believe stereotypes about a group, you will judge members of that group wrongly and you will hurt them. If you lash out at someone before knowing the facts about whatever situation you're upset about, you're very likely lashing out wrongly and making things worse for everyone involved. And on and on and on with so many more examples of not having the correct information resulting in harm.

In order to do your best at not hurting others, you have to do your best at perceiving reality accurately. Of course an accurate perception of reality also includes that humans are fallible and will make mistakes and that it doesn't help to hate yourself for being human, but still it's important to do the best that you are currently capable of.

So people who don't care at all about reality or not hurting others and who care more about fitting in with a group and/or agreeing with a person who's seen as an authority even though they aren't qualified have a fundamentally different experience of being alive than I do, and I don't think there's any amount of being lectured by self-righteous people online that will change that fact. It's accurately perceiving reality in order to not hurt myself to recognize that and to not waste my energy on trying to deradicalize people who I will never be able to reach. There are better and more helpful things for me to do.

Also people who think it's surprising that a man does dishes without being asked to live in a completely different universe than I do.

Stuff about the spousal person under the cut.

I just vacuum, and the spousal person does everything else. Like he got me noise reduction earmuffs to wear while he does the dishes because the water sound gets to me. While he was making dinner last night he also made brownies to take to a potluck at his job today. He does the laundry. He recently ordered and put up a new shower curtain. He cleans the litter boxes because, as he once said, "I read it's not good for women to do that." I'm guessing he means risk of toxoplasmosis which is mostly a concern for pregnant women and our cats are strictly indoors, but anyway.

And no, he doesn't feel forced by me to do all that. He just likes things done a certain way and he likes to do it and it's a choice he's making with his normal human agency.

Trying to think of the circumstances that produced him....I think his mother was cool but stressed with five kids who she basically raised by herself until the stress killed her, and his father was hardcore bipolar, like to the point of once being held down by four firefighters in a manic phase and spending years in bed to the point of making a very deep impression in the bed during a depressive phase. When he told me he'd gotten a call that his father had died he was not upset or mournful at all.

So maybe you could say that his father was an anti-model, a model of what not to do? Still though, he had to make his own choice to not be like his father. He still had agency in the decision to be who he is and to do most of the housework. I know I didn't say any magic incantation or perform any magic ritual to make him be who he is. He chose to be himself.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

CUJO (1983)

😿DOG DIES (duh), 💁‍♀️Strong Female Lead

The dog actor who played Cujo was phenomenal and I totally believed in his whole good boy gone bad (with rabies) routine. Much like the book, the movie is all about sitting and waiting which is a little boring to watch at times. This is a classic film about a classic King book so worth a watch but then I’d tell you the book is worth a read first (though be warned the content is rougher than the movie). It was nice to see the characters come to life and our strong female lead take care of her son and the dog.

⭐⭐⭐.5

Trigger Warning Sexual Abuse, Spinning Camera, Child Seizure, Mild Child Death

(SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK as well which ends differently from the movie if that matters to you (it matters to me))

I said to myself after a few drinks, I said, “Fuck it, let’s watch CUJO, lets watch this baby die, fuck this baby.” but really I am so sad for this child. I just came from an outdoor movie party where we were supposed to watch a spooky Halloween movie but instead we watched SING because a bunch of children were there and they wanted to watch SING, okay? So, yeah, I like kids and appreciate that they get their way even when I, an adult, want to watch a spooky movie during my favorite holiday month. BUT I don’t know when and where King decided that Tad was toast and I JUST WANNA TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT, OKAY? (No I will not put my knife down) 

ANYWAY. We barely get to meet Cujo before the rabies. The movie starts with him chasing a rabbit into the bat den and getting bitten. Sad! Tragic! For many reasons! I mean, that is also how the book basically starts but still! I am sad! (This isn’t a “comparing the movie to the book” review just like MISERY but still, I can’t help myself) Rabies is a wild sickness of brain rot and Cujo was/is a loyal dog but the disease is stronger than any dog or man will ever be. Poor bub. This is a cautionary tale. Please vaccinate your pets!

They did a really good job making a friendly dog look scary, the attacks are really alarming and feel like the animal is vicious even though if you really look you can catch the actor dog wagging his tail (dog actors will often do that when they are proud they are doing a good job, which is just precious). But this is a welcome turn of events because Church from PET SEMATARY 2019 just looked dirty and that didn’t make for a scary cat, just bad grooming (which can be scary), and while Cujo is certainly dirty, the watery eyes and overall energy he brings gives him the rabid touch that is so terrifying for this film in particular.

Cujo turns rabid by the time his boy and the mother are out of town and Cuj disposes of the father and his shady friend before our main characters Donna and Tad are unfortunate enough to roll their broken down car into the purebreds path. This is one of the more brutal Stephen King stories because of the waiting, the inaction, which is the best choice, but it is so painful. I can only compare it to GERALD’S GAME but even then she had plans going constantly, here it is just the brutality of the Maine Sun on their car.

Donna tries to leave once and gets wrecked by the dog, in front of Tad, which is horrifying for him to see, and of course then she is having the issue of contracting rabies probably, but no time for that because it is still time to SURVIVE this ordeal. All the while the husband is off trying to clean up an ad campaign disaster which is a big deal for him but absolutely not a big deal when you are literally fighting for your life. AND THE FACT THAT THE COP DOESN’T call in that there is blood on the doors of Donna’s vehicle right away is such a stupid move. I hate it and cannot believe it and missed it in the book but see it clearly in the movie and it is so obvious and STUPID. Also the movie randomly brings up the plot of the Camber family but never does anything with it which is a real shame, it is like they ran out of time with their own film. 

Okay. I have watched the end and now we have gone RADICALLY off book. And I gotta say. I don’t know how to feel. I am glad that there was a happy ending, but in that same breath it isn’t what the original story had in mind so I don’t really like the change. The movie literally ended on a freeze frame of the family all together, hell, Donna even found the gun and used it on Cujo, which was certainly not part of the book. It was actually specifically mentioned in the book that she didn’t know the location of the dropped service weapon that would have aided her so heavily but AGAIN, this is not a direct comparison, just bringing up some things of note.

This story was intended to be a tragedy, a cautionary tale of how so many bad choices can lead to something so terrible, but instead this movie ends with a miracle. I’m not sure that it works as well that way. Before it had this horrible weight to it and now the film ends on this light happy note and you go on with your day, when the book ended I was shell-shocked. Maybe the ending doesn’t need to be upsetting but it should be powerful and I think they undercut themselves by changing a Stephen King ending.

-----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR--------------------

[venticuliao]

tbh villains are hard to write, the stakes of crisis in a story rely on them, and u can either fuck up the entire thing or just one character, so it’s safer to make ur villains one dimensional or have motivations that are stupid as hell as long it justifies the rest of the writing.

case in point: thanos in the marvel movie had to act as this cosmic threat that would wipe out half of life in the universe. his reason? not enough fuel to sustain that life.. okay? so his goal is to preserve life by sacrificing part of it. his solution? a magic glove that could easily fix the root problem in the first place but he chooses murder bc he’s sooo evil.

stupid? yes, but they didn’t need the audience to like thanos, either from an emotional or technical perspective in terms of the writing. in making such a stupid villain though, they prompted stupid conversations around him and made ethical smoke and mirrors around his character as a villain.

and tbf another reason why good villains are hard to find these days is there is such a focus on making transparent one’s own values and morals through them. nobody’s brave enough to make their villains be committed to their goals with actual reasons. do u as a person that exists in the real world justify or agree with such evil? thanos was a stupid character, why is this even a discussion.

but the thing is this type of things are throught experiments, ur free to explore anything u want in fiction, it doesn’t reflect anything about u if u indulge in the fantasy horror of eco fascism or enjoy the different dilemmas and complexities that a character would face before such a topic. it’s just thanos was stupid as hell, but what if there was an interesting well written villain who explored this subject in a better way?

enter: utopia’s Mr Rabbit

utopia is about a secret massive organization that wants to reduce the population on earth by introducing something in the vaccines for a flu epidemic (it was made years before Covid though), but they themselves don’t know what exactly will be the result, they just know it will work if they are able to get their hands on it. they know they can find the science of it through a graphic novel that was made by a patient in a psychiatric hospital decades ago, which a niche popular conspiracy claims has predicted multiple illnesses through the years. the organization is more or less running against time, as the daughter of the mad scientist is also after the graphic novel.

the backstory behind this all is the mad scientist once met a woman at a party that only the most brilliant minds in the world were invited. nobody wanted to talk to him because he had these fucked up ideas about malaria doing a great job of killing people in a planet that soon would not be capable of sustaining human population, but the woman agreed. she confesses she once was in a massacre, and would rather kill herself right there than face something like that again.

so, they start working together.

Milner, the woman, once played many political sides against each other, and as a result got almost killed. she survived, but she had the Chinese character for rabbit carved into her skin, and eventually became known as Mr Rabbit, although her actual identity was never revealed. this event shapes her mentality about the future, hence why the scientist’s words stuck with her. the story doesn’t bother putting too much emotional weight on it, it’s not that important in contrast to all the events in the world that support this rhetoric of overpopulation.

Milner has a husband and then a son who suffer from a deadly illness, but through it all she falls in love with the scientist. she considers him a god for what he’s doing and his genius. to her, there is no doubt they are working for the preservation of humanity, to the point she murders her husband when the illness has begun to shut down his body (years later, she also does the same to her son). there is never a doubt that she loved them, she isn’t unfeeling or cruel, but her commitment to their cause comes before everything else. and so, even though she still loves him, when the scientist regrets his decision and tries to escape, she hunts him down and has him tortured, threatening to also torture his daughter if he doesn’t reveal what change he made to the vaccine before leaving.

Milner is never portrayed in a way that makes u doubt her soundness of mind or her feelings, she is simply committed to what she believes. she doesn’t act cruel to people, and she’s a fairly normal woman when other characters meet her, it’s just she’ll shoot a bitch if and when she needs to. even if that bitch is her beloved or her child, she is willing to do what it takes, including losing her own life.

the main characters, not knowing she’s the one behind it all the entire time she’s helping them, from the very beginning oppose what the organization is doing, although they’re all just a bunch of guys, normal people who were just pulled into the whole conspiracy because they knew the person who bought the unpublished graphic novel the organization is after. one of them, Wilson Wilson, gets tortured by two of the agents and his eye is removed. not surgically or all too violently, but with a spoon.

Wilson Wilson goes through an entire act over the two seasons of the show in which he vehemently opposes the very notion of sacrificing part of the population, and being unable of even shooting the man who pulled his eye out with the spoon, to becoming Milner’s ally. he’s completely changed his mind from what he’s witnessed and what he’s come to understand of the world on his own.

when Milner dies, as the final plan is already in motion (and it won’t kill anybody, but instead make the population infertile), Wilson Wilson takes over the organization and carves the rabbit character into his stomach, thus becoming Mr Rabbit for the rest of the world

and those to me have been the most enjoyable well written smart villains with evil motivations who commit evil actions for evil goals without bargaining through a tragic backstory that I’ve ever seen thank u thank u

[scentedchildnacho]

I did make it to harvest church for a benevolence ..

He wanted to know why homeless for a decade

So I told him it's a trash to people where they just kind of leave many disparate problems

So the over crowding and noise kind of moves me all the time to place structural holes...

I notice people leaving a vintage vase people can't use because it isn't cutting edge medicine and it not making them feel very good to not take it to a repurposing and green job training booth

Its mostly management problems leading to apathy to situations like anti immigration in Germany ...its these creepy ladies that can understand Foucault on the inverse and they show up to flash knives at people or talk in gross disturbing ways or just witch every bodies rest time

Wagner they will sometimes just really hit and strike a project with militant ladies that admit they hit their kid with anything around and themselves

Or the men sometimes they drop off these men sometimes that dont care if their ultimate speed bully...and it's again knife threats or beating people up severely like police footage and again stuff to just ruin people's time

The situation is just not managed and it's just very unfair other psychiatrists work with early Alzheimer's and that psychiatrist just dumps pill restraints

So I would travel a lot to find people's missing services...like someone's domestic abuse shelter a 5 hour train ride away....or someone else's camp...even more states away or someone's largely dark men food stop again several states away....

I told him the push to view things as maximal crisis tends to shove homeless into compounds instead of uplifting it's condition as it's come to live

I said kamala is Indian so to her everyone is a tribe.....and that's homelessness...it's a tribe to live for God not for land grants so something about God has to tell me where God is taking people instead of always positions filled in basic functions not really gainful anymore

Tribe of Levi....uhm there is a Vietnamese priest here and it's the south east Asians that will help poor white with things like fishing or lou ows pig roasts

So maybe I can ask him about sacrificing a young cow or calf because it's spirit haunts and persecutes the people here

That beauty of a young cow face all this car crisis is to turn the children especially into perfect smooth sickly forms

There is maybe a scandinavian wealth here that won't stop stalking me with cow veneration....so it's symbol is we get to be here and stop with how boring

Dian fossey did have like followers who worshipped all she taught them so that is maybe the car terrorists at the children

Vaccines?

They are The native Americans and indigenous diaspora doesn't exist....

They do they try to defile me it's not just trying to hurt me they think my lady is of ill repute at the church and attempt defiling

I watched a film called silentium and the nun was like I think I can't join them because I'm a people and this perverted Marxism or flesh is why isn't correct and they were like you don't have to be perfect

Anyway I guess the immigration has been idle sitting in little shops with all this God art in vista California that some sectarians warn is idolatry and can really summon something people think is demonic

I read this book by a Frenchman called you will not have my hate...because it's been trendy I guess for common people to pronounce in famous ways that they will not be seeking reckonings or retribution

So I mean they were placing strange altars by the side of the road about one young man in vista California....

And I think they blame the emigration because they could be stricter and work more about who is coming and going around their districts and have been willing to open walls or ideas they shouldn't have

But I find myself now at meals with black and tan types so others might say I'm never getting managed or getting out of this unfair objectification because the IRA killed an emigrationist that could have helped

Wagner what is all this if people are lewd or wrong restrain them when there are peoples that understand before wall or before CPS

I'm from Wisconsin but they found out that 20 percent of severely abused emigration issues were from the states so something about that type of emigrationist missing from the homeless here and people wanting to leave them on sidewalks and hog tye them like old gay films all just very crude and no one is interested in that

[epistolizer]

Hit & Run Commentary #149

If a church inquires as to your vaccination status, reply "None of your business." If they persist beyond that, quit or never go back.

How she views people without a mask is the only rewiring Rachel Madcow needs in regards to her warped orientations and distorted predilections?

MSNBC propagandist Nicole Wallace remarked those refusing to acquiesce to the demands of Plague Cult alchemy do not have the right to basic human liberties because such pharmacological subversives are not sufficiently carrying their burden to society. Does she intend to direct such rhetorical iron in regards to the welfare deadbeats remaining on unemployment instead of accepting available employment?

At the Coast Guard Academy graduation, the Autarch praised an alleged Chinese proverb that women hold up half of the world. Ironic given the tendency of his idealized regime from which much of his family’s fortune is derived to eliminate babies whose only fault was having been born female.

In light of the Coronavirus Plague, are the conspicuously pious still reposting that asinine anecdote where the new pastor of a church emerges from the midst of the pewfillers disguised as a filthy vagrant to berate the congregation for failing to slobber all over him?

Would be ironic if a winner of one of the inoculation lotteries ended up having to spend the funds to provide for their long term care or fertility treatments resulting from an adverse reaction to Plague Cult alchemy.

The approach seems to be free market in allowing businesses to refuse goods and services to the unvaccinated, essentially blacklisting such individuals. Then on what grounds would it be inappropriate for such individuals to use their freedom in turn to promulgate a list of enterprises that take such a stand against individual bodily determination?

Migrant families should be reunited by sending illegal minors back to their country of origin rather than bringing unfit parents into the United States.

In an appearance on “Standing For The Truth”, Pastor Randy White lamented the increasing tendency of Christians to deny fellowship to those with whom they disagree. So does he intend to repudiate and repent of the things he said on another episode of the very same program against churches and ministries that had expressed a degree of support or enthusiasm for Roma Downey’s “A.D.” miniseries?

If protesters carry signs with language deemed inappropriate, the media should not blur the message. Aren’t these the liberals that any other time insist that such oppressed COMMUNITIES should not have their truth filtered through the standards of the colonizers?

Media propagandists insist that profanity on protest signs has to be blurred so as not to harm viewers at home. Is it about protecting viewers or out of concern that seeing such might shock the average American that usually doesn’t consider the implications of how this subversive element is attempting to implement a worldview formulated in the bowels of Sheol itself?

A Lincoln Project commercial intoned that, when Donald Trump emerged from beneath the White House, the President did not attempt to bring the nation together. At that point, it was not his job to do so. At that moment, his most important task was to quell the violence with the most expeditious means available.

Even on Fox News it was said that, despite riots, most demonstrations throughout the world were mostly peaceful. Sort of like saying that, given the number of actual deaths, most encounters between police and Black individuals are actually orderly and in accord with acceptable procedure.

An article in the Summer 2015 issue of the Futurist was titled “Transforming Society By Teaching Everyday People The Characteristics Of A Modern Hero”. What this really means is that the unsuspecting masses will be conditioned to do more for less pay. There are many lessons to be learned from beloved heroes such as “truth, justice, and the American way”. However, these very same cultural elites downplayed those very notions in one of the Superman films. And on “Stan Lee’s Who Wants To Be A Superhero?”, one of the contestants was dismissed early on for letting it slip that he was hoping his appearance could help him get his foot in the door of the movie or comics industry. Stan Lee himself admonished the contestant that being a hero was not about monetary reward. Yet elsewhere the aging fantasist was certainly vocal about compensation he perceived as having been cheated out of over the decades despite the fact that he eventually came to enjoy what cannot be described as anything other than a celebrity lifestyle.

You, common rabble, are to be so wracked with guilt regarding the environment that we are expected to forgo the blessings of the modern world such as vehicular travel, readily available meat, and air conditioning. However, that does not apply if you are a part of the elite taking it upon themselves to impose this compulsory sense of guilt upon the vast swaths of Western humanity. For example, Brian McLaren is so important that not only did he expend the resources necessary to travel to the Galapagos Islands in 2018 for the purposes of writing a book. Apparently it is his intentions at some point to return with a band of similarly-minded believers in tow that apparently need to travel nearly 3,000 miles around the world to contemplate why you have too much.

In response to assorted violations of her own plague cult edicts, the witch queen of Michigan’s replied, "I am human. I made a mistake, and I apologize.” See if that was good enough in cases of other residents likely roughed up by police for failure to comply with these draconian measures.

In contemplation of the mass murder incident at a California public transportation facility, Governor Gavin Newsom remarked when are “WE” going to lay down our guns? Does that include not only free citizens and the municipal police forces to be defunded in order to placate looting marauders but also higher-level state and federal law enforcement departments intending to impose revolutionary edicts such as those pertaining to lockdowns and resource redistribution? After all, these government bureaucracies are the ones hoarding and stockpiling ammunition to the point of shortages.

A commercial urging customers to switch to X-finity wireless depicts a woman saying that if your cellphone provider was a guy, you would have broken up with them by now. If such is simply to be dismissed as amusing wordplay, will there be a companion version of this advertisement urging men to dump their carrier like they would a non-compliant and nagging woman?

A Six Flags commercial depicts park visitors wearing masks on a roller coaster whereas those on a water slide are glimpsed with their visages dangling naked in the breeze. Dutiful adherents of conventional wisdom will likely respond that a wet mask would be too cumbersome and perhaps even an obstacle to satisfactory respiration. But if the plague is as deadly as the priestly guild having accrued around this microorganism insists, shouldn’t the aquatic attraction simply be closed until further notice?

Clinton and Obama Administrations functionary Leon Panetta, appearing on “Your World with Neil Cavuto”, astutely observed that America needs to take a number of steps to counter the repeated cyberattacks against the nation’s infrastructure essential to economic survival. Foremost among these is technical education and training. As an avowed Democrat, does Panetta intend to castigate his party over the resources squandered by the special interests and elites of that political organization in terms of pedagogy emphasizing transgenderism and critical race theory rather than countermeasures to actual security threats?

On an episode of the Kalb Report posted online 12/10/2012, journalists Marvin Kalb and Ted Koppel discussed the decline of objectivity in their particular profession. In remarking that Bill O’Reilly was once his student, Kalb quipped that he should have flunked him. But if the point of the discussion was how reporters and correspondents must rise above their individual biases when assessing evidence and situations, hasn’t Kalb failed to abide by the standard he is calling for if he regrets judging O’Reilly’s classroom performance in accord with that criteria rather than by what Kalb might feel about O’Reilly in other areas?

By Frederick Meekins

[atangledfate]

Honestly, She had no idea what Reyna's anatomy would be like, or what would and would not work. All she knew was that the Vaccine was still in many ways experimental. It was developed by Tails, Eggman and Starline near the end of the outbreak as a true counter to the virus. Though the Doctor's had done so out of fear of being infected, it always worried her that those two had a hand in its creation. She knew after that eggman had tossed Starline and Eggman had a real disagreement on using the Warp Topaz but she didn't know what happened to Starline after.

She crossed her arms as her thoughts got away from her and focused on the issue at hand.

" I can take you to medical... i don't know how long it'll take to be seen. The Doc is pretty stern about no one cutting in line... that included Princess Sally... so i doubt they will make an exception for you either..."

Honestly the Doc had no bedside manner, but they were very good at there job.

" You might be better off putting in a requisition through Jewel and getting some kind of special treatment as a foreign dignitary... though they are just as likely to throw that back in Jewels face i suppose. Your call really ... But i can take you over there when you are ready. Unless you want to make Gadget blush some more... "

The Wolf got stiff when Lanolin mentioned his flushing face and whipped around and went ridged! He quickly waved his hands over his head and as he really wanted to be SOMEWHERE ELSE!

" NO NO! that's ok! you gals probably have important business elsewhere! i should get back to work! hope to work with you soon Reyna! "

And off he marched back to his station! clearly Lanolin got under his collar and she was well aware of it by her smug smile! She was messing with him of course they were good friends! But clearly the wolf didn't do well with compliments!

Reyna didn't know how bad it was for the others. She's grateful the Surge and Kit she knows never truly knew what they dealt with before. But she hopes that nobody ever has to again...It takes a bit of her willpower to not immediately let her mind wander to thoughts of ruining that horrid Eggman. She will make him stop the suffering he spreads, no matter what.

"Good point there Lanolin. I'll have to see them about the vaccine either way, so making sure it will affect me properly is important." She says happily. "I'm really looking forward to working with you. I think, despite your lack of experience, you've got a good head on your shoulders too. And I think you'll only get better the more you learn." She mentions. She's already liking Lanolin, frankly.

"Either way, I do know medicine myself, so I know it's best to have doctors evaluate your before taking any new medications or vaccinations. Meaning that I need to see them before trying anything else. I hope Jewel doesn't mind waiting a bit longer, as I think it'd be good to knock that out of the way. Some of the paperwork is likely to include medical information after all, so updating that now would be good." She muses.

[loorain]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - New Year's Eve Wrap-Up

As the girls wake up, Robin focuses on getting them some breakfast while Sigrid changes. Then they switch out while he gets dressed and she gets the girls dressed, as today the family is headed out for a doctor's appointment for the girls to get a check-up and some vaccinations.

While they're out, Scarlett and Sabrina decide to have some outdoor workout time by going on a jog together, which proves to be very beneficial and allows them some positive bonding time.

Eventually, everyone returns from the doctor and Robin goes back to working on the treehouse immediately. He's so focused and as a result, is making a lot of progress in the day, and it's fueling him to get even more done as he goes on.

The three other adults chat while having lunch and the girls play upstairs. Sigrid tries to heed Scarlett's advice and distract herself, but that doesn't mean her gloomy trait doesn't mess with her. Robin works on the treehouse most of the rest of the day, so Sigrid doesn't see him much other than the brief times he comes in to use the bathroom or get something to drink. She focuses on spending time with the girls and keeping herself busy for most of the day.

Soon enough though, Robin comes bounding into the house.

Robin: Sig, you gotta see this.

Sigrid steps outside and sees a newly finished treehouse, immediately surprised and breathless as a result.

Sigrid: Oh my goodness, Robin, you did it!

Robin: I did. You like it?

Sigrid: Like it? I love it! The girls are going to love this!

Robin: Come on, the view is amazing from up there.

Robin guides Sigrid onto the treehouse platform and allows her a moment to take in the view. Sigrid can't seem to wipe the smile off of her face. Robin's hard work is evident and Sigrid feels a little silly for being so mopey in his absence since he was obviously so determined to surprise her with completing this project.

Sigrid: Wow... you're right, the view is really nice.

Robin: I know. The girls can have so much fun up here. Might be nice to give it some upgrades over time, maybe a slide and some nice lights.

Sigrid: You've already done more than enough. Great job babe.

Robin comes over and grabs Sigrid's hands.

Robin: I know I've been a bit distant today. I just really wanted to complete this project. I've been feeling a bit unproductive and this was really a great project to focus my time on. Gave me some time to think, too. I think... after the wedding, I want to start a new career. The girls will be almost ready for elementary school by that point, and they're so independent now and don't need us as much as they did. I want to provide for my family and give myself a new challenge to do.

Sigrid: Robin, of course. You should do whatever makes you happy. I fully support that.

Robin: You do?

Sigrid: Of course I do! I want you to be happy. And if this new career makes you happy, then do it.

Robin: Gosh, you're amazing, you know that?

Robin pulls her close.

Robin: I'm sorry if I made you feel bad today. I just really wanted to surprise you.

Sigrid: I'm sorry for being moody. This is great. You're great.

They share an intimate kiss, proving to each other that their love is strong and they're committed to one another.

Sigrid: Hm, first of many kisses up in this treehouse I'm sure.

Robin audibly groans at that, but it's mixed with a chuckle.

Robin: Don't say that. You'll make me have second thoughts about this thing.

Sigrid: Don't worry, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. We've still got a long way to go.

Robin: Well Mrs. Lay, let's enjoy the rest of our New Year's Eve, yeah?

Sigrid smiles at the name, having not been referred to as "Mrs." yet.

Sigrid: Let's go.

And enjoy they did! As always, the family brought in the new year together, and it was a cozy New Year's Eve. The family looks forward to the year ahead, packed with weddings, birthdays, and more life milestones to come!

[starlightswitch]

Four Years in the Making

(for Writer's Month day 18 prompts free and restaurant. In memory of the cidery challenge I never got to complete. I will never stop being bitter, but at least when you're a writer you can somewhat rewrite these things.)

On June 22nd, Nino and Robin graduated from their residency program. The graduation banquet had been announced for about a month. When it was over, as they’d planned as soon as the graduation banquet had been announced, Nino and Robin and Nino’s wife Joy and Robin’s fiancé Charlie walked over to the brewpub they’d been to many times over the four years of Nino and Robin’s residency to get their last beers to become Keg Club members.

Well, everyone but Charlie’s last beers. Charlie had less than the others, because Charlie had been picked up along the way– he and Robin had only started dating a few months into her residency, and he hadn’t started joining them at the brewpub until a few months after that. Luckily, he and Robin were staying; Robin had gotten a job with the hospital they’d been working for as residents. But in the beginning she hadn’t known she’d want to stay, and Nino and Joy had always known they wanted to move closer to family.

They’d found out about the Keg Club a month or so into residency, when Nino and Robin went to an event here after work. They’d spotted the names on the wall, and Nino had looked it up and found that they had a special loyalty program: when the beers you’d had from them added up to 36 gallons– the volume of a historical beer barrel– you got your name on the wall and a fancy Keg Club membership card that made your second beer in a day free for life. Robin did the math quickly and found that 36 gallons was 144 pints, and divided by four years that was one pint about every week and a half, which was perfectly reasonable.

So it became a pretty regular thing, almost every weekend. Sometimes they hung out longer and got more than one beer, so they were ahead of the pace by early 2020.

And then the pandemic hit.

That would have thought that was it, but Joy went down to buy a crowler of a new beer the brewpub had announced online and the girl ringing her up said, “I think that puts you halfway to your keg! If I’m doing my math right,” which was how they discovered crowlers and growlers counted.

They weren’t even visiting each other at home then– if Nino and Robin had been different years, they’d sometimes have been on the same rotation and exposed to each other for eight hours a day at work, in which case they might as well, but they weren’t and they weren’t going to risk the extra exposure– but almost every weekend they’d pick up crowlers or growlers and send each other pictures of their glasses, sometimes with an updated count if they’d asked for one that day.

Toward fall the brewery opened their patio, and they decided they were all good with getting together outside, as long as no one was planning a visit to grandparents. The patio hangouts continued late into the fall thanks to the new heaters the brewpub the place had installed. In the winter there was a fire pit outside and events where purchase of a beer got you a hot dog or smores kit to roast. In the spring they got their vaccines, Nino and Robin through the hospital, then Joy, Charlie last because he wasn’t 30 yet. After that, they were good with eating inside again, with a pause the next winter until they got their boosters.

Robin and Charlie never did get COVID, as far as they knew. Nino and Joy got it in May, getting over it just weeks before graduation.

Nino’s first beer got him to 36 gallons. When the server pointed that out, he waved it off. “Get mine when you get theirs. Three of us hit it tonight.”

They ordered their second round, and when the server brought it out and set the glasses down, he pulled something out of his pocket: three shiny silver cards, neatly stacked. He handed them out one by one, with a “Welcome to the Keg Club” for each of them, then had them write down their names the way they wanted them to appear on the wall. “That second round’s free next time,” he said, tapping a hand on the table before he walked away.

The four at the table gave each other bittersweet smiles. The next time for Nino and Joy was undetermined. They were finishing their packing tomorrow and moving the next day.

They made their beers last a while and their conversation last longer, going from funny stories about attendings to when they’d first met at a welcome picnic– and when Nino and Joy had first met Charlie at an ice skating event– to what the attendings had said about them at the banquet, Nino’s attention to detail and Robin’s matter-of-factness and confidence. It was getting close to closing time when Nino said, “I guess we better go.”

“I guess we better,” Joy echoed, and Robin and Charlie nodded slowly.

Outside they all exchanged hugs and somehow ended up talking five or ten more minutes about Nino and Joy’s moving plans. When a lull fell, Nino and Robin looked at each other.

“Well,” said Robin, with a nod and a hint of humor in her eye, “it’s been an honor, Dr. DeFillipo.”

His voice a little thick, Nino responded, “Likewise, Dr. Cassidy.”

And that seemed like the perfect way to leave it.

-

2020 day 18: A Leap (myth)

2021 day 18: A Treat from Another World (key + role reversal)

2022 Day 18: Grew Up Together (bridge + secret garden)

[zooophagous]

I'm telling you, it was a God damn vampire."

The tense man waved his hands for emphasis. Ursula maintained her cool facade. Of course he was correct, the description of the mysterious assailant was easy enough to positively ID. But she wasn't about to tell HIM that.

"Hmm. What makes you say vampire, Mr. Erickson?"

"Look, I know crazy drunks can bite too. I've seen enough fights. But there was something... I don't know. He was fucking creepy, ok?"

"Is that all?"

"He had sharp teeth AND freaked out when I threw garlic at him."

"And you're certain he wasn't just freaking out because you stepped in at all?"

"No, I saw it burn him. He had red marks all over where I hit him. That was a vampire. That was a Goddamned vampire!"

"Mr. Erickson." Ursula clicked her pen and put her paper pad away. "You've been very helpful with our missing person investigation, so I'll be perfectly honest with you. Vampires are not real. Our dear friend Mr. Strauss however is very sick, physically and mentally. He needs to be brought back into care for his own good. Please understand because of HIPAA I cannot disclose to you the specifics about what is wrong with him, but any relevant vaccines or other medical care the injured party requires will be compensated, as will any theft."

"I'm not really worried about that. I'm only down one beer. Sam gets workman's comp. He needed stitches though, just so you know. You should do a better job keeping your patients off the streets. Hey, this guy wasn't contagious with anything was he? He looked like total shit."

"The condition Mr. Strauss has cannot be passed on by a simple superficial bite like this. I understand your concern but if your friend keeps his wound clean it will heal on its own. Unless he tried to take a bite out of Strauss to get back at him." She huffed a little laugh through her nose, then paused. "...He didn't, did he?"

"I uh. I don't think so? Not that I saw. I don't think Sam is dumb enough to put his mouth on the guy."

"Well. Double check with him, and if he has done something that stupid, call me here." She scrawled a number quickly and handed it over to the shaken bartender.

"You still ain't caught the guy huh."

"No. But shortly he will be very hungry and dehydrated. He will appear soon, and we'll be ready. Thank you for your help, Mr. Erickson. You may go."

Strauss awoke blearily in his cardboard dumpster shelter. The tears in his eyes had frozen overnight in the cold, and he wiped them painfully away as he stretched. It was daylight, he could see it streaming through the slight gap between the lid and the metal hull. He had been awakened by noise in the alley.

A terrible deep rumble of some kind of truck, which was drawing nearer and nearer. The sound began to make him panic, and he shoved his way out of the receptacle in time to startle a waste management employee who had come by to collect the recycling. The man cried out in surprise, but didn't try to stop him. Strauss ran down the alley in his damp slippers. So much for shelter. And now the sun was out too, peaking from behind hazy grey clouds. He pulled his jacket up over his head as far as he could get it, but he would have to find real shelter soon.

He looked up and down the little street at the different shops. That was cover from sunlight, sure, but it was also proximity to people. Proximity to stressors, to temptation, to witnesses- and he remembered how well that went. He still had the stinging welts.

He would have worse to worry about though if he didn't make a decision fast. The heat on his skin was already uncomfortable mere moments after being exposed. He walked at a brisk pace, as if he could outrun the sun. He kept his head bent down, squinting blindly in the daylight.

He didn't really have much idea where he was going, except that it was towards a thick of trees in what appeared to be some manner of park. There were people in the park, but not as many as were in the shops. He stepped into the little cluster of trees and pressed off the sidewalk as deep as he could go. The park was adjacent to a river, and along the broken steep bank of the river was salvation. A drainage pipe- a massive one, easily large enough to accommodate a man. Jack pot.

A heavy grate was over the entrance, or perhaps it was heavy to an ordinary man. Strauss found his way past it and curled up in the dark. It was wet in here, too. He inwardly wondered if he would ever be dry again. His wet mildew smell was now accompanied by a fresh coat of mud. There was no blending in casually now, looking so utterly wretched. Cloud cover looked to be rolling in, slowly. Maybe if it got a bit thicker he could venture out and find something to eat.

Artemis sat in the driver's side of the black sedan and stared down glumly at her phone. A set of photos had just finished downloading, treating her to the grisly spectacle of the bouncer's arm, marred by a deep gash, and a second photo where it had been repaired with an ugly set of ten dark stitches.

"Is it bad?" Troy asked shyly as he craned is neck from the passenger seat to get a glimpse of her phone.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. Can't lie." She sighed heavily.

"So what, then, he decided to just go rogue and start picking people off?"

"Thing about that is, Troy, I don't really think that's what he did." She stowed the phone. "I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for him but this is really out of character. Both his stated morals and his history don't really mesh with this. I think he did it under duress."

"You sure you're not just giving him too much credit?"

"I'm not saying it just because he's my friend. Look at the way it happened. I mean, Strauss is sheltered but he's not stupid. He's been around a couple hundred years, he knows how this all works. He isn't about to break out, and then immediately attack someone in public where there's witnesses. It's really stupid to do this if you're not trying to get caught."

"Maybe he does want to be caught? I mean, he's never really expressed that strong of an opinion about leaving. Maybe he's got regrets."

"I'm very sure he does, but I don't think he'd go THIS far just to get our attention. I think after this... he's probably too scared to let himself be found now."

"Scared of us?"

"More of Ursula than of us." She sighed. "I don't really think Auntie wants to just kill him outright either, but the way she treats him, do you think he believes that? He probably thinks this is life or death."

"Or death and REAL death, for a vampire."

"Right."

"So where do we go from here?"

"Well, I think he's going to want to keep moving. It's supposed to rain today, so I have a hunch he'll be out during day time to try and make some tracks. We've got people watching for him at the bus stations and the Amtrak, so hopefully by keeping it to a foot chase we can slow him down."

"Never thought I'd get to see a Van Helsing actually hunt a vampire. Wish I could say it was kind of cool."

"Yeah, Troy, wish I could say I was enjoying it."

Strauss waited till he could see ripples on the river's surface to emerge again. It had started to rain, so now would be a fine chance to capture a bird or a squirrel. His assault on the bouncer the other night had given him a nice little hit of blood, but he'd been 'interrupted' before getting a decent share. He'd have to go get more.

He was torn between feeling remorseful for harming a complete stranger and angry he wasn't able to get more out of him. If he was to commit the sin of attacking a human he could have at least gotten a full meal. No such luck.

There didn't seem to be mice in the park. He was very reluctant to move from his list of safe foods, but it was just another concession he now had to make. Squirrels were close enough. Larger, too- he could get three mice worth out of one large squirrel he was sure. They were also incredibly common. He could see several of them just out in the open, accustomed to humans and unafraid.

He wished he'd tried the park first, could have spared everyone so much trouble. He quietly plodded after a fat squirrel that lazily scampered away from him. Once close enough, he extended his will over it. A wild squirrel was a little harder to wrangle than a domestic mouse, but not by much. The squirrel stopped running, and sat still. He wandered over to it and picked it up. He clicked his jaws open wide and prepared to drain it.

"What are you doing?"

He stopped. In his focus on the squirrel, he'd forgotten there were still people in the park. He turned around to see a child. A little girl, barely five if that, in a bright pink coat, looking up at him expectantly.

He looked at the squirrel and then looked around. "Where are your parents. You should not talk to strangers."

"Are you eating the squirrel?"

He tilted his head at the question. "Yes."

"Why?"

He was a bit dumbfounded at her question. He wasn't about to lie to a child, however.

"I am a vampire. Do you see my fangs?" He bared his teeth at her. "I need to eat blood. The squirrel has blood."

"Oh." She looked at the squirrel and pouted her lips.

"Does it make you sad that I am going to eat the squirrel?" He sighed.

"Uh-huh."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. I will let the squirrel go. Here, I will set him in this tree." He turned and placed the dazed rodent in a low branch. And for good measure, plucked an acorn from the grass and shoved it into the little animal's confused paws.

"There. Better?"

"Yeah." She grinned a gap toothed little smile. Then, as randomly as she had appeared, she ran off again. Strauss followed her with his eyes until he spotted her parents coming to collect her. Good, she wasn't out unsupervised, then. He turned on his heels and walked off before the parents noticed the scruffy vagabond that had been talking to their child.

She was a dear. Very similar to his own, when he had her. But fond memories didn't fill stomachs. He didn't want a squirrel anyway. Maybe if he were clever he could find a source of mice. Now, where in a city would one find a ready supply of that?

"So, any luck?" Artemis asked the cell phone flatly.

"He isn't in the cemetery, he hasn't been spotted at any coffee shop, and he hasn't been to the library so far as we can tell." Ursula replied.

"Have there been any other bite reports?"

"No, and he better hope it stays that way. I'm waiting on the dog team to arrive now. With any luck he's sleeping and will be easy to track."

"Ok. Keep me posted." Artemis ended the call with a sigh.

"I don't know, Artie." Troy shrugged. "I feel like we're doing this wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Strauss is very particular about the way he wants things. He doesn't like change. We should be checking gyms to see if he's used their showers. We could see if the Walmart has had anyone trying to sleep in their home goods section. Or... his favorite food is mice, right?"

"Yes?"

"Ok, so where can we find mice. He's gotta be getting hungry. Is there a pet store here?"

Artemis nodded. It was as good a lead as any.

"There's a Pets R Inn on 7th, it can't hurt to try."

[amaranth-devi1]

Covid is just a smoke screen to start global governance.

This is what is happening.

On my extensive research I found these EYE-OPENING statements/info:

**Do you know about Event 201? Research it. Bill Gates & World Economic Forum Simulated Coronavirus Outbreak 6 Weeks Before First Case in Wuhan. Co-incidence?

"A comprehensive blueprint for the reorganization of human society.” ~(in reference to the Agenda 2030 which was written in 2015)

Agenda 2030 action plan devised by the U.N. and signed by 178 governments. Its goal is the depopulation of humanity because “we are too many”. It is promoted by the elites as a way to “save the planet” and implemented by governments worldwide.

"This is the year when world leaders must work with all sectors of society to repair and reinvigorate our systems of cooperation, not just for short-term benefit but for tackling our deep-rooted risks," ~(stated at World Economic Forum in Jan 2020)

“The present vast overpopulation, now far beyond the world carrying capacity, cannot be answered by future reductions in the birth rate due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, but must be met in the present by the reduction of numbers presently existing. This must be done by whatever means necessary”. ~ UN statement

“A total world population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal”. ~Ted Turner, UN

“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized nations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” ~Maurice Strong, Secretary General of the UN Chairman of the Earth Summit as he delivered an official statement. (2015)

“We’ve got to ride this global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic and environmental policy.” ~Timothy Wirth (President, UN Foundation). Notice that Mr. Wirth is as concerned with the economy as he is with the environment!

“The world today has 7.7 billion people. That’s heading up to about nine billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care & reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent.” ~Bill Gates

"Vaccines, for Bill Gates, are a strategic philanthropy that feed his many vaccine-related businesses (including Microsoft's ambition to control a global vac ID enterprise) and give him dictatorial control over global health policy-the spear tip of corporate neo-imperialism.

Gates' obsession with vaccines seems fueled by a messianic conviction that he is ordained to save the world with technology and a god-like willingness to experiment with the lives of lesser humans." ~Robert Kennedy Jr.

The bulk of humanity has become expendable. We were good to the elite when they could exploit our labor and enjoy the fruits of humanity’s talents. One-third of jobs now performed by humans will be replaced by software, robots, and smart machines by 2025, according to a prediction by information technology research and advisory firm Gartner.

Robots do not require food, health benefits nor do they require a minimum wage. The use of robotics in replacing humans will only continue to expand, according to Ray Kurzweil, the director of engineering at Google. Kurzweil anticipates that by 2029 robots will have reached human levels of intelligence and functionality. Many experts predict that these robots will put people out of work and this is exactly what we are finding.

By 2030, there will be no 100% natural babies anymore. All babies will be programmed. ~(this was stated in a video from the WEF)

And then this bizarre statement which I fact checked 4 times. He wrote this in 1978 in his book:

"No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he will take a LUCIFERIAN Initiation.” – David Spangler, Director of Planetary Initiative United Nations

[differentkettleoffishalltogether]

Update

Hey I’m not gone! I’ve just been working out my notice in my old job and it’s been a lot of hours and then I got vaccinated and felt like death on my one day off 😖

So I will have the next chapter of An Inconvenient Affection up soon, I’ve got the first 3000 words of it written already, I just haven’t had the time to finish it. If it helps to know, it’s almost entirely fluff and smut 🥰

But as a little treat I wanted to show you guys what I had originally written for chapter 2 of this series. I wanted to make it more of a slow burn so I ended up scrapping it, but I thought I’d show you anyway

Alternate timeline under the cut:

“Well making drinks isn’t the only skillset a bartender possesses” he looks at her quizzically. “You gotta be able to talk to people, or let them talk to you I guess. It’s part of the appeal, getting people to trust you, to like you, and maybe a few drinks in you get them to confide in you, slip up and spill something if you’re lucky” she explains.

“You really have done this before” he raises his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“I told ya so, and on that note, tell me what’s on your mind, what brought you in here this evening?” She takes a dishcloth and begins to wipe up the little spill on the table. Spencer just lets out a small chuckle but stifles it when she looks at him. Her eyes are trained on his, awaiting his response.

“Oh! You’re serious.” He takes a beat, “Well, um, I guess my wife and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately” he tries his best to make it sound genuine, but something about the bubbles in the drink and Y/N in her sweats opposite him has him feeling a little giddy.

“Oh that’s terrible I’m sorry to hear that” she sympathizes quickly, encouraging him to keep talking.

“Yeah she’s been sleeping around behind my back, should’ve seen it coming really” he takes a long gulp from his glass, staring into the fizz at the bottom.

“What do you mean?” She probes, “Was she the town bicycle before you got hitched?” She says it as a joke but Spencer’s head just snaps up to look at her with confusion.

“What?”

“Everyone got a ride?” She wiggles her eyebrows as she explains and he can only roll his eyes in response, his face screwing up a little with distaste.

“No!” He’s quick to shoot it down, “Nothing like that!” He waves his hand to dismiss it before downing the remainder of his drink. “She was always out of my league” he says it with a shrug like it doesn’t break her heart a little.

“Spencer” she pleads, it comes out a sort of gentle whisper, “I’m sure that’s not true”

He shakes his head, “Nope, she always has been. To be honest I don’t even know why she liked me in the first place! She’s—” he takes a moment to think, “she’s so incredibly kind, and warm, and she’s so much smarter than I am” he smiles to himself.

“Well that’s definitely not right” Y/N says in an effort to derail him, Spencer’s tolerance for alcohol has always been bordering non-existent. She didn’t want him to say anything he wouldn’t feel good about later. But it was so hard to ask him to stop.

“It is, she’s just not one to gloat about it” he thinks for a second, “y’know what, she actually is one to gloat” he says it like he’s just realized it himself and Y/N lets out a small snort of laughter. “But that’s part of her charm too, she’s funny. The kind of funny that makes my cheeks hurt whenever we hang out.” His lips spread in a wide smile that reaches his eyes as he says it, just from thinking about her. “And on top of all of that, she’s pretty. Like so pretty that when I first saw her I couldn’t remember my own name” He goes to take a sip from his glass once again before noticing it’s empty. Placing it back down on the table with an over dramatic sullen expression. “Shame she had to go cheat on me, but it’s understandable I guess. She’s her, and I’m just—”

“An idiot” she offers and he starts to laugh, nodding his head, “don’t agree with me you fool!” She reaches across the table to punch his arm gently.

“You’re an idiot for thinking about yourself like that. Like you’re not the most special person. Like you’re not deserving of love, or attention, like you’re not desirable Spence” she reaches out to grab his hand and he just stares down at them, not daring to make eye contact. He had just humiliated himself by accident and had no idea how to walk it back.

“Y/N I—” he whispered but nothing else came out.

“Shut up Spencer” she sighed, “you’re my best friend for so many reasons and I can’t have you thinking about yourself like that” her words of reassurance do little to actually help him feel any better.

He felt like he’d just made this horrifically sappy declaration of love to his best friend and now he was being lectured on his self deprecating tendencies.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have said anything” he pulls his hand out from her grip, and rising up from the table. “I think I should probably get some rest, it’s been a long day” he wipes his already sweaty palms against his pajama bottoms.

Y/N clambers to her feet to follow him but he reaches his bedroom a little too quickly, shutting the door behind him. It’s not dramatic or petulant, the action just wreaks of upset more than anything.

Y/N didn’t want to pry, especially if he didn’t want to talk but she had no idea what she’d said wrong. For a second there it felt like Spencer might’ve felt the same way she did, she could see that glassy look in his eyes that she recognized from her own. But he’d withdraw as quickly as he’d opened up.

She took some time to think, gathering up the things from the makeshift bar and returning them to their homes in the kitchen. She busied herself until she found herself staring down at the couch, at the little pillow and duvet folded neatly and ready for use in the armchair next to it. She’d slept here so many times before but didn’t want to do it right now.

Carried on an uncharacteristic wave of courage she marched up to Spencer’s door, knocking loud enough that if he was already asleep she had a hope of waking him. He hadn’t done anything other than sit on the edge of his bed and stare at the doorknob since he’d come in. Willing himself to get up and just go back out there.

Thankfully he didn’t have to. All he had to do was open the door to a waiting Y/N, arms awkwardly fidgeting at her sides. He didn’t say anything when he opened the door, just waited patiently. There was a small lull of silence before she spoke.

“Just to clarify” she cleared her throat, “was that all about— were you— did you mean all of that?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and pleading. He nodded when he didn’t quite have the words yet.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just, had to say it sometime”

“Oh god you are an idiot” she breathes out before lunging at him, pulling him down by the lapels of his pajama shirt to capture his lips in a tentative but sweet kiss.